2016 Challenge: The Vintage Mystery Challenge (Silver)

One of my all-time favorite challenges is the Vintage Mystery Challenge hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block. This year, Bev switched from her recent BINGO theme, which I enjoyed but wasn't good at, to a Scavenge Hunt theme that looks like a ton of fun.

I did the Golden version of this challenge for the first few years, reading mysteries published before 1960. That's how I first branched out from Agatha Christie and Rex Stout to Nagio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers, and other Golden Agers new-to-me.

Last year I really enjoyed the Silver version, reading mysteries published between 1960 and 1989. Instead of the kitschy, vintage charm of the Golden Oldies, the Silver Age mysteries really push my cultural reference buttons because those were my growing up decades. I wasn't reading Dick Francis novels or Robert Parker's Spencer series when I was in elementary school, but the current events, music, cars, clothes, and attitudes in these books was all around me as a kid.

The Scavenger Hunt involves finding as many items on the list below in the covers of the books read. You can only count one item per book cover. You complete the challenge by "finding" six items on the list, at which point you are entered in Bev's drawing for a prize (if you complete your wrap up post). If you find 12 items on the list, you get entered in a second drawing for a second prize. Bev will also award a Grand Prize for the person who finds the most items.

BOOKS FINISHED

A New Lease of Death by Ruth Rendell (1967; Inspector Wexford #2; Just One Person)


Payment in Blood by Elizabeth George (1989; Inspector Lynley #2; Bloodstains)


Death and the Joyful Woman by Ellis Peters (1961; Inspector Felse #2; Edgar Award Winner; A Blonde)


Billingsgate Shoal by Rick Boyer ((1982; Doc Adams #1; Edgar Award Winner; a boat, although it's hard to see)


Don't Point That Thing At Me by Kyril Bonfiglioli (1972; Mortdecai Trilogy #1; a bottle for drinking)


After You with the Pistol by Kyril Bonfiglioli (1979; Mortdecai Trilogy #2; a hand holding a weapon)


Something Nasty in the Woodshed by Kyril Bonfiglioli (1976; Mortdecai Trilogy #3; the moon)


Missing Person by Patrick Modiano (1978; Nobel Laureate; shadowy figure)


Devices & Desires by P. D. James (1989; Adam Dalgliesh #8; a knife)

Book Beginning: Earthly Powers

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.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday, and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me.

Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess. BEST OPENING SENTENCE EVER.

Sorry, I thought that deserved all caps. I've only read A Clockwork Orange, with mixed feelings, so I've let this one sit on my TBR shelf for too long. It is fantastic!

The narrator is a fairly famous, now old, English author asked to help canonize his former brother-in-law, the recently deceased Pope. Having early on broken -- reluctantly -- with the Church over his homosexuality, the request sends him into a reverie of his decades-long relationship with the priest who became the Pope who now may become a saint, as well as the state of his own soul.

I'm only 100 or so pages in with 500 to go, so I don't know what awaits, but I love it so far.

Since this is set, at least in the beginning, in Malta, it counts as my first book in the 2016 European Reading Challenge. There is still plenty of time to sign up! Click the link or the button below.

2016 Challenge: Back to the Classics Challenge

The Back to the Classics Challenge is hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate. I'm signing up for 2016, even though I didn't do so well when I tried this one in 2012.

This time I am only shooting for six books, with a stretch goal of nine. My problem isn't with reading "classics" because I read a lot of books published before 1966 that would qualify. Where I come up short is fitting the books I read to the categories. I read a lot of books by women and a lot of classic detective novels. But I don't read many translations or short story collections and I rarely re-read a book. I'll try.

CATEGORIES

1. A 19th Century Classic - any book published between 1800 and 1899.

2. A 20th Century Classic - any book published between 1900 and 1966. Just like last year, all books MUST have been published at least 50 years ago to qualify. The only exception is books written at least 50 years ago, but published later.

3. A classic by a woman author.

4. A classic in translation. Any book originally written published in a language other than your native language. Feel free to read the book in your language or the original language.

5. A classic by a non-white author. Can be African-American, Asian, Latino, Native American, etc.

6. An adventure classic - can be fiction or non-fiction. Children's classics like Treasure Island are acceptable in this category.

7. A fantasy, science fiction, or dystopian classic. Dystopian could include classics like 1984, and children's classics like The Hobbit are acceptable in this category also.

8. A classic detective novel. It must include a detective, amateur or professional. This list of books from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction is a great starting point if you're looking for ideas.

