Top 5 Books of 2012

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff
Genre: YA Speculative Fiction
Why I Loved It: Because it was dark and magical, but sparingly so. The narrative voice was sharp and subtle, deftly crafted in a way that pulled me in completely without getting in its own way. I'm not sure if that will make sense to anyone but me, but that's how this book read for me. I'm not always a lover of stories about angels and demons, but this one felt fresh and accessible: this was less about religious exploration and more about what it is to be an outsider in your own life. I also happen to LOVE books that utilize dramatic irony well, especially when it comes to two love interests heading towards each other and NOT EVEN knowing it.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: YA Speculative Fiction
Why I Loved It: I love this author so, so much that I find it difficult to imagine disliking anything she writes. In fact, I love her so much that I read this book for the second time over Christmas, and loved it even more than I had the first time. Maggie's writing is so distinctive, and so beautifully and lyrically crafted. Her characters in this book felt incredibly real, exhibiting tragic flaws and beautiful vulnerabilities that made them a pleasure to follow around even when they were pissing me off. The premise (I don't want to spoil it--just read the prologue, would you?) is one of the most unique I've come across in a while. It has all of the crucial ingredients that make me fall in love with a book: great writing, a compelling voice, dark edges, unique characters, and angst. It it has real twists and mysteries, too. I was sad both times when I turned the last page.

Nightwoods by Charles Frazier
Genre: Adult Literary Fiction
Why I Loved It: I was afraid that, after Cold Mountain, I could never love another book of his as much. To my surprise, though, this book worked a kind of spell on me. It has all of Frazier's characteristic hallmarks of style: a lush, detailed setting, a calm and beautiful voice, and an atmospheric pull that makes it incredibly satisfying to read slowly and savor. He deals with issues of abuse and brokenness in a way that is beautiful, but never gratuitous. It isn't often that I read a book that makes me believe in literary magic, but this one certainly did.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Genre: I'm stumped...let's say YA Historical Fiction with a speculative twist?
Why I Loved It: I had the pleasure of finishing this book while sitting on a bench in Switzerland. I also had the pleasure to teach this book to 9th graders, and watching them fall in love with the strange and devastating world of this story. I don't know that I have ever read something so carefully--or uniquely--crafted. You fall in love with the characters and the place they inhabit, and you can't look away from them even when horrible things are happening in their lives. It creates a commentary around the Holocaust that feels new, and devastating, and also filled with hope. I feel lucky to have had the change to read it so closely and talk about it with my students.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn

Genre: YA Contemporary
Why I Loved It: This short novel felt so incredibly stylized--the way teens talked and moved and felt--while managing, at the same time, to feel incredibly real. I loved following the two characters around as they stumbled their way through their feelings. I read most of this book out loud to a friend as we drove through the South, which brought home what an incredible job these writers did at creating two very distinct voices for their characters that still managed to meld and flow together. 

Casting Back at 2012

I like naming things: while nothing is ever easily categorized, I like to think in terms of titles. For me, 2012 has been the Year of Unexpected Opportunities. There were so many changes and challenges, but all of them pushed me to grow and to appreciate what I've learned and discovered.

Me and my soulmate ladyfriend in downtown D.C. (love you, Lynds!)

I spent quality time with people I love, and spent more time with family than I have since I left for Australia in 2007.

Me and my partner in crime in Savannah.

I started a new job teaching high school, essentially for the first time. I've had the chance to make vocab  crowns, to have fervent discussions about literature, and to make speeches about adventure.

Oh Romeo, Romeo...who is he again?

Inspiration comes in many forms...

I started shopping a novel around to agents for the first time, and continue to be amazed and challenged by that experience. I finished a novel I'm really excited to revise and get ready to send out into the world.

Where I wrote a lot of Novel #3. 

I travelled to places I'd been before with people who mean the world to me, and loved them all over again. I travelled to new places, and fell in love with them, too. 

It's been an interesting year full of surprises. I'm looking forward to seeing what 2013 might hold!

Best Music of 2012

I love writing 'best of' posts; they really bring home to me how much value my year's soundtrack brings into my writing life, and life in general. It seems as if my year has been filled with a really high proportion of folksy male crooners, and not as much Australian stuff as I would like. However, writing Novel #3, hanging out with hipster friends, and watching bad teen dramas have brought an awesome collection of new artists into my life. So. Much. Angst!

My Favorite Music from 2012 

The Lumineers - (Self-titled Album)

This group provided a handy anthem for my summer. Although they seem like they've become a pretty big deal in the industry, they weren't that well known when I saw them at Wolf Trap in June. It was amazing to see how excited they were to be playing for such a big audience. I embarrassed my friends by singing 'Stubborn Love' at the top of my lungs when no one around us knew the words. Other favorites: 'Classy Girls', and 'Submarines'.

