Hello, everyone! I've been away for a long while, it's true, and haven't posted much until the last couple of weeks. Well, I'm back, and hope to get "back in the saddle" again now I'm in Italy once more.
I thought I'd take advantage of this week's Thursday Thirteen post to share what I've been up to lately, so if you'll permit me, here are
Thirteen Things Which Have
Been Keeping Me Busy!
1) Recovering from Jetlag. After four months in the US (from April to the end of August), it's hard to get back into my normal schedule in Italy. I'm still not quite completely adjusted (if my plans allowed it, I could easily stay up until four a.m. with no problem), but I can get up in the a.m. without wanting to hurt myself or somebody else, so I'm doing as well as can be expected.
When I'm awake, I have, of course, been reading. It feels great to get some reading in, as I've been too distracted and busy all summer to just settle in with a good book. Here are the last three books I've read - all since I've been home.
 2) Will You Love Me Tomorrow - Danny Gillan
Some aspiring musicians wait a lifetime for that elusive record deal. Bryan Rivers waited a lifetime plus three days. As if dealing with the suicide of her clinically depressed husband wasn't difficult enough, to Claire Rivers' amazement one of the biggest record companies in the country suddenly wants to offer him a contract. When his status is viewed as only a minor inconvenience, she begins to wonder if someone, somewhere, is playing a very distasteful joke on her. Will You Love Me Tomorrow is a comedy about death, depression, grief, loss, friendship, family, haircuts and the music business.
 3) Conversations with S. Teri O'Type - Christopher Allen Curt Child is a man who just can't seem to get gay, so he's enlisted the help of his oldest--and gayest--friend S. Teri O'Type to drag him a few inches down The Road to Greater Gayness. (Some of you might remember this title from last week's Thursday Thirteen where I interviewed the author - I'm currently reading the book and am laughing with every page.)
 4) The Diary of a Single Parent Abroad - Jill Pennington
When Jill and her family moved to Italy she expected life to change but she had no idea how massive that change would be. Shortly after the move, she discovered her husband had been having an affair and had no intentions of staying in Italy.
Despite being in a foreign country with no income, limited language skills, a house that needed rebuilding and three young children to care for, she never once considered returning to the UK. With strength and determination she accepted any challenge, dismantling a derelict house to ground level, digging out a three metre deep well with her hands to get free water and overcoming her fear of the chainsaw to cut the winter wood. When there was very little money for food she made risotto with nettles collected from the roadside. She overcame many problems, learned new skills and discovered that money is not important, the only things in life that matter are health, happiness and her children.
Jill's story is delivered with an ever present hint of humour because, as she says, 'Without laughter life wouldn't be funny'.
5) I built a bookshelf - at least, that's what I'm calling it. Yes, it's from IKEA. Yes, the kitty seems to approve.
6) In addition to the bookshelf, I've also built two IKEA chairs for the kitchen. Unfortunately, they're a tad wobbly. (Uh-oh.) I'll see if I can sort that out, shortly.
 7) I've watched several episodes of Big Bang Theory - including a few I didn't see while in the US!
8) Since the hubby had the chance to stay home and use up some vacation time the first week we were back from the US, we got some serious housework done. As suspected, I needed some good, strong muscle to get it all taken care of. There's more to do (Autumn cleaning?), but the place is looking better all the time!
9) As mentioned above, there was a spur-of-the-moment trip to IKEA.
I maintained control, much to my own astonishment, and walked out having purchased ONLY WHAT I'D GONE IN FOR!!!!! I should have written that day down in my diary...
10) I did another voiceover job. As before, it was fun to do, and Paolo, who does the recording on a professional-grade video camera (no, I'm not filmed, we just tape the audio), is a really sweet guy. Luckily, my hubby was home this time to keep tabs on the kitty and make sure she didn't get into mischief which would have ruined the recording.
 11) I renewed my Italian I.D. card. Belatedly.
Very belatedly.
As in, one year late.
Oops.
Upon my return home, I found this snail on my sidewalk.
Et tu, Snail?
