reviews

My Nitzsche Moment

beccakinla how to write, reviews, revision, writing process Leave a comment

Isn’t it Nitzsche who said, “Whatever doesn’t kill me makes me stronger?”

As I posted a couple weeks ago, I circulated the rough draft of my novel-in-progress among several friends and colleagues. The feedback that has been trickling back has been very enlightening, often useful, and will probably result in a much, much better book.

However–although most of the readers have overall liked my book and said they’d recommend such a book to friends–the feedback has also been extremely demoralizing and makes me want to crawl under a rock.

Everyone insists that I ditch the prologue, make a couple characters more obnoxious, and alter a particular detail. Add more action! More fun details about the planet. Make the robot even more menacing!

Okay, okay, I get it. If four people are telling me the same thing (so far), I guess I’d better take it seriously.

It’s going to take me a long time to fix all that, plus address various other issues brought up by my invited editors, reviewers, beta readers, whatever you want to call them. Plus, I still haven’t resolved the issue about whether to make the book accessible to a wider audience by limiting my use of Hebrew terms and explaining those used, etc.

I started working at the next draft, but had to stop when my computer died. This was probably a gift from Heaven. I think I need a little break. I was sitting in front of my computer, staring for a couple minutes at the screen, then begining to hyperventilate and twitch.

And I asked for it!

The craziest part is that I would ask for the experience again, because it’ll make me a better writer, and my book will certainly be improved. (Maybe I’ll even sell this one!)

A lot of writers disregard criticism of their “babies” because it’s so painful. But so is childbirth. Literary babies have to develop and grow just like our real children, and after their initial births, you have to spend even more time and effort “educating” them before they can go out and live on their own. Yes, occasionally someone will share an opinion that no one else shares, and you can ignore it. And, yes, criticism should be shared in a respectful way. But if several people who have opinions you trust tell you the same thing, you’d better take notice.

Even if it’s painful.

A trip into the Uncanny Valley

beccakinla graphic literature, movie, new, reviews, sci-fi, trailer, uncanny valley, Uncategorized 1 Comment

My kids love Tintin comics by Herge, so I was unable to suppress my desire to watch the trailer of the new Tintin film (despite the fact I haven’t gone to the movies in nearly eight years). If you’re interested it’s here:

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/05/17/tintin-adventures-trailer-spielberg/

What surprised me is that the animation in Tintin seemed to me to fall into what is called the Uncanny Valley.
The Uncanny Valley refers to the widespread belief that when computer graphics, robots, or other representations of people look and act almost, but not quite, like the real thing, people are creeped out. Apparently some genuine research has been done in this area, and many experts in CGI and robotics try hard to avoid stumbling into the Uncanny Valley in order to avoid turning off potential viewers. 
 
As technology advances, this becomes more and more difficult. Just when does the image flip from being disgusting and become convincing? And how are we supposed to respond to such simulacra? 

[Indeed, this is a favorite theme in science fiction. For example, both the classic book I, Robot by Asimov and the Ridley Scott movie Blade Runner (based on Phillip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) directly address this conundrum. In one fictional world, androids are prohibited from having a convincing human appearance altogether; in the other, such robots exist, but are forbidden from living on Earth.]

Now let’s get back to the new Tintin adaptation. I watched the trailer (and I should repeat that I actually don’t watch movies in theaters and rarely at home unless Jewish), and I immediately responded—Ugh! 

I’m not sure why the producers opted for an image capture CGI as opposed to live action (there actually are already animated adaptations of the Tintin comics, so I’m not so shocked that they opted out of another animated version), but I had a visceral reaction against what I saw. I’m wondering if other viewers will have similar reactions. With more and more exposure to video game graphics and the like, maybe the Uncanny Valley will lose it’s effect on people who see a lot of CGI.

Inspiration?

beccakinla editing, reviews, revision, writing groups, writing process Leave a comment

So, I finally finished revising my novel on paper (complete with red ink) at some point early last week. However, I was having trouble actually typing the changes into the document. I’m not sure if I was nervous, bored with the project, or what. I kept finding excuses and wasting time, even with friends and relatives asking if I was finished.

And then the incredible happened…
On Friday morning (while my challah dough was rising), I figured that I should price the cost of making copies through both chain print shops and locally-owned ones. I was about to go to a locally-owned one that I’d heard was reliable and competitively priced when I found an online coupon for Staples Print & Copy services. The coupon was good for 30% off of a job that cost at least $30 AND IT WAS GOING TO EXPIRE ON SATURDAY!
Very motivating.
I had the project done by 1:30 and sent it off to the printer electronically before 2 o’clock.
Wow.
I’m very excited, but more than a little freaked out. I already have my new baby in the capable hands of one reader, with a cover sheet for feedback attached (and a stack of post-its). My writing group will, G-d willing, meet later this week. I’ll fork out a couple more copies at that point.
It’s funny how my mind works.

And even more great bedtime reads!

beccakinla a book of sleep, bedtime, chanukah, eric kimmel, il sung na, john lawrence, recommended reading, reviews, this little chick, what no bedtime story means Leave a comment

While reviewing my site stats, I’ve noticed that lots of people want bedtime selections for their little sweethearts (or maybe for their little hellions…maybe THAT’S why they’re so anxious to get them to sleep). Here are some new discoveries in the Klempner household.

Product Details
This Little Chick by John Lawrence tells the adventures of a wacky little chick who would rather speak the languages of the other barnyard animals than that of his family. The woodblock print illustrations are just fantastic, and my children laughed at the chick’s antics. Ages 18 mo – 5 years.
A Book of Sleep
A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na has to be one of the most dreamily illustrated boardbooks I’ve ever seen. A wakeful owl watches over sleepy animals of all types until day arrives. The language is simple and lulling, and the pictures are filled with fanciful whorls and flowers and vines faintly sketched against the blocks of color. My favorite illustrations are those of the giraffe using the cloud as a pillow and the penguins huddled together. Perfect for ages 18 mo through 4 years.
The next Jewish holiday, a month and a half away, will be Chanukah. Here’s a fun story to celebrate the holiday:
Asher and the Capmakers: A Hanukkah Story
Asher and the Capmakers by Eric Kimmel isn’t precisely a folktale. This is a whimsical, darkly humorous story–about the mysterious adventure a boy has when he runs to the neighbor to borrow an egg for the family’s latkes–created by interweaving folktales from many traditions. I’d recommend this one for children 5 to 10 years old. It’s a little scary for the youngest readers. Also, some families might be uncomfortable with the mention of fairies and their magical caps.

Interesting perspective on modesty

beccakinla Does My Head Look Big In This?, dress, hijab, Jewish, modesty, Muslim, Randa Abdel-Fattah, reviews, tznius, tzniut Leave a comment

Tzniut, or modesty, is an important topic for those who adopt a Torah-true lifestyle. I was attracted to Randa Abdel-Fattah’s book, Does My Head Look Big In This?, because it addresses this very issue from the Muslim perspective. I thought it would be interesting to see how a Muslim writer handled it as opposed to the Jewish writers I’m already familiar with.

Amal, a teenager in Australia, decides to begin to wear the hijab (traditional Muslim headcovering) full-time even though she attends a very White prep school. The saga of how her choice impacts more and more of her life flows logically. Amal is a very likable narrator and explains the ideology behind the hijab and other Muslim practices beautifully, and they are very much in harmony with the views of traditional Judaism. I appreciated that we see both the ups and downs along Amal’s journey, and that she stays firm on her decision at the conclