The February Novel

In late January, there was a rare gathering of friends from all across Ontario and Quebec. We managed to squeeze in almost a full 48 hours together before the grown-ups had to return to their jobs and the "adult children at home" had to get back to their fruitless job hunting. It was a magical weekend; we often see one another one-on-one, but for almost the whole gang to be in the same room again was intensely special.
We weren't what I'd call a "dorky" crew during our undergrad days; sure, we did well at school, but we also drank like fish and smoked and passed out in weird places and dated hot heart-breakers. Normal BA stuff.
But as we sat around in my bud's living room, getting progressively drunker on cheap beer and even cheaper wine, the conversation - which had started with normal catching up- quickly took on a literary tone.
It was probably one of the most genuine, enthusiastic talks I've ever had with this group and that's saying something, because this crew consists of some of my very best friends. Everybody- guys and girls- just wanted to talk about what they were reading now, what they'd read back then, which books were going to make great movies, and what they'd write if they had the chance. Keep in mind, only one of us there (me) is a self-identified "writer". We were a motley crew of history majors, education majors, sociology & poli-sci double majors and one long English major. Who woulda thunk we'd come together over books?
Anyway, the drinks kept flowing and some revelations were revealed. Apparently, a lot of us used to write when we were younger. I didn't share with the gang that I had just recently tossed all my high school notebooks, including the 350 hand-written page notebook.
But at some point between the fourth and fifth glasses of Red, one of my adorable teacher friends piped up: "Hey! We should all write novels in February!"
And so a pact was made: we would each shoot for 1,000 words a day, from February 1-28th, resulting in a short novel approximately 28,000 words long. At the end of the month, we'll share our novels with each other. So I should have four novels to read by month's end.
We're now seven days into February and most of us admittedly are rather behind. Personally, I only have about 1,300 words so far. BUT I'm loving actually writing again. My brain is constantly churning, searching for inspiration, filing away ideas for later... it's like a winter miracle. In fact, I'm rushing this post a little so that I can procrastinate on job hunting and get writing again! I might even enter the draft in a contest or something, if it holds up after editing. If not, at least I got my writer's mojo back.
If you want to write a February Novel: it's not too late!
1. Don't waste time comparing ideas, paralyzed by the thought of "choosing the wrong one". Just pick something and go with it.  I was afraid to write a cop novel because I thought I was limiting myself with the genre. I was also worried about writing something that the guys wouldn't want to read. That was just an excuse to not get started earlier.
2. Just write; don't edit. Some people are getting bogged down thinking their words are crap-- that's not the point of the exercise. In this case, we really are going for quantity not quality. Because as a writer, you're your own worst enemy.
3. Set a reasonable goal, like say 500 words a day. Don't beat yourself up if you miss a day-- and don't stop if you're on a roll!
4. Do it with someone! A lover, a friend, your book club. You'll need someone to hold you accountable, and I am literally SO STOKED to read my friends' novels. This is definitely a project that's meant to be shared.
5. Tweet, instagram, pin and let us know how your own #FebruaryNovel is coming along.

Gotta book it
xox
JEM

The English Major Book Clutch Tutorial

Before we get started with this excellent tutorial, first let me say haters gon' hate.  Ever since the Lauren Conrad incident when she chopped up Lemony Snicket books to make a stylish storage bin, self-righteous book lovers everywhere have been viciously deploring anyone who so much as blinks at their craft supplies.
There are a lot of reasons why I think that's wrong.  For one, I think the internet is like the judgiest place ever and it drives me mental that those hiding behind their laptops screens can post comment after comment of vitriolic insults that they would never dare expound face-to-face.  Plus, there's the added fact that we don't know the whole story.  If some craftster has rescued a pack of books from a dumpster and they are literally falling apart and unreadable, who am I to criticize if they use the pages for arts and crafts?  People also have the right to do what they want with their own property, whether we like it or not.  And personally, if I'm going to work for property law changes or to alter people's mindset, I'm going to work on the assholes who think they can beat their dogs or euthanize their otherwise healthy animals just because "it's my property."  But I'm getting off track.  The point is, keep your bitching to yourself, Internet.  Because this is a really awesome craft and it made a fantastic, inexpensive, meaningful grad gift to my beloved friends.

