The REAL Santa Claus

What's with all the Santas?

Every kid gets to a point where this question comes up. Whether you notice that year after year your pictures with Santa look like they are with a different guy, or (like my brother and I) you are dragged from mall to mall to mall and notice every single mall has their own Santa sitting in center court all hours of the day.

It is simply impossible for Santa to be in all these places at once. Magic or no, every kid starts to wonder what is going on after a while.

I suppose my brother or I approached my mother at some point this quandary, because my only memory of my belief in Santa is an unshakable faith in who the real Santa Claus was and how he spent his pre-holiday time.

In our home we were told that the real Santa asked for hundreds of thousands of "helpers" to go out to the malls all over the country - including the guys right here in our Staten Island Mall - because he could only take pictures in one place.

The real Santa is at Macy's in Manhattan. The mere evidence of this fact comes from the magnificent Macy's Thanksgiving Parade where the whole country watches as Santa comes into New York at the end of the parade.

This made perfect sense to my brother and I because the couple of times we took the trip out to the City to visit Santa and take pictures with him, the line was EPICALLY long!

Who was your "real Santa"?

The Child Inside

Today marks one week from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. This morning there was a moment of silence held, nationally, at 9:30AM. I participated, from my home, while watching Connecticut broadcast on the news. Shortly after the ceremony, I posted this to my Facebook timeline (you can click the image to make it large, if you need to):

I can't remember a time in my life when I have not seen the beauty in children, or their great example.

I'm writing about this today because my instructions in my Learn to Meditate "class" today brought me right back to this personal perspective of the world once again. Today's meditation is instruction on how to meditate in a crowd of many people. The instructor said to sit still and quietly observe each person in the crowd, but to think of them as angels, as goodness, as another piece of the divine spirit.

In my own way, I do this all of the time (I had no idea I was meditating!). When I am amidst a group of people, like on a bus, for instance, I try to imagine each person as they were as a child. I try to see their innocence. I also do this whenever someone upsets me, or if I am tempted to call someone "evil", because I do not believe that anyone ever starts out evil. This often leads me to the same question, "What happened to this person?" The answer is usually other people happened to this person.

So, after my meditation I am left thinking that I don't want people to just take a moment during the holiday to live like a child, but I also want people to treat each other like they would treat a child. Now, of course, I am not suggesting that we all start patronizing each other, or helping each other out at the potty! What I am suggesting is that we smile at one another, we expect nothing from each other, we are extra understanding in the face of mistakes made, impoliteness and ignorance, we teach each other, we share and care. The thing is not to see each other as children now, but to remember that every person was once a beautiful child and that every single one of us still has that small child inside of us.

Writing Every Day

For the last ten days I have been consistent in holding with a new routine I am very happy about. I have been meditating, thanks to the Learn to Meditate Podcast by the The Meditation Society of Australia. It has been pretty amazing so far and, almost instantly, I felt the benefit of my new action.

Next on my list is to build in the same kind of rewarding routine for writing. While I have been writing in my journals daily, some days feel more like little jots here and there rather than the true focused type of "writing time" I think I owe myself and my words. About a week ago I decided to change the wallpaper on my computer to be something more writer-oriented so that it could serve as both a reminder and an inspiration. After a thorough search of what Google had to offer me one morning, I found a wallpaper with a quote from Norman Mailer that, I believe, is just what I need:

I love this quote because it speaks to my greatest weakness: the bad days. Now, I am not sure what Mailer characterized as a "bad day" in his own life, but, for me, with my crazy chronic illnesses bad days are pretty well defined across the board. When I was a teacher I would work through the bad days. However, I did this so much that I made things much worse for myself in the long run. So what did I do to fix the damage done? Well, after two years out of the classroom and on my healing path, I learned a new way to live that has its benefits and its drawbacks.

My solution was to let the pendulum swing the other way. I gave the bad days priority. While home healing, I pulled back on working through anything and just rode out whatever symptomatic wave came my way. The benefit in this type of existence is that my body was given full focus to heal, the bad thing is nothing else happened. In my two months of physical therapy (actually, it was vestibular therapy due to my extreme dizziness) I began to see how weak - physically - I had become from the utter stillness of my life. It takes no real genius to see that this phenomenon was not isolated to the physical part of me. My therapist said to me, on my second session, I think, "We have to work to get you back into the world of the living!"

