My Attention Span is Less than a Middle Schooler’s…

…Or I’m too old to fully get into tween novels. This is a problem that’s been plaguing me for a while now: whenever I read a middle grade novel on the subway I get so distracted by stops and people getting off the subway and a girl’s pretty shoes that all of a sudden I’m three pages into Chapter 5 and can’t remember what happened during Chapter 4! For some reason I just can’t concentrate fully on the text of tween novels when other things are going on. Has my attention span failed me? Am I too old to relate to the text? Are middle grade novels written poorly? To the last point—of course not! I love tween books: Savvy, When You Reach Me, The Benedict Society are all some of my all time favorite books. Not to mention classics like Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie. And yet, I don’t have a similar problem reading teen books on the subway. I get so lost in the world and characters that, at times, I’ve almost missed my stop! So what is it about middle grade novels? I don’t have an answer—does anyone have the same problem as I do? A theory? Or, best yet, a solution? I need to reclaim my reading time!

The Game of Writing

Who knew there was a way to combine two things I love (writing and board games)? This is pretty awesome. I want to play! 

Share the Love

Hey, fellow book lovers, this seems like a great idea: Book Crossing. Normally, when I don’t want a book I sell it on Amazon, which is a great way to share books with book lovers. But what if, like at Book Crossing, sharing books becomes an adventure between book lovers and their novels. So much fun! I’ll be sending my first book out into the ether soon!

Going West

I’m heading on vacation for the next week and a half—and since this is my only big trip of the year, I’m going to put blog posts on hold. That isn’t, of course, to say I won’t be doing book-related things. I’ll definitely be reading and I’m looking forward to my first visit to Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon. You can make any vacation into a bookish one. :-)

Childhood Books

Fact: The books you read as a child affect who you become as an adult.

While I could take the poignant route in writing about that sentence (and I have before), instead I’ll direct you to the irreverent article that explains what your favorite books as a child say about you now. According to the article, family is important to me…up to a certain point (Little Women), I secretly like that everyone goes to me to solve their problems (Harry Potter), I wear colorful clothing (The Giver), and I always need a house with the possibility of a magical wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia). Not entirely accurate, but still amusing. What do the books you loved say about you?

A Literary Dinner

I love throwing elaborate (cheesy/cutesy/dorky) parties. In college I hosted great gatherings. From my Disney-themed Jeopardy costume party to a Clue party complete with a live mystery to solve, I have almost more fun planning than partying. It’s so fun to think up all the possibilities! And then let’s not even get started with how much I like to bake! Lately, between trying to cut down on the number of sweets I eat, my boyfriend’s interest in cooking, and the random Bon Appetit magazines lying around my apartment, I’ve gotten more into ‘fine dining’ as well. There’s nothing like savoring a delicious bite of something you’ve spent hours in a sweaty kitchen concocting. So, in summary, themed party + opportunity to get creative in the kitchen = lots of happy hours planning! Since moving to NYC my tiny apartment with four roommates has prevented me from showing off my creative party planner side. But these links (here, here and here) can let a girl dream! As soon as I have my own place, a literary dinner party is in order!

Five from the Fire

Today’s RTW question from YA Highway is: The house is on fire and you've only got time to grab five things. What are they?

1.    Computer/external hard drive. My life (literally) is on here: photos from the past six or so years (easy to print and replace the ones I’d lose since older photos aren’t at my apartment), WIPs and future story ideas, old classwork, important passwords, everything.

2.    A necklace. A special piece of jewelry I’d be very upset about losing.

3.    Purse. Because who wants to deal with replacing a driver’s license, credit cards, etc.? And since my bag is similar to Mary Poppins’ in all likelihood I’d have everything I need to get through the next few days: phone, snacks, a book, tissues, lip gloss, band aids, gum, pens, notebook, IPod, camera, umbrella, sunglasses, map of NYC. (Maybe I should clean out my purse…)

4.    Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. To make me feel better.

5.    Kitchenaid Mixer. Since this is hypothetical, I’ll pretend that I could run out of a burning building carrying this. I waited so long to get a mixer, I wouldn’t want to lose it. I need something to make all my delicious treats with!

Since I highly doubt this would all actually come with me if my apartment burnt down…neighbors, please be careful! What would you want to grab?

The Power of Books

I don’t have much to say about what I’m sharing today other than wow and yes.