9. A classic which includes the name of a place in the title. It can be the name of a house, a town, a street, etc. Examples include Bleak House, Main Street, The Belly of Paris, or The Vicar of Wakefield.

10. A classic which has been banned or censored. If possible, please mention why this book was banned or censored in your review.

11. Re-read a classic you read in school (high school or college). If it's a book you loved, does it stand the test of time? If it's a book you disliked, is it any better a second time around?

12. A volume of classic short stories. This must be one complete volume, at least 8 short stories. It can be an anthology of stories by different authors, or all the stories can be by a single author. Children's stories are acceptable in this category also.

MY BOOK POSSIBILITIES AND THEIR CATEGORIES

Out of Africa by Isak Dineson (FINISHED; woman author)

Ape and Essence by Aldous Huxley (FINISHED; science fiction)

Merry Hall by Beverley Nichols (FINISHED; place name)

Orlando by Virginia Woolf (FINISHED; adventure - well, egghead adventure)

Death and the Joyful Woman by Ellis Peters (FINISHED; detective)

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne (FINISHED; translation)

The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope (FINISHED; 19th Century)

Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark (FINISHED; 20th Century)

The Company She Keeps by Mary McCarthy (FINISHED; short stories)


NOTE: Updated November 23, 2016.

Teaser Tuesday: The Lightening Round

She wondered again why she tolerated and actually paid money to be part of this perverse and artificial world. Then, she looked in the mirror and she realized why.

-- The Lighening Round by Bruce Stewart. This romantic comedy brings love to the gym, but can romance blossom between lovers at different levels of the ultimate fitness challenge?

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

2015 Challenge: My Wrap Up Post for the European Reading Challenge: COMPLETED!

TO POST YOUR 2015 WRAP UP, GO HERE

TO POST A 2015 REVIEW, GO HERE

TO SIGN UP FOR THE 2016 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE, GO HERE

This is my wrap-up post for the 2015 European Reading Challenge. 

BOOKS I READ

The Marseille Caper by Peter Mayle (France)

A Thousand Bells at Noon: A Roman's Guide to the Secrets and Pleasures of His Native City by Franco G. Romagnoli (Italy)

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding (United Kingdom)

The Charm School by Nelson DeMille (Russia)

The Dinner by Herman Koch (Holland)

Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi (Germany)

The Bat by Jo Nesbo (Norway)

Skios by Michael Frayn (Greece)

Happy New Year!

Book Beginning: The Lightening Round

HAPPY BOOK BEGINNING NEW YEAR!

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.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

"It'll never fit. . . " Hanna More's mind raced as she viewed the enormous challenge confronting her.

-- The Lighening Round by Bruce Stewart. This San Francisco-set Rom Com with a fitness challenge theme seemed like the perfect book to start off the New Year!

EDITOR'S DESCRIPTION:

In THE LIGHTENING ROUND, Hannah More, a sassy single mom with weight issues, reluctantly enters Ultimate Level, a San Francisco gym which groups its members based on their weight and fitness levels. Much to her shock, Hannah actually finds that this crazy "fitness experience" works well for her. That is, until she falls for another gym member who is on a different level. Ultimate Level's rigidly enforced policies only allow its members to communicate with members on different levels in person for 15 minutes every two weeks both inside and outside of the gym. Hannah will have to come up with some rather ingenious and comic schemes in order to land the romance of her dreams.

2016 CHALLEGES: 2X16 & Mt. TBR

2X16: A PERSONAL TBR CHALLENGE

Like I've done the past two years, I'm combining the Mt. TBR Challenge with my own, idiosyncratic TBR challenge. I am going to read 32 books for this part of the challenge, one from each of the separate shelves on my TBR bookcases – 25 fiction books, and 7 non-fiction books. This year, I picked the book from each shelf that I've most been meaning to read for one reason or another.

I ended up with a mix of books, but not as crazy as when I picked the 14th book or the 15th book on each shelf like I did the last two years. There are a few prize winners on the list, a couple of classics, some pop fiction, and more mysteries than prior years,

These are the books in alphabetical order by author, but I am going to read them as the mood strikes.