Bon Iver - (Self-titled Album)

I don't need to explain the reason for my deep-seated love for Bon Iver, do I? I love everything about him...even when I don't know exactly what he's saying. Favorites include: 'Michicant', 'Calgary', and 'Wash.'.

The Civil Wars - 'Barton Hollow'

I love this duo so much: using their voices and very little else, they create such beautiful harmonies that soar together as easily as birds. Please write some more music! Favorites include: 'Goodbye Girl', and 'Barton Hollow'.

Daughter - 'His Young Heart'

If I had to pick one artist that shaped Novel #3 more than any other, it would be Daughter. Found for me by my super-hip mother, I couldn't imagine my current writing life without the beautiful sounds of this album playing through my headphones. My Favorites: 'Landfill', and 'The Woods'. 

 The Tallest Man on Earth - 'The Wild Hunt'

A great combination of bluegrass and folk: Bob Dylanesque, with the same knack for great storytelling, but with a style I enjoy infinitely more.

 The Oh Hello's - (Self-titled Album)

Folksy (just for something a little different?) and full of soul. My anthem this year: 'Hello My Old Heart'. I just bought their first full-length album and can't wait to listen to it.

James Vincent McMorrow - Early In The Morning

I spent a lot of time this Spring writing my novel, listening to this album with my toes in the sand and a notebook in hand, pacing the beach by Mom's house for inspiration. Favorites: 'We Don't Eat' and 'From The Woods!!'

Of Monsters And Men - 'Into The Woods' (I seem to really like my music woods-themed)

Another fun, folksy, feel-good group that makes me think of summertime. Favorites: 'Dirty Paws'.

There are many others on my playlist: some A Capella music, Imagine Dragons, and some angsty alternative stuff (Mikky Ekko, especially). I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Cold Weather Comforts

There's something incredibly comforting about homemade meals, familiar woods, and family. Having gone without my family for so long, it still strikes me sometimes how nice it is to be able to jump in a car and just go home. Of course, that home isn't the one I grew up in - but it is still the place that holds my old journals, my high school albums, and the detritus of the many lives I've already lived. Here's some of what I've been doing this weekend:

First, I've made unhealthy and glorious things.

Preparations for mac 'n cheese: (1) cut up insane amounts of cheese. 

(2) Create a cream-based sauce, and add more cheese to it.

(3) Forget that you're about to eat eight pounds' worth of cheese.

Holiday balls made from pages from Dante's Inferno. Surely it's okay to mix a fiery epic about the circles of hell with N'Sync's "Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday"?

Second, I've finally gone running and communed with some woods. I've had the opportunity, lately, to teach the work of some of my favorite tree huggers: specifically Emerson and Thoreau. As I ran through these woods by the Chesapeake, I kept hearing these words:

 

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion." 

- Thoreau (= awesome)

I've also been watching the 2010 movie version of Macbeth (again) and trying to figure out how to make the play more fun and intelligible. This is what happened when I broke out my felt tip:

Those are some high quality stick men in tartan.

I'm Writing To: "Lay Me Down", by The Oh Hello's

Resolutions 2012

It's that time again: time to set some lofty goals for myself to keep me on my toes in 2012. 

I'm pleasantly surprised by how well my goals for 2011 went given the number of mammoth obstacles. I managed to accomplish many of them in spectacular style: I travelled to a several amazing places; I got the opportunity to work with teens; I grew as a writer/editor, and got a lot more comfortable calling myself one.

Hey there, 2012. I've got a good feeling about you.

Resolutions:

1. Finish Novel #2 and start shopping for agents. I'd hoped to have this done by now, but I'm actually glad I didn't. A few extra rounds of editing have made my story so much better than it would have been had I rushed it. I feel confident now that it's the best book it could possibly be, and I'm hoping to be sending letters out by the beginning of March.

2. Write Novel #3. I also thought I'd have this done by now, but major life changes/Novel #2 took up all of my creativity. Last year I still wasn't sure what I wanted this novel to be. But now I do, and I'm really excited to write it.

3. Make photography a bigger part of my life. 2011 showed me how much I love taking photos. So this year I'm going to try and put together one photo collection a month of things that make me feel inspired and share it on the blog.

4. Take myself on a writing retreat. Travel + writing + long walks through beautiful landscapes = my ideal trip. I'd love to go to Ireland or Wales, finish my novel, drink dark beers, and amble along clifftops. Care to join me?

5.  Learn to play the violin. So this is something I always thought I'd do once I retire... I love love love string instruments but have never thought of myself as very musical. But lately I've been wondering why I should wait. My spindly fingers were meant to play something!

6. Run for a cause. I'd like to train for a run this year, particularly to raise funds to help find a cure for diabetes.

7. Get back in touch with Shakespeare. Teaching eighth graders Romeo and Juliet has reminded me how much I love it, and how many of Shakespeare's plays I've yet to get properly acquainted with. I'm hoping to read/see as many of them as I possibly can.