It was something I didn't think my body would ever allow me to do again. I realized that day, that I had considered "a normal life" as something not in the cards for me. I was wrong. Of course, my "normal" is going to be a little more low key than those without my conditions, but everyone's "normal" is unique anyway, so there's nothing to fret about there.

The compromise for me is this: The classroom is gone for me for now (and maybe always), writing isn't. I can write through the bad days without fear that I will make things worse like I once did. I have to stop being afraid of pushing myself like I once relished in doing. Writing is not as physically taxing as my previous career was. I can allow the workaholic Nicole come out and play again without huge fears of physical repercussions; I have already made the major adjustments needed for my "new normal".

So I am going to commit to being a "real writer" as per Norman Mailer's definition - I am going to be able to do the work, even on a bad day.

Words On My Screen

Right before Hurricane Sandy hit, my husband and I ran up to Barnes & Noble to stock up for what we expected might be a couple of days without power. We bought a book each and a box of dark chocolate Moose Munch (it's an addiction... I'm at the point of admitting that). As far as we were concerned, we were prepped and ready for the oncoming storm.

And we were. Thank God, even though we live in Staten Island, we are blessed to be located in the middle of the island. While most of our neighbors lost power for days, we actually only lost it for three hours and that was because the electric company intentionally shut it off to work on the rest of the neighborhood's power. And while huge sections of our island saw complete devastation including loss of life, home and business (DONATE HERE TO HELP!), we came out unscathed - we lost two medium branches from our street trees.

I can not begin to even express how grateful I am for every blessing I have been given.

In the interim, the book I purchased on that day has given me a bit of perspective about my writing and took me down a different path during the time I have been reading it. The book is called Writing Down The Bones by Natalie Goldberg and it has been recommended to me for quite some time now. A quote presented on Write On Edge today embodies the exact mindset Goldberg's book put me into:

 

Thanks to Writing Down the Bones and a two month stint in physical therapy where I worked to enter into the world of the living, I have been writing differently in the sense that I have been virtually silent.


This is not a permanent situation.

I am on a path of discovery right now that happens to require more focus than I had been giving it while typing away on the walls of my blog. For some reason I was unable to do both without stepping back, crawling inside and understanding (or maybe just remembering) why I love to do this in the first place.

I'm coming back. I'm thinking about a bit of a redesign. I'm happy to see my words on my screen again. It's wonderful how bright the day can seem after a nice long hibernation.

Telling the Story vs. Storytelling

I wrote, a little over a week ago, about the "big lesson" I have been learning from reading JK Rowling's latest book: The Casual Vacancy. It's all about the art of storytelling. I'd like to expand upon that here.

Anyone can tell a story, I mean if we couldn't, every single social situation would be silent. However, just because someone tells you some story, this does not put them on the same level of JKR. This occurred to me while reading The Casual Vacancy because, unlike the Harry Potter series, this book is has a more grounded storyline, free of fantasy, wizards and things that were created in the recesses of Rowling's mind. So, since the story isn't the hugely unique experience that Harry Potter was for me, i was wondering, what keeps me turning pages? Then it hit me: it's the storytelling.

I'd like to demonstrate the difference by telling you a story of something that happened to me - first in a very straightforward way, and then showing you how my telling differs when I put my storyteller hat on.

Here's what happened:

A number of years ago, when I used to run in the morning for exercise and peace of mind, I had one amazing experience that will always stay with me. I got up extra early on that day, started my run just as usual, but, for some reason, everything felt right that day - the weather was right, the neighborhood was quiet and my pace was perfect. I felt like a superstar!

Anyway, I always run the same route - it's about three miles from my house and back - but on this day, since everything was going so well, I wanted to stretch it out. So, when I came up to the point where I normally run alongside the woods, I decided, this time, to go in. That's when it happened - not ten feet in front of me - I was face to face with a deer! It was majestic! It was magnificent! I was stopped in my tracks. Something about the experience was spiritual for me. The deer saw me, I saw it, and I knew I didn't belong.

I stepped out of the woods and walked home in quiet contemplation. The beauty of the moment was overwhelming.

The End

That's THE story. It's what happened. It's essentially how I tell the story to people if I were casually talking to them; it gets the point across.

