Tattoo Machine (copy)

Not just for drunken sailors anymore, tattoos are appearing on more skin then birthmarks. What is the fascination with decorating ones’ skin? If you ran away from the doctor ready to inoculate you as a child, why sit still for multiple pricks as an adult? I get the argument that it makes one unique, but if everyone is doing it who is unique?

I picked up Jeff Johnson’s new book Tattoo Machine looking for the answer. What I got was a whole lot of fun akin to sitting around a campfire listening to horror stories.

Johnson owns a century run tattoo shop in Portland, Oregon called the Sea Tramp Tattoo Company. In his many years of customer service he has seen a variety of clientele. No two people are alike but as the sticking time approaches a couple of categories begin to emerge.

The shop has its own vocabulary for these stereotypes. The person who comes armed with pain pills is a bunny. One who loses his lunch is a chudder and an appointment that greedily downs fast food before the session is a taco valve. Customers are encouraged to eat before the needling, but isn’t the taco valve looking to chudder?!?

Among the many stories Johnson relates, one made me chuckle in agreement. In his location he has the opportunity to work on many a homesick GI. State flags are popular amongst this group as a quick display of pride. One such GI asked for the Texas state flag. Johnson explained that he did not own a book of flags and the young man should visit the library for an example. The GI shook his head and said he knew the flag by heart and began to draw it on a napkin. The following week the GI stomped into the store and yelled, “I’m Texan not Portuguese!”

In Johnson’s 18 years of artistry, he has gathered some strong opinions on fellow artist. He looks down on those who call their machine a gun. He dislikes sloppy and lazy workers who draw on their customers with a pen or toothpick dipped in ink. It is accepted if one is emulating smoke or wind; otherwise, these are “Night Hogs” in his opinion and not true artist. “Direct-to-skin drawing, at its worst, is a pressure sales tactic.”

As for the psychology of decorating ones skin, the book gives no answer, but it is packed with pure unadulterated fun. I must warn you. The author is very much in the style of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. He throws out the off-color jokes and slings the slang like no one’s business.

Tattoo Machine (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2009/08/tattoo-machine-copy.html

Your Own Sylvia (copy)

I love this book! Last night I picked up Your Own, Sylvia by Stephanie Hemphill and read through it like a runaway train. Why? What propelled me? Is it that good?

Yes! It is the biography of Sylvia Plath written in verse chronologically from birth to tragic suicide. Marketed for teenagers, it enjoys a plethora of awards including the 2008 American Library Association Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults and 2008 Michael L. Printz Honor Book.

What a great way to introduce Sylvia Plath to a whole new reading audience. In my education she was sorely missed. I lacked exposure to her poems or books during high school and college although my friends were reading The Bell Jar as a word-of-mouth choice. I guess the educators thought it best not to study a woman who wrote with suicidal tendencies, but from Your Own, Sylvia readers will realize there is more to Plath’s writing.

The poems are written as if the person in Sylvia’s life at the time is speaking. For example, the poem titled “First Publication” is written as if the editor of the Boston Herald is speaking to the reader about Sylvia’s first published poem at the age of eight. Footnotes are included for each poem that explains the history behind the event or person featured. At the bottom of “First Publication” the footnote reads, “‘Poem,’ a sweet rhyming verse about crickets and fireflies, appeared in the Sunday Boston Herald on August 11, 1941, on the ‘Good Sport Page’ of the children’s section.”

I like the fact that this book leads readers to other books. It is natural to have the desire to read The Bell Jar after one finds out the real people who populate the fictional pseudo autobiography. For example, Janet Wagner who vocalizes the poem “Stigmata” appears in The Bell Jar as the “sweet, farm-fresh Betsy from Kansas.” In real life, the two were friends while guest editors for Mademoiselle magazine.

Need more convincing? Here are the first lines of “Owning Sylvia Plath” as vocalized through a reader of her poems.

Who are you, Sylvia Plath?
A cold comet locked in place by gravity?
A glint in the cracked ceiling above my bed?

Something shimmers out of your chasm.
Your language feels like words
trapped under my tongue.

Your Own Sylvia (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2009/08/your-own-sylvia-copy.html

Magazines Anyone? (copy)

I picked up an old habit over the summer. I am now running two miles without stopping. Along with my new obsession comes a healthy curiosity. Do I run to the library and check out books on running to fulfill my need to know more? Well no, I take the easy approach. I subscribed to Runner’s World magazine.

