Happy Birthday To:

Hugh Lofting

January 14, 1886

"That's what you ought to do. Be an animal–doctor. Give the silly people up—if they haven't brains enough to see you're the best doctor in the world."

-from The Story of Doctor Dolittle

Happy Birthday To:

Truman Capote

September 30, 1924

“Be anything but a coward, a pretender, an emotional crook, a whore: I'd rather have cancer than a dishonest heart.” - from Breakfast at Tiffany's 

Books That Made Me...

If you have been on Facebook recently,  you have probably seen the "10 Books That Have Stayed With You" meme.  Participants have listed 10 books that continue to impact them and then challenge friends to do the same.  Author Roxane Gay took it one step further with this post entitled "The Books That Made Me Who I Am".  In it she states:  "I could not limit a list of important books to a number or a neatly organized list. The list, whatever it might look like, would always be changing because I too am always changing. I am not influenced by books. Instead, I am shaped by them. I am made of flesh and bone and blood. I am also made of books." 

It got me to thinking about, not my "favorite" books, not books that have "stayed with me", but the books that have transformed me as a person and that influenced me in different ways throughout my life.

My inquisitiveness must stem from my early love of mystery novels.  My mind goes back to the moments spent curled up on the couch as my mom read me the Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators Series.  I was caught up in the mystery and the knowledge that you could solve the problem if you were observant.  As I grew, this was only encouraged by the Sherlock Holmes stories.

My love of the magic and beauty of childhood and home certainly comes from classics like The Wind in the Willows, Winnie the Pooh, and Paddington Bear.  Even now, reading them brings me a sense of peace, safety, and a love of the simple and funny moments in life.  As I grew, I learned that comfort and safety isn't guaranteed.  But reading The Chronicles of Narnia gave me courage and helped me realize that though God may not always seem close, He is there and has equipped me to face every battle.

My idea of friendship was influenced by Little Women and the Anne of Green Gables series.  I always envisioned me and my sisters as being an extension of the March family.  We were very close as children and often found our amusement, our encouragement, and our strength within our family circle.  And Anne Shirley taught me that it isn't age, gender, class, or proximity that determines if someone can be your friend.  It is choosing to see beyond what is visible in people and embracing the spirit within them.

The hopeless romantic in me is fed by the likes of the Jane Austen novels, North and South, Rebecca, and classic fairy tales.  I'm a sucker for a romance, and my idea of the perfect man has (for better or worse) certainly been shaped by these stories.

My self-worth, as a person and as a woman, has been influenced by various female characters.  Elnora Comstock from A Girl of the Limberlost taught me that self education can take you as far as any structured classroom.  Marian Halcomb from The Woman in White taught me that strength, love, and intelligence are more important than traditional beauty.  Laura Ingalls from the Little House series taught me to embrace an adventurous spirit and to not let others' ideas of who you should be keep you from living the life you want.

The one book that has had the most influence on me from the very first time I read it was Jane Eyre.  As I have grown and matured, it has become what I needed in each stage of life.  As a teenager, I reveled in the romance between Jane and Rochester.  Now, as an adult, I see in Jane not only the person I am, but also who I want to become.  A passionate person enclosed in a quiet frame.  Someone who feels that she must do the right thing, no matter how much she wishes not to.  Someone who cares about herself and reputation, yet doesn't allow the opinions of others to dictate her life.  Someone who is comfortable in solitude, and yet desires true companionship.  No matter how the rest of my life turns out, I can't help but feel that this book will always be one of my touchstones.

What about you?  What books have shaped your life and the person you have become?  Share with us!           

Bookish News

There's lots going on in the book world.  Here are a few of the recent stories that have caught my eye...

