Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme over at The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is
TOP TEN WORDS/TOPICS THAT MAKE ME NOT PICK UP A BOOK.
These all have to be taken with a grain of salt because there are exceptions to pretty much all of them!
One of my favorite posts on Crux so far!
My feet were raw, chafed from the acidic lye I had been tap-dancing on for the better part of an hour, sweat staining my bandana like a Rorschach handprint, half-mindedly stomping on a bed of soaked sheets and articles of clothing, strewn through the soapy water like remnants of a shipwreck, breaching the water’s surface. The soiled linens under my feet were promptly taken from the washing station, stepped on in order to loosen the water from its tenacious clinging to the fibers, and then taken to the roof to dry under the watch of the omniscient, Indian sun.
Someone was singing a song in Spanish on the rooftop, their face pointed East, their voice travelling omni-directional. From their pursed lips came some ancient tune that not even the Spanish speakers could identify as their language—just the melody being strung out in lazy fricatives and disallowed assonance, blending with the…
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From Crux today …
When Fightest first went to live with the Rochelles, the quiet almost drove her mad. For Fightest, sixteen years in the city had made the sirens, traffic, and street fights sound like a lullaby, and when it was replaced by the quiet hum of the window AC unit and the sound of the June bugs careening into the porch light, her pulse skyrocketed. She would have snuck out if not for the aforementioned air conditioner plugging up the window.
And, of course, for Lou, who was sleeping beside her, though she had her own room next door.
“Please don’t mess things up this time,” Lou had begged from Fightest’s doorway that night. She was standing in the doorway wearing pajamas, a pair of old gym shorts and a tiny tanktop without a bra.
“Put some clothes on,” Fightest hissed. “What if Mr. Rochelle sees you walking around like a…
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Obsessive-compulsives, I’m talking to you!
UNTITLED
for Lane
I can never forget the summer night that
turned into morning with no help from us.
We talked about waiting
but barely knew the word.
And I always thought I could teach you things,
but you were chasing sunsets and pyramids,
islands and adventure.
My words were never the hammock
where you’d nap on lazy days.
I became a moon, orbiting you,
and you became the boy
who never looked at the sky.
Luna by Adeline Spengler
bloglovin’ | Oh my goodness, I just adore this blog reader. I load all the blogs I read into the site, and whenever I visit it, I has them all collected there for me. No need for me to worry about ever missing a post again! You can even create groups and sort the types of blogs you read. I have groups for OCD, Writing & Literature, Faith & Culture, and Miscellaneous. I feel so much more on top of things now that I’m using bloglovin! I even added a bloglovin button to my own blog to make it easier for others to follow me that way. (P.S. I tried to use Feedly, which a lot of sites are recommending as a replacement for Google Reader, but I thought it was difficult and unintuitive.)
OCD Network to Recovery | My blogging friend Janet at ocdtalk cooked up this ingenious plan to connect obsessive-compulsive sufferers with obsessive-compulsives who have successfully gone through treatment. I love the idea, and I’m so proud of her for orchestrating this! I got my first “assignment” just last week and had an amazing phone conversation with the mom of a sufferer. I’m so excited to be a part of this network.
Google Backward Image Search | Did you know that when you’re on the Google Images page, you can click the little camera in the search bar to search by image (as opposed to searching with words)? A little trick I learned from Catfish (thanks Ashley, haha!) that has proved handy.
Most controversial/edgiest submission to date in Crux Literary Journal’s short history!
He hadn’t seen her naked in a year and three days; he had kept careful count in his misery, in his loneliness, in his anger and rage and horror and careful, calculated, intricate sadness that had nicked his heart moment by moment like a metronome with a blade. She had left—she had said all those things, and then she had left …
But she was here now. Did it matter, everything else? There was a part of him screaming that he needed to sit down and talk through things, to sort everything neatly into the appropriate categories, to hear the words “I’m sorry” and “I forgive you,” even though he wasn’t sure which phrase really belonged to which of them—maybe each to both.
But he couldn’t think, could hardly breathe. Didn’t want to think. Just wanted to be with her, touching her, letting their skin press together, letting their…
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How about you?
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme over at The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is
TOP TEN BOOKS DEALING WITH TOUGH SUBJECTS.
10. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous | This is the first book I’d ever read of its kind– the “diary” of a teenager caught up in the life of drugs. It’s raw and ugly and incredible. There is one particular drug-free scene of kitten-induced happiness that would always make me cry.
9. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien | I’m not someone who would generally like “war books,” but this is an exception. A must-read.
8. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath | This novel is the thinly-veiled autobiography of Sylvia Plath and her battle with depression. It’s funny and scary and devastatingly well-written.
7. Ordinary People by Judith Guest | Guest’s brilliant novel features suicidal Conrad and his family that is falling apart.
6. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell | This new book shows the ugliness of abuse and the sweetness of first love.
5. Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer Hesser | Here’s a book that matters to me on a personal level as it shows Tara’s struggle with OCD. Reading this book was like reading my autobiography. I recommend it to everyone touched by obsessive-compulsive disorder. In fact, while this book is meant for younger readers, my novel Lights All Around was intended to serve the same purpose but for an older audience.
4. Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta | Of course, I swoon over all things Marchetta. SF gives the reader a front row seat for observing depression.
3. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson | Although Lenny’s sister has already died before the start of this story, this book shows how Lenny picks through the scraps of her shredded heart in the aftermath of Bailey’s death.
2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green | I don’t care if it’s cliche to list this book! I am in love with the way John Green is able to weave humor and beauty through the story of a girl dying of terminal cancer.
1. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta | This book has everything: drug abuse, death, abandonment. And yet it’s full of hope and light and the power of friendship.
JACKIE LEA SOMMERS 