THE 2X16 LIST

The King's English: A Guide to Modern Usage by Kingsley Amis FINISHED 

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood FINISHED (Booker Prize winner)

Don't Point That Thing at Me by Kyril Bonfiglioli FINISHED 

Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess FINISHED (chunkster)

Mr. White's  Confession by Robert Clark FINISHED (Edgar Award winner)

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion FINISHED

Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen FINISHED

The Last Dead Girl by Harry Dolan FINISHED

Longshot by Dick Francis FINISHED 

The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald FINISHED 

Payment in Blood by Elizabeth George FINISHED 

The Big Seven by Jim Harrison FINISHED

Shaken and Stirred by William Hamilton FINISHED 

Ape and Essence by Aldous Huxley FINISHED 

Devices and Desires by P.D. James FINISHED

Nobody Move by Denis Johnson FINISHED 

The British Museum  is Falling Down by David Lodge FINISHED 

The Company She Keeps by Mary McCarthy FINISHED 

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan FINISHED 

The Bell by Iris Murdoch FINISHED 

Merry Hall by Beverley Nichols FINISHED 

Death and the Joyful Woman by Ellis Peters FINISHED (Edgar Award winner)

Afternoon Men by Anthony Powell FINISHED

Morte d'Urban by J.F. Powers FINISHED (National Book Award winner)

The Water's Lovely by Ruth Rendell FINISHED 

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson FINISHED

The Light and the Dark by C.P. Snow FINISHED 

Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz FINISHED

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor FINISHED

Bech is Back by John Updike FINISHED 

One Day My Soul Just Opened Up by Iyanla Vanzant FINISHED 

Orlando by Virginia Woolf FINISHED

THE MT. TBR LIST

Bev at My Reader's Block hosts the Mt. TBR Challenge and I am signing up for the Mt. Ararat Level to read a total of 48 books off my TBR shelves.  So in addition to those listed above, I need to knock off another 16.  I don't know which ones they will be, but I have a couple thousand to choose from! I have many mountains to climb.

OTHER TBR BOOKS FINISHED

An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin

More Baths Less Talking: Notes from the Reading Life of a Celebrated Author Locked in Battle with Football, Family, and Time Itself by Nick Hornby

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi

A New Lease of Death by Ruth Rendell

A Little Dinner Before the Play by Agnes Jekyll

The Fur Person by May Sarton

Kate Vaiden by Reynolds Price

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark

Fallen Into the Pit by Ellis Peters

The Complete Short Stories of W. Somerset Maugham (Vol I. East and West) by W. Somerset Maugham

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

Wild Horses by Dick Francis

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope

Family Album by Penelope Lively

Miles Gone By: A Literary Autobiography by William F. Buckley Jr.

Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

Stuffed: Adventures of a Restaurant Family by Patricia Volk

The River Swimmer: Novellas by Jim Harrison

A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read

The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina

Ten North Frederick by John O'Hara (National Book Award winner)

Winter and Night by S. J. Rozan (Edgar Award winner)

The Known World by Edward P. Jones (Pulitzer Prize winner)

Excellent Women by Barbara Pym

A Flag for Sunrise by Robert Stone

Laughter On The Stairs by Beverley Nichols

Sunlight On The Lawn by Beverley Nichols

Don't Point That Thing At Me by Kyril Bonfiglioli

After You with the Pistol by Kyril Bonfiglioli

Something Nasty in the Woodshed by Kyril Bonfiglioli

Be Cool by Elmore Leonard

UPDATE

As of mid-December, I've finished all of the 32 on my 2X16 list. And I've already read 33 other books of my TBR shelves, for a total of 55 books for the Mt. TBR challenge. So I surpassed my goal.

Teaser Tuesday: On Thin Icing

I picked up the flashlight and shone it in the direction of the gunshots. It created a spotlight on the trunk of an evergreen tree, but I couldn't see anything.

On Thin Icing by Ellie Alexander.  This is the third book in Alexander's Bakeshop Mystery series featuring Jules Capshaw, an Ashland, Oregon caterer and amateur sleuth.

This time around, Jules' gig catering a winter business retreat for the directors of the Ashland Shakespeare Festival gets of to a bad start when she finds a dead bartender in the freezer.

There is a lot to love about this terrific new cozy series with its foody theme!

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

Mailbox Monday: Shylock Is My Name

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:



Shylock Is My Name by Howard Jacobson. I loved Jacobson's Booker winner, The Finkler Question, so I am very excited to read his "re-imagining" of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, with Shylock case as an art dealer in contemporary England.

This is an ARC from the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. Shylock is My Name comes out on February 9.

Merry Christmas!

Book Beginning: On Thin Icing

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

They say that you can't go home again. I'm not sure that's true. I'd been home for almost six months, and found myself settling back into a comfortable and familiar pace.

