First Book Love Of A Girl Named Michael

I've been following A Girl Named Michael for quite a while now. She has two blogs, and when I saw the second was called A Girl Named Michael Reads a Book, I knew that she would be a great person to join the Rivera Runs Through It Book Love Series. She was immediately excited by the project and quickly responded with the following, wonderful story of her first book love. Here's her story...

Hi My name is Michael and I love books. I write about books over at  A Girl Named Michael Reads a Book. I have another blog but its not about books so who cares.

When Nicole asked me to write about my first book love...I was excited to share and immediately knew what experience I wanted to share.

What was my first book love?

Wow that's a great question. First I have to say I have always like books. At a young age my mom taught me that books were special we weren’t to write in them or color in them and we had to treat them careful so the pages don't get torn. I have very clear memories of having books always in my life, I even remember the day I got my first library card. But I didn't fall in love with books until I was much older.

That may have been an exaggeration. I was 10 and in the 5th grade at the time but I felt so very very mature at the time. I and had saved up all my money to buy a book from the book order form the school sends home with the kids. For reasons I can't remember I had decided I needed to buy a book with my very own money. I saved up every penny, nickle and dime I could find, earn or weasel out of people

When my teacher handed out the order forms I very carefully looked at every book and read the brief description. Then I saw it...Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. A book about sister who’s father was off fighting a war. I clearly remember thinking I have 2 sisters (my youngest was just months old), it could be like our life. I went home counted up all my change and turned my order form in the next day.

I was so excited the day it arrived. Remember those days when your teacher would have a big box and would start pulling out the books and organizing them. Then walk over to you and give you your books. It was like Christmas at school. I remember very clearly Mr. Whitaker bringing the book to me, I didn’t often get books because my single working mom couldn’t afford to get me any but this time Mr. Whitaker was walking to my desk. He handed me my book looked at me and said I think you will like this book. I was so excited I immediately got out a pen and wrote my name all along the edge. I didn’t want anyone to think it was there book.

That night after I was suppose to be going to bed I started to read my new book. (I always thought I was sneaky back then staying up past bed time but my mom recently made a comment that let me know she knew how late I was up.)

I was instantly hooked. Over the next month I read the book with every page I fell more in love with the characters and the time. Depending on what was going on I identified with each of the sisters and developed my first book crush on Laurie (Laurence). Because of this book I have had a life long love affair with historical fiction and history.

26 years later I still have the book and I reread it every couple years.

And because I took a “chance” on this book and I loved it, I often take chances on other books. I will randomly pick a book of the book shelf at the library knowing that it might turn out to be my next book love.

And that is all that matters when it comes to books. Finding your next book love.

Getting book deliveries in school were truly some of the most exciting days I can remember in elementary school! I would like to thank Michael for sharing her story with us and for reminding me of those fun times. It really was just like Christmas at school - well put!

Did you ever buy books from school sales such as these? 

What about saving up money to buy your own book; do you remember the first book you ever bought for yourself? 

Realizing This is My Cocoon to Eat

It occurred to me this week that I am stuck. Just like a butterfly in a cocoon, I have made it through the beginning stages of my metamorphosis, then wrapped myself up really tight and secure for the final transformation and have been unable to budge since.

To become a butterfly, there are four stages of life. First there is an egg, then the larva (what I typically call the caterpillar), the chrysallis (the cocoon) and then, finally, there is a butterfly.

Writing can be looked at in the same four stage process. We begin with an idea, which, much like an egg, has the potential for life if protected and handled with care. Then there is the outpouring of the idea, which Anne Lamott calls "the shitty first draft" and which Marion Roach Smith calls "the vomit draft," whoever you talk to it's icky, sticky and not unlike a caterpillar; it eats everything in sight, it's alive, but only beautiful to those who have unique vision; it is unfinished. After the outpouring comes the hardest work of all - the true metamorphosis - the editing phase. At this point of writing it is often advised that you pack away your work, let it be for a while and then return to tear it asunder. I can't help but think of that caterpillar sleeping in that cocoon, hidden from the world and then eating his way out of the cocoon bit by bit just to see the light of day again.

But when he does, he is something beautiful, something majestic and he can fly. This is the same thing with my writing. It will fly once it gets out of its cocoon.

The only problem is it seems I was waiting for help. Have you ever read the story of the butterfly who received help with getting out of his cocoon? He never finished developing. He couldn't fly. It is heartbreaking.

So, for Round 2 of ROW 80, I have one simple goal: I must edit my novel. I must take the time necessary to transform it from caterpillar to butterfly. Will I be done by the end of this round? I have no idea, but if I am not don't you dare try to pull me out of this cocoon before I am done!