• Around the world, but especially here in the US, we are mourning the loss of one of our society's most well loved poets, Maya Angelou.  Author of 7 autobiographies (including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings) and multiple collections of essays and poems, she was also a civil rights leader, a journalist, and a professor.  Tributes continue to pour in and her loss will be felt by many.  “No sun outlasts its sunset but will rise again and bring the dawn.”
•  Actor LeVar Burton has started a Kickstarter campaign to bring his long-running children's show Reading Rainbow back for a new generation.  The idea is to put Reading Rainbow on the web and make it free and accessible to children and classrooms all over.  As someone who grew up watching this show and learning so much from it, I am so excited to see it being brought back.  Visit his campaign page to contribute.
• Though it has been finished since 1926, J. R. R. Tolkien's translation of Beowulf is only now available for readers.  Unlike other translations, it is in prose form.  Let the comparisons to Heaney's translation begin!
• UK Education Secretary Michael Gove recently announced his decision to remove American classics like Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird from the list of required reading for British students.  Mr. Gove contends that there should be more emphasis on British classics saying "I want pupils to grow up able to empathise with Jane Eyre as well as Lennie, to admire Elizabeth Bennet as much as Scout Finch."  My first thought is that some people are taking the criticism too far.  This is hardly a "ban" on American books.  However, I do feel that dividing literature into nationalistic categories may not be the best idea.  Great literature doesn't speak just to a specific nation, time, or society, but rather to the human condition as a whole.  I'd be interested to hear what British readers think of this.

Got any thoughts on the above stories?  Have any other bookish news stories?  Share in the comments!

Happy Birthday To:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

May 22, 1859

“The love of books is among the choicest gifts of the gods.”

Literary Moments in Scotland

I'm recently back home after a two week adventure in Scotland.  My grandfather and I had an amazing time traveling all over the country from Edinburgh and Inverness to the Isle of Skye and Oban.  Though the trip mainly revolved around history, whisky, and jaw-dropping scenery we still had a few literary related moments on the trip.  Here is a glimpse at some of them:

Deacon Brodie's Tavern, Edinburgh

Located on the Royal Mile between Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace, this tavern is named for William Brodie, a cabinet maker in Edinburgh in the 18th century.  By day, he was a respected and prominent citizen.  By night, he was a thief, gambler, and womanizer.  This double existence was the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's classic story The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

"Tam O'Shanter" Chair at Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh

Visiting Holyrood Palace was special enough for this history buff.  I literally had to take a moment to collect myself after climbing the stairs from Darnley's chamber to Mary's and standing in the room where Rizzio was murdered.  There is also a nice piece of literary history in the palace.  Created in 1822, this chair was built from part of the collapsed roof of the Kirk of Alloway, the hometown of Robert Burns.  The back has an inset of brass panels with his classic poem "Tam O'Shanter" inscribed on them.

 

The Scott Monument, Edinburgh

Personally, I think it looks more like a shrine to a pagan god rather than a memorial to a Scottish writer.  Located in Edinburgh's New Town, this monument honors Scotland's most famous author and the man who perhaps has done more for Scotland's image than any other.  From Ivanhoe to the Waverly novels, Sir Walter Scott's body of work remains a must-read even to this day.

 

St. Oran's Cemetery, Isle of Iona

Believed to be the burial place of many kings including Scottish, Norwegian, and Irish.  And who can blame them as the beautiful and peaceful setting makes for a lovely final resting place.  It is also believed to be the burial place of that Scottish king made so famous by Shakespeare...Macbeth.

 

It was nice to have a moment revolving around Scotland's most important authors.  If you have been to Scotland, please feel free to share your favorite literary moments with us.  Below are some of my other favorite moments from the trip.

Standing atop Hadrian's Wall

Learning the fine points of whisky making in Oldmeldrum

 

Finding an ancient stone circle hidden in a stand of trees near Banchory

Paying respect to the dead at Culloden

Monster hunting on Loch Ness

Out of this world scenery on the Isle of Skye

Finding peace on the sacred Isle of Iona

 

Happy Birthday To:

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

January 29, 1860

 

“You have lost your reason and taken the wrong path. You have taken lies for truth, and hideousness for beauty. You would marvel if, owing to strange events of some sorts, frogs and lizards suddenly grew on apple and orange trees instead of fruit, or if roses began to smell like a sweating horse; so I marvel at you who exchange heaven for earth. I don't want to understand you.” 

-from "The Bet"

Famous Authors State by State

Business Insider recently published a list of the Most Famous Authors from Every State.  Here is the criteria they used to pick each one:

To qualify for this list, the esteemed wordsmiths had to be born in their respective states, but not necessarily live out their years there.  We considered the authors' fame in terms of ubiquity, literal acclaim, and financial success — and awarded bonus points if the author showed state pride by setting their works there.

