good books

Book Review Tuesday: Victorian Secrets: How a Woman Finds Herself Via Her Corset

November 19, 2013 by admin

When Sarah Chrisman’s husband presented her with a corset as a birthday present, she didn’t think much of the gift at first. Still, as a lover of history with curiosity aimed mostly at the Victorian era, she gave it a try. Four years later, she wears corsets nearly 24/7.

During the first year, she lost several inches around the waist, and furthered her transformation into a Victorian lady by sewing clothes that matched Victorian times. These days, those of us who live in Port Townsend see Sarah walking around town, with long skirts, parasol, gloves, and hats. Here, in a Victorian town with an annual Victorian festival, she blends right in!

As she continued to wear corsets, her migraines disappeared, and she has avoided back problems that plague others in her family. In person, Sarah radiates the peace and joy of someone who lives her truth. This isn’t a gimmick for her, but an authentic way of life. Isn’t that what we’re all seeking?

Sarah tells her story in Victorian Secrets: What a Corset Taught Me About the Past, the Present, and Myself. With intelligence and wit, she dispels myths about the corset and shares a fascinating and personal journey.

I own an original version of this book, which Sarah bound by hand in true Victorian fashion (it would take her about four hours to do so). The new hardback is also gorgeous to behold, complete with full-color photos that show Sarah’s transformation.

There was a time when I was younger when I stopped working on crafts such as knitting because we saw them as tools of oppression. Over time, I reclaimed my crafts and felt empowered as I did so, and I regretted those lost years when I let society’s opinions take me away from what brought me joy. Sarah has done the same with the corset, and I respect her for it. Though I doubt I’ll ever wear a corset on a regular basis (I do during our Victorian Festival), I appreciate her courage, her curiosity, and her willingness to be herself.

Book Recommendation: My Plastic-Free Life by Beth Terry

November 20, 2012 by admin

Beth Terry confesses that she’s shy. An accountant in the Oakland, California, area, this sprite of a woman is the unlikely David to the Goliath of plastic over-use. In 2007, though, after seeing a disturbing photograph, Terry had the light-bulb moment that made her want to try living a plastic-free life. She documented her experiences and experiments in a blog, now known as My Plastic-Free Life, and has written a book called Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too.

In our fair town, plastic bags were banned as of November 1, and our local food co-op brought Beth Terry to town to share her expertise. I knew I’d be out mushroom hunting earlier in the afternoon (more about that tomorrow) and didn’t know if I’d get back in time, so I downloaded her book and started reading it in advance of her visit. Hubby and I were already working to reduce our plastic waste, but My Plastic-Free Life has given me even more ideas.

For example, our co-op allows us to bring our own containers and buy items in bulk. This has allowed me to reduce my usage of plastic containers for automatic dishwashing detergent, laundry soap, protein powder, and more. However, I am a soda junkie (I’m not kidding, I’ve tried numerous times to quit), so what can I do? As a result of reading Terry’s book, I’ve learned that I can make my own. With some experience making kombucha under my belt, I feel comfortable with trying the fermentation method of soda, which creates the lowest environmental footprint.

Still, despite my good intentions, I’ve become painfully aware of the many ways that plastic finds its way into our lives. My Thanksgiving shop was an eye opener! Thankfully, I redeemed myself somewhat later in the day when I made my own toilet bowl cleaner and all-purpose cleaner, using re-usable containers.

Terry stresses that she doesn’t try to tell anyone what to do, and she doesn’t attempt to “guilt trip” people into living the way she does (she brought a two-pound bag of plastic to the presentation, which represented ALL of her plastic waste for 2011). She wants to demonstrate what’s possible over time, and suggests that we start with one or two small changes and go from there. She didn’t go cold turkey and doesn’t ask that we do, either. Collectively, if we all do SOMETHING, we will make a big difference.

