Book Review: Sutton

Sutton, by J.R. Moehringer, is a book I probably would never have read if it wasn't for my book club. I'm so happy I did. Sutton is historical fiction, based on the life of bank robber Willie "The Actor" Sutton. Prior to reading this book, I had no idea who Willie Sutton was.
Sutton follows a newly released Willie Sutton on his tour of New York with a reporter and photographer. Sutton is pushed into the story by his lawyer, but takes charge by insisting they follow a map highlighting important events in his life in chronological order. The novel goes back and forth between Willie's story and his interaction with the reporter and photographer on the tour. What results is a fascinating look into the mind of a bank robber whose career spanned several decades. At times Willie's version of the story is conflicted by others, which gives it an interesting "unreliable narrator" spin.
Willie Sutton is a complex character. This isn't some boring run-down of facts. J.R. Moehringer expertly builds Sutton from the ground up, starting with his childhood. He lays out all the events that lead Sutton to become a criminal, a perfect storm of circumstances that includes his upbringing, economic troubles of the day, friends, and the love of his life, Bess. And we see how, once he gets on this path, it is nearly impossible to go straight again. We see Sutton as someone who wants to be a good person, but who seemingly has no other choice at times than to resort to a life of crime. Once he gets drawn in, greed keeps him going back for more.
I'd give this book five stars, but I was a little disappointed to find after the fact that Willie had two wives and a daughter who were barely mentioned. I would have liked to see more about them instead of so much focus on Bess. I understand that Moehringer uses her as the driving force behind the route Willie takes with his life, but I feel like there is a whole other side of Willie we don't get to know.
Overall, this is a great read. It's a great blend of fact and fiction.

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I mentioned Net Galley in my last post. Yesterday I got approved for my second Net Galley book, Havisham, by Ronald Frame. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the title of this book. Could it be? Yes, it could. It's about Catherine Havisham, from Dickens' Great Expectations. I remember very fondly the first time I encountered Miss Havisham. For me, she put the "great" in Great Expectations. I'm excited to see what Frame does with her story. I just hope I'm not too excited. I hate when I get all worked up about a book and set myself up for disappointment.

Vacation hangover

I'm a little out of it this week. On Monday we returned from a short vacation. Even though we were only gone for a few days, getting back to reality has been difficult. It's odd how exhausting a vacation can be. It's not that I did much. I think it had more to do with the almost-3-year-old who slept with me and flopped around like a fish all night. I'm very happy to be sleeping in my own bed again, where no one uses my butt as a pillow.
I got some reading done while I was away, but not as much as I would have liked. Not that I'll ever get as much reading done as I would like. I am almost finished reading Sutton by J.R. Moehringer, and I'm over halfway through the second part of Shift. I'm absolutely loving both of them.
Next up on my reading list is The Bookstore by Deborah Meyler. I was fortunate enough to receive this book through Net Galley. It's my first Net Galley book. For those not familiar with Net Galley, it's a site where professional readers can request early digital access to books. I'm pretty excited about it and look forward to reviewing what I read both here and on Goodreads.
Until not too long ago, I had no idea that publishers offered advance copies of books. I discovered this (wonderful) fact one day when I was toodling around Goodreads and clicked on "Giveaways." I have received several books on Goodreads giveaways (though none recently). The only real problem (if you can call it that) with getting advance copies of books is that I feel obligated to read them as quickly as possible so I can review them. It therefore pushes the other books on my reading list back once again. And, as I've said before, I have that habit of buying a book and letting it sit for a long time before I read it. Nevertheless, I'm excited and grateful to be given the opportunity to read and review these books.

Minnesota writers on the map

I have a lot of pride in where I live. I especially enjoy supporting Minnesota musicians and writers.
Recently, my local library posted a link on Facebook to a story about a new map created by the St. Paul Friends of the Library. Called "From Main Street to Your Street: Minnesota Writers on the Map," it features authors from around the state. I knew instantly when I read the story that I needed to have one of these maps. The library staff saved one for me, and it is now framed and hanging on the wall in my office.
I think my love of Minnesota writers was instilled in me during my years at Southwest Minnesota State University as an English Literature major. Every other year a festival was held and writers from all over attended. There were numerous readings held throughout the week. I had the pleasure of having several great writers as professors as well, including Bill Holm, Faith Sullivan, and Adrian Louis. Holm is on the front site of the map, along with other writers from my corner of the state: Wanda Gag, Frederick Manfred, and Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Farther north in the central part of the state is my favorite author of all time, Sinclair Lewis. He is referenced in the title of the map (Main Street is one of his best-known novels). He's also the inspiration behind the name of my blog. Head east and you'll find another favorite of mine, Garrison Keillor. Flip over to the back of the map and there's Faith Sullivan (who I mentioned above was a professor of mine), F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Kent Krueger...a whole long list of really great writers. I'm proud to have them associated with Minnesota, and I'm proud to be a vocal supporter of Minnesota literature. I've considered taking a year to read Minnesota authors exclusively. I'm sure I would not be disappointed if I did.
I think this map will be on my wall for a long time. I'm hoping it will make a good conversation piece when people come into my office, and give me a chance to promote Minnesota literature.
I understand there were a couple previous editions of the map printed. I'd really, really love to get my hands on one of those so I could hang it next to the new one.
If you're interested in the map, you can see it and download a pdf of it here: Minnesota Writers on the Map

First Shift: Legacy

The Shift Omnibus has been sitting on my Nook for a while now. I'm a little weird that way when it comes to books. I buy them and then I let them sit for a while. A book might look absolutely amazing to me, but unless I'm in the mood to read it, I won't. I struggle a bit with my book club for this reason. 

