A must read for any leader to move beyond being a good leader into the realm of building good leaders. This book also helped me get out of a low point I was in after recent leadership struggles. I was reinspired to invest in people and I was also given some very practical help on how to do it better.

If you have a few minutes, check out Elizabeth Gilbert’s talk on the creative mind. Not only does she address the challenges writers face, but she proposes a new way of thinking for those with a creative bent. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA

Recommendations are coming in!  Thanks to all who have dropped me a line.  I value the opinions of good friends, so let me know what you think.   If you’ve already read any of the books in my laundry pile, feel free to chat.  I want to know is it a MUST have, a BARGIN bin, or TRASH it.  There’s no shame in being put on the ‘SALES’ floor, but a knock off is a knock off, so who are you fooling?  Comments welcome, stars encouraged, even a thumbs up or down is cool.

2009 List

‘The Dark Lantern’ Gerri Brightwell

‘The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror‘ Christopher Moore        2.5 Stars  Bitsy Reviewed

‘Diary‘ Chuck Palahniuk  5 Stars Bitsy Reviewed

‘The Woman In White’ Wilkie Collins

‘Possession: A Romance’ A.S. Byatt

‘The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society‘ Shaffer/Barrows 5 Stars Bitsy reviewed

‘Water for Elephants‘ Sara Gruen   4 Stars Bitsy reviewed

‘The Apple:  New Crimson Petal Stories’ Michel Faber

‘The Seance’ John Harwood

‘The Constellation Chronicles: The Lost Civilization of Aries’ Vincent Lowry

‘Monster of Florence: A True Story’ Douglas Preston, Mario Spezi  3.5 Star Bitsy Reviewed

‘Grace Hammer: A Novel of the Victorian Underworld’ Sara Stockbridge

‘I Want Candy’ Kim Wong Keltner

‘Darling Jim‘ Christian Moerk   3 Star  Bitsy Reviewed

‘The Thirteenth Tale’ Diane Setterfield  2 Star  Bitsy Reviewed

‘The Rogue Warrior’ Richard Marcinko

‘Dead Sleep’ Greg IIes

‘The Name Of The Wind’ Patrick Rothfuss

Since “A Moveable Feast” is one of my favorite memoirs, I had to include Ernest Hemingway’s words. Although his acceptance speech was shorter than many of the others,  I feel it sums up the writer’s path quite well.

Having no facility for speech-making and no command of oratory nor any domination of rhetoric, I wish to thank the administrators of the generosity of Alfred Nobel for this Prize.

No writer who knows the great writers who did not receive the Prize can accept it other than with humility. There is no need to list these writers. Everyone here may make his own list according to his knowledge and his conscience.

It would be impossible for me to ask the Ambassador of my country to read a speech in which a writer said all of the things which are in his heart. Things may not be immediately discernible in what a man writes, and in this sometimes he is fortunate; but eventually they are quite clear and by these and the degree of alchemy that he possesses he will endure or be forgotten.

Writing, at its best, is a lonely life. Organizations for writers palliate the writer’s loneliness but I doubt if they improve his writing. He grows in public stature as he sheds his loneliness and often his work deteriorates. For he does his work alone and if he is a good enough writer he must face eternity, or the lack of it, each day.

For a true writer each book should be a new beginning where he tries again for something that is beyond attainment. He should always try for something that has never been done or that others have tried and failed. Then sometimes, with great luck, he will succeed.

How simple the writing of literature would be if it were only necessary to write in another way what has been well written. It is because we have had such great writers in the past that a writer is driven far out past where he can go, out to where no one can help him.

I have spoken too long for a writer. A writer should write what he has to say and not speak it. Again I thank you.

Let your voice be heard! You have until Friday, September 18 to vote in YALSA’s Teens’ Top 10 book award:

ALA | Teens’ Top Ten via kwout

You may vote for up to 3 titles. First, go to the Teens’ Top 10 page, take a look at the nominees (PDF), and vote!

