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A blog about my life. |
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So, you have decided to check out my blog, and therefore my life. I started this in hopes that I can stay true to my goal of writing at least something each day. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Before I introduce myself, I need to make a bold statement. These entries are RAMBLINGS and yes, I know there are awkward wordings, spelling errors, punctuation errors, and grammatical errors. This, however, is a JOURNAL, not a polished piece of writing. I use the name Caressa as my pen name. It comes from a character I played in a children's theater production I was in while I was in college. I was Caressa, the red M&M. Now, however, I am a teacher and have been for 20+ years at the high school level. I am married for the second time and this time my husband is a loving and encouraging man. I have two adult sons and two adult step-daughters. I have taught literature, public speaking, and theater. I have also directed dramas and musicals. |
| Have you ever been to an author signing and/or reading? If so, what was it like? If not, would you ever go to one? For the past two years, I attended the UW Madison Writers' Institute. There was a writer reception and signing. Several authors with tables full of their books were placed in a conference room. Some of the writers who were signing were also speakers at the conference. It was fun to meet them and talk with them. One of the local writers' groups I belong to holds a book fair each year. The first two years took place at Barnes and Noble. The authors were awesome to talk to and very cooperative. As a writer, I don't have a book yet to sign for people. No, wait. I was published in an anthology, Word of Art. At the book reception and presentation, I received judge's choice for best written piece and we were going around signing each other's books. |
| The first author from whom I've read multiple books is... When I was in fifth grade, the musical Oliver came to the theaters. I had, for some reason, picked up the book by Charles Dickens for a book report earlier that year. I know it had been on one of the shelves in the basement where I always went to chose my books, but I think I slogged my way through it because my mother suggested I chose a shorter book. Once I finished that book, I remember reading titles like Great Expectations, Pickwick Papers, A Christmas Carol, among his others. I look back at elementary school and Charles Dickens and chuckle. In the middle of sixth grade, I took the comic classics version of Oliver, the audio recording, and the playbill of the movie and wrote out a version of the play on dittos. I convinced my teacher to run copies and my classmates to practice and perform my version of the story. I guess this was my first taste of live theater as a director. I was bitten by the bug and continued through school to gain a position as a high school theater teacher and director. Those were some good years of teaching. I am now retired and enjoying the time to write. |
| The author whose work I've read the most is... The decision is a toss up between two authors for me. For years, I read mostly Danielle Steel or Nora Roberts. It wasn't that it was a romance novel or an easy read, although it was, but it was easy to follow and maintain an interest in when my children were growing up. I could bring the book to sports practice or games/meets, I could read it in a waiting room, I could read it while I was monitor homework. I didn't lose my place or wonder what I had just read. They had interesting characters that I hoped would have their problems work out for the better. I wasn't the only one sucked in by these two authors. I introduced them to my mother who proceeded to purchase and read every book the two wrote. She would eagerly look forward to the next one coming out, but she would never sell them. Now, they are mine. Since she passed away a little over a year ago, I have been working to sell them at garage sales. If you haven't read them, I encourage you to read just one of each of them. I was introduced to her by a friend who insisted I read the Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy: Jewels of the Sun, Tears of the Moon, and Heart of the Sea. It was years after I began reading Nora Roberts that my youngest son bought me a book written by J.D. Robb. He was surprised that I hadn't known that J.D. Robb was the name Nora Roberts used when she wrote futuristic suspense. Those also are quite interesting. |
| As a retired English teacher, I think that my favorite Shakespeare play would have to be Macbeth. I love the prophesies of the witches, as well as their evilness. I also love the greedy desire of human kind and how our fate and greed will do us in in the end. The best productions of this have used fog machines to create a creepy feeling when the witches are around. I also like the scene when the ghost appears to Macbeth or Lady Macbeth can't get the spot off of her hand. |
| I think my favorite crime suspense novel is The Pawn by Steven James. It was a suggested, or maybe free Friday, book selection on my Nook. It focuses on Special Agent Patrick Bowers and his tracking of a serial killer. The serial killer, who calls himself the illusionist, plants clues that are just a step ahead of Bowers. In the end, the Illusionist drives off the cliff; his car bursts into flame; and the reader, as well as Bowers, believe that the Illusionist is dead. When Bowers searches the car and the area for the body, there is none to be found. In this way James leads you to the next book in the series. |
