Thursday, April 30, 2015

Book Beginning: The Whole World Over



THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING




MY BOOK BEGINNING



The call came on the twenty-ninth of February: the one day in four years when, according to antiquated custom, women may openly choose their partners without shame.

-- The Whole World Over by Julia Glass. I really enjoyed Three Junes, Glass's debut novel for which she won the National Book Award in 2002. I'm hoping this sophomore effort is as good. She has since written a couple f other books I'd like to read as well.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Mailbox Monday



Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event. Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

I got one book last week that I am reading for book club:



The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro. I haven't started it yet and don't know what to expect. I love Ishiguro, but the big shots have been giving this one mixed reviews. See (but beware of spoilers), NPR (lukewarm), NYT (lukewarm), Slate (favorable), Guardian (favorable).

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Author Interview: Dr. Lisa Hartwell



Bad Apples: How To Feel Good Even When Rotten Things Happen is a guide to help you look deeper into your core so you can keep growing and thriving no matter what happens to you in life or how you feel.



I met the author, Dr. Lisa L. Hartwell, at a National Center for Victims of Crime conference because of her work involving sexual abuse prevention and treatment for abuse survivors. But in her career as a speaker and clinical psychologist, she works with people in all areas of their personal and professional lives. She helps people address all sort of difficult issues.

Her book is described as "A Practical Guide to Dealing with Anxiety, Stress, Tough Relationships, Abuse, Sexuality, & More." It promises to teach how to deal with unhealthy people, stop negative thoughts, and be more productive.

Dr. Hartwell took time from her busy speaking and therapy practice to answer some questions for Rose City Reader:

Introduce us to your book, Bad Apples

We all learn best through story and metaphor. In this book everyone's growth and development is compared to to that of apples and how each apple tree contributes to a seasonal apple harvest and thriving apple orchard. Each apple tree branch is compared to 5 developmental areas in all our lives and how growth is expected from birth to death. In addition, we all have "orchard managers" that tend to the health of our tree and our orchard whenever it is needed. Since life has various seasons, it provides a guide to keep you on track to grow no matter what "rotten apples" happen during your life.

What are the developmental models you refer to?

Even though each branch on your apple tree may look the same, there are subtle differences that determine whether or not that particular branch will bear fruit. We look at five unique "branches" of your development that are held together strongly by your supportive trunk. These branches include how you think and act, how you interact socially, develop sexually, biologically and your faith development. Even though they are explained individually, they are all growing in unison to create the strongest and resilient YOU.

How did your background lead you to write Bad Apples?

I refer to a person's core ALL the time when they ask me for help as a psychologist and through my years working as a nurse, I developed an appreciation of how to think of systems as parts and as a whole. When clients call, they always ask for help to change where they are stuck in their lives, mostly related to symptoms (anxious, can't sleep, grief, tough relationships). I've watched people remain stuck if they are not aligned in the five developmental areas and are only focused on "feeling better." Once they address the entire health of their individual "tree" and recommit to the health of the "orchard" in which they live, they refocus on health and growing, not on symptoms that keep them feeling stuck.

Who is the audience for your book? Who would benefit from reading it?

I think everyone! LOL! But to narrow it down, probably those who are looking to figure out why patterns in their lives continue to occur. These include, why you get anxious in certain situations, why you react the same negative way in certain relationships, why you can't seem to move forward when something abuse, death, or tragedy happened in your life, how to move forward and thrive when you feel constantly stressed.

What is a key lesson you want people to get from your book?

No matter what, keep focused on growing yourself and knowing this, you are growing your personal orchard, your community, and even globally. In fact, it is your personal responsibility through the assistance of an orchard manager to ensure your healthy contribution to your orchard, year after year. "Good" and "Bad" (or sometimes "rotten") apples are an outgrowth of an individual apple tree and orchards health, and are thought of as our experiences in life that come and go. The trees remain and grow year after year. And yet, it is the "Good" and "Bad" apples that most people generally focus on throughout their lives. Now is the time, more than ever in our world, to refocus on the bigger picture no matter how old we are or what happens in our lives.

With so many “self help” books available, what makes Bad Apples different?

I believe the apple metaphor is relateable and easy for people to understand and grounds them in developmental models throughout their life. In my retreats and speaking engagements I take people through a guided imagery experience that transforms how they think of themselves amongst others in their lives and with gentle guidance how they can choose immediately to act, react and feel differently. It takes a lot of information we all try to manage on a daily basis and breaks it down easily for someone to see where they need to focus on when something challenging comes up in their life.

