Category: Reflection

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Bad Books and Reading Slumps

“Never force yourself to read a book that you do not enjoy. There are so many good books in the world that it is foolish to waste time on one that does not give you pleasure.”

Atwood H. Townsend, Good Reading

I’ve been MIA lately, and I apologize for that. I’d like to have a really good excuse, but if I’m being honest, I’ve been enduring a pretty intense reading slump. I dread reading slumps. It makes me feel terrible when I know that there’s all of these amazing books on my To Read list and I don’t want to read any of them. Even worse is when I start a book and find no enjoyment in it.

For years, I refused to give up on a book. I was of the opinion that to do so would make me miss out on some amazing literature because I wasn’t able to power through. That’s true to some extent. There are definitely books that I wasn’t in love with at first that I grew to appreciate after I finished. Gabriel García Márquez’s masterpiece A Hundred Years of Solitude was one of those books. It took me a long while to get into it, but as I read the last sentence and closed the book I was profoundly grateful that I’d stuck with it.

But if I’m being honest with myself, those books are few and far between. Most of the books that I didn’t like in the beginning did not improve upon further reading. I can’t tell you how I wish I could get back the hours I spent reading Wuthering Heights. (Actually, I read it twice because I hated it so much that I was convinced there was something about this classic that I’d missed. “It must be a classic for a reason,” I thought. “Maybe I’m just too ignorant to appreciate it. I should give it another read.” If possible, I loathed it more the second time around.)

I was well into adulthood before I gave myself permission to stop reading books that I wasn’t feeling. And even though I’ve told myself I’m allowed to give up on a book, I still struggle with it a bit, especially when the book is a recognized classic. Case in point: I was reading Crime and Punishment for longer than I probably should have before I returned it to the library. I wanted to like it. So many of my friends have given it five stars on Goodreads. It honestly makes me feel a little stupid to not like a book that everyone else raves about. And this isn’t a Wuthering Heights situation where I hated the book and to heck with everyone else. This is a case in which I was just bored out of my mind and was wondering the whole time what everyone else saw in this book. So I pushed on and got increasingly irritated with Dostoyevsky.

I caved eventually. I have a friend who often paraphrases Atwood H. Townsend’s quote. She says, “Life is too short for bad books.” Now, that’s not to say Crime and Punishment is objectively a bad book. I’m sure it has a lot of really great qualities. But it wasn’t what I needed then. It wasn’t what I was looking for, and I wasn’t getting any enjoyment out of it. Reading, even serious reading, is supposed to be joyful. So I walked away from Raskolnikov and his guilty conscience, and I’m at peace with that decision.

Having left Dostoyevsky to other readers, what was I to read instead? Enter: the reading slump. I borrowed books from the library and returned them without even cracking them open. I downloaded audiobooks and listened to ten minutes before sending them back. Nothing I picked up could satisfy me. It was like I was searching for one book in particular but I didn’t know what it was or how to find it.

I wish that I had some words of wisdom about how to get yourself out of a reading slump. I’ve seen other blogs have posts that tout different methods of turning things around. Personally, that doesn’t jive with me. I think reading slumps, infuriating as they can be, are healthy. They give me time to listen to a podcast, to try a new TV show, or to do some research on a topic that interests me. Books are a way to learn, but they aren’t the only way to learn. And every reading slump ends eventually. Soon, out of the blue, you’ll find a book that makes your heart sing as you turn the pages. I’m currently reading the last book of Deborah Harkness’s All Souls Trilogy, and I’m devouring it. My reading slump is officially at an end . . . for now.

So put down that book that you feel obligated to push through. (Unless it’s for school or something. Then do your homework.) Embrace your reading slump. Explore other interests for a while. The books will always be there when you’re reading for them again.

Happy Reading! (Or not!)

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Reading Goals for the New Year

“He loved books, those undemanding but faithful friends.”

Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

Every year, Goodreads (which is by far my favorite social media) invites its users to set a reading goal. It’s a fun way to keep yourself accountable, to push yourself to pick up a new book, and to give yourself a feeling of accomplishment at the end of each year.

I’ve participated since 2013, and I usually meet my goal. One year in particular, I was a recently married college student taking several challenging courses and working two internships. Because of my Goodreads reading goal, I was spending most of my free time reading. I was behind on my goal, but I was determined to meet it. I would come home from work, make dinner, finish my schoolwork, and immediately retreat into a book.

My husband never once complained, but I know that he often wanted to spend time with me and was rejected in favor of a book. One day I was holed up in our bedroom reading when I suddenly wondered what it was all for. Why was I, a new wife very much in love with her husband, spending all of my time reading instead of being with the person I’d chosen to spend my life with? What was I gaining?

Reading had come to feel like another assignment instead of a happy pastime. I was certainly enjoying the books I read, but there was an element of obligation to it that I didn’t like. I asked myself why the reading goal was so important. What would happen if I didn’t meet my goal? The answer was nothing. I’d still read a substantial number of books that year. I’d broadened my horizons and gone on some amazing literary adventures. I decided then and there that enough was enough.

I didn’t make my goal that year, and honestly it was fine. I’ve continued to participate in Goodreads’ reading challenge. Sometimes I make it. Sometimes I don’t. I’ve decided that the goal is just that—a goal. It’s not mandatory. It’s not even that important. It’s just something to shoot for. That decision has allowed me the flexibility to spend time doing the things that are important to me. Sometimes that’s reading and sometimes it’s not. Does that mean I love books any less? I don’t think so.

Happy reading and Happy New Year!

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Jane Austen Heroines – Part 2

I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.

Jane Austen, Persuasion

Emma Woodhouse

Emma (2009) dir. Jim O’Hanlon

I don’t know if it’s apocryphal, but Jane Austen is supposed to have said that Emma Woodhouse was a character “whom no one but myself will much like.” She was wrong, because Emma is beloved by readers everywhere. There are more adaptations of Emma than any other Austen novel except for Pride and Prejudice. (If you’re curious, Pride and Prejudice has a whopping twelve film adaptations; Emma has seven. Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion have had four each, Mansfield Park has had three, and poor Northanger Abbey has had only two.)

