What Have You Read Lately?

At the moment, I’m busy writing Sewing Circle Mystery # 4 (due April 1st) and proofing the final copy edits for # 3 (due today), so to say I’ve not been reading lately is a bit of an understatement.  

Which means I’m turning today’s blog over to you. Tell us about a book you’ve read recently (its title, the author, and what you thought of it).  I’m going to flag this on my Facebook Fan Page so hopefully we’ll all come away with some great reading suggestions!

~Elizabeth

See the Book! Read the Movie!

Disney was a master of the tale retold.

Be it Cinderella, The Little Mermaid or 101 Dalmatians, the powers-that-be at Disney were uniquely successful in transferring classic and contemporary stories from print to film.

Studio animators used light and shadow to establish mood and paint scenes. Casting directors found pitch perfect voice talent to breathe emotion into scripts. Writers infused familiar plots and themes with new ideas and timely twists.

Yes, Disney took liberties with folk tales, de-emphasizing the darker elements. But the emotional cores and themes remained, which is why the films still resonate.

Like anyone who elevates skill to art, Disney made reimagining stories look easy.

The film industry will tell you it isn’t.

No longer content to poach fables and fairytales, Hollywood has moved to a new stalking ground–the New York Times Bestseller List. In the last year alone, Harry Potter, Coraline, The Lovely bones, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Sherlock Holmes and Rick Riordan’s sword-swinging Percy Jackson have leapt from page to screen.

The results?

Mixed.

Lovely Bones came under fire from readers when a key scene from the book was excised from the film. Some Conan Doyle aficionados avoided Holmes for fear of seeing their Baker Street sleuth transformed into an action-adventure hero. And here at home, despite loving the Percy Jackson books, my children are still undecided about seeing The Lightning Thief after hearing lukewarm reviews from friends.

The migration from publishing house to production company is a hero’s journey, fraught with mangled plots, clipped character arcs, changes in tone and pace and mood, memorable lines shoehorned into ill-fitting exchanges of dialogue, and–on rare occasion–retellings that are somehow both faithful and fresh, satisfying stalwart fans while drawing new readers into the fold.

In the quest to mine blockbuster gold from a literary favorite, many have tried, and many have fallen.

Now it’s your turn.

On the heels of a Hollywood disaster, a producer is running away from home. He’s passing through your town, standing in line behind you at Gas n’ Go. He comments on the book tucked under your coat.

“Some nitwit made a move from it and botched it,” you say.

He introduces himself as the nitwit. He’d like to know:

*How he botched it.
*What he got right.
*And another book, new or classic, that would make a great film.

Leave your thoughts in the comment section. But be quick about it. By the time you post, your pick already may have hit the production listings of imdb.

~Joe

Joe Richardson has written for newspapers, magazines, trade journals and broadcast media. When not at his desk, he can be found photographing his family and other forms of wildlife. He lives in rural Illinois.

The One Well Read

I’ve loved reading for as long as I can remember. I read all types of books but always had my favorites…

You know, the ones you’d return to again and again, the pages getting more and more worn with each passing. When I was a kid, those well-read copies were generally my Little House books (still have them today). I loved Laura Ingalls and everything about her life.

In fact, on my bucket list, is a visit to as many of her houses as I can go (to date, I’ve only been to the one in Mansfield, MO so I hope I don’t die anytime soon).

But I digress.

Anyway, I have a book that I return to again and again as an adult, too. And, like my Little House books, the pages are worn and tattered and yellowed with age. I could buy a new copy, but I don’t want to. There’s a comfort in knowing that’s my book. 

The book–with the actual cover I have–is this one right here…   I absolutely adored A Cry in the Night by Mary Higgins Clark the first time I read it. And I love it just as much with each subsequent read (and there have been many). I’m not sure what it is that pulls me to this story. But I’ll try to explain.

The sense of place in this book is strong, the characters so layered you can’t help but feel as if you’re walking alongside them in the book. And even though I know what happens now, it still packs a wallop.