Read it on Figment.com

When I started this blog in 2011 it was so I could have a place to participate in the writing activities provided by Write on Edge (back then they were calling themselves The Red Dress Club). The first time I did I used the story of my run as inspiration. That's when I wrote "Off My Trail". I want you to take a moment to read that.

Done?

OK. In "Off My Trail" I was a storyteller. The facts are all there, nothing is changed or added to what happened to me on that day, but this is so much more than THE story I told above. I sat down in front of my keyboard as a more than someone who was relaying the details of some event that happened in my life; I also wished to entertain the brain of my readers.

When writing, the details are important, the mood is the writer's choice, the emotion must come through. I didn't just give you the facts I invited you to feel them! What does that look like? Here are just a few examples I can see:

• In the story above I told you "my pace was perfect", in Off My Trail I gave you the beat "one two one two" --- both of these are true, both discuss the same fact however in one I am telling you what happened, in the second I invite you to feel it.
• In the story above I said, "I always run the same route - it's about three miles from my house and back", in Off My Trail I explained that route, taking the reader on the trip with me, "It is three miles from my kitchen door, to the baseball field and back. It's my route."
• In the story above I said "the point where I normally run alongside the woods", in Off My Trail I said, "the block that borders the Greenbelt Natural Reserve" --- what I casually call "the woods" is the Greenbelt Natural Reserve, calling it by its name now adds life to it and a bit more depth, I think. (I didn't really think of that at the time I was writing, but I can feel a bit of the difference now upon reflection.)

There are definitely more examples, but I am not going to dissect the entire story. The point is Off My Trail , in my opinion, provides a more vivid snapshot of what took place that day and, in the end is a more "magical" telling if the story. This is what I see as the power of The Casual Vacancy. JK Rowling brings her magical storytelling to a story about ordinary people.

I think, this is the true challenge for all writers. We must ask ourselves at each step, Am I just telling the story, or am I storytelling?

With each passing page of my reading The Casual Vacancy it has become clearer and clearer to me that this is what my issue is with my current WIP. During all of my rereads, I couldn't help but feel as though *something* has been missing. Now I know what it is. I have a story; now I just have to put my storytelling hat on to truly tell it!

Do you have any tips for helping writers to wake the artful storyteller within?

Perfect.

I've always loved the perfect squares. They are numbers that stand out, that mean something, that can be represented visually in so many pretty ways. It is for this reason that I get very excited when I reach a "perfect year." Today I am turning 36 years old. 36 is a perfect square, therefore, in my mind, I can expect big things this year... and, hopefully, they will be awesome.

The "perfect years" I have experienced so far are 1, 4, 9, 16, and 25, and though I can't really recall the first year, the other four were very important to me.

4 Years Old

No, I don't remember being four years old. I'm not that amazing. However, something so incredible happened to me that year that it has altered the course of my entire existence. When I was four years old I got a baby brother. Aside from my husband, this other "boy" in my life is the most important person in my life and I knew it the moment I met him. So, yeah, 4 was pretty awesome.

9 Years Old

Like many girls I knew, I grew up a tomboy. Boys were nothing more than peeps to hang with and there was nothing greater to watch on TV than baseball. My team, for all the heartache it gives me, is the New York Mets. During the summer of my ninth year, having another "perfect year", the Mets played baseball in a way I had never seen before (or, sadly, since). Although I had already turned ten by the time the final 1986 World Series game was won, the real baseball joy came from that summer when I was nine.

16 Years Old

Junior year of high school. In my mind, there's nothing better than it. There's a certainty in all acts. You know where you fit in your social circles, you're making your plans for college (before you really see how terrifying it is) and you still have another year to fool around. All of these things were true for me, but what makes 16 shine more than all of that wrapped together is SWIMMING. I was 16 years old when I joined my high school's swim team. It was one of the best things I ever did for myself. In the twenty years since, I have always felt a sacred calm whenever I am blessed enough to find myself back in the pool. 16 - I love you forever!

25 Years Old

Holy crap. What can I say about this year? It was on target to be amazing. I was attending Hunter College I was going for my Masters in Pure Mathematics, a dream I'd had ever since a summer program at Rutgers put me side by side with real mathematicians. I was commuting in and out of Manhattan for night classes and loving that I had an excuse to be in "The City". In addition to all of this, my school year as a teacher was starting out fantastically - I was heading in to work super early, I was ahead on all of my grading, I was connecting with my students and loving all of my classes.

