Happy Holidays!

 

 Hope you have a fabulous holiday.  I'm at the beach (see above)  until 5 January, so will catch you after that. 

Books I've read: How you Ruined my Life

this was another Libby find that sounded fun and quirky and voicey as hell.  And, for the most part, it was.

Rod has a pretty good life.  He's in a band that has a regular gig, he has a pretty awesome girlfriend, and he even gets on well with his mother.  But when he finds out his wealthy cousin Blake is coming to stay for three months, he's miffed.  It's not that he doesn't like Blake - he barely knows him - but there just isn't much space in the house and Rod is going to have to share his room.  But hey, it's only three months right?

Blake's annoying traits show up even before he arrives.  Hundreds of boxes of his "things" are delivered to the house.  Heavy boxes.  Then, when he actually arrives, he has so much luggage with him, it takes two trips to get it all from the airport.  And he expects Rod to do all the work.

As these annoying little things start piling up, Rod becomes increasingly certain his cousin is evil.  Yet, to his mother, to his friends, to the teachers at school, Rod is a perfect gentleman.  So, Rod's complaints about him fall on deaf ears.

It doesn't;t take long for Blake to worm his way into every part of Rod's life - his band, his girlfriend - and to "help" with everything.  But Blake's help is ruining Rod's life.  And as everything starts crashing down around him, Rod's protests that everything is Blake's fault begin to make him sound more and more paranoid.

This was a fun book, but it was too short and had a total cop out of an ending.  Blake's antics were funny, but it wasn't enough.  The whole thing took about two weeks to play out, far too short a period of time for much lasting damage to have been made in Rod's life.  And everything was resolved far too quickly and easily.  I felt like the author had a word count limit and a deadline and realized he was reaching both, so wrapped up the story then and there without any real thought to how it fit with the rest of the book.

Which was a shame, because I enjoyed spending time with Rod and watching the way he slowly started to doubt his own sanity.  It could have gone on longer and had far more resonance.

So,  while I'd like to recommend this one, it ended up being kind of disappointing.

But, don't just listen t me.  Here's the blurb:

Rod and his cousin take family rivalry to a new level in this rollicking comedy from Jeff Strand.

Rod's life is pretty awesome. He plays in a punk rock band that's starting to score gigs and has a great girlfriend. Then he learns that his rich cousin, Blake, will be staying with him for three months—moving into his room, moving in on his girlfriend and band, and basically ruining his life! Prankster Blake has his own ideas on how Rod should live, but his efforts to get Rod girls and bring people to the band's shows are the opposite of helpful. Between Blake's ridiculous pranks and Rod's increasing paranoia, this semester might be the cousins' most memorable yet. That is, if their hijinks don't kill them first.

Weekly goals 22-12-25

 I'm off work for a couple of weeks now, so my goals are really to rest and recharge before a new year starts and the madness begins again.

I haven't finished my Christmas gifts, so that's one thing I need to do this week.  I think I should leave them to dry one more day before I varnish them, and they're going to need a couple of coats, so I'll start that tomorrow night so they're dry and ready to go by Christmas Day.

I need to make a pavlova for Christmas dinner, so again, the timing on that is critical.  I think if I make it Wednesday night, it will be be ready to be assembled on Christmas Day.

I also have my friend's birthday on Boxing Day and we're having a lunch for her at my house, so I'll need to prep some stuff for that.  And make sure I've packed everything I need for my holiday, since I'll be leaving early the next morning.

So those are really my goals for the week.  I hope to see a movie one day too, probably tomorrow since I'll need to go into town to go to the library.  I always read a lot in Kaiteriteri, so I'll need to stock up.

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 20-12-25

 

It's the end of the week, so what am I celebrating?

The end of the working year!

Yes, we wrapped up at work around midday yesterday and it could not have been soon enough.  I'm exhausted.  I'm not the kind of person who usually sleeps during the day, but when I got home, I had a nap.

It's been a long year without any real breaks since I switched jobs mid-yearish.  So, it's been a year since I had more than three or four days off in a row.  I intend to make the most of this year's break.

The next few days are going to be all about getting ready for Christmas.  I need to make my gifts, do some cooking and all that kind of thing.  I'm also going to try and go to a movie or two - I haven't been in a few weeks which is really not like me.

Then, right after Christmas, I'm going to the beach house down south for ten days which will be nice.  Lots of time to read and swim and do some walking in the bush.  It'll be quiet since it's just going to be me and my parents, but it'll be good.

I'm going to read through the new book while I'm away and try to figure out what it's missing, what it needs to be finished.  But other than that, I'm not planning to do any writing work while I'm away.  It's all going to be relaxation so I can go into the new year feeling replenished and ready for the challenges ahead.

What are you celebrating this week?

