The Wooky Book

I'm pleased to announce that, after twenty-two months of under/unemployment (which, when feeling pessimistic, I thought of it as "Recession Purgatory," when optimistic, "funemployment!"), I've managed to land two promising, literature-related jobs. Three days a week I shall be known as Little Bonobo, Library Assistant, and for the other two I shall assume the identity of Little Bonobo, Bookseller [Extraordinaire]!

I'm sure my experiences in these institutions will provide plenty of book-related fodder for this blog, so, watch this space!

(For example, here is a rough transcription of a bookstore conversation from earlier this week:

ME: Can I help you find anything, ma'am?
CUSTOMER: Yes, I'm looking for the Wooky Book.
[Pause.]
ME: The Wooky Book?
[Image in my head: My Life with Han Solo: Chewbacca's tell-all memoir]
CUSTOMER: Yes, by Russell Brand.
ME: Oh, do you mean Booky Wook 2?
CUSTOMER: Yes, that's the one! ::smiles sheepishly::)

NaNoWriMo writing madness

So, it's that time of year again—NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is fast approaching! Is anyone participating this year? I haven't participated before, but I think it's such a great idea. Sometimes we get so hung up on editing and following writing rules that it's hard to just GET THE WORDS OUT. Which is really what a first draft should be about—locking away your inner editor and just letting the words flow. And that's what's great about NaNoWriMo: 50,000 words in one month leaves no time for editing, fixing, or tweaking. It's a chance to let the creative right hemisphere of your brain to rule unhindered for 30 days. Then in the months following, you can edit to your heart's content.

For young writers (under 17), there is even a special Young Writers Program, where you can set your own word-count goal.

I seriously considered taking part this year, but I'm so close to the end of my draft of Water Magic that I think I'll use the month of November to just finish the book. I've got about 20,000 words to go, so it should be doable.

Have any of you participated in NaNoWriMo in past years? What was the experience like? Or, are any of you brave souls considering taking part for the first time this year?

Happy Banned Books Week!

It's Banned Books Week this week (September 25–October 2, 2010) which means it's time to celebrate freedom of speech by reading your favorite banned books, or picking up something new and controversial. If you need help with ideas, The American Library Association has a list of frequently challenged books on their website. Also, today the Guardian published a list of the top ten most challenged titles.

Some of my favorite challenged and banned books:

The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
A Separate Peace by John Knowles

So, you tell me: what are your favorite banned books?

Fear of public writing

Though I can read pretty much anywhere, I've found that I can't write in public places. I know plenty of people write happily at coffee shops, or on trains, or in the park, but I just can't do it. I think it's some sort of weird paranoia about someone catching a glimpse of my unedited work.

I was thinking about this today, and it got me wondering about other people's writing routines. I tend to write either at a desk using Big Chimp's iMac, or sitting on the bed against the wall with my laptop on my lap. If I'm sitting at the desk, I have to have my legs up on the chair, sitting pretzel-style. I have a writing playlist of instrumental music (songs with lyrics are too distracting and silence is too oppressive) that I put on random to accompany my typing. It includes a few classical compilations, movie soundtracks, and some Explosions in the Sky albums. I can't write if it's noisy and I can hardly ever write if there is someone else in the room, unless they're doing their own thing—quietly—and facing away from me.

So my question is: what are your writing routines/weird quirks? Do you have a special writing space or a certain type of music that you listen to while you write? And does anyone share my strange fear of writing in public?

What fuels your imagination?

I've always been a multiple book reader. I can never read just one at a time, and usually have about four on the go at any time. I think this has to do with my imagination having always been extremely overactive. The way I look at it, your imagination needs fuel to keep it going. People who don't use their imaginations much don't need to read much because their imaginations lead a sedentary lifestyle. But writers and other creative people need to feed their imaginations A LOT—whether with art, music, books, etc.—because these imaginations are like marathon runners; they are super active, they never stop, and they need fuel constantly.