Oh, and there’s one more thing. It’s this book that made me decide to pilot my writing dream in the direction of mysteries.

So what’s your book? The one you’ve re-read time and time again? And while you’re at it…tell us why.

~Elizabeth

Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

I’d like to welcome a diehard mystery reader to our blog today. Her efforts toward the genre are more than a little noteable. Please welcome, Nikki Bonanni. Nikki is an Exercise Physiologist and a part time faculty member at Ithaca College in upstate New York. In her spare time she writes mysteries and plays ice hockey!    

******

I have never been one to be interested in joining a book club. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m an avid reader, I just don’t want anyone else to tell me what to read. I’m also a bit stubborn and typically like to stay within the mystery genre, with occasional thrillers and suspense novels. So the thought of a book club was never really on my mind.

That is until I found myself recommending new authors I’d met at mystery conferences. I enjoyed trying out new series and telling others about them. One of them, in turn, suggested I start a book club.

Hmmm… If I did one, I could make it a mystery book club. And if it was my book club, I’d get to pick the books, right?

And so The Killer Coffee Club was born. I stopped in at my local Barnes & Noble to let them know we’d be meeting in their cafe once a month. The Community  Relations Manager, who is now a friend as well as a book club member, offered to attend the first meeting. I chose, Still Life, by Louise Penny as our first book.

I spread the word about the book club through my friends and personal training clients, who in turn told others. I also thought it would be fun to have a website and searched for a free, easy to set-up option.

When I attended Bouchercon in October, I approached some authors and mentioned I’d like to add their books to our calendar. Some agreed to actually visit, and those that couldn’t were open to trying Skype (what a terrific option for long distance–we place the laptop on a shelf and the author joins our circle).

I’m also a bit of a gadget person, and so I decided to try short video clips from the authors for my website so that readers could get a small taste of their books. These were easy to do with an ipod, and for a small annual fee I could add videos to my website.

The list of interested authors grew, and I wanted to do everything I could to make their trip worth it. The easiest of course was to ask B & N if we could do a public signing prior to our meeting. The bookstore also started ordering signs for the window and the aisle announcing our meetings! The signs, alone, have gotten us new members.

We have about twenty people on the email list and average 8-10 per meeting so far, but many who can’t attend still read the book selection and let me know their thoughts. I even added a blog page to the website because members were enjoying the books so much they wanted another outlet to chat!

Just recently we’ve established a connection with another bookstore that offers authors an additional venue for getting the word out about their books. When I browsed their website, I found that they also have a mystery book club! So now, when an author comes to visit, we have the potential for four different locations in addition to checking out any theme related groups.

The entire experience of setting up The Killer Coffee Club has been wonderful. The meetings are fun and we even had a Murder Mystery Dinner one evening. What a hoot!!

In addition to the camaraderie of getting together with others who share the same interest, there are many other benefits that have come with this project. It keeps me in better touch with my own writing, it’s introduced me to new friends, and it’s allowed me to share great new books and authors with others.

~Nikki

What’s On Your Nightstand?

After several weeks of highlighting a different book each Tuesday, I figured I would take a brief pause this one time to ask what you’re reading? 

Tell us the title, what drew you to pick it up in the first place, and what you think so far… After all, I know I’m always looking for more books to add to my own TBR pile!

~Elizabeth

The Book of Wow

I was in Wal-Mart a few weeks ago, for the sole purpose of eye-balling my new romance novel on this giant retailer’s shelves, when I stumbled across the book we’re going to talk about today.

I first plucked it off the shelf because of the title. Throw in the cover and the backjacket copy and, well, I was intrigued enough to buy the book.  I brought it home and set it on my nightstand with the hopes I’d get to it soon.

A few nights later I picked it up and read for about twenty minutes, the first few pages tipping me off to this author’s amazing ability of setting a scene…and characters…and story.

Wow.

The Book of Bright Ideas, by Sandra Kring, is a can’t-miss in my humble opinion. For a ton of reasons, this book spoke to me in a way few have in a very long time. In fact, I found myself folding over pages as I read simply because she said things in such a way I knew I’d want to refer back to them… 

Not as a writer, but as a person.

