The Tricky Business of Recommending Books

Hey all! It's been a while since the last post. I'm currently in California, visiting family for the holiday, and a thought came to mind as both my sister-in-law and I AND my sister and I had conversations about books. The question I'm pondering is this: Do you recommend books to friends and family?

Here's where I'm coming from. I myself recommend books with high-flying praises, usually. I find joy in things even if they weren't "my kind" of book. Even books I haven't liked at all *coughcoughThePoisonwoodBiblecoughcough* will get a recommendation from me because they are thought-provoking and enough people around me liked it to not trust my judgement completely.

The issue I find is this- occasionally, I've recommended a book (or a series) and either offended the reader or embarassed them. Has this ever happened to you?

Furthermore, doesn't what you read kind of say a lot about you? I've always thought the phrase "You are what you eat" was wrong- it's "You are what you read". Assuming this is at least a little bit true, what does it mean when I recommend a book and then a friend doesn't like it? In extreme cases it's hurtful, but at best it can be mildly embarassing, right?

So I pose all of these questions to you- Do you recommend books to just anyone, or are you selective? Do you recommend everything you like, or do you keep a few favorites locked away, afraid that someone will dislike it and change your opinion of the book? Am I ridiculous? Have you recommended something with an amusing or interesting result?

Also, a thought to end on- I refused to read Harry Potter until a good friend told me to shut up, stop being a snob, and read it already. I owe her a huge debt! Thanks to everyone that's recommended things to me! What was the best book someone ever recommended to you?

Happy Reading!

A tribute to the man!

Yes, I'm up at 7:30 am on Friday the 19th of November, 2010. I waited at the theater for *six* hours with my good friends before the 12:01 premier and got home around 3. To steal my friend's phrase, I'm a Harry Potter zombie.

Kirsten with 4.5 hours of sleep is no better than Kirsten with 4 hours of sleep, so I'm trying to get my mind functioning before I head off to work... and I'm going to use this time to call an all out, unadulterated, lovefest for the man himself- Harry Potter.

Harry Potter, you might say, who is that? *shun*. Go away. Never return.

Now, for everyone left, let's do this properly.

Which is your favorite book? Why?
Who is your favorite (non-Harry) character? Why?
Which house would you SERIOUSLY be in? (none of that duh, Gryffindor, because I chose it nonsense. I'd probably be a Ravenclaw- just own it!)
What is your favorite Harry moment?
HOW MUCH DID THAT MOVIE ROCK?!?!?

To answer my own questions, and hopefully start some debate...
My favorite book is, unequivocally, The Prisoner of Azkaban. Then Philosopher's/ Sorcerer's Stone. Personally, I think I relate to the high Harry gets from playing Quidditch, which is best depicted in these two- plus, they're where he has his happiest moments.

My favorite character is, easily, Molly Weasley. I am literally going to wet myself with anticipation for her upcoming duel. Plus, she gave birth to Fred and George, and I couldn't choose between the two. Neville rocks my socks and makes me cry, though... why did I pose this stupid question?

I'd be a Ravenclaw, like I said. Maybe even Hufflepuff. I'd love to have been in Gryffindor, and maybe my ego would have gotten me there, but honestly, it's more likely I'd be curled up in an armchair by Rowena's fire.

My favorite Harry moment is probably when he learns to fly- it's pure, sweet, childish glee. What's not to love?

Um, a lot! It rocked hardcore! I had a few eh moments- it was 2am after all, and we're driving down to California tonight and tomorrow- but seriously, they took most of the book at it's word, which is all I could ask for and more!

So now, it's your turn. Ask your own questions, tell your thoughts, hit me with something more unique than what I just came up with. Have fun and celebrate- one more countdown, and then we'll have made it!

Happy Reading!

