Happy National Poetry Month!!

I'll use the fact that April is National Poetry Month to be inspired to start blogging again. "Life" was a little too busy in March, especially with the never-ending winter, but it IS time to diversify again and get back to at least some writing.

That said, I am going to try to participate in Think Out Loud, Throwback Thursday, and Feature and Follow each week. Then I am going to try and run a feature each week of one Newbery winner (or should have won - young adult book), one romance novel, and one science-fiction/fantasy novel.

Finally, I will try to post a poem a day. This is all very ambitious, please let me know how I'm doing and send me suggestions for any or all of the above!

Today's poem (from my upcoming collection, Moments to be published in multiple eBook formats through Smashwords.com, April 5):

Spring Sky

Spring has come;

There are buds on the lilacs

The sun no longer is its weak

Winter self.

But the sky, the sky

This spring night

Harkens back to the winter.

Cold air gives a sharpness

The scarcity of clouds

An open vista

To thousands, nay, millions

Of tiny twinkling pinpricks.

Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never too fond of Books.

Once more in the grip of a winter storm, in an uncharacteristically cold and snowy winter, with the winter Olympics dominating the television, I am led to think of winter-themed books from my youth.

There was, of course, the classic Mary Mapes Dodge book Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates. Kind of apropos as the Dutch seem to be winning all the speed skating medals.

But then I liked Elizabeth Ladd's Indians on the Bonnet and Walter D. Edmonds' Drums Along the Mohawk a large part of which was set in winter on the American frontier.

Finally, I was a big fan of Jack London's two classics: the short novel White Fang and the short story "To Build a Fire". I remember one winter as a boy taking my Red Flyer and pretending I was a musher in Alaska. My imaginary dogs didn't pull too well unfortunately.

Are there more modern, winter-based books, you would recommend?

Throwback Thursday - Saint-Exupery, Silhouette Special Edition, Cavendish's History

 

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never too fond of Books.

Several old favorites walked across my desk in the past month.

One from my days as a brick and mortar seller was a batch of early Silhouette Special Editions from when Silhouette was still published by Pocket. The advent of Silhouette and other similar lines from other U.S. publishers finally forced Harlequin to bring a lot of American authors onboard and expand their offerings.

A second was a story about Antoine de Saint-Exupery that I heard on the radio. I knew Saint-Exupery had been a pilot in World War II but I did not know he wrote his most famous book, The Little Prince, in French, while a refugee within a few miles of where I live and that he then returned to the war only to die in combat.

Finally, I found a collection of Cavendish's History of World War II. Cavendish published the History in 96 weekly installments in 1973 and 1974 (in the U.S., a few years earlier in the UK). An interesting concept and, for the time, a well-done publication, fit for both the historian and the amateur.

What's crossed you desk recently?

Throwback Thursday - Christmas Stories

 

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never to fond of Books.

It's the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven't seen the "New Releases" shelf in years. We hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may or not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

You don't have to be a book blogger to participate! You can put up a Throwback Thursday post on your non-bookish blog; or if you don't have a blog at all you can use the comments to tell us about a book your remember fondly.

 

My Throwback this week is my two favorite Christmas stories. Neither should be a big surprise as they are both classics and both emphasize the spirit of the season in a relatively secular way. I am speaking, of course, about Dickens' A Christmas Carol and O Henry's Gift of the Magi.

Dickens story is everywhere this time of year - TV, theater, radio, etc. The story is justifiably a classic. However, to me, Henry's story is the stronger since it has no reliance on external forces (ghosts) to drive its message. The selfless giving is a lesson that is timeless.

Honorable mention goes to Jan Brett's The Mitten, a children's tale that also captures the spirit of the season.

What do you think?

Throwback Thursday - Anne McCaffrey

Anne McCaffrey is best known for her Pern series of fantasy novels. She melded wonderful characters inside a fantasy planet that had elements of science fiction. In Pern the dragons were used to protect the inhabitants from the deadly Threads that would fall from the skies periodically. McCaffrey's novels were poignant stories of human emotion and frailty, often expressed in the protagonist's relationship with her dragon.

Although McCaffrey wrote other novels it was her Pern universe that attracted me and held me. I never read one I didn't like and would not recommend.

