Tales from the Rushmore Kid

August Recommendations--Lynn Becker's Book Picks

Even though I'm on vacation in New England, I still have some really good books to share!

Novels:

THE MOSTLY TRUE STORY OF JACK, by Kelly Barnhill, is a completely original mid-grade fantasy, set in a small town in Iowa. Young Jack, who has been largely invisible his entire life, gets sent to live in a strange house, with his strange aunt and uncle. Magic bubbles beneath the surface here, and permeates the town. Suddenly, Jack gets noticed--he makes friends, he makes enemies, and he works on solving an ancient, very creepy mystery. Well-written, with solid world-building.

 

Book One of THE HYPNOTISTS: HYPNOTIZE ME, by Gordon Korman, is a fun new series. Twelve year old Jackson Opus has eyes that change color, and lately people have been doing strange things just because he wants them to. At first, Jax shrugs it off, but when The Amazing Ramolo gets pulled into his own chicken act, strutting across the stage and clucking, Jax is forced to admit that something very strange is going on. He gets invited to join the Sentia Institute, where he learns that he has the power to bend people's minds. Sentia's founder, Dr. Elias Mako, wants to teach him how to control it. "We'll nurture and develop your gift in every way," Dr. Mako says. "And together we'll change the world."

Crash into Me - YA Book trailer - BOOK TRAILER SUMMER!

One of the members of the class of 2009 turned me on to this fabulous YA novel, Crash into Me, by Albert Borris. This great YA is full of emotion and heart and I am pleased to have produced the book trailer.

The Worst Best Friend Book Trailer - BOOK TRAILER SUMMER!

One of the challenges all published authors face is how to keep promotion going on a book that has been out there for a few years. A new book trailer can add more ammunition to your cyber promotional arsenal. Here is a second trailer that I produced for Alexis O'Neill's The Worst Best Friend.

The ONE Thing: Unlocking Your Possibilities

from the files
of children's author and educator
Barbara Jean Hicks

The last two weeks I've written posts about the first two sections of Jay Papasan and Gary Keller's new book, The ONE Thing: The Surpisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results. Although this book is not about writing, it is about getting results, and I've applied it to my writing life because that's the area in which I'm interested in getting great results. I hope you're able to apply some of these principles to your writing life as well!

This final post in this series comes from the last section of the book, "Extraordinary Results: Unlocking the Possibilities Within You."

Three things the authors encourage in this section are to Live with Purpose, Live by Priority, and Live for Productivity. Our purpose sets our priority; our priority determines the actions we take and the results we produce. Here are a few gems from the text:

The One And Only Ivan--Lynn Becker's Book Picks

The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate, is the story of a Ivan, a gorilla who was kept for years as a roadside attraction in a mall. Keeping Ivan company are his good friend Stella, an aging elephant, and a little dog, Bob, who hides out in Ivan's small, concrete domain, and sleeps on the ape's stomach. Ivan passes his days watching westerns on his little television set, making pictures which sell in the gift shop (with or without a frame), and gazing (and occasionally lobbing dung balls at) the humans who come by to see him. Days pass with little variation, until Stella gets sick and new baby elephant Ruby joins the group. Ivan promises Stella that Ruby will not live out her life in the roadside zoo, and being a silverback of his word, Ivan forms a plan.

The ONE Thing: Asking the Right Question

from the files
of children's author and educator
Barbara Jean Hicks

Last week I wrote a post about the first section of Jay Papasan and Gary Keller's new book, The ONE Thing: The Surpisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, a section dedicated to the lies society tells us about what it takes to be successful--at writing or at whatever is most important to us.

This week I'm writing about the middle section of the book, "The Truth," which the authors describe as "the simple path to productivity."

(I'm pleased to report, by the way, that the two writing practices I started as a result of reading this book are still going strong--18 days in! According to Keller and Papasan, I am more than halfway to making these practices habit. The one I've been particularly enjoying is writing a poem on my iPad and sending it to myself via email. Sometimes they are pure dreck, but I think I might have a few diamonds in the rough. It will be interesting at the end of the month to read back through them and see what I want to take out and polish.)

Noah Webster's Words - Book Trailer - BOOK TRAILER SUMMER!!

THIS BOOK WON THE GOLDEN KITE!

Jeri Chase Ferris asked me to produce a book trailer for her new picture book, Noah Webster's Words. I was delighted to create this promotional piece for her wonderful story about the creator of the dictionary, Noah Webster. The illustrations by Vincent X. Kursch are equally fun.

The ONE Thing: The Lies

from the files
of teacher and children's author
Barbara Jean Hicks

The ONE Thing: The Surpisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results is not a book about writing. But after hearing co-author Jay Papasan speak on the subject and diving into the text on my own, I discovered that it CAN be a book about writing. In fact, it can be a book about anything--especially the things that are most important to you, and most especially the ONE thing that is most important to you, whatever that might be.

The book is divided into three parts: The Lies (which mislead and derail us), The Truth (the simple path to productivity) and Extraordinary Results (how to unlock our latent possibilities).

I think Papasan and his co-writer Gary Keller (one of the founders of Keller Williams Realtors, the largest realty company in the U.S.) have some interesting things to say that can help me be more productive as a writer. Since reading the book, I've already started a couple of writing practices that I'm going to try my darndest to make into habits. (It takes 33 days, Papasan says, for a practice to become a habit. I'm twelve days in!)