But I turned 25 in 2001, a month after my city was rocked. Then, for the rest of the year, my family was rocked. My aunt passed away who I loved and felt I could identify with more than any other adult in my family. Followed by my grandmother, the mother to my father who I had lost when I was twelve, passing away a month later. And, of course, my grandfather passed away months after that - I felt like I lost my father all over again.

25 wasn't a perfect year, but in its unrelenting storms, it chiseled my innocent form into the adult I am today. I don't know how I survived the year, but, I tell you this, it is one of the most memorable of my life. It changed everything. It changed me.

36 Years Old...

What will be the legacy of this year? So far, the odds are in my favor that it is going to be a pretty good year. Even 25 had such potential for being one of the greatest. I have good feeling about this. Hey 36, I put my two chronic conditions in remission for you and I've been writing a lot lately... I think we might have something to work with here!


And you??

How do your "perfect years" measure up? Do they stand out amongst the rest? Is there some other pattern in your life - perhaps you are cubic? Hmm... not a lot of years to work with there... Oh well, you let me know!

Poem [Quatern] - Words to See

Your words were there for us to see

When tales were told to family

Passed on and on year after year

And teaching those with open ears.

When inks spilled on fruits of the tree

Your words were there for us to see

Artfully etched lines from the spill

Await eyes with the reading skill.

And with the magic of the press

Those pages were filled with less stress

Your words were there for us to see

Bound within leather so handsomely .

Power surged in technology

Transforming pages into "e"

Through wires and waves magically

Your words were there for us to see.

~Nicole Rivera

Quatern

This poem is known as a quatern. The rules of a quatern are as follows:

• There are 16 lines.
• Four stanzas with four lines each.
• The first line repeats four times in the poem in the following places: 1st line in the 1st stanza, 2nd line in the 2nd stanza, 3rd line in the 3rd stanza, and 4th line in the 4th stanza.

OctPoWriMo

This poem is my first contribution to this month's writing challenge presented by Morgan Dragonwillow called OctPoWriMo. Morgan and her other poetically inclined buddy Julie Jordan Scott are challenging us all to write one poem a day for the month of October.

So far I am one for one. Let's see if I can keep it going!!

Much thanks to Morgan for the challenge and also for directing me to ShadowPoetry.com where I learned what a quatern is!

The Blog Hop

To see who else is participating in OctPoWriMo, or to jump in for yourself, check out the links below:

Lessons from JK Rowling

I have always lived by the philosophy "Learn from what you love." JK Rowling's writing, therefore, encapsulates writing lessons that I desperately need to unveil. I love what she does and, for this, she is one of my distant teachers.

This past Spring I took the "Harry Potter for Writers" online workshop. It was an amazing experience, but I realized that, in one sense I was ill-equipped to fully grasp all the wonder held within the writing JK Rowling offered. You see, when asked what I gleaned from my own reading of Harry Potter as a writer I was always left perplexed. Before the course I had never read the books in that way. I allowed JKR to take me on a fantastic adventure and just hung on for the ride. When I look back on the text it is very difficult for me to separate the technique of JKR's presentation from my fanatical reception. It is not impossible, simply difficult.


However, I am well aware that there is much to be learned from the output of the authors I respect, so I do not want to miss any learning opportunities when they avail themselves. Which brings me to The Casual Vacancy.

I rushed to purchase my copy on day one. I set aside my day to be spent in Barnes and Noble reading until my husband came home. I knew that September 27, 2012 was going to be all about JKR's new book. I almost missed my lesson. Just as I picked my seat in the Barnes and Noble Cafe next to the window, looked down at the cover of my newly purchased book and was about to open to page one a thought occurred to me, I can't wait to see how she sweeps me away this time!

HOW

That was the key word. Anyone looking at me sitting there could have seen that I was struck by something: I couldn't hide my reaction. This is my chance! I thought, This time I can really look at HOW she does it, WHAT she does and I can see what I'M MISSING!

So began an incredibly slow read. It is now Sunday, four full days since I purchased the book, and I have only just passed page 150. This is because I am not only being taken away to another of JKR's worlds, but because I am also in JKR's course on writing well.

I've been stopping to take notes, to reflect upon WHY certain passages move me, why certain sentences are so clearly expressive and I've been thinking about what I haven't been doing in my own writing. I have already gleaned a number of basic lessons from JK, that I imagine one can gather from any author they admire, and I thought it might be nice to share the with my readers.

