Did you hear about the mysterious paper sculptures that have appeared at various locations in Scotland, including the Scottish Poetry Library, the Scottish Storytelling Centre, and (my favorite) the Central Lending Library?

Here’s a few images:

You can read the whole story here.

After seeing Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night Circus, speak, I think someone should make one for her.

(I wrote this about two months ago when Ethan was still breastfeeding a lot. He’s so efficient at breastfeeding now that I don’t have much time to read right now. )

I’ve finally got some reading time again, since I sit with Ethan as he breastfeeds throughout the day. I’ve found, though, that there’s one thing that I don’t like about reading.

I don’t like starting a  new book.

I KNOW! Weird, right? Instead of being excited about the possibilities, I feel apprehensive that I won’t like it. Most books need some time to set the stage, so to speak. And I get it! I do! But the whole setting the stage part is generally something that I have to slog through as I get into a groove with the story and the author’s voice.

My favorite part is being in the middle of a book I love, and I hate finishing a book, because I know I’ll soon be starting another book. I’m saying goodbye to an old friend, and now I have to make a new friend.

Is there anything you don’t like about reading?

Even though I’m an avid reader, and have been since before I was a teenager, it was only a couple of years ago that I became aware of the Sonoma County Book Festival. This year, I ended up helping out on the Author Committee, and I’m pretty pleased with our lineup!

The Sonoma County Book Festival is set for Saturday, September 24, 2011 from 10am to 4pm. It’s held outside at Courthouse Square in the area of 4th and Mendocino. There’s something for everyone — a fun children’s schedule, great literary fiction authors, interesting panels, fabulous young adult authors, and well-known poets. Here’s some highlights:

For the kids:

• Megan McDonald
• bilingual storytelling
• The Magical Moonshine Puppet Show
• The Schulz Museum will have artists on hand teaching kids how to draw familiar cartoons such as Scooby Doo and Disney princesses
• The Secret Agent Jack Stalwart Treasure Hunt

For teens and lovers of YA literature:

• A panel called Advice for Teen Writers
• A panel called Save the Drama for Your Mama: Contemporary YA fiction, which features Kim Culbertson, Amy Reed, Nina LaCour and Amy Reed
• Teen poetry slam (with cash prizes!)
• A reading by Daisy Whitney
• The panel Vampires, Ghosts and Zombies, Oh My! Paranormal Fiction for Young Adults. You’ll be able to see Lisa Desrochers, Stacey Jay, and Sophie Littlefield.

For literary fiction readers:

• Tatjana Soli
• Ann Packer
• Elena Mauli Shapiro
• Carol Edgarian
• Carolyn Cooke
• Zoe FitzGerald Carter

Poetry fans:

• Jane Hirshfield
• Judy Halebsky
• Jeanne Wagner

Panels:

• The Sky is High and So Am I: Alternative Subjects
• Books: The Rumors of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
• Writing Local History with Gaye LeBaron
• Shots Happen: A Mix of Mystery Writers
• Writing for Film and Stage

This is only a sampling of what’s in store for the day. I hope to see you there!

Title: Vaclav & Lena [buy the book]
Author: Haley Tanner [website] [tumblr] [Twitter]
Pages: 304 pages
Genre: Fiction
Date Published: May 17, 2011

Summary:

Vaclav and Lena seem destined for each other. They meet as children in an ESL class in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. Vaclav is precocious and verbal. Lena, struggling with English, takes comfort in the safety of his adoration, his noisy, loving home, and the care of Rasia, his big-hearted mother. Vaclav imagines their story unfolding like a fairy tale, or the perfect illusion from his treasured Magician’s Almanac, but among the many truths to be discovered in Haley Tanner’s wondrous debut is that happily ever after is never a foregone conclusion.

One day, Lena does not show up for school. She has disappeared from Vaclav and his family’s lives as if by a cruel magic trick. For the next seven years, Vaclav says goodnight to Lena without fail, wondering if she is doing the same somewhere. On the eve of Lena’s seventeenth birthday he finds out.

Haley Tanner has the originality and verve of a born storyteller, and the boldness to imagine a world in which love can overcome the most difficult circumstances. In Vaclav & Lena she has created two unforgettable young protagonists who evoke the joy, the confusion, and the passion of having a profound, everlasting connection with someone else.

My thoughts:

Vaclav & Lena by Haley Tanner is the runaway favorite book of 2011 for me.

It.

Is.

Fabulous.

It’s sweet without being saccharine, serious, playful, and fun. Vaclav and Leah are both Russian immigrants, and Vaclav is going to grow up to be a famous magician and Leah will be his beautiful assistant. Tanner seems to have a knack for children’s voices, but she’s able to transition when the kids are teenagers. Vaclav’s mom is imperfect but only has good intentions, and it’s hard not to understand why she does what she does.

I loved this book, and I wish that everyone would read it.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I wanted to tell you about a project a blogger friend is working on. Colleen over at Communicatrix is turning 50 years old. She decided for her 50th birthday, she would try to raise $50,000 in 50 days. Her chosen charity is WriteGirl, which helps empower girls through writing. Writing is close to my book-loving heart!

I find Colleen very inspiring, and I hope that in 17 years I’ll do what she’s doing now. In the meantime, I’m off to make a donation.