The Color Purple… aka Slit My Wrist Blood Red
Title:The Color Purple
Author: Alice Walker
Publisher: Harcourt Books
Length: 288 pages, of which I only read about 75
It is quite possible that if I were to finish this book in it’s entirety without skimming, I might feel like slitting my wrist by the time I made it to the end. So though I only made it 75 pages in, I’m finished reading The Color Purple. I’m weak, or whatever, I can’t handle it.
Regardless of the fact that it is by far one of the most depressing topics out there, I cannot stand reading the dialect. And I’m from the South. Is this how Brits feel when they read Cockney?
I mean, I get it, they spoke that way then. And some people still do. Whatever. But I can’t handle 288 pages of it, on top of all the incest and baby drama.
So while Celie is praying for God to save her from this horrible life, I’m praying for that saving to involve some kind of literacy that will iron out all the times she says “ast” instead of “ask” and turn all the “dats” into “thats.”
God forbid I say this, being that I am a huge fan of reading and I’ve yet to see either of my examples in production – but maybe some stories are better absorbed via a Broadway musical than in a book. (Hearing dialect and reading dialect are very different things to me.) Some things like: The Color Purple and Wicked, for example.
So, since I can’t stomach the book, I’m going to break a rule of mine and attempt the movie or musical soon. I think a story can be important and still not feel the need to suffer through it in certain formats.
What about you guys? Anyone read or seen The Color Purple? Share your thoughts.
Maybe if I can survive the movie, I’ll try again.
Time for another Road Trip … lookout!
Can’t wait to see Melinda this weekend. Thankful for all the kudos and props.
From time to time, I venture out from behind the Pine Curtain.
This weekend I will be making a mini-book signing tour around the Humble, Texas, area.
Many, profuse thanks to Andi Klemm (who is fabulous) for putting everything together. She is amazing.
Where and When:
Friday, 7/26, at 6 pm – Good Books in the Woods
I’ll be giving a brief presentation about quilting and anthologies, but mainly just visiting and meeting new people 🙂 (my favorite!).
Also – very cool – during my visit there, the bookstore will be hosting a Twitter contest for original artwork created by Aoristos – Mother and Child. You can find out more about the Twitter Party here.
Saturday, 7/27 1:00 PM – Half Price Books, Humble, TX. I love it here. If I lived closer, this would be MY bookstore. Signing copies of Rich Fabric and giving away a…
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21 Pictures That Will Restore Your Faith In Humanity
I usually don’t post non-book or event related stuff, but this is a really good one that I think is worth all my readers’ time.
Interview with Science Fiction Author George Wright Padgett
George Wright Padgett is the author of the science fiction title Spindown 
1. Describe your book and its inception. What was your muse, so to speak?
I tend to question things about the world and our place in it. When I started writing Spindown I wanted to explore the age-old topic of nature vs. nurture – Are we born who we are to become, or are we only the byproducts of our experiences? And what does it mean to be free? Believe it or not, I leaned heavily on Golding’s The Lord of the Flies as a study of characters reacting individually and as a tribe with and against each other. I freely admit that the Draad flashlight is a version of the conch shell of authority that is found on the island in his book.
My writing style is that I tend to reverse engineer my stories. I start with the question and then work my way backwards filling in the holes until there’s a logic for why things are as they are.
For example, I decided to start with characters that were blank canvases that I could expose to extreme situations and watch how they reacted to each other and solve problems.
For it to work I had to answer to myself why would these people would not have any emotional experiences and yet be full grown adults? The solution was make them have lives that were severely isolated – keeping them from each other as much as possible and when they were forced to interact with each other they would be drugged into a stupor.
Then the question arises how or who would do this – So by reverse engineering I realized that it must be an ore corporation behind it and to save money from sending people to Jupiter to mine, they use harvested clones to do the labor. That’s just one example of how as I would walk through one door and answer a question, there’d be another waiting behind it. When all of the doors were opened (save the final one) the story was over.
2. Your book has ‘classic science fiction’ all over it. What authors do you read and do you consider them heavy influences on your writing?
I’ve read a tremendous amount from the classic authors Asimov, Clarke, etc. (as a matter of fact, I recently finished Foundation again).
One thing that I’ve always appreciated about those writers is the level of authenticity in their stories. I spent many months building and rebuilding on paper the vast mining compound on Ganymede before I wrote a single word. It required a stupid amount of discipline to resist the urge to dive right in, but my deferred gratification paid off. When it came time to write the story, all that I had to do was to ‘activate’ the characters to run and follow them as if I were an imbedded reporter.
