#BookReview -- This Is How It Always Is

What's your family's secret?

We all have secrets. Every person, every family. And we protect those secrets -- until, one day, we don't.

In Laurie Frankel's beautifully crafted This Is How It Always Is, the core secret is about a child's gender identity. Frankel is well-versed in the topic. She is raising a transgender child. But, as her experience and this novel reveal, who we are goes far beyond our gender.

This Is How It Always Is takes us inside an enduring love story and an evolving fairy tale. We travel along with Rosie and Penn and their family as they move from one state to another, one country to another, in search of ... well, read it and find out.

As you read, you'll come across phrases that make you say: Yep. I know exactly what she means. For example:
"Rosie's number-one concern was: what would make Claude happy?
Penn's number-one concern was: what would make Claude happy?
But happy is harder than it sounds."

Happy is harder than it sounds. Parenting is harder than it sounds. Love is harder than it sounds. But deciding to read this book? That's easy.

I give it Four Bookmarks. Which is like Four Stars out of a Five Star review, only booky. Five Bookmarks, FYI, has to be up there with Little Women.

(And big thanks to Shanna for giving me the book!)

#Creative Critic: New books and California Typewriter

According to Stephen King, "If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that."

I'm certainly not going to argue with Stephen King. I am going to find time to read more this year, and I'm off to a good start with this holiday gift collection:

I'm well into This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel and I love it -- I'll post a review when I'm done. I may tackle the Tom Hanks collection next.

Speaking of Tom Hanks, he's adorable. That is not a review. That's a fact. And if you haven't watched him and all the other typewriter fanatics in California Typewriter, you should. Really interesting documentary, with perspectives from Hanks, David McCullough, Sam Shepard, John Mayer and others. Many of their comments re: creativity, tactile feedback, the freedom of the instant, etc., made me sit up straighter and say, "Exactly! I know exactly what he means!"

Hmmmm. He. Were they all guys in this documentary? Now that I think of it, there was one quick female typewriter poet clip ... and then ... hmmm. Yeah. Heavy on the guys. Nevertheless, I think you'd enjoy the documentary.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my book.

Creative Critic: Peternelle van Arsdale and Celeste Ng

As it turns out, there's a limit to how much political insanity I can deal with during a day. By evening, I've usually had my fill of it all -- so I'm spending less time online. Bright spot! That gives me more time to read.

The last two books I've read are shelter in the storm; beautifully written tales that make me eager to read the next works from both authors.

In The Beast is an Animal, Peternelle van Arsdale transports you to a world unlike any you've ever encountered, and makes it feel like home. You know this place, even though it's populated with magical creatures, evil and wonderful. Yes, it's a young adult novel about soul eaters. Don't let that stop you from buying it -- much of today's best writing is classified as young adult, and the best fantasy reflects reality.

Truly. I mean, if you've never dealt with a soul eater, then you've never been employed.

Peternelle also publishes a great newsletter; you can sign up for it here. As she says, "C'mon. Give it a try. Life is too short to live with regrets."

I have one regret about the next book I'm recommending -- I regret that I waited so long to read it.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng made all the top lists when it was published -- I bought it for my daughter Mary some time ago, and recently "borrowed" it from her. She's not getting it back. This one goes on my favorites bookshelf.

It's the story of a Chinese American family dealing with the death of a child and it should come with a warning: Don't read the last few chapters while on a plane. Not that I cried -- a lot -- while sitting next to a complete stranger or anything. (We're not talking sniffles. We're talking tears rolling down my face.)

The next book from Celeste -- Little Fires Everywhere -- is due out next month, Sept. 12. I will be reading it ASAP. Maybe I'll let Mary borrow it. Hmmm. No. Probably not.

Celeste also has a cool story online from the 2015 Twitter Fiction Festival. (She was an invited author the year I was in the festival as a contest winner. And I was pretty dang excited to be in her company, even loosely and virtually.)

Interestingly, both The Beast is an Animal and Everything I Never Told You explore some of the same topics -- family, loss, the challenge of being an outsider, the power of love to both hurt and heal.

Gorgeously conceived, written and edited books have always been an oasis for me. Given the days we live in, these two books are absolute gifts, instant transport to another time and place. Take a break. Read the books.

Creative Critic: It's National Pecan Day!

This may be the only blog post in the universe that mentions Forks Over Knives and Nonni's Turtle Pecan Biscotti in the same sentence.

Just guessing.

The lovely PR folks from Nonni's recently reached out to me and asked if I'd like to sample and critique the biscotti in honor of National Pecan Day.

Now, I'm pretty focused on healthy eating these days. I haven't gone the complete Forks Over Knives plant-based route, but I've given up meat and chicken and only rarely eat fish or dairy products. I've cut back on sweets. (Ugh.) So I figured I'd just take a bite of the biscotti and tell you what I thought.

