I Close My Eyes

This is a video of my area. The Tiki Bar is only a few miles from my house, and Matlacha (pronounced Matt-la-shay) is one of my favorite places on earth. I'm not a beach person, but I love quaint fishing towns and art areas, which is what Matlacha really is. (Funny that he portrays Matlacha as a beach area, too. I've never seen a real beach at Matlacha! It's a tiny little stretch of land allowing for a two-lane road with restaurants, fish mongers, art galleries and homes on either side of the road, and it leads out to Pine Island-- another of my favorite places on earth).

REVIEW: Mothers & Daughters by Rae Meadows

Synopsis

A rich and luminous novel about three generations of women in one family: the love they share, the dreams they refuse to surrender, and the secrets they hold

Samantha is lost in the joys of new motherhood—the softness of her eight-month-old daughter's skin, the lovely weight of her child in her arms—but in trading her artistic dreams to care for her child, Sam worries she's lost something of herself. And she is still mourning another loss: her mother, Iris, died just one year ago.

When a box of Iris's belongings arrives on Sam's doorstep, she discovers links to pieces of her family history but is puzzled by much of the information the box contains. She learns that her grandmother Violet left New York City as an eleven-year-old girl, traveling by herself to the Midwest in search of a better life. But what was Violet's real reason for leaving? And how could she have made that trip alone at such a tender age?

In confronting secrets from her family's past, Sam comes to terms with deep secrets from her own. Moving back and forth in time between the stories of Sam, Violet, and Iris, Mothers and Daughters is the spellbinding tale of three remarkable women connected across a century by the complex wonder of motherhood.

• Pub. Date: March 2011
• Publisher: Holt, Henry & Company, Inc.
• Format: Hardcover , 272pp
• ISBN-13: 9780805093834
• ISBN: 0805093834
• Edition Description: First Edition

About the Author
from the author's website

Rae Meadows is the author of Mothers and Daughters, Calling Out, which received the 2006 Utah Book Award for fiction, and No One Tells Everything, a Poets & Writers Notable Novel. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Awards and Citations:

• Honorable Mention, Anne Powers Book-Length Fiction Prize, 2008
• “Notable Novel” selection, Poets & Writers, 2008
• First Prize, Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops Short Story Contest, 2008
• Winner, Utah Book Award for Fiction, 2006
• “Best Books of the Year” selection, The Chicago Tribune, 2006
• One of five Poets & Writers “Debut Writers to Watch,” 2006
• “Must Read” selection, Entertainment Weekly, 2006
• Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, 2006
• Book Sense Notable Book, 2006
• First Prize, Authors in the Park Short Story Competition, 2000
• Runner-up, The Mississippi Review Fiction Prize, 2000

Rae’s Favorite Books:

• Jesus’ Son, by Dennis Johnson
• As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner
• The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
• Unless, by Carol Shields
• Gilead, by Marilyn Robinson
• Beloved, by Toni Morrison
• Winesburg, Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson
• To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
• Last Night at the Lobster, by Stuart O’Nan
• In the Lake of the Woods, by Tim O’Brien

Read an Excerpt from Mothers and Daughters
Praise for Mothers and Daughters
Reading Group Guide for Mothers and DaughtersRead an interview with Rae and her Mom Jane

My Thoughts

Sam was hungry for pound cake. Or at least for the making of it, for the recipe's humble simplicity-- one pound each of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar-- which had a certain elegance.

Town/Location/Environment:

A portion of this book took place in my neck of the woods here in south Florida. In fact, my town of Fort Myers is even mentioned a couple of times, as well as neighboring Sanibel, a resort island that I visited just a few weeks ago.

Other parts of the story take place in New York, Wisconsin, and a train ride across the country.


You know, I’m not a mother, but I am a daughter. And even my mother has begun to send me “Mother’s Day” cards, because although I am 41, divorced and childless, and it appears I will likely never birth a child, she says I am still a “mother” to many in the world and care for many. I'm a mother at heart, if not in function. So I could identify with this book and its characters on many levels.

There was a lot for me to relate to in this book, despite my not having children.

