Fiction & Frappaccinos: Big Apple BBQ, GoT Swag, and Summer Reading

(1) First and foremost, I've discovered that many New Yorkers are not aware of this weekend's Big Apple BBQ. We're talking two days of BBQ from all over the country that can be found right in Madison Square Park. Fixins are slim-pickins, but if you want some very tasty slabs of meat, it's the place to be. Also included - live music and a beer garden.
Full details here.

(2) And while you're spending your weekend in the upper part of lower Manhattan, 

make sure to check out the new Tiny Libraries!  

Find out more here.

(3) Since I seem to have fallen into a Manhattan happenings vibe, I would also like to point out that  Slattery's Pub and Random House will be hosting Game of Thrones (Book) Trivia on June 25th. How many times have you read the books? Do you think you can compete? Full details here.







(4) And if you're a true fan, I'm assuming you already own the Game of Thrones letter opener?

If not, pick up this Shop HBO Exclusive Item while you're in Manhattan.

(5) June is quickly breezing past us. 

Have you started your summer reading yet? 

Here are a handful of summer reading lists I've stumbled upon this week. 

• LA Times' Summer Reading Guide
• NPR's Summer Best Reads
• Good Reads' Popular Summer 2013 Books
• Publishers Weekly's Best Summer Books 2013

What books are you most excited about?

Sharing With You: Super-Fab Color Me Rad Email

I received the below e-mail from Color Me Rad this morning (don't worry, I'm already signed up for one!) and thought I'd share it with you folks. It is exactly my type of super-fab style. I'm ashamed they beat me to the Tony Little photo! Enjoy! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Susan, In late night fits of sleeplessness, you’ve dropped more than $50 on ShamWows!, Snuggies, and Tony Little’s Gazelle Strider without thinking twice…or once.          This is $50 you’ll never regret.  Sign up HERE so you don’t miss out. You may not have Tony’s luscious locks, his toned triceps, and you might not look as good as him in a unitard.  We don’t judge. But let me guarantee you this—once you finish Color Me Rad NYC/NJ MetLife, you’ll have more self-esteem than him, more Facebook friends than him, and unlike him, you won’t be ashamed to be seen in public. If you've already signed up, you're both frugal and punctual, and we like that about you. Tell your friends and family to follow your example. Seems like a pretty easy decision to me…but what do I know?  I bought the Ron Popeil Great Looking Hair Bald Spot Spray.                                      Also, help us raise even more money for the Ronald McDonald House Long Branch & New Brunswick by becoming a fundraiser HERE. Color Me Rad A portion of proceeds goes toward the Ronald McDonald House Long Branch & New Brunswick. Facebook Twitter Color Me Rad

Copyright © 2013 Color Me Rad, All rights reserved. unsubscribe from this list   update subscription preferences ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So if you must indulge in a break from reading and writing this summer, I'd suggest trying a color run. I've heard they're insane amounts of fun! #commercialbreak

The Baz Gatsby

Too much sun, food, & games to read a full book this weekend, so instead of the WEEKEND REadCAP, I'm doing a rambling on Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby. Just started reading We Need To Talk About Kevin and Life After Life, so look forward to those discussions in the near future.

I rarely rant, but here it is...

I found myself defending Gatsby before I even saw it. I'm not speaking of reviews and such on the interwebs, but rather live conversations I had with groups of my peers. I heard conversation after conversation complaining about the music, the style, the lack of similarity to the book. My main question for these chatters was, "Have you seen Romeo + Juliet or Moulin Rouge?" To which, the answer was almost always "No."

Listen guys - who hasn't read Gatsby? Raise your hands. Alright, I don't see any hands. That's what I thought. We've all read it, we've all studied it, we are all very well aware of the themes the lie within it.

So, why would you want to go a see a straight-forward movie that reteaches us what we learned in grade school? I'm grateful for Luhrman's adaptation because I got to watch something I haven't seen before. An art project interpretation.

We read the story and collectively said, "That Gatsby. What a shame." Who's to say we're got it all figured out, that we don't make tragic mistakes, that we haven't spent days/weeks/months dwelling on something beyond our control? Maybe that's the point Luhrman's trying to make with the juxtaposition of classic story and modern music. When was the last time you were on a Jay-Z-bumping dance floor and no one was pining over anyone, no one was jealous of anyone, no one was lying to anyone? The truth is, we're not that much more evolved than Gatsby and Luhrman's film shows us that.

I rather enjoyed the film, but if you didn't, then I respect your opinion, as well. I just had to get some of these thoughts off my brain!

Fiction & Frappaccinos: Gru, Cranston, and Office Hours

Fiction and Frappaccinos

Check in every Friday to see my favorites from the week.
(Coffee not included)

So busy sneezing this week, that I barely had time for Fiction & Frappaccinos. 

Here are my favorites from this week. More to come next week!

(1) Are you a Despicable Me fan? My sister dragged me to it and despite my hestiations, I loved it.
In anticipation for the sequel, Steve Carell appeared on Ellen this week dressed as Gru! (via @buzzfeed)

(2) I've been on a Breaking Bad bender 

(don't worry, we're talking completely recreational TV-watching. 

No actual blue ice was involved). 

Almost done with Season 3 and so far avoiding all spoilers, 

but I want so badly to check out some of the amazing spoofs out there.

(3) Speaking of Bryan Cranston,
here's an awesome (spoiler-free)
cover creation someone
spotted at a newspaper stand
(via @fastcompany).

(4) Are you a Goodreads Author? 

You can now check in at Office Hours with any questions or concerns. 

Check out the details here on Where Writers Win.

WEEKEND REadCAP: The Death of Bees and Three Graves Full

The WEEKEND REadCAP 

is rather late this week on account of jury duty and a cold 

(I did not sneeze in the courtroom, which I consider triple chocolate brownie points).

Both The Death of Bees and Three Graves Full involve bodies buried in the backyard. In The Death of Bees, Marnie and Nelly bury their parents in the backyard, while in Three Graves Full, Jason buries one body out back, only to discover that two other bodies rest in his flower beds.

The Death of Bees

on  Goodreads            

Three Graves Full

on Goodreads

First let me ask, why bury someone in the flower beds? Dogs are likely to dig those limbs right up, which they do in both books. Despite the easy-to-find location, the flower bed seems to be the go-to place for burying bodies in fiction.

Second, let's discuss accomplices. In The Death of Bees, Marnie and Nelly share the secret of their parents' whereabouts. In Three Graves Full, Jason is the only one who knows about his hidden body. Would it be better to live in anguish alone, never having anyone to confide in, or to share the secret with someone, never knowing if they're going to spill the beans?

Lastly, I want to introduce a writing exercise. Imagine you character is caught in the middle of moving a dead body from the backyard, what would he say or do? Would he tell the truth, provide some elaborate excuse, run, cry? Once you've written this out. Try it with another one of your characters. How would this second character's reaction differ?