Girl Detective

In preparation for the Shelf Discovery Summer reading project, I had my mom see what books were still at home and send them. Oh, the geek joy when I opened these old friends today! Thanks, Mom!

Note the prices on the spines: ah, those were the days.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle,
Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret? by Judy Blume
Meet the Austins (not in SD), The Moon by Night and A Ring of Endless Light by L’Engle
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Beat the Turtle Drum by Constance Green
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

I’ve posted on this project already, but this is simpler, I think. If you’re interested in the summer project, email me or say so in the comments if you haven’t, yet.

Lizzie Skurnick’s book Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading is a reading memoir about the books she read growing up, by authors like Judy Blume, Lois Duncan, Madeleine L’Engle, V.C. Andrews, and the joys of re-reading them as an adult.

Each of the 10 chapters has a theme and several books that Skurnick revisits (see list below.) This summer, a group of us is going to read a chapter a week from Shelf Discovery and ONE book (you choose) related to that chapter. Each Monday starting June 11, 2012 and ending August 20, 2012, we’ll “meet” here to discuss the chapter and books in the comments.

The challenge is to read just a chapter and a short book a week. (You can comment even if you’re not reading the book/s. I bet you remember many of the books we’ll discuss, or can find modern equivalents.) As an incentive for those who read Shelf Discovery plus a related book a week, I’ll have a drawing at the end for a prize pack including a copy signed by the author!

Summer of Shelf Discovery Schedule:

Monday June 11
Chapter 1 “Still Checked Out: YA Heroines We’ll Never Return”, and pick one:

1 Starring Sally J Freedman as Herself by Blume, Judy
1 Danny, the Champion of the World by Dahl, Roald
1 The Great Brain by Fitzgerald, John D.
1 Harriet the Spy by Fitzhugh, Louise
1 From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by Konigsburg, E.L.
1 A Wrinkle in Time by L’Engle, Madeleine
1 Farmer Boy by Wilder, Laura Ingalls
1 Ludell by Wilkinson, Brenda

Monday June 18
Chapter 2 “She’s at That Age: Girls on the Verge”, and pick one:

2 Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Blume, Judy
2 Blubber by Blume, Judy
2 Tiger Eyes by Blume, Judy
2 Then Again, Maybe I Won’t by Blume, Judy
2 Sister of the Bride by Cleary, Beverly
2 Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Danziger, Paula
2 The Long Secret by Fitzhugh, Louise
2 A Ring of Endless Light by L’Engle, Madeleine
2 And You Give Me a Pain, Elaine by Pevsner, Stella
2 Caroline by Roberts, Willo Davis
2 To Take a Dare by Zindel, Paul and Dragonwagon, Crescent

Monday June 25
Chapter 3 “Danger Girls: I Know What You Did Last Summer (Reading)”, and pick one:

3 Secret Lives by Amoss, Berthe
3 I Am the Cheese by Cormier, Robert
3 Daughters of Eve by Duncan, Lois
3 Summer of Fear by Duncan, Lois
3 The Arm of the Starfish by L’Engle, Madeleine
3 Dragons in the Waters by L’Engle, Madeleine
3 The Westing Game by Raskin, Ellen
3 The Grounding of Group 6 by Thompson, Julian F.

Monday July 2
Chapter 4 “Read ‘Em and Weep: Tearing Up the Pages”, and pick one:

4 The Gift of the Pirate Queen by Giff, Patricia Reilly
4 Summer of My German Soldier by Green, Bette
4 Beat the Turtle Drum by Greene, Constance C.
4 Jacob Have I Loved by Paterson, Katherine
4 Bridge to Terabithia by Paterson, Katherine
4 A Day No Pigs Would Die by Peck, Robert Newton
4 Tell Me if the Lovers are Losers by Voigt, Cynthia
4 The Pigman by Zindel, Paul

Monday July 9
Chapter 5 “You Heard It Here First: Very Afterschool Specials”, and pick one:

5 Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
5 Deenie by Blume, Judy
5 It’s Not the End of the World by Blume, Judy
5 Are You in the House Alone? by Peck, Richard
5 Don’t Hurt Laurie! by Roberts, Willo Davis

Monday July 16
Chapter 6 “Girls Gone Wild: Runaways, Left Behinds and Ladies Living Off the Fat of the Land”, and pick one:

6 Understood Betsy by Fisher, Dorothy Canfield
6 Julie of the Wolves by George, Jean Craighead
6 The Endless Steppe: A Girl in Exile by Hautzig, Esther
6 Island of the Blue Dolphins by O’Dell, Scott
6 The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Speare, Elizabeth George
6 Homecoming by Voigt, Cynthia
6 Little House on the Prairie by Wilder, Laura Ingalls

Monday July 23
Chapter 7 “She Comes by It Supernaturally: Girls Who Are Gifted and Talented”, and pick one:

7 Jane-Emily by Clapp, Patricia
7 A Gift of Magic by Duncan, Lois
7 Stranger with my Face by Duncan, Lois
7 Down a Dark Hall by Duncan, Lois
7 Hangin’ Out with Cici by Pascal, Francine
7 Ghosts I Have Been by Peck, Richard
7 Girl with the Silver Eyes by Roberts, Willo Davis

Monday July 30
Chapter 8 “Him She Loves: Romanced, Rejected, Affianced, Dejected”, and pick one:

8 Forever by Blume, Judy
8 Fifteen by Cleary, Beverly
8 To All My Fans, With Love, From Sylvie by Conford, Ellen
8 The Moon by Night by L’Engle, Madeleine
8 In Summer Light by Oneal, Zibby
8 Happy Endings are All Alike by Scoppetone, Sandra
8 My Darling, My Hamburger by Zindel, Paul

Monday August 6
Chapter 9 “Old Fashioned Girls: They Wear Bonnets, Don’t They?” Pick one:

9 Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Aiken, Joan
9 An Old Fashioned Girl by Alcott, Louisa May
9 The Secret Garden by Burnett, Frances Hodgson
9 A Little Princess by Burnett, Frances Hodgson
9 Belles on the Their Toes by Carey, Ernestine Gilbreth
9 Cheaper by the Dozen by Gilbreth, Jr, Frank B.
9 All of a Kind Family by Taylor, Sydney

Monday August 13
Chapter 10 “Panty Lines: I Can’t Believe They Let Us Read This”, and pick one:

10 My Sweet Audrina by Andrews, V.C.
10 Flowers in the Attic by Andrews, V.C.
10 Clan of the Cave Bear by Auel, Jean
10 Wifey by Blume, Judy
10 Domestic Arrangements by Klein, Norma

Monday August 20: Discuss the book as a whole, and the re-reading/reminiscing experience.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Since I’m going to host a summer reading project here, I should probably do some straightening up, like getting a new theme since the old one broke (*sniff*) and taking off the outdated book list.

Probably should have considered this beforehand.

The more I think on a group reading project around Lizzie Skurnick’s reading memoir, Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading, the more excited I get.

NB: it’s a project, not a challenge. I’m going to try and make this as easy, enjoyable, and participatory as possible.

The Project: In the summer of 2012, we’re going to read a chapter a week from Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading. Each of its 10 chapters has a theme, and essays on several books. In addition to the chapter, read one of the books from the chapter, OR a book from your reading past OR a modern YA or adult book, OR a genre book (sci fi, fantasy, mystery, etc.) that fits the theme. OR don’t read a book, just read along, or reminisce on the ones that you did.

To recap: read a chapter, and a book from or related to that chapter. Or remember rather than read a book. Then discuss. Or just lurk.

See? Easy. Fun!

Every Monday starting June 4, 2012, here at Girl Detective, I’ll post the chapter and book list for the coming week. The following Monday, starting June 11, 2012 and ending August 20, 2012, I’ll write a post on the chapter and book/s, and we’ll discuss in the comments section. I’ll also be posting the blog entry on Facebook. The book has ten chapters, but we’ll go to week eleven for related books, modern books, and a recap/post mortem.

I’ll keep this as the introductory entry, and modify it as needed, so that there’s only one starting place with all the info. I’m also going to try to come up with a spreadsheet in Google docs of the books Skurnick references, and see if that’s a good way to compile and share them. (Because you, like me, may be sending it to your mother to spelunk in the basement for your childhood copies, perhaps?)

I am really excited about this group read, and hope you are, too. Spread the word! And by all means, if you have kids, have them read along for the less racy books.

Shelf Discovery Summer Schedule:

Monday June 4: Start Your Engines. Prepare to read Foreword, Introduction, and Chapter 1: Still Checked Out: YA Heroines We’ll Never Return from Lizzie Skurnick’s Shelf Discovery. Read, or reminisce about, a book with a memorable heroine/hero.