Some of the picks are not too surprising.  Mark Twain was listed for Missouri, William Faulkner for Mississippi,  and John Steinbeck for California.  But some of the choices didn't seem to fit as well as others.  For example, they listed the most famous author for my home state of North Carolina as Thomas Wolfe.  Though he is fairly well known within the state (especially in his native Asheville), he isn't a name you hear thrown around very often in the literary world.  My own choice for us would have been the famous short story author O. Henry.  Though many of his stories are set out west or in New York, he is still a native son of NC and is even buried in Riverside Cemetery in Asheville (the same cemetery as Thomas Wolfe).

Another choice that confused me was the selection of Flannery O'Connor for Georgia.  Though anyone who has read my blog knows that I am a huge fan of her work, she didn't seem like she would be the "most famous" author from the state.  I'd say that distinction would have to go to Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With the Wind.  This is arguably one of the America's best known and most read works of all time.  It won the Pulitzer Prize, and even today it sells thousands of copies each year.  I can't help but feel that not choosing Mitchell was an act of political correctness on the part of Business Insider.

How about your home state?  Did they get it right in your opinion?  If you live outside of the US, who would you say is the most famous author from your city/county/province?

Book Gifting Recommendations from John Green

In which author (and vlogger, and awesome nerd, and brother to a co-creator of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries) John Green recommends some of the best books nerds can gift (or get) for the holiday season.  This is from last year, so please note some information is a little out of date (like Veronica Roth's Divergent series now has an ending...one that just about made the internet blow up).  Use it to add books to your reading list, or to get gift ideas for that special nerd in your life.  There are only 44 days until Christmas people!  Start shopping!

Happy Birthday To:

Agatha Christie

September 15, 1890

“The impossible could not have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances.” -from Murder on the Orient Express

Happy Birthday To:

H. P. Lovecraft

August 20, 1890

From even the greatest of horrors irony is seldom absent.

-The Shunned House

Happy Birthday To:

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

June 29, 1900

"Voici mon secret. Il est très simple: on ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux."

 "Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

 

-from The Little Prince

Salinger

This looks interesting...the Weinstein Company will be releasing a documentary later this year on the mysterious life of J. D. Salinger.  Known the world over for his influential novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger became a recluse in his later years and lots of mystery surrounds that time as well as what other writings he might have created.  While I haven't personally read this novel, it is impossible to ignore the affect it has had on our culture over the last 50 years.  Check out the trailer here.

Happy Birthday To:

"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.  "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times.  Bu that is not for them to decide.   All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." -from The Lord of the Rings

J. R. R. Tolkien

January 3, 1892

Happy Birthday To:

Roald Dahl

September 13, 1916

"So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, and in its place you can install, a lovely bookcase on the wall."

In Memorium

Ray Bradbury

August 22, 1920 - June 5, 2012

Some people turn sad awfully young. No special reason, it seems, but they seem almost to be born that way. They bruise easier, tire faster, cry quicker, remember longer and, as I say, get sadder younger than anyone else in the world. I know, for I'm one of them.  - from Dandelion Wine

Burns Night

Today is a big day for the Scots (and those of us who wish we were)! All over the world, people of Scottish descent will be coming together to celebrate the life and work of Robert Burns. Born on January 25, 1759, Burns would go on to right many poems that reflected Scottish heritage, traditions, and life. Today, his poems are still loved and recited by many and in 2009 he was voted the "Greatest Scot" by the people of Scotland.

The tradition of the Burns Supper began in the early 19th century, and occurs every year on or around January 25th. They are essentially gatherings (formal and informal) of Burns lovers who spend the evening eating haggis, drinking whiskey, and reciting Burns poetry. Though different people prefer one Burns poem to another, there are some that are his most popular. This year, over 1000 Scots voted his narrative poem "Tam o' Shanter" as their all-time favorite. Here is the opening portion of the poem:

When chapmen billies leave the street,
And drouthy neibors, neibors meet,
As market days are wearing late,
An' folk begin to tak the gate;
While we sit bousing at the nappy,
And getting fou and unco happy,
We think na on the lang Scots miles,
The mosses, waters, slaps, and styles,
That lie between us and our hame,
Where sits our sulky sullen dame.
Gathering her brows like gathering storm,
Nursing her wrath to keep it warm.

Read the whole poem here.