On Thin Icing by Ellie Alexander.  OK, that was way more than my usual one sentence. I don't like cliche beginnings and that first sentence is definitely a cliche, but I like the book, and wanted to give it more of a chance, so gave a longer than usual snippet.

On Thin Icing is the third Bakeshop Mystery. Alexander's fresh and fun series features Jules Capshaw, a baker in Ashland, Oregon, who finds herself solving murder mysteries along with her cooking.

In this book, Jules gets a hired to cater a winter business retreat for the directors of the Ashland Shakespeare Festival. Things start to go wrong fast when she finds a dead bartender in the freezer.

This is the perfect cozy mystery to curl up with on a wintry Christmas weekend!

2016 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE: WRAP UP POSTS

The European Reading Challenge
January 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017

THIS IS THE PAGE FOR WRAP UP POSTS.

TO LIST YOUR REVIEWS, GO TO THIS PAGE.

TO SIGN UP, GO TO THE MAIN CHALLENGE PAGE, HERE,

OR CLICK THE BUTTON ABOVE.

If you have finished the challenge at whatever level you signed up for, please do a wrap up post and enter a link to your post here. Please link to your wrap up post, NOT the main page of your blog.

If you do not have a blog, please leave a wrap up post in a comment on this page. Tell us the books you read and, if you reviewed them in comments on the review page, tell us that so we can go find your reviews.

Thank you for re-posting your link if I deleted it! Apologies for my goof up!

LINK YOUR WRAP UP POST HERE:

1 Day to Christmas!

2016 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE: REVIEW PAGE

The European Reading Challenge
January 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017

THIS IS THE PAGE TO LIST YOUR REVIEWS.

IF YOU HAVE FINISHED, WRAP UP POSTS GO HERE.

TO SIGN UP, GO TO THE MAIN CHALLENGE PAGE, HERE,

OR CLICK THE BUTTON ABOVE.

When you review a book for the 2016 European Reading Challenge, please add it to this list using the linky widget below.  Please link to your review post, NOT the main page of your blog.

If you don't have a blog or other place where you post reviews, so don't have a way to link your review below, just post your review in a comment on this page.

NOTE: There is overlap in January 2016 between the last month of the 2015 challenge and the first month of the 2016 challenge. If you participated both years, only count books read in January in one of the years, not both.

Please put your name or the name of your blog, the name of the book you reviewed, and the country of the book or author. For example: Rose City Reader, Doctor Zhivago, Russia.

LIST YOUR REVIEW HERE:

2 Days to Christmas!

2016 European Reading Challenge Up Now!

The European Reading Challenge

January 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

OR ON THE PICTURE ABOVE

The 2016 European Reading Challenge is up now.  This reading challenge lets participants tour Europe through books. And have a chance to win a prize. Please join us for the Grand Tour!

THE GIST: The idea is to read books by European authors or books set in European countries (no matter where the author comes from). The books can be anything – novels, short stories, memoirs, travel guides, cookbooks, biography, poetry, or any other genre. You can participate at different levels, but each book must be by a different author and set in a different country – it's supposed to be a tour.

Click the button above or here for more details or to sign up.

Participants in the 2015 European Reading Challenge can post their reviews here and their wrap up posts here.

Teaser Tuesday: Numbers and Nerves

Inside the church at Nyamata, my eyes are drawn to the ceiling. . . . Ten thousand people were murdered here. 

-- from "Healing Rwanda" by Terry Tempest Williams, in  Numbers and Nerves: Information, Emotion, and Meaning in a World of Data, essays edited by Scott Slovic and Paul Slovic, published by OSU Press.

We are barraged with statistics, data, models, and projections every day and the information is overwhelming. In Numbers and Nerves, journalists, literary critics, psychologists, naturalists, activists, and other essayists look at how we are numbed by all this numerical information and offer strategies for overcoming this insensitivity.

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

3 Days to Christmas!

Mailbox Monday: On Thin Icing

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 it looks like the perfect cozy for Christmas weekend!



On Thin Icing by Ellie Alexander.  This is the latest in Alexander's Bakeshop Mystery series featuring baker sleuth Jules Capshaw.

This delightful series is set in Ashland, Oregon, home of the world renowned Shakespeare Festival. This installment finds Jules catering a winter retreat for the Festival directors, but things start to go wrong fast when she finds a dead body in the freezer.

4 Days to Christmas!

5 Days to Christmas!

Author Interview: Digene Farrar

Digene Farrar was in New York City to re-launch her modeling career when the first jet crashed into the World Trade Center on 9/11. As a registered nurse, her instincts and training led her to the scene to help, and she was there when the second jet hit. The horror she witnessed that day reactivated her own secret trauma of childhood sexual abuse.