Monday June 11: Discuss Chapter 1 and books. Prepare to read Chapter 2: She’s at That Age: Girls on the Verge. Read or reminisce on, a book about puberty.

Monday June 18: Discuss Chapter 2 and books. Prepare to read Chapter 3: Danger Girls: I Know What You Did Last Summer (Reading). Read or reminisce on a book involving kids in danger.

Monday June 25: Discuss Chapter 3 and books. Prepare to read Chapter 4: and Read ‘Em and Weep: Tearing Up the Pages. Read or reminisce on a book that made you cry.

Monday July 2: Discuss Chapter 4 and books. Prepare to read Chapter 5: You Heard It Here First: Very Afterschool Specials. Read or reminisce on a book about Special Topics like Child Abuse, Rape, Drugs, Alcohol.

Monday July 9: Discuss Chapter 5 and books. Prepare to read Chapter 6: Girls Gone Wild: Runaways, Left Behinds and Ladies Living Off the Fat of the Land. Read or reminisce on girls who are out of place in some way, shape, or form.

Monday July 16: Discuss Chapter 6 and books. Prepare to read Chapter 7: She Comes by It Supernaturally: Girls Who Are Gifted and Talented. Read or reminisce on a book with ESP, time travel, ghosts, and other “In Search of…” topics.

Monday July 23: Discuss Chapter 7 and books. Prepare to read Chapter 8: Him She Loves: Romanced, Rejected, Affianced, Dejected. Read or reminisce on a book about teen romance, or the lack thereof.

Monday July 30: Discuss Chapter 8 and books. Prepare to read Chapter 9: Old Fashioned Girls: They Wear Bonnets, Don’t They? Read or reminisce on an old-school heroine.

Monday August 6: Discuss Chapter 9 and books. Prepare to read the last chapter, 10: Panty Lines: I Can’t Believe They Let Us Read This. Read or reminisce on a book that gets panties in a twist either through intense interest, or outrage.

Monday August 13: Discuss Chapter 10 and books. Prepare to read or reminisce about any other book referenced in Shelf Discovery, or related to any of the themes.

Monday August 20: Discuss the book as a whole, and the re-reading/reminiscing experience. Possibly win a signed copy of Skurnick’s book through a random drawing of those readers who make it through the entire summer.

Let me know if this schedule and the project make sense and if you’re going to read along.

Here are the 74 books referred to in the book. Don’t panic! (See how that’s written in large, friendly letters?) Remember, the suggestion is to read (or just recall) one book from the chapter of the week, so a total of ten or eleven all summer. I’ll also include the list, alphabetically by author, for easier library/bookstore searching. FYI for those in Half-Price Books range, they are having a sale this Memorial Day weekend.

Books from Shelf Discovery, by chapter.

1 Starring Sally J Freedman as Herself by Blume, Judy
1 Danny, the Champion of the World by Dahl, Roald
1 The Great Brain by Fitzgerald, John D.
1 Harriet the Spy by Fitzhugh, Louise
1 From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by Konigsburg, E.L.
1 A Wrinkle in Time by L’Engle, Madeleine
1 Farmer Boy by Wilder, Laura Ingalls
1 Ludell by Wilkinson, Brenda

2 Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Blume, Judy
2 Blubber by Blume, Judy
2 Tiger Eyes by Blume, Judy
2 Then Again, Maybe I Won’t by Blume, Judy
2 Sister of the Bride by Cleary, Beverly
2 Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Danziger, Paula
2 The Long Secret by Fitzhugh, Louise
2 A Ring of Endless Light by L’Engle, Madeleine
2 And You Give Me a Pain, Elaine by Pevsner, Stella
2 Caroline by Roberts, Willo Davis
2 To Take a Dare by Zindel, Paul and Dragonwagon, Crescent

3 Secret Lives by Amoss, Berthe
3 I Am the Cheese by Cormier, Robert
3 Daughters of Eve by Duncan, Lois
3 Summer of Fear by Duncan, Lois
3 The Arm of the Starfish by L’Engle, Madeleine
3 Dragons in the Waters by L’Engle, Madeleine
3 The Westing Game by Raskin, Ellen
3 The Grounding of Group 6 by Thompson, Julian F.

