Are You There?

I find that many books filed away in humor often fall short of being truly funny.  Many try too hard, many take too preposterous a stance on any particular subject, many just simply fall short.  I'll be honest, I'm usually loath to read books deemed humor.  Not because of their perceived non-literary value, but because of the often lack of substance.  Humor books that are great are really really great.  They shed light on life in a way that highbrow literature can sometimes miss, they shed light on certain facets of culture that are otherwise overlooked or taken as normal.  

It takes a lot to get my to laugh out loud while reading, it takes even more for me to be in Vegas with my girlfriends and be somewhat distracted because I want to finish my book (and I have a tendency to read some pretty awesome books when I'm in Vegas with my girlfriends).  On my annual Vegas trip, I couldn't contain myself, could barely look up from my book to pick up my overflowing glass of Jack Daniels, as I read Chelsea Handler's New York Times Bestselling book Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.  Now, I've talked about her other book, My Horizontal Life before, and I loved both, but in her latest book, Handler crosses a line.  She's no longer just a funny lady who has the number 1 show on E!, she is a great writer.  A writer who, through her own life stories, shares our own life stories.  Stories of crazy families and sibling rivalry.  Of desire for success and determination for making it through life with some great friends and great stories.  

As irreverent as Chelsea can be, she has a heart thumping under the veil of funny and sometimes off color stories.  Chelsea loves her crazy daddy.  She loves her friends, even when they drag her to parties she doesn't want to go to.  And most importantly, she points out the flaws in life, and how much fun that makes everything. 

Happy Reading,

Julia

P.S. If Chelsea has a googlealert and is reading this, I'd like to say that I'm sure I can match you drink for drink (though my drink of choice is not Grey Goose, but Jack Daniels) and I'd love a chance to prove it.

Drugs and Ammunition

Talking to kids about drug use is probably one of the hardest subjects a parent can breach.  Let's face it, they don't want to talk about it, and it's not exactly something that parents want to discuss, but it's a necessity in this day and age nonetheless.  Personally, no book had a bigger effect on my decision to partake in any exploratory drug use wisely than Go Ask Alice.  

It's a true story told by an anonymous girl who spirals down into oblivion.  She experiments with drugs, sex, and loses all semblance of her life.  It's not preachy or unrealistic, in fact, it's a real diary from a real girl who experienced it all.  This is one that is absolutely not to be missed and not to be glossed over.  Read it with your kids, read it with your parents, just read it.

Happy Reading,

Julia

After Dark

One of the questions I am asked most frequently now that the Twilight-craze is in full effect is what do I (or what does my kid) read after Twilight? The obvious answer is Anne Rice, but I'm not too certain that the age range Twilight tends toward is necessarily the proper age to start on Anne Rice. Personally, the most appealing thing about Twilight is the romance, vampirism is secondary to the romance between Bella and Edward, so why not one of the classic romances.

Here's a few suggestions:

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is a somewhat obvious choice, seeing as it is mentioned numerous times in the Twilight Saga, but it is an epic romance full of beautiful language and heart-breaking longing. It's deals with more adult emotions than Twilight, as there is more of a sense of duty and propriety struggling against desire and longing, but it's still appropriate for the teenagers that Twilight tends to appeal to.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
An epic novel (as well as an epic movie) it's romantic and epic, it's adult but not too adult. Sure no one is sucking anyone's blood, but the backdrop of the civil war carries the same sort of timeless romanticism that hundred year old vampires possess. Though it may be a longer novel, it's still shorter than the four Twilight books.

Pride and Prejudice and Emma by Jane Austen
Both novels focus on a young female protagonist, both are told in sympathy with said protagonist, and both are epic romances. Aren't Elizabeth Bennett or Emma Woodhouse just precursors for Bella Swan anyway?

Happy Reading,
Julia

Inspiration Abounds

It seems like lately everyone is looking for some kind of inspiration. Whether it comes from a new leader or a small child, inspiration is as important in life as air or water. For a young writer, the best source of inspiration is other writers; other people who suffer the same paralyzing fear, the same need to spill words on a page and smear them around into a thing of beauty. For a young writer, my favorite source of inspiration is a small book, thin and unassuming, by a master poet (and I'm not even that big of a poetry fan).

Letters To a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke could be the most beautiful piece of writing I've ever read. Deep and poignant, even for non-writers, non-artists, non-poets, it reaches to the depths of youthful exuberance and emotion, pulling threads out you never knew existed. Beautiful and profound at once, Rilke's letters to a young protege poet bring out the essence of writing, creativity, and life itself.

Happy Reading,
Julia

Vegetarian Vampires

Since Vegetarian Vampires seem so popular, what with Twilight selling by the truckload and Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse (a.k.a. HBO's True Blood) books rising in the cultural zeitgeist, it seems only fair to point out my favorite of the Vegetarian Vampire fare, a little graphic novel called Life Sucks.  Jessica Abel, arguably one of the best comics artists and writers in the country right now, wrote the book with Gabe Soria.  It is brilliantly drawn by Warren Pleece, but it, in my opinion is the sparkling crown in the Vegetarian Vampire fiction.  

Dave is a vampire, but unlike the Lost Boys, he doesn't get to sleep all day and party all night.  He sleeps all day and works at a horrible quick stop (a la Clerks) job at night.  He hates the idea of killing humans so he drinks blood substitute and is completely obsessed with a girl who is completely obsessed with vampires.  The only catch is the ridiculous goth who organizes vampire meetings and seems to hold this mysterious vixen's attention.  

Life Sucks injects humor, reality, and maybe even a little bit of pathos into the usually glamourous and romantic world of vampires.  What if vampires were just like us?  They have to pay rent, they have to live life...forever.  

Happy Reading,

Julia

Christmas Kids

If your family is at all like mine, you have about a trillion kids to buy presents for this Christmas.  Kids are hard to shop for; toy stores are overwhelming and generic, they hate clothes, and what else are you supposed to get them?  I'm a big fan of buying kids books, but it's hard to buy books sometimes.  Most kids have Goodnight, Moon or Where the Wild Things Are (and if they don't you should buy those for them immediately), but there are some lesser known classics they should own as well.  

In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak,  author of Where the Wild Things Are, was my favorite book growing up.  About a kid who ends up in a pastry airplane and takes a ride through the kitchen.  He ends up in a glass of milk that breaks up the pastry and brings him back to his warm cozy bed.  

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss is a great treatise on deforestation and our climate crisis that's written in such a way it is easily accessible and not to freaky for kids.  If you want to teach kids to be respectful of the Earth, this is the book for you.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst follows Alexander through is bad day that just keeps getting worse.  In the end, it teaches a valuable lesson about picking yourself up off the ground after a bad day and looking forward to the next good one.  

Finally, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett ends up in the vein of The Lorax when you read closely.  It is about a town where meals rain from the sky.  One day, the pancakes get so big they cover houses and knock down trees, meatballs fall through roofs, soup floods the town of Chewandswallow and all the townspeople are forced to leave.  One of my favorites from childhood.  

Happy Holidays (and Reading),

Julia