Emma Woodhouse is such a lovely character because, to use today’s parlance, she begins the novel completely unaware of her own privilege. Granted, she understands that she’s the wealthiest woman in the area and that other people don’t necessarily live as she does. However, the difference that her wealth and position make in her life, and the leeway that people give her because of it, is lost on her for quite a bit of the novel. But her experiences help her grow into a more empathetic, self-aware person. She learns that she’s not always right, that she needs to let her friends make their own decisions, and that she needs to be kinder to the people she considers beneath her.

I think Austen’s real triumph here is writing a character who is “handsome, clever, and rich” but who is also nuanced and likeable. Emma’s character very easily could have become the quintessential “mean girl,” but Austen gave her a heart of gold to balance her out. It’s brilliant character development, and I think Emma will remain a fan favorite for generations to come.

Marianne Dashwood

Sense and Sensibility (2008) dir. John Alexander

It’s really astounding to me how well Jane Austen was able to capture different types of personalities. While Marianne’s sister Elinor is stoic and practical, Marianne is nothing if not a flower child, skipping over the hills, reciting poetry, and falling in love at first sight. But, like Emma, Marianne has some growing up to do. She learns that love at first sight is not necessarily love that runs deep. She learns that chemistry doesn’t equal commitment. Most importantly, I think she learns the difference between love and romance. While Willoughby is romantic, he doesn’t love her enough to fight for her. To sacrifice for her. Marianne comes to see more value in Colonel Brandon’s quiet devotion than in all of Willoughby’s flowery words.

Marianne also comes to understand her sister better. I love that scene where she finds out that Edward Ferrars has been secretly engaged and she assumes that Elinor must not feel it very keenly because her grief isn’t demonstrative. The setting down that Marianne gets from Elinor is perfect, and it helps Marianne realize that there is more than one way to feel and show emotion. She comes to understand that still waters run deep. Basically, she learns the same thing about her sister that she does about Colonel Brandon. I think Marianne demonstrates the most growth of all of Austen’s characters.

Anne Elliot

Persuasion (2007) dir. Adrian Shergold

I would argue that Anne Elliot is the most damaged of Austen’s heroines. Like Fanny Price, she’s ignored and ridiculed by her family. But Anne’s also older, a faded beauty who fears that her chance at love has passed her by. Unlike Austen’s other leading ladies, Anne begins the book filled with regret. She allowed herself to be influenced by a family friend who convinced her to break off her engagement to Captain Wentworth, a man who she truly loved, because he wasn’t wealthy. When Captain Wentworth comes back into Anne’s sphere eight years later, Anne hopes to get a second chance with him.

It’s interesting that Persuasion is the last of Austen’s novels, written when Austen herself was almost forty. While her other novels feature women who must make difficult choices, Persuasion’s heroine starts the novel having made her choice many years ago. Anne isn’t the ingenue or the belle of the ball; she’s been all but put on the shelf and has little to do but reflect on her decisions. I think this makes her a compelling character and a welcome contrast to Austen’s previous characters. She’s the kind of character who you relate to more as you age. I love that Austen chose to write about a mature woman and that she chose to make that woman still desirable to the man who loves her. It’s such a testament to the power of true love.

Catherine Morland

Northanger Abbey (2008) dir. Jon Jones

Okay, I’ve got to fess up—I’m actually not the biggest fan of Catherine Morland. Some people find her naively charming. I find her stupid. But that said, she’s a realistic character. Who among us hasn’t allowed our imagination to run away with us? Who hasn’t put our faith in a false friend? I think of one the real reasons I don’t like Catherine is that I see some of the worst impulses of my youth reflected in her. I, like her, was pretty easily led for a while. I, like her, read a lot of books and it tended to color my understanding of the real world.

Catherine is interesting in that she’s very ordinary. Her family isn’t poor (like Fanny Price) or rich (like Emma Woodhouse). She’s neither very beautiful nor very plain. She’s not particularly witty. In many ways, Catherine is the everywoman of Austen’s heroines, and so her plight resonates with us.

That said, I still can’t read Northanger Abbey without rolling my eyes at almost everything Catherine does.

Happy Reading!

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Jane Austen Heroines – Part 1

I do not think I ever opened a book in my life which had not something to say upon woman’s inconstancy. Songs and proverbs, all talk of woman’s fickleness. But perhaps you will say, these were all written by men.

Jane Austen, Persuasion

How to blog about books without talking in depth about one of the greatest English-language writers ever to have picked up a pen? Jane Austen’s books have the reputation for being sappy, silly love stories, but I would argue that anyone who thinks that has never read a Jane Austen novel. Do the heroines find love? Yes. Without exception. Do women the world over watch the movie adaptations of Austen’s novels and swoon? Absolutely. But Jane Austen’s work is not the Regency-era equivalent of a Walmart clearance rack romance (that is probably titled something like The Millionaire’s Secret Love Child). Her books are thoughtful, funny, biting social commentary. They portray people in all their shades: the Busybody, the Cad, the Hypochondriac, the Wallflower, the Wet Blanket. More to the point, she writes women in all their variety. There’s no formula to an Austen woman. No type.

Now, I’ve seen just about every book blog have some sort of ranking of Jane Austen heroines. I wanted to do something similar, because I could talk about Austen all. day. long. But how do you rank characters who are so different? What’s the criteria? How are they judged?

It seems to me that ranking Austen’s female characters does them a disservice. I feel that ranking them is basically just a popularity contest. Of course everyone likes Elizabeth Bennett and Emma Woodhouse the best; they’re the most gregarious and confident of the set, and those are attributes that our current society prizes.