As writers, when we loan a book, or give a recommendation, it’s more than a simple sharing–it’s how we show to another what moves us, what lives below the surface.  Who we truly are or want to become.  Recently, a new friend loaned me a book of Faulkner’s writings that included his Nobel Prize acceptance speech. It peeked my curiousity.  I started reading the speeches from other Nobel recipients over the years and want to share some of my favorite writers’ words  with you. Just like a book shared, these speeches are a gift in and of themselves.  Enjoy!

I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work – a life’s work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit, not for glory and least of all for profit, but to create out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before. So this award is only mine in trust. It will not be difficult to find a dedication for the money part of it commensurate with the purpose and significance of its origin. But I would like to do the same with the acclaim too, by using this moment as a pinnacle from which I might be listened to by the young men and women already dedicated to the same anguish and travail, among whom is already that one who will some day stand here where I am standing.

Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer problems of the spirit. There is only the question: When will I be blown up? Because of this, the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat.

He must learn them again. He must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid; and, teaching himself that, forget it forever, leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities and truths of the heart, the old universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed – love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice. Until he does so, he labors under a curse. He writes not of love but of lust, of defeats in which nobody loses anything of value, of victories without hope and, worst of all, without pity or compassion. His griefs grieve on no universal bones, leaving no scars. He writes not of the heart but of the glands.

Until he relearns these things, he will write as though he stood among and watched the end of man. I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure: that when the last dingdong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening, that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, still talking. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet’s, the writer’s, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet’s voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.

Here’s a new tool that might help you guys prep for the Long and Short Passages in the Reading section of the SAT called: FAVAHOLIC

Moms wait around a lot. Start reading!

I love biographies and true stories. I watch a lot of Court TV.  I also really like stories about China, especially stories of life during the Cultural Revolution. I guess I am just fascinated with this society that was so brutal to it’s people. It was nuts!

Right now I’m reading “No Tears for Mao” by a woman named Niu Niu.  This is a true story. She tells her tragic story of her childhood years under the regime of Mao.  It was a time when anyone who was educated or artistic was considered an enemy of the people. Teachers and actors were beaten and sent to reeducation camps. Fear caused the general population to turn on each other and report any perceived transgression. There were public beatings and executions. You can’t make this stuff up!

Another Book I would recommend is “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” by Lisa See. This is a novel, not a true story. It takes place in 19th century China when girls had their feet bound, then spent the rest of their lives in seclusion.  Despite their sheltered lives, they managed to create secret writings and make lasting connections with each other.  This foot binding was crazy!

Today at work, I picked up a Time magazine. The cover article was titled, “Unfaithfully Yours” and underneath the headline was a picture of a bride and groom sinking into a big white wedding cake. They were up to their heads, drowning in a quicksand of icing, and they looked nervous. I would too if I were about to suffocate on sugary goo. “Infidelity is eroding our most sacred institution,” it said on the cover. “How to make marriage matter again.”

I picked up the magazine partly because I’m always curious to read articles about marriage and divorce, coming from a family of many marriages, divorces, and re-marriages. But mostly I picked it up because I’ve read a lot of books and articles recently — Susan Sontag’s journals, an article by Sandra Tsing Loh about her recent divorce, parts of Ana Fel’s Necessary Dreams — that paint marriage in sad, dark, weary colors. I was hoping, a little bit, for some balance, to be reassured of marriage’s sacredness or importance. So my guards were down.

It was really disappointing. The article was by Caitlin Flanagan, a well-known (though I didn’t know her) and controversial essayist. A google search returned this extremely bizarre Colbert Report appearance, along with reviews of her books and various articles she’s written in support of traditional family values, whatever those are.

Her main point in “Unfaithfully Yours” seems to be that couples need to suck it up and stick together for the sake of the kids. I’m not outright opposed to that idea, of course, I just don’t think it’s very subtle or that it applies in all cases. In the end, her argument is too oversimplified, too heteronormative, too dependent on research by partisan think tanks and anecdotes from reality TV shows, and too dismissive of all the ways that American families are changing, evolving, and assuming new shapes and structures (often without messing up the kids too badly), to be worth breaking down point-by-point. But it is a good read if you want to get a little bit annoyed.