Your Opinion, Just for Fun

So, some of you may be aware of NaNoWriMo, and some of you may not be. I'll explain quickly and then tell you where I'm going with this, since I'm sure you're dying to know.
NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it's in November. The basic idea is that a bunch of nutters (yes, including me) that love to write spend the entire month of November writing novels- and trying to reach the word goal of 50,000 words. This is unedited (you just write and write and write) and self-inflicted and, actually, quite fun. I'm in my fourth year and, sadly, I have yet to finish- November's a crazy month for me!
So, I'm currently at Panera Bread, attending a write-in. As if we're not a nerdy enough bunch, there are write-ins where you motivate yourself by meeting other NaNoers, (or are we WriMos?) writing a bunch, and trying to bring up your word count. This always fails spectacularly for me- I usually end up with my close friend and best NaNo bud Tammy, talking about what genres we think other people are writing, and making fun of our own stories. It's dismal, actually.I have a wonderful time but, for the sake of word production, I should just write at work during naptime.
So here's where you come in! I'm curious- have YOU ever thought of writing a novel? If so, what would it be about? What do you think makes a good book? What makes you WANT to read something?
Now, I'm not asking so I can steal your ideas- I just want to hear what other people have to say!
Thanks everyone- Happy Reading!

Time for a Confession

Okay, so it's time. Confession number 1.

I once got into a car accident... because I was reading while I was driving.

It's true, I admit it. To defend myself, though, it's not like I was on the freeway or anything. I was in crazy traffic and had been for a while. I was on my way to work and I knew that I wasn't going to be able to read for a while once I got there. I was reading Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility and I had just found out that Willoughby (gasp!) was a sleaze! Much like Marianne, I wanted to know every. single. detail. And I happened to be driving. Or, worse, not driving while I should be driving. Or reading. I've only driven while reading really really really terribly once- after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out at midnight. I freely admit that I held that thing up against the steering wheel while I was on the freeway, but that was only once.

To further defend myself, I should also make it clear that I grew up in Los Angeles. This means, inherently, that this was not even close to the stupidest thing I've ever done while driving. What? You haven't made a left out of a right turn only, gone over a double yellow line and a concrete median, then made a U-turn over the same double yellow line and concrete median while you were driving without a license or registration, just to find out that this terrible idea had literally driven you in a circle around A BIKE COP?!? You've never done that? Well, you're lucky.

I'm a much, much better driver than I was then. The illegal circle of craziness was in college... though the accident was only a few years ago... but I'm much better, I promise!

So, for the brave ones, it's your turn. Have you done anything stupid while reading? Or was reading the stupid thing? (As if.)

That's it for now- Happy Reading!

The Mission Statement

It's almost a new year, so it's time for a new blog. Right?

As some of you know, I had a blog (kirstendana.blogspot.com) called Taking the Powell's Challenge. In short, I was trying to read EVERY book that Powell's staffers recommended from 2009- 155 books, if I'm not mistaken. To no one's surprise, I didn't finish, though I will say that I think I made a pretty good go of it for a while.

Here's what happened and what I realized. For those of you who don't know me, I hope this will serve as an introduction.

I stopped going through the list when my father-in-law passed away. Not because it was so traumatic (although it was, obviously), but simply because everything was out of whack for a while. A long while, honestly. Besides the legal ramifications of a death in the family (blech) there was also travel, family, and grieving- and all of these things took precedence, obviously. By the time life started to be normal again (for lack of a better word) I was knee deep in a leadership position for the Compassion Tigard clinic (compassionconnect.org) and that took me all the way through the end of October. It was an amazing experience that left me drained, to say the least.

And now here we are, early in November. I'm attempting to write a novel for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month- nanowrimo.org) while planning our trip to LA for Thanksgiving and still finishing our Christmas shopping before we get there (which will make December a piece of cake). We're also looking for a house, just to top it all off.

And you know what I realized? This may be obvious to everyone, but here it is:

Life will never slow down.

Obviously it will be slower sometimes, but it will never be slow, or relaxing, or paused. It will always be chaotic, things will always come up, and life will never stop happening.

And you know what else? I forgot how much I love to write. And read, for that matter. So what am I going to do? I'm starting a new blog. This one, ideally, will give me more freedom to write whatever I'm thinking- whether it's a confession (there will be many of those, I promise- I'm hoping some people will fly their freak flags with me) or a book review, or just a mental meandering...

So will you join me? We'll have some fun. :)

Happy Reading!