Her mother had offered gruff hugs and the occasional kiss on the top of the head as comfort, usually accompanied by, "Buck up, Iris. It's not that bad." Nothing, in her mother's eye, had ever been that bad. Not the chickenpox, or cod liver oil, or a sprained ankle, or a dead bird, or a broken heart. (p. 127)

That her children were not close wasn't surprising, given their ten-year age separation, but it was still a disappointment. (p. 176)

(It was actually a 6-year age separation for me, not 10)

This story was about three generations of women. Grandmother Violet, mother Iris and daughter/granddaughter Sam. I think that Violet as a young girl was my favorite character, although I also loved that of Iris at the end of her life as well.

This book perfectly captured the stereotypical mother-daughter relationship:

She felt a momentary pique-- she ordered the same thing everytime-- but, as she reminded herself, this was not the stuff of tragedy. It did not have to be symbolic or weighted or tucked away to add to a pile of resentments. It was just dinner. (p. 230)

 Quotes:

Iris decided that her birthday would be a good day to die. That gave her three more weeks. (page 34)

She had always thought cancer would be a banal way to go, but in fact it felt personal, almost intimate, an insidious march beneath the surface of her skin. (page 34)

Her mother had been tough and capable, a woman who’d done man’s work readily and never complained. She didn’t talk about herself and seemed to have no needs of her own. “How is it you are my daughter?” she said sometimes to Iris, who’d been lazy at chores, a girl given to daydreams and wandering. (page 36)

The Cover: I like the cover, which has a little girl wearing butterfly wings standing in a field. What I really like is the fact that it came packaged in a special cover that made it look like a box, which ties into the story.

My final word: This book was very easy to read, and often stirred my emotions. I would love to try something else by author Rae Meadows, and would recommend this book in a heartbeat!



My Rating: 8 out of 10

Disclosure:
I received a copy of this book for review from Henry Holt Publishing in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. The book that I received was an uncorrected proof, but I confirmed that the quotes mentioned were included in the actual published version.

Taking a Fresh Perspective

Every so often, I conduct a black and white workshop for my photo club.

We go over the basics of looking for shapes, patterns, textures, and high contrast. It's a lot of fun!

Converting from color to black and white can make a scene come to life...

It can also save a scene that wasn't quite right...

How does this relate to writing?

Sometimes a scene or even the whole manuscript isn't working. We need to approach it from a new perspective and see what works best:

* Changing POV?
* Changing main characters?
* Changing setting?
* Changing genre?
* Changing storyline?

Just like switching from color to black and white, we can change something major in our manuscript that presents a fresh perspective and puts a new spin on our work.

Any changes you need to make?

Weekend Sillies

Since we could all use a laugh!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

BEA, Memorial Day, and Storms

Book Expo America is in full swing this weekend! The BEA is an event like no other. I attended in 2006 and was overwhelmed. Hopefully they will resume moving the venue again. Until then, New York is too far for me.


If you can’t attend, check out Armchair BEA for updates, news, and giveaways.

Memorial Day is this coming Monday here in the USA, a time for us to remember those who’ve fallen and served during war.

I always think of my father, who served in the Navy in WWII. He was just 18 years old when drafted. He rarely mentioned his time in the service, but I still have the collection of Japanese plane insignias he acquired during that time.

And the natural disasters of the past six weeks are heartbreaking! Starting with the earthquake and tsunami in Japan to the tornado outbreaks, the destruction is just unbelievable. We were lucky on April 16 when the largest tornado outbreak ever to hit NC tore through our state. No damage, just large hail.

But the town just up the road from us was hit hard, and we’ve driven past that scene many times since.

The damage in Tuscaloosa terrifies me, because in some places, there’s nothing but the foundation remaining, and the stories of missing people and those dead in Joplin break my heart.

Keep those people in mind this weekend. Be grateful your family is safe and give to the relief efforts if possible. And have a safe Memorial Day Weekend.

Check in Saturday for the Weekend Sillies.