Terry’s book is matter-of-fact and packed with resources for plastic-free products you may not realize are available. She also shares stories of some of her heroes. If you’re thinking about reducing your environmental impact or the toxic load in your home, this book is for you!

Book Tuesday: Feeding Your Demons

November 6, 2012 by admin

When we remodeled, we created a small room intended to be a guest bedroom. We had planned to put in a trundle bed. However, when we rerouted our heating system, we had to place the door in a different spot, making it impractical for a bedroom. Yes, if we need to, we can put in a cot of some kind, but for now we have made it a reading room, with two comfortable chairs and a lamp table in between.

Today I stopped joking and used the room for that purpose.

I’ve written before about how I work with fear, depression, and anger — I prefer to “dance” with them, or “invite them to tea.” However, lately that’s been easier said than done. A recent interpersonal conflict has disrupted my work, and I’ve held so much tension in my jaw that I broke one crown and dislocated another tooth (yes, I’m getting a mouth guard). It’s been a painful experience in the midst of an otherwise idyllic life. Unfortunately, I can’t say anything more about it than that. Let me just say that some people have WAY too much time on their hands.

I’ve taken appropriate action on a practical level, but I’m more concerned with what’s going on inside of me. How can I dance with this? How can I take this situation to tea? I can’t change the actions of others. I can, though, change my response. I can find inner peace. This time, though, I need a little extra help!

Enter Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict by Tsultrim Allione, which provides a five-step meditation technique known as Chod.

Allione is a former Buddhist nun who runs a retreat center in Colorado. Like me, her life was cracked open, and its trajectory radically altered, after the death of a child. Like me, it took her three marriages to find her true partner. Reading her words, I find the wisdom of someone who has “been there and done that,” who understands my inner challenges.

I went into my reading room and, iPad next to me, went through the five steps. Even with having to look at the instructions, I still had a profound experience. Here’s a summary:

After breathing in the method prescribed in the book, I examined the “demon” I wanted to work on. I chose Fear, a dominating force in my life. In the conflict I mentioned, which has escalated, my greatest fear is of having my actions misunderstood and misinterpreted, then communicated to others.
I “personified” the demon, which appeared to me as a fragile glass/ice man. He was translucent, pale blue, and afraid to move — much like people whose bones break easily.
Asking the demon a series of questions, I discovered its need for protection and strength. He expressed a sense of separation from me.
I imagined myself “feeding” the demon, which came in the form of rosy energy coming from my heart. As I did so, he transformed into a handsome, vibrant young man with clear blue eyes and porcelain skin. I asked and confirmed that he was my ally.
Then I asked the ally a series of questions about how he would help and support me. He offered to alert me when something was wrong, but also to provide the strength of healthy “male” energy. He said that all I needed to do to access him was to look into his eyes.
Next, I sat in stillness for a few minutes to integrate the experience.

While I don’t know yet how this meditation will help me vis a vis my current dilemma, I did feel stronger and more grounded after the meditation ended. At any rate, I think this method can be profoundly effective.

Allione also notes how we can use journaling, artwork, and partners to facilitate the process. Feeding Your Demons provides not only detailed instructions to the method (much more than I’ve outlined here), but also a series of examples of how it works in peoples’ lives. If you’re looking for a useful technique for releasing stress and emotional pain, I highly recommend this book.

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

October 30, 2012 by admin

To my friends in the Northeast: I hope you all are safe and dry wherever you are. I know this storm is far from over, but we hope that you are through the worst of it.

***

If someone dies and no one knows about her life, does that mean she didn’t have one?

Lara’s having a tough time. Her business partner has run off to India, where she’s pursuing a romance. Her boyfriend has dumped her. She’s the poor relation to her Uncle Bill, founder of a major chain of coffee houses and creator of a well known motivational seminar series. Her parents feel sorry for her, and she spends most of her energy pretending that nothing is wrong.

When her great-aunt Sadie dies at 105, the last thing Lara wants to do is to attend the funeral of a woman she never knew. Imagine her shock, then, when the ghost of Aunt Sadie appears at the funeral as a young, petulant, demanding young woman whom only Lara can see.