So, instead of “ranking” Austen’s heroines, I’m going to (briefly) tell you why I love each one and why I think she’s a strong character. This is going to be another two-parter, so come back next week for my take on the ladies I don’t get to today.

Fanny Price

Mansfield Park (2007) dir. Iain B. MacDonald

That’s right. I’m starting with Fanny Price. Poor Fanny gets no love. I get it—Fanny’s kind of underwhelming. She’s got very little confidence, she’s a doormat for most of the book, she’s not super witty or clever (at least compared to some of Austen’s other characters), and she’s in love with her cousin (ew). But Fanny has some wonderful qualities that are often overlooked, especially by the other characters in Mansfield Park.

Fanny is described as useful. She is constantly there to read to or otherwise assist her Aunt Bertram and Aunt Norris, even though Aunt Norris is a hideously awful person. She knows that she’s not the most dazzling girl in the room; she’s not a Mary Crawford. She’s not wealthy, and we all know that wealth covers a multitude of Regency-era flaws. She’s not anything that is particularly valued by those around her, but she knows how to make herself useful. I think it’s beautiful that she carves a niche for herself in Mansfield Park, making the best of a challenging circumstance.

Fanny is an introvert. She doesn’t complain. She has a moral compass that leads her right every time. She stands her ground when the issue is important to her. Fanny Price deserves a lot more love than she sometimes gets from readers. If you’ve read Mansfield Park and you didn’t like her, I’d urge you to give her another chance. And if, by chance, you happen to be a movie director, would you please make an adaptation of Mansfield Park with a Fanny Price who is true to the actual book character? The movies are always trying to make Fanny wittier or sassier than she actually is. Fanny doesn’t need to be changed to be more palatable. Our society just needs to learn to appreciate different types of women.

Elinor Dashwood

Sense and Sensibility (2008) dir. John Alexander

Elinor Dashwood is, I think, another Austen lady who doesn’t get a ton of credit for being exceptional. Of her sisters, Elinor is the sensible, down-to-earth, no-nonsense one. While her family is dealing with the tragedy of her father’s passing and the reality that they’ll soon be forced from their home, Elinor is the one who keeps her head. Her mother keeps finding new houses that match their previous level of comfort, not their reduced financial circumstances. Her sisters Marianne and Margaret aren’t of much use. Elinor does the house hunting, the budgeting, arranges everything for their move. She does it all, and she does it with grace.

What I love about Elinor is that she never loses her cool, even when she would be within her rights to. Edward Ferrars leads her on and then disappoints her with zero explanation. Elinor then finds out that he’s been secretly engaged to some girl named Lucy Steele for a long time. Even as her heart breaks, Elinor is able to keep it together and hold her head up high.

If there’s one word, other than sensible or practical, that describes Elinor Dashwood, it’s dignified. She lives in a crummy cottage on a relative’s estate, she has to scrimp and save to get by, she faces the condescension of her obnoxious half-brother and sister-in-law, and she gets her heart broken. Through it all, Elinor never loses her dignity. I want to be like Elinor when I grow up.

Elizabeth Bennet

Pride and Prejudice (1995) dir. Simon Langton

Everyone loves Elizabeth Bennett. Well, maybe not everyone, but I haven’t met the person yet who doesn’t think this spunky heroine is the coolest. Wouldn’t you love to be friends with Elizabeth? I would. She’s exactly the kind of girl who is popular now. She’s witty, outgoing, smart, and kind of sarcastic. She’s a good friend and a loyal sister. She is aware of her family’s deficiencies but loves them fiercely anyway.

But the thing that I love best about Elizabeth is that she never sells herself short. Elizabeth Bennett knows her worth. She doesn’t accept Mr. Collins’ offer of marriage, even as she’s pressured to by her mother. She knows that he won’t make her happy, and she’s not willing to endure misery for the sake of comfort. Nor does she accept Mr. Darcy right away. He’s better than Mr. Collins (after all, who isn’t), but his marriage proposal is so insulting that Elizabeth’s previous dislike is only increased. She’s not impressed by his 10,000 pounds a year (which, according to this blog’s reckoning, is equal to almost $900,000). She won’t marry a man who insults her and her family just because he’s got money. It’s only after he earns her good opinion and her love that she agrees to marry him.

She also stands her ground and doesn’t allow herself to be cowed by people of higher status. One of my favorite scenes in this book is when Lady Catherine shows up at the Bennetts’ home unannounced and chews Elizabeth out for the sin of being the object of a rumor that Darcy wants to propose to her. She is, if it’s possible, more insulting than Mr. Darcy was in his first proposal.

Says Lady Catherine: “If you were sensible of your own good, you would not wish to quit the sphere in which you have been brought up.”

And then Elizabeth comes right back at her with this zinger: “In marrying your nephew, I should not consider myself as quitting that sphere. He is a gentleman; I am a gentleman’s daughter; so far we are equal.” Sure, the Bennetts don’t have as much money as Mr. Darcy, but Elizabeth doesn’t consider him to be so much above her. He is a gentleman. She is a gentleman’s daughter. In her eyes, she’s his equal. I love that.

One of the reasons I think Austen’s books are so popular with women is that we see ourselves reflected in these characters. While other authors write paper-thin archetypes or the omnipresent “strong female character” (gag), Jane Austen wrote women who breathe. What she wrote about the relationships between women, the way women think, the concerns of the women of that time, is so true to life, proving that Austen wasn’t just a good writer—she was a keen observer.

Next week, I’ll take a look at the rest of Jane Austen’s leading ladies: Emma Woodhouse, Catherine Morland, Anne Elliot, and Marianne Dashwood.

Happy Reading!

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If You’re Bored, Take Up Beta Reading

If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it.

