January Post: Books that Made Me Challenge

I posted earlier what books I was going to read this upcoming year were going to be for Emlyn Chand's "The Books that Made Me Love Reading" Challenge.  

I'm trying to do them in order that I read them.  I'm trying to do most "childhood" to most "adult."  But we'll see how that works, heh.

My January read was The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown. When I was younger, having been born the year of the rabbit and my parents calling me a "bunny" all the time, I thought this book was amazing.  My pre-school and kindergarten mind was blown away.  "Cute bunnies?  Really?!  BUNNIES!?"  Yes, yes, yes, please!  I love cute things!

And now, older and maybe just a little bit wiser, I find reading this strangely amusing.  Yes, I am still obsessed with cute things (example:  I still own stuffed animals, and I'm still very proud of my small, but elite collection of awesome).  However, the plot of the story took on a different meaning.  When I was younger, I took it more as a comfort - that your mother would always be there for you no matter what.  Now, I find it a little creepy.  The mother refuses to let the bunny explore his own emotions.  Instead of letting the bunny become a trapeze artist or other exciting and new things, the bunny is trapped to always be with his mother.

And the last line, where the bunny decides it is useless to try and run away.  The mother offers him solace in a carrot.  Food apparently solves everything.  You're unhappy with your home life?  Eat a carrot - it'll fix everything.

It's kind of a silly story, but I still think it's cute, despite my now cynical viewpoint.  There is a sense that the mother will stand by the bunny, no matter who the bunny grows up to be.  But if the bunny really wants to get away from his mother, then he should be allowed to leave and explore his life.

Overall, I still love my childhood books.  I just think I find them funny, silly, and a little strange now - but the artwork remains gorgeous, and the family message is still there.  I will always have a soft spot for The Runaway Bunny no matter how cynical I become.  :)

Next Month:  The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

2012 Goals Update

Successful Goals so Far:

• On average, I have been writing 500 words a day - I'm ahead of the goal, but I'm trying to make a habit of writing every day.  While this hasn't been successful, I am at least working on average 500 words a day. #WIP500
• I formatted my memoir for epub, but still need to edit the darn thing (formatting is a brat).
• Found and applied to a day job (as a Health Coach), now I just need to nail the interviews - but yay on booking an interview!
• Finally created several more light switch plates, which can be seen on my etsy.
• I still have my giveaway for January up.  I will be participating in the YA Giveaway blog hop for February, and we'll continue it from there - one book a month!
• So far, I've read three books this month and I'm moving onto the fourth.
• TBR Pile Challenge has been going - I am almost through my holds at the library, then it's onto books on my shelf.

And I added on a new one for Emlyn Chand's "Books that made me love reading" challenge.  The January post for that one will be up soon.

Additionally, my roommate and I made a video in support of our craft blog.  It's kind of hilarious, so I'll share it on here for anyone that needs a pick-me-up!

Can You Hit a Perfect Pitch Blogfest Contest

Brenda Drake holds a lot of awesome blogfest contests.  This one is the first 150 words of your manuscript and a two sentence pitch in attempts to catch the interest of agent Ammi-Joan Paquette.  You can find the blogfest contest rules here.

Any critiques and comments would be helpful, as I want this to read really well by the 17th :)  I know the pitch needs a lot of cleaning!  Give me your thoughts!  I look forward to seeing everyone's entries!

Title: Ruhe
Genre: YA Contemporary
Word Count: 50,000

Pitch:

After Sophie’s vicious gossip ruins her high school friendships, she takes a vow of silence.  But when a college relationship take a dangerous turn, Sophie needs to use the same voice that once destroyed her.

First 150 Words:

            My father dropped the last bag with a huff and looked over at the long winding sidewalk towards the main dormitory on campus.  "Are you sure you don't want us to come in with you?"

            I shook my head.

            My mother arched an eyebrow.  She looked at the measly two bags I had packed.  "We could come back with more of your stuff, you know.  It's not a far drive."

            I shook my head.  I didn't want anything else.  Everything that was left at home was there for a reason.  The old letter jacket from Ched, the worn out mini-skirt that had been to one too many parties... everything was a reminder of who I used to be.  This was a fresh start, or it was supposed to be.  I didn't know how much of a fresh start I could get at a state school.