Jane Austen

Fifteen Authors I Have Read and will again

In 2010, I took a facebook challenge from my granddaughter, Elizabeth (who is way ahead of me on these things), to list 15 authors whose work I enjoy.  The challenge may have said something like “Authors I have read and will read again.”  As I look now at that list I posted then, off the top of my head, I can see the influence of what I was reading at the time. Also, there are some writers I missed, or new favorites I would add and a few I would replace, if I am limited to 15.

So, today, I’m revising the old list and over the next couple of weeks, I will tell you why I enjoy these particular writers. The first list was in no particular order, this one is alphabetical.

1. Jane Austen
2. William E. Barrett
3. Dave Barry
4. E. L. Doctorow
5. Karen Kingsbury
6. Wally Lamb
7. Anne La Mott
8. Mara Leverit
9. Brett Lott
10.Max Lucado
11. Catherine Marshall
12. Donald Miller
13. Jodi Picoult
14. Anna Quindlin
15. Anita Shreve

Four were deleted from the original list and here’s the reason:

Robert Frost: I fell in love with Robert Frost’s poetry when I heard my daughters’ high school chorus perform a musical setting of “Stopping by the Woods.” It was not only beautiful notes, it enhanced the rhythm of his words. I have read his poetry with enjoyment ever since. But I decided to make this a list of prose writers.

Neil Simon: He’s one of my very favorite playwrights, but I have several and I decided not to go there.

Gary Paulsen: I have read some excellent Young Adult fiction by Gary Paulsen, Richard Peck, Ann Martin and others. I decided that’s a whole other category.

Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird is probably my favorite book and movie. But if the list limits me to “authors I have read and will read again”, alas, I don’t think Harper Lee will qualify. I blogged about Mockingbird, the book, movie, and writer about a year ago. Find it on the right, under Reading List or Writing.

So, that’s my list. Not off the top of my head but with a lot of thought. And I’ll tell you why.  Next week.

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The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

There is no blurb on the back cover of this book to indicate what the plot is about. The inside flap says:

“The story of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is very difficult to describe. Usually we give some clues about the book on the back cover, but in this case we think it would spoil the reading of the book. We think it is important that you start to read without knowing what it is about.”

John Boyne, who wrote this book in 2006, was right. It is probably impossible — or at least difficult — for this to happen now, since some of the reviews I have seen contain a spoiler. But just in case, I’ll not joint them in that.  I think this book would have held me even more spellbound if I had not known the gist of the story before I read it.

The story is seen through the eyes of a naive 9-year-old boy. (Though this isn’t a book for 9-year-0lds.)  The point of view is excellent and the voice is great. Though the narrative is in third person, Boyne stays exclusively with Bruno’s (the boy’s) point of view. The reader sees and knows only what Bruno sees. Sometimes, because we’re older and have a certain knowledge of history and human behavior, the reader understands what’s happening before Bruno does.  And then we want to say “Awww,” with a sigh because, bless his heart, he is just so innocent.

There is a movie, made in  2008, with lesser-known (to me, at least) actors. The Americanized spelling of “Pajamas” is used. I haven’t seen it, but probably will.  The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a unique tale. I have never seen anything like it described in the “Seven (or Twenty or Fifty) Most Used Plots.” I highly recommend this book for the discriminating reader and writer.

John Boyne is a successful writer living in Dublin, Ireland. You can learn more about him and his work at www.johnboyne.com.

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Remembering a Friend

Glenda Long died this week. She was my friend.

Oh, it wasn’t a friendship like BFFs that talk on the phone every day and have a standing date for lunch each week.  In some ways it was deeper than that.

She was one of the first persons I met when I moved to Beebe in 2000. She was secretary of First United Methodist Church. I was doing some volunteer work there, so we saw each other often. We just loved to talk. Glenda ‘got’ my sense of humor.  That was good for me because she had the most wonderful laugh. During our acquaintance, she lost two siblings and we talked about feelings that are sometimes hard to share and often others don’t want to hear.

During our mini-therapy sessions we could laugh, cry,vent, and ‘evaluate situations’ knowing that when we parted, what was said was locked away in the vault.

