Super Quick Reading Update and Book Club Pick

Hey ladies and lovelies. It's been way too long. My brain is bursting with all these fabulous things I want to share with you- great articles and compelling interviews with ladies breaking stereotypes and all the nerdy things I want for my birthday. I turn 30 in a few days and I cannot wait to be into the next decade of this awesome life.

At this exact moment, however, I've just restarted school and I am flat out exhausted trying to figure out how to teach 22 first graders, get home and do some laundry/potty train the 2-year-old/validate the 3-year-old/watch a damn episode of Doctor Who, then organize myself and my family to get up and do it again the next day.  I love routines, and we're pulling ourselves, hand over fist, into a new one for this particular autumn of our lives. I have more desire than time.

Here are some things that make me monstrous when I skip them: exercise, chugging water, and reading. None of these can be sacrificed, I am learning the hard way. I've gone on enough about the importance of the first two (Bi-yearly PSA for Ashlie: YOUR OCCASIONAL DEPRESSIVE EPISODE IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO DROPPING EXERCISE AND/OR WATER CONSUMPTION IN THE NAME OF BEING TOO BUSY) but I wanted to stop in and tell you about what I've been reading, and invite you to do a little reading with me.

Right now I'm reading a total mishmash of things. The third installment of the Peculiar novels, Library of Souls, is a perfect October creepy read, even if I'm having a difficult time getting into it. I have a feeling I'll like it more once I can devote a solid hour to it. I've been waiting for Julie Murphy's Dumplin FOREVER- "self-proclaimed fat girl" and the fact that it starts with a gorgeous ex-jock coworker falling for her both sold me. I'm also carrying around Generation Why, volume 2 of Ms. Marvel, mainly admiring the cover until I have time to let myself read it front to back, which is exactly how I enjoyed the first volume. Thanks to a kinder-than-necessary friend, I have Mindy Kaling's latest, Why Not Me, which is an awesome title and also maybe a new mantra?  And I am waiting, waiting, waiting for Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, which is released on my birthday, and if that's not fate than NOTHING IS!

We skipped Be Your Own Book Club in September, because by the time I thought I had picked something and was ready to write about it, the month was nearly over. Many of you who actively participate are also teachers, and I thought we could all use a little break. However, now that it's October, I want to get a little creepy. And Neil Gaiman is the perfect author to get us there. I struggled a little on which way to go with a Gaiman pick. He is incredibly prolific, publishing comic books, children's books, YA novels, horror, comedy, and more. I want to read Coraline, and may, in October, but our pick this month is The Ocean at the End of the Lane. My aunt suggested it, and the reviews used words like haunting, dark,  and  brilliant. It seems very quotable, too, which is always a plus.

SO there we have it. Some great books that are definitely worth checking out, and a slightly creepy, perfectly seasonal read to restart Be Your Own Book Club. Are you going to read along with us? Any other good ghostly books?  Let me know, sweet tarts! Happy reading!

NaNoWriMo Is Eating My Soul and I Like It.

As I predicted, almost all of my time has been consumed with working on NaNoWriMo.  On one hand, it's a little crippling, because I've adjusted almost every part of my life to make this work: I've stopped running or doing a circut at the gym, because while I'm on the elliptical is my only chance to read.  I've stalled halfway through a big stack of adorable thank you cards I made after Milo's birthday.  We picked out a new dresser from Salvation Army a week ago, and I still have baskets of laundry surrounding empty furniture.  I think about reading and writing all the time.

Still, I'm loving this.  A big part of what makes it so exciting for me is how interested Ben is in the project, and how much he encourages me.  We were out to do some Christmas shopping and errands together last week, kid free, and we talked about my plot and characters and he gave me a tip that changed the structure of the story to something I felt much more comfortable bringing to life.  I remember sneaking his printed screenplays into class to reading during lectures in college and being so impressed with him.  I've always admired his writing style, especially his dialogue, so having him compliment me and talk about my story with true interest is super flattering.

I was thinking about how I'd like to do this every November from here on out (unless it gets torturous and painful near the end and I change my mind completely) and how lovely it is to add another tradition to month that's already full of it.  I'm into Thanksgiving.  My family doesn't travel, my sister always comes Black Friday shopping with me, and we get a tree that weekend.  But I also love some of the lower-profile happenings.  Small Business Saturday is a huge push for some of the holiday-season cash flow to get rerouted into smaller businesses in your community, and I love hunting down the best local places to pick up some gifts.  I'm also getting happy tingles about The National Day of Listening.  StoryCorps is one of my favorite things in existence, and I wish constantly that I asked more questions of people who are already gone.  Here is an instruction guide for recording your own interview, with some sample questions that are sure to get a deep convo going.

I'll leave you with some of my favorite pieces of writing from past Novembers:

This is the two part story of my first time hosting Thanksgiving at my house, when I ended up in the ER with poison ivy in my throat: Thanksgiving Nightmares, Part One & Part Two

Something I was grateful for every day in November 2011.  Milo was a month old and I was on maternity leave and it was a good time to be Ashlie.

Last year I did some more detailed notes about Small Business Saturday and The National Day of Listening.

This is some writing about my dad, who died in November 17 years ago.  Recently Milo has been asking lots of family tree questions ("Who is daddy's daddy?  Who is your mama?") and I'm trying to make Grandpa Kevin a big part of our conversations.  To All Who Said I'd Find Relief, You All Have Lied and Why Your Middle Name is Kevin

Lastly, here is a link to my homepage for National Novel Writing Month.  I have an excerpt of my story, with the working title The Family Historian.  I'm hoping to share much more very soon!

Thanks for being patient, lovelies!  Be your own lady!