| The following scenario always frustrates me. A FRIEND: What's your all time favorite book? ME: Seriously? A FRIEND: Yeah, seriously. ME: I don't have just one all time favorite book. A FRIEND: Why? ME: Because it depends on what genre you are talking about. A FRIEND: Huh? What's a genre? And the conversation deteriorates from there. I really don't have one all time favorite book. Since I read in a wide variety of genres, I have a number of favorite books; one in each of the genres I enjoy. The following is a list of genres I enjoy. (It might not be complete as my interests are always changing.) ADVENTURE NOVELS - MEMOIRS - OGRAPHYS (BI or AUTO) - CLASSICS - CRIME FICTION - MYSTERY - FANTASY - HUMOR - HISTORICAL FICTION - SOME KINDS OF HORROR FICTION - ROMANCE - POETRY - SOME SCIENCE FICTION - SOME THRILLERS It doesn't need to be adult novels and works because I like to go back and read the young adult and children's chapter books that hadn't been written when I was a kid. |
| OCTOBER 4, 2014 A book I thought I would love but really disappointed me is... I could scour my brain for the title of this book for days and never remember the title. It was, however, on one of the best seller lists - it even said so on the cover of the paperback. So, it's a book I should read, right? If it's on the list, it should be good right? I trudged through it, page after page, looking for what made it right for being on a best seller list. I forced myself to finish the book, not because I liked it but because I wanted to figure out what was so fabulous about the book. By the time I finished, I had no idea why the book had received such acolades. The story revolved around the day to day life of this guy as he went to work and came home. Nothing changed, nothing happened. It was the last book I forced myself to read. If it doesn't grab me, compel me to turn the page, to wonder what will happen next; I don't feel compelled to finish it. It is such a relief to feel free enough to put a book down if I don't like it or I find it poorly written. |
| The first book I ever remember reading was... I don't remember the plot of the first book I ever read, but I remember the book. Our class had gone to the library for the first time the year I was in fourth grade. Many things were memorable that year because it was the first experience in public school. When I was to enter kindergarten, the school district had determined that they could save money by cancelling kindergarten. My irate mother decided to enroll me in kindergarten at a local parochial (Lutheran) school. But back to the book. I remember thumbing through the lowest shelf and being unimpressed at the number of plain colored book covers that only sported a title. I finally came to one with a picture and an actual book cover. The background of the cover resembled pictures of space and in the center was a slightly open door that was tilted. A light pulsed through the door. The title? The Forgotten Door. |
| This entry is for October 1. Yup, it's late because I started a day late. The book I've read the most number of times is... The "book" I have read the most number of times is a divided choice. The first one I need to mention is Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. When it was time for bedtime stories for my boys (many years ago), this was the most requested book. It finally came to the point where I had to tell them I would read it but only after I read them something else first. The best story that revolves around this book came when the youngest was developing an ear infection, but the new medical policies at the time did not allow the physician to prescribe antibiotics unless they saw the child and walk-in clinics did not really exist. My youngest would not stop crying unless I continued to walk with him. My oldest, David, got mad that we wouldn't have story time. I pulled out Where the Wild Things Are and handed the book to him. I had noticed that he would "tell" the story with me while I read it. So, as a frustrated mother, I opened the book and asked him to read it to himself. Angered, David chucked the book at me and screamed, "I don't know how to read." My response? "So, do you want to learn to read?" "Yes." "Ok. Then how about you tell yourself the story as you look at the pictures." This appeased him and the next day we began working on how to read. The book that probably ties with the number of times I read Where the Wild Things Are has to be the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. This was not necessarily by choice. I directed the play which meant numerous read throughs before the auditions and reading during and between rehearsals. In addition to that was the fact that I often taught junior level English courses where The Crucible was part of the curriculum and since it was a play, we would read it aloud and discuss it in class. More than one English class meant that I read each section more than once a day. |
| The book I'm currently reading is... Actually, I rarely read only one book at a time. I am in the middle of The Giver. This is the book I am reading for my book discussion group. This group is an offshoot of a writer group I belong to. Each member is responsible to chose a book for one month and then hold the discussion for it. I haven't read The Giver for several years (over 20 to be exact) and for some reason I don't remember any of it. I like the premise of it: what will the world be like in the future. Several things are surprising me: children come into the world only to surrogate mothers and are raised for a "year" by nurturers and then distributed to different families; everyone celebrates their turning of age on the same day; and your career path is chosen for you. I am also reading Uncommon Grace. When I went to my discussion group, I found that I had tried to read the wrong book: I couldn't get into it and kept telling people through email that I was struggling with the book. I was surprised to find that I should have read Uncommon Grace. The discussion of the book intrigued me so much that I borrowed the book from one of the members and am working my way through it. At the discussion, we talked about what grace was and what uncommon grace would be. The suspense and descriptions in the book make it an easy, yet thoughtful, read. And finally, I am reading a novel on my Nook. Right now I don't remember the title and I'm too lazy to get up and go find out what it is. |
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) I'm 56. I now say "no"more frequently to certain things. 