Margaret Fuller

If you spend a lot of time around books, and if you have any friends who are authors, you might have heard the term beta reader before. A beta reader is a person, usually a volunteer, who reads an author’s work before it’s published to give an average reader’s opinion on the work. An author will often have several beta readers and will use their criticism to fine-tune their work. Often, the author will indicate exactly what they’d like the beta reader to look out for. Maybe they want the beta reader to flag any plot holes. Perhaps they’d like them to identify problems with character development, consistency, or the overall plot. Whatever it is, the beta reader is helpful because they approach the work with a fresh set of eyes and can spot issues that the author, who may be too close to the work to see it clearly, may have missed.

I’ve recently started making myself available as a beta reader, and so far I’ve loved it! I joined a Facebook group specifically for authors and beta readers. The authors post when they need beta readers and offer a brief description of their book; if it’s something I’m interested in, I reach out to the author and offer to read for them. I like this format because it doesn’t tie me down to anything. I’m not obligated to read for every author or every book. I can pick and choose which books appeal to me.

I’ve found that authors have different styles in the way they approach beta reading. Some authors send a file for the beta reader to make comments on individually, while others send one group file to all of their beta readers. In the second instance, I was able to see the comments of other people reading the book and elaborate on what they said, agree or disagree, etc. It had a fun, collaborative vibe that I really enjoyed.

One of the books I read is called The Christmas Foundling by Martha Keyes. It’s available for pre-order on Amazon now. I’d been sort of silently lurking on the Facebook group for a while, but nothing had piqued my interest—until this.

“A babe in a manger once saved the world. Can this one save a failing marriage?

Lydia Blakeburn, Baroness Lynham, wants nothing more than to present her husband with an heir, but after five years of marriage, she has all but given up on doing so. What started as a love match has since begun to sour, yet there is nothing Lydia can do to free Miles from a marriage she is certain he regrets. The future they had envisioned together is slipping farther and farther away.


Miles Blakeburn is at his wit’s end. Not only has he failed to produce an heir to the family’s ancient title, his wife has withdrawn from him entirely. The one thing in the world she wants, he has thus far been unable to give her: a child. He is a failure in every regard.


When they happen upon an abandoned baby at the Frost Fair, Miles simply can’t resist the light he sees sparked in his wife’s eyes as she holds the child. He agrees to take the foundling in until Christmastide is over, when they will find the babe a permanent home. But, for a couple who’s been yearning for a baby for years, the infant can’t help but expose all the feelings Lydia and Miles have long been trying to bury, feelings that have the power to bring them back together—or estrange them forever.”

First of all, I have to admit that I’m a sucker for a Regency romance, but this one deals specifically with infertility, and that’s a subject in which I have enormous experience. I felt like particular little book calling to me, so I reached out to the author, and she graciously allowed me to read for her. Y’all, I’m not lying when I tell you that I wept. When it comes to showing how it feels to be struggling with infertility, Martha Keyes has absolutely hit the nail on the head. Reading this book left me feeling quite raw, but in the best of ways. I offered a few thoughts as a beta reader, but overall I just felt that this book was stunning.

After my experience reading The Christmas Foundling, I wasn’t actively seeking another thing to beta read. I had a lot on my plate and more coming down the pike, so I wasn’t under any illusions that I had a ton of free time to spend on beta reading.

But I happened upon a request for beta readers for Bronwyn, a fantasy retelling of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. Now, Mansfield Park doesn’t get a lot of love among bibliophiles, but it’s one of my favorite Austen novels, hands down. And then you add in a fantasy element? How could I pass this up?

Bronwyn didn’t end up hitting me in the gut the way The Christmas Foundling did, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable piece of escapist literature with well-defined characters and a (much-needed) twist on the original ending. The author had some truly lovely bits of prose, especially describing a Halloween festival that was just delightfully imaginative. She also worked fantasy elements seamlessly and believably into a Jane Austen world. I had a complete blast with this read, available for preorder here.

I think the thing that I’ve enjoyed most about beta reading is helping a good author make a good book better. Nobody and no book is perfect, but a beta reader can help an author tweak their book to make it the best it can be. As someone who reads a lot, I’ve often read books and wished I could have talked an author off a particular cliff, mentioned that a character seemed superfluous, or pointed out a major plot hole. Beta reading gives me the opportunity to use the knowledge and insight I’ve gained as a reader to help authors put forward their best work. Plus, it’s really fun! If you’re looking for something to occupy some time during this endless pandemic, consider joining a group of beta readers. It could help you discover some literary gems.

Happy Reading!

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The Stories We Love as Children Never Leave Us

I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s story. The good ones last.

C.S. Lewis

My infant son’s bookshelf is well-stocked with books. My husband went on a book-buying spree in anticipation of our little boy’s birth, and we have generous relatives who gifted us new and used books, so when I say we’ve got a lot of books, please believe me. We have a lot of books. Right now, our baby is mostly interested in the touch-and-feel books and the board books; he likes to chew on the edges.

That said, I’ve already started to read him from more advanced books. We have a good collection of Magic School Bus and Berenstain Bears books, for example. These are shortish and hold his attention briefly, although I usually end up wrestling the book away from him in a futile effort to protect the pages from being torn. But someday, someday, I’ll get to share a real book with him. When I say “a real book,” I’m not talking about The Brothers Karamazov or anything. I mean the books that I loved as a child.

Think back to your own childhood. What are the books that have stayed with you? Not just the ones you have fond memories of (I’m a huge fan of There’s a Monster at the End of This Book and Stellaluna). I’m not even talking about the books that made you love reading for the first time. I was really into the American Girl books. I loved reading those, but I’m afraid they don’t hold a lot of fascination for me now.

No, I’m talking about the books that sank deep into your soul. The books that opened your eyes to what books could be. What were those books, for you? I bet you still love them, don’t you? That’s because, as the ever-wise C.S. Lewis said, a good children’s book is able to be enjoyed at all stages of life, not just in childhood.

For me, one of those books was Ella Enchanted. If you haven’t read this book, I want to know what you’ve been doing that was more important? The answer is nothing. And if you tell me that you don’t need to read the book because you saw that travesty of a movie, I swear on every library in the world that I will find you to berate you in person.