To continue with this analogy, I think that overactive imaginations need healthy foods in order to grow and develop—good nutritious novels or nonfiction books rather than tabloids; nutrient-packed plays rather than soap operas; and fresh, organic music rather than vacuum-packed, prepackaged pop songs.

To this end, I've cut down dramatically on television in the past couple of years. I think that the old saying that the tube rots your mind may have some truth to it; most of what's on can certainly deaden your imagination, and I believe that the barrage of advertisements are especially unhealthy for your brain.

That's not to say that watching the occasional silly show or listening to a throw-away pop song once in a while will do you any damage; just as an infrequent ice cream sundae won't ruin an otherwise healthy diet. After all, we all crave mindless entertainment sometimes, especially after a hard day of school or work. However, just as we are conscious of what we are putting into our bodies, we should be aware of what we are feeding our minds. Especially for creative people, since our minds are the source of our work and the focus of our lives.

So, what about you? What have you been feeding your brain lately?

Recently read and rigorously recommended

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

By Susanna Clarke, 2004
A unique alternate history tale about two rival magicians in 19th century England. Its slow build-up (the book is 1024 pages) makes the events of the final chapters even more shocking and fantastical. Includes magical books, servants who are not what they seem, sojourns into the realm of Faerie, travel via mirror, kidnapping, death-defying spells, and ravens—lots and lots of ravens. 

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
By Sherman Alexie, 2007 
The diary and sketches from a year in the life of Junior, a Spokane Indian teenager who decides to go against his tribe by attending a white high school in a neighboring town. Both funny and tragic, the book draws the reader into Junior's world—his coping with being poor, his attempts to fit in with his classmates and tribal members, and his internal struggle to come to terms with the devastating effects of alcoholism on his family and his tribe.
Ender's Game
By Orson Scott Card, 1985
This award-winning science fiction novel follows the life of super-intelligent Ender Wiggin, a boy bred to be humanity's hope against the buggers—an alien race that has attacked Earth twice and threatens to wipe out the human population. Sent into space to attend Battle School at the age of six, Ender is subjected to years of brutal combat training games and psychological manipulation. At the age of eleven, he must face the enemy as the commander of Earth's army—but on which side of the battlefield does true evil lie?

Fruits Basket

By Natsuki Takaya, 1999–2007
This fun, lighthearted manga follows high schooler Tohru Honda, ever optimistic despite the personal tragedies she has experienced. Living alone in a tent after the death of her mother, Tohru unknowingly camps on land belonging to the Sohma family. When she is discovered by Yuki Sohma, a popular boy from her school, he and his cousin Shigure convince her to come and live with them in their home. Once there, she meets the volatile Kyo, another member of the Sohma clan. As she gets to know her new roommates, Tohru discovers a dark secret—all three of them are afflicted with a family curse that causes them to transform into animals from the Chinese zodiac when embraced by a member of the opposite sex.

Holiday in the sun

No, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, I've been on vacation!

First Big Chimp and I went to San Diego Comic-Con, where we attended lots of panels, including ones on writing, editing, Batman, Dexter, and Harry Potter. It was AMAZING! I also acquired way too many books, including a few signed ones, like Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon (who moderated a super cool panel on the young adult genre), and The Prometheus Project by Douglas Richards.

Another huge highlight was seeing Ray Bradbury speak about libraries, writing, and the importance of colonizing Mars:

And then there was the ultra cool Grant Morrison:

The next week, we left on a California road trip, which included LA, Yosemite, San Francisco (where I acquired even more reading material from City Lights Books), Monterey, Big Sur (where we revisited the Henry Miller Memorial Library), and Santa Barbara (Yeah UCSB Gauchos!).

By the end of the trip I had accumulated eight new novels and six new graphic novels, as well as a 1928 Underwood Portable typewriter (an awesome birthday gift from my best friend—thanks Audrey!). We had to check an extra bag:

In short, it was the best vacation ever.

Now, back to writing this book!