I didn’t set out to write a modern story in the classic sci-fi style; in fact I am humbled to have Spindown even compared to those great works. All that I can attest the results to be my exposure to their styles must have seeped through into my story. I feel like the character in The Amazing Colossal Man who accidentally wanders into a plutonium blast in the desert. The radiation transforms him due to his exposure to it, not through anything that he did. I was exposed to the radiation of many great storytellers.
3. Just like when I read, when I write I find myself enjoying some characters more than others – regardless of their role in the story. Did you have a favorite in Spindown? Who was it? Why?
Wow. It’s too difficult for me to pick just one – so I won’t. (I’ll do my best to avoid spoilers for the uninitiated.) I enjoyed watching Prall 4167 develop throughout the piece. Here’s a guy that is used to being in control, and is faced with his entire world being turned inside out. Readers undoubtedly cast him as a villain, but when you clinically review what he does and why he does things, he sort of makes sense. He’s the most practical one of the escaped clones and never displays a shred of self-doubt. Don’t misunderstand, what he does/allows is reprehensible to say the least, but he doesn’t see himself that way- he is only about one thing: Survival of Prall 4167. Can you blame him? His Machiavellian approach to situations intrigued me to the point that when it was time to assign the characters their suffix numbers, I gave him 4167 (my birthdate of 4/1/67).
Another part that was fun to write was the interactions between Martin and Buck. By the time we meet up with them again, they have been companions for a very long time. They remind me of an old married couple; they bicker with each other, but there’s no mistaking the love that has developed between them over the years.
Ah… then there’s Fowler and Sholve. I enjoyed how Fowler usually has his plans backfire on him or not go exactly how he thought things would work out. Often Sholve has to bail him out in some way. In all, they end up making a good team, with her problem-solving skills and his physical strength. One of my favorite exchanges between them is when they have opposing views on if they should ‘contaminate’ the Setter character with the knowledge of what is actually happening to clones on Marius 516. They come at the situation with polar opposite philosophies, forcing the reader to pick a side- Do we let him go on, and live blindly? Or do we confront him with the truth allowing him to decide for himself what to do?
George and Grey Gecko Press at Half Price Books Humble
4. Did you learn anything from writing your book? What was it?
My inability to spell and use proper grammar is far worse than I could have ever imagined (even with spellcheck)
5. Exactly how much research was needed to pull off this level of scientific expertise? What was that process like?
As I mentioned before, I probably spent way too much time on this. I found that my compulsiveness seems to require a ridiculous amount of backstory and detail for whatever I’m working on. An example of this is how an early draft of Spindown had the clones speak a hyper-restrictive tongue called Chone. I developed the entire language removing any ‘hot words’ from their vocabulary. The result would have made Orwell’s writers of NewSpeak blush it was so limiting. It took a month of refining over and over. It was beautiful- and every bit of it ended up on the ‘cutting room floor’. While readers likely will notice the absence of the personal pronoun of ‘us/we’ from the first half of the book, that is the only thing that remained! It became too cumbersome for the clones to speak – a month totally wasted! I also know more about Ganymede than any non-Nasa personnel is allowed.
My habit is to completely immerse myself in the research and the world building of the story. This is fine, but a good writer has to edit out the artifacts that do not advance the story – sorry, Chone language.
Click to visit Grey Gecko Press
6.How did you come across Grey Gecko Press? How has that relationship been for you?
I encountered the owner, Jason Aydelotte at a social gathering of other Houston area writers. He’s the author of the acclaimed Dying of the Light Zombie series. He had just self-published his first novel in the trilogy and his enthusiasm about publishing was contagious. He told the people at the table that he was considering helping others learn how to do what he had done for their stories. Over time, his help and advice transformed into GGP. He left his day job to start Grey Gecko Press for authors who wanted to ‘storm the castle’ of traditional publishing with him. I was fortunate (and maybe crazy enough) to be counted among them. That was ten-thousand books ago. Since then, everyone there has been remarkable. Without Grey Gecko, there would be no Spindown because I likely would not have finished it. Jason’s team was the mid-wife to my book.
7. If Spindown were to be made into a movie, who would you want to tackle it? (JJ Abrams? Joss Whedon? Steven Moffat? Some unknown?)
Sid and Marty Krofft (Google it, kids).
Seriously, I am flattered that so many readers have said that they’d like to see Spindown on the big screen. I love movies, especially sci-fi, and my writing has been influenced by dozens of classic flicks, but at the end of the day, I’m just a storyteller, not a movie producer. It’s fun to think of, but what do I know about any of that? I’d welcome it if someone felt they bring something to the story, but I’ll leave it to the experts.