12) I started sketching out ideas for my next project(s). Included among them are The Off Season (a sequel to 27 Stages) and an untitled novel (a sequel to Ask Me if I'm Happy)
 13) Due to my efforts over the summer on my mother's exercise bike, my hubby and I decided to purchase a bike for me when we got home. We selected this one.
Unfortunately we've had some mechanical issues with it, so were trying to get those sorted out. Once we have, I'm hoping to get back to my twenty- and thirty-mile rides again.
Wish me luck!
And there you have them: Thirteen Things Which Have Been Keeping Me Busy!
I'm willing to bet we have some of these in common, right?
Because I know just about every one of you is a busy, busy bee.
And I know the reason most of you normally stop by here.
It's been a long summer, but I haven't forgotten. No way!
And as summer fades into autumn...
How about a little musical interlude?
Yeah, it's good to be back.
Ciao for now!
This week, I've found inspiration in a number of places, not least of which include the opening pages of the novels I've read recently. I shared the source of inspiration which made me want to be a (better) writer in an earlier post this week, and that in turn got me to thinking about what makes a book grab you and want to keep reading.
I wanted to do this post to share the opening paragraphs of the books which are currently strewn about my desk at the present time. Some of them I read last winter, others I read just yesterday. I thought maybe it would be interesting to show how different writers have constructed that all-important first paragraph (or, to be fair, first page or so). For this post, however, I skipped any prologues or forewards in order to get right to the story itself. (And, yes, my own book is on my desk, in both printings.)
So now, please allow me to present to you:
13 Opening Paragraphs/Pages
 1) Blackeberg.
It makes you think of coconut-frosted cookies, maybe drugs. "A respectable life." You think subway station, suburb. Probably nothing else comes to mind. People must live there, just like they do in other places. That was why it was built, after all, so that people would have a place to live.
Let the Right One In - John Ajvide Lindqvist:
 2) "Have you seen it?" asked Samantha.
I leaned close to my computer so my editor wouldn't hear me on a personal call.
"Seen what?"
"Oh, nothing. Never mind. We'll talk when you get home."
"Seen what?" I asked again.
"Nothing," Samantha repeated.
"Samantha, you have never once called me in the middle of the day about nothing. Now come on. Spill."
Samantha sighed. "Okay, but remember: Don't shoot the messenger."
Now I was getting worried.
Good in Bed - Jennifer Weiner
 3) Hollyhocks don't grow in the desert. Yet hundreds and hundreds of their red satin blossoms line a wide stone path to a flung iron gate. I know this is a dream. Through the gate lie astonishing, sweeping gardens. There are roses. Ivory and white and the color of burnt cream, they climb trellises and sprawl in beds, spill and ramble and entwine. Boxwood parterres, hedges of yew, clumps of lavender, fat and tall, and white foxgloves nod among dahlias, among white peonies. I know that the castle and the roses and the hollyhocks are sun-stroke illusions. The hallucination will pass. We'll climb back in the car and drive away from this madness of silence and mockery. But while the hallucination endures I want to look over there, where gnarled trunks of wisteria and jasmine and grapevines tent a pergola, make a dark, shady room from whose depths laughter comes. How many days has it been since I've heard laughter? Even my own? I walk toward the pergola, and stand at the opening to see a clutch of women in long black dresses who sit 'round an oilclothed table. Tremulous light insists among the leaves, spangles the women's fingers flurrying over a heap of yellow beans.
"Buongiorno," they say before we can.
That Summer in Sicily - A Love Story - Marlena de Blasi
 4) Jude had a private collection.
He had framed sketches of the Seven Dwarfs on the wall of his studio, in between his platinum records. John Wayne Gacy had drawn them while he was in jail and sent them to him. Gacy liked golden-age Disney almost as much as he liked molesting little kids; almost as much as he liked Jude's albums.