Book page art by TexasGirlDesigns on Etsy

  The hardest part of this process was finding the right books.  I wanted affordable, but beautiful, sturdy hardcovers, of novels my friends had not just read, but loved.  Because it's definitely poser-ish to strut around with a book clutch of a story you've never read.  I don't have photos of this part of the process, but scour Value Village, the Salvation Army, and used bookstores until you find a book that appeals to you and a clutch or wallet that is a similar size or slightly smaller.
STEP ONE: Gather supplies.
Pretty book
Similar-sized clutch
Hot glue gun and gun
Exacto knife
Scissors
Pencil and sharpie
Cardboard and wrapping paper
Stuff to protect your workspace like a trivet and old newspaper
Possibly some foam and fabric if your clutch is way too short for the cover.

Ready to go!

STEP TWO: This one hurts.

The hardest part of the process is cutting up the book.  I know, it hurts.  But if you do it carefully, the book will come out intact.  Be extra careful not to puncture the cover!  Just cut the cover from the bound pages.

Take a deep breath.

STEP THREE: Position the clutch inside the cover, and, when it's where you like it, generously glue it in place.

Also cut any ugly tags out of the inside of your clutch.

There's a saying "I craft, therefore I have no thumbprints."  That's because hot glue BURNS.

STEP FOUR: Wait patiently for glue to dry.  The amazing thing about hot glue is that it's solid after like three minutes.  So not much patience required.  I like this.  Add more glue if you see weak spots.

STEP FIVE: Take the intact pages of the book and measure against a piece of firm but flexible cardboard.  This will be the new cover.

 STEP SIX: Glue the book to the cardboard and wrap it (like you did in third grade) with pretty paper.  Write the title on the front and the spine.  Ta-da!  You have a completely readable, customized, book, as well as a new purse that is totally a conversation starter and a proud proclamation of your love of all things lit!

No books were harmed in the making of this purse.

STEP SEVEN: You can add a decorative tassel or cord to the zipper or cover if you want (Fabricland has great options).

Each will be unique; this clutch came with a wristlet and cute rounded clasp.  See the gold cord along the side of the spine?

|Clutch on the left; book on the right.  Tassel attached to the zipper.

Hope you enjoyed this.  Go forth and make your own clutches; they're great conversation starters.  What better way to show the world how madly in love you are with a book or author than by touting them around everywhere you go?

Gotta book it!

xox --JEM

UPDATE:

Apparently the "in" thing right now, thanks to Restoration Hardware, is spineless books! Another excellent way to salvage and display the inside of your hardcover after doing the book clutch DIY. The evidence:

DIY:

Restoration Hardware inspired spineless books

 ETSY:

For sale on Etsy

Restoration Hardware Catalogue

Restoration Hardware

Restoration Hardware

Bookshelf Organization

I’ve always been a book hoarder. I loved the library as a kid (and still do) I would get out stacks of books and read them cover-to-cover. The only thing I didn’t like about the library was giving the books back. I’ve always had an obsessive want/need to have my own library. My mom tends to lend/give away books after she’s read them. I, on the other hand, re-read books to an obsessive degree. To me they just keep getting better the more times I read them!

My future library!

 I currently have two “bookcases”; one very large one that has been in my childhood bedroom since, well, childhood and one that I bought more recently for school. The big one is organized and categorized by genre. I have a children’s lit shelf, a shelf dedicated to my “horsey” books (a combination of fiction, non-fiction and children’s lit) plus three other shelves divided into classic and contemporary fiction. It’s a good system and I know where every single book is. The second, smaller bookshelf is one I bought for my house at University and houses all of the books I’ve read during my two English degrees. These books are well-read, many of them used, written in, scribbled on and they all have colourful page markers, post-its and bookmarks within their pages. I like my books messy because I can flip to a page and remember what we were learning about and what essays I was writing at the time. Yes, in case you didn’t already know, I am a nerd.

I recently moved in with my boyfriend. When I say “recently” I mean last January. Yet, for some reason, I’m still not fully moved in. Moving is exhausting, you always lose things and I have slight OCD when it comes to having my things in order. So, needless to say, it’s been nice to simply stick a box of items I want in my backseat every time I visit my parents (Note: my parents have been amazingly accommodating to my huge amounts of stuff). I am what some people would call a nester. I love cozy spaces! The one thing I haven’t moved yet is my books. Honestly, it’s like being separated from my children. I think about them often. I try not to worry about them being without me. I fret about not reading them. So, I’ve decided I need to move them. It’s going to be a pain, it’s going to be messy. But it needs to happen. Thank goodness for Pinterest!

If you search "bookshelf organization" you get a plethora of wonderful pictures, ideas and lists. I’m going to post the best of the best here for you to enjoy. This post is meant to inspire me to get organizing and hopefully I can share the results with you soon!

