Average Jane

Among Average Jane's Role Models

My grandmother was friends with author Alberta Wilson Constant, all of whose books seem to be out of print now, unfortunately. I have autographed copies of her "Miller Girls" series, and my niece is just around the right age to borrow them now, I think.

Mrs. Constant counts among my role models because of a story my grandmother once told me about her. It seems she had a beloved pet rat that she treated as a member of the family. One day she had some ladies over to visit and one of them suddenly exclaimed, "I simply cannot come over here if that rat is going to be around."

Her hostess smiled sweetly and replied, "We'll miss you, dear."

An Average Jane Book Review

Breast cancer. It's something I didn't think a lot about for much of my life. Then one day when I was working at a small interactive firm, the creative director came up to my desk and said, "How do you feel about breast cancer survivors?"

My response: "I'm in favor of them."

That conversation led to an assignment to interview more than a half-dozen breast cancer survivors so that we could share their stories on the Lee National Denim Day website.

The experience was eye-opening. The stories had some similarities, but not as many as you would think for a group of women in the same metropolitan area. One common thread: they were all fighters who wanted to do whatever they could to prevent other women from going through what they had.

At the last Chicago BlogHer conference in 2007, I had the good fortune to meet Laurie Kingston. I'm not sure where our paths first crossed, but I remember having a meal with her and Susan Getgood (and someone else, too. Suebob? Jane?).

I knew that her blog was called "Not Just About Cancer" and that her supportive friends and family had gotten her the BlogHer trip in the midst of her cancer treatments.

I started reading her blog as soon as I got home. It's a wonderful personal journal that really is about her entire life, not just about the breast cancer that she continues to fight.

I was excited when she announced that she was having a book published. It's called "Not Done Yet: Living Through Breast Cancer" and what impresses me most is that it really is about living. Yes, there's a disease and treatments that get in the way, but that doesn't mean she's stopped doing fun things with her family and friends, knitting, playing online Scrabble (sometimes with me!) and otherwise carrying on with her life.

She readily admits that not every day is a good one, but she's capable of letting that go and moving on. She respects her own limits and takes care of herself to ensure that she can also take care of her family.

The book was a quick but absorbing read. The one time I did put it down, I came back to find that Velvet and Velcro (herself a breast cancer survivor), had taken an interest.

Toward the end of the book there were a few paragraphs that I remembered fondly from her blog because I'd posted them to my blog before as a wonderful example of an attitude toward life to strive for:

One morning, as I was making school lunches, I dropped a piece of cheese on my dog's head. I had been slicing it onto sandwiches and had turned to talk to my older son. Multitasking before sufficient caffeine intake has never been my strong suit.

Now, whenever I am making lunches, the dog dances with excitement, his eyes sparkling with hope and joyful anticipation.

I want to live my life like that. Life is good, and you never know when cheese might fall from the sky.

That's how I want to live my life, too, Laurie!

Average Jane and Books

I've loved reading from the moment I learned how to read.

I was the kid who strained her eyes trying to read by the dim light of the nightlight when I was supposed to be going to sleep.

I would sit off to the side of the playground at recess and read my book until the teachers expressed their dismay that I wasn't playing. Then I'd sit on the teeter-totter with someone and continue reading as we went up and down.

In the summer, I'd climb up my favorite tree with my current book in hand and then prop myself among the branches to read.

Thanks to Twitter, I've met a lot of librarians lately and it's inspired me to want to start reading more books again. Oh, and since @BonnieGlick (former librarian) showed me her Kindle, I may not be able to resist getting one.

Which brings me to yet another book meme. This one came from Florinda, who says she stole it from The Boston Bibliophile. Feel free to steal it yet again!

1. Hardback, trade paperback or mass market paperback? I like trade paperbacks. They're substantial but not as heavy as hardbacks.

2. Barnes & Noble or Borders? They're pretty much indistinguishable to me. I'll go to whichever one is convenient.

3. Bookmark or dog-ear? I used to dog-ear, but now I'm a pretty faithful bookmarker. If I'm reading a hardback, I'll tuck one of the dust jacket flaps in as a bookmark.

4. Amazon or brick and mortar? Mostly Amazon.

5. Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random? Stack in huge piles until they begin falling over, then move to any shelf or surface that will hold them.

