Bothered Birds

Bird Brains

Bird Humor Greeting Cards

Hello Out There

Sorry that it has been so long since my last posting. Revisions, taxes, illness but not in that order are my excuses. I am also wondering why you would want to listen to my ravings but whatever. One thing I wanted to do this year was log the books I have read. Mostly for myself but if anyone else wants to comment on them I would be really interested. A few years ago a writer in SCBWI logged all the books she read and she started to see repeating elements like: the best friend having red hair, mother dying, and lists. It would be cool to draw some comparisons like that but right now I just want to keep track. I did not start in January as I planned but I will list some of the ones I remember. Excuse the fact that I don't always have authors. When I get more or less up to date I will have the authors.



Tender Morsels: Brilliantly written retelling of the fairytale of Rose Red and Snow White. A lot of disturbing content so be prepared. The ending left me a little bit wanting.
Graceling: This was a fantasy about a land of several kingdoms where there are special individuals born with graces or talents. They are identifiable by their mismatched eyes. The main character is a girl who is graced with killing. I really liked the way the author worked with the central idea of being graced, the different problems facing these graces and how they are sometimes mistaken about their graces or how to use them. What I didn't quite buy was that she had actually been a killer. The central mystery and its connection with an evil king seem to be only a vehicle and not plausible.
Hunger Games: We listened to this on tape. It is brilliant. Thrilling and yet also meaty. It is set in a futuristic North America where most of the country is divided into districts that are subservient to The Capital which is not in the Rocky Mountains. Each year the districts must sacrifice a boy and a girl to a televised game of survival. There is so much here about human nature, the nature of government, poverty, and wealth.
Ransom My Heart, by Meg Cabot: This is a romance novel plain and simple. It is supposedly written by the princess of Cabot's Princess Diary series. There are sex scenes which I wasn't expecting from a YA Cabot.
Sunshine by Robin McKinley: This is a re-read for me which is rare. It is just the best vampire book to date. McKinley is the queen of the Beauty and the Beast re-tellers. She has done straight retellings twice--both excellent. This is a third less traditional take on the tale. I love the way she peals away the familiar world and even to the end you are discovering strange new details that totally fit in. The contrasts of light and dark, food and blood, baking and magic, human and Other are tangible. It continues to surprise me the second time around.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: Winner of the Newberry. I listened to the author read this and read the book. I really enjoyed it. Again the central mystery was not quite satisfying but the rest of the book is captivating.

That is all for now. Those were the ones off the top of my head, but there are more.

Dream City

This is another computer colored image. It is strange how the color changes the feel of the city. It makes it feel much more Dr. Seussish and less perilous.

Having Fun

This is a drawing that I did and I scanned it and colored it with the computer. Talk about fun!

Reading List

A blog seems like the perfect place to keep track of the books I've been reading. Most of the list will be YA novels. I'll read whatever else comes across my path but this is the genre I write and the one I seek out at the library. In case you are wondering whether you should read any further, I will give you a little recap of my loves and hates before we begin.
Loves:
Jane Austen (the whole shebang)
Out of the Dust, Karen Hesse
Eva Ibbotson (you pick)
Shannon Hale
Laura Halse Anderson
Peter Sis (picture books here)
Allen Say (as long as we are talking picture books)
Michael Sowa (illustrator, don't know the stories just like the art)
Edward Gorey (as long as we are talking about artists)
Jacob I Have Loved, Katherine Paterson
Homeless Bird, Gloria Whelan
When My Name Was Keoko, Linda Sue Park
Invisible Enemies, Jeanette Farrell (non-fiction about infectious disease)
Peeps, Scott Westerberg (brilliant companion to above, mixes vampires with diseases)
Sunshine, Robin McKinley (all time favorite vampire book, as long as we are talking vampires)
Thirsty, M.T. Anderson (still speaking of vampires)
Whales on Stilts, M.T. Anderson (I love his humor)
Sharon Creech (in general)
Meg Cabot (I am a sucker for romance and she does it brilliantly)
The Penderwicks & sequel, Jeanne Birdsall
Elsewhere, Gabrielle Zevin
The Watsons Go to Birmingham, Christopher Paul Curtis
Hatchet and Lawn Boy, Gary Paulsen
Very Far Away from Anywhere Else, Ursula LeGuin (a small marvel)
Richard Peck
Ann Rinaldi
Pete Hausmann
Jasper Fforde

I am going to stop now but I know that I have forgotten others that I will kick myself about later. Except for Jane Austen, this is all contemporary which does not mean that I don't like the classics. Lets cut down on negativity and skip the hates which are really more like disappointments anyway.

I've run out of time for the moment so I will post the 2009 beginning later.

If you have read this far, thanks.

Darcy

Night Scene

For Rent, Unfurnished

Another precariously constructed island of individuality in an ocean of glass skyscrapers.

Cityscape

I have always been fascinated by homes that express some sort of obsession. Like a house in our old neighborhood in Chicago that was covered, every inch, in crosses and symbols or the people who devote income and hours of work to decorate for Christmas and now Halloween. My own inclination is just the opposite. In practice, I think I am more aligned with Adolf Loos, if I understood him correctly. I reserve all my self expression for the interior. However, I am drawn in a strong way to the Merzbau's and Hundertwasser's of the world.