Boston Book Festival 2013

Saturday was the Fifth Boston Book Festival in Copley Square. I went to hear the YA: Legends Revisited talk featuring Maggie Stiefvater, Nancy Werlin, Shelly Dickinson Carr, and Marisa Meyer. I haven't read anything by Carr or Meyer yet, though Meyer's Cinder has been on my to read list for a while and after hearing about Carr's take on Jack the Ripper in Ripped, I can't wait to pick it up. I've reviewed Stiefvater and Werlin's books on this blog. The talk focused on using pre-existing stories, myths, fairy tales, and historic events in their writing. It was right up my alley! Also, it was conveniently located near my office.

I felt a familiar sense of validation in hearing successful authors discuss their writing methods. 

"Hey, they do some things like I do. Maybe I am really a writer." 

Okay, maybe I let go of the doubt about whether or not I'm a "real writer" a while ago. Thank goodness! Still it's nice to know these women have had success and their processes are not all that different from mine. They also got me thinking about some things that could become blog topics in the future. Thanks ladies!

There were a lot of panels and readings, though I only attended that one. Outside they had booths set up for local publishers, self publishing companies, magazines, schools featuring MFA programs, and pretty much anything related to books, literature or reading. It was a gorgeous day and I was totally in the zone.

Check out the swag I snagged: a copy of Writer magazine, a SciFi Story Anthology, and a free ticket to the Boston Book Fair in November.

Book Report Monday: Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano

Title: Perfect Ruin (Internment Chronicles #1)

Author: Lauren DeStefano

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian

Synopsis: On Internment, the floating island in the clouds where 15-year-old Morgan Stockhour lives, getting too close to the edge can lead to madness. Even though Morgan's older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. She tries her best not to mind that her life is orderly and boring, and if she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in best friend Pen and her betrothed, Basil.

Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially when she meets Judas. He is the boy being blamed for the murder — betrothed to the victim — but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will find — or who she will lose.
(from Goodreads)


Why did I pick it up?: I enjoyed Lauren DeStefano's Chemical Garden Trilogy. And her cats are pretty adorbs.


Favorite Lines: "For a moment I envy his blindness. I want to curl up in that darkness and have the city disappear around me. I want to be in a place where awful things are never seen and never known, and there's only the whir of the transcriber as the paper fills with fiction."

"He says there's nothing wrong with me, but it's entirely possible he hasn't been paying enough attention."

"I want the world that was promised to us when we were small. Uncomplicated and nonviolent."

My Review: Perfect Ruin is even better than The Chemical Garden trilogy and I really liked that series. I fell in love with DeStefano's short but profound and often lyrical sentences. Many of her passages remind me of Alice Hoffman, but that may be because of the way they make me feel, almost weightless like I'm not even aware that I'm on the couch or the train while reading them. Perfect Ruin retains that quality, but both the story and characters are noticeably more complex. It's not that I found Wither to be full of simple characters or to have a weak story. It's kind of like, when you didn't realize you were hungry until you took your first bite. I thought her other books had given me plenty, but then she gave me more. (I hope you know what I mean, otherwise someone is bound to have me classified as irrational.) Most writers continue to improve as they hone their skills more with each project. And Lauren DeStefano has obviously been honing.

Morgan Stockhour is loyal and trustworthy, the kind of character you can support right away. Still, at times she's awkwardly fifteen, she's independent despite being betrothed since birth, she's generally happy despite being shunned by most of her classmates because of her brother's actions years before.

One thing I really liked about her was her awareness. Morgan's convinced there's something wrong with her but also she seems to know there's something wrong with Internment. I read a lot of YA and a decent amount of that is Dystopian and it's a common theme for the main character to be totally shocked that the ruling body might be wrong. Morgan isn't an angst-filled rebel on page one and she is shocked by the murder, but she's smart and observant. She knows everything isn't as perfect as it seems and that there are things you don't say, because the people in charge would punish you for saying them and she seems to know to be wary of them.

Another refreshing change is the lack of romance as a theme. There is some, as I said, Morgan is betrothed. Her relationship with Basil is well developed and really sweet. They're best friends who grew up knowing they'd be married one day. And while they have some adorable moments, this story isn't a love story. I don't have anything against YA Romance but it's nice to read YA with less of a romantic focus.