Here’s the bookjacket copy that sucked me in…

Wisconsin 1961. Evelyn “Button” Peters is nine when Winnalee Malone and her sister, Freeda, blow into town–and from the moment she sees them, Button knows this will be a summer unlike any other.

Much to her mother’s dismay, Button is fascinated by the malone sisters, especially Winnalee, a feisty scrap of a thing who carries around a shiny urn containing her mother’s ashes and a tome she calls “The Book of Bright Ideas.” It is here, Winnalee tells Button, that she recors everything she learns: her answers to the mysteries of life. But sometimes those mysteries conceal a truth better left buried. In this summer of dry heat and family upheaval, loyalties will be tested, unlikely alliances formed, and devastating secrets revealed. And when it’s over, no one–from Winnalee and her sister to Button and her family–will ever be the same.

That’s the back jacket copy.

To which I would add one word…

Wow.

There’s so much I want to say about this story, but can’t because I don’t want to ruin it for any of you who opt to go and get this (you should). But there are a few things I have to say…

Throughout the story, Winnalee and Button add things to their “Book of Bright Ideas.” Observations about life through the eyes of nine-year-olds…lessons that are both sweet and tender yet make you wince at times because they’re the kind of lessons you wish they didn’t have to learn.

Near the end of the story, Button learns a few more–though they aren’t ones that make their way into the special book. Nonetheless, they stood out to me (how could they not, the writing is spectacular)…

**”We looked around the room some more, not talking. I think Ma and Aunt Verdella felt like I did. Like a pumpkin after the insides have been scraped away. Ma and Aunt Verdella walked in front of me down the stairs, moving slow, just like me. I guess at that moment I learned that there’s nothing heavier to carry than emptiness.”

And then there was this which brings me to our topic…

**”It seems to me that after someone sweeps across your life like a red-hot flame, peeling back the shutters that sat over your heart and your mind and setting free your sweetest dreams or your worst nightmares, after things cool down you’ve got two choices.  You can either slip back into your old life, tucking those things you were too scared to look at back into hiding, or you can keep those parts of yourself out until you get so used to them that they don’t scare you anymore and they just become a part of who you are.”

Wow, huh?

So here’s my question for today–a tough one to pick as this book stirred up many for me:

Have you ever had someone enter your life who simply made it better? Someone who taught you things or shared special moments with you or changed you in some way…only to have them disappear?

~Elizabeth

The Ones We Can’t Forget

Thanks to a crazier-than-normal week, I haven’t finished reading the book I’d planned for today ( *hangs head in shame* ).  But I can tell you this…I’m enjoying it tremendously!!!

Soooo, we’re going to try something a little different while I race to finish it in time for next week, okay?  

1) Who was your favorite fictional character as a child and why?

2) Has there been a book that stayed with you long after you finished reading it…simply because of its power? What was it and why?

3) Do you feel as if you’ve ever learned anything from a fictional piece? And if so, what?

4) If you could only recommend one book to a friend, what would it be?

Tough questions, I know. But if you’re a book lover as most of us are, they should be fun to answer!

~Elizabeth

P.S. If you’d be interested in leading a “Reading Tuesday” in the future, contact me at: ElizabethLCasey@aol.com for more details!

At First Glance

Since I haven’t finished reading the book I’d planned to use for today’s ”Reading Tuesday,” I figured we could talk a little about SEW DEADLY.  

As always, you don’t have to have read the book to participate in our chat (though, I hope you have…because it’s a fun book). 

Here’s a tiny taste of the story via the backcover copy.