Heart-Shaped Box - Joe Hill
 5) I can recall the exact moment I got hooked on the sport of bike racing. It was 1968, and I was eight years old. My cousin brought his ten-speed racing bike to my grandmother's house one summer day. It was the most foreign thing I had ever seen, with its crazy handlbars, skinny tires, tiny seat and angry-looking cogs. Everyone in my neighborhood rode Schwinn Sting-Ray bikes, so I stood awestruck in the driveway and looked at that bike like it was from Mars. And though the top of my head barely came up to the tip of the saddle, I knew right then and there that this thing "fit" me.
Roadie - the Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer - Jamie Smith
 6) 'It's your mother.'
Three simple words that chilled me to the core as I accepted the phone from Joyce, the school receptionist. Point one, my mother never, ever called me at work, and point two, she'd never say she was my mother. She was always Marla -- even as a child I had never been allowed to call her Mum.
Crystal Clear - Nell Dixon
 7) They used to be called the Firefly Lane girls. That was a long time ago--more than three decades--but just now, as she lay in bed listening to a winter storm raging outside, it seemed like yesterday.
Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah
 8) Dan Swansea came awake in the darkness, not knowing for a minute who he was or where. He lifted one hand to his head and groaned when it came away sticky with blood. Slowly (or at least it felt that way), things returned to him. His name. That he was outside in a parking lot, on his back in the gravel, and he was freezing. Also, except for his shoes and socks, he was naked.
Best Friends Forever - Jennifer Weiner
 9) Restlessly, Emily’s feet slid over the pockmarked concrete of the Rovigo train station platform, chips of disintegrating cement gritting under the soles of her shoes. Two hollow blasts of a distant whistle shook her out of her daze and she sat up on the bench to focus on the pinprick of light emerging from the fog.
Ask Me if I'm Happy - Kimberly Menozzi
 10) In June of 1980, Lydia Arnaud travelled with her parents and two brothers to a critérium - a town centre, short-circuit race - in Longjumeau on the southern end of Paris. Born into a cycling-mad family in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a large suburb on the north-western outskirts of the French capital, fifteen-year-old Lydia was the only daughter of André and Marie-Louise Arnaud, and her weekends were invariably spent supporting her brothers, Thierry and Michel, at various amateur bike races around Paris.
Inside the Peloton - My Life as a Professional Cyclist - Nicolas Roche
 11) My suffering left me sad and gloomy.
Academic study and the steady, mindful practice of religion slowly brought me back to life. I have kept up with what some people would consider my strange religious practices. After one year of high school, I attended the University of Toronto and took a double-major Bachelor's degree. My majors were religious study and zoology. My fourth-year thesis for religious studies concerned certain aspects of the cosmogony theory of Isaac Luria, the great sixteenth-century Kabbalist from Safed. My zoology thesis was a functional analysis of the thyroid gland of the three-toed sloth. I chose the sloth because its demeanour--calm, quiet and introspective--did something to soothe my shattered self.
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
 12) It is early morning.
I have been dozing. I open my eyes.
For a moment, I don't know where I am.
Then I remember the night before, the hands on my shoulders, pushing me, shoving me, the rage and the abuse, my heart racing, my palms sweating.
And then, my guts in sudden freefall, I recognise where I am, the bare walls, the rough blanket, the hanging light bulb.
I am in a French police cell, below Biarritz town hall, in an empty basement. A smell of piss and disinfectant hangs in the air. A drunken man shouts relentlessly in a cell somewhere down the corridor.
Racing Through the Dark - David Millar
And, finally, the reason I wanted to post this topic in the first place:
 13) The primroses were over. Toward the edge of the wood, where the ground became open and sloped down to an old fence and a brambly ditch beyond, only a few fading patches of pale yellow still showed among the dog's mercury and oak-tree roots. On the other side of the fence, the upper part of the field was full of rabbit holes. In places the grass was gone altogether and everywhere there were clusters of dry droppings, through which nothing but the ragwort would grow. A hundred yards away, at the bottom of the slope, ran the brook, no more than three feet wide, half choked with kingcups, watercress and blue brooklime. The cart track crossed by a brick culvert and climbed the opposite slope to a five-barred gate in the thorn hedge. The gate led into the lane.
Watership Down - Richard Adams
And there you have them. I hope they've intrigued, baffled or otherwise claimed your attention for whatever reason.