Whether or not your family hails from the Highlands, this is a great time to revel in the tradtion and pageantry of being Scottish. So take a few moments to raise a wee dram to good ol' Rabbie Burns, whose poems continue to bring pride and pleasure to Scots and non-Scots alike over 200 years later.

2012: The Year of Dickens

“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.”

Over the last few years, there have been numerous milestones in literary history. In 2008 we celebrated the 100th birthday of L. M. Montgomery's famous work Anne of Green Gables. Last year marked the 200th anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen's first novel, Sense and Sensibility. But all of those pale in comparison to the party that the world (and London in particular) has planned for this year.

February 7, 2012 is the 200th birthday of one of English literature's most beloved novelists, Charles Dickens. There are tons of events, special exhibitions, and other things being planned worldwide to mark this milestone. The website Dickens 2012 has this to say about the author and the planned celebrations: Although a writer from the Victorian era, Dickens’s work transcends his time, language and culture. He remains a massive contemporary influence throughout the world and his writings continue to inspire film, TV, art, literature, artists and academia. Dickens 2012 sees a rich and diverse programme of events taking place in the run up and throughout the whole of 2012.

Here are some of the amazing things happening this year that you can participate in:

-London is definitely the place to be this year if you are a Dickens lover. The Charles Dickens Museum has re-opened to the public, and is the place to view over 100,000 manuscripts, rare editions, and personal items from Dickens' world. The Museum of London has a new exhibition dedicated to Dickens' legacy in London. On Feb. 7th, Westminster Abbey will hold a wreath laying ceremony at his tomb. Many portraits of the Dickens family will be on display at the National Portrait Gallery. And Dickens centered walking tours will let you see the great city through his eyes. However you like to commemorate this special occasion, London can help you do it.

-England is not the only place to party. The Museum Strauhof in Zurich which specializes in literary history will have a special exhibit dedicated to Dickens. The Longfellow House in Cambridge, Massachusetts will highlight Dickens' friendship with the American poet. And a Dickens Book Festival is on the schedule at Château D’Hardelot, Pas-de-Calais in France.

-Even if you don't live where a major festival or exhibit is planned, there are plenty of ways to celebrate on your own. Masterpiece Classic will be airing two new Dickens adaptations this year: Great Expectations and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Two new biographies of the author were published in time for the festivities: Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin and Becoming Dickens: The Invention of a Novelist by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst. And international publishers Wiley-Blackwell have announced a free online conference entitled "Dickens' World" will be held March 7-March 8.

-Get others involved in the fun. If you are in a book club, try reading and discussing a Dickens novel. If you are a patron of a local bookshop, encourage them to get involved by inviting guest speakers and hosting read alouds. If you are involved in community theater, consider bringing a Dickens classic to life. And if you are a teacher, introduce your students to Dickens' world.

No matter how you choose to celebrate, just be sure to take some time this year to commemorate one of the best writers in the English language. His creations continue to haunt, amuse, and inspire us to this day. Mr. Dickens, we are truly in your debt.

Happy Birthday To:

Mark Twain

November 30, 1835

I don't believe any of you have ever read Paradise Lost, and you don't want to. That's something that you just want to take on trust. It's a classic... something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.

- "Disappearance of Literature" speech

Weekly Geeks 2011-14: Authors A to Z

You know how when someone asks you who your favorite author is? And you feel a bit crazy coming up with just one? Now is your chance to come up with 26 (at least) favorite authors by making a list of them ABC style.

This was a fun Weekly Geeks, even if it was hard for me to narrow down some of the names. Here's the list of my favorite authors from A-Z:

A) Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott
B) Charlotte Bronte
C) Wilkie Collins
D) Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle
E) Lief Enger
F) Gustave Flaubert, William Faulkner
G) Elizabeth Gaskell, Robert Graves
H) Victor Hugo
I) Kazuo Ishiguro
J) Brian Jacques
K) Franz Kafka, Rudyard Kipling
L) C. S. Lewis
M) L. M. Montgomery, Daphne du Maurier
N) E. Nesbit
O) Flannery O'Connor
P) Howard Pyle
Q) N/A
R) Marilynn Robinson
S) William Shakespeare, Robert Louis Stevenson
T) J. R. R. Tolkien
U) Unknown (like the author of Beowulf)
V) Jules Verne
W) Laura Ingalls Wilder, Evelyn Waugh
X) N/A
Y) N/A
Z) N/A