This book astonishes me every time I think about it. As a kid, all I knew was that it was a super fun story, but as an adult, I can’t help standing in awe of what Gail Carson Levine was able to achieve with this book. It’s a fresh take on the Cinderella story, so it’s got the comfort of the familiar while being different enough to be interesting. But aside from the engaging plotline, I can’t believe how much character development she crammed into this short book. Ella is a feminist role model, Char is just wonderful in every way, Mandy is a delightful curmudgeon, and Ella’s father and stepfamily are deliciously cruel. Gail Carson Levine is able to do so much with so little. This isn’t just a well-written children’s book; it’s a well-written book, period.

This may be cliché, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (or Philosopher’s Stone, for…basically everyone else in the world). Since the whole series has been out for years and people all over the world know Harry’s story, I think we sometimes forget that these started out as children’s books. In fact, many adults were reluctant to read them because they assumed they were only for children.

This was an utter joy to read as an eleven year old. I devoured Sorcerer’s Stone, and after I finished it I wouldn’t stop talking about it. I haven’t stopped talking about it for the last twenty-one years, actually, because Harry’s story continues to appeal to me. Once again, we have a shortish book that packs an incredible punch. Think about how much info J.K. Rowling had to introduce in this book. She had to build an entire world for us, plus introduce memorable characters, plus set up an incredible story, all in about three hundred pages. It’s masterful. I go back to this book, and all of the following books, again and again, because it’s not a good children’s book. It’s just a darn good book.

And, of course, we can’t forget The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. These seven books are each a master work in its own right, and together they are an extended Christian allegory. I’ve literally heard The Chronicles of Narnia quoted over the pulpit at church. There’s a lot of meat there.

The thing is, the theology of these books could fly right over your head, and you’d still enjoy them. I’m sure most children who read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe aren’t contemplating Aslan as a Christ figure; they’re just enjoying the fantastical world that C.S. Lewis created.

These are just a few of the books that have stayed with me into adulthood. I will be forever grateful to these authors who took the time to write, not just children’s books, but children’s literature.

Which books have stayed with you?

Happy Reading!

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Love Stories That Aren’t – Part 2

Continuing the theme from last week, I want to talk about another faux love story that’s still pretty ubiquitous. Twilight. If you read my review of Renée Ahdieh’s The Beautiful, you’ll know that I hate the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I. Hate. It. I’ll admit that I sometimes watch the movie to make fun of it because, let’s face it, no one did their best work in that film. Every part of that movie was terrible, except for Billy Burke, who successfully played the only likeable character, Charlie Swan.

But I digress. It’s not just the movie that’s bad. It’s the book. It’s the story, and more particularly the love story. You guys, the romance between Edward and Bella is twisted. It is, in no way, a depiction of a healthy relationship.

Can we start with the fact that Edward sneaks into Bella’s room and watches her sleep? I cannot get over how creepy that is. I’d be weirded out if my husband watched me sleep for more than a few seconds, and I go to sleep already knowing he’s there! Let’s be honest. If Edward wasn’t oh-so-handsome, the thought of him (a 100 year old man) breaking into a teenage girl’s room to watch her sleep would give everyone the heebie-jeebies.

Edward is also super controlling. He tells her what she can do, where she can go, and who she can be friends with, all “for her protection,” of course. Gross.

Their whole relationship is based on this weird animal attraction that they have for one another. They’re invested in one another before they even have a decent conversation. All that Bella seems to care about is that Edward is super hot. No one has yet been able to explain to me why Edward likes Bella, because she has zero personality. To quote Bob’s Burgers, “If she was a spice, she’d be flour.”

The entire series is literal garbage. In the second book, Edward makes the executive decision to leave Bella “for her protection.” Gag. Bella literally curls up in the fetal position and refuses to move. Then she spends the next year of her life moping. She decides to take life-threatening risks because somehow she hears Edward’s voice telling her not to be stupid. Seriously, it’s so messed up. Girls, for the record, if a boy dumps you, you cry to your friends and eat a bunch of ice cream. You don’t crash a motorcycle and jump off a cliff. Also, Edward is so upset by not being with Bella that he tries to commit suicide. None of this is healthy.

And to top it all off, once they finally do get married, Bella is left with bruises after the first time they have sex. That’s abuse, people. “Edward is just so strong, he can’t help it.” Sorry, that’s not gonna fly with me. Then she gets pregnant and dies.

The Twilight franchise depicts obsession, abuse, depression, and suicide attempts. It doesn’t depict a healthy, loving relationship. The end.

I want to touch on another topic that really grinds my gears. Can we talk about Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy? Their story is a love story, by the way, but it’s been distorted and turned into a trope that is really gross. Allow me to explain.

Elizabeth and Darcy meet and she overhears him say that she’s not good-looking enough to entice him to ask her to dance. She decides that he’s a jerk. He kind of is a jerk.

He eventually realizes that he loves her and wants to marry her, but his proposal is filled with backhanded compliments and he basically tells her that he loves her so much that he’ll condescend to marry her. Elizabeth, who has some dignity, rejects him and calls him out on being an enormous bonehead.

He accepts her rejection. That’s it. He doesn’t try to convince her that she’s wrong. He does write a letter to explain a circumstance about which she’s misinformed, but he doesn’t continue to pursue her. He understands that no means no. He also takes her rejection as an opportunity to reflect on his behavior. He grows up a little, learning how to be kinder and less pompous.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth has some growing up to do, too. She discovers that her faith in Mr. Wickham was misplaced. She struggles with self-reproach when she discovers that her secrecy led to her sister, Lydia, running way with Mr. Wickham. Mr. Darcy ends up saving the day and ensuring that Wickham and Lydia get married, (mostly) sparing Elizabeth and her family from humiliation and ruin. He does this with no motive other than love.

