The books in that stack were the first five things I planned to read this month. But then I remembered I have a book club reading to do for next week, and things are due at the library, so I’ve pushed most of them back to later in the month.
But the one I read and devoured in a day and now have to buy for myself and possibly everyone I know?
Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. It took me three days to read this, but I’ll be unpacking all the good it will do me for a long time. I experienced a lot of joy and a lot of discomfort reading this book, for I, too, am an introvert who has gotten very comfortable saying no to a lot of things when I would be better off saying yes. Many things she said hit very close to home. I believe I need to continue my education by binge-watching her shows. Okay, maybe that’s not the point of the book. Maybe I can watch an episode a day or as a treat for saying yes to something scary/exciting?
Speaking of the book club, In the Skin of a Jihadist by Anna Erelle is our church book club’s selection for next Tuesday, so naturally I waited to start it until today. Whoa. Intense. This should be a good discussion.
Whew. It’s been a rough week for fandom. Saying goodbye to David Bowie was saying goodbye to part of my childhood. And Alan Rickman inspired me with his late-start-but-still-phenomenal career and as a person in general. I can’t even go on Facebook right now because I am at work and a damn professional, and I am mainly working very hard at not sobbing into my keyboard.
Yesterday, The Bloggess posted her tribute and thank yous in a beautiful way, and I want to do something similar here. There are a lot of people, like Bowie and Rickman, whom I will mourn along with the world when they pass. But there are roughly a dozen people whom I’ve never actually met whom I will mourn as if I have. Whoever my boss is when those terrible days come – be advised I will take a few days off. Trust me – you’ll be glad that I do.
I have a lot of fandoms, so it was difficult to narrow down the list to six, much less five. But here they are:
Bernadette Peters – I have loved her since I could barely even love anyone. She played Lily St. Regis in the 1982 Annie, and in my 7-year-old mind, she was so fancy. I love her grace and the way she just takes over the stage. My favorite thing she’s done was her performance as the witch in Into the Woods. When I saw the newer version last year, I missed her. I mean, Meryl Streep is awesome – would that we all developed and displayed our talents so brilliantly – but I missed Bernadette Peters in the role. In my mind, it will always be hers.
Michelle Pfeiffer – Confession: when I grow up, I kinda want to be Michelle Pfeiffer. From reenacting her rendition of “Cool Rider” in Grease 2 in front of my friend Ginger’s camcorder to her depiction of Catwoman to her marriage to David E. Kelley (lucky guy…and sure, also a fantastic writer and producer…who gets to be Michelle Pfeiffer’s husband), she has the sort of career/life I would want if I were an actress. She has an impressive body of work that I could gush about all day.
But seriously –
Peter MacNicol – He played my all-time favorite television character on my all-time favorite show. I can’t see him in anything without thinking of Ally McBeal‘s John Cage. He delivered my favorite lines and my favorite speeches from the show. When people ask what fictional character I relate to most, unlike most writers, who will name someone from literature, I name a character from television – John Cage. I will be inconsolable when anyone in the cast of Ally McBeal dies, but his death will be the hardest.
Michael Rosenbaum – I teared up even typing his name. He’s only a few years older than I am, and frankly, I hope I go first so I don’t ever have to deal with his death (after we’ve both lived long, happy lives, hopefully well into our late 90s, of course). Michael Rosenbaum played Lex Luthor on Smallville, and while he’s done many awesome things since then, that was his role that actually has had an impact on my personal life. I love his portrayal of Lex. I loved it so much that I joined his message board to talk about it with others who loved it as much as I did. And then I followed a lot of them to Livejournal to discuss it even more in-depth. Thus I began my first blog – my first regular writing practice. So when I become published, Michael Rosenbaum will be in the acknowledgements of people whose work was instrumental in getting me there.
Then I met some of the people whom I knew from the message board and from Livejournal, and I still keep in touch with a lot of them today. Some of them, I’ve never met in person but still consider good friends. Some of them, I have met in person and consider some of my best friends, like my friend Michelle. I can’t imagine not knowing these people, and I have Michael Rosenbaum to thank for that as well.
Nathan Fillion – Need I really explain this one? Firefly. Castle. Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog. Nathan Fillion’s awesomeness is pretty apparent. He makes an excellent TV boyfriend. I love him in everything he’s been in, but I might love his Twitter best of all. Some days, it’s the only reason I still have a Twitter.
I would join his message board so hard (if I were still in my twenties and had oodles of time to spend on the Internet. And if message boards were a thing people even did anymore).
And because five is not enough…
Lauren Graham – Lorelai can never die. Neither can Sarah Braverman. That’s the rule. You hear me, universe? I won’t stand for it.
After this week, I’m in serious need of a weekend of self-care, which specifically will consist of a vat of roasted veggie soup and Veronica Mars (oh, God. Kristen Bell. YOU BE GOOD, UNIVERSE!).
Happy new year, everyone! I will post my resolutions and goals early next week, but the planning phases began months ago. Here are some sites I’ve saved to help me out.
I’m obsessed with poetry these days, and I write better in general when I read and write poetry, so I’m going to do more of both those things this year. I love this post from Interesting Literature listing 10 Winter Poems.
Getting up earlier (on days when I have to be somewhere in the morning – not everyday. Let’s be reasonable) is something I desperately want to be good at. When I accidentally do it, the day goes so much better. Here is a little motivation on that front. I want to be insanely healthy!
I love anything that makes cleaning easier and less time-consuming. This list actually has tips I’d never heard of before.
And finally, this article from NPR addresses a problem that has wormed its way into my writing in the last few years. Pandering slows me down and makes my writing weaker. More on this next week.
It’s gutsy to take on Queen’s Somebody to Love. But Jordan Smith did it. And WOW. Adam Levine is just about ready to pee himself, and I can’t blame him.
I am still a toddler at following the liturgical calendar, and I’m not very good at it yet. This year, about mid-October, I thought to myself, “Self, Advent starts soon. You should start early – make your calendar, find your books, buy your candles. That way you won’t feel rushed.” And I did. I made this:
And the finished product:
It looks a little baby shower-ish, but we’re expecting the Christ child here, so I felt that was appropriate. I felt good about my progress.
Then time sped up.
So now it’s the first week of Advent, which is my favorite season because I know what longing is and usually have a lot to say about it. I’m reading the things and lighting the candles (which are the wrong color – because it’s actually pretty hard to find Advent candles here. War on Christmas, my ass. Christmas is fricking everywhere.), and going to the services (which has kept me sane this week). And I’m fighting not to settle for autopilot because it would be so easy to check out mentally and emotionally and barrel through, waiting until it is over to be human again. I’m just barely making it.
But I have had a little help from a few places this week.
In the interest of reaching even one of my meager writing goals set this week, here is your Friday Five:
I’ve been writing as much as I can on my NaNoWriMo project, but that process is turning out to be molasses slow. It is clearer than ever that I need a computer at home if I’m going to have a book published before I’m 50. How did people even make this happen before computers? I’m in awe of them.
There’s so much sadness and terribleness in the world. But it’s not just “out there.” It’s here. It’s in our country and in our hearts. I am saddened to know that the freedom of many citizens to practice their religions by welcoming the outcast has been denied them this week. I am sadder to understand what that means for the outcasts. I want to be angry, but then I look at my own couch, empty of any refugees or people in need, and I am force to look at my own practices. Am I welcoming people as I ought? My favorite post of the week is from A’Driane Nieves – We ARE the threat.
As you might have gathered from this week (if not from before), I read a lot of books about food. Today, I want to share with you five of my favorite people.
Barbara Smith – B. Smith writes hospitality well. Her Entertaining and Cooking for Friends is my go-to book on the subject. Fun fact: she was the first African American model to be on the cover of Mademoiselle.
Alice Waters – I am sitting here getting teary over how much I love her. One of the main reasons I want to visit California someday (aside from my friends there, of course) is to visit Chez Panisse. She is one of the stars of the Slow Food movement, and I can sit and read The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution like a novel.
Ruth Reichl – Tender at the Bone is the book that started my obsession with food writers. I can’t remember if it was this book or Comfort Me With Apples that told the story of Danny Kaye’s lemon cream sauce, but you should just read both of them and then make it immediately.
Nigella Lawson – Nigella Bites, like all her books, is a gorgeous book full of beautiful recipes. I knew I would love her when, while writing about dessert that included a substantial amount of booze, she said something to the effect that you could leave it out – if you really must – if there are children but that otherwise more is more.
