Lara Zielin

Yesterday at an antique sale, I uncovered a hardcover copy of King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry, which won the Newberry Award in 1949.

Can I just tell you, I loved this book growing up.

I must have read it at least 50 times, no exaggerating. Ms. Henry was one of my earliest inspirations because she found a way to fuse horses (zomg, horses!) with story-telling, resulting in the most exciting books I’d ever come across.

I went through troubled times as a teenager to be sure, but there was a while there when my heroes were Ms. Henry and James Herriot and Anne of Green Gables. I think even when I was trying to fly my rebellious flag, deep down I was just a literary nerd.

Anyway. I’d owned this lovely book in softcover growing up, but lost it sometime after college. I was delighted to rediscover it and become immersed once again in a story that spans generations, taking readers to Africa, France, England and the United States, where the main characters are a horse and a mute boy.

And here, I bet you thought “King of the Wind” was going to be a post about passing gas.

Man, can I just say — there is SO much good young adult (YA) fiction out there! Hoo boy. The quality of everything I read just keeps going up and up and up. I love it. Here are a couple of YA books I’ve read recently that I wished would never end:

Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr. The first sentence of the back jacket copy starts: I was thirteen when my dad caught me with Tommy Webber in the back of Tommy’s Buick …

The novel was a National Book Award finalist, and little wonder. The main character, Deanna, is raw and tough and still likable, which is no mean feat. The story represented a snapshot of Deanna’s life at a crossroads, and I loved how the author showed her wrestling with obligations toward family, with her reputation as the town’s slut, and with believing something better was out there for her. Zarr is officially my hero — and Deanna, too.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. The main character, Sam, is smart, pretty, popular — and shrugs at her easy good fortune. Things are sometimes hard for people. They’re not hard for her. That’s just how it is.

Sam isn’t aware of how her life impacts others until she relives the day she dies again and again — sort of like Groundhog Day but much, much deeper. The way Sam becomes alive through dying is beautiful and heart-wrenching. I read this book in one solitary sitting. And it’s not exactly a slight tome. It’s YA lit at its best.

On my to-read list? Well, there’s never a shortage of books there, but here’s a snapshot:

Scars by Cheryl Rainfield

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen

What books have you read/loved lately, and what’s on your reading list?

This is the fridge in our basement.

Most people keep meat, ice cream, or frozen vegetables in their fridge. But not us.

Welcome to the house where two writers live!

Yes, it’s true. We keep books in our fridge. Three words come to mind: Need. More. Bookshelves.

Until we get some, let me show you around.

These are our “Dummies” books. They all start with “P.” My father-in-law gave me that poker one, and boy was he sorry he did. I read that sucker cover to cover and smoked his butt at Texas Hold ‘em. True story.

Here is a book bought a few years back. Since I purchased it, “volunteer vacations” have really burgeoned in popularity. I probably don’t need the book anymore, but I like having it.

We’re having a garage sale in June and it’s possible some of these books might make it into the sale. But I’m not betting on it. Even if they’re in a fridge in the basement, I love having books around.

“Books are delightful society. If you go into a room and find it full of books, even without taking them from the shelves they seem to speak to you, to bid you welcome.”  ~ William Ewart Gladstone

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: I want everything on this site. Did I mention I want everything? Everything. Ev. Ree. Thing.

This morning I heard an interview on NPR with author Pat Conroy. He’s written books such as The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini though, I confess, I have never read any of them. But I will definitely pick up his new memoir, My Reading Life, which is what he was talking about on NPR today. It’s all about how he sought refuge in books growing up.

Mr. Conroy’s reasons for turning to books are more dramatic than mine. His dad beat him. They moved around a lot and he had a hard time making friends. But I found refuge in books, too — especially during my pre-teen and teen years when my relationships at school went south. At that age, girls can turn on each other at the drop of a hat and in my case, they did. Twice. Once when I was in sixth grade, and once when I was in eighth. In both instances I lost all my friends. Overnight, I became a pariah — or in more simple terms, a loser. Or, at least I was made to feel like one.