It was a good idea. Only one problem. Nonni's Turtle Pecan Biscotti are scrumptious. And I say that as a baker with high standards for biscotti -- which are really mondel broit. I've made mondel broit. It's a process, and mine didn't taste nearly this good.

One bite turned into ...

And you're lucky Tom snapped the photo before I snapped up the rest of the biscotti. I recommend them. I will buy them. Totally delish. Happy National Pecan Day! Go nuts ...

Creative Shout Outs: Brian Selznick

Being deaf in one ear does have its advantages. For example, when my brother and sister and I were little, I always sat right behind the driver in the family car, with my "bad ear" to the window. Harry and Eva had to take turns -- one trip, window. Next trip, middle seat. Whoever was in the middle was smooshed on both sides, feet scrunched up by that big floorboard hump. So sad.

Another, ongoing advantage? I can block out sounds by blocking one ear. It's easy. I bury my good ear into a pillow at night. I lean my head against my hand during the day.

And now, another advantage: my very personal and heartfelt appreciation for Brian Selznick and his book Wonderstruck. It's the first book I've ever read that speaks directly to this part of my life.

Selznick's writing and illustrations are amazing. You certainly don't need a hearing loss to relate to the other losses in this story, and the ageless search for love and a place where you belong.

I read all of Wonderstruck -- 600+ pages -- in one setting. Now, it's a book designed for children and it's told in both words and pictures. So, it's not like I sat down and read War and Peace in one fell swoop. On the other hand, I have the attention span of a gnat. And my iPad was right there, waiting.

But an iPad is no match for a story that truly resounds.

P.S. I did not know the book had anything to do with Deaf culture until after I bought it and started reading. Don't you love the unexpected connections you sometimes find in books? We are all less alone than we think.

P.P.S. The Scholastic website for Wonderstruck also took me back to my younger days. During elementary school, there was concern I could lose all my hearing, so I learned lip reading and some sign language. I will now "sign off" with my name:





The Power of Words

Knowing how I feel about the power of words, it's not surprising that a number of people have sent me the link to this video. Here's what I find fascinating. Based on Facebook and email reactions, many people think the video is "amazing," "so true," and "powerful." I think it's annoying. Why?

Because creativity is in the eye of the beholder and my eye has a completely different view of blindness. While I applaud the reminder that words change actions, I abhor the depiction of this blind beggar. I worked for a blind man for years. He's brilliant and successful. My guess is, he would be appalled by this video.

Macular degeneration has robbed my mother of most of her sight. She fights daily to remain as independent as possible.

So, for me, this video is a reminder that we see the world through our own unique lens. It's a challenge for communications at times, but it's a gift for creativity. Here's how I see it: If you do something and the people around you don't applaud, don't worry. Please your own eyes.

And if others beg to differ with you, enjoy the discussion.

Creative Critic: Until I Find You

I finally finished Until I Find You by John Irving. Ohmilord. Where do I even begin a review?

To set the stage, Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany is one of my all-time favorite books. I think it's brilliant. Fortunately, I read it before I read Until I Find You -- because I may never read another Irving book again.

Until I Find You proves that talent is no guarantee of ... well, anything. Irving is obviously a talented writer. And yet ...

The characters in this novel are unappealing and unreal. The only characters with any charm are too-soon killed. The dialogue and much of the action is completely implausible. And repulsive -- do any siblings really discuss the proper way they should kiss each other on the mouth?

Oh, heck. Forget the uncharismatic characters and the overwrought plot. The writing is awful. (By which I mean, not good. Not good at all.) Irving has a ridiculously unnecessary parenthetical phrase (that is to say, not needed) on almost every page. And there are more than 800 pages (which, one might say, would be many chapters indeed).

My big learning came from my buddy Lynn, after she listened to me whine about the novel.

"You don't have to finish it, Janet," she said. "If you're not engaged in a book, stop reading. Find another book."

Next time, I'll listen to Lynn. This time, I kept reading -- hoping against hope that John Irving would pull it out of the fire. He never did. Too bad. He was one of my favorite authors. Until He Lost Me.

Fabulous Phrases: Have a Little Faith

I've decided to turn Barb's idea of sharing great copy into a new CI feature: Fabulous Phrases. When you run across something perfect, send it my way and we'll share! We can all learn from excellence.

Today's phrase comes from Mitch Albom's Have a Little Faith, which is not a great book. If I asked my father what he thought of a book like this, he would have said, "It's fine."

So. It's fine. It's a quick read, a nice story. Not much else to say. It's no Tuesdays with Morrie. But it's fine. And it did have this perfect bit near the end, describing a visit with Albom's beloved rabbi, near the end of the rabbi's life. I need to give you the set-up copy before the great line:

"He was a joyous man, a marvelous piece of God's machinery, and it was no fun watching him fall apart. In his office now, I helped him move boxes. He would try to give me books, saying it broke his heart to leave them behind. I watched him roll from pile to pile, looking and remembering, then putting the stuff down and moving to another pile.