8. Other than writing, what are your hobbies and talents?
I play jazz piano (under a different stage name), I do graphic design, and am neck-deep in writing the songs and script for a full-length musical.
9. Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what were some of the musical influences you had while writing Spindown?
Music is a very important part of my life, so much a part of it that songs/genres that I listen to when not writing easily distract me when I’m ‘working’. I do this kind of Pavlovian conditioning thing in which there are some classical and ambient selections that I ONLY listen to when writing. It helps to trigger my brain into knowing that ‘It’s time to write’ when this music is played:
Philip Glass – Symphony No. 9, Low Symphony, Heroes Symphony
The soundtrack to ‘Monster’s Ball’
Brian Eno – Music for Airports
Anything from the band Pauseland
and a minimalist band from Austin called ‘Stars of the Lid’
Listen to Philip Glass/No.9 and read any of the chase scenes from Spindown. You’ll find that they match up perfectly.
10. If there was just one thing you would want your readers/ fans to know about you, what would it be?
I’m a big dork. Really I am (my wife and kids will attest to the fact). I don’t allow myself to take my self too seriously, and I will do anything for a laugh (anything). I still feel and view myself as the 4th grader version of myself. Sure, I get to drive a car, I can order wine in a restaurant, and do ‘big people’ stuff like that, but after you pull back all the layers, I am still just as silly, needy, and unreservedly amazed with the universe as I was way back then. And for better or worse, if I haven’t grown up by now, I think that I’m probably stuck this way – and I’m okay with that.
Click to Visit George’s Facebook Page
The Booktacular Book Club – July 2013
A really awesome twelve year old and her mother came to me and asked if they could start a book club at Half Price Books Humble. Of course! Customer led clubs are definitely welcome, especially from the next generation of readers. Having a twelve year WANT to be in charge of a book club is, in my opinion, one of the coolest things ever.
So, with a little bit of guidance, the girls laid out a plan. Each month they will select a series. Book one of the series will definitely be discussed and each member can read the rest of the series if they are interested or choose to only read the one title. This gives everyone a lot of leeway to discover new things.
Our roster so far:
July’s Discussion = The Cry of the Icemark/ The Icemark Chronicles by Stuart Hill
August’s Discussion = Over See, Under Stone/ The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper
September’s Discussion = The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe/ The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Of course, I’m reading as much as I can with these girls as though I were a full-fledged member of the club… and along with that, providing my reviews of both the book and our discussions.
Title: The Cry of the Icemark
Author: Stuart Hill
Publisher: The Chicken House
Genre: Fantasy/ Adventure
Length: 472 pages
For me, this book had a lot of promise, a great story, and not quite as much follow through in the delivery. It’s good, I would recommend it to 12-15 year old girls who love fantasy, but I kept falling asleep.
I honestly believe it is something I would have devoured in the back seat of my parents’ van on vacation had I gotten a hold of it at age 12, I would have craved more and collected the series. But my 29 year old mommy-self felt disconnected from the story and, frankly, was made tired by it. Where Susanne Collins reminded me of my younger girlish desires and dreams, and plopped me right down in the middle of a fantasy I could get lost in, with The Hunger Games – Stuart Hill and I kept playing an awkward dance of “This is awesome and now I shall remind you that you aren’t Thirrin, you’re just reading…” Mostly, I think in the internal dialogue. The characters would start telling me what they were thinking too often and it threw me off. A healthy reminder not to do that in my own writing, because I think it is something I might be guilty of. I would rather decipher a character on my own, thanks. Remembering my 12 year old brain, however, I wonder if this would have bothered me then… would I even have noticed it?
I hoped to include the girls’ reaction to this book before I posted it. But alas, on the third Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm, I was sitting at the table all alone. I wonder if they lost interest in the club they just started, or if some miscommunication in days occurred. We shall see next month. Either way, I AM glad I took time out of my life to read this, even if it wasn’t my favorite.
Spindown
Title: Spindown
Author: George Wright Padgett
Publisher: Grey Gecko Press
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 372 pages
There are books you read and love but cringe when someone suggests they make it a movie. What if they screw with the magic? What if they ruin it? But there are some books that as you read, before you even finish the book, just BEG you to become a movie one day. That’s Spindown.