Mailbox Monday (05-23-11 edition)

Image licensed from bigstockphoto.com

Copyright stands

Mailbox Monday is now hosted monthly by a different blog. Here is the official blog of Mailbox Monday.  Here is what I received over the last couple of weeks:

The Season of Second Chances by Diane Meier
Won from The Eclectic Reader

A world of possibilities opens up for Joy Harkness when she sets out on a journey that’s going to show her the importance of friendship, love, and what makes a house a home 

Coming-of-age can happen at any age. Joy Harkness had built a university career and a safe life in New York, protected and insulated from the intrusions and involvements of other people. When offered a position at Amherst College, she impulsively leaves the city, and along with generations of material belongings, she packs her equally heavy emotional baggage. A tumbledown Victorian house proves an unlikely choice for a woman whose family heirlooms have been boxed away for years. Nevertheless, this white elephant becomes the home that changes Joy forever. As the restoration begins to take shape, so does her outlook on life, and the choices she makes over paint chips, wallpaper samples, and floorboards are reflected in her connection to the co-workers who become friends and friendships that deepen. A brilliant, quirky, town fixture of a handyman guides the renovation of the house and sparks Joy’s interest to encourage his personal and professional growth. Amid the half-wanted attention of the campus’s single, middle-aged men, known as “the Coyotes,”and the legitimate dramas of her close-knit community, Joy learns that the key to the affection of family and friends is being worthy of it, and most important, that second chances are waiting to be discovered within us all.

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
Won from Review Room

A richly imagined new novel from the author of the New York Times bestseller, People of the Book. 
 
Once again, Geraldine Brooks takes a remarkable shard of history and brings it to vivid life. In 1665, a young man from Martha's Vineyard became the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College. Upon this slender factual scaffold, Brooks has created a luminous tale of love and faith, magic and adventure. 

The narrator of Caleb's Crossing is Bethia Mayfield, growing up in the tiny settlement of Great Harbor amid a small band of pioneers and Puritans. Restless and curious, she yearns after an education that is closed to her by her sex. As often as she can, she slips away to explore the island's glistening beaches and observe its native Wampanoag inhabitants. At twelve, she encounters Caleb, the young son of a chieftain, and the two forge a tentative secret friendship that draws each into the alien world of the other. Bethia's minister father tries to convert the Wampanoag, awakening the wrath of the tribe's shaman, against whose magic he must test his own beliefs. One of his projects becomes the education of Caleb, and a year later, Caleb is in Cambridge, studying Latin and Greek among the colonial elite. There, Bethia finds herself reluctantly indentured as a housekeeper and can closely observe Caleb's crossing of cultures. 

Like Brooks's beloved narrator Anna in Year of Wonders, Bethia proves an emotionally irresistible guide to the wilds of Martha's Vineyard and the intimate spaces of the human heart. Evocative and utterly absorbing, Caleb's Crossing further establishes Brooks's place as one of our most acclaimed novelists.

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield
Won through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers

Every first Sunday in June, members of the Moses clan gather for an annual reunion at “the old home place,” a sprawling hundred-acre farm in Arkansas. And every year, Samuel Lake, a vibrant and committed young preacher, brings his beloved wife, Willadee Moses, and their three children back for the festivities. The children embrace the reunion as a welcome escape from the prying eyes of their father’s congregation; for Willadee it’s a precious opportunity to spend time with her mother and father, Calla and John. But just as the reunion is getting under way, tragedy strikes, jolting the family to their core: John’s untimely death and, soon after, the loss of Samuel’s parish, which set the stage for a summer of crisis and profound change.

In the midst of it all, Samuel and Willadee’s outspoken eleven-year-old daughter, Swan, is a bright light. Her high spirits and fearlessness have alternately seduced and bedeviled three generations of the family. But it is Blade Ballenger, a traumatized eight-year-old neighbor, who soon captures Swan’s undivided attention. Full of righteous anger, and innocent of the peril facing her and those she loves, Swan makes it her mission to keep the boy safe from his terrifying father.