If you could pack for heaven, this was how you'd do it, touching everything, taking nothing."

Creative Critic: A Serious Man

Yesterday, I told you the smell of vinegar took me back to my grandmother's house. Today, we continue the trip down memory lane. A Serious Man by the Coen brothers takes me back to bat mitzvah lessons in 1968. However, I would like to go on record as saying I was not stoned at my bat mitzvah.

The details in the film are perfect in everything from set design to costumes to dialogue. The scenes with the rabbis are laugh-out-loud funny.

I'd encourage you to rent it, but I have one big question: Does it only make sense because I know this world? Midwest, Jewish kids, the '60s ...

I'm too close to the topic to know. So, you be the critic. If you've seen the movie, do you recommend it?

Friday Fun: Michael Giacchino

You might think that Fantastic Mr. Fox would be my favorite movie of 2009, given my overwhelming fondness for talking animals and George Clooney -- and the rarity of finding them together in one film.

However, you'd be wrong. Up was my favorite, and I was delighted last weekend when it won the Academy Award for Animated Feature Film. Unfortunately, my limited attention span and I had wandered by the time they handed out the Oscar for Music (Original Score) to Up's Michael Giacchino.

But here's the good news: Vanessa was paying attention! Thanks to her, we have today's fun moment -- Michael's brief acceptance speech, all about creativity. Enjoy! And if you haven't seen Up yet, do it. Do it now.

Thanks, Vanessa!

Creative Critic: (500) Days of Summer

This week's Oscar nominations overlooked one really great movie. (500) Days of Summer should have scored for screenwriting.

For those of you who don't know my movie-watching rules, it basically boils down to this: No violence. No hideous story line that will give me nightmares. Talking animals and/or George Clooney improve any movie. (OK, not really. But I do like animation*. And George.)

Given that, my husband humors me now and then and agrees to watch a "chick flick" with me. We both thought that's what (500) Days would be. It is so much more. It's a wonderful movie about love and life and work and possibilities. Amazing script and script structure -- worthy of Creative Critic praise. Terrific soundtrack. Rent it. Watch it. Enjoy!

*One of the scenes in (500) Days that made us both laugh out loud does have a moment of animation. Gotta love it.

Creative Critic: Non-Sequitur

If you only read one comic strip, well, you're not reading enough comics. But, if I had to choose one, I'd choose Non Sequitur. I am an unabashed fan. I even have a signed original in my office. Wiley Miller is brilliant.

Now, he's giving you the opportunity for fame and fortune. Put your comic genius on display. For this week's creativity exercise, enter The Great Non Sequitur Sign-Off!

(And for goodness sake, after you check out the link and the rules, email your line to the address given. Don't post it for the world to see. Can't anyone follow simple directions?)

P.S. to Chronicle Books: Yeah, yeah. I'm promoting a Universal Press guy. But you know my heart belongs to you. And my book could ... if you'd only call.

Creative Critic: The Idea Book

I'm not sure how the folks at interesting.org found Creative Instigation, but I'm glad they did -- and delighted they provided me with a review copy of The Idea Book. The book is great, and the marketing is inspirational.

First, the book. The Idea Book is a fast, fun read. I'd suggest throwing it in a backpack or briefcase so it's handy when you have a few extra moments.

The idea behind the book is simple -- it's a combo book/journal, filled with brief creativity lessons and activities, interesting stories, fun quotes and lots of blank pages. "150 pages about ideas. 150 empty pages for your own ideas."

Now, the marketing. The book is written by Fredrik Haren, but you wouldn't know it by the cover. There's no name on the cover, because Haren wants this to be your book. And those blank pages you fill up to make it yours? Well, as the PR materials explain, "Because The Idea Book is now filled with personal ideas, people do not lend their copy to others, thereby generating more sales and more happy readers."

Don't you love it when marketers are frank? Honestly, that's enough right there to make me a happy reader.

Creative Critic review: If you're out of ideas re: holiday gifts for business colleagues, don't panic. Buy The Idea Book.

The Creative Critic: In America

In keeping with my new loosey goosey (is that how you spell that? and who would know? and why do I care?) approach to blogging, today's post is a double review -- one book, and one movie. Here's my theory: Appreciating creativity, or pointing out the lack of it, in any medium can open up our eyes to new ideas in our creative fields -- whatever they might be.

Let's start with the movie. Tom and I just watched In America, recommended by my good friend Coop. It's wonderful. Beautifully written and acted. What's it about? Family. Love. Loss. Faith. Loss of faith. Desperados.

The book? I just read People of the Book by Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks. Fascinating story, historical novel, based on the Sarajevo Haggadah.

Give yourself a treat. See the movie. Bring a hankie*. And read the book.

*Have you ever used a movie as a good excuse for a good cry?