As someone who strives to be earth conscious, I had a lot of questions about life on a floating city. With limited resources, no substantial bodies of water, and I imagine some kind of weight restriction to prevent the whole city from just sinking to the ground, they obviously can't have waste piling up. I was happy to learn about those pieces of life on Internment throughout the story. That might just be because I'm green and nerdy about it, but I was happy to have my questions all answered.

Recommendation: If you liked her last series, I'm sure you'll love Perfect Ruin. Also anyone who liked the Matched series by Ally Condie, is waiting impatiently for Catching Fire to hit theaters or who appreciates beautifully crafted sentences.

For Next Week: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Fun Friday: Fantasy Fashions

While most people are content to show their love of books and movies with t-shirts, reusable tote bags, or by hanging maps of Westeros in their office (or is that just me?) others take it a step farther. It's not a contest. . .but if it was those folks would be winning.

For fans of Game of Thrones there's a tumblr dedicated to the latest fashions which would most likely be worn by Daenerys across the Narrow Sea. Aptly called What Would Khaleesi Wear? the site has hairstyles, clothes, jewelry and more.

Tattoos are common enough that getting one inspired by a book or movie isn't too crazy, but I'll probably blog about it at some point. Still it's fan nature to one up each other and now you can go under the knife to live out your nerdastic fantasies.

While it's just a bad idea to accuse vampire-wannabes of being nerds, what else do you call someone who gets the dental implants semi-permanently attached to their teeth?

I mean when they go to Nana's 90th, those teeth are still there.  

  

Source

You can now go the surgical route and have a small operation to get pointed ears like and elf or a Vulcan.





Like I said, it's not a competition....but this girl obviously likes elves more than I do...and I like them a lot. Even if I had "the nine" in Sindarin or Orlando Bloom's face inked permanently into my flesh, she'd still be winning.




Source

Elfophiles (aka Alfariophiles*) who aren't prepared to go under the knife can buy accessories that show off their dedication to the Alliance, Lothlorien, Orilla, or pure logic.

*Yes, I made that word up.

A Literary Pilgrimage

Hey, where'd those mountains go?

The best day of my trip to Switzerland began with a grey dawn and a cool dampness in the thin mountain air. Unfettered, I dressed in layers and marched to the station. The only train that stops there is called the Mountain Train. I took it down the mountain to a larger station with more options, including service to Geneva.

The total journey took about 2 hours and for much of it, I had pretty views of the lake.

I spent the ride reading and thinking about Mary Shelley. Switzerland, and more precisely Lake Geneva, interested me ever since I first read Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus a decade ago. 

Going to the place where the book was written and where the title character, Victor Frankenstein, grew up just felt like something I should do. 

Jet d'eau

When I arrived I made my way down to the water to get my bearings. I'd looked at a map online (millions of times) beforehand, so I knew that the Jet d'eau (a giant spout of water in the corner of the lake) would have to be on my left while I walked about 40 minutes (thanks Google) around the lake to Cologny.

No sooner had I stepped onto the paved path that hugs the lake than the clouds dispersed. A bright yellow sun sparkled down. The steel colored lake turned to diamonds. 

Perfect weather for exploring Switzerland on foot. 

Joggers, walkers, and moms with strollers went by with many bonjours. I got to pet dogs.

In June of 1816 Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley visited Lord Byron at Villa Belle Rive in Cologny, a suburb of Geneva. It's the Beverly Hills of Geneva, full of expensive mansions with tall privacy gates.

They make it so easy.

Making the pilgrimage was the main reason I went on this trip yet at no point was I concerned it would be a disappointment. The Serendipitous Swiss Vibes wouldn't allow for negativity. And you'll be pleased to know they didn't steer me wrong. Not once.

Plaque on the main house.

I simply followed the lake until I saw signs for Cologny. Then I climbed up steep hills until I reached the thoroughfare of Cologny. There I found the above map. It very clearly showed where I was and where Villa Diodati was. I noted the two turns I'd  need to make and continued on.