When Elizabeth and Darcy are reunited, they have both changed. He has learned to treat people with respect, and she’s learned to look beyond the façade to see the man. They’re ready for one another now.

That, my friends, is a love story. It’s about two imperfect people who are made better by their association with the other. But tragically, all some people have taken from this story is “Handsome man treats woman like garbage but really loves her.” So many Young Adult books seem to follow this trope and it’s really starting to grate on me. Off the top of my head, I can think of several YA books in which the love interest is a huge jerk: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black, Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge, and Uprooted and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. Can we all agree to just stop this? It’s not cool, and it sets young people up to believe that it’s okay for your partner to treat you like trash. Can we not?

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Love Stories That Aren’t – Part 1

There is something profoundly irritating to me about books being mislabeled as love stories. I relish a good love story. A true love story. But some of the most famous romances in literature are not love stories at all. Why does that irritate me? Why should it matter to me if people want to call Wuthering Heights a love story and swoon over Heathcliff? I think because literature informs so much of popular culture and popular thought. The books we read become the movies we watch, the television shows that are produced, and the quotes we pin on Pinterest. They become the tropes that are reused by future authors. They’re the stories little boys and girls grow up reading, the romances they are told they should aspire to. If we as a society mislabel stories of obsession and abuse as stories of love, we’re sending a damaging message to the girls and boys, women and men who read them.

Today, I’m going to discuss two stories that are not love stories. I’ll be doing a part two of this post in which I’ll talk about one more non-love story and one love story that’s been grossly distorted and turned into a terrible trope. But for now, let’s dive in.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is NOT a love story. It’s not. For those of you who need a reminder, Wuthering Heights is about Heathcliff and Cathy. Cathy’s dad adopts Heathcliff, a parentless vagrant child, brings him home and raises him as one of the family. Cathy and Heathcliff immediately connect and, over the years, fall in love.

Cathy eventually befriends Edgar and Isabella Linton, their neighbors. They’re kind to Cathy as the daughter of a wealthy gentleman, but they reject Heathcliff. Edgar proposes to Cathy, and even though she loves Heathcliff, she feels that she can’t marry him because of his low status. So she marries Edgar, and Heathcliff disappears. He returns years later as a wealthy gentleman and attracts the attention of Isabella Linton. He encourages Isabella’s love for him as a way to get back at Cathy and Edgar, and elopes with her. Cathy, cut off from Heathcliff and pregnant with Edgar’s child, dies. Heathcliff begs Cathy’s ghost to haunt him forever.

Heathcliff, of course, doesn’t care about Isabella at all. He treats her terribly, and she leaves him, giving birth to his son on her own. When she dies, Heathcliff brings his son home to live with him, and he encourages a connection between his son and Edgar and Cathy’s daughter. He forces them to marry, even though his son Linton is ill and Cathy (Edgar and Cathy’s daughter) doesn’t actually want to marry him. When Linton dies, Cathy is stuck at Wuthering Heights along with Heathcliff. He goes increasingly crazy, admits that he dug up her mother’s grave after she died, and dies himself in her mother’s old room. In the end, the people in the village say they’ve seen the ghosts of Heathcliff and Cathy walking the moors, together at last.

I’m sorry. What part of that was a love story? The part where Cathy doesn’t think the man she supposedly loves is good enough for her so she marries someone else? The part where she wastes away because she’s parted from the man she rejected? (Come on, Cathy, have a little dignity.) Or maybe when Heathcliff gets revenge on Cathy and Edgar by destroying Isabella’s life? The part where he continues to try to get revenge by forcing Cathy’s daughter to marry his son? The part where he digs up a woman’s grave? (That part always just creeps me out.) This is a story about obsession and abuse. Obsessive love can seem romantic, but it’s not healthy and it’s not something that anyone should aspire to. Read this book for the prose. Read it for the commentary on class, revenge, and madness. Read it for the vivid descriptions of the moors. Don’t read it looking for a love story, because you won’t find one.

Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare is NOT a love story. I might get a lot of heat for this, but I said what I said. I’m assuming we’re all familiar with the story of Romeo and Juliet. Two families, the Montagues and the Capulets, hate each other. Romeo Montague sneaks into a Capulet party and sees Juliet Capulet. They “fall in love” (read: are attracted to one another), have that famous love scene on the balcony, and get secretly married by Romeo’s pal Friar Laurence.

Romeo carries on the feud, kills Juliet’s cousin, and is banished from the city. But don’t worry, he pops by her place first (again, after killing her cousin) to consummate the marriage. Can’t neglect that, after all.

Juliet’s parents, who know nothing of her marriage to Romeo, want to marry her off. She pretends to agree, but arranges with Friar Laurence to fake her own death to get out of it. Romeo is supposed to be in on the plan but misses the memo, thinks she’s really dead, and commits suicide by poison. Juliet, seeing Dead Romeo, stabs herself with his dagger.

The feuding families come together to find their dead children and get a stern lecture from the priest about how their endless fighting caused the death of their kids. (Maybe it was actually your really terrible plan, Friar Laurence.)

While this is supposedly one of the greatest romances in literature, what I see is two hormonal teenagers who have a few days of puppy love followed by a few days of angsty separation followed by a weird and needless double-suicide. That doesn’t negate the beauty of Shakespeare’s writing, and it certainly doesn’t mean that the play has no value. But it’s more of a cautionary tale than a love story.

Again, I get it if you like these books. They have literary value. Romeo & Juliet has some of the most beautiful lines ever written. But these two stories are often held up as examples of true love, and that’s not only inaccurate. It’s damaging.

They’re not love stories. The end.

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As Hermione Says, “When in Doubt, Go to the Library.”

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.

