During the month of April, quite a few of us are reading or have read The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O’Connor McNees. This is a lovely imagined novel about Louisa May Alcott about where her inspiration for Jo and Laurie may have come from.

I’m giddy with excitement to have Kelly here in real time answering any questions you might have on Wednesday, April 14th at 6:00pm PT.  If you’ve read The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, or are curious about it, please mark your calendars and join us as we discuss the book with Kelly! If you have questions for Kelly, please email them to me at trish@heyladydotcom. I’ll be gathering questions for the author in anticipation of her appearance next Wednesday!

Here is a synopsis of the book, followed by a few discussion questions:

In the summer of 1855, Walt Whitman’s controversial Leaves of Grass has just been released, and the notion of making a living as a writer is still a far-off dream for Louisa. She is twenty-two years old, vivacious, and bursting with a desire to be free of her family and societal constraints so she can do what she loves the most—write. The Alcott family, destitute, as usual, moves to a generous uncle’s empty house in Walpole, New Hampshire, for the summer. Here, a striking but pensive Louisa meets the fictional Joseph Singer. Louisa is initially unimpressed by Joseph’s charms. But just as Louisa begins to open her heart, she learns that Joseph may not be free to give his away. Their newfound love carries a steep price, and Louisa fears she may pay with the independence she has fought so hard to protect.

Readers! Let’s get the discussion started! These are just a few questions to get you thinking…you don’t have to answer them all. Please feel free to add your own questions, and respond to each other’s answers, too.

1. What was your overall view of the book?  Did you enjoy it?  Was it what you expected?

2. What kind of details did the author provide that you felt added to the historical authenticity of the book?

3. Before you read this book, is this even remotely similar to what you imagined Louisa May Alcott’s life as being?

4. How did you feel about Louisa’s father? How did you feel about Louisa’s mother?

5. Do you think Louisa’s father played any role in her not wanting to get married?

6. Did you agree with Louisa that it wouldn’t have been possible to have both love and freedom?

7. What do you think the author’s message was?

8. Was the ending what you imagined and/or what you hoped for?

9. Did reading The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott make you want to reread Little Women, or perhaps pick it up for the first time?

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott. Thanks for participating in the read along!  And don’t forget to join us on April 14th for our discussion with Kelly!

This recipe was born one day basically because I had a sweet tooth, I had vanilla ice cream, and I had Oreos. I’m rather picky about what items of food I mix, but Cookies ‘n Cream ice cream has always been a favorite of mine, so this seemed quite obvious once I’d done it.

Here’s what you’ll need to start:

Dreyer’s Vanilla Ice Cream (Dreyer’s is my favorite, and while I suppose you could use a different vanilla ice cream, I don’t understand why you would) and three frozen Oreos (when they’re frozen, I’ve found they produce a better grind than when they’re not frozen. Also, you get delicious chunks of frozen Oreo that didn’t crush up, and those are DELICIOUS in your ice cream.).

Scoop some ice cream into a bowl.

Place frozen Oreos in a blender. This little mini-blender is actually a baby food blender that I got for something like $20 at Burlington Coat Factory in their baby department. It chops up garlic, onions, oreos, and whatever else amazingly well. Also, it’s small so cleaning is no biggie.

Pulse until it you have some very, powder-like Oreo cookie, but also some chunks. Again, this works way better if the Oreos are frozen.

Pour the crushed cookies over your ice cream.

Don’t skimp. Pour ALL of the crushed cookies over your ice cream.

You could eat it now like this. It really is delicious, with the creamy texture of the ice cream against the grainy texture of the crushed Oreos. I prefer to mix the whole thing up, though.

Mix up the ice cream and crushed cookies, so you have homemade Cookies ‘n Cream ice cream. Doesn’t it look delicious?! I promise, it’s just as awesome as you’re thinking. If, perhaps, you’re thinking this looks gross, then GOOD! More homemade Cookies ‘n Cream ice cream for ME!

Earlier in 2009, I was thinking about my reading habits and how they’ve changed since I started blogging. Of course, I’ve been reading more, which is fantastic. But a downfall of blogging (and being on Twitter) is hearing about REALLY FANTASTIC BOOKS. I know. Terrible problem.

But seriously, that IS a problem. Because as a reader? I hear about a new book and I want to have read it YESTERDAY. It’s not just that the book goes on to that ever-expanding list of books I want to read. Rather, I either mooch the book, buy the book, or check the book out from the library IMMEDIATELY. And I read that book! And just as I finish that book, another book catches my attention and I’m immediately distracted by this new book, like a two-year-old distracted by something shiny.

Don’t get me wrong! I read some AWESOME books in 2009, many more than I read in 2008. It’s just…well…

What got me thinking about this back in 2009 was the fact that I’ve been wanting to read more Joyce Carol Oates for a LONG TIME. Like, since before I was blogging. And yet I’ve only read one book by Joyce Carol Oates since I’ve been blogging. I decided that reading like a two-year-old distracted by something shiny is not how I want to read. I want to read more deliberately.

What kind of books do I want to read in 2010? I want to read more literary fiction. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to read YA. It just means that I want to read more of what I’m passionate about, and I’m passionate about literary fiction.