4 The Gift of the Pirate Queen by Giff, Patricia Reilly
4 Summer of My German Soldier by Green, Bette
4 Beat the Turtle Drum by Greene, Constance C.
4 Jacob Have I Loved by Paterson, Katherine
4 Bridge to Terabithia by Paterson, Katherine
4 A Day No Pigs Would Die by Peck, Robert Newton
4 Tell Me if the Lovers are Losers by Voigt, Cynthia
4 The Pigman by Zindel, Paul

5 Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
5 Deenie by Blume, Judy
5 It’s Not the End of the World by Blume, Judy
5 Are You in the House Alone? by Peck, Richard
5 Don’t Hurt Laurie! by Roberts, Willo Davis

6 Understood Betsy by Fisher, Dorothy Canfield
6 Julie of the Wolves by George, Jean Craighead
6 The Endless Steppe: A Girl in Exile by Hautzig, Esther
6 Island of the Blue Dolphins by O’Dell, Scott
6 The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Speare, Elizabeth George
6 Homecoming by Voigt, Cynthia
6 Little House on the Prairie by Wilder, Laura Ingalls

7 Jane-Emily by Clapp, Patricia
7 A Gift of Magic by Duncan, Lois
7 Stranger with my Face by Duncan, Lois
7 Down a Dark Hall by Duncan, Lois
7 Hangin’ Out with Cici by Pascal, Francine
7 Ghosts I Have Been by Peck, Richard
7 Girl with the Silver Eyes by Roberts, Willo Davis

8 Forever by Blume, Judy
8 Fifteen by Cleary, Beverly
8 To All My Fans, With Love, From Sylvie by Conford, Ellen
8 The Moon by Night by L’Engle, Madeleine
8 In Summer Light by Oneal, Zibby
8 Happy Endings are All Alike by Scoppetone, Sandra
8 My Darling, My Hamburger by Zindel, Paul

9 Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Aiken, Joan
9 An Old Fashioned Girl by Alcott, Louisa May
9 The Secret Garden by Burnett, Frances Hodgson
9 A Little Princess by Burnett, Frances Hodgson
9 Belles on the Their Toes by Carey, Ernestine Gilbreth
9 Cheaper by the Dozen by Gilbreth, Jr, Frank B.
9 All of a Kind Family by Taylor, Sydney

10 My Sweet Audrina by Andrews, V.C.
10 Flowers in the Attic by Andrews, V.C.
10 Clan of the Cave Bear by Auel, Jean
10 Wifey by Blume, Judy
10 Domestic Arrangements by Klein, Norma

***

Books from Shelf Discovery, alphabetically by author:

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Aiken, Joan
An Old Fashioned Girl by Alcott, Louisa May
Secret Lives by Amoss, Berthe
My Sweet Audrina by Andrews, V.C.
Flowers in the Attic by Andrews, V.C.
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Auel, Jean
Starring Sally J Freedman as Herself by Blume, Judy
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Blume, Judy
Blubber by Blume, Judy
Tiger Eyes by Blume, Judy
Then Again, Maybe I Won’t by Blume, Judy
Deenie by Blume, Judy
It’s Not the End of the World by Blume, Judy
Forever by Blume, Judy
Wifey by Blume, Judy
The Secret Garden by Burnett, Frances Hodgson
A Little Princess by Burnett, Frances Hodgson
Belles on the Their Toes by Carey, Ernestine Gilbreth
Jane-Emily by Clapp, Patricia
Sister of the Bride by Cleary, Beverly
Fifteen by Cleary, Beverly
To All My Fans, With Love, From Sylvie by Conford, Ellen
I Am the Cheese by Cormier, Robert
Danny, the Champion of the World by Dahl, Roald
The Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Danziger, Paula
Daughters of Eve by Duncan, Lois
Summer of Fear by Duncan, Lois
A Gift of Magic by Duncan, Lois
Stranger with my Face by Duncan, Lois
Down a Dark Hall by Duncan, Lois
Understood Betsy by Fisher, Dorothy Canfield
The Great Brain by Fitzgerald, John D.
Harriet the Spy by Fitzhugh, Louise
The Long Secret by Fitzhugh, Louise
Julie of the Wolves by George, Jean Craighead
The Gift of the Pirate Queen by Giff, Patricia Reilly
Cheaper by the Dozen by Gilbreth, Jr, Frank B.
Summer of My German Soldier by Green, Bette
Beat the Turtle Drum by Greene, Constance C.
The Endless Steppe: A Girl in Exile by Hautzig, Esther
Domestic Arrangements by Klein, Norma
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by Konigsburg, E.L.
A Wrinkle in Time by L’Engle, Madeleine
A Ring of Endless Light by L’Engle, Madeleine
The Arm of the Starfish by L’Engle, Madeleine
Dragons in the Waters by L’Engle, Madeleine
The Moon by Night by L’Engle, Madeleine
Island of the Blue Dolphins by O’Dell, Scott
In Summer Light by Oneal, Zibby
Hangin’ Out with Cici by Pascal, Francine
Jacob Have I Loved by Paterson, Katherine
Bridge to Terabithia by Paterson, Katherine
Are You in the House Alone? by Peck, Richard
Ghosts I Have Been by Peck, Richard
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Peck, Robert Newton
And You Give Me a Pain, Elaine by Pevsner, Stella
The Westing Game by Raskin, Ellen
Caroline by Roberts, Willo Davis
Don’t Hurt Laurie! by Roberts, Willo Davis
The Girl with the Silver Eyes by Roberts, Willo Davis
Happy Endings are All Alike by Scoppetone, Sandra
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Speare, Elizabeth George
All of a Kind Family by Taylor, Sydney
The Grounding of Group 6 by Thompson, Julian F.
Tell Me if the Lovers are Losers by Voigt, Cynthia
Homecoming by Voigt, Cynthia
Farmer Boy by Wilder, Laura Ingalls
Little House on the Prairie by Wilder, Laura Ingalls
Ludell by Wilkinson, Brenda
The Pigman by Zindel, Paul
My Darling, My Hamburger by Zindel, Paul
To Take a Dare by Zindel, Paul and Dragonwagon, Crescent

