by Donna Huber
Infidelity is a well-written, emotional memoir, but to be honest it probably wouldn't have been a book I picked up for myself because of the subject matter. As a person with trust issues, it confirmed that I couldn't marry.
Readers' Favorite
Showing posts with label Ann Pearlman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ann Pearlman. Show all posts
August 16, 2018
November 3, 2012
All About Family: A Gift for My Sister
ebook
Published: May 2012 by Atria/Emily Bestler Books
ISBN13: 9781439171387
Source: Publicist
Read: October 2012
Goodreads, IndieBound, Amazon
It seems wrong to say I enjoyed this book when it was filled with quite a bit of sadness. I had a heard a bit about the book - Ann had been on TIE Book Bloggers radio show and guest posted on my blog - from others. However, when I started reading it, it wasn't quite what I expected.
Pretty much right from the start you know it's going to be sad. I don't think I've ever connected with a minor character as quickly as I did with Troy.
I've read other books from Atria, so I was expecting high literary women's fiction. (Not that there is anything wrong with that and I quite enjoyed my other Atria books that were high literary fiction). A Gift for My Sister is definitely literary women's fiction, I was surprised by how accessible the story and writing were. It kind of reminded me of when I would read the assigned books in school and actually enjoy it (admit it, on principle, you automatically hated everything on the assigned reading list).
The cast of A Gift for My Sisiter is very large and the book not very long. I was left wanting to delve deeper into several of the characters side stories, yet, we remained largely on the surface. Even the main storyline of Tara and Sky seemed only to be surface deep.
I thought it was a rather quick read. It only took me as long as it did because I didn't pick it up at all during the week I was on vacation. The story is sweet without being overly sugary. I liked the "recipes" at the end which filled in some of the gaps in the story line and made the characters seem even more real.
If you are feeling sentimental and "all about family" as the holidays approach, A Gift for My Sister would be an excellent book to pick up.
Girl Who Reads is an advertising affiliate with Amazon and IndieBound; a small fee is earned when purchases are made using the above links. A free book was obtained from the source mentioned above in order to provide an honest and free review.
June 20, 2012
Ann Pearlman: How I Write (guest post)
Hi! Today, I have National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize nominee Ann Pearlman guest posting. Author of several non-fiction and fiction books, her newest novel A Gift for My Sister was published in May by Atria/Emil Bestler Books. When not writing, Ann continues to be creative by making art - paintings, sculptures, and jewelry. She also enjoys being creative in the kitchen by inventing recipes. Please give a warm welcome to Ann Pearlman.
I’m often asked how I write, how I am sufficiently disciplined to actually get books completed, so I thought I’d share some of my tricks and routines.
First, I’ve been writing since eighth grade, jonesing for the feeling I received completing an assignment. We were asked to write a thank you note for a painting our school received. The painting was of two girls sitting on a beach, behind them was the sea, stretching to the horizon. As I wrote about the sea I was transported into a sensation of taking dictation from the universe. Re-experiencing that sensation propels my writing. I write because I love it; I write because I want that feeling again. Weeks later, when I’m editing, I cannot tell which prose was awe-inspired and which was written prosaically.
For years, I didn’t have the luxury of writer’s block, stealing time to scribble notes in between my job, and running my kids around various activities after school. Each moment stolen to write was precious.
Then I discovered the glory of automatic writing: Get up early, before anyone else is up, and immediately write, do not edit yourself, just inscribe the words that come to you. The only things between dreams and writing were brushing my teeth and coffee. My language was richer so I habituated myself to write first thing in the morning. Slowly, I rescheduled my life around my writing, instead of pushing it between the edges of my other requirements of life. My kids growing up made that easier.
So I wake with the sun. I write at least five days a week. At least four hours a day. I don’t let myself be interrupted until I’ve done several hours. And then I’ll eat breakfast, answer calls, emails, twitters, etc.
