Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Tag: Book Wyrm

  • Written Word Wednesday -NaNoWriMo Week 1

    I have lived through five full days of NaNoWriMo! Woo-hoo! 8,693 words written, absolutely no fits had, zero editing, and having a pretty great time. I have been encouraged by family, fellow writers and several text messages from my brother in law who is living vicariously through me. I have no idea if what I am writing will amount to an actual novel, but I am having fun doing it.

    In other writing news my pre-ordered copy of The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern arrived in the mail yesterday. I have been looking forward to it all year. I love the Night Circus, and reread/ relisten to the audio book every couple of months. I haven’t started reading it yet, but maybe later tonight with luck. Or maybe after November is over.

    I hope November is treating you well.

  • David Sedaris and Accidental Synchronicity

    David Sedaris and Accidental Synchronicity

    This afternoon Seth and I headed downtown to the Palace Theatre for An Evening with David Sedaris.

    Last year around October we saw him for the first time, and got to meet him and have him autograph books for us. My friend from high school, Julie, works for the bookstore that always sponsors his appearances (The Book Loft. I am planning a whole post⁸ dedicated to that later.) She walked us up and introduced us a s friends of hers, and we chatted with David and he signed our two books as follows.

    This year we also saw Julie, and walked to say hello to David. We introduced ourselves and David said something to the extent of “Betsy , I remember Betsy. She was a nice girl but smelled a bit like a public toilet. You know bath and body works. And Seth.” And then he drew…a hand flipping the opener of the book off. I laughed and told him we had another book signed by him with a similar drawing and he said “oh, no!” I told him it was perfect and a bizarre coincidence.

    Walking away Seth and I mused that we must just look like we need to be flipped off. Lol.

    He was funny, poignant and generally wonderful to see a second time. I will certainly go again if I have the chance. If you have never read his work I reccomend starting with Holidays on Ice which combines his essays with fiction to make one quirky and wonderful holiday experience. It includes the famous, Santaland Diaries, which has been mafe into a play as well. If you can get his books on audio I also recommend it because he usually reads them and it is a joy to hear.

    Are you a David Sedaris fan?

  • Interview with the Vampire… Obsessed Girl

    I have been fascinated with the idea of vampires since I was an itty bitty weird girl checking out books on the supernatural and mythology from my elementary school library. Beautiful immortal beings who feed on blood, what’s not to love? I loved to read about the mythologies that lead to the idea, the legends and especially the amazing fiction about vampires that are available for teens and adults who love them. Here are some of my favorite books, or at least some of the most memorable to me.

    The Silver Kiss – Annette Curtis Klause: I remember reading this at 10 or so and loving it. I have read it again as an adult and it is still pretty good. It features a vampire child, which is super creepy, and a lightly goth over tone. The ending made me cry.

    Lost Souls – Poppy Z Brite: An interesting book that presents a very different idea of how vampires are created.

    Interview with the Vampire/ The Vampire Chronicles – Anne Rice: She rewrote the genre. Lestat is pure wickedness. I once used a monologue from Queen of the Damned for an audition piece.

    Dracula – Bram Stoker: The original. Renfield is the creepiest. Lucy is heartbreaking. And Mina is a goth girls dream.

    The Hollows/ Rachel Morgan books – Kim Harrison: Rachel is a witch and a bad ass. Her roomate Ivy is a Vampire. They live in a church. Chaos ensues.

    That is what I can think of off the top of my head. Do you have a favorite vampire book?

  • In which I get my degree and think, “Well now what?”

    It is officially official, I have earned my bachelor’s degree in English and Creative Writing. I received my diploma in the mail, framed it, and currently it is hanging on a wall in my living room staring at me and challenging me to think about what comes next. I know I would like to begin looking for a job that is closer to my career field, but what does that look like and how do I begin.

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    Do I want to teach? If so I should probably begin looking at Master’s Degree programs, because that is almost prerequisite nowadays. Would I rather find a job in the “business” world that will utilize my “new” strengths? That is what I have been looking at and applying for, but so far it seems like they want people who have many years of solid writing under their belt, and I am just getting started. I know I could do the job, and successfully, but if I never even make it to the interview stage how can I show that?

    Life is not all gloom and doom, though, yesterday my family surprised me with a graduation party at one of my favorite restaurants, Mi Tradicion. My mom and sister, my husband, my aunt Gayle and uncle Charlie, my aunt Cathy, my cousin Lynsi and her daughter Kynadey, and my cousin Robby and his fiance Sharon all came together to celebrate my graduation. It was a lovely time, and it was nice to get to see everyone and chat. I got some lovely gifts including an amazing laptop that my mom bought me. My family knows me really well, and they gave me gifts that spoke to my soul, like the amazing book based charm bracelet my sister made me.

     

  • Written Words Wednesday – Book Wyrm Post

    Written Words Wednesday – Book Wyrm Post

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    I believe I mentioned previously that I am a bibliophile. I consider myself a Book Wyrm rather than a Book Worm, because I horde books like a dragon. Today I thought I would share what book I am currently reading, and a couple of books I recently purchased.

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    I am currently reading Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman. If you have ever read, or attempted to read, the Poetic Edda you know that it can occasionally be hard going and sometimes things just get lost in translation. In Norse Mythology Gaiman successfully modernizes the language of the myths, but loses none of the meaning and beauty. My favorite re-imagining in the book so far is The Treasures of the Gods which is the tale of when Loki stole Sif’s hair and, after being threatened by Thor, comes up with a way to get the Dark Elves (Dwarves) to craft her new golden hair. The twists and turns and Loki’s slippery nature are a very entertaining read.

    I am in the middle of reading the story The Mead of Poets, so I am about halfway through the book. That being said I would already recommend it highly, especially for lovers of mythology.

     

    Seth and I wandered into Barnes and Noble the other day, because I was wanting to pick up a Squirrel Girl comic or two. As you can see above I found one, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl – Like I’m the Only Squirrel in the World.

    I also picked up another Graphic Novel called Spell on Wheels by Kate Leth, Megan Levens and Marissa Louise. The tag line on the back reads: A road trip story. A magical revenge fantasy. A sisters-over-misters tale of three witches out to get back what was taken from them.  Sounds intriguing, right? I will report back with what I think.

    On a sale rack I found The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer for $6.98. I already have the book in audio form, but could not pass up a physical copy for that price. If you have not read this beautiful book, do it. Or buy it as an audio book and Amanda will read it to you.

    Happy Reading!