Books I've Read: One Pill Makes You Smaller

I finished the book I was reading while I was away last week and stumbled upon a cute little second-hand bookstore in Hamilton where I browsed happily for about half an hour.  I picked this one out because I liked the cover and the title as much as anything else.

It's about an eleven-year-old girl whose body betrays her when she suddenly grows taller than everyone else in her class and matures rapidly.  Her mother ran off and her father is in a mental hospital, leaving Alice to be "taken care of" by her 16-year-old half sister, Esme.  Esme is far more interested in getting high and screwing rock stars than looking after Alice, leaving her alone for long periods, or with her friend Rabbit who can't look away from Alice's newly formed breasts.

When Alice gets sent to an artist's camp for the summer, she decides this is the time to reinvent herself.  And when she meets JD, a sweetly stoned older man who flirts with her and makes her feel special, she flies down a rabbit hole of new experiences and sensations that destroy her innocence forever.

I can't say I enjoyed this book, exactly.  It was a little like watching a car crash - I couldn't look away, even though I felt like I should.  I felt so sorry for poor Alice, struggling to understand that her newly adult body changes the way people perceive her, that "the breasts" make her an object to be scrutinized and desired.  She's so young and so innocent at the beginning of the book, despite the hedonistic world she lives in, but by the end, she's become a woman who knows how to use her "charms" to get what she wants.

It's a story about the end of innocence, set against the backdrop of '70s excess and the pretentious art world and felt all too real and plausible.  I'm not sure I'd recommend it; it made me feel very uncomfortable.  But I think sometimes it's important to feel that way so you can figure out what it is that creates that feeling.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

Eleven-year-old Alice Duncan has a her body is, literally, growing up too fast. Gawky, innocent, and tongue-tied, Alice is taller than her teachers, with long, long legs and a voluptuous chest she refers to it as "The Breasts."

One Pill Makes You Smaller brings to life the surreal experience of being a girl--stuck in a woman's body. Dierbeck shoots down the rabbit hole of 1970s misbehavior, combining her modern tale with the fantastic universe of Alice in Wonderland, set in the black-lit, drug-infested art world of Andy Warhol's Manhattan. When Alice is shipped off to a freethinking art camp in North Carolina, she encounters J.D., a sweet-talking adult man who engages her in a dangerous flirtation. This deliciously pop, self-assured debut is an inspired paean to lost innocence.

Weekly Goals 15-12-25

 I'm back from tour and there's one more week of work to go before we break for Christmas and our summer break.  Very much looking forward to a couple of weeks off.  It's been a long time since I had a proper holiday. Which seems to often happen when you switch jobs mid-year.  Unless you're lucky enough  to have time to take time off between jobs.  Which I didn't.

So this week is all about trying to get the last few things I need to do wrapped up.  I have a couple of big jobs I'd like to finish up before Friday, but if I don't get through them, it's not going to be the end of the world.

I should also think a little bit about Christmas and what I'm going to make for everyone this year.  I think it's going to have to be food because I don't really have anything crafty up my sleeve.  I could make more candles, but after doing that last year, it feels like cheating to do it again.

I'm teaching four classes at the gym this week too, so it's gong to be a busy one.

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 12-12-25

 

It's the end of the week so what am I celebrating?

I'm still on tour for another couple of days, so no weekend for me.  But tomorrow we head to a city where one of my besties lives and I haven't seen her for ages!  Very much looking forward to catching up.

It has been a good week, just a little frenetic at times.  Just trying to keep on top of everyday work while traveling is hard!  I've been trying to get a few hours in before we get on the bus each day, and a few more when we get to the hotel. It's been working okay.

Audiences haven't been huge, but I've met some lovely people and have built some relationships with venue managers and staff that I think will be helpful in the future.  Tonight's gig is sold out, but it's in a pretty small venue.  I just got a tour of the new theatre in this city, and it's gorgeous!  I cannot wait to see what the orchestra sounds like in there next year.

The other thing I'm celebrating this week is that I finally got a full request for A Stranger to Kindness. That's really made my week!  That and winning tickets to see a show I really wanted to go to.  I also got two rejections, but we won't talk about those...

What are you celebrating this week?

Books I've read: The Field Guide to the North American Teenager

 

This is another book I came across on the Libby app when I was searching for something to read after finishing my last Libby book.  It looked fun and quirky, so I gave it a whirl.

And it is fun and quirky, so I'm glad I picked it.

Norris, a black French Canadian, is forced to move to Austin Texas when his mother gets a good job at the university there.  With American television shows the only guide he has to life South of the border, Norris goes into this venture with a large chip on is shoulder.  He's quite determined not to enjoy this at all.

When a guidance counsellor gives him a notebook to write down his feelings and observations, she probably didn't expect Norris to begin cataloguing the people around him as if they were wildlife.  But that's what he does, keeping himself aloof from his peers while he observes and places everyone in their category.