Visually striking, the novel drops you right into the action from the first page, dripping with images of a future on the largest moon of Jupiter where clones are created to function their entire existence as slaves on a mining outpost. The writing style reminds me of Robert A. Heinlein (author of The Moon is a Harsh Mistress) and Gershom Reese Wetzel (author of Teres, which is unfortunately not available for the public yet); and the story reminds me of some of the more futuristic sides of Doctor Who (episodes like The Rebel Flesh, and such).
Always a sucker for dystopian societies, I love the premise and the journey these characters have from mindless machine-like worker bees to passionate beings with more than a vague idea of what is means to be “dormant dead” and no Hemlo to suppress emotions.
I had the pleasure of meeting George Wright Padgett at Comicpalooza this year. His publisher, Grey Gecko Press, had a booth there. In all the hoopla la and excitement, he had a personality that stood out in a crowd and after gathering some information on his book, I was able to set up signings with him at Half Price Books.
The signing at the Humble location was a blast. Grey Gecko Press brought a banner to put up in the store which looked pretty stellar, the book trailer was running on a flat screen in the background, and we had cupcakes from The Martin Epicurean. Pulling off fun events in a bookstore has just as much to do with planning and organization as personality and conversation with the author themselves. Padgett is quite entertaining and could be an event in himself with or without the book!
Here is a little anecdote he shared on facebook from Comicpalooza:
So this past weekend at the convention, I was approached by a guy who said his name was Tom Padgett and that his son’s name was Tommy Padgett. He told me that he saw the banner (pictured) that bore his last name, and was thrilled to see another ‘Padgett’ as the author. I don’t know if he (or Tommy) even cares for the sci-fi genre, but he bought a book simply on the sir name.So here’s my strategy for my next three projects: Each novel will be released under a different pseudonym in hopes of securing higher sales from the consumers that buy books based on their own last names. Be sure to tell your friends, family, and co-workers to be on the lookout for new books from ‘George Smith’, ‘George Davis’, and ‘George Johnson’. We’re gonna sell millions now that we’ve got this figured out!
When I’m Not Reading – Riders of the North
Riders of the North is a Social Bike Ride in the northern suburbs of Houston in an attempt to get a Critical Mass going. Our first run was last night (Thursday) from 7:45 pm until… well… much later.
We had our first ride last night and at any given point in time had between 15-20 people. Not bad for a first run. We met in Old Town Spring and traveled to The Woodlands, hung out in Market Square at Bar Louis, and headed back to OTS again. Depending on where you were coming from, whether you rode your bike or drove your car to OTS, the ride was between 20-25 miles. My legs feel AWESOME, aka this is one of the best work outs ever.
We’re going to be doing this weekly until we get enough people interested in doing a formal Critical Mass at the end of every month. We’d love to have more riders join us, just hit up our facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/610444132308669/
We stopped to eat at Bar Louies where I downed a Chicken Caesar Salad, a crap ton of water, and Angry Orchard Beer. That beer was phenomenal and extremely refreshing after cranking out ten miles on my bike.
So while I’m not reading, come join me for a bike ride. Even in the Texas heat, after dark with the wind in your face, the world feels great. There are some great peeps on the ride and despite a few kinks along the way (people riding at WAY different speeds, two flat tires, and a spill), I think we all had a blast. I certainly did.
If you know of any great bike books, leave me a comment. I’ll read them.
Happy Fourth of July
The Half Price Books Humble book club read John Adams by David McCullough this month. We discussed it together Monday night, even though I had only read the first 400 pages. The best thing about holidays, for me, though is their ability to mandate what gets read off the TBR pile next. So this week, as I researched for book club, lounged with family, watched fireworks, and read to the kiddo… this is what freedom looked like:
Title: John Adams
Author: David McCullough
Genre: History
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Length: 751 pages
1001 and one things to discuss about this book, and we mostly got caught up in the assessment of the character of John Adams. Was he an ambitious man willing to run off from the family and farm at a moments notice to pursue more exciting ventures of fame? Or, was he a great man of virtue who was gifted with the sight of the big picture, willing to sacrifice personal happiness for the greater good of the establishment of our country? Before reading the book, considering my skepticism regarding ALL politicians, I probably would have said the former. But McCullough has me convinced it was the latter that held true.
Of course, I am biased, mostly by the sheer fact that Adams was a great reader. Nothing romanticizes a person more to me than their love for a good book, for the art of research, and for a passion for knowledge and action. Several times throughout the biography, Adams is quoted saying such excellent things as,
“I must judge for myself, but how can any man judge, unless his mind has been opened by reading.”