Sidebar: If I read more literary fiction this year, that means I’ll also read more crime fiction/mystery/thriller/suspense books, because those are my snacks in between hearty meals.

Does this mean I won’t do blog tours or accept review copies? Absolutely not! Reading deliberately isn’t about cutting back on anything, really. It’s just about being deliberate about what I *do* accept. In fact, I think I did well on accepting only books I was really interested in in 2009 (mostly literary fiction and a random YA), so I don’t necessarily need to cut back there. Reading deliberately is, well, just that: reading deliberately.

Since I’ve been planning this out, I have a couple of challenges that I’ll be unveiling. They’re not fantastic or amazing, they’re just challenges that will help *me* achieve my reading goals. If they happen to interest you, then I’d love for you to join in!

Here are some authors I plan on reading deliberately in 2010:

• Joyce Carol Oates
• Margaret Atwood
• Leo Tolstoy
• Barbara Kingsolver
• John Irving
• Ernest Hemingway
• Thomas Trofimuk

I haven’t laid out all the books I’ll read this year, as there should be room for spontaneity. But part of reading deliberately will include reading more of what I already own, and less of what I can acquire immediately. Another part of reading deliberately will include having more of a balance in books that challenge me and books that are pure entertainment.

Might this mean that I won’t read AS MANY books as I did in 2009? Or that I won’t reach my goal of reading 100 books in 2010? Perhaps. But I think my quality will make my quantity moot.

Many bloggers are taking up reading deliberately. The term was coined on Twitter after Jennifer from The Literate Housewife, Vassily from 1330v, Rebecca from The Book Lady’s Blog, and Michelle from Galleysmith were chatting on Twitter about this very topic. Here are some bloggers who are making 2010 The Year of Reading Deliberately:

The Book Lady’s Blog

The Literate Housewife

1330v

Galleysmith

Nomadreader

Books and Movies

Care’s Online Book Club

Shelf Love

Rebecca Reads

Linus’s Blanket

Medieval Bookworm

What are your reading goals for 2010? If you’re a non-blogger, what are your reading habits? How do you choose your next book? If you’re a blogger, does blogging help you with your reading goals or hinder you?

SQUEEEEE!!! Let’s talk!

Okay. So. I went to see Twilight tonight with my friend, and my other friend called me up today to tell me about the movie, so I’ll be quoting her a little bit here.

This movie was so bad it was good. It was HORRIBLE. But that’s what made it great.

First of all…EDWARD. Not how I pictured him, and he totally creeped me out. I don’t think he’s good looking and they didn’t make his paleness look natural. It looked like he had white powder on him. And wasn’t his chest supposed to be hair-less? I could be wrong on that, but that’s how I pictured him. And those EYEBROWS!! Oh my god those eyebrows. They were very distracting to me since all I could think of was how he needs to thin those bad boys and let them go a little wilder (as in, they shouldn’t be so perfectly shaped). No girl wants a guy that’s going to pluck his eyebrows how Edward’s were done.

And then there’s Bella. Who’s very “angsty.” Umm, can we get a smile here? She doesn’t even smile when she’s happy. Please. That gets old. And could she please close her mouth?! GAH! I thought her acting was horrible.

In a town as small as Forks, they probably wouldn’t have a high school as big as they portrayed in the movie. At least, the high school seemed WAY BIGGER than it needed to be for such a little town.

But Alice? Oh, Alice, she was right on the money. MWAH!

And if they insist on giving Carlisle blond hair, why does it have to be so obviously dyed? Is there no one in Hollywood who can dye ROOTS? Because my stylist does a bang up job every five to six weeks.

HOLY CLOSE-UPS. Seriously, that director should learn the words “pan out”.

OH! OH! OH! The other good part was Jacob’s dad. I thought he was cool.

But the lines? Seriously, did Edward really call Bella his spider monkey?? That’s cute if your hubby says that in private, not so cute on screen. Some of the lines were so over the top that the whole audience was giggling. And maybe, just maybe, the movie was supposed to be tongue in cheek. But somehow I doubt it.

I’M NOT DONE WITH ALL CAPS!

AND! Did they really have Bella say on the screen, “Death is easy, peaceful. It’s living that’s hard.” HELLO! This movie is targeted to the demographic that has the highest rate of suicide? I’m not saying this movie could be blamed for kids committing suicide, I just don’t think it’s an appropriate message to put in front of teenagers.

Your turn!! Tell me what you thought. I was practically giddy when the movie finished and I MUST TALK ABOUT IT.

Dear Books Waiting to be Reviewed,

I’m sorry you’ve been waiting so long for your review. I’ll get to you, I promise! It’s just that I had to check a coupla things on WordPress and next thing I know it’s late and if I don’t get in bed now I won’t have time to read. Surely you understand! If you’re angry, blame her:

I didn’t think I’d like it as much as I do, so I apologize to you. I will get to your reviews this weekend. Probably. Unless I haven’t finished Comfort Food. Erm, I mean, no matter what.

See ya later! I’m off to read in bed! Love ya! ~trish