2012. The Year In Which I Proved Myself To Be A Liar

1. Never reread anything from high school.

2. Never read the Harry Potter series.

3. Never use LOL in correspondence. Ever.

Okay, so these are just a few of the decisions I've made over the past several years.

I made a choice years ago to never read anything I read in my high school English class. It's not that we didn't read great works of literature. True, I enjoyed Lord of the Flies more than The Scarlet Letter. I also thought Julius Caesar was a darn good play, in fact, I still remember some of Brutus' speech.

"Friends, Romans, Countrymen. Lend me your ear. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him."

The thing is... Why would I reread anything we picked apart in high school when there are so many other great works of literature (ahem, contemporary  novels) to read now?

Therefore I decided, no matter how amazing the work was, I'd never look at it again.

Until I saw a trailer for Les Miserables...and changed my mind.

If you've seen the trailer, I think you'll understand why I had to break that promise.

On to the Harry Potter issue...

I know it's somewhat ridiculous that I'd never read any of the seven Harry Potter books. My oldest read them all in the third grade. We have the books, the movies, the Scene It board game, the posters, the calendars, the wands, the Gryffindor halloween costume, the fake glasses, the collective disdain for Dolores Umbridge.

What I didn't have was the time. Until I realized the library had the books on CD. *light bulb moment*. I also made the connection that we're driving multiple hours a week to school, gymnastics, swimming...

You see where I'm going with this?

That's right. My kids and I listened to all seven Harry Potter books, in ten months. I'll admit, there were times I circled the neighborhood more than once to finish a chapter. It was an experience, and a long one at that. Some of the books had over twenty discs.

Yes, I lied. I also admittedly regret not reading them soon. I now know in-depth about horcruxes and Snape's secrets. Try me.

Lastly, the LOL. I must confess I've still never used this acronym of immense joy. But I promise you, I might LOL someday...when something is really, really funny.

Remembering Anne Frank

"My sorrow disappears, my spirits are revived. But, and that's a big question, will I ever be able to write something great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer?" -Anne Frank

Sixty-eight years ago today, Anne Frank wrote her final diary entry. Three days later, Anne, her parents and sister, the van Pels and Fritz Pfeffer were discovered in an annex behind a bookshelf in Otto Frank's office building. They were all taken into custody by the Gestapo. Anne was transported to Auschwitz and later Bergen-Belsen, where she would die at the age of fifteen, in March 1945. 

I was fourteen the first time I read, Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl. It was the first book that made me cry. Although Anne's diary is a personal account of the Holocaust- restrictions imposed by the Nazis and hiding from the Gestapo- she also conveys so many of the feelings we all experienced during our teen years. She writes about her parents and sister, arguing with her mother, the death of her grandmother, her fears and dreams for the future, and her first and only love, Peter van Pelt.

August 1, 1944 marks the final entry of an amazing writer who never lived to see her work published.

The end of her final entry, which began as all others,

"Dear Kitty...

Believe me, I'd like to listen, but it doesn't work, because if I'm quiet and serious, everyone thinks I'm putting on a new act and I have to save myself with a joke, and then I'm not even thinking about my own family, who assumes I must be ill, stuffs me with asprins and sedatives, feels my neck and forehead to see if I have a temperature, ask about my bowel movements, and berates me for being in a bad mood, until I just can't keep it up anymore. Because when everybody starts hovering over me, I get cross, then sad and finally end up turning my heart inside out, the bad part on the outside and the good part on the inside, and keep trying to find a way to become what I'd like to be and what I could be if...if only there were no other people in the world."

*Since its original publication in 1947, Anne Frank the Diary of a Young Girl has been translated into over 60 languages and has sold an estimated 31 million copies.

Writing with Heart

My children and I have been reading Barbara Park's, Junie B. Jones series, together before bedtime. Although I occasionally have to put a disclaimer out, "it's not okay to say you hate people," when reading, I find Junie B. to be a fascinating, entertaining character. One of the reasons I believe this to be true is because she is so stunningly real. She's passionate, says whatever comes to mind, and transverses through life with a single mindedness that only a young person (or a complete narcissist) could possess.

I once told a friend my writing wasn't complete unless I could make people cry. By people, I'm selfishly referring to myself, as I routinely mist up when my characters hurt. Consequently, that's what I look for in quality writing...characters who are real enough to bring out emotions because we feel empathy when they hurt.

Real life is messy. Marriages fall apart, engagements break up, spouses get deployed, children are up all night with ear infections, families spend months or years watching loved ones suffer from illnesses, once close relationships unravel and sever completely. The ability of an effective writer is to channel those emotions from real life into a believable manuscript.

I suppose this is why I'm drawn to both reading and writing literary and women's fiction. I like stories that have the ability to merge a strong plot with characters who tug at your heart, therefore making them impossible to forget. A perfect example of this is Miriam from Khaled Hosseini's A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS.

Of course we all need a love story, too. I think there's a part of us who needs to believe that it's possible to meet our one true love on a weekend in Paris. We all need tension, love triangles, stolen kisses, and the intensity of young love to balance out the drama of our own lives.

Luckily, I get to do both as a reader and a writer. I'm fortunate to write with my own heart while reading the words coming from someone else's. 

But at the end of the day- while trying to balance life with writing, and query letters with hopes of publication- you can always read about a funny kindergartner named Junie B. Jones. As she said in SOME SNEAKY PEEKY SPYING, "A 'pology is the words I'm sorry. Except for you don't actually have to mean it. 'Cause nobody can even tell the difference."

Maybe that isn't completely true, but some days it's worth a shot.     

Novels to Look Forward to in 2012

As promised from my previous post, these are the novels I am looking forward to, highly anticipating, (writing release dates on my calendar for), in 2012.  

LONE WOLF by Jodi Picoult. Release date, February 28, 2012.

"Edward Warren, twenty-four, has been living in Thailand for five years, a prodigal son who left his family after an irreparable fight with his father, Luke. But he gets a frantic phone call: His dad lies comatose, gravely injured in the same accident that has also injured his younger sister Cara.

With her father’s chances for recovery dwindling, Cara wants to wait for a miracle. But Edward wants to terminate life support and donate his father’s organs. Is he motivated by altruism, or revenge? And to what lengths will his sister go to stop him from making an irrevocable decision?

Lone Wolf explores the notion of family, and the love, protection and strength it’s meant to offer. But what if the hope that should sustain it, is the very thing that pulls it apart? Another tour de force from Jodi Picoult, Lone Wolf examines the wild and lonely terrain upon which love battles reason." -Goodreads

HOME FRONT, by Kristin Hannah. Release date, January 31, 2012.

"In her bestselling novels Kristin Hannah has plumbed the depths of friendship, the loyalty of sisters, and the secrets mothers keep. Now, in her most emotionally powerful story yet, she explores the intimate landscape of a troubled marriage with this provocative and timely portrait of a husband and wife, in love and at war.

All marriages have a breaking point. All families have wounds. All wars have a cost. . . .

Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life---children, careers, bills, chores---even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart. Then an unexpected deployment sends Jolene deep into harm’s way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls. As a mother, it agonizes Jolene to leave her family, but as a solider she has always understood the true meaning of duty. In her letters home, she paints a rose-colored version of her life on the front lines, shielding her family from the truth. But war will change Jolene in ways that none of them could have foreseen. When tragedy strikes, Michael must face his darkest fear and fight a battle of his own---for everything that matters to his family.