Where can readers learn more about Bad Apples and the lessons it offers?
THANKS, LISA! 

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Book Beginning: The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry



THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING



On the ferry from Hyannis to Alice Island, Amelia Loman paints her nails yellow and, while waiting for them to dry, skims her predecessor's notes. "Island Books, approximately $250,000.00 per annum in sales, the better portion of the in the summer months to folks on holiday," Harvey Rhodes reports.

-- The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. This is my book club's book for May and I am ready to dive in. It's all booky charming bookishness. Hip hip hooray!

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Teaser Tuesday: The Heart has Many Doors



Emily lies back in the hay and stretches her arms. Images of Phil in the meadow leap behind her eyes.

-- The Heart has Many Doors: A Novel of Emily Dickinson by Susan Snively.

Susan Snively is a guide, discussion leader, and film script writer for the Emily Dickinson Museum. Her new novel is based on Emily Dickinson's own letters and brings to life the poet's mid-life romance with Otis Phillips Lord, a Massachusetts judge who was her neighbor and her father's best friend.

You can find The Heart has Many Doors at amazon, of course, or ask your local bookstore to order it!


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Monday, April 20, 2015

Mailbox Monday



Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event. Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

The Friends of the Multnomah County Library had their Spring Sale this weekend, so I got a short stack of books:



Slam by Nick Hornby



Netherland by Joseph O'Neill, 2009 winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award



The Columnist by Jeffrey Frank. A satire of Washington, D.C.



The Track of Sand by Andrea Camilleri. A mystery set in Sicily.



The Killing Ground by Mary Lee Settle. She won the National Book Award for Blood Tie and she started the PEN/Faulkner Award.



A Misalliance by Anita Brookner

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Book Beginning: The Heart has Many Doors: A Novel of Emily Dickinson by Susan Snively



THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING



Her auburn hair floated about her shoulders in the early autumn light. Otis Phillips Lord stopped at the edge of the garden, to watch Emily unobserved.

-- The Heart has Many Doors: A Novel of Emily Dickinson by Susan Snively, Chapter 1, "You cannot put a Fire out."

Author and Dickinson historian Susan Snively brings Emily Dickinson to life in this new novel, based largely on the poet's own letters and centered on her mid-life romance with her neighbor and father's best friend, Judge Otis Phillips Lord.

You can find The Heart has Many Doors at amazon, of course, or ask your local bookstore to order it!

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Teaser Tuesday: Stones from the River



Trudi's eyes seemed older than those of other infants, as if they held the experiences of someone who'd already lived a long time. The women in the neighborhood took turns keeping her alive and clean.

Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi.

Stones from the River has been on my TBR shelf for a long time because it is on the Erica Jong list of Top 100 Novels by Women. I finally got around to it because my library got the audio version on instant download.

Ursula Hegi was born and grew up in Germany before moving to America and the book is about a woman -- a woman dwarf -- born in Germany during WWI and growing up to live though WWII. It is very good and the woman reading the audiobook has a German accent that was a little hard to get used to but now makes the story even better.



Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Monday, April 13, 2015

Mailbox Monday: The Heart has Many Doors



Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event. Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

I got one book last week, and I am very excited to read it:



The Heart has Many Doors: A Novel of Emily Dickinson by Susan Snively. So, apparently Emily had a thing for her neighbor and father's best friend, Judge Otis Phillips Lord. And based on their letters, it got pretty racy!

You can find The Heart has Many Doors at amazon, of course, or ask your local bookstore to order it!

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Book Beginning: The Dinner



THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING



We were going out to dinner. I won't say which restaurant, because next time it might be full of people who've come to see whether we're there.

-- The Dinner by Herman Koch. I started this book this week and am almost finished with it already because it is a trainwreck I can't tear myself away from.

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Book Beginning: Oh, Play that Thing



THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING



I could bury myself in New York.

-- Oh, Play that Thing by Roddy Doyle. This is the second book in Doyle’s Last Roundup trilogy, between A Star Called Henry and The Dead Republic.

I didn’t read the first one, so I am missing Harry’s backstory, but this one seems to stand alone just fine. It’s kind of a crazy, jazz poem, New York, Prohibition whirlwind.