I walked the streets Mary Shelley walked, though they are much smoother and easier on the feet now. If you can ignore the security cameras and the water jet added to the lake in 1886, you can imagine what she saw. I cannot explain why I wanted to do that so badly, but I wasn't disappointed.

Front Entrance

Today, the house they occupied is called Villa Diodati and it's owned by a private resident who 

does not-at this time-allow visitors or tours of the home. Not even for very polite American writers traveling alone and who have a purely scholastic interest in seeing where one of her favorite written works was born.

Sign explaining the history of the house.

Though I couldn't get into the house itself, they have a large public park right next to the gated and tree surrounded estate. The park allowed the traveling American writer girl to mildly stalk the place where Frankenstein came to life. 

View of the Villa from my park bench.

It may be hard to believe a dark tale of horror, unchecked obsession and revenge was conceived there. Seriously, butterflies flitted around the flower bushes while a girl sat in her boyfriend's lap laughing on a bench not far from mine. 

But it was a dismal rainy period which plagued Mary Shelley and her companions. The bad weather forced them indoors and they decided to make up ghost stories to entertain each other.

Writers.

View of Lake Geneva from the same bench.

Of course, I had my favorite copy of Frankenstein in my bag and I did read some of it but I spent most of my time writing. 

I wrote 1,500 words on that bench. It was only hunger and wanting to make the train leaving at seven which finally got me to stop.

Back entrance

I took a different route when I left, which was lucky. I found a great spot for not-so-obstructed pictures. 

View from the lake.

I still have my fingers crossed that someday the current owner of Villa Diodati will allow tours. Maybe for the 200 anniversary of the events of 1816 or of Frankenstein's publication in 1818. 

Until then I'll settle for this. 

The lake was beyond anything my camera in all of its purple glory could hope to capture. I took my time walking back. Stopped for a scoop of Swiss Ice Cream. And I felt I understood why Mary Shelley chose it as Victor Frankenstein's home. His was an ideal childhood. His parents were affectionate, happy and wealthy. He was so spoiled they even adopted a pretty blonde girl for him to marry.

As you can see from these pictures growing up in proximity to Lake Geneva was definitely a factor.

Lake Geneva

Book Report Monday: Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Title: Fever, The Chemical Garden Trilogy #2

Author: Lauren DeStefano

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian

Why did I pick it up?: It's the sequel to Wither which I read and reviewed in June.

Synopsis: Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever. (from Goodreads)


My Review: Without fail I find myself predicting what will happen next in books, movies, TV series, etc. I think it comes with whatever writer goggles I use to view the world. I see plots in every story and suspect how they could twist and bend on the next page, scene or episode. Voicing these theories often annoys whoever I am watching a movie or show with. If I'm right it would ruin their "ah ha" moment.

Naturally after Wither, I was full to bursting with theories about what I thought was going to happen in the sequel. As it turns out I was pretty much wrong.

There is one thing that I think I may be right about but I'm stuck waiting until the next book to find out how right I am. Even while reading I had theories that were shortly blown to bits. I really enjoyed Wither and I was eager to get my hands on Fever. I loved Fever so much more. The first book was contained, like Rhine, within the walls of the mansion. The story told was, in my opinion, a small piece of something much larger that's happening in the dystopian society. With Fever the story bursts out from its micro focus. Rhine's tale is growing to encompass the world outside of the mansion, where the world is flailing without any hope of reprieve or a solution.

Gabriel, who has not left the mansion in years, is seeing the world for the first time. This leaves Rhine with a kind of double vision. She views the world she remembers from before, but she also imagines how it must look to Gabriel. The streets and buildings are crumbling, dirty, and unsafe.

She wonders if she mislead him with her stories about how wonderful the outside world could be. The point, of course,  is that it's outside. It's not a cage, or a locked ward. You don't need someone with a key card to escort you for a walk in the garden.

Naturally freedom, choice and hope are all on Rhine's mind while she struggles to get home and to her brother Rowan.


Recommendation: Anyone who read Wither or If you haven't read Wither yet, and you love YA Dystopia/Romance you should read Wither. Then read this.