Literary Blog Hop, or How My Mother Made Me the Reader I Am Today

Welcome to my little corner of the blogosphere!  It is once again time for the ever-entertaining and enlightening Literary Blog Hop, hosted by the lovely Blue Bookcase.  This week's question-

How did you find your way to reading literary fiction and nonfiction?

I don't ever remember a time when I didn't read.  I like to think that part of that is just my general temperament, but I suspect that like most good things from my early life, it had a lot to do with my mother.  My mother was unable to work outside of the home when I was growing up-partly as a result of vision loss that makes it impossible for her to drive, and partly because in the 1970s if your husband could support the family you were expected to be a stay-at-home mom.  This reality really frustrated my mother, who is easily one of the smartest people I know (and I'm not just saying that because she's my mom, honest!).  To stimulate her intellectual self, she read, A LOT!  She has always read, and still reads, at least three times what I do in a week.  I grew up watching her devour books and keep going back for more.  I always enjoyed reading for pleasure, but having her in the house meant that the variety and number of books I had access to was truly enormous.  She has very eclectic reading tastes, and I could get my hands on just about anything, from classics to mysteries to memoirs to literary fiction.  As a teen my favorites were fantasy and science fiction novels (which are two genres she rarely reads-teenage rebellion?  hmmmmm...), but if I ran out of aliens or elves to read about, I could always find something to challenge my mind.  

Come to think of it, my mother has had just as large an impact on my adult reading life.  As a single parent for most of my 20s, working two jobs to support myself and my daughter, my mother passed on to me all of the books that she bought.  For years I almost never bought my own or went to the library, because I had a boxful waiting for me at every visit.  Now that I am in a position to buy my own books, I have so many hand-me-downs that I could read for about four years without ever having to buy or borrow another book (not that I will, though my Goodreads Bookswap addiction may soon require an intervention).   All in all I'd say that my mother made me the reader I am today, and for that I will be forever grateful!

Candy Everybody Wants, by Josh Kilmer Purcell

If there is a lesson in Candy Everybody Wants, it is to be careful what you wish for. 

The story centers in Jayson (the Y is very important, it shows flair), a gay teenager living in Wisconsin in the early 80s.  His mom is a "free spirit" artist, his brother has a developmental disability, his best friends are twins that live next door with their religious fundamentalist parents.  Jayson has one overarching goal-to be famous, just like his celebrity crush, Devin Williamson.  The summer before high school finds him directing his friends and starring in his own Dallas/Dynasty spin-off.  When his performance (in drag) is accidentally shown to the whole town, his mother sends him to live with father-an actor she hooked up with once after a performance, but who Jayson finds is clearly as queer as a three dollar bill.  He also runs a male escort service, but he takes in Jayson with equanimity.  Also staying with dear old dad-Jayson's favorite child actor, Devin Williamson.  Between Devin and his father, Jayson now has enough juice to get him noticed in Hollywood-but will it turn out to be everything he hoped?

Sadly, Candy Everybody Wants did not turn out to be everything I hoped.  After reading I Am Not Myself These Days, Purcell's memoir of his days in drag, I was expecting a slightly snarky, witty, and insightful novel about the dangers of seeking fame.   I think that what made his memoir successful was the raw honesty with which it was written, and the fact that you knew it was about a real person.  In Candy Everybody Wants, the authenticity was missing to a certain extent.  Plus, he really threw in every late 70s/early 80s character stereotype there was.  Flamboyant gay teen, drug-using promiscuous bisexual mother, former teen-idol on the skids, closeted gay theater actor, homophobic meathead football player, militant lesbian...few of the characters, including Jayson, felt completely developed. 

The story itself was entertaining, and I could see it making a great, quirky comedy movie.  But as a follow-up to his first book, this one left me a little flat.

February Releases That Caught My Attention

Here are two February releases which have caught my attention and I thought I'd share them with you here.

Dreaming in English by Laura Fitzgerald
ISBN-13: 9780451232144

Synopsis
A captivating sequel to the national bestselling novel Veil of Roses.

Knowing she could never be happy in Iran, Tamila Soroush took her mother's advice to "Go and wake up your luck" and joined her sister in the United States. Now, after a spur-of-the-moment exchange of "I do"s with her true love, Ike Hanson, Tami is eager to start her new life.

But not everyone is pleased with their marriage, and Tami's happily- ever-after is no sure thing. With an interview with Immigration looming, Tami wonders if she's got the right stuff when it comes to love, American-style. Maybe her luck is running out. Or maybe she'll stand up for herself and claim her American dream.