Other tricks: I have words that I have forgotten, igonored in a bowl. I notice them once again in something I’ve read, write them down, and put them in a bowl. Occasionally, I pick one out to flutter (see, that was one…) into my prose.
If I get stuck, I drum. Yes, I play a Djembe hand drum and the repetitive rhythm seems to encourage ideas. So does jumping up and down on a trampoline.
I work out. This is important. After years on the computer, if I didn’t work out, do yoga, and use an ergonomically correct keyboard, I suspect I’d be crippled by carpal tunnel syndrome.
Music provides an added layer of texture to my setting. Writing Inside the Crips, I listened to the hip hop and gangsta rap ( Snoop Dog, Ice T, N.W.A. ) that set the rhythm and the texture of Colton’s life. Writing a scene that takes place in Detroit in the 70’s, I listen to the music of that time. (The Jackson 5, Aretha Franklin, Martha Reeves, ) Sometimes when I’m writing, sometimes when I’m driving or working out my ipod surrounds me with sounds that ebb the time and place into my soul. I ended up so entranced by the rhythm and rhymes of rap that Tara in A Gift for My Sister became a rap artist.
Writing is as much a part of me as breathing. Writing, even if it’s in my journal, imparts meaning to each day.
Find Ann on the web:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
How I Write
I’m often asked how I write, how I am sufficiently disciplined to actually get books completed, so I thought I’d share some of my tricks and routines.
First, I’ve been writing since eighth grade, jonesing for the feeling I received completing an assignment. We were asked to write a thank you note for a painting our school received. The painting was of two girls sitting on a beach, behind them was the sea, stretching to the horizon. As I wrote about the sea I was transported into a sensation of taking dictation from the universe. Re-experiencing that sensation propels my writing. I write because I love it; I write because I want that feeling again. Weeks later, when I’m editing, I cannot tell which prose was awe-inspired and which was written prosaically.
For years, I didn’t have the luxury of writer’s block, stealing time to scribble notes in between my job, and running my kids around various activities after school. Each moment stolen to write was precious.
Then I discovered the glory of automatic writing: Get up early, before anyone else is up, and immediately write, do not edit yourself, just inscribe the words that come to you. The only things between dreams and writing were brushing my teeth and coffee. My language was richer so I habituated myself to write first thing in the morning. Slowly, I rescheduled my life around my writing, instead of pushing it between the edges of my other requirements of life. My kids growing up made that easier.
So I wake with the sun. I write at least five days a week. At least four hours a day. I don’t let myself be interrupted until I’ve done several hours. And then I’ll eat breakfast, answer calls, emails, twitters, etc.
Other tricks: I have words that I have forgotten, igonored in a bowl. I notice them once again in something I’ve read, write them down, and put them in a bowl. Occasionally, I pick one out to flutter (see, that was one…) into my prose.
If I get stuck, I drum. Yes, I play a Djembe hand drum and the repetitive rhythm seems to encourage ideas. So does jumping up and down on a trampoline.
I work out. This is important. After years on the computer, if I didn’t work out, do yoga, and use an ergonomically correct keyboard, I suspect I’d be crippled by carpal tunnel syndrome.
Music provides an added layer of texture to my setting. Writing Inside the Crips, I listened to the hip hop and gangsta rap ( Snoop Dog, Ice T, N.W.A. ) that set the rhythm and the texture of Colton’s life. Writing a scene that takes place in Detroit in the 70’s, I listen to the music of that time. (The Jackson 5, Aretha Franklin, Martha Reeves, ) Sometimes when I’m writing, sometimes when I’m driving or working out my ipod surrounds me with sounds that ebb the time and place into my soul. I ended up so entranced by the rhythm and rhymes of rap that Tara in A Gift for My Sister became a rap artist.
Writing is as much a part of me as breathing. Writing, even if it’s in my journal, imparts meaning to each day.
Find Ann on the web:
Website
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