So what I’d really like to know is this: what are some good books you’ve read recently (fiction or non) about long-term relationships and what they mean, in all their complexity, good and bad? Could be marriage or could be something else entirely…

The 2009 Atlanta Writers Club Youth Creative Writing Camp was a huge success. Over seventy attendees, ranging in age from 9 to 17, learned about character, plot, setting, editing and much more. The presenters were Marc Fitten, Lynda Fitzgerald, Hollis Gillespie, Annika Nielsen, Jack Riggs and Dr. Neil Shulman.

The first day opened with Lynda Fitzgerald (If Truth Be Told, Of Words and Music) who presented “Crawling Inside Your Characters’ Skin.” She touched upon ways to describe your characters as well as techniques that should not be used—“The mirror: the oldest (and most overused) trick in the book.” The attendees were given topics to write on throughout the presentation. By the time Ms. Fitzgerald concluded her presentation, the attendees were well on their way to creating strong, fleshed-out characters.

Ms. Fitzgerald was followed by the award-winning Hollis Gillespie (Bleachy-Haired Honky Bitch, Confessions of  a Recovering Slut, Trailer Trashed.)Hollis, a natural in front of any audience, encouraged the attendees to use their own life in their work. Many of the young writers shared humorous anecdotes from their lives, bringing the house down in laughter.

Jack Riggs (When the  Finch  Rises, The Fireman’s Wife) was the next presenter. Mr. Riggs discussed character, sharing how characters become real to the writer and how his own characters in his first novel made appearances in his dreams, asking when, “that man was going to come back and finish their story.” He then distributed a photo of a chair and asked the writers to create a story around it. The work was so strong and expressive, a category for the contest on the second day was created.

Best-selling author, Dr. Neil Shulman (Doc Hollywood, etc.) spoke to the attendees after Mr. Riggs. Dr. Shulman spoke about the importance of young people being heard in our culture and how storytelling can be their vehicle. He asked the attendees, “Why do we have war?” The responses were thought-provoking and intelligent.

For a short break, the attendees were invited to participate in an interactive spelling game that turned out to be a true adventure due to the high ceilings and acoustics in the building. The librarian who came barreling down the stairs was understanding after she realized there was no need to call SWAT—it was just seventy-plus kids stomping on balloons in order to get to the letters in each one so they could spell out the nine-letter words.

Marc Fitten (Valeria’s Last Stand, Editor of The Chattahoochee Review) closed the day with a casual Q & A where the attendees were free to ask any question having to do with writing—the questions showed the determination of many of the attendees when it comes to their writing and getting it published. A list of places that publish young people’s work was then distributed.

 The second day opened with me introducing the experimental form of writing called Oulipo. The attendees were given writing restraints to use in their work: Writing a paragraph without using the letter E; Using the Snowball template—the first line of a poem starts with one letter, then each line adds one letter. The writers surprised themselves with the impressive work they produced.

Lynda Fitzgerald continued her presentation on character, giving the attendees a list of behaviors and characteristics all writers should know about the characters they create. They include physical attributes such as eye color, build, walk, as well as less concrete characteristics like goals, skills, biggest fears, greatest unmet desire, and virtues.

Jack Riggs returned with a geography presentation that included a photo of a stone fence—the attendees were instructed to write about the photo and were then invited to read their work on stage. The imaginations and strong writing abilities were quite impressive.

The presentations were brought to a close with fifteen-year-old Annika Nielsen, a 2008 attendee. Ms. Nielsen was asked to speak to her peers about her writing path (she’s on her fourth book) and why age should not hinder a young person who wants to write. The young, talented writer shared the things she’s learned—the importance of editing, how to receive and use critiques of your work. She did a quick Q&A then followed it with a reading of one of her short stories.  The professionalism and ability that Ms. Nielsen showed in her presentation reinforces that age should never be an obstacle when following your dreams.

The camp ended with an open microphone where the writers shared their work with their peers, and an awards ceremony. Beautiful certificates, designed by the talented Emily Lupita Plum, gifts certificates donated by Eagle Eye Bookshop, and Ms. Fitzgerald’s novel, Of Words and Music, were given for Best Story, Best Poem, Character Development as well as many other categories. 