Throwback Thursday - Washington Irving and Poe

Some things are timeless. They are called classics. Washington Irving wrote the classic tale, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow almost 200 years ago. Just this year the story has been revamped and reworked for a modern TV show on Fox. The fact that the inspiration and basis of the plot is 193 years old is a tribute to Irving.

Irving's classic was one of the stories my friends and I would reenact as small boys as the night came earlier and Halloween approached.

A little later on my favorite scary stories were those written by Edgar Allan Poe. A true master, his stories are a little harder to read these days as much of the plots and settings were very period-specific. If the reader can pick up the jargon from an earlier century and enjoy the writing for its tight-knit suspense, Poe is a very enjoyable read.

Feature and Follow - Feature Your Own Favorite

There are so many wonderful bloggers... But I am highlighting Never Too Fond of Books because of the weekly feature Mandy hosts, Throwback Thursday. It is relatively unique in looking back at something one enjoyed a few years ago instead of forward to what's next. The feature provides a perspective as to how we got where we are and how things are changed, for better or not.

Throwback Thursday - Back When We Were Grownups

I read this book many moons ago and it is not the type of novel I normally read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Tyler writes very well and you feel the emotions of the main character as she rebuilds parts of her life that she had lost through the simple, normal attrition we all go through. Her journey of rediscovery is a common theme but exceptionally well done by Tyler. Although the book was made into a movie (Hallmark Hall of Fame), I have not seen it.

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Never Too Fond of Books!

Here’s how it works:

1. Pick any media (or non-media item) released more than 5 years ago. Remember to keep it book-related!
2. Write up a short summary (include the title, author, and cover art, if applicable) and an explanation of why you love it.
3. Link up your post at Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list – or some other classic!

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing what you choose to remember!

Throwback Thursday - Tom Clancy

RIP Tom Clancy.

Tom Clancy passed away this week. He will be remembered as the writer of massive military thrillers that, despite their size. kept readers enthralled. He also wrote many nonfiction books on the modern military.

His books combine immense technical detail and tight plot lines with plenty of action. The technical detail is presented as matter of fact and in language that the general reader can understand. The combination took him to the top of the bestseller lists again and again.

The most famous character of the Clancy books was Jack Ryan a "regular guy" who somehow saves the day repeatedly with his wits and toughness. My personal favorite Jack Ryan was played by Harrison Ford.

Did you ever read Clancy's novels?

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Never Too Fond of Books!

Here’s how it works:

1. Pick any media (or non-media item) released more than 5 years ago. Remember to keep it book-related!
2. Write up a short summary (include the title, author, and cover art, if applicable) and an explanation of why you love it.
3. Link up your post at Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list – or some other classic!

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing what you choose to remember!

Throwback Thursday - Twilight

Five years ago the hottest selling books were Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series, with all three volumes in the top 20 for the year. Although no one can call any of them classic literature, they told a compelling classic story of young love with serious obstacles, from family to species. The story grew with each volume and the readers anticipated the next volume breathlessly. It was an excellent phenomenon and kept a lot of people reading.

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Never Too Fond of Books!

Here’s how it works:

1. Pick any media (or non-media item) released more than 5 years ago. Remember to keep it book-related!
2. Write up a short summary (include the title, author, and cover art, if applicable) and an explanation of why you love it.
3. Link up your post at Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list – or some other classic!

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing what you choose to remember!

Throwback Thursday - Phyllis A Whtney

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books!
Here’s how it works:

1. Pick any media (or non-media item) released more than 5 years ago. Remember to keep it book-related!
2. Write up a short summary (include the title, author, and cover art, if applicable) and an explanation of why you love it.
3. Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list – or some other classic!

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing what you choose to remember!



One of my favorite authors growing up was Phyllis A Whitney. I read all of her Juvenile Mysteries but my favorite was Mystery on the Isle of Skye. An orphan travels with relatives to Scotland where distant relatives and new surprises await her.

The book mixes the deep history of Scotland, including clan feuds and Bonnie Prince Charlie, modern (for then, it was written in 1955) influences, and a rich landscape as Cathy and her two Scottish cousins track down mysteries old and new.

The book is well-written and has many levels of plot and subplot carefully intertwined. It was/is a marvelous read.