And I'm not crazy. I know other things get your attention, too.
Shiny things. Pretty things.
Pretty, pretty things.
 Yeah, you've seen him before. But do you really mind? And hey - he's readin' a BOOK! Sexay!!!
Okay - several forces conspired against me doing a particularly well-thought-out Thursday Thirteen this week. With that caveat, please allow me to present:
13 Books I Brought Home From the U.S. This Summer
 1) Juggling the Stars - Tim Parks.
Although I've already read this one as a library selection, I bought a copy to go on my shelf. I've enjoyed just about everything I've ever read by Tim Parks. Unpredictable, dark and funny.
 2) Family Planning - Tim Parks.
I'm presently reading this one, which is proving to be another funny, dark and sometimes disturbing story by Mr. Parks. I love the way he blends dark elements and dark humor at once, creating characters you feel for and root for almost in spite of yourself.
 3) Fly Away Home - Jennifer Weiner.
I bought this in the airport, read some there, read some on the plane and then finished it at home. An engaging read and just unpredictable enough to keep me pleased and turning pages at a swift rate.
 4) The Opposite of Me - Sarah Pekkanen.
I really, really wanted to be more enthusiastic about this one. I was drawn in, and there were enough twists and turns to keep it from being just another "Chick-Lit" title, but she hit so many cliches along the way, I was left a tad disappointed. And the tacked-on feel of the ending (which felt broadcast from the start of the book, for me) didn't help.
 5) Shadow of Ashland - Terence M. Green.
I first read this one nearly thirteen years (or so) ago, when I stumbled across it in a library in New Jersey. It takes place in my hometown of Ashland, Kentucky, and I was amazed that anyone would write about that small steel town on the Ohio river. It's an interesting story - not just because of that link to my own life - involving time travel and reaching into one's family's past. Surprisingly touching and romantic, too.
 6) Brava, Valentine - Adriana Trigiani.
I've been a fan of Trigiani's work since I first read Big Stone Gap (again, a book based on a place where I've lived - or in this case, a place I lived near). For the most part, I enjoyed this story (a sequel to Very Valentine), but there were a few stumbles along the way. One thing which particularly leapt out at me was a mistake in Italian (yes, I'm that nitpicky). It pulled me right out of the narrative for a few moments, and I kept thinking "She should know better than that - anyone who's first learning Italian should know better than that." Otherwise, it's another great read with surprising heart and emotion within.
And now, a few books I haven't read, yet...
 7) The Gunslinger Born - Stephen King/Marvel Comics.
I'm looking forward to savoring every panel of this one. The famous comic book adaptation of the "Wizard and Glass" tale in the Dark Tower series by Stephen King retells the story of the coming-of-age of Roland Deschain.
 8) Snuff - Chuck Palahniuk.
I bought this for a bargain price and it's next on my reading list. I really enjoyed Fight Club and Choke, and I'm looking forward to more of Palahniuk's twisted universe.
 9) Heart-Shaped Box - Joe Hill.
Another much-anticipated title for me. My hubby read it and liked it, and I've heard good things about this one - but I'm not letting Hill's parentage affect my opinion of his work. No. I won't.
 10) Great House - Nicole Krauss.
It's not often I buy a book without bothering to even read the blurb, just because I've liked the author's other work, but in this case, I took the leap. I adored The History of Love, and thought Man Walks Into a Room was a well-written and interesting story. We'll see how I feel about this one...
 11) Let the Right One In - John Ajvide Lindqvist.
This one has me bouncing in excitement already. The movie was fantastic (the original - I haven't seen the US remake), sort of an "Anti-Twilight", with vampires who, you know, actually kill people. I've been told there's so much more in the novel to enjoy, making it even better than the film. I'm putting off reading it because I want to read it when it's cold outside, and I can really sink into the story in the dark.
And I don't like scary stories.
Believe it or not, those are all the books I bought while in the States. The other books I purchased were for my mother (a voracious reader in her own right), and I kept myself on a pretty tight budget for most of my visit.