My sincerest thank you goes out to all of the presenters. As writers, sharing our experiences and our knowledge allows us to stay connected and create a larger writing community. I would also like to thank The Atlanta Writers Club and Georgia Perimeter College—without them, the Youth Creative Writing Camp would not have been a possibility. A special thank you goes out to all of the volunteers who came both days and assisted in making the two-day camp a fun and secure environment for all of the attendees.

The Youth Creative Writing Camp is a labor of love for me. I knew when I was quite young that I wanted to be a writer, but not knowing any writers who could instruct me on craft as well as the world of publication, I spent a lot of time searching out a community that could help make the dream a reality. Writing camps that bring professional creative writers and new writers together offers an unparalleled opportunity for young people who may want to explore a writing path. I thank everyone who helped make this year a success.  See you next year!

A few years ago, a dear friend of mine told me about Anne Michaels’ book “Fugitive Pieces.” I had only recently decided to follow the writing path, after years of denying the want, and “Fugitive Pieces” became the standard I set for myself—if I become half as good as Michaels, I will count myself a success. Her prose is flawless and heart-breaking. There were times I had to put the novel down in order to catch my breath and regain my equilibrium—the story of Jakob, Athos and Ben is not for the faint of heart, but it is a beautiful one that, as far as I’m concerned, has no equal.

Michaels’ new novel “The Winter Vault” was recently released. Though not as poignant as her first, it is well-done and worth a read. The author’s true gift is her ability to create prose that resonates for the reader—you find yourself nodding in agreement, relieved that someone has tapped into the knowing that nestles deep inside all of us.

Great writing challenges, forces open places that we never knew were closed. The following lines are from “The Winter Vault” and when I read them, a jarring in my chest let me know that Michaels had, once again, hit the mark. I had to stop and consider where my true home lies. 

“I do not believe home is where we’re born, or the place we grew up, not a birthright or an inheritance, not a name, or blood or country. It is not even the soft part that hurts when touched, that defines our loneliness the way a bowl defines water. It will not be located in a smell or a taste or a talisman or a word…

            “Home is our first real mistake. It is the one error that changes everything, the one lesson you could let destroy you. It is from this moment that we begin to build our home in the world. It is this place that we furnish with smell, taste, a talisman, a name.”

Pre-Shopaholic days, Sophie Kinsella was known only to the world as Madeleine Wickham.  For my 2 year wedding anniversary my husband gave me a couple of books (cutting gift costs in this economic downslide).  The first book that I devoured was Wickham’s Cocktails for Three.  The tale of three modern Brittish women,who struck up an epic friendship while working for the same fashion magazine.  The three leading characters couldn’t be more different from each other-all seeing that the grass was always greener elsewhere.

They struggle to find love and purpose…. and even to make amends for long ago secret bullets.  This is one of the books that I cannot stop reading but am slightly angry when I am finished because the experience is over-at least for the moment.  This is one of those books that continues to circle in my mind for days, not because of sheer depth, but because the characters come alive and seemingly linger like friends linger at parties long after other guests have gone.  This was the first book I’ve read of Wickham and it will not be the last.  The story alone would be a wonderful romantic comedy!   2 sexy hip leading ladies, an icon to play the perfection queen mother in law; maybe even two contrasting actors like Patrick Dempsy and Matthew McConaughey!

I fully intend to inundate this blog with Revolutionary War/Founding Fathers facts in commemoration of the 4th of July, but I stumbled upon this article, which gives brief synopses of the Least Free Places on Earth and thought it was important to share. While the media and many prominent human rights activists call attention to the rampant corruption in countries such as Zimbabwe, Iran, and Kenya, this report by Freedom House offers a glimpse into the sad lives of denizens in lesser-known countries, as well as those we have all heard about (North Korea, Sudan, Somalia, just to name a few).

I would like to thank everyone who attended the official scratch anthology launch Friday evening. It was a nice turn-out and I enjoyed talking with friends and meeting so many new people.

A special thanks goes to Linda Sands for everything she did to make the evening possible. Josh Ray, another scratch contributor was present; it was nice meeting you!