6. Keep, throw away, or sell? I don't do much selling anymore. Mostly I give them away (or BookCross them), except for the occasional keepers.

7. Keep dust jacket or toss it? Keep it.

8. Read with dust jacket or remove it? I leave it on.

9. Short story or novel? I prefer novels.

10. Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? Harry Potter. I tried to like Lemony Snicket, but there's something about the books that I just don't dig.

11. Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? Unless I'm reading right before bed, I'll stop at chapter breaks.

12. "It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"? Once upon a time. I'm a sucker for fairy tales and fantasy.

13. Buy or borrow? I mostly buy, but I'm trying to get back into the library habit.

14. New or used? I once was a used book junkie, but these days I buy all new.

15. Buying choice: book reviews, recommendations, or browse? The top reasons I'll buy a specific book these days: 1) It's for a book club, 2) Someone I know (or whose blog I read) wrote it, or 3) I saw it recommended online somewhere.

16. Tidy ending or cliffhanger? I don't have a preference.

17. Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading? I like to spend entire weekend days reading. I also keep a book or two on my bedside table to read before I fall asleep.

18. Stand-alone or series? Either one is fine with me.

19. Favorite series? Harry Potter

20. Favorite children's book? Any of the L. Frank Baum "Oz" books.

21. Favorite YA book? The "His Dark Materials" series is YA, right?

22. Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? "Sock" by Penn Jillette. Here's my blog post about recommending it to a new book club where everyone HATED it.

23. Favorite books read last year? "Water for Elephants," "The Little Book," "Blindness," "I Was Told There'd Be Cake," "Waiter Rant." I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch.

24. Favorite books of all time? The "Lord of the Rings" series; the "Hitchhiker's Guide" series, the "Harry Potter" series and "Gone With the Wind" (as un-PC as it is). If I weren't so lazy, I'd go down to my bookcase and just look to see what my keeper list consists of.

25. What are you reading right now? My bedside book right now is "Stuff White People Like," which I picked up at BlogHer last year.

26. What are you reading next? "Not Done Yet" by Laurie Kingston. I'm setting aside this Saturday just to read it.

27. Favorite book to recommend to an eleven-year-old? Probably the Nancy Drew books.

28. Favorite book to reread? I like to revisit the "Hitchhiker's Guide" series periodically. No matter how many times I read them, they still make me laugh out loud.

29. Do you ever smell books? I can't help it, my sense of smell is very acute.

30. Do you ever read primary source documents, like diaries or letters? Yes. They're quite the phenomenon these days. I believe they're called "blogs."

Average Jane Says, "Order My Friend's Book!"

I have known Rita Arens since we worked together at a failed dotcom (was there any other kind?) in 1999. We've been friends ever since.

She is one of the most driven and determined people I have ever met - exactly the sort of person who gets an idea and makes it happen through hard work and sheer force of will.

She started blogging a few months after I did, and was my roommate at the 2006 BlogHer Conference. (In fact, she'll be my roommate again this year.)

Early in 2006, she started getting in touch with other moms who blogged to see if they'd be interested in contributing to a mommy blogger anthology.  I'll drop out here and let you read what happened over the next two years from Rita's perspective.

How's that for grit and determination?

Best of all, the book includes the writers of some of my favorite blogs:
Amalah
Binkytown
Birdie's New Mexico Time Machine
CityMama
Finslippy
Friday Playdate
Fussy
IzzyMom
Laid-Off Dad
Mom-101
Mommy Needs Coffee
Mommytrack'd
Motherhood Uncensored
Not Calm (dot com)
Paper Napkin
Rancid Raves
State of Grace
Surfette
Surrender, Dorothy
Sweetney
The Modernity Ward
The Naked Ovary
Three Kid Circus
Woulda Coulda Shoulda

So I'm here to report that I just pre-ordered three copies (one for me, two to give as gifts) at Amazon. It's also available for pre-order at Barnes & Noble and BookSense.

Mommy or not, if you like good writing and personal stories, you'll want to add this book to your collection.

Way to go, Rita!

