The Best Books I Read in 2008

2008 was a bumper year for reading. I read so much great stuff! None of my top three could overtake each other to reach the number one slot, as I love them all equally but for entirely different reasons. Therefore, we shall proceed alphabetically by author. I won’t say too much about each title; these books speak for themselves!


Little Brother by Cory Doctorow


Exciting, inspiring, and entirely of its time. Though still highly relevant, I am glad I read this in late summer, before the economy usurped terrorism as the fear that dominates the news.


The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs by Jack Gantos


Refreshingly odd, somewhat disturbing, thought provoking (perhaps every family has some sort of curse), not too long or too short. Fabulous!


The Book Thief by Markus Zusak


This book made a huge impression on me, and I wrote about it here. Such beauty!


I must also mention The Best First Draft I Read in 2008: Natalie L. Sin's NaNoWriMo novel, a horror thriller titled Bucky’s Luck. Great premise, crisp writing, sharp dialogue, gruesome murders, strong characters, humour. If only my first drafts were as good as this! :)

Happy Christmas!

Because it is Christmas (and because who doesn’t love special effects?) below is a bonus photo in which my little tree appears to be on fire. A roaring fire and a Christmas tree rolled into one!

Oh Crikey, It’s Nearly...

No sooner am I released from prison ;) than the shops start opening until midnight. Christmas is well and truly upon us, overpowering us, seizing our minds, our money and our time.


I have very mixed feelings about Christmas. I love the ideal: snow, sleigh bells, twinkling lights, crisp air, carol singers, roaring fires, games of charades, tidings of comfort and joy. But the reality (aside from my allergy to roaring fires) of the preparations slightly overwhelms the event.

By the time I've done the cards and the presents (posted and wrapped), I have to admit, I feel I’ve done Christmas. The day itself lies ahead in my mind all wrapped-up in a sense of foreboding.

Each and every year, I think about escaping. But something stops me. Perhaps I would feel I’d bottled-out. And perhaps, if I did run away, despite all my griping, I might actually find I’d missed out ... on the annual frisson of fear, panic and, okay (I’m sure it WILL be okay), fun and laughter and joy. :)


EDIT: After re-reading this post, I realised that a couple of sentences, meant in jest, didn’t quite work. I’ve now deleted the paragraph that made me sound worse than Scrooge!!!

Message in a Bottle

My two-week blog break turned into a three-week blog break, and now... that three-week blog break looks set to become a prolonged hiatus. I am so entangled in the imaginary worlds of both fashion and fiction it seems I will be imprisoned here for some time. Things could be worse. Much worse. I am not incarcerated in a cold, dark cell. My sentence is not indefinite. The guards are kind; they even allow me a little time online! Occasionally. And one day ... I’ll be free!! :)

Streethorsing

Tbilisi, Georgia by Martha Camarillo

I'm taking a two-week blog break. I have a design deadline approaching and want, if possible, to maintain some writing momentum (not to be confused with momentous writing ;)) amidst the craziness of completing the project.

Back in December!

Until then...

Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club Documentary
by Martha Camarillo



“In the heart of downtown Philadelphia, among abandoned buildings and impoverished neighborhoods where drugs and unemployment pervade, is a place called Fletcher Street. A block that upon first glance looks just like all the others, that is, until you see the horses and hear their hoof beats…"

Hard Work and Inspiration

My serious phase continues apace -- to the point that I might be embracing the ethic a little too wholeheartedly. For example, I have not allowed myself to stop and eat dinner until after 10 pm. And last night, I found myself propped up in bed writing elevator pitches for my no-longer-finished novel and my wonderful WIP. At 4 am! Needless to say, I drank gallons of coffee this morning.

Back to that no-longer-finished novel, no-longer-titled Hybrids Taste Delicious, which has racked up 27 rejections thus far. Some feedback gelled with the niggling doubts in the back of my mind, so I decided a rewrite was in order: a younger protagonist and a different slant to the story (more comic, less weird). Still, I wondered, with that number of rejections, had I already messed up? Perhaps I should shelve my darling first novel and forge ahead with my WIP.

But then... I read an inspiring interview with soon-to-be-published YA author Cindy Pon, who queried 121 agents!!! Making me realise I am a complete and utter lightweight. So. Come January, I will don my army fatigues, hook up with my SAS buddies, and adopt Cindy’s mantra: “Query and conquer!” To which my platoon will chorus: “To infinity and beyond!”

Boundaries

In the last two-and-a-half weeks, life has gone topsy-turvy. Not in a dramatic way (though you wouldn’t guess it from the picture), but more that it has become too amorphous in shape, too flowing in form.

Flow is good in the sense it is vital to the creative process. But if flow means one’s life is more like a flooded pond seeping down a partially blocked drain than a powerful running river, then it is time to build a damn or a channel. Time to switch off the phones, lock all the doors, and reclaim time for writing and reading.