For those who weren’t able to make it, the anthology is available on Amazon. Once again, thank you!!

Elizabeth Gilbert is best known for her work “Eat, Pray, Love,” but she has been creating, reworking and fine-tuning her craft for years. One piece of advice she’s offered up to aspiring writers is:

“I believe that – if you are serious about a life of writing, or indeed about any creative form of expression – that you should take on this work like a holy calling.”

I whole-heartedly agree. We writers stomp our feet and complain that other people–those non-writers, non-creators, the seat-fillers in our little plays–don’t respect the creative-process, but I challenge you to ask: Do you?

Do you ferret out those hours for yourself to approach the work as a holy-calling, something that deserves respect, nurturing, in order to develop and grow. Or do you allow other things to take precedence, delegating your writing, painting, song-writing to a point in time when your life demands less, runs smoothly, reaches perfection. If so, those stories, paintings, songs may never see the light of day–and how tragic would that be?

To read more advice for writers from Ms. Gilbert, click here:

http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/writing.htm

Below I list the Top 5 books that are noteworthy in the field of OT studies which you must read if you’re a student  of the Bible, especially of the Old Testament. This is not an exhaustive list per se but it does, however,  cover the trajectories of the major sub-disciplines  (i.e. OT Theology, Introductory texts, literary approaches, Israel & History of Israel,  minority readings)  of  the discipline.

* The texts listed below  are not classified by order of importance or influence, as a means of comparison and assessment within each individual group. Because of the nature of each individual piece, as each work is written from a theological persuasion and different school of thought. My attempt here is to represent the best work from a particular theological model. Hence order is not an issue here! 

 OT Theology

1. James Barr, The Concept of Biblical Theology: An Old Testament Perspective (1999).
2. W. Eichrodt, Old Testament Theology. 2 Vols. (1961-67)
3. Walter Brueggerman, Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy (1997).
4. John Goldingay, Old Testament Theoology. 2 vols (2003-2006).
5. G. Von Rad, Old Testament Theology. 2 vols (1962-65) or Bruce K. Waltke, An Old Testament Theology: An Exegetical , Canonical, and Thematic Approach (2008)

Introductory Texts

1. W.S. LaSor, D.A. Hubbard, and F.W. Bush, Old Testament Survey (1996).
2. Andrew E. Hill & John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament (2008).
3. Bill T. Arnold and Bryan E. Beyer. Encountering the Old Testament: A Christian Survey (1999).
4. Craig C. Broyles (ed), Interpreting the Old Testament: A Guide for Exegesis (2001)
5. B.S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (1979).

Israel & History of Israel

1. J. Alberto Soggin, A History of Ancient Israel: From Beginnings to the Bar Kochba Revolt (1985)
2. J. Bright, A History of Israel (1981)
3. Anson F. Rainey & R. Steven Notley, The Sacred Bridge. Carta’s Atlas of the Biblical World (2006)
4. Hershel Shanks (ed), Ancient Israel. From Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple Revised edition (1999)
5. V. Phillips Long, The Art of Biblical History. Foundations of Contemporary Interpretation. vol. 5 (1994)

Literary Approaches to the OT

1. Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative (1981).
2. J. P. Fokkelman, Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (1999)
3. Moshe Sternberg, The Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the Drama of Readin (1985)
4. Robert Polzin, Moses and the Deuteuronomist: A Literary Study of the Deuteronomic History (1980)
5. Shimon Bar-Efrat, Narrative Art in the Bible (1989)

Minority Readings/Approaches to the OT

1. R.S. Sugirtharaja (ed), Voices from the Margin: Interpreting the Bible in the Third World (1995)
2. Cain Hope Felder (ed), Stony the Road We Trod:African American Biblical Interpretation (1991) or Phillis A. Bird. Missing Persons and Mistaken Identities:Women and Gender in Ancient Israel (1997)
3. Vincent Wimbush (ed), African Americans and the Bible. Sacred Texts and Social Textures (2001)
4. Gerald O. West & Musa W. Dube (eds), The Bible in Africa: Transactions, Trajectories and Trends (2001)
5. David Tuesday Adamo, Africa and the Africans in the Old Testament (2001)