National Novel Writing Month

50,000 words in the 31 days of November! That's the challenge. Quantity over quality matters here. I would do this if I wasn't taking my online courses. I will encourage my daughter, however, since she has aspirations of being a writer.

Along with keeping track of how much you have written, they also give you help in the form of mini challenges that you must include in your writing. One example might be to include a certain item in your story.

What a fun way for budding writers to push themselves.

In case you think I was copping out with my excuse of classes -- I am putting it in my log with the hope of finding it again next year.

The Savage (2008)

People find different ways to deal with the untimely death of a loved one. This book by David Almond (illustrated by Dave McKean) shows how a boy named Blue deals with the death of his father. A school counselor advises him to write about his loss and he ends up writing a story of a boy who lives like a savage in the woods near his house. The book alternates between the Blue's voice and the story he is writing. His spelling is atrocious but the words make sense if they are pronounced out loud. Mr. Almond comes from England so "football" means soccer and there are other words that are British.

"She laughed and said, 'Will you, now? What kind of job?'

I didn't have a clue, of course.

'One that'll get me loads of dosh,' I said."

This is a very touching and surprising book. I highly recommend it for a quick and satisfying read to practically everyone.

My rating for this book: ++++

Spanking Shakespeare (2008)

Senior year in high school can be incredibly stressful for some students but few are as nerve-wracking as Shakespeare Shapiro's in this book by Jake Wizner. Shakespeare is very bright, creative, and sensitive. And he suffers embarassment at every turn. My favorite part of the book relates his first experience with marijuana. He forgot that he was going out to dinner with his family and aunt. He made a terrible mistake of asking his younger brother for help getting through the meal without getting in trouble. Oh, sure! The rest of the book has excerpts from his senior memoir which gives us insight into this tortured boy's endless succession of embarassing events.

While I loved Shakespeare's sense of humor and his fantastic creativity, I was a bit uncomfortable with the frequency of episodes of self gratification that peppers this story. In the end, he becomes concerned about a girl in his class who refuses to share information about her life. She finally shares that her mother had recently died and she is struggling to help her father and brother keep together in a very desperate situation. Rather than pity her, he tries to offer his help and tries to persuade her to accept help from others. Wisely, he knows that she should be taking care of herself and not shouldering her father's responsibility.

I would cautiously recommend this book to someone who likes to read about gutsy, creative people. I think a student might be embarassed to know I read this book so I will not admit to anyone that I read this. So, don't ask me about it!

My rating for this book: +++