Six for Sunday

1. Love, love, love Sarah Dessen's latest, Lock and Key. Ruby Cooper has been living with her mother in what can kindly be called a hand to mouth existence. Moving from place to place. Hiding from landlords and creditors. And, it turns out, from Ruby's sister Cora, too. Only Ruby believes that it was Cora who abandoned them. Went to college and then never looked back. But the truth seems to be something else. Now mom's disappeared, too. Ruby thinks she's doing okay living on her own, waiting til she turns eighteen and can stop hiding it. Only maybe Ruby's not doing as well as she thinks. So when, through circumstances beyond Ruby's control she comes to live with Cora and her husband in their luxurious house in their gated neighborhood and is moved to Perkins Day School, Ruby must confront not only the life she used to live, but the one she's living and the longings of her heart as well. Stir in Nate, the boy next door with secrets of his own and Dessen's usual Anne Tyler-esque mixture of quirky secondary characters like Ruby's new friend Olivia and her new boss at the jewelry kiosk in the mall, and you've got a book that I couldn't put down. Sarah Dessen has a way of storytelling that leaves me in awe. Her prose, her dialogue - it's all brilliant. If you love her work or if you've never read her, pick up Lock and Key.

2. And speaking of books, I do believe it's time to thin the herd around here. Oh, so painful to give away books. But sometimes the clutter becomes too great. Gonna cull through the rest of the clutter of, well, stuff, while I'm at it. (Can you tell I was at my cousin the interior decorator's house last night? Her house is homey and comfy, but clutter free and I'm having a little neatness envy thing this morning.)

3. Finished draft two of CUT BACK and sent off to Michelle this week. Fingers duly crossed. 'Tis amazing how much time one can devote to writing when one is not, oh, what was it again? Oh yes - getting up at 5:30 AM and getting to school at 6:45 AM, teaching from 7:20 til 2:35 with zero break in between. (okay, I occasionally took time to pee) and then staying for meetings and grading til at least 4, followed by at least another hour of grading/work each nite, usually two or three hours. Yeah, I'm feeling the extra time. No wonder I noticed the above mentioned clutter.

4. Have been in the character development stage for the next WIP. Liking my new people. A lot. All I'm saying on that so far.

5. Watched 27 Dresses: cute but oh so contrived. Eye candy only. Finally (I'm the last female on the planet for this next one, I do believe) saw The Notebook. And I've decided that girl world is divided into 2 camps on that one. Either a:OMG it's the most romantic thing I've ever seen or b:Good lord could they just get on with it and who the hell doesn't realize that James Garner and whats her face are actually Noah and Allie. Enough already. Please. Maybe Allie is just faking the Alzheimers to get herself out of this plot (I'm sensing, gentle reader, that you know I'm in the b category. Feel free to send Notebook defenses if you must. I know it is wildly popular. I know it and the book have made millions. I know. I know.)

6. Finished Season 2 of Friday Night Lights, as did my critique pal Kim. So we're both rooting around for another series that's on DVD to take its place. Any suggestions would be welcome. But let me say from both of us, there is no replacement for Tim Riggins. Nope. None. Nada.

Til next time...