Note for booklovers: the bookshelves I'm about to post are "styled" aka they have a bunch of non-bookish junk on them to make them look pretty. And you can't deny it - they do look pretty. My advice would be to have one big bookshelf that holds a ton of books (it's just practical) and then have a couple smaller ones in more visible areas of your home with pretty accents on them. Showcase your most beautiful books and organize the rest of them by genre, alphabetically or chromatically if you're feeling super motivated!  I also like separating my "to read" books on a seperate shelf so that I don't lose track of them.

1.) The Bold Background Colour BookShelf
Better Homes and Gardens says "Keep it simple! To style a bookcase to perfection, resist the urge to pack in accessories on every shelf. Keep a clean look by choosing a one-color or tone-on-tone scheme for vases and figurines, and make sure to mix up shapes. Every so often, step back to assess the overall balance of your arrangement. Place items off-center or try larger or smaller ones until you like what you see."
 

Better Homes & Gardens

2.) The Knick-Knack-y, Cottage-y Bookhelf
I love this bookshelf for its rustic, cottage-y vibes. It's also one of the only real wood bookshelves I saw. What's up with that? Antlers are very "in" right now so this person got it right with the little deer accessory. The little blue owl is super cute too! I actually have a big green one from Home Sense. I love the big and little Eiffel towers because they bring the shelves together in an otherwise random assortment of knick-knacks. I see what they're trying to do with the horizontal and vertical books but I can't say I love the actual book organization. It might be because they don't have the most attractive books in the world. Plus I would not mix movies and books but hey, I'm a snob.

Wildflower Blog

3.) The  Post-Secondary Office Style Bookshelf
Don't these bookshelves remind you of your prof's office? Here are Apartment Therapy's tips:

• Put smaller books up top and bigger books at the bottom and keep relative sized together
• Try to cull all ragged books (esp. paperbacks)
• Leave a little bit of breathing room on each shelf - @10%
• Put your most attractive books at eye level
• Keep your books straight up and down or horizontal
• Never stack anything on top of book rows

Apartment Therapy

Apartment Therapy

 4.) The Obnoxiously Colourful Bookshelf
This isn't my style but I think it would appeal to a lot of people! This bookshelf utilizes horizontal and vertical placement more successfully than #2. Real Simple's advice:"borrow a trick from interior designers: inside a bookcase, use paint that's a couple shades darker than the room colour" or "style a bookcase with unexpected items, like an eye-catching anqitue or a porcelain statue".

Real Simple

5.) The Themed Object Bookshelf
This bookshelf works like clockwork! Try using a themed object to tie the shelf together. I particularly enjoy the combination of old and new. You could tailor the type of object to your personal style; for example, I would use a variety of horse shoes!
 

Real Simple

6.) The Organized Bookshelf
Sadly, this pin had no origin so I can't give anyone credit for it! If you've seen this picture on a blog somewhere in cyberspace please let me know.... I want to congratulate them! The level of organization is phenomenal. I LOVE the way they have their magazines in baskets because magazines always seem to look ratty and junky!The books are really well organized too and there isn't a single "accent" piece to be seen! Bravo!

7.) The Chromatic Bookshelf
Possibly the most difficult style of organization to pull off, Jacqueline Clair's chromatic bookshelf is pure colour perfection. She makes the mix of books and objects on a simple Ikea-style bookshelf look effortless!

8.) The Modern Bookshelf
Sabreen & Terrence Madden live in a modern loft in Chicago. Their books live on a massive, custom-made industrial sheving unit from North Carolina and are decorated with cool prints, a big M and horse bookends (I want some!). Unlike most shelves on this list I actually believe these books get read! They have objects on the shelves while still managing to have an impressive number of books. All directly accross from where they eat... nice view!

UPDATE: We instragrammed some of our work-in-progress bookshelves... an attempt at chromatic organization and object placement. Instagram us your bookshelf @writersthriftersanddrifters

Lest We Forget--with help from our literary friends

“In Flanders Fields the poppies grow / between the crosses row on row / that mark our place…”

I remember hearing this poem, year after year on November 11^th, usually during a school assembly of some kind: but it never meant much to me. Naturally, English-major-me appreciated how lovely the words flowed line after line, but grade-school-me was totally oblivious to the tragedy and the history, having been lucky enough to live in a world where war was always somebody else’s problem.

But so many years later, the meaning is finally starting to resonate with me. Not because I have since lived through some terrible tragedy, but because of the increased exposure to the history of war that I owe to my education. And in true WTD fashion, the most effective way to yield an appreciation for those who fought, lived and died for their nation, is to read about it. I thought I would share a couple of the best World War One novels that I have read, which have pushed me a little further on the path of “getting it”.

