Books on the Brain

"A good book on your shelf is a friend that turns its back on you and remains a friend." --Author Unknown

Lately I've found that I have books on the brain more so than ever. Along with finishing revisions (I'm this close--yea!), researching for the next project, and trying to make headway with the piles of books around the house yet-to-be-read, I'm excited by the variety of titles that have popped up on some of the family's wish lists for Christmas. Shhhh, don't give it away, but I've already hidden some away that are waiting to be wrapped. I also took a day to sort through groaning shelves for some gently-used books I could bear to part with, and headed  to Half Price Books to resell them (ahem, 65 books and magazines!) to make room for all those books I've put on my list.

And then recently I was entertained by a unique idea that popped up on other blogs--that of making a story out of book titles we find on our shelves. Christina Lee at Write-Brained called it "Titles that Tell a Story." Tahereh at T.H. Mafi called it "A Poem of Novels." And Jen at Unedited worked her magic with "A Story Out of Novels." And so I revisited my shelves and the titled friends that reside there, to try my hand at the exercise. (Thanks, girls, for the idea!)

So, although I'm a little late to the party, I came up with this:

THE LITTLE PRINCE finds himself on COLD MOUNTAIN, ACROSS FIVE APRILS and MISSING MAY until, like FEATHERS that are GONE WITH THE WIND, he learns that ONLY ANGELS CAN WING IT.

That was fun--want to give it a try? What story do you find in the titles on your book shelf?

"TV. If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the fun they'll have with twenty-six. Open your child's imagination. Open a book." --Author Unknown

Imagination Revisted, Part 2

There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. --Ralph Waldo Emerson

A trip to the library reminded me of an overlooked key in my last post about kickstarting a writer's imagination. So, without further ado, here is part 2--which, simply put, is:

READ

Yes, read. I say this not only to share a thought, but to imprint the importance of that on my own brain! After all, we have it from Stephen King who said, "If you don't have time to read, you don't have time to write."

And so, I present the titles of the books I brought home (and can't wait to get started on). There's no rhyme or reason to most of the selections. But as I studied the library's shelves, I chose authors I like, and authors I've never read before. I chose Newbery Medal authors and New York Times best sellers. Most are children's books, but some are YA. There's fantasy and historical fiction, recently published books and classics. Here then, in no particular order, is the list of books before me:

Alchemy and Meggy Swann, Karen Cushman

Twisted, Laurie Halse Anderson

The Slave Dancer, Paula Fox

               The Unfinished Angel, Sharon Creech                 

Coraline, Neil Graiman

Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt 

Iron Thunder, Avi

The Witches, Roald Dahl

Raleigh's Page, Alan Armstrong

Poppy, Avi

Poppy's Return, Avi

         
If I were to boil it down, what would I say then are my conclusions to igniting the imagination?

...Observe...Visualize...Dream...Read...Write...Have fun...

The joy of being a writer takes us many places--in books, in real life, in our imaginations.

Now the question is, have I overextended myself? Will I finish all these books in the next 21 days--the library's alloted time without having to renew them--and meet my writing goals? The challenge is on!

What's your latest read?

The greatest part of a writer's time is spent reading in order to write;
a man will turn over half a library in order to make one book. --Samuel Johnson