Where others in the group found him willing to cast aside his wife and children for politics, I found him endearing. He wrote to his wife avidly. He and Abigail would often refer to each other as ‘dearest friend,’ and their relationship seemed to be what kept him grounded and successful. In addition to that, it also seemed that any chance he had to take his children with him, he did. Off sailing across the pond to Europe, the boys equipped with an educated father and a personal tutor, they got first hand experience seeing how nations make peace and build relationships. Sure, Adams renounced his son Charles later in life and that relationship was never rebuilt before Charles’ death, but in my opinion Charles did not deserve anymore second chances. Charles, the favorite as a child, turned out to be the bad seed in the bunch – possibly spoiled by being the favorite to so many – as he turned to alcoholism and abandoned his family. It was John and Abigail who raised his children and looked after his wife, leaving their own son to his own devices as they tried to do right by all his mistakes.
John Adams was quite the fascinating man, one I have, until now, always overlooked in history. Having shared a birthday with George Washington my whole life, he always got my ‘favorite’ vote as a child. As an adult, the Alexander Hamilton vs. Aaoron Burr phenomena fascinated me – mostly driven by that infamous ‘Got Milk’ ad as well as Joseph Ellis’ riveting storytelling in Founding Brothers
With all this important political talk, I found it necessary to re-read the Declaration. With toddler in tow for nearly all my reading ventures, it’s important to find kid friendly things to read alongside all my own reading. That’s where Sam Fink comes in handy…
Title: The Declaration of Independence
Illustrated & Inscribed: Sam Fink
Publisher: Scholastic Nonfiction
Length: 160 pages (but only takes about 15 minutes to read aloud)
I absolutely adore this copy of the Declaration of Independence. As a homeschool mom, I love creating my own curriculum and finding unique ways to share information with my kid. Kiddos everywhere, whether homeschooled or public schooled, should find this a fun way to absorb the meaning behind the declaration and be introduced to the ideas of why it was so important for it to be made and signed.
With large print, clear illustrations, and political cartoons to accompany nearly every sentence – if not sentence fragment – Fink helps walk a kid (and even some adults) through every nuance of our founding fathers’ meaning and intention. If read often enough, you may find you have a kid who has memorized the declaration long before they are ever asked to do so for school purposes. This is just a good old fashioned fun picture book that just so happens to also be an important document to our country’s history. Sam Fink is pretty awesome and I am so glad he tackled this project.
In addition to all that,
Title: George III
Author: Christopher Hibbert
I’ve been plucking through a biography of King George III for awhile now. It’s been loitering on my TBR pile and periodically I get the bug to read a chapter or two.
I am no where near finished reading this book, Hibbert is very detailed but also very dry as a biographer, but I find it a handy reference and do look forward to the times that I decide to sit down with it.
I like having large sweeping views of history as well as the tiny details. Reading through John Adams and peeking here and there at George III this week, I was grateful to have already tackled Napoleon’s Wars recently. It helped me keep straight in my mind what was happening with the French while a few of the Adamses friends were busy getting beheaded. Another handy tool for both children and adults while reading through history is The Time Chart of History of the World
If I Were a Frog… or a puppy…
A Weekly Low Down on Kids Books
Title: If I Were a Frog
Author: Duncan Jones
If I Were a Frog is cute and clever. A detailed journey of constantly trying to see the world as another animal who is wishing to be another animal, Jones teaches children the concept that the grass may seem greener on the other side but only because you’re seeing it from far away – up close it’s still just grass.
The kids at the Half Price Books Humble story time really enjoyed this one. They caught on really quickly that the animal in the background was soon to be the featured subject and they couldn’t wait to find out about the the Lion King and the Bear.
I’m proud to have this as a part of my child’s library. She already picks it up from the stack and asks to have it read. We cheated and have been reading it every day this week before story time, even though the author specifically sent it for us to read AT story time… it was too good to resist.
Title: Tell Me How You Say Goodnight
Author: Teddy O’Malley
Photographer: Angie Dickens
This was another we received from the author this last week to read at Half Price Books Humble story time. The kids could not stop gushing about puppies and how cute they were. Obviously, using puppies to get a kid to go to sleep while teaching them how to say goodnight in languages around the world was a good call!
Kids love practicing saying new words and phrases just as much as they love playing with tiny puppies and snuggling things that are soft. What a cool way to document the lives of a litter of puppies! Have them be household names and teachers to children around the world.
I find it is the simplest books that are the most appealing to kids. My kiddo sees me flipping through ‘the puppy book’ and immediately dictates: Read it again, read it again!
Anakalian Whims 