 I feel as though I need to clarify: I indicated above World War One novels. Nowadays, Remembrance Day honours those who fought in both World Wars, and rightfully so. But there is something different about the First World War that I don’t think everybody realizes. This was not the technologically advanced, united-against-one-totalitarian-regime deal of 1939. The men in World War One fought in the trenches—literally—and the threat of death from war lived alongside the equal yet less immediate threat of dying from poor hygiene, sharing disease and the overall disgusting conditions of spending months in giant dirt pits. But better the mud holes than “no man’s land”: a no-holds-barred plain where only the quickest shot and fastest reflexes survived.

This brings me to my first recommendation: Generals Die in Bed by Charles Yale Harrison. Controversy surrounds the novel about whether or not Harrison is depicting his own experiences from the war, but I honestly don’t think the matter of fiction or non-fiction makes a difference when compared to the undeniable fact that while the book’s events may not have happened to Harrison himself, they happened to someone. Maybe my ancestor; maybe yours. But somebody underwent the horrors Harrison describes in his short but dense novel. Arguably the most captivating part of the work is the time dedicated to describing the conditions of trench warfare; Harrison includes meticulous details like the narrator’s inability to sleep on account of feeling fleas crawling up and down his skin, over and under his military garb. Not the most pleasant picture, but one that brings the reader into the trenches, feeling those creepy-crawlers in a realization of what “war” means that was never so apparent.  While I read this book over 2 years ago, I still recall vividly the most affective scene in the novel, where the narrator describes a young soldier, barely a man, trying to gather the strength to retrieve his bayonet from the stomach of an enemy. The youth is unable to do so with ease, and Harrison goes on for about a page about the various maneuvers attempted, all while the enemy soldier’s insides spill from him as he watches his opponent struggle, life slowly leaving him. The terrifying, but oh so real moments like these make Harrison’s novel a great tribute to WWI, one that opens the curtain to reveal the truth behind national propaganda.

I also sing the praises of Joseph Boyden’s first novel, Three Day Road, which tells the story of two Native American friends who enlist in the Canadian forces, and the traumas they undergo as they attempt to stay alive. While Boyden’s novel lacks the atmospheric detail of Generals, it delves into the soldier’s interior, and the psychological affect war can have on those closest to it. The main character, Xavier, watches as his longtime friend Elijah slowly loses his humanity in the thick of battle, becoming a savage killing machine who Xavier barely recognizes by the end of the book. Xavier himself undergoes an irreversible trauma—losing a limb—and the parts of the novel written through X’s perspective provide insight into the pain and struggle that continues for soldiers, even after the war has ended.

It is important to note that both of these novels are Canadian, about the experience of Canadians in World War One. Canada has never been credited with military strength, and we certainly never received the hero’s welcome that America did upon their entrance into WWII. But that doesn’t mean we never deserved it, and WWI was our military’s shining time, especially during battles like Vimy Ridge, where Canadian troops did “save the day”. On this November 11^th, remember that that World War One is called the Great War for a reason, and it is not to be overlooked.

Did you pause for a moment of silence today?

Bookin’ it,

JEM     

How author Jeanette Walls inspired me with words

I heard Jeanette Walls speak at a literary event recently and it changed my perspective on life. I’m not trying to be grand but it really did. Not only because she spoke so honestly and earnestly about her past without a trace of bitterness but also because she spoke about the future and about what we can do with our lives. She firmly believes that everyone has a story worth telling. She advised us to use the bad things, our demons, and to turn them into something good. She inspired me to put my past into writing and take ownership over what I’ve gone through. I’ve honestly never met anyone like her; she is unbelievably genuine. During the event she told the audience that we could change our lives if we “stopped treating people like potential enemies and started treating everyone a potential friend”. Normally I’d cringe that sort of overly optimistic thinking and call it naïve. But she meant it. 

"Horses are a mirror of who you are.

I came to horses late ~ I was 42  ~ and they’ve taught me to trust myself and to take charge."

- Jeannette Walls

Since the event I’ve been reading her latest book and googling her somewhat obsessively. I’m insanely jealous of Alex Witchel who was able to spend an afternoon interviewing Jeanette Walls at her home and who met Rose Mary, her infamous mother. But, then again, she works for the New York Times and I write for a blog that we don’t even pay for so I suppose fair is fair. Jeanette Walls has the exact life I want. She lives on a 205 acre horse farm in West Virginia with her husband in their, as Witchel puts it, “tastefully restored farmhouse [with] salvaged pine floors, soapstone counters [and] wood-burning fireplaces”. But, of course, Jeanette Walls didn’t always have a life I envy. 