Average Jane May Have to Make An Exception

I'm not much of a fan of Florida. Too hot, too touristy, too alligator-infested. Once my grandparents passed away, I pretty much assumed that I'd never have reason to go there again.

I think I've just changed my mind.

Shhh! Average Jane is Reading

It occured to me this week that if I'm to read The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd in time to discuss it knowledgeably at a book club meeting on Saturday, perhaps I should purchase it. 

I had noticed it at Target on Tuesday evening, but didn't buy it then.  On Wednesday, I realized I was running out of time, so I stopped by a Barnes & Noble on my way home to pick up a copy.  They were out of them, but I did find a copy of The Pirates! In an Adventure With Ahab by Gideon Defoe, which I bought even though I could have saved $7 if I'd been patient enough to order it from Amazon instead.

So anyway, I went back to Target, picked up "The Mermaid Chair" and dove in (dove in! mermaid!  get it?  yeah, nevermind.) last night.  So far I've made it through 241 pages, so I'm home free for Saturday.

Lately, most of my reading has been confined to other people's blogs, often while watching TV at the same time.  It's kind of refreshing to get back to an entertainment medium that requires my undivided attention.

Now that I'm back in reading mode, can anyone recommend a book I shouldn't miss?

Average Jane's Unpopular Recommendation

Early last year, I started attending book club meetings with a group of women who combine book discussions with wine tasting.  (Woohoo!)  At the end of the first meeting, we drew names to see who would choose the next book, and my name was drawn.

I had just started reading Sock by Penn Jillette and I could tell I was going to really like it, so I chose it as our book club selection for the following meeting.  What a colossal mistake!

Before the meeting even took place, people's comments on the Evite foreshadowed trouble.  There was talk of how excruciating the book was and what a drag it was to get through.

By then, I had finished the book (and loved it!) but knew it was definitely not for everyone.  It's deliberately weird, provocative and controversial.  My one-sentence synopsis when I compiled the discussion questions was, "A love triangle with a gay man, a straight man and a dead woman told from the point of view of a sock monkey."  That's probably about all you need to know to decide whether you'd be interested.

When the discussion began, it was quite heated at times.  Interestingly enough, the people who had read the whole book liked it better than the people who had given up somewhere in the middle.  I was still the only person who really liked it a lot.  I think my youthful appreciation for Tom Robbins novels may have helped pave the way.

After the disastrous book club meeting, I was at a loss as to who to give "Sock" to next.  I was hesitant to pass it along to anyone who might have a strong negative reaction. 

At Christmas, I decided to take some books to my aunt, so I hunted down "Sock" to include in the pile.  She called today to tell me that she absolutely loved it.  She is also a Tom Robbins fan, which is what helped me decide to give it to her.  She even complimented the discussion questions I'd written and tucked into the book.  I'm on fire!

It was nice to get a little vindication of my taste in literature.  I still say the book isn't for everyone, but there are a couple of us with similar genetic makeup who liked it very much!

An Average Jane Book Review

Yvonne DiVita of Lipsticking and A-ha! has asked me to provide an "Average Jane's" perspective on one of her publishing company's new books, Know Your Bones - Making Sense of Arthritis Medicine by Stephanie E. Siegrist, M.D.

Know Your Bones is divided into self-contained chapters that explain what causes arthritis pain, what various medicines and remedies do to ease the pain, and what risks are associated with each remedy.  There are handy charts for comparing dosages and costs between different brands and varieties of medications, salves and supplements.

The book is designed to give arthritis patients an easily understood, comprehensive guide to treatment options.  In her introduction, Dr. Siegrist says, "You and your doctor can only spend a few minutes together; what will you do to help yourself in the weeks between these brief appointments?"

The first chapter covers the anatomical aspects of arthritis and much of this information pops up again in subsequent chapters.  It seems repetitive on a complete read-through, but for someone who is researching a single medication or other topic within the book, it is clearly valuable to have the whole story spelled out in each chapter. 

Dr. Siegrist's writing style is conversational and peppered with metaphors to explain some of the more esoteric medical concepts.  For example, "The rough surfaces within the joint act like a match head on flint.  Imagine a wobbly knee where every step causes the jagged surfaces to rub together, igniting a little fire.  The fire is the inflammation of painful arthritis."