With characters who spring to life as vividly as if they were members of one’s own family, and with the clear-eyed wisdom that illuminates the most tragic—and triumphant—aspects of human nature, Jenny Wingfield emerges as one of the most vital, engaging storytellers writing today. In The Homecoming of Samuel Lake she has created a memorable and lasting work of fiction.


Purchased from Barnes and Noble:

Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 by Simon Winchester

The legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa — the name has since become a byword for a cataclysmic disaster — was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly forty thousand people. Beyond the purely physical horrors of an event that has only very recently been properly understood, the eruption changed the world in more ways than could possibly be imagined. Dust swirled round die planet for years, causing temperatures to plummet and sunsets to turn vivid with lurid and unsettling displays of light. The effects of the immense waves were felt as far away as France. Barometers in Bogotá and Washington, D.C., went haywire. Bodies were washed up in Zanzibar. The sound of the island's destruction was heard in Australia and India and on islands thousands of miles away. Most significant of all — in view of today's new political climate — the eruption helped to trigger in Java a wave of murderous anti-Western militancy among fundamentalist Muslims: one of the first outbreaks of Islamic-inspired killings anywhere. 

Simon Winchester's long experience in the world wandering as well as his knowledge of history and geology give us an entirely new perspective on this fascinating and iconic event as he brings it telling back to life.

Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters by Matt Ridley

A fascinating tour of the results of the most momentous scientific endeavor of our time--the Human Genome Project--cleverly told in 23 essays, one for each chromosome.

Following in the tradition of James Gleick's Chaos, Matt Ridley vividly brings to light the most profound scientific discovery of the century--the mapping of the human genome. In charmingly witty and lucid prose, Ridley describes what the human genetic code is, how it works, and demonstrates how this newfound knowledge will affect medicine, the pharmaceutical industry, business, politics, and our own lives. Genome is divided into 23 chapters, one for each chromosome, each of which tells the story of a particular gene and how it affects an individual: from intelligence and personality to disease and sexual behavior. Examining a scientific achievement on par with--and with as many dire implications as--the splitting of the atom, Genome makes clear who we humans are--and where we may be going.

A former editor of the Economist, Matt Ridley is the author of The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature and The Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation. He lives in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England, with his wife and two children.

Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

An ambitious and startling debut novel that follows the lives of four women at a resort popular among slaveholders who bring their enslaved mistresses.

wench \'wench\ n. from Middle English "wenchel," 1 a: a girl, maid, young woman; a female child.

Tawawa House in many respects is like any other American resort before the Civil War. Situated in Ohio, this idyllic retreat is particularly nice in the summer when the Southern humidity is too much to bear. The main building, with its luxurious finishes, is loftier than the white cottages that flank it, but then again, the smaller structures are better positioned to catch any breeze that may come off the pond. And they provide more privacy, which best suits the needs of the Southern white men who vacation there every summer with their black, enslaved mistresses. It's their open secret.

Lizzie, Reenie, and Sweet are regulars at Tawawa House. They have become friends over the years as they reunite and share developments in their own lives and on their respective plantations. They don't bother too much with questions of freedom, though the resort is situated in free territory–but when truth-telling Mawu comes to the resort and starts talking of running away, things change.

To run is to leave behind everything these women value most–friends and families still down South–and for some it also means escaping from the emotional and psychological bonds that bind them to their masters. When a fire on the resort sets off a string of tragedies, the women of Tawawa House soon learn that triumph and dehumanization are inseparable and that love exists even in the most inhuman, brutal of circumstances–all while they are bearing witness to the end of an era.

An engaging, page-turning, and wholly original novel, Wench explores, with an unflinching eye, the moral complexities of slavery.

Writing From a Male POV

Writing from the point of view of the opposite sex can be challenging. Viewing the world from another perspective requires that we abandon our natural instincts. Since the books in my series, The Circle of Friends, featured a male lead, I had to understand the differences.

I read dozens of relationship books, seeking to comprehend the distinct qualities of the male gender. The books that provided me with the most insight were Men Are From Mars, Women From Venus and the Connecting With Your Husband/Wife series. Men and women really do view the world through different eyes!