However, there were two other books I brought back to Italy in multiple copies:
 12) Ask Me if I'm Happy - Kimberly Menozzi.
The US edition of my book. Isn't it pretty-pretty?
 13) Alternate Rialto - Kimberly Menozzi.
I had to bring a few of these for my coworkers, students and other interested parties here in Italy.
And there you have them:
the 13 Books I Brought Home From the U.S. This Summer.
I've enjoyed a few already, and I'll enjoy the rest soon.
Now if I could just get some more bookshelves built to put all these wonderful books on!
I mean, I love a little DIY, when I'm up to it.
But sometimes, I need a little help.
And then, once I've got that work done...
 I can settle down with a good...book. Ciao for now!
I've decided to do something a little different this week. If you are a member of Goodreads, it might be worth keeping a copy of this Thursday Thirteen around, as I'm prepping a quiz for that site, based on Ask Me if I'm Happy! (Which, by the way, would make an excellent gift for Christmas, either as a paperback or Kindle e-book...) So when you've read the book, you can have fun answering these questions - and more! - or you can have a go without having read it yet. I promise, there are no spoilers. So, I now present to you:13 Ask Me if I'm Happy
Trivia Questions
1) The novel is divided into how many sections?
a) One
b) Three
c) Five
d) Six
2) Davide shares his last name with a famous Italian. Who is it?
a) Bruno Magli
b) Sophia Loren
c) Enzo Ferrari
d) Anna Magnani
3) Emily had a job in Italy. What was it?
a) Singer
b) Bank clerk
c) Teacher
d) Tour guide in Venice
4) There are two statues on the cover, one of which plays a role in the story. Where are the statues found?
a) University of Bologna
b) Piazza Maggiore and Piazza Galvani
c) Piazza San Domenico and Piazza San Francesco
d) Piazza del Nettuno and Parco della Montagnola
5) The title is the translation of which Italian phrase?
a) Chiedimi se sono felice
b) Dimmi un piccolo bugia
c) Dammi un piccolo sorriso
d) Provare il tuo amore
6) Where did Emily and Davide first meet?
a) At the airport
b) On the London Underground
c) In a parking lot
d) On a train
7) Something about Davide's appearance makes Emily smile. What is it?
a) His glasses
b) His scarf
c) His shoes
d) His shirt
8) Why does this make her smile?
a) They're scratched
b) It's unraveling
c) They're scuffed
d) It's dirty
9) Why does Emily go to Rovigo?
a) To meet her ex-husband Jacopo and reconcile
b) For a teaching conference
c) Sightseeing
d) For the sale of her house there
10) Why is Emily in Bologna at the beginning of the book?
a) Italian lessons
b) For the annual book fair
c) She's stranded by a transportation strike
d) She's there to hire a detective to follow her ex-husband
11) What happens when Davide goes to Milano?
a) Trick question – he never goes to Milano
b) He has dinner with Emily and falls asleep on the sofa in her room
c) He stays up all night plotting to seduce Emily
d) He spends a restless night alone thinking about his ex-fiancée
12) Where does Davide live in Bologna?
a) A flat in the city centre
b) In the suburbs
c) A tiny, cramped loft near the university
d) Next to McDonald's
13) What does Emily keep in her planner at the beginning of the novel?
a) A receipt from her first dinner with Jacopo
b) A movie ticket
c) A photo of Jacopo in Rome
d) A phone number on the back of a theatre ticket
How do you think you did? You can check your answers below.
1) The novel is divided into how many sections?
b) Three
2) Davide shares his last name with a famous Italian. Who is it?
d) Anna Magnani
3) Emily had a job in Italy. What was it?
c) Teacher
4) There are two statues on the cover, one of which plays a role in the story. Where are the statues found?
d) Piazza del Nettuno and Parco della Montagnola
5) The title is the translation of which Italian phrase?
a) Chiedimi se sono felice
6) Where did Emily and Davide first meet?
d) On a train
7) Something about Davide's appearance makes Emily smile. What is it?
c) His shoes
8) Why does this make her smile?
c) They're scuffed
9) Why does Emily go to Rovigo?
d) For the sale of her house there
10)Why is Emily in Bologna at the beginning of the book?
c) She's stranded by a transportation strike
11)What happens when Davide goes to Milano?
b) He has dinner with Emily and falls asleep on the sofa in her room
12)Where does Davide live in Bologna?
a) A flat in the city centre
13)What does Emily keep in her planner at the beginning of the novel?
c) A photo of Jacopo in Rome
And there you go - but wait!