Anyone who has read The Glass Castle knows that Jeanette Walls grew up in the Southern states with her loving, alcoholic father Rex and her unstable, “adventure addict”, artist mother Rose Mary, moving, or doing the ”skedaddle”, on a more than regular basis.  Jeanette’s closeness with her siblings is evident in her book; Jeanette, Brian, Lori and Maureen took care of each other more than their parents took care of them. Jeanette was asked about her siblings in the Q & A portion of the event and she responded that “Brian and Lori are doing very well and Maureen is in a safe, clean place and that’s all I can say.” She admitted that she’s been trying to convince Maureen to move in with her, her husband, her horses and her mom in Virginia. She has a wonderfully witty sense of humour and when she described trying to convince her mother to move in with her she said first asked her to let her take care of her. She said "of course Mom said no, and that she lived in the most exciting city in the world [New York] so why would she ever leave?" (Readers of The Glass Castle know that Rex and Rose Mary were homeless and squatters in NYC).  A few months later Jeanette called her mother and said "Mom, I could really use some help with the horses". Her mother was on the next flight. 

The Glass Castle begins with Jeanette being hospitalized as a three year old after her dress caught on fire when she was cooking herself hot dogs. Yes, at three years old she was already cooking for herself. This episode sets the precedent for a childhood where Jeanette and her siblings are given the tools by their parents but are responsible themselves. Jeanette writes about how she loved the hospital for its clean sheets and warm meals but her father couldn’t stand seeing her cooped up in an institution and so the first “skedaddle” of the novel occurs when he scoops her up and carries her out of there.  This essentially sets the stage for the novel; her father forces her to leave a warm, safe place and her mother, upon her arrival home, commends her for getting right back in the saddle and making herself some more hot dogs.

Interestingly, in the comments section of the New York Times article there are many negative comments and people questioning the truth behind the memoir. (Thanks for that, James Frey.) Funnily enough, Jeanette jokingly admitted to obsessively reading Amazon reviews of her books online.  To be honest I had my own questions about the validity of the book when I first read it, too. I never thought she was lying, per se, but I just didn’t understand how it could possibly be true. The book is so raw and so real but at the same time so comical and light hearted. I didn’t know a story could possibly be both and be true. I found myself laughing out loud at the pure ridiculousness of three kids and an infant baby zooming down the highway in the back of an open UHaul with a horrified stranger trying desperately to get their parent’s attention. I giggled when Jeanette went flying out of their car and gets dumped on the side of the highway and no one notices her missing for miles. These aren't things I would normally laugh at but Jeanette's writing style tells the reader its okay to laugh.
  
It wasn’t until I read Witchel’s article that I understood how true the story really is. It was Witchel’s discussion with Rose Mary that cements The Glass Castle in truth and validates that this family really existed and still exists to this day. Jeanette brought Witchel to Rose Mary’s cottage on her Virginia property. Upon their arrival Rose Mary made excuses for her messy cottage and admits “I’m in the process of getting straightened out” she said. “I’m a natural-born collector, a lot of artists are. Picasso died in a 23-room castle. He went regularly to the dump, a man after my own soul.” Those words, that sentence, could have been a line straight out of The Glass Castle. The way Rose Mary at once shows her intelligence and her egocentricity, her awareness of her living space but her refusal to take ownership for it or feel any embarrassment reveals how perfectly Jeanette captures her mother’s voice in The Glass Castle. 

After the event, I stood in line waiting to get my book signed for two hours. And I was near the front of the line. I felt like a twelve and a half year old waiting in line for Justin Bieber. Who waits for two hours? Well, I did. After the talk, I had to meet her. However, Jeanette wanted to meet, talk and take photos with everyone so it took quite a while. When she signed my well-read copy of The Glass Castle and my brand new copy of Half Broke Horses she said to me with a smile “I’m going to write “push and pray” in here, it was grandma’s favourite saying”.  She was just as sweet and funny as she was on stage and I have to say; she really did treat me,  and everyone in that line, like a potential friend.    

PS: The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses  and The Silver Star are all on sale at Chapters right now!

PPS: I highly recommened checking out the NY Times article in full: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/magazine/how-jeannette-walls-spins-good-stories-out-of-bad-memories.html?_r=0 

Gotta book it!

xox

-Jem