- Men are not detail-oriented, at least not in the area of observation. They are focused on the big picture. When a man walks into a room, it’s doubtful he will notice the pattern on the couch or the smell of flowers by the window.

- Men tend to process information internally. While a woman will discuss her situation with friends, a man will privately think through his problems. Men tend to internalize rather than verbalize when seeking an answer. If he does discuss the situation, he wants answers not support.

- Because men normally do not discuss their problems, they use fewer words than women – by half! They tend to verbalize facts and opinions rather than feelings, too.

- Men focus better than women, who rely more on ‘diffused awareness.’ Once a man selects a course of action, little can distract him. While women multi-task with ease, men tend to focus on one thing at a time.

- Due to the amount of testosterone a man’s brain receives before he is born, he cannot think both logically and emotionally at the same time. Thus, when a man offers a logical explanation, a woman’s emotional reasoning simply doesn’t compute. And when a man grows angry, rationalizing with him is difficult as logic has gone out the window at that point.

- Men are not as emotionally expressive as their female counterparts. They are simply not wired in that manner.

- Last but not least, women seek to connect emotionally while men seek to connect… physically. The stirrings of love in a man come from physical attraction and contact first, emotional attachment second.

While all of that may appear to be stereotyping, it does provide a fundamental base for the male POV. Environment, background, and basic personality type also factor into the equation.

Armed with this knowledge, I found writing from a male perspective much easier. It was refreshing to discard my women intuitions and interpretations and just deal with the basics. I’d say it was almost liberating!

Are you comfortable writing from the opposite sex's POV?

Book Giveaways in Blogworld (5-21-11 edition)

NOTE: A reminder that you are free to email me about any giveaways that you are having, if you want me to blog them, and I'll be happy to try to post them even if I am not entering them. Just include a link to the giveaway, what you are giving away, how many copies are being given away, and the deadline in order to assure being included. Email me at nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com.

Here is a list of some giveaways going on in Blogworld*. Please note that new giveaways that were added this week are indented in Blockquotes:

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away The Sandalwood Tree. Deadline is May 21. US/Canada only.

Bookish Delights is having a Blogoversary giveaway with several different prizes! Deadline is May 22. International!

Hist-Fic Chick is giving away a copy of The Confession of Katherine Howard. Deadline is May 23. US only.

Deranged Book Lovers is having a 6-month blogoversary giveaway for the Metrozone series. Deadline is May 25. International!

Down the Rabbit Hole is giving away your choice of a book. Deadline is May 26. International!

*Courtesy Note: Please keep in mind the many, many hours of work that goes into me compiling this list each week. Please be courteous and thoughtful, and do not steal my text. Either recreate your own list, or link to this list and direct your readers here for giveaway information. Thank you so much for your consideration.

The Weekend Sillies

Because cats are just goofy!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

And this one is just for you, Stephen!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

I Wanna...America Pacifica by Anna North

America Pacifica by Anna North

Eighteen-year-old Darcy lives on the island of America Pacifica--one of the last places on earth that is still habitable, after North America has succumbed to a second ice age. Education, food, and basic means of survival are the province of a chosen few, while the majority of the island residents must struggle to stay alive. The rich live in "Manhattanville" mansions made from the last pieces of wood and stone, while the poor cower in the shantytown slums of "Hell City" and "Little Los Angeles," places built out of heaped up trash that is slowly crumbling into the sea. The island is ruled by a mysterious dictator named Tyson, whose regime is plagued by charges of corruption and conspiracy.

But to Darcy, America Pacifica is simply home--the only one she's ever known. In spite of their poverty she lives contentedly with her mother, who works as a pearl diver. It's only when her mother doesn't come home one night that Darcy begins to learn about her past as a former "Mainlander," and her mother's role in the flight from frozen California to America Pacifica. Darcy embarks on a quest to find her mother, navigating the dark underbelly of the island, learning along the way the disturbing truth of Pacifica's early history, the far-reaching influence of its egomaniacal leader, and the possible plot to murder some of the island's first inhabitants--including her mother.