Jorge Luis Borges

Almost a decade ago, Forbes featured a question from Quora entitled “Will Public Libraries Become Extinct?” Two writers contributed, and each insisted that libraries would be obsolete in five to fifteen years. One of the contributors, Marc Bodnick, hypothesized that people wouldn’t completely stop going to the library, but the rise of e-books and e-readers would drastically reduce library patronage to the point that libraries would not longer be economically viable. Another contributor, Erica Friedman, argued that libraries would not be obsolete in reality, but that they’d be defunded because people would perceive them as being obsolete. She noted that libraries are much more than simple book lenders, and they’re often at the forefront of technology, but the general public isn’t aware of the myriad of services they provide. Said Friedman:

“If you don’t use your library, you’ll never know those things. And you’ll tell yourself that libraries are exactly the way they were when you were six, then feel slightly bad when you vote them off the town budget.

Libraries will die, because they were killed by people who never used them.”1

Eight years after their predictions, libraries are still going strong. I, for one, don’t see that changing any time soon.

I do, however, think that Erica Friedman had a point. As a whole, we see libraries much the same as we did as children. We envision rows of books, maybe some tables, and an uptight librarian who shushes hyperactive children. But book lending is just part of what libraries have to offer us, and the stern librarian has likely been replaced with someone much friendlier.

As a frequent library patron, I thought I knew what my local branch had to offer. But, in preparation for this post and for the sake of thoroughness, I checked out their website. I was blown away. Here are just a few of the services they provide:

  1. Access to a genealogy research database
  2. Test prep (Driver’s test, ACT, SAT GRE, GMAT)
  3. Job search and career services
  4. Homeschooling resources for children and parents
  5. Story time for small children (This is been put on hold due to COVID-19.)
  6. A calendar for children listen local events and activities
  7. Resources for starting a small business, from business plan handbooks to demographic data
  8. Library outreach to local senior residential centers, bringing book carts to the elderly since they can’t make it to library themselves
  9. Free tutoring in math, reading, writing, test prep, and English language skills
  10. A seed library! (I love this one. Every spring, they have packets of seeds for patrons to take and plant in their home gardens.)

If I listed everything my local library has going on, you’d be here all day. The point is that libraries are more than just repositories for books. They’re the information hubs of the community as well as gathering places. Since e-readers allow you to access books without leaving your home, they’re convenient but isolating. As Benjamin P. Hardy, a contributor at Huffpost, said, “Technology gives people a platform but not a place.“2 Libraries give people both.

Additionally, libraries add community value because they provide a place for people to go without the expectation that money will be spent. The number of such places is dwindling drastically. Even the majority of museums and national parks charge at least an admission fee, but you need exactly zero dollars to be a library patron. You can sit in your local library all day long reading books, working on your laptop, or sitting with your child during story time, and you won’t have to spend one red cent. They’re also entirely neutral. There’s nothing political, religious, racial, or dogmatic about a library, and as such everyone can feel welcome.

Though libraries may seem to be a relic of the past, it’s actually the young who are keeping them alive. According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2016, 53% of Millenials had visited a library or bookmobile in person over the last year, compared to just 45% of Gen X and 43% of Baby Boomers. Young people are also more likely to use library websites and apps.3 Personally, I use my library’s app at least weekly. It’s a convenient way to manage my account, renew books, and place holds on materials.

I’m thrilled that the dire predictions about libraries’ inevitable doom have, so far, been proven false, and I’m proud to be part of a generation leading the charge to resurrect the library. If you haven’t stopped by your local branch lately, why don’t you? Even with COVID-19 restrictions, libraries across the country continue to safely provide their services. Visit your library’s website or drop in one day, and I promise you’ll be delighted by what you can find there. If you’re already an avid library-goer, I’d encourage you to look for ways to support and advocate for libraries in your community. Consider donating your unwanted books to the library instead of a thrift shop. Pay attention to local politics and candidates’ positions on libraries. There are a myriad of ways to help, even if all you can do is vote. If libraries can be “killed by people who never [use] them,”4 then the responsibility to keep them alive falls upon those of us who do.

Happy reading!

End Notes:

1. Marc Bodnick and Erica Friedman, “Will Public Libraries Become Extinct?” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, October 2, 2012. https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2012/10/02/will-public libraries-become-extinct/.

2. Benjamin P. Hardy, “The Extinction of Libraries: Why the Predictions Aren’t Coming True.” HuffPost. HuffPost, December 22, 2017. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-extinction-of-libraries-why-the-predictions-arent_b_5a3d3acde4b06cd2bd03da4a.

3. A. W. Geiger, “Public Library Use in U.S. Highest among Millennials.” Pew Research Center. Pew Research Center, July 27, 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/06/21/millennials-are-the-most-likely-generation-of-americans-to-use-public-libraries/.

4. Bodnick and Friedman, “Will Public Libraries Become Extinct?”

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In Depth with Timecaster Chronicles Author R.L. Perez

A fall through time. A reckless witch. A war of monsters.

“The cauldron’s rattling intensified until a small funnel cloud formed within, swirling the ingredients into a sickening tornado. Thunder roared overhead, and a flash of lightning elicited a startled shriek from my lips. More flashes of lightning. It grew closer and closer until I swore the next bolt would electrify me.

White light consumed me. Thunder blasted in my ears and into my skull. I couldn’t see or hear anything. Wind tore at my skin and hair and clothes until I was so dizzy I knew I would collapse.

I screamed, but it was lost in the storm.”

R.L. Perez, Twisted by Time

I was lucky enough to be an early reader for the first novel in R.L. Perez’s new Young Adult Fantasy series, the Timecaster Chronicles. Twisted by Time follows Desi Campbell, a young witch who wants nothing at all to do with the magical world. When she tries an unfamiliar spell to sneak away to Miami for spring break, she accidentally sends herself to Cuba, one hundred years in the past. In trying to figure out how to return home, she finds herself embroiled in a war on two fronts – The Spanish-American War, and a war between witches and demons.