There are the jocks with their hairy armpits, the cheerleaders who move in pony-tailed flocks, the loners who seem to make being alone look like an art and the manic pixie dream girl who might just be the one who gets Norris to put down his notebook and pen and pay attention.

Yet somehow, Norris gets dragged into life with these people and despite himself, starts to get to know them.  And when he does, he discovers that behind his casually-given labels are actual people with their own unique thoughts and feelings and opinions.  People he might actually want to be friends with.  Or maybe even date?

I enjoyed this book because Norris is a deliciously snarky and cynical narrator.  He's also kind of an asshole for most of the book.  He's so certain he's going to hate this new experience, he goes in without any kind of openness to the new experiences he's going to have.  He already has friends in Canada, so why does he need any here?  He doesn't give anyone a chance to prove themselves different once he's labeled them and cataloged the behavior in his notebook.

I always find it fascinating when a character you dislike from the start manages to hold your attention through an entire book.  And this book did just that.

So I'd recommend it despite that.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:


Norris Kaplan is clever, cynical, and quite possibly too smart for his own good. A Black French Canadian, he knows from watching American sitcoms that those three things don’t bode well when you are moving to Austin, Texas.

Plunked into a new high school and sweating a ridiculous amount from the oppressive Texas heat, Norris finds himself cataloging everyone he the Cheerleaders, the Jocks, the Loners, and even the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Making a ton of friends has never been a priority for him, and this way he can at least amuse himself until it’s time to go back to Canada, where he belongs.

Yet against all odds, those labels soon become actual people to Norris…like loner Liam, who makes it his mission to befriend Norris, or Madison the beta cheerleader, who is so nice that it has to be a trap. Not to mention Aarti the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, who might, in fact, be a real love interest in the making.

But the night of the prom, Norris screws everything up royally. As he tries to pick up the pieces, he realizes it might be time to stop hiding behind his snarky opinions and start living his life—along with the people who have found their way into his heart.

Weekly Goals 8-12-25

 It's going to be a crazy week this week and keeping on top of everything is going to be a struggle.  

Late on Friday afternoon I discovered we have to get an extra concert on sale for next year by Tuesday morning.  Which wouldn't be that difficult except the orchestra we're working with on this one has completely different pricing to ours which means I need to build a new seating plan to reflect this.  And I've never done that in our ticketing system - it looks complicated.  So, I think that's most of Monday taken up.

And on Tuesday I go on tour for the rest of the week which will mean trying to squeeze a work-day around travel and setting up for performances and running the front of house for said performances.  Plus meetings with various venue managers and ticketing staff in each town.  I think I'm tired just thinking about it...  Not quite sure how I'm going to fit the things I need to do for myself around all that, but we'll give it a crack.

There are gyms in most of the towns we're traveling to, but I'm not sure how convenient to the hotels they are, so I think I might end up going on walks instead of going to the gym this week.  Fingers crossed the weather is good!

So, my goal this week is to just try to get through the week and to have some fun if I can.

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 6-12-25

 

It's the end of the week so what am I celebrating?

It's the weekend!

It's been another busy and often frustrating week, so I'm looking forward to a little downtime.  I have nothing planned for this weekend, so I intend to get just that!

Agents must be trying to clear out their query boxes ahead of the holidays because I've had a few more rejections this week.  I'm beginning to wonder if this book isn't as good as I think it is...  

I haven't done much writing this week either.  I've even missed my daily flash fiction story a couple of times, which is frustrating.  But this time of year is always crazy, so I should give myself a break.

Next week I'm on tour with the orchestra so will have to try and squeeze in time for everything I want to do around travel and performances.  I suspect just finding time to exercise might be a struggle.

What are you celebrating this week?

IWSG - December

It's the first Wednesday of the month, so you know what time it is... 

Huge thanks to the hosts for the December 3 posting of the IWSG: Tara Tyler, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, Liza, and Natalie Aguirre!

This month's question is very seasonally appropriate:

As a writer, what was one of the coolest/best gifts you ever received?

I think the best gift I ever received was from my partner, who is scary good at gift giving.  One year he got me a license for Scrivener and it has completely changed the way I write.  I've never gone back to Word or any other writing software since I started using Scrivener.

I know I probably only use a fraction of the things Scrivener can do.  I've never done a tutorial or watched a video to find out more about how to use it.  I probably should, but I'm pretty happy just using it the way I do.

Other than that, I don't think I've been given many other writing-related gifts.  Notebooks, of course, but I don't tend to use those so much for actual writing, more for things like jotting down agent names when I come across them and they're not open for queries yet.  Or for work related stuff.

I don't talk a lot about writing with most people I know, so it's probably not a really well known thing that I write.  Which means people probably don't know to give me writing-related gifts.  And these days, everyone has so much stuff, in my family we prefer to give each other experiences for gifts - tickets to shows, Film Society memberships, orchestra subscriptions - that kind of thing.

What's the best writing-related gift you've ever received?