I did the same thing with Wool. I bought it and it sat there unread for the longest time. One day I got the urge and I flew through it. Loved it. I bought the Shift Omnibus and then...well, I let it sit. 

I like variety. I might like an author a lot, but I still won't read his or her work more than once a year. Hugh Howey is definitely becoming an exception to that. I've already read Wool and I, Zombie this year, and now I'm reading Shift. We'll see how long it takes me to get around to reading Dust.

Now on to my review (I don't think there are really spoilers here, but proceed with caution). As with Wool, it took me a chapter or so to get my bearings. Once I got into it, I thought it was practically perfect. Wool #1 knocked my socks off. It was like nothing I had ever read before, and had a huge impact. I have a similar feeling about First Shift: Legacy. It was a little different because I knew basically where it was going. That didn't lessen the impact, however. I loved how the details fell into place and watching the silos develop. I love knowing how everyone got into the silos and who is in Silo 1. I loved reading about what happened in Silo 12. There are still a lot more questions to answer, and I'm looking forward to reading the next part. 

I'm starting Second Shift: Order, but I also need to finish reading my book club's August selection (Sutton, by J.R. Moehringer). That's good, too, but I'd rather be reading Shift.

Dust in my mailbox

I was so excited yesterday to open my mailbox and find a package from Hugh Howey waiting for me. Dust! I may or may not have jumped up and down and clapped my hands. But before opening it, I decided to get out my camera to record the occasion.
Once that was done, it was time to rip it open. I turned to the title page to see that it was indeed signed, and again wound up jumping up and down and clapping my hands. (Yeah, I'm a dork. Whatever.)
It's really too cool to muck up with my dirty little fingerprints. And, for that reason, I will probably end up buying an ebook version, too. This one will go on my bookshelf. The nice one, that's right in the dining room for everyone to see.
I finished reading Shift: Legacy yesterday and was definitely not disappointed. I don't know why I waited so long to start it. I'm loving it and can't wait to finish it and start in on Dust. I'll write a more in-depth review of Shift: Legacy tomorrow.

Writing

I know some people consider it a faux-pas to talk about your writing but this is my blog and I'll talk about it if I want to.
I've wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. When I was a little girl, I'd sit around the kitchen table with my dad and write stories. He always wanted to be a writer, too. In my late elementary years I wrote Baby-Sitters Club knock-off stories. I had notebooks filled with them.
I did grow up to be a writer, as I'd hoped. I write for a small weekly newspaper and have done so for the past 15 years. Still, I wasn't quite the kind of writer I had hoped to be.
So many people say they want to write a book. Until last year, I was one of them. That's because last year I actually did it. I got the idea almost exactly a year ago, while on a trip to the family lake cabin. I came home and started writing, and then didn't do anything with it for a few weeks. I started writing again in late September and kept writing all through the month of October until the story was finished. Or at least I thought it was.
I'd always heard about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) but never thought I'd be able to do it. But since I had pretty much achieved the goal set for NaNoWriMo the previous month, I said, "Why not?" So in November I wrote a novel based on an idea I've had rolling around in my head for years. As I came to the end of that, I realized that what I'd just written would make the perfect back story for the novel I'd written in September/October. The problem with that was that I wrote the previous novel in third person and my NaNo novel was in first. I didn't let that stop me and in December started mashing the two together. A few more edits later and I decided I was ready to send out some query letters this spring. I got rejected, of course.
I've had a few friends and family members read my novel, and the overall reaction is good. However, I realize after taking a deeper look at it that it's not particularly original. Parts of it are, yes, and there is a chance that, with more work, I'll make it into something special. For now, I'm looking at it as a valuable learning experience. I know now how much work it takes to write a novel and I have great respect for anyone who completes one. It's really easy to say you want to and it's even easy to start one. To keep going and finish it, and then to go through the revision process is much more difficult.
I've got two works in progress right now. The first I worked on during the April Camp NaNoWriMo. It's like November NaNoWriMo except the rules are less strict and you're put into "cabins" with fellow writers. I still like the story idea but I'm not at all happy with what I ended up making of it that month. I plan to scrap most of it and start over. The good thing about Camp NaNo was that I met two great writer friends and have now met another through them. We're keeping in touch and encouraging one another to continue with our goals.
I did the July Camp NaNoWriMo as well. I'm much happier with what I wrote then, and am looking forward to finishing that. I think it's a good story.
I'm also planning to enter a short story contest next month. Often when I'm trying to write a novel I get a little panicky about not having enough material and I think it might be refreshing to write a short story for a change.

Lucky Number 13

Today is my 13-year wedding anniversary. My husband and I got married on a sultry summer day, which I still hear complaints about. It never fails, anytime our wedding is brought up, someone will inevitably say, "it was SO HOT!" Yes, we had an outdoor wedding and yes, it was hot. Heaven forbid people have to sit outside for an hour when it's hot outside. We're all pretty spoiled these days. Anyway, it's been 13 years.
I'll be honest, I'm at a point in my life where I find weddings to be ridiculous. Ours wasn't over the top, but I still cringe when I think how that money could have been spent on something like a downpayment on a house. If I could go back in time, I'd go to the courthouse.
I guess I'm not much of a romantic. I don't care much about flowers or jewelry. Those gifts are fine, but they seem a little impersonal to me, something that everyone does. I'd rather have an antique book or a Barnes & Noble gift card (okay, jewelry isn't so bad every once in a while). Basically, it's all about personal touch to me. I want it to be obvious that he thought specifically of me when choosing a gift. I do my best to do the same in return.
We don't have any big plans for our anniversary. We will probably go out for dinner at the local greasy spoon tonight, just so we don't have to cook. Our gift to one another is the vacation we're going on soon. That works for me!