There's one more thing!
 You didn't think I'd leave you without a pretty, did you? Ciao for now!
Hello, everyone! Ciao a tutti! It's good to be back, although I am still bit a jetlagged. Bleah.
In what is becoming something of a habit, now, I spent the summer months in the US while my handsome hubby stayed behind in Italy to work. While this isn't exactly optimal, it has to suffice until I become a multi-million-selling writer and he can retire early to ride his bike and become my full-time toy-boy.
In light of this fact, I needed alternatives to pass my time when I wasn't doing the final, final, OHMYGODI'MSOGLADIFINISHEDTHESETHINGS!!!! edits, or when I wasn't actively watching Le Tour de France on Versus (and silently screaming every time they mentioned that this was Lance's final Tour - we knew, guys, WE KNEW, ALREADY!!!).
In other words, I needed something to do when it wasn't July.
Anyway, this week, to ease myself back into the groove, I've decided to share
13 Books I Bought This Summer
I bought a lot of books for my mom, who, like me, doesn't read books, but eats them. I decided to turn her on to a couple of authors I admire, and she really enjoyed the selections I made. But I purchased the following titles on her behalf.
I started off with a bang - or four, actually - all of which were by my Critique Partner, the lovely and talented Nell Dixon:  1) Animal Instincts  2) Blue Remembered Heels  3) Crystal Clear  4) Just Look at Me Now (this was my first project with Nell, and I'm soooo proud of how well it turned out!)  5) Last Night in Twisted River (Actually, this was *my* copy, but Mom read it before I left the US to come home. It took her a few days.)  6) The World According to Garp (I couldn't let Mom go another day without reading this one! I couldn't believe she hadn't read it already.)  7) Whom Must I Kill to Get Published? (Another title by a friend, which I purchased for Mom. She really enjoyed it, too!) The book-buying frenzy continued, of course. I need more books just for myself! And so, I purchased these titles:
 8) Son of a Witch (The sequel to an old favorite of mine, Wicked - which I discovered by chance in 2001.)  9) A Lion Among Men (The second sequel to Wicked - I haven't read it yet, but I have high hopes for it.)  10) That Summer in Sicily (I haven't read this one, yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Marlena De Blasi writes with a wonderful balance between the bitter and the sweet when it comes to recounting her Italian life. I'm hoping it holds true here, where she's writing about someone else.)  11) Tulagi Hotel (Yet another book by a friend, I have already read this one, and I haven't. I got to read an early draft in book form, before it was heavily edited and had some revisions done. I think it'll be great.)  12) Die a Dry Death (Another Diiarts friend wrote this, and I'm looking forward to reading all the grisly and well-researched details of this novel. I read chunks of this in a preliminary draft and was captivated. I reckon I will enjoy the final product even more.) And, finally, a two-fer! I was doing "research" by watching the Tour de France in July, and thought I'd like to have something besides my own notes to refer to when it was over. Luckily for me, I found two great titles for that purpose.
 13a) Tour de France for Dummies (Yes, I qualify. I understand the sport, but this book - although a tad outdated - had tons of inside info I can use in 27 Stages!)  13b) Roadie - the Misunderstood world of a Bike Racer (I loved this one! It brought back so many memories of tagging along with my cousin when he raced amateur races in the US when we were teenagers. It's both informative and hilarious, full of great details about life in the amateur or semi-pro peloton, and breaks all the info down so even absolute beginners can understand what this crazy sport is really all about.)
So, there you go! 13 Books I Bought This Summer!
Yes, I know...
Not even a long break from routine can make me forget!
So, here you go:
 And hey, he fits the theme! :) Ciao for now!
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