A Beginning, a Muddle, and an End

Kicking off another line-up of kids’ books, I read A Beginning, a Muddle, and an End: The Right Way to Write Writing by Avi, the author of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (which I distinctly remember not finishing as a kid). A sequel to The End of the Beginning, this silly tale follows a snail named Avon and an ant named Edward.

Avon sits down to write about his adventures from the first book, but is facing a bit of writer’s block. Edward decides to give him some advice. This book is more of a cute tale for aspiring writers than something kids would actually enjoy, but the silly plays on words far outweigh any actual writing advice—although the last 3 pages are quite inspiring. An anteater, coming after Edward, is convinced that what he really wants to eat are aunts. (“In this world U can make a difference.”) The humor is a cross between the cleverness of The Phantom Tollbooth and the utter zaniness of Monty Python.

Still, there are 5 rules to writing:

1) Write about what you know.
2) Write abut what you don’t know.
3) Write about what you don’t know as if you did know it.
4) Make sure that when you’re writing about what you don’t know as if you did know,

conceal the fact that you don’t know what you’re doing.
5) Always leave your reader guessing.

So, there it is, from a Newbury Medal-winning author. Happy writing!

The Swan Thieves

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova was one of two books this fall on my own personal “highly anticipated” list (and thus not on my original list of books to get through). Kostova wrote The Historian, a blockbuster vampire novel that came out a few years ago, before vampire mania had really hit. That was good, but I enjoyed this new book even more.

It begins when a crazed artist bursts into the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and tries to stab one of the paintings. Robert Oliver, a successful contemporary artist and instructor, often works in a style similar to that of the nineteenth-century French Impressionists. One figure has occupied most of his canvases, yet it is not anyone in his life, as far as his psychiatrist, the main narrator, can discover. He is also obsessed with a little-known female painter from the nineteenth century, whose story quickly becomes a compelling mystery.

I received this book at a Southern California booksellers event where Kostova spoke. She said she started this book because she wanted to write about and describe paint. For someone really wanting to explore art in words, it was interesting that she chose Impressionism, as it isn’t highly regarded in serious art circles. Still, it was a perfect read . . . beautifully written without being too serious.

The Shop on Blossom Street

I have never been a reader of romance novels. I sneer at pretty much everything that comes in a mass market paperback trim size. I loathe raised, foil-stamped titles. However, The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber was about a knitting shop, so I thought I'd give it a whirl as my latest gym book. (Knitting is a favorite hobby of mine.) And, I was pleasantly surprised!

Centering on 4 women who come to know each other at the titular shop, it's more grown-up chick lit than a romance novel. (Hen lit? I've never liked that term . . . ) One woman opens the shop after a couple of battles with cancer, another has just quit her job to try for a baby, an older upper-class woman decides to knit a baby blanket to feign enthusiasm for her unborn grandchild, and a younger woman chooses knitting for Project Linus as an easy way to fulfill her court-ordered community service. You can imagine the kinds of scenarios that ensue. And, it pretty much plays out like a Lifetime movie . . . but one of the better Lifetime movies that you don't regret watching!

I have a couple more of these books--hand-me-downs from my mother--stashed away somewhere. I will probably give them a whirl, too.