(I thought that this sounded interesting. I'm always a sucker for a good dystopian or post-apocalyptic.)

Thoughts on a Book Festival

This past weekend I attended the SC Book Festival in Columbia, SC, and wanted to share my thoughts on this event.

Pluses:

Held at the Convention Center, the event is very well done. It’s professional, clean, and well staffed. There were always people roaming the aisle. Situated on the first row by the entrance was a big plus - more traffic than the other aisles. They had an artist’s corner and an upstairs area with events for kids. Some of the vendors kept to themselves, but many were friendly and nice. Met some great people this weekend.

Minuses:

According to previous attendees, attendance was way down, and so were sales. (Most stated they only sold 30-50% of what they sold last year.) A lot of this had to do with timing - the festival is usually held in February. Mid-May meant more outdoor activities, nicer weather, and college was already out for the year. I think the great rise in eBooks had a lot to do with it, too. Fewer people are buying physical books.

The rest is the usual that one sees at any book event. People who walk through so fast, you wonder why they even came if they weren’t planning to actually stop and look. Half of the crowd was senior citizens, and they made a beeline for the Carolina history stuff. A few obnoxious authors. There’s the mass of writers who attend just to pump authors and publishers for information without buying any books. (Gotta love those people!) And two days standing (because you don’t dare sit - you have to engage passerbys and hand out bookmarks) is really draining. It also reminded me my why I normally don’t pay to attend events - it’s just not worth it. I felt bad for the self-published authors sitting there with one or two books - they lost big time.

Will I attend the SC Book Festival again? No. The EBook trend means even less attendees next year. The event was almost too formal, too. And of course, there’s the cost. That’s why I love the Book ‘Em events. More casual, a friendly environment, and no cost to authors or publishers.
And if you missed my announcement on Monday about the first ever NC Book ‘Em, click HERE.

What’s everyone else’s feeling about book festivals? Do you attend ones that require several hundred dollars for a booth? If you go as a reader, do you actually BUY books?

OFF TOPIC: When to step in...

The other day I was sitting outside of a restaurant in front of Target when I heard a child crying and screaming. I looked up to see a mother and child half a parking lot away. The young child was probably about 2 years old and sitting in a shopping cart, throwing a fit. Perhaps she had just been woken up from her nap, after arriving by minivan to their destination. As I looked up, I saw the young mother standing in front of the cart, one hand on the cart while the other held her head. My senses went on alert, as I sensed a mother who had about reached her limit. I decided I wasn't going to take my eyes off this pair until I knew that the mother could get a hold of herself. Suddenly she grabbed up the little girl and swung her back into the minivan and raised up her hand and swung, twice striking the little girl, the little girl screaming even louder. The mother then slammed the door of the van shut while she calmly went to grab the shopping cart that had rolled away. I continued to watch, on edge, wondering at what point do I get involved? I don't like the fact that parents hit their children, but there is no law against it. Parents are permitted to discipline their children in whatever way they see fit, as long as they don't leave marks on the child. How can you tell from a half a parking lot away whether or not a parent may be leaving marks? Is it the height of the hand? Does it matter that her hand was raised up over her head as she swung at the small girl? Is it the virulent anger in which it is done? When do you step in?

It all ended a couple of minutes later, when the mother got the little girl back out of the minivan, now quiet and no longer screaming, and put her back into the shopping cart to now take her into the store.

So where is the line? The line between a parent's right to discipline their child, and the child's right of protection? How do you know when someone has crossed it, and it is time to step in and defend a child? Not having any children myself, I'm especially perplexed by this line. Is child abuse like obscenity, and you just "know it when you see it"?

Startling statistics regarding books and reading...

Here are some statistics aggregated on Erma Bombeck's website. I'm not sure how accurate they are, especially those from the Jenkins Group, as some of them seem pretty hard to believe...

1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.

42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.

80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.

70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.

57 percent of new books are not read to completion.

(Source: Jerold Jenkins, www.JenkinsGroupInc.com)

53 percent read fiction, 43 percent read nonfiction. The favorite fiction category is mystery and suspence, at 19 percent.

