The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi M. Durrow

"I always know when they start talking about me or white folks because they start to talk real low. Sometimes I think that I can hear better because I have one good ear. No matter how softly they whisper I can hear them."

"At school everything about black history you learn in one month. I already learned about most of the things in my other school. The main ones are slavery and how Lincoln made the slaves free...I hear the stories different no though. Whatever those things had to do with each other, I know now that they also had something to do with me." 

"I like it when people give me clues to how I should respond."

"I am a good student if not a good girl. Those are the things I will make count. The other things won't count. I can make things not count by writing them down any way I want....It's not a true story, but I tell it to myself. What difference does it make anyway? I tell myself that story because it could be true. i could have happened that way. If there's no on else to tell another side -- the only story that can be told is the story that becomes true."

Where I Live by Eileen Spinelli

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall

Written on the Body By Jeannette Winterson

The View from Saturday by EL Kloningsberg

Heartbeat by Sharon Creech

Wowza. The last half of 2011 wasn't an awesome stretch of reading and writing time for me. While the documentation of titles and book covers was on track with my reading, I never quite got around to summarizing or reviewing. You know what they say about good intentions. They say that Jill is a procrastinator. Instead of living under the delusion that I'll "eventually" come back to write on those titles, I'm simply posting what I have saved in my drafts. If there's something you want to ask about, let me know....AND if you're looking to read anything, shoot me an email. When I moved in February, I packed up 5 boxes of books for donations. I've been on a hot streak of reading these past few weeks (mostly young adult lit), and am hoping to continue it, as well as follow suite with my writing. A girl can dream.




I've now read this book 4 times, made copies of appropriate pages for my students, posted poems on bulletin boards and profusely gushed about Sharon Creech for the past 3 years or so.

This is a story about a 13 year old girl who loves to run. Annie is just now figuring out how to run because she loves it, and whether or not it's possible to express and share that kind of passion with other people.

Annie runs with her friend Max, and talks a bit about running with her Grandpa. Told in story verse, we also see Annie connect with her community and explore her other talents. Her year-long art project of 100 drawings of the same apple is a thread that ties many lessons together for the reader, just as young Annie unfolds these truths herself.

Last Nights of Paris by Philippe Soupalt (translation by William Carlos Williams)

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

Songbook by Nick Hornby

The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty

IV (A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas) by Chuck Klosterman

I recently engaged in an online debate concerning the writings of Nick Hornby, Rob Sheffield and Chuck Klostermann. This led me to again pick up and reread IV. And, as before, I loved every minute. Klostermann has written for Esquire, Rolling Stone, The Believer and The New York Times Magazine. This is a collection of his writings from all of the above, dating back to the mid-90s.

Here he covers everything: Ratt, Johnny Carson, bowling, Radiohead and pants. His interview with Jeff Tweedy is one of the best I've read. I love that he spans from Morrissey to My Bloody Valentine, but also shamelessly profiles U2 and Britney Spears just as effortlessly. He contemplates monogamy and the afterlife, then addresses Barry Bonds and the Olympics.

He acknowledges his own writing with humility, saying "(there) are the two primary criticisms of my writing: that it's not especially funny, and that it's not particularly insightful." Though I disagree. Take for, instance, his questioning of the "alternative" music scene: "It remains unclear what this movement was the 'alternative' to...I suppose going to the mall, although I recall seeing a lot of these same rock kids at JCPenney."

And then there is his take on Ton Loc. "The last verse of 'Bust a Move' states, 'Your best friend Harry/ Has a brother Larry/ In five days from now he's gonna marry/ He's hopin' you can make it there if you can/ Cuz in the ceremony you'll be the best man.' Now, why would anybody possibly be the best man in a wedding where the groom is your best friend's brother? Why isn't your best friend the best man in this ceremony? And who asks someone to be their best man a scant five days before they get married?" Important questions. Answered with genius.

Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind (translated by Jonathan Franzen)

Honesty Time: I had no idea what was starting when I stumbled upon this at the Tattered Cover a few years ago. I picked it up simply because I was trying to read a new play each month. And it was translated by Jonathan Franzen.

The first time I read it, I basically had no idea what was going on....then I saw an announcement that the tour was coming to Denver. A year and a half later, I saw the show. AND. WENT. APESHIT. How it works, I haven't a clue. Text from late 1800s Germany? Music and choreography from late (19)90s pop schamltzer Duncan Sheik and lyrics by Stephen Sater? That'll make sense. BUT SOMEHOW IT DOES. Conceived and written over one hundred years and continents apart, the musical adaptation of this script made it understandable for this one.

I've gone back to reread it a third time after seeing it on stage again this week. (Yup, I'm the girl who'll be listening to the soundtrack for the next 2 months, as well.)

What you need to know: this is a harshly realistic portrait of adolescence. Regardless of time or place, there seems to be a disconnect when one enters into a time of self-discovery. Melchior, Moritz, Wendla, Ilse and their classmates deal with everything from belief to abuse, rape to the inevitable topics of abortion and suicide. If you're into plays or showtunes, grab a copy of the soundtrack first. Then tackle the script.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee

I recently finished working on a show, and have started auditioning again, which found me digging through old stuff in search of new monologues. In my pile of scripts, there is Virginia Woolf.

I served as assistant director on this show back in the 90s, with an uber-talented group. We were tight-knit and virtually lived and breathed this script for the requisite 2 months...and then some. I'd challenge that anyone who's worked on this show has found themselves transformed. It's the kind of haunting material that seeps into your being.

Disturbing, lyrical, and filled with the stream-of-consciousness that Woolf is famously known for, I found myself hearing the voices and being wrapped up in the movement of the story. Albee created a world that is absolutely a tribute to Woolf (so much so that the screenplay for the 1966 film changed only two lines-and that purely for the sake of location). This is art.