Haunting Jasmine by Anjali Banerjee
ISBN-13: 9780425238714

Synopsis
A call from the past brings divorcee Jasmine Mistry home to Shelter Island to run her beloved aunt's bookstore, which has always been rumored to be haunted. With that knowledge, Jasmine embarks on a mystical journey, urged along by her quirky family, and guided by the highly emotional spirits of long-dead authors. Surprisingly, she finds herself moved to heal her broken heart when she falls unexpectedly in love with an enigmatic young stranger.

~~~~~~~~~~

What do you think of these books? They sound great isn't it, and I just love their covers! I read Laura Fitzgerald's Veil of Roses awhile back (here's my review) and really loved it so I can't wait to read Dreaming in English. Haunting Jasmine by Anjali Banerjee sounds like another good read so I will be sure to read this as well.

Which new releases have caught your attention lately? Do share!

Wordless Wednesday

Teaser Tuesdays

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

An older woman from the group, a mother or aunt, screamed and ran forward toward the alcove, and one of the soldiers shot her. Captured on film. The curse of photojournalism in war was that a good picture necessitated the subject getting hurt or killed. Helen blinked, tamped emotion.

(Pg 28, The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli)

Musing Mondays: Books and Reading

This week’s musing:

How many books did you read in 2010? If you had a reading goal, did you meet it? What books are you most looking forward to reading for 2011 (either new, OR ones that have sat on your shelves for a while)?

It has been a long while since I did a Musing Mondays post; plus I really liked this week's questions so here we are.

I read 73 books in 2010. To be specific, I read 3 Chinese novels, 9 manga/graphic novels, 2 nonfiction and fiction as for the rest. I didn't read as many books as in 2009 (86 books) but still I think I had a great reading year last year in terms of quality and a few new-to-me authors whereby I enjoyed reading their books and will make sure to check them out should they have any releases out in the near future.

As for reading goals, I don't have any. I think simplicity is the way and my main focus will be reading as many books as I can from my TBR pile. However, I don't think it is possible to make a dent out of those piles at this point unless I make an effort to stop buying books, as my best friend always say to me. Unfortunately, I find this to be impossible since the temptation of books buying is too great, plus there are too many good books out there that I wouldn't want to miss. It would be a 'vicious' cycle, but at least I will be more choosy when it comes to buying the books I want to read.

Nevertheless, here are a few new books which I am most looking forward to buying (reading) this year:

• Gone by Mo Hayder
• The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards
• The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
• Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler
• The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan
• Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles
• Take Me There by Susan Colasanti
• What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
• Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale by Carolyn Turgeon

100 Books in 2010

Last year, in honor of my first full year of blogging, I participated in the 100+ Book Challenge hosted by The Home Girl's Book Blog.  I've been averaging between 60 and 75 books a year, so I figured that getting up to 100 was a way to improve my close personal relationship with my to-be-read shelves.

Yesterday, with two hours and 39 minutes to spare, I finished my 100th book.  I had to read 5 young adult novels in two days to make it happen, but I did it.  I completed the challenge.  And guess what-today, if I'm keeping a yearly total, I'm back to zero, zip, zilch, nada, none.  The euphoria of completing last year's challenge is replaced by a sense of emptiness and despair...

OK, not really, but here's what I learned from participating in this challenge in 2010-I don't like reading on someone else's schedule.  Yes, I know I signed up of my own free will, but as the year progressed I found myself more focused on quantity rather than quality, on accumulating titles rather than knowledge or literary wisdom.  I found myself choosing my books not by their topic or my interests, but by their length.  Satanic Verses-too long for 2010.  Under the Dome by Stephen King-sorry, you'll have to wait.  Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin-so sorry, I know my friend recommended you to me last winter, but you just have too many pages for me.  I passed over books I really wanted to read by Diana Gabaldon, Margaret Atwood, and Joyce Carol Oates simply because I thought they would take too long.

Constant Reader, I hear you saying, "Why not just give up on the challenge?  It's not like you win money for finishing, or get punished if you don't."  But one of the things about myself that I am generally proud of is my stick-to-it-iveness, my commitment to finishing what I start.  And it wasn't all bad-I did enjoy watching my numbers climb.  At the end my friends even got into the act, cheering me on with Facebook messages as I rushed to finish the last several titles.  But when I saw the post for the 2011 100+Book Challenge, I clicked the back button.  And the first book I picked up off my shelf today-Under the Dome, the 1000+ page tome that has been sitting on my TBR pile for far too long, given how much I love reading my Uncle Stevie!  My challenge this year?  To read what I want, when I want, and try to keep my Goodreads Bookswap addiction under control.  And if I get to the end of 2011 having had a full year of literary goodness, I will consider the year a raving success.