Twisted by Time is a fun, fast-paced young adult novel. There’s a little bit of everything – action, romance, monsters, betrayal, and even a bit of history. It’s pretty clean with regards to language and sexuality, but be aware that it can get a bit dark at times. I mean, there are two wars going on.

I reached out to R.L. Perez to tell us more about her debut novel and its sequel, Devoured by Darkness.

Timecaster Chronicles author R.L. Perez

How long have you been writing, and what got you started?

Ever since I learned how to write as a kid, I’ve written stories. It started as stacks of notebook paper folded over and stapled. I usually retold whatever fairy tale or Disney movie I was currently obsessed with, and it always had hysterically awful drawings to go with it. As I grew older, the stories became more mature but were also loosely based on whatever I was reading at the time. In high school, I finally created my own unique stories and participated in my first NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month – and I’ve been doing it almost every year since then.

Where did you get the ideas for the Timecaster Chronicles from, and why was it important to you to tell this story?

The bare bones idea I had was to write about a witch who time traveled (this was inspired by an episode of Charmed). I didn’t know what time period to write about, so I asked my husband (the Cuban), and he suggested Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

So many time travel stories involve European settings or highlander romances, and I wanted this one to be different. I’ve never heard of a Cuban time travel story before, so I knew this one would be pretty original. I was also excited to write about it because my husband’s family is Cuban, so it gave me the opportunity to explore his culture.

The Spanish-American War was such a short moment in history that it’s not often touched on. To me it seemed like a pivotal event, especially for my husband’s ancestors, that deserved to be told. 

What made you want to make the Timecaster Chronicles your first published series?

I have several finished novels, but none of them resonated quite so much with me as the Timecaster Chronicles. I dabbled in science fiction, but it wasn’t a good fit for me. I had other stories that weren’t quite so fleshed out. But I’ve always loved fantasy and time travel, and when this idea came to me, I couldn’t shove it to the side like I had all my other stories. It was practically begging to be published.

Why did you decide to publish indie instead of traditional?

I struggled with this decision for a long time. I always assumed if I went indie, I wouldn’t be successful. I’m an introvert and didn’t know the first thing about marketing. I assumed I would fail. I worked on my science fiction novel and tried getting that picked up by an agent. For two years, I polished my novel and sent it to beta readers and critique partners and editors. I attended writing conferences and met with several agents. So many liked the idea of my story, but when I sent it to them, they decided it “wasn’t for them”. It was such a lengthy process – most agents take 6 months or more to respond after you send a manuscript.

At some point, I realized I might never get published if I kept this up. I found a group on Facebook called 20booksto50k and was astounded by the success I saw there. Thousands of authors are wildly successful at publishing and make a comfortable income – some make even more than traditional authors do because they don’t have to pay the publisher or agent a cut of the royalties. I was inspired. I liked the idea of having complete control and doing things my way – the book title, the cover, the story, the characters, the publishing timeline, etc.

So I took the plunge, and I’m so glad I did. I might not be filthy rich (yet haha), but I have a strict timeline and I’ll be pumping out books ten times faster than a traditional publisher would. Eventually, it’ll make me a lovely income. But for now, I’m happy to have my story out there and make my dream come true.

What is your favorite part about the writing process?

The writing! Outlining is fun and gets me excited, but the really fun part is writing those juicy, heart-stopping scenes and then reading it over and thinking, “Did I write that?” 

Did you plot the entire series out from the beginning, or did you have a general outline and let the characters lead you?

A little bit of both. In general, I’m a fierce outliner. I usually have an extensive overall outline as well as several chapters mapped out before I get started. But as I write, sometimes the story changes and I find myself altering the outline. But I can’t write if I don’t have a direction to go, so that first outline is critical.

Twisted by Time was set in Cuba, but Devoured by Darkness will take place in the Philippines. Why the Philippines?

During my research, I discovered that the Spanish-American War began in the Philippines and then moved to Cuba. Then the U.S. returned to the Philippines to claim the country as a result of the treaty after the war with Spain. I thought it was fascinating and a little-known tidbit of history that I wanted to touch on. Cuba and the Philippines were both under Spanish rule for about five centuries, and they were both fighting for their own independence. But the U.S. fought with Cuba and against the Philippines, and I wanted to highlight that contrast.

Who was your favorite character to create, and why?

My favorite character is Kismet. I didn’t expect her to play such a monumental role, but as I wrote the story, I knew she had secrets and a dark past. The more the mystery unfolded, the more her backstory came to light. She just has the coolest timeline. I wrote a prequel novelette about her and I plan to write another at the end of the series as well. 

In the series, Desi is a dancer. Why did you choose dance as her creative outlet?

A critique partner read an early draft of mine and pointed out that Desi needed a hobby – her character was too stale and didn’t have enough of a drive. I made her a dancer because she needed a hobby that was physical so she could apply it to hunting demons. It also helped her to be more carefree, which in turn helped Oliver to let loose as well. 

What do you think readers will enjoy most about the Timecaster Chronicles?

I think readers will enjoy the time travel. It takes you for a wild ride! More than one occurrence of time travel takes place, and as the mysteries unfold it all comes together and makes for a pretty incredible adventure. 

Lastly, when does Devoured by Darkness launch?

Devoured by Darkness launches on August 7!

Thanks to R.L. Perez for taking the time to share her thoughts about her new series, publication, and the writing process. I’m looking forward to grabbing a copy of Devoured by Darkness in August! If you enjoy the Young Adult Fantasy genre, go ahead and check it out!

Twisted by Time is available now as an eBook. You can find it on Amazon here, and it’s free with Kindle Unlimited.

Devoured by Darkness will arrive both as an eBook and in paperback on August 7, 2020! It’s available for pre-order now.

Bound by Blood, the final book in the series, will be published on September 6, 2020. Check it out here.

And, if you want to keep up with R.L. Perez and her future publications, you can follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Did you read Twisted by Time? Let me know what you thought about it in the comments!

Happy Reading!