Finally Facing her childhood abuse lead Digene to seek counseling and help. She now works as a public speaker, advocate for the prevention of sexual abuse, and supporter of survivors. Not My Secret to Keep is her memoir of self-discovery, healing, and transformation.

Digene recently answered questions for Rose City Reader.

How did you come to write Not My Secret to Keep?

“If there is a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it”.

-Toni Morrison

I spent years looking for a book like this. I longed to read someone’s story that was similar to mine. I needed to understand what I was going through. I was looking for validation for my feelings and experiences. During my search for a book, I came across Toni Morrison’s quote. It inspired me to set out to write the book that I believed would truly be helpful for survivors.

Your memoir is an intensely personal account of being abused as a child and facing that trauma again. Was it difficult to tell such an intimate story?

It was difficult to tell such an intimate story but knowing the validation it could provide for others made it easier. I’ve always struggled to make sense of my experiences and in telling my story, it’s help me put this struggle to rest, knowing that I’m helping others.

Who is your intended audience and what do you hope your readers will gain from your book?

I offer this memoir to survivors -- to validate and encourage them. I offer it to their loved ones -- to help them be sensitive and supportive of the survivor. And I offer it to therapist -- to foster learning and understanding of the intricacies of the healing process.

What did you learn from writing your book – either about the subject of the book or the writing process – that most surprised you?

What I learned most from the process of writing my book is that I could let the story go and take no ownership in what happened to me, solely placing the responsibility on the abusers. The ultimate transition/gift for a survivor!

Can you recommend any other books about healing after child sexual abuse?

In the second part of my book I provide a list of recommended books that I found helpful during my healing process.

You were one of the cast in the play Telling. Explain a little about that project and what it was like to be involved in it.

Being cast in the play Telling was a life changing experience on so many levels. The amazing bond that was established among the seven of us, the survivors. The playwright Margie Boule, did an amazing job of weaving our seven different stories into one story that helps survivors break their silence, know they are not alone, encourages them to seek counseling and begin to heal. Another highlight was working under the direction of the director Jamie M. Rea, who brought a wealth of experience to helping us survivors appear comfortable telling our stories on stage. The peak experience was the opportunity to perform as part of the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, OR. This play is an excellent resource to survivors.

What can friends and family of abuse victims do to support them?

The most valuable advice I can share in working with survivors is take the lead from (LISTEN) to the survivor.

What are you working on now? What’s next?

I’m currently working on partnering with organizations that support survivors, to distribute books to organizations to donate to survivors, staff training for organizations, advocacy work on behalf of the survivors. As well as taking advantage of any motivational speaking opportunities.

Up next, I’m working to produce the play Telling in Seattle in 2016.

THANKS, DIGENE! AND GOOD LUCK TO YOU

NOT MY SECRET TO KEEP IS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON IN KINDLE OR PAPERBACK, OR ASK YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE TO ORDER IT!

6 Days to Christmas!

7 Days to Christmas!

Book Beginning: Numbers and Nerves

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.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

You have in your hands a book that glides gracefully between two standpoints, logical and emotional, illuminating as it does the broad and murky territory in between.

-- from the Foreword, "Headbone and Horemone: Adventures in the Arithmetic Life" by Robert Michael Pyle to Numbers and Nerves: Information, Emotion, and Meaning in a World of Data, essays edited by Scott Slovic and Paul Slovic, published by OSU Press.

As we enter the twenty-first century, many of the important issues that occupy news headlines and capture the attention of world leaders and ordinary citizens require us to use the best available statistical information -- gallons of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, numbers of fishermen put out of work by the disaster, billions of dollars made available in an effort to stem the economic damage and compensate the local residents -- to assess various situations and mitigate problems. 

-- from the editors' Introduction "The Psychophysics of Brightness and the Value of a Life."

Information presented in the form of numbers can be overwhelming, especially when we face a daily barrage of statistics, data, models, and projections.

In Numbers and Nerves, journalists, literary critics, psychologists, naturalists, activists, and others explore our cognitive response to quantitative information and offer strategies for overcoming the insensitivity to the meaning of such information.

It's a book to make you think, with a mix of essays that vary in tone between scientific to more contemplative.  Great gift idea for the big thinkers or professorial types on your holiday gift list!

8 Days to Christmas!

9 Days to Christmas!