I don’t have any proof, but I’m pretty sure these experiences are why I write YA nowadays. I still vividly remember the heartache and shame of those years, and how I got through using books. Where the Red Fern Grows and Bridge to Terabithia were perennial favorites that I read and re-read. When I was older, I couldn’t get enough of Stephen King’s books — especially IT — as well as all of John Steinbeck’s books (except the ones about King Arthur, which I never really did get into).

I think it would be cool to do a series of “refuge in books” videos and get people to record themselves talking about the books that helped them get through tough times. How about you? Do you have a book (or two, or six) that helped you through a rough patch?

Have you guys heard of Lauren Wood?

Lauren knows what it takes to be popular. You could call her ruthless when it comes to the subject, but the thing is, she’s just so pretty. When you’re that beautiful, nothing’s really your fault, right?

We can all learn a lot from Lauren. And in fact, Lauren knows this. So she’s created a series of videos to help us all. Here is the first one. If you watch it, let me know, because I’m giving away a copy of the book in which Lauren is featured called Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood. Now out in paperback! (You can leave a comment or Tweet about the vid to let me know you’ve seen it and to be eligible for the prize.)

Also, for the record, the author of Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood is awesome. Her name is Eileen Cook.

I sort of love her. But not in a stalkery way. Just in a “oh, I totally watched though your window while you ate that bowl of cereal” kind of way. You know, totally normal.

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: This “documentary” about Saved by the Bell’s Rod Belding. I watched it in its entirety, twice, because I loved it so.

After breezing through THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO and really enjoying it, I was excited to pick up THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE.

But only a few pages in, something wasn’t sitting right with me. I put the book down and tried explaining my discontent to Rob. But all I could vent about was the fact that the author had given the heroine, Lisbeth Salander, a boob job.

Then I read Entertainment Weekly columnist Missy Schwartz’s take on the novel in the June 25 issue, and a lightbulb went off. Larsson (the author), she says, was supposed to be a feminist, but Schwartz herself has a “hard time reconciling  his ostensibly feminist agenda with all the male fantasy coursing through the books.” I concur! The protagonist, Mikael Blomkvist, is a turn-on for every woman on every page. Puke. Whatever. And even though Schwartz doesn’t say this, I took issue with how every woman in the books was portrayed as not only hot and heavy for Blomkvist, but also as having some kind of alternative sex life. From multiple partners to  promiscuity to playing for both teams, no woman was ever just content being in a single, satisfying relationship.

Oh, wait. Maybe one was. But she was murdered.

What’s more, the violence committed against women in the books is atrocious. Schwartz says that while you can argue that’s the point — “bring it out into the open, try to prevent it from happening again” — she’s unsettled by exploiting it for storytelling purposes. Yes again. I concur.

But the point I really got behind was Schwartz’s take on Larsson’s treatment of Lisbeth herself. She gets a boob job and we’re told the quality of her life improves. She never “accepts her imperfections.” And therein lies the rub. We are none of us perfect. Unfortunately, like Heidi Montag, Lisbeth winds up thinking that altering her imperfections will bring her satisfaction.

But that’s just not true. And as a result, THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE is laying on my floor, half read, and I’ll never finish it.

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: The Huffington Post’s guide to dressing like a world leader for Halloween. I might scrap my donut costume and go as Kim Jong-Il.

I have book club tonight and, I have to say, I love being part of a group that commits to reading and discussing a book once per month. This month’s pick was DANCE OF THE HAPPY SHADES by Alice Munro and, even though it really wasn’t my cup of tea, I appreciate being yanked out of my comfort zone and forced to read something I normally wouldn’t.

I also wouldn’t be opposed to being part of a YA book club (*bats eyelashes and looks wistfully at the sky*). Now wouldn’t that be dreamy? Anybody out there part of one? If so, what are you reading?