A few years ago, Glenda retired and I saw her less often, usually at church or United Methodist Women, an organization she loved and gave much of her energy to.  But when our eyes made contact, Glenda would give a big smile like she was so glad to see me. We’d hug and I imagine my face was a reflection of hers, because I was always happy to see Glenda.  And when we parted, we’d say “I love you,” and never thought that was unusual for what might look like a casual friendship.

I know a lot of women could testify to a similar relationship with Glenda, because she truly cared for people. Many, many people called her friend.

She was ten years younger than I and looked ten years younger than that. Besides having a natural physical beauty, she always looked good.  Not in the Hollywood way that says you just stepped out of  Hair and Makeup, but in a manner that said, “I care about myself and about you. I want you to see me at my best.”

Glenda Long was my friend. She was my Sister in Christ. I’ll see her again someday. And I fully expect to be greeted with a smile and a hug.

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Spring Break!

Spring Break! Magical words for school children, for teachers and even for parents — anyone and all who have a chance to get away from the normal school day routine. At the Education Cooperative where I work, Spring Break is a blessing and a perk. The schools are closed, so are we. (This is not so during the summer months.)

Last week, conversations at work were about SB plans — Disney World, Crystal Bridges, trips “home” to family, work in the garden, paint the house.

The first days of my break have been filled with rest and reading. I have slept late and napped in the afternoons. During my waking hours, I finished reading Pride and Prejudice. Yesterday, when I had a dream about being at work in my pajamas and falling asleep at my desk, I decided maybe I had stretched this rest thing a little too far.

Tomorrow, I will leave for a Writer’s Retreat in Piggott, Arkansas. The home where Ernest Hemingway and his wife Pauline lived with her parents while he wrote A Farewell to Arms, and the barn converted into his writing space, sits at the edge of this small town. The Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center hosts writers’ retreats and several other special events throughout the year.

BFF Pat will pick me up and we will spend the three-hour trip talking. We may get it all said by Saturday afternoon when we trek home, but then again, maybe not.

My goal for this retreat is to learn from mentor Rob Lamm and other writers present and to work on the edits of my almost-finished-novel-in-progress, An Ordinary Day. And maybe some of the Hemingway genius will rub off on me and I will write that ‘one true sentence.’ Rest, read, write — my choices for this week.

To all my readers blessed with a Spring Break — enjoy!

For more information on H-P Museum and Educational Center visit hemingway.astate.edu

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Is Anyone Being Served?

It’s been a while since I ranted about customer service.  Because, what’s new about bad experiences there? Who hasn’t been driven nuts by the run-around?  I would love to sit in on the employee orientation/training. If for no other reason than to confirm all my suspicions.

Perhaps you’ve seen the commercial where someone exudes “This is my last payment before switching to _____.”  Well, I didn’t switch to ______, but I do have a new provider for my Internet, cell, and land line. Yay! I no longer have to deal with the telecommunications giant who used to be the only phone company in town.

For a month, I had static on my land line.  A call to customer service took me to the electronic menu: Press one for residential; press four for static; hold while we check the line … then a recording came on to say that the problem was not in their equipment, it must be mine.  Yes, someone had pre-recorded the message that it wasn’t their fault.  Dutifully I checked my equipment. I bought a new battery for my phone. Still static. I obtained a new phone (Thanks,Number One Son) and replaced all the wall connections (Thanks, Number Two Son).  The static was even worse.  Callers could not understand me or my answering machine message. Nor could I understand them. Miraculously (and coincidentally) when the new provider’s tech plugged my phone into their equipment, the static immediately went away. (I’m aware I put three ‘ly’ words in that sentence and split an infinitive. That’s how distraught I was.)

To add salt to the proverbial wound, my final bill included a hefty buy out fee. What? I was positive I had no contract with this company. It’s a story way too long to tell here, but it’s one more reminder that when there is a difference of opinion between a customer and big business, big business wins.

I have to say here that I have always been treated very politely by the Customer Service Representatives, when I actually spoke to one. It’s just that the CSRs have no power to do anything to solve the problem.

After several conversations with a young man (who put me on hold to talk to the supervisor who would not talk to me) I finally lost the battle. But I won the war.

So, today I wrote the final check. And a lifelong relationship comes to an end. I have bid farewell to their line static, their automated menus and their hidden fees. Thank you, former provider, for encouraging me to “rethink possible.” I did, and I found someone new.

Feels good.

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