Click here to support the rest of the writers in Round 2 of ROW80.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

The following post is taken directly from my hand-printed Reader's Journal. I will be sharing these reflections each week on the Rivera Runs Through It blog. The date at the end of each post is the date of the original writing, which is typically the date I completed the book. The reflections are short, but represent my initial reactions to a book, a brief summary of the book or the questions it raised for me at the time. I hope you enjoy this segment in my blog and feel free to comment on what you read here.



The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Book two of The Chronicles of Narnia surprisingly takes place many years after book one. An enchanted wardrobe opens the gates to Narnia once again to four unsuspecting children. It is an adventurous tale of good versus evil and delves into more of the magic of Narnia, Aslan and the Witch. I was struck by the unique ending to this book and am now officially hooked on the Chronicles! My only complaint is the constant change of leads.

Dated:11/25/03

How do you feel about book series where the protagonists change from book to book?

For readers of this book, did you read the entire Narnia series? Why/why not?

Review: The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss

There are two sides to every story. We know that's true in real life, particularly when we are arguing with someone, but how often do we forget its validity in fiction? Well, perhaps it is not so much that we forget it when reading a work of fiction, maybe it's just that we know it's moot to be curious about such things when it is our protagonist we should be concerned about and his/her perspective of the world. As we read our novels, we can hope that a chapter or two may be devoted to the perspective of another of the characters we have become invested in. Some authors come back to tales told in a second book and bring the audience a whole new perspective. However, never in my experience as a reader has anyone done what Theodora Goss has done in her magnificent romantic tale The Thorn and the Blossom published by Quirk Books.

The story of The Thorn and the Blossom is that of a chance meeting of Evelyn Morgan and Brendan Thorne in a village bookstore in a small town in the beautiful Cornwall, England. The two fall in love while sharing the story of a medieval romance that happened in that very town. It seems, however,  as the story unfolds that Evelyn and Brendan may be doomed to the same fate of the cursed lovers in the tale. It is equally romantic, heart-breaking and mysterious, but above all is its unique delivery.

In The Thorn and the Blossom you get exactly what you ever wanted from every romance novel novel you've ever read; you get to answer that itching question, "What was he/she thinking?" when the romantic interest didn't reciprocate in the way you thought made sense, or when he/she lashed out in a way that seemed out of character. You can do this because once you have finished reading the story, in other words, once you reach "The End," you will find that you are actually right back at the beginning of the story, from the other protagonist's perspective. This book does not only tell two sides of of a story[ it physically embodies it. The book is in an accordion-fold binding, so that the story can be stretched out from end to end with Evelyn's story on one side and Brendan's etched on the other! I feel this is something best seen, than described, so I am happy to say that there is a book trailer that gives you a brief glimpse of this beautiful artifact:



First of all, the story within is engaging, and, after reading both tales there is a sense of greater understanding that may have been lost with merely one side of this story. This is a well-crafted story and I love it for that. However, before I even read it, I knew I must have it. The idea is just so artistically complete - "A Two-Sided Love Story" both in telling and in presentation. Beautiful! A book-lovers must-own, as far as I am concerned.

What was the last beautiful book you purchased (or was purchased for you)?

Are you a fan of two-sided stories, or do you prefer to have your own interpretation of the "missing" side to the stories you read?

If there were any one part of your life that you wish could be written as a two-sided story just like this one, what would it be and who would be on the other side? 
***READERS OF The Thorn and the Blossom!! Whose story did you read first?*** 

Taft 2012's Author Jason Heller Talks Book Love

Last month I read and reviewed a compelling book entitled, Taft 2012 by Jason Heller. I was so impressed by its unique tale and its fun storytelling that I decided I needed to know more about the man behind the words. I searched out Jason Heller and, when I found him, I asked him the question you know I am always burning to ask, "What was your first book love?" He satiated my book love curiosity by agreeing to do an interview for the Book Love Series.

Jason Heller, like many I ask, had many book loves, but said that he, "really connected with and obsessively re-read," David Eddings' classic, five-book fantasy series, The Belgariad. According to the David Eddings Wiki:

The series tells the story of the recovery of the Orb of Aldur and coming of age of Garion, an orphaned farmboy. Garion is accompanied by his aunt Polgara and her father Belgarath as they try and fulfill an ancient prophecy that will decide the fate of the universe. Along the way, various "instruments", or helpers, of the prophecy join their quest.