55 percent of fiction is bought by women, 45 percent by men.

(Source: Publishers Weekly)

A successful fiction book sells 5,000 copies.

A successful nonfiction book sells 7,500 copies.

(Source: Authors Guild, www.authorsguild.org)

Each day in the U.S., people spend 4 hours watching TV, 3 hours listening to the radio and 14 minutes reading magazines.

(Source: Veronis, Suhler & Associates investment banker)

Some of these are hard to swallow. I can only think of one person that I know that doesn't read. Pretty much everyone else I think reads at least sometimes. Some read non-fiction, some read fiction, some read heavily while others read only a book or two a year. But nearly everyone I know reads at least some. I just can't imagine that 42% of college graduates "never read another book after college" and 33% of high school graduates "never read another book for the rest of their lives" after high school.  That is just really hard to swallow. If it is true, then that is pretty frightening and disheartening!

Book Giveaways in Blogworld (05-14-11 edition)

NOTE: A reminder that you are free to email me about any giveaways that you are having, if you want me to blog them, and I'll be happy to try to post them even if I am not entering them. Just include a link to the giveaway, what you are giving away, how many copies are being given away, and the deadline in order to assure being included. Email me at nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com.

Here is a list of some giveaways going on in Blogworld*. Please note that new giveaways that were added this week are indented in Blockquotes:

Misfit Salon is giving away your choice of a selection of books. Deadline is May 16. International!

SusieBookworm is giving away 2 copies of Caleb's Crossing. Deadline is May 18. US/Canada only.

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away The Sandalwood Tree. Deadline is May 21. US/Canada only.

Bookish Delights is having a Blogoversary giveaway with several different prizes! Deadline is May 22. International!

Hist-Fic Chick is giving away a copy of The Confession of Katherine Howard. Deadline is May 23. US only.

Deranged Book Lovers is having a 6-month blogoversary giveaway for the Metrozone series. Deadline is May 25. International!

Down the Rabbit Hole is giving away your choice of a book. Deadline is May 26. International!

*Courtesy Note: Please keep in mind the many, many hours of work that goes into me compiling this list each week. Please be courteous and thoughtful, and do not steal my text. Either recreate your own list, or link to this list and direct your readers here for giveaway information. Thank you so much for your consideration.

Woo-hoo! Book 'Em is Coming to NC!

Announcing the first ever Book ‘Em in North Carolina!

I’m thrilled to be attending this event and part of the committee. If you are an author, you don’t want to miss this book festival! We have a blast at Book ‘Em events.

Here’s the info from the website - and author registration is now open:

Book 'Em North Carolina is scheduled for Saturday, February 25, 2012. The event will be held at Robeson Community College in Lumberton, North Carolina

Book 'Em North Carolina is an innovative book fair that brings together dozens of authors under one roof to sell and sign their books, participate in panel discussions and talks, network and interact with fans one-on-one.

Attendance is FREE and open to the public.

The Book 'Em Foundation was founded by suspense author p.m.terrell and Waynesboro, Virginia Police Officer Mark Kearney as a partnership between authors and law enforcement. The mission of The Book 'Em Foundation is to raise public awareness of the correlation between high illiteracy rates and high crime rates.

The Book 'Em North Carolina annual event brings together at least 75 authors under one roof to speak on a variety of subjects and to sell their books. A portion of the proceeds raised from the event (a minimum of 40%) is given to the community - Robeson County and Lumberton, North Carolina - for the purpose of increasing literacy and reducing crime.

For information on how these events have helped raise funds for literacy and anti-crime efforts in various communities, visit The Book 'Em Foundation.
Please join us - it's the best time you'll ever have at a book festival.

The Weekend Sillies

While I am in South Carolina at the SC Book Festival, allow these kitties to tickle your fancy...


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Win a Kindle from author Wendy Wax

Author Wendy Wax is giving away an Amazon Kindle and an e-copy of her new book Ten Beach Road! I just recently completed Ten Beach Road, and I would recommend it as a great summer read!

To enter, just go to her Facebook page and fill out the entry form.

This contest is for US residents only.