Mark Bittman – If you want an excellent break down of the food system and the politics that accompany it, Food Matters is the way to go. And for those of you who have had my waffles, his recipe in How to Cook Everything is my go-to. You’re welcome.
My Friday Five this week consists of five stories I have loved since childhood:
Mediopolito (The Half-Chicken) – There are two versions of this Spanish folk tale that I have heard. The dual-lingual book I own is the nicer version, where little Mediopolito helps the wind and the fire and the stream and thus does not end up scorched like a cinder in a soup pot. The version my family told (and it is telling that I can’t remember which family member liked to tell me this story – the love of a good warning tale runs rampant throughout our clan) is the sadder version, where Mediopolito is selfish and unhelpful and leaves his mama to continue to be selfish and unhelpful, and terrible things that give children with vivid imaginations nightmares happen to him.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis – The first time I read The Chronicles of Narnia, this was my favorite book in the series. At different times in my life, my favorite has changed, but this one is the one that I associate most with the wonder of childhood.
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell – First given to me by my Aunt Gale in hopes that through reading (my favorite pastime of choice) about horses, I would become more interested in riding them (her favorite pastime of choice), I fell in love with the stories. I’m not sure it made me want to ride horses more (it DID make me want to race them, for I am competitive), but I enjoyed it.
The Crooked Banister from the Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene – Speaking of one of the many things I wanted to be when I was a child, I loved Nancy Drew. I recently re-read this one, and oh, the nostalgia! I have read enough mystery stories since that I was expecting some sort of twist, but no. That’s not how Nancy mysteries roll.
Hank the Cowdog by John R. Erickson – Technically, these didn’t come out until I was in junior high, but I’m still counting it. The author visited the elementary school where my mom worked, and she got me a signed copy. It’s a super cute series, especially for new readers or for reading aloud.
What are some of your favorite stories from childhood?
I am feeling a bit curmudgeonly today. I’m avoiding Facebook for the afternoon after a morning of frustration with my news feed. Five things I don’t understand about people today:
Freaking out over “new math.” First, it’s not new. It’s the same numbers and same concepts being taught a different *cough* more comprehensive/logical *cough* way. Second, while I understand being frustrated with learning a new way of doing things, I don’t get the compulsion to call other ways of doing things “stupid” just because one does not automatically understand it. Third, I like new math. It’s the way I do math in my head. If math had been taught to me that way, I might not have been so bored in math class. In fact, if the fun I had from the two times I can remember someone approaching math this way in class (once in Coach Depew’s geometry class when he challenged me to argue and defend my answer against his and once in pre-calculus when the professor showed us how Pythagorean theorem was discovered) is any indication, I might have enjoyed it enough to go into a math-related field. Who knows what I could have done with that?! And finally, telling your children how complicated and stupid it is? Not exactly conducive to learning. Stop it. Stop it immediately.
Speaking of an aversion to learning – getting upset when a professor gives you a challenging assignment or one that’s not precisely in your comfort zone. I do understand if someone has undergone a specific trauma how said person might have an interest in avoiding a few specific things that force her/him into reliving said trauma. Fine. But complaining because an assignment is hard? Um…THAT’S WHAT COLLEGE IS FOR. That is how you learn. That is an example of professors doing their jobs well. If a college class is easy and never requires you to do something that stretches or challenges you, your professor is doing it wrong.
Uggs. Yes, the boots. I don’t understand them. They look like some sort of bloated root vegetable. Also, it is not now and rarely is cold enough in Texas to wear them.
Spontaneity. This one, I actually want an answer to. How does it work? Do you just not make plans and hope something happens to fill the time? Or do you have to be one of those terrible humans who is comfortable flaking out on plans you’ve made whenever something more exciting comes along? “Are you free tonight?” No. Forever no. Even if my plans are to spend the evening at home, by the time one asks this question, I already have my head wrapped around what I’m going to be doing at home, so if I cave to peer pressure and go with them, I will spend most of the time trying to figure out when I’m going to get done what I abandoned in order to hang out with someone who didn’t even want to hang out with me enough to make actual plans to do so. I would like to be more spontaneous, as it’s supposed to be fun. I just don’t get how.
Being a regular at the gym. At least, I didn’t understand it until I read this beautiful piece. Now I can sort of see how such a thing would happen. I mean, I’m still not gonna. But I can kinda see it.
What don’t you understand? Let’s help each other out.
M. Suzanne Terry 