Jason received Pawn of Prophecy (the first book in the series) as a gift from his uncle. As Jason puts it, "He knew I had an interest in fantasy (mostly because my earlier reading of Tolkien, of course!), and he probably thought, 'Hey, this looks fantastical enough for Jason!'" It looks like his uncle was right. Jason was hooked seemingly on sight. When I asked him what he thought first drew him in, he wrote of seeing Garion, the farmboy in the book.

There’s a painting of boy on the cover of Pawn of Prophecy, the first book in the series, although it isn’t technically for young adults. As it turns out, Eddings’ intimate, detailed, warm, and sympathetic rendering of the book’s hero, the young farm boy Garion, instantly hooked me.


I wondered if Jason felt that he could relate to Garion, or any of the characters in the series, or if his reading was an experience of complete escapism. I absolutely love his answer, "Both. That’s what I loved about fantasy, and that’s why I still love that genre more than anything else. It’s total escapism—and yet, the best fantasy is very much about real emotions, real struggles, and the real world.
"  Isn't this so true? Don't we all find ourselves running to magical, mystical lands on the backs of our books, only to more deeply understand our own realities? We may not even consciously realize that is what we are doing at the time, but who hasn't left a good book with a greater understanding of some piece of the world?

Jason also reminded me of one of the beautiful memories of the pre-Internet world. It was so much easier to be surprised then...

I was around ten at the time, and Pawn of Prophecy had just been published. So I had the additional benefit of being able to buy each new book as it came out—and totally savor it. Back in the ’80s there was no Internet, of course, so I wasn’t instantly clued in as to the release schedule for The Belgariad. I would just go to the mall, walk into the bookstore, and boom, there would be the next installment in the series. It was like Christmas!


I have similar memories of seeing new Calvin and Hobbes books by Bill Watterson and my fantastic experience of reading Stephen King's The Green Mile as he originally wrote it - as a serialized novel. It truly was just like Christmas to see the continuation of your story on the shelf on what otherwise seemed like an ordinary day.

Jason has been a life-long reader, even before he fell into book love with this series. He said, growing up feeling "awkward and self-conscious around other kids...  heaven was sitting in a quiet room, getting lost in the pages of a book. Still is, really.

" He's lost count of all the times he's re-read this series, but knows he's, "read all five books of the Belgariad—plus all five books of its sequel series, the Mallorean—at least a dozen times. Every time I read it, it’s like going home." So, of course, he recommends the series to others,

The Belgariad doesn’t get a lot of critical respect, but it still holds up as a solid, witty, well-told, coming-of-age tale. Yes, it’s bursting at the seams with clichés, and it clings fanatically close to the whole hero’s-journey archetype. But I didn’t know that as a kid—I just knew it moved me, dazzled me, and swept me away.




And in the midst of dazzling and sweeping Jason away, the series also taught him. First he learned through Garion, as he learned on his journey,

Garion is taught many lessons as he matures and comes into his power (not to give too much away!) throughout the series. The biggest lessons he learns are from the blacksmith Durnik, who works on the farm with Garion and goes on to be one of his companions on his journey. Durnik’s basic philosophy—which I only wish I was better at adopting!—is this: Work hard, do it well, and let it be its own reward.

Then, as a whole, the series taught Jason personal lessons of his own.

It taught me that I had more strength than I realized. That’s an incredibly important thing to be told as a kid, especially one who grew up in some pretty adverse conditions (not to bore you with my sob story!). In fact, it’s something we all need to be reminded of from time to time.




 While Jason won't be sharing his sob story with us today, he gave a fantastic list of book loves to keep us engaged for quite some time. Get your to-read lists ready, here are some wonderful recommendations,

A list of a few books that have changed, and continue to influence, my life would have to include

• J. G. Ballard’s The Crystal World, 
• China Miéville’s Perdido Street Station, 
• Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun, 
• Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, 
• Frank Herbert’s Dune, 
• Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, 
• Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, 
• Greil Marcus’ Lipstick Traces, 
• Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Left Hand of Darkness, 
• Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum, and 
• everything by M. John Harrison. 
• Oh, and I can’t forget Michael Moorcock’s iconic Elric series. I do, after all, have an entire arm of Elric tattoos! If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.

I don't know where to begin! I've read some of these, but definitely not all, including The Belgariad series. However, to this list I would like to add the book that made this all possible, Jason's own work Taft 2012. I found it timely, fun and inspiring and have been recommending it to friends on a regular basis. 

I am grateful to Jason Heller for participating in the Rivera Runs Through It Book Love Series. You can follow Jason on Goodreads, Twitter or on his blog.

Now it is your turn! If you are ready to share your own book love story with the world, e-mail me at blogwithnv@gmail.com.