In this rollicking, sometimes laugh-out-loud treasure of a book, Sophie Kinsella deftly reveals both Lara and Sadie, thrown together by chance, with neither of them happy about it. Sadie thinks Lara is boring, and Lara is upset because Sadie shows up at the worst times, leading friends, colleagues, and family to believe that Lara has gone off the deep end.

As we all face our own mortality, we may find ourselves questioning our own legacy. Who will know our stories? Will we, in fact, understand what stories we have left behind? Fall in love with Sadie as you ponder these questions. Walk side by side with Lara as she struggles with confidence. Perhaps, in the end, you’ll see your own life differently. It’s Hallowe’en week after all…why not read a fun ghost story?

Book Recommendation Tuesday is Back!

October 16, 2012 by admin

Hey, everyone! I’ve spent much of the summer with my nose in Vietnam-era fiction and memoir as research for the upcoming Blood & Loam. I’ve also read a lot of fiction and nonfiction set in the Pacific Northwest, as a way of acquainting myself with this area and its unique, rich culture. The net result is that I haven’t read a lot of books to recommend that fit in with this blog’s primary audience. In spite of all that, I have some books lined up that I can talk about, and I’m glad of it! I’ve missed these Tuesday blogs.

I’d like to take a moment to address anyone who might want me to review his or her book on this site. First, I’d love to consider each book that comes my way. As a working artist myself, I am soft-hearted toward other writers and artists. If you have a book for me to read, send me a query through the “Contact” section of this website. Here’s the deal, though: you must let me know how your book fits in with the subject matter of this blog. Don’t just tell me how much I’ll like it, tell me why. I’d also like a sample, maybe a chapter or two. If I like it, I will purchase it and read the rest. Bear with me, though. I have a big pile of books, so it may take me a while to get to yours — though I will try to not keep you waiting overlong.

The same thing goes for guest blogging. I get inquiries on occasion, and I’d love to host guest bloggers…but your content needs to be compatible with this blog. I promise to be flexible if you promise to show me that you did your homework and are acquainted with the subject matter that I focus on.

Now that the housekeeping is done, let’s get going with this week’s recommendation!

***

Marlene Dotterer’s Bridgebuilders, her follow-up to The Time Travel Journals: Shipbuilder, comes out on November 1! I loved Shipbuilder, and I’ve waited eagerly for the next installment in this series.

The good news is, you can read the first five chapters for free online! Start your journey here.

If you haven’t read Shipbuilder, it’s best to start there before moving on to Bridgebuilders. While Dotterer helps the reader “catch up” in the new book, and introduces a whole new set of characters, Shipbuilder helps set the tone and flavor of the series…plus, it’s a great story.

Shipbuilder creates an alternate universe around the sinking of the Titanic. Bridgebuilders takes us to the year 2080. With time travel as the basis, Dotterer can take us anywhere, or I guess I should say, anywhen. Both books are set in Belfast, though the Belfast of the future is profoundly affected by climate change.

Though I’ve read only the first five chapters of Bridgebuilders, it’s apparent that Dotterer, who takes her time with her stories to polish them with care, has created another winner. So far there’s plenty of romance and intrigue to keep the action going. Yes, there’s some technical sci-fi stuff going on, but Dotterer uses just enough to add believability to the story.

Marlene Dotterer is an author to watch! Enjoy these free chapters, and let’s support good writing by buying a copy on November 1!

Best Blogs Thursday and Then Some!

July 12, 2012 by admin

The lovely and talented M.H. Gerber has tagged me for a blog hop called The Next Big Thing. Thank you, M.H.! She’s been one busy lady, with three books out. I’m so impressed!

After I take care of my weekly Best Blogs business, I’ll answer some questions and point y’all in the direction of some authors to watch.