And this is the perfect time of year. Although I’m not doing NaNo, it is helpful to grab hold of its spirit and, hopefully, hang on to the coat tails well past the end of November.

To reinforce this serious phase, I will wear my glasses from dawn till way beyond dusk -- with a tweed skirt and sensible shoes. REWIND: Second thoughts on the sensible shoes. Serious is one thing... frumpy quite another!

Gunpowder, Treason and Plot

If you do not love fireworks, look away now!

Tonight is Bonfire Night. However, in tune with the popular idea that everything is better at the weekend, my town held its public firework show on Saturday, November 1st. So... we had ghosts, ghouls and skeletons on Friday, followed by an inferno on Saturday.

My apartment is perfectly situated for this display. Quite a treat! And it made chez Mary a popular place to be.

These photos were taken from my living room. (Not a sparkler in sight. I saved those for tonight!)

Ooh
Aah
Wow
Weee
Cool
Crikey!
Fab
Gorge...
Yum
Beautiful!

Congratulations to Barack Obama!!!

Trick or Treat?

Photograph by Ralph Eugene Meatyard

It’s been an eventful week. What with the blogaversary on Tuesday, Halloween today, and Wednesday and Thursday spent in legal dispute. I wish I could say more about that, but I can’t...

What I will say is that my solicitor is quite an inspiring character. The case was challenging and the time frame tight. There was a wonderful moment when this ordinarily composed, curly haired man with highly polished shoes, slammed down the phone at the end of a call to someone on our side, put his head in his hands, and said, “Sweet Jesus! We need a plan.” Then he bit his nails as his eyes flashed left and right.

I love the way people act when under pressure or thinking out loud.

My side emerged in victory. Thank heavens! And I feel very pleased but peculiarly drained. Most appropriate for Halloween. Though this evening, I really can’t write for toffee.

Happy Halloween!

Hip-Hip, Hooray!

Overnight at Thistletonthwaite Castle is one year old today!


Which means... I have been blogging for a year.

And... (here comes a cliché) what a wonderful year it’s been!

When I first started this blog, I felt a little bit self-conscious and shy. But now, as I sit here looking out at a pink and hyacinth sky, I wonder why, oh why?

With blogging, as with most things in life, it is best to relax and be yourself. Some write about rules for blogging, what you should and should not do. But I think the beauty of blogs is that each is as individual as its owner. And, like owning a dog, we closely resemble our blogs or vice-versa. ;)

I had a phase when I felt guilty about blogging taking time away from writing. Then, I had a phase when I found it difficult to post regularly because of my work and wondered if I could keep on blogging. I am now through those phases -- and don’t imagine I will ever stop writing a blog.

Mainly because ... I have met many wonderful people with equally wonderful blogs!

Thank you for reading mine. :)

A Country Weekend

One of the things I love about living in Cumbria is the dramatically changeable weather. At its most exciting, the conditions are extreme. When that is combined with the county’s patchy mobile phone reception, you can be in for an adventurous time!

This weekend the weather in the Lake District has been truly severe, making national and international news after the Original Mountain Marathon went ahead despite forecasts for continued high winds and heavy rain -- in an area that had already experienced localised flooding. The two-day race was abandoned at midday yesterday, leaving competitors scattered along the various routes. Some of the 2,500 runners found shelter in places such as Honister Slate Mine, a local school, and farms. But the majority spent the night in the mountains, and were unaccounted for until today. You can read all about it (and see some great footage) here.

I was out in the countryside yesterday, enjoying the thrill of driving through big puddles and pouring rain. But even I stopped short of heading down Honister Pass (one of my favourite roads for driving). Watch the dramatic scenery, and OMM competitors battling the wind and rain:



ETA: I have now watched this video several times and it’s not quite so dramatic as it seemed. Note to Special Effects: More rain! ;)

Let Us Spray

I have a love/hate relationship with the fashion industry, and I usually keep that side of my life apart from this blog and apart from my writing. But. Sometimes a fashion house presents a true wonder, a product that is genuinely new and completely inspiring.

Wode by Boudicca is the first fragrance from the house of Boudicca, and the first ever visible fragrance. (I find the concept incredibly exciting.) Combining sight and smell, the fragrance is cobalt blue and packaged in a silver spray can. The blue dye disappears in just a few minutes and -- fear not -- clothes are not ruined.

"Wode, the revolutionary Art Fragrance from BOUDICCA, explores further the myth around Queen Boudicca (aka Boadicea). Legend has it she and her tribe wore a cobalt blue war “paint” on their skin that gave them a ferocious and mythical look when advancing into battle. When finally defeated by the Romans, Queen Boadicea killed herself by swallowing hemlock, an extract of which is included in Wode."

Guess what I want for Christmas!