Have you read any of Ms. Whitney's books?

Throwback Thursday - Thieves' World

 

Thank you Mandi Kaye! I love the Throwback Thursday meme (maybe because I have so much throwback! :-).

My Throwback is a delightful series of stories set in the same corner of the same world - the city of Sanctuary in the Rankan Empire. From there the variety is immense. The original series of 12 anthologies were all edited by Robert Asprin (and many by his wife in concert - Lynn Abbey) and included contributions from many authors, including such heavyweights as Marion Zimmer Bradley, C. J. Cherryh, Poul Anderson, John Brunner, Chris Morris, and Janet Morris.

They were published over eleven years from 1978 to 1989 and spun off 7 "official" novels and 6 "unofficial" novels and three more anthologies.

The books can be read independently but I would strongly recommend reading the first anthology first, as it sets the basics of the milieu on which all the stories are set.

Original Anthologies:

  Thieves' World (1979)

  Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn (1980)
  Shadows of Sanctuary (1981)
  Storm Season (1982)
  The Face of Chaos (1983)
  Wings of Omen (1984)
  The Dead of Winter (1985)
  Soul of the City (1986)
  Blood Ties (1986)
  Aftermath (1987)
  Uneasy Alliances (1988)
  Stealers' Sky (1989)

Drop a comment on something that you'd recommend! 

Throwback Thursday - G rated for adults

I was listening to the radio this afternoon and there was a story on about the movie rating system and how almost everything BEFORE there were ratings would have been G rated and that everything, even movies designed for children (with very few exceptions) is now rated at least PG. The reason, clearly, to both the radio host and to my children, is that G rated stuff MUST be BORING.

My brain segued that into thoughts of books, of course. There the trend is similar. The mysteries of Christie, Chandler, and Queen are very mild compared to Robert Parker, Janet Evanovich, and James Patterson. Romance novels show an even wider difference between Betty Neels and Anne Mather on the early end (or Jane Austen, even) with Thea Devine and Sylvia Day.

But are they BETTER?

They are certainly different, but I can't say they are better. That is not to paint either extreme with a wide brush. I don't mind a graphic sex scene or an expressly violent scene if it adds to the plot or characterization in the story. Lisa Scottoline weaves sex and violence into her stories very well, as does Linda Barnes and many others. It is purposeful and well done.

On the other hand just because a story does not have graphic sex or violence definitely does NOT mean it is boring. Mitch Albom's works are some of the best I've read. Larry Doyle is excellent.

And I'd like to add one more. May Nicole Abbey writes historical/time travel romance. It is pretty G rated. It is exceptional. Her first book is The Dreamer. Her second, The Scholar, is recently released.

Throwback Thursday - Ruth Chew - and a blog Milestone

First, the milestone. This week BlogTheEclectic passed 2,000 page views. Thank you to everyone who contributed!

I know in the grand scheme that is not very many (I know many of you get than many in a day or week) but it made me excited to hit the milestone, especially since it is on a steep upward incline (over 550 page views in the last month, up from less than 100 only in December). So thank you again to everyone who came to look. Please share.

Now for the Throwback. As summer approaches (I'm in New York, schools are open for another month) I remember voraciously reading Ruth Chew's books. They had adventure, magic, history, interesting plots and interesting characters. I never was disappointed.

My favorites were Baked Beans for Breakfast, Summer Magic, and The Hidden Cave. I remember sometimes reading the entire book in a single sitting.

Throwback Thursday - Barbara Tuchman

I have always been a history buff. When I was 7 or 8 I was reading biographies of George Washington and Ben Franklin and histories of the American Civil War and the War for Independence (juvenile versions, of course!).

I got all my books from the library and almost from the start I would notice the massive tomes written by Barbara Tuchman on a shelf for "big people".

The first Tuchman I read was The Guns of August. Up to that time I had read books about World War I but they had always focused on the military campaigns. Tuchman's work had a completely different point of view. It was reading that book that made me think in an entirely different way about history. You might say my study of history matured with that experience.

Since then I've read several other Tuchman books - The First Salute, A Distant Mirror, and The Proud Tower. All excellent reads, though they are thick and meaty.

What book have you written which caused your thought process to mature?