In short, what I have found is that JKR tells A story, she doesn't just tell THE story. This is really the "big lesson" I have gleaned from the experience so far. All the notes I have taken while reading contain all of the techniques required to make that simple distinction.

This lesson is so much clearer in The Casual Vacancy than in the Harry Potter books because, in this novel JKR is writing about ordinary people in an ordinary world. There is no magic or fantasy to spice things up - JKR is telling us about a town that is dealing with some drama, that's all. A man died which opened up an opportunity to shift the political climate in the town (I haven't finished yet, so I don't know how intense it becomes or what the conclusion is), that's THE story, but to tell A story about it, JKR puts on her storyteller hat and immerses us in the environment, the community, the emotions and the feel of the facts.

I plan to write more about this, but for now I just wanted to touch base with everyone, show that my fingers still beat on the keys as my heart beats in my chest, but I'm "in class" right now, so I hope to have lots to share with you soon!

10 Books That Made Me Think

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. There's a new book-related top ten list every single week and it is a great way to get to know other book-loving bloggers! Everyone is welcome to join in the weekly linky party, even if you can't think of TEN for a certain Tuesday (just think of as many as you can!), just make sure you link back to The Broke and the Bookish if you do!

This week's topic is:
TEN BOOKS THAT MAKE YOU THINK

 

In between my flights of fancy into fictional realms I often seek out non-fiction books with the intent to make me think deeply, so there are many books which yield this result. However, this does not mean that only nonfiction reads have such an effect. All books make me think! This list is limited to the first ten that popped into my head - either fiction or non - perhaps if I wrote this list on another day I would have a completely different list.

 

1. Hiroshima by John Hershy I challenge anyone to read this book and not be left in a place of deep thought and reflection upon their place in the world and what humanity is capable of. It is a short book and quick read, but it's impact is as great as the horrible weapon it charges us with remembering.

 

2. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer Long before I was writing here on Rivera Runs Through It, I had a blog called Searching for Sustenance which focused all on the food movement and making the right food choices for a healthy body, environment and society. Reading this book led to many blog posts and reflection upon whether or not I should eat meat at all. It inspired me to take on the challenge of Meatless Mondays among other longer lasting changes in my home. Here's a post I wrote right after finishing the book, just to give you an idea of the things it got me thinking about: Maybe Mom Was Right.

3. Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin If you are unfamiliar with the amazing Temple Grandin, then I highly recommend you take some time to learn about this fantastic role model. Her understanding of animals and how to provide them with stress-free living is just a piece of that which makes people sit up and notice her. The other notable fact is that Temple, in all of her brilliance, is a very successful woman on the autism spectrum. She is fascinating. This book is fascinating. If you are animal lover, this is must-read. If you know anyone on the autism spectrum, then you need to learn about Temple Grandin.

4. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser I blame this book for my obsession with the food industry. Many people have watched the movie that is associated with this book, which shares the same message, but I felt the true impact when I read this book first. The book caused me to question everything in our global society and what kind of impact my country is actually having on the world around us.

5. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer and After the Bomb by Gloria D. Miklowitz Each of these books caused me to question my own ability to survive after a lifestyle of convenience is somehow ripped from my grasp. I read After the Bomb when I was probably around ten years old and the Cold War was still going strong. The book was the first ever that made me think about how I got my food, water and all the basic things I needed to live my day to day life. Throughout my life I have have always thought it was one of the most important reads of my life as it led me to not take these things for granted in a way nothing else ever did. When I found the Life As We Knew It series more recently, I was happy to see that there was a more current book delivering this same kind of message to kids today. Rather than having the basics ripped away as a result of war, Pfeffer's series brings to light a threat that is more relevant in these days: natural disaster.

    

6. Magician's Nephew and The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis I enjoyed the entire Narnia series and could not ignore the religious messages embedded throughout, but the first and last books in the series made me think the most. In book one Lewis presents the creation of the universe and in the last we see his interpretation of the Rapture and end of that world. As a catholic myself, it was interesting to see what part of this story I felt uneasy with as they presented to me in this format.

7. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow In this post 9/11 novel I found myself questioning my own feelings about privacy, security and terrorism. In my review of Little Brother on this blog I noted that I was lucky I found this book at the right time. Had I read this book any earlier, I believe I would have been offended by its message and tale. Therefore, this book made me think on many levels - not just about the content within, but also about how fear affected me and perception of the world around me.

8. Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli This book was a brilliant read. It is one of my favorite graphic novels because of its ability to use the media so well in telling its story. Asterios is an interesting, sad character that spends the entire book looking at the duality of life and assessing what is ultimately most important to him.

9. All of my books on the craft of writing. In my current life as a writer and wannabe published author, it probably goes without saying that any book I read about the craft of writing is going to lead to some pretty deep thought on my part. Whether I am reflecting on my own process, my current WIP or my future, whenever I get my hands on a book about the craft of writing it is going to be a serious read.

10. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien My husband actually reminded me about this one. I'm not sure which part of the book it is in specifically, but there is one point in The Lord if the Rings where Gandalf makes a statement calling in to question the idea of the death penalty. Of course, he was not speaking politically, but, instead, reminding a fellow character that death as a punishment was not their responsibility to dole out. At the time I had counted myself as a supporter of the death penalty, but for some reason Gandalf's words, more than any political argument had shown me all I needed to reconsider my stance. 

YOUR TURN!

Which books are on your list? Are they non-fiction, or did you have a character show you the light of your reality within the binds of their fictional universe?

10 Books I'm Reading This Fall

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. There's a new book-related top ten list every single week and it is a great way to get to know other book-loving bloggers! Everyone is welcome to join in the weekly linky party, even if you can't think of TEN for a certain Tuesday (just think of as many as you can!), just make sure you link back to The Broke and the Bookish if you do!

This week's topic is:

TOP TEN BOOKS ON MY FALL TBR LIST

My "to-read" list for this upcoming season contains a bunch of books already on my nightstand! I'm in that mode right now where I want to accomplish what is before me before I make any other future plans - that includes my reading life. In fact, I believe there are only three new releases on my list! Alas, all but one of these books is new to me and isn't that all that matters? Well, enough talk about the list, let's get to it!

 

1. The Maze Runner I'm in Chapter 23, but I had to return the book to the library (the fees were getting excessive. I have to head back to the library to pick it up to finish it up this Fall. I was finally getting into the book, so I'm looking forward to see what happens next! By the way, for those of you keeping up... YES, this book was on my summer "to read" list!

 

 2.  The Great Gatsby Another book already started. I am loving this book, but keep getting distracted along the way (plus the book got buried in a book pile where I couldn't find it for a couple of days!). I'd like to finish this book before the movie comes out this winter, so it is a definite Fall read!

3. The Universe In A Nutshell  Maybe this should just be on my 2012-2013 "to read" list. I mean, honestly, am I really  going to be able to finish this book this Fall? It has taken me days to get up to page 20! Either way, it is thoroughly fascinating and, thankfully, I have the illustrated version to help me visualize some of the more complex topics (which would be... well... all of them!).

4. Divergent I've been trying to get this book at my library all summer, but I guess because it made it to some local summer reading lists, it's been a lost cause. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get my hands on a copy this Fall. 

 

5. The Book Thief I've had this on my TBR list for a long time now. I remember discussing this book with work friends (today marks the beginning of the third year I am not going back to work!). I think it is high time I get these pages behind me.

6. The Hobbit This is a re-read. It has been over a decade since my first read of the book and I'd like to reread before the first part of The Hobbit hits theaters this December. I am really looking forward to that movie, but I also miss reading Tolkien!

 

7. Ready Player One This book has been recommended to me as a "must read" for my nerd-cred. I'm putting it on my Fall TBR list. I'm looking forward to it, actually!

8. The Rise of Nine  I'm hooked on the I Am Number Four series! I did not like the movie adaptation, but enjoyed the first book. I wasn't as impressed by book #2, so I'm bracing myself for this third one, but still feel the need to find out what happens next.

 

9. Origin I received a copy of this book at BEA back in June and I've been really excited to get started with it. So far (and I'm not that far into it) I'm already intrigued by the jungle setting and the suspicion I feel at the word "perfect."

10. The Casual Vacancy I'm expecting to find this on a bunch of lists today! Who can resist new words from JK?! Not me! I haven't pre-ordered my copy and, as I'm typing this, I'm wondering why I haven't!! 

That's my list! What's on yours? Also, do you have any notes about the books on my list? Sound off in the comments section!