At once a profoundly honest look at modern marriage and a dramatic exploration of the toll war takes on an ordinary American family, Home Front is a story of love, loss, heroism, honor, and ultimately, hope."  Goodreads

WHERE WE BELONG, by Emily Giffin. Scheduled for release, July 31, 2012

"The author of five blockbuster novels, Emily Giffin, delivers an unforgettable story of two women, the families that make them who they are, and the longing, loyalty and love that binds them together Marian Caldwell is a thirty-six year old television producer, living her dream in New York City. With a fulfilling career and satisfying relationship, she has convinced everyone, including herself, that her life is just as she wants it to be. But one night, Marian answers a knock on the door . . . only to find Kirby Rose, an eighteen-year-old girl with a key to a past that Marian thought she had sealed off forever. From the moment Kirby appears on her doorstep, Marian’s perfectly constructed world—and her very identity—will be shaken to its core, resurrecting ghosts and memories of a passionate young love affair that threaten everything that has come to define her. For the precocious and determined Kirby, the encounter will spur a process of discovery that ushers her across the threshold of adulthood, forcing her to re-evaluate her family and future in a wise and bittersweet light. As the two women embark on a journey to find the one thing missing in their lives, each will come to recognize that where we belong is often where we least expect to find ourselves—a place that we may have willed ourselves to forget, but that the heart remembers forever." -Goodreads

THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME, by Allison Winn Scotch. Scheduled for release, April 12, 2012.

"One of only two survivors of a plane crash, Nell Slattery wakes in the hospital with no memory of the horrific experience-or who she is, or was. Now she must piece together both body and mind, with the help of family and friends, who have their own agendas. She filters through photos, art, music, and stories, hoping something will jog her memory, and soon, in tiny bits and pieces, Nell starts remembering. . . .

 It isn't long before she learns to question the stories presented by her mother, her sister and business partner, and her husband. In the end, she will discover that forgiving betrayals small and large will be the only true path to healing herself-and to finding happiness." -Amazon

THE NEXT BEST THING, by Jennifer Weiner. Scheduled for release, July 10, 2012.

"Blockbuster #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner returns with an irresistible story about a young woman trying to make it in Hollywood…At twenty-three, Ruth Saunders headed west with her seventy-year-old grandma in tow, hoping to be hired as a television writer. Four years later, she’s hit the jackpot when she gets The Call: the sitcom she wrote, The Next Best Thing, has gotten the green light, and Ruthie’s going to be the show-runner. But her dreams of Hollywood happiness are threatened by demanding actors, number-crunching executives, an unrequited crush on a boss, and her grandmother’s impending nuptials.

Set against the fascinating backdrop of Los Angeles show business culture, with an insider’s ear and eye for writer’s rooms, bad behavior backstage and set politics, Jennifer Weiner’s new novel is a rollicking ride on the Hollywood rollercoaster and a heartfelt story about what it’s like for a young woman to love, and lose, in the land where dreams come true."- Amazon 

A Look Back at 2011

I read a lot of terrific books during 2011. Thirty-one in all. Not nearly enough by my standards, but I do need to sleep and feed my children at some point.

Below are some of the books I read, and enjoyed, in 2011. (I should also note that not all were published last year.)

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult. I loved this novel, and really, with Jodi Picoult, you can never go wrong.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. Admittedly, I watched the made-for-TV movie before reading the book. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the novel and was deeply touched due to losing a child to a chromosomal abnormality.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Great work of literary fiction. Loved the love story and even persuaded my husband to read it.

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah. Hands down, the best book I read last year.

Don't Kill the Birthday Girl by Sandra Beasley. This was a gift from a cousin who saw it on a bookstore shelf. As a person with celiac disease and the mom of a child who outgrew a serious egg allergy, I highly recommend it to everyone. Whether you suffer from food allergies or intolerances, or not, you should at the very least, have an understanding of what it's like to live with a food allergy. 

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I tend to stay away from war stories, but could not put this book down. A wonderful piece of nonfiction about World War 2 and the resiliance of Louis Zamperini. 

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah. Admittedly, I cried for the final forty pages.

The Hunger Games Trilogy: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mocking Jay by Suzanne Collins. Yes, they lived up to the hype. Yes, I intend to watch the movies.

Next up...book releases I'm anticipating in 2012. Stay tuned.