Banned Books Meme

by Carol11 Comments
In honor of Banned Book Week (September 24 through October 1), I have posted the list of the top 100 banned or challenged books in 2000-2009 from the American Library Association. The titles I've read I've struck through. The titles I own are in italics. The titles I want to read are in bold. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman ttyl; ttfn; l8r g8r (series), by Myracle, Lauren The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison Forever, by Judy Blume The Color Purple, by Alice Walker Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger King and King, by Linda de...
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Review: “Chin Yong-Yun Takes a Case” by S. J. Rozan

by Carol8 Comments
"Chin Yong-Yun Takes a Case" by S. J. Rozan is a light mystery. Yong-Yun's daughter is a Chinese American private investigator, Lydia Chin, Rozan's series detective, but in this short story it is Yong-Yun who offers her help. Tan Li-Li plays mahjong with Yong-Yun and her friends, but when she calls for Lydia's help, Lydia's not home. Li-Li's grandson has been kidnapped and Li-Li's son only has two hours before he needs to turn over the code for software his firm has developed as ransom, effectively destroying his career. Yong-Yun accepts the case, implying that she works closer with Lydia than she does. I liked how Yong-Yun followed the clues, and dealt with the whole situation wisely. She's a bright woman. I enjoyed reading her thoughts, not just on the case but on her daughter's profession, asking the computer about people "as though it were a temple fortuneteller," marriage which "if handled badly, can be a source of distress," and her...
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Review: The Best American Short Stories 2011, edited by Geraldine Brooks

by Carol10 Comments
In her introduction to The Best American Short Stories 2011, Brooks states, "I have always though of literature as a physical matter. A great piece of writing is the one you feel on your skin. It has to do something: Make the heart beat harder of the hairs stand up. Provoke laughter or tears." And when the author can do that in less than 30 pages, I am amazed. This anthology contains a varied selection of topics and authors. Some of the writer are relative new-comers, others well-known Pulitzer Prize winners. There are stories about parent-child relationships and about small towns, even a foray into a futuristic prison. I've already looked in detail at a few of the stories: “Ceiling” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie “Housewifely Arts” by Megan Mayhew Bergman  “A Bridge Under Water” by Tom Bissell I'm sure some people will like some of the stories better than others, as with any collection. Overall, though, it's a collection worth reading. There are several stories to savor, like "The...
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National Punctuation Day

by Carol8 Comments
Today is National Punctuation Day! “The writer who neglects punctuation, or mispunctuates, is liable to be misunderstood.... For the want of merely a comma, it often occurs that an axiom appears a paradox, or that a sarcasm is converted into a sermonoid.” — Edgar Allan Poe, “Marginalia,” Graham’s Magazine, Feb. 1848 I'm afraid that I can be rather liberal with punctuation and fairly inconsistent— I do love a misplaced dash— but I don't think I'm guilty of the next, at least not too often. (Ignore the first line of this post, please.) “Cut out all those exclamation marks. An exclamation mark is like laughing at your own jokes.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald And I liked this winner of last year's haiku contest at the day's official website. Time to eat grandma. Save her with a comma or Simply savor her. —Tom Murawski...
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I Love Autumn

by Carol22 Comments
Today is officially the First Day of Autumn, so I thought I'd make a quick list in honor of the season. 20 Things I Love About Fall Knee socks Hot drinks like apple cider and cocoa Sitting around a campfire Colorful leaves It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown Candy corn Apple dumplings Decorating the house for Halloween Sweaters Snuggling under a blanket Our anniversary Spooky reads Windy days Conneaut Lake Pumpkin Fest Pumpkin pie Corn mazes My birthday Wearing boots again Caramel apples Spending time with family and friends...
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“Exiled”

by Carol6 Comments
Exiled 356 words Damn the prophet! "I warn you. She who controls the wind will bring destruction." When that man had wandered into her town, they had welcomed him with open arms, after all he was a traveller simply looking for a room for the night. With his long, stained robe, his gnarled walking stick, and the small pack, he had not seemed like a threat, but he had stayed and stayed, and every day his clear blue eyes seemed a little more threatening, his demeanor a little more commanding. The elders listened to him, knowing that he had seen more of the world than they had. They believed his stories of fights among the dukes, of invaders gathering in the north. He frightened them and they allowed it. Shyla's mistake had been to contradict him, to announce in the square that she didn't trust him, to allow her anger to escape into a tempest that whipped through the town. That man, that self-proclaimed...
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