Ever since she moved to Sweet Briar, South Carolina, Tori’s been the talk of the tiny town. But she’s been so busy adding a children’s corner to the library, winning over the women of the sewing circle, and trying to forget her cheating ex that she hasn’t had time to even baste together a pillow, never mind pay attention to local gossip. Then she finds the town sweetheart dead at her back door, and everything else falls by the wayside…

Everyone believes the police investigator, who’s just fixin’ to link Tori to the murder in a love triangle gone bad through a handsome third grade teacher. To clear her name, Tori will have to rely on her new sewing sisters and stitch together the truth–or else she’ll be darned…

One of the parts that made this story so much fun to write was the notion of being a fish out of water simply because you moved to a place where everyone knows everyone (except you). The kind of place where a newcomer is not only easy to spot, but also studied…

And analyzed…

And judged.

All because they’re ”new” or “different.”

So here are my questions for all of you. Have you ever moved to a new place? Did you feel out of place and why? And what did you do to make yourself fit? And, if you’ve never moved, have you ever been wary of someone because they’re new? Have you ever reached out to a newcomer and if so, how did it go? And finally, as is the case with Tori, has there ever been a moment in your life where you’ve either proved someone wrong about you…or realized you were wrong about someone else?

~Elizabeth

Finding the Words Anywhere You Can

Do you ever have a moment when you just need someone to say the right thing–some combination of words that will light a fire, soothe a hurt, or right a wrong?

For some lucky souls, those words come with ease from the mouths of loved ones. For others, they come from true friends. And still others seek them from anyplace they can find them. Like a book.

About six months ago, a writing buddy sent me a book of quotes which I find myself thumbing through more often than not…searching for just the right combination of words for whatever it is I need at that particular moment. Sometimes it’s to find faith in myself. Sometimes it’s to heal a wound. Sometimes it’s to give myself a good old fashioned kick in the backside. And while I’m about as far from an athlete as you’re gonna get, the quotes contained in Enduring Words for the Athlete are a lifesaver at times.   

Here’s a few of my favorites. Perhaps they’ll resonate with you, too.

*You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.   ~Wayne Gretzky

*Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second. ~William James (American psychologist)

*It takes a struggle, a goal, and enthusiasm to  make a champion. ~Norman Vincent Peale

*The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. ~William Faulkner

*Whether you believe you can do a thing or believe you can’t, you are right. ~Henry Ford

*Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will. ~Mahatma Gandhi

*Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. ~Lou Holtz

And one that just screams to be heard…

*It’s lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself. ~Muhammad Ali

So how about you? Any favorite quotes you care to share?

~Elizabeth

Labor Day

Attending a writer’s/reader’s conference is always a good time. You learn things, you meet people, you network, etc. But beyond all of that, you also get books.

Lots and lots of books. 

At the Romance Writer’s of America conference in Washington D.C. this past summer, Labor Day by Joyce Maynard was in my registration bag. And while it took me a while to get to it (six months…but who’s counting), it was definitely worth the wait.  

The book makes you think. About a lot of things. But, most importantly, it opens your eyes to the power another person can have in your life (which is the part I want to talk about today).

But before we get to our chat, here’s a portion of the book jacket copy to bring you up to speed…

With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, thirteen-year-old Henry–lonely, friendless, not too good at sports–spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about the soft skin and budding bodies of his female classmates. For company Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele–a one-time dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to foxtrot; his hamster, Joe; and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly’s with his estranged father and new stepfamily. As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his “Husband for a Day”‘ coupon, he still can’t make his emotionally fragile mother happy. Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to possess an irreparably broken heart.

But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day, when a mysterious bleeding  man named Frank approaches Henry and asks for a hand. Over the next five days, Henry will learn some of life’s most valuable lessons; how to throw a baseball, the secret to perfect piecrust, the breathless pain of jealousy, the power of betrayal, and the importance of putting others–especially those we love–above ourselves…

It doesn’t matter whether you’ve read this book or not (though, you should). The theme that screams out from this story is simple and begs the question, who has changed your life?

Before you ponder your answer, let’s remove your significant other from the mix. Instead, consider others who have entered your life whether they’re still in it or not. Is there someone who truly made you who you are…or shaped the person you became…or changed the course of your life (good, or bad)?

Who? How? And, if a particular memory sticks out to illustrate the how…we’d love to hear it.

~Elizabeth