From the Birdhouse to Bedlam

A literary blog.

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The Gift of the Sacred Dog by Paul Goble (from Reading Rainbows)

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You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.

James Baldwin (via beckisbookshelf)

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New chapter in anti-Amazon feelings as Hachette loses the plot over margins

Amazon’s dominance of the books industry may have reached a tipping-point.

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Kafka on books and what reading does for the human soul – spectacular letter to his childhood friend.

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Yes, Adults Should Be Embarrassed to Read Young Adult Books

As a confessed YA reader myself (although I try to swap in some hard-hitting lit. occasionally as well), I do find myself agreeing with this article to a point. I read YA to relax, to help me forget about the mountains of work I have to do--not necessarily to grow as a reader or as a person. When I read Attachments by Rainbow Rowell (audiobook, technically..very long commute), I read it to keep myself awake on my long drive and relaxed before teaching a class. 

When I picked up Evelina by Frances Burney, I wanted a little bit of a challenge--to help my mind grow and stretch--as an adult reader. The difference is how you feel after yoga versus after a long, satisfying run. Both are great, but fulfill different needs. 

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Children not only learn to read more quickly when they first learn to write by hand, but they also remain better able to generate ideas and retain information. In other words, it’s not just what we write that matters — but how.

What’s Lost as Handwriting Fades - NYTimes.com (via infoneer-pulse)

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The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (official movie trailer)

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Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

I recently went on a trip to rural NH again. It is certainly turning into one of my favorite getaways from the busy urban life. Well, not so busy, as I am working part-time as I wait for my Masters program to begin. Anyway, I read Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami before and during my trip.

I was not sure what to expect--I was drawn in by the fact that he had also written a bizarre autobiography about running (What I Talk About When I Talk About Running) which I never finished and had read only during stolen moments off of coffee tables and bathroom cabinets at friends' houses. I have been running regularly for months now, but recently have started running more intensely, and felt that magnetic connection. 

Murakami's novel is beautiful and vulgar, while I suppose helps to make it more real. It includes elements of fantasy, like fish falling from the sky, and an entrance to another world, but also features internal battles with gender identity, sexual frustration, and thwarted, impossible love. This is not a novel for children, but the everyday topics this text explores would be valuable for any age. There is sex and murder, but this novel allows you to doggy-paddle your way to the end at whatever speed is most comfortable to you.

I highly recommend this novel--I wish I could say more, but I wouldn't want to spoil any of the magic for you. 

Image by KitsuneBara of Deviantart.com 

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Happy Mother's Day to all kinds of mothers! :)

Painting by Twillis of Deviantart.com

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Of these, I have read:

1. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

2. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Wow! For someone who reads an awful lot of sci-fi and fantasy, I'm ashamed to say that I haven't read more! Luckily, I have a month before my grad program begins to catch up. I'm a bit disappointed that Anne McCaffrey wasn't on this list. Although she has written a lot of fantasy novels, she also has huge sci-fi universes which appeal to all age groups.

If you are interested in picking up one of her better known sci-fi books, I recommend The Ship Who Sang. 

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Daenerys Targaryen by Yolanda Blazquez of Deviantart.com

Approprié, que je commence Une Danse de Dragons pour la deuxième fois.

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(by Melina Souza)

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Crafting a Shardblade for Brandon Sanderson | Tor.com

During Brandon Sanderson’s book tour for Words of Radiance, super-fan Val Alston traveled from Mexico to attend a signing event at The Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, Arizona in order to meet the author and present him with this amazing homemade Shardblade!

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Drawn by CaptBexx

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