I finished Middlemarch by George Eliot, and am feeling very pleased with self. However, what to write about this long, fabulous novel?

One, that several people, including literary nobodies like Virginia Woolf, Martin Amis, and Julian Barnes have said it’s the best novel in the English language. No faint praise, that.

Two, it’s not hard to read. If you’ve read Austen, or Dickens, or the Brontes, then you can read this. While it’s long, it’s split up into manageable chunks of about 100 pages per section.

Three, it’s got fabulous characters. The heroine, Dorothea Brooke, is a young woman who defies the wishes of those about her to marry a scholar in the hopes of learning and helping. As many in this book find out,

a fellow-mortal with whose nature you are acquainted solely through the brief entrances and exits of a few imaginative weeks called courtship, may, when seen in the continuity of married companionship, be disclosed as something better or worse than what you have preconceived, but will certainly not appear altogether the same. (183)

Four, where many books end with marriage, this book delves into married people’s lives and the relationship of marriage.

Five, this is a book not only about people, but also ideas, and art, and philosophy. This novel is full of so much good stuff that I was happy to spend weeks with it, and will happily read it again.

It is one of the best books I’ve ever read.

I’m posting this before I second guess myself. Lizzie Skurnick wrote a book called Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading based on a popular column, Fine Lines at Jezebel. It’s goes through the various books many of us read growing up, their themes, their strengths, their flaws, etc.

(It’s rather like a Teenage Girls’ Canon, a pop-cultural milieu many of us, especially those who came of age in the late 70’s/80’s/early 90’s shared.)

Examples: Chapter 1, “YA Heroines We’ll Never Return” includes A Wrinkle in Time (Meg!). Chapter 4: “Read ‘Em and Weep” includes Jacob Have I Loved and Bridge to Terabithia. Chapter 7 on Romance includes Forever, and Chapter 10, “I Can’t Believe They Let Us Read This”, includes Flowers in the Attic, My Sweet Audrina, Clan of the Cave Bear, Wifey and Domestic Arrangements. It’s one of the three chapters where I read all the books. Heh. The oevres of Judy Blume, Lois Duncan, Madeleine L’Engle are all well represented in it.

I don’t think there’s a way to do a reading challenge and ask that people read all the books she references even if they’re often super short–72! BUT there are ten chapters, and twelve weeks between June and August.

I propose a chapter a week starting the first or second week in June, and reading ONE book from the chapter a week, then coming here to discuss it. And I’d add an eleventh week (it’ll be so good it’ll go to 11!) for what book you loved that isn’t included. (Mistral’s Daughter. Ahem.)