I'm not sure I quite understood what arthritis was before I read this book, but now I have a much clearer grasp of it.  I have some grandparents with arthritis, so there's a chance I'll need to know this information someday.

The majority of the book is given over to discussions of various arthritis treatments, including over-the-counter and prescription medications, topical pain relievers, nutritional supplements, injections and surgery.  Despite the book's focus on medical treatments, Dr. Siegrist constantly urges the reader to make overall wellness, nutrition, exercise and healthy body weight important priorities.

The newness of the book means that it takes into account last year's much-publicized withdrawal of Vioxx® from the market.  The book's explanation of the study results and FDA decisions are matter-of-fact and stand in contrast to the excitable media coverage that the story received at the time.

I think anyone with osteoarthritis could benefit from the information in this book.  The newly-diagnosed would find a detailed overview of all of their treatment options;  someone who has been dealing with arthritis for a while may learn of some new remedies that could complement his or her existing treatments.

It would be nice to see books like this on other medical topics.  If there had been a "Know Your Blood Sugar" book available when my husband was diagnosed with diabetes, I think we'd have been on better footing to start changing his diet and coping with the treatments.

Average Jane Gets Tagged

Even though I ended up kicking myself over the last online meme I took on, I had to bow to Cagey's challenge to answer these questions and "tag" other people to do the same.  Here are the questions and my answers:

1. You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be saved?
This is such a tough question!  I guess I'd have to forego books I appreciate for pure enjoyment and choose my encyclopedic dictionary for its wealth of information on a variety of subjects.

2. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
I'm sure I did when I was younger, but I don't remember any of them.

3. The last book you purchased?
According to my Amazon records, my most recent purchase was We Thought You Would Be Prettier: True Tales of the Dorkiest Girl Alive by Laurie Notaro.  It hasn't arrived yet, though.

4. What are you currently reading?
At bedtime I've been reading The Golden Rule of Schmoozing: The Authentic Practice of Treating Others Well by Aye Jaye.  It's a little cheesy, but I think it has some good advice for interacting with other people in positive ways.

5. Five books you would take to a deserted island?
I'm going to follow everyone else's lead by including some series:  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy five-volume trilogy, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gone With the Wind, the Harry Potter series (as many volumes as are available when I arrive on the island), and the US Army Survival Manual (in case I'm obliged to do more than sit around and read all the time).

I'll "tag" Me, Pharmgirl and Fi, knowing full well that they're all quite busy and probably won't get around to playing for a while.

Average Jane's Favorite Childhood Books

When I was growing up, I read so many books that eventually I'd read every children's book in our small, local library that I wanted to read. I believe I was in elementary school when my mother began selecting books from the grown-ups' section of the library for me.

In the summertime we often visited my great-aunt in Lake Andes, South Dakota and one of the highlights of those visits was the town's Carnegie Library. It was filled with fascinating old books like the Edgar Rice Burroughs "Tarzan" and "John Carter of Mars" series (both of which would be considered highly inappropriate for children and extremely politically incorrect by today's standards), Oz books I'd never seen before, and exotic treats like the Bobbsey Twins series.

My particular favorites were the Oz books. I still have a pretty good collection of the trade paperback Oz books from the '70s and I like to re-read them now and then. I even have one hardback that belonged to my grandfather when he was a child, but I haven't bought any more because they run about $70-$100 each these days. Fortunately, you can find a pretty good selection of full-text versions of Oz books online here, thanks to Project Gutenberg. If "The Wizard of Oz" movie is your sole exposure to the Oz world, you owe it to yourself to check out the rest of the stories and the wonderful illustrations that accompany them.

A lot of my favorite book series were written in the late 19th century and early 20th century. I imagine that's partly because my parents and grandparents eagerly shared their favorite books with me. It certainly helped me develop a wide-ranging and somewhat obscure vocabulary. Of course, I was the kind of kid who'd sit on the teeter-totter at recess reading the dictionary, so there you are.

I'm very much looking forward to sharing my old book collection with my niece when she gets a little older. Pretty soon she'll have the attention span for me to be able to start reading Oz books to her. Maybe then we'll have another generation flummoxing her classmates with her large and ever-so-slightly anachronistic vocabulary. I sure hope so!