Throwback Thursday - Linda Barnes

In light of recent events I've been thinking about Boston in literature. There are, of course, the classics - Poe, Emerson, Alcott - but that is a Boston unfamiliar. Then, looking at my book shelf, I noticed Linda Barnes.

Barnes writes mysteries, most notably featuring the gutsy private investigator and sometime cabbie Carlotta Carlyle. All of them are set in Boston and make use of the uniqueness of Boston to enhance the basic mystery storyline.

Carlyle is a hard-boiled female protagonist in the tradition of Kinsey Milhone and Sharon McCone. She doesn't back down but she has flaws and self-doubts as she winds through her cases. I thoroughly enjoyed the first Carlyle mystery A Trouble of Fools which won multiple awards when it came out in 1987. I have since read several others and enjoyed them all.

Barnes has introduced a new protagonist with her most recent novel, The Perfect Ghost, who is quite different from Carlyle. The action takes place outside of Boston, on Cape Cod. It is definitely on my "To-Read" list.

So, if you are looking for a mystery with a Boston angle, enjoyable to read and catching a flavor of that marvelous city, I highly recommend Linda Barnes' Carlotta Carlyle series.

Throwback Thursday - Harriet the Spy

In honor of the last Thursday in Women in Literature Month, I'd like to remember one of the first strong female protagonists (and a stellar female author). Harriet the Spy was a book I got as part of a book club my parents subscribed me to. They took the base two books every month, no matter what they were; I had no choice. And I devoured every one that came.

Harriet was the first female protagonist I remember. She was precocious, smart, and energetic. She made mistakes and learned from those mistakes. I read the book three times the first year. I felt her pain and could see in the relationship of Sport, Janie, and Harriet the interactions of some of my friends and myself.

Unfortunately Louise Fitzhugh had died by the time I read Harriet and I did not read any of her other novels. However, she and Harriet are rightfully judged "a milestone in children’s literature" (Neva Grant, NPR 2008).

Anyone else love Harriet as a kid?

Throwback Thursday - David Eddings

First apologies for being late to post this week.

I remember, O! so long ago! when David Eddings released the first book in his Belgariad series, promising a new twist on the fantasy series. I devoured each book as soon as it was available in paperback, both of the Belgariad and the follow-on Malloreon series.

I loved the books, the deep twisting characterization and the well-crafted plot. But, I do have to admit, I did not see any significant difference in these series compared to the Shannara series by Brooks, for example.or Barbara Hambly's excellent books featuring Sun Wolf and Starhawk.

Interestingly, much more recently, my son, who is a Raymond Feist aficionado among others, read the two early Eddings series for the first time - he took them off my shelf when he had run out of his own. He confirmed my impressions - very good and well worth the read, but not revolutionary to the genre.

Did you read Eddings? What did you think?

Throwback Thursday - Frost and Sandburg

On the Thursday night of my first poetry reading it is only fitting I pay a little attention to the only two poets who wrote poems I remember from my youth and can still recite!

Sandburg's The Fog struck me, when I was "forced" to read it in 9th grade English, by both its imagery and it brevity. Sandburg managed to capture an entire event and the feelings it inspires in 21 words.

Slightly differently, and a year later, Frost's The Road Not Taken just resonated in my core. I was the one taking the road less travelled. I was standing in that wood on a snowy evening. It was frightening and empowering at the same time.

Frost's and Sandburg's works, of course, have been published in many, many formats and by many publishers. In my opinion, you can't go wrong. My favorite versions, for their inexpensiveness, their clarity, and their ease of use, are the Dover Thrift Editions.

What do you think? Any favorite poet from your school days?

Throwback Thursday - Heinlein's Friday

 

 

I read this for the first time as a teen ager and was impressed mostly with the idea that the protagonist was female doing all the things associated, at that time, much more chauvinistic than now, with men. Friday was a soldier, a survivor, and a mechanical engineer. She survived on her wits and skill. She was tough and gritty.

 

I also found the society that Heinlein wove in a spacefaring, resource-tight, world, very intriguing. Draconian in part, progressive in part, egalitarian yet police state-like. It drew me in as a very complex and conflicting world view.

 

Heinlein's more popular Starship Troopers never piqued my interest, and I found Job too didactic but Friday was, for me, a very good read.

 

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