SO, you’d be reading one chapter of Shelf Discovery, and one short YA book a week, perhaps one you already read as a child, and perhaps for you parents even one you could read WITH your kid. (Not Wifey, but maybe A Little Princess, right?)

Whaddya think?

If there’s interest, then a schedule and bibliography to come.

New to the Criterion Collection, you know the iconic movie poster for Anatomy of a Murder, even if you haven’t seen the film. And you should see the film.

I’m just a humble country lawyer trying to do the best I can against this brilliant prosecutor from the big city of Lansing.

Jimmy Stewart is that “humble” lawyer, Eve Arden is his sassy secretary, Lee Remick is the femme fatale, and Ben Gazzara her husband, accused of murder. Duke Ellington did the music and has a cameo, George C. Scott is terrific as a city lawyer, and the whole thing is just kind of jaw dropping for its subject matter and its all-over-the-map tone. Bizarre, but entertaining.

Have to go meet the boys’ bus in a moment, so this’ll be quick. My husband G and I decided to test whether our boys, 6yo Guppy and 8yo Drake, were ready to go with us to see The Avengers when it opened last Friday. We had a Marvel movie marathon last week, starting with Iron Man, which they liked, followed by Thor, which Guppy really liked, and by Captain America, which Drake really liked. We picked them up at school on Friday, went to a nearby theater, not crowded because it’s not fancy, and had a tremendous time.

If you like the other movies, you’ll like Avengers.

And in case you want to go out for schawarma after, look for an Arabic restaurant. Schawarma is like Greeky gyros or Turkish donen, but it’s from places like Kuwait, I think. We went to Holy Land in Minneapolis.

For someone who claims not to like short stories, I’m reading a lot of them lately, and I’m liking them a lot. Coincidence that they’ve all been written by women? I think not. I suspect it’s because the books I’ve been reading lately delve more into emotional icky-wow factors than physical ones. I’m much more able to tolerate being haunted by emotional echoes than by gruesome word pictures, which, probably unfairly, I tend to associate with short stories by men.

The latest collection was After the Apocalypse by Maureen McHugh. My husband G. Grod and I had seen it praised in various corners of the web, he requested it from the library, then liked it so well he encouraged me to read it before the due date (no renewals). I crammed it into an already too full reading schedule, but am glad I did, because it was good. Really good.

McHugh writes stories that aren’t easily defined by genre. She’s science fiction-y, and fantastical, but not exactly either one of those. Her stories here are mostly set in a not-too-distant future where something has changed; most often they’re set in the aftermath of a dirty bomb, but there are other environmental mishaps as well. She is sure handed at setting a stage and peopling it quickly in diverse settings as China, Ohio and the West. With zombies, enclaves, artificial intelligence, and medical experiments gone awry, she ably captures an eerie, unsettling tone that makes me think and feel, but never want to wash my brain out.

To see if it’s your cuppa, one of my favorite of the stories, “Useless Things” is available online here.

But it might only be irony is the Alanis Morissette aspect, in which it’s just fitting, thought it’s not sucky.

I started blogging nearly 10 years ago over at Blogspot to increase my writing practice, which was sporadic at best. I didn’t yet have a kid, though I did have a full-time job as a copyeditor. Over the next few years, I wrote a bad novel, had a kid, resigned that job, moved, had another kid, survived a prolonged bout of post-partum despression, and hung around long enough that Kid 2, Guppy, started kindergarten last fall.

Over the past 10 years, I wrote a few things that got published in obscure places. I’ve revised that novel several times. (I’m _still_ working on it.) I started writing for my grocery store, the Eastside Food Co-op’s newsletter about food and wellness. Based on that I got a gig writing for a local-food website Simple Good and Tasty. Then I got a gig writing about kids and food for Minnesota Monthly’s food blog.

Over the past year, blogging here has gotten less and less frequent. I realized just this morning that it’s because I’m doing so much other writing. So the blog I started 10 years ago has resulted in a regular writing practice. (NB: not a lucrative writing practice, alas.) So regular, in fact, that I rarely have time for the practice that led up to this regularity. Huh.

I’m not saying I’m going to stop blogging. It’s a hard habit to break. (Apologies to you if that puts the Chicago tune in your head.) But it may help me stop feeling so bad for how infrequently I post nowadays, compared to those early, kidless, gigless years. It’s a higher class of problem, or a nice problem to have, as friends of mine might say.