Some weeks it’s easier than others to find new blogs worthy of recommendation, but yesterday the indomitable Totsymae, one of my all-time favorite bloggers, tossed me a gift when she turned me on to The Good, The Bad, The Worse. Blogger Linda Medrano covers a variety of topics with intelligence and humor. She’s fun and interesting, the kind of person I would like to get to know better. I’ve been catching up on her posts with great delight. Check her out!

Now, back to The Next Big Thing. Here are my answers to M.H.’s questions:

1. What is the title of your book/WIP?

Currently, I am completing Blood and Loam, a Vietnam-era book about a young woman coming of age in a time of social and political upheaval.

I’m also drafting a series of essays and a new novel with the working title House on the Hill. I’m sure that will change several times, though!

2. Where did the idea for the book come from?

With Blood and Loam, I wanted to write about the confusion I felt growing up in the 60s and 70s. Women’s roles were changing, and I was getting a lot of mixed messages. I’d had some turbulent relationships in those days, so I wanted to explore the life of a young woman with little self-esteem. Originally it was set in 1980, but when I switched it to 1970, it opened all kinds of exciting doors! A lot of things happened that year that reverberate through our current political climate, so the setting has become its own character.

3. What genre would your book fall under?

Good question! I am calling it historical fiction because the Vietnam-era setting is essential to the story. The main characters are female. Just as in The Foreign Language of Friends, I write about women who don’t get along very well – in this case, a mother and daughter. For some reason I am fascinated by the friction that can exist in female relationships. So, I suspect that some people will call it “women’s fiction,” but I don’t think it really qualifies.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Stella: Lindsey Lohan. Yes, you read that right. I’m rooting for her to make a comeback. She needs to stop messing with her face, though.

Ruth (Stella’s mother): Sarah Jessica Parker. I need someone petite and blue-eyed. She needs to die her hair black, though.

Adrian: Colin Farrell or Johnny Depp. I need someone who can come across as dangerous and sexy at the same time.

Luke: John Goodman. Well, John may be a little old for the role these days, but I need a big, beefy, blue-collar type of guy.

Grandma Hannah: Dianne Wiest.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

When the violence at Kent State erupts, new graduate Stella Kellar returns to her small, Midwestern hometown to escape the turmoil, only to find that some wars are personal.

6. Is your book published or represented?

No.

7. How long did it take you to write?

Years. Seriously. I first drafted the novel more than 20 years ago, but made the mistake of getting it critiqued too soon and ended up tossing the whole thing in the trash. It was originally a horror novel, but I didn’t want to end up being stuck writing horror — that’s not what I do. In 2010, I used NaNoWriMo to rewrite it in its current form. It’s now been through two developmental edits, and I think one more will do it.

It’s a hard book to write, but I think I have the right story now. I had to be older, wiser, and a better writer to do what needs to be done. There are big themes and some events in the book that are so controversial, I was told by one expert, that no major publishing house would touch it. I’m uncomfortable with it, but it’s the story that wants to be told, so I’m sticking with it.

8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to?

Good question. I’m reading some other Vietnam-era fiction now to see what other people have done. Right now I have no idea.

9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?

None and all. This book has no real roadmap – it’s unlike anything else I’ve read. That’s one reason it’s been so hard to write.

10. Tell us anything else that might pique our interest in your book.

It’s sexy and violent, with multiple taboo topics!

Some writers to watch whom I have tagged:

Juliet Greenwood: Check out her elegant, lovely Eden’s Garden.

Ute Carbone: The author of a fine novel, Blueberry Truth, Carbone has some new work out that I’m excited about reading.

Karen Wyle: Author of a powerful, character-driven sci-fi novel called Twin Bred. I recently had the privilege of being a beta reader for one of Karen’s WIPs, currently called Reflections, and she’s working on other stuff as well.

Have a great weekend, y’all! I’ll be busy the next several days at the Port Townsend Writers’ Conference. I’m sure I’ll have lots of news to report next week!