Without prompting from me, two of my carpool buddies (new to the running thing) are also subscribing to the magazine. They look forward to their first month’s issue having read articles from hand-me-down copies. This example is proof others want to learn everything they can about a hobby. It is a shared human experience.

Do you have a son or daughter with a hobby such as gymnastics, football, basketball, knitting, drawing or sewing? Do they also balk at reading? Here is your chance to shine.

Subscribe to a magazine that follows a favorite hobby such as Sports Illustrated or VIBE. When the issue arrives place it in the teenager’s room and then casually walk away. Say nothing about reading it or how much it cost or “I was thinking…” merely walk away.

Reading magazines counts as reading. Who cares if the quality is questionable? It is the fact kids are reading and exposing themselves to different vocabularies and sentence structures without the pressure of test taking afterwards that has huge appeal. One can learn from fun, senseless reading, too.

I see you shaking your head at me. Your child’s hobbies are video games or talking/texting on their cell phone while in the home. Well, gamers will be thrilled with GamePro magazine. This monthly rag rates the latest games from every system and every genre. Packed with secret codes to advance players and thought provoking articles like “Versus Mode” where they pit game hero against game hero such as Inspector Tequila against Max Payne, will enthrall young readers.

Cell phone chatterers can find amusement in entertainment magazines. We at the library like to thumb through the pages of PEOPLE magazine. We look at the pictures and read the captions, but rarely do we actually read an article. Again, it may not be quality reading but it is active reading not before seen from that texting teenager. Sorry, I was unable to find a magazine for texting.

Consider magazines for those in your home who do not read. They could be the stepping stones to a reading future.

Magazines Anyone? (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2009/08/magazines-anyone-copy.html

Books to Movies (copy)

There is nothing like the refreshing sensation of watching a movie in a cool dark cinema on a hot summer day. During this summer’s season, many books-to-movies have graced the screen such as Angels and Demons, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and My Sister’s Keeper. Well people, don’t put the popcorn away just yet!

August promises two bestsellers on movie screens ready to divert your attention from the heat. First is Julie & Julia based on the book Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell. Meryl Streep plays the role of Julia Childs. Will she be able to master the trembling vibrato of Childs’ voice?

The second movie is The Time’s Traveler’s Wife based on Audrey Niffenegger’s book by the same title. Back in 2004, I remember spending nights dreaming about the characters. In my sleep, I would compose all sorts of dialog for when Henry and Claire would see each other again. The story has them apart for years and only together for brief periods in time.

Unfortunately, I will sit and analysis the movie to pieces. Because I love the book, I will descend the cinema aisle determined not to allow the movie to surpass my reading experience. I am doomed to compare and contrast everything such as the characters, settings, plot, and theme. Will nothing escape my memory’s eye?

It is my hope the actors chosen to portray Henry and Clare, Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams, will meet my high standards. Bana, being unknown, will help preserve my vision of Henry, but I contain less promise for McAdams.

Before the year ends, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is set for release. The wife’s brief appearance is played by Charlize Theron and the father by Viggo Mortensen. This post-apocalyptic story which won a Pulitzer may not appeal to all viewers just as the book. I cringe thinking the producers might place a feel-good ending on a book that left the future in the reader’s hands.

Last but not least, is my all-time favorite children’s picture-book Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. I use the book often in story times where I gather children tightly on an imaginary island while I encircle them reading. They become the “Wild Things” as I play the part of King Max. What a thrill it will be to see this and other books mentioned on the big screen.

Note: Julie & Julia was a delight! I almost wanted to come home and cook, but let's not get carried away!

Books to Movies (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2009/08/books-to-movies-copy.html

It's a Bust!

Sorry Guys! I really let the Southern Reading Challenge die this year. I ran one contest and sent out one thing of pecans; although, I drew for two more peeps. My heart just wasn't into it.

I personally killed it by choosing an easier way to write my weekly articles for the summer. By using a travel theme, I was assured a built in opening paragraph. Y'all have no idea! It takes me literally hours to get that first paragraph, but then the rest usually falls into place. Well, by choosing the travel theme, it meant I had to do places other than my backyard - other than Southern! Stupid!

Here is Mister Linky for that last review and wrap-up. No need to do a separate post. I don't deserve it! Blogger and author Keetha DePriest Reed, autographed her latest book, More Culinary Kudzu: Recollections & Recipes from Growing Up Southern for a prize! Keetha blogs at Write Kudzu and is a newlywed! Here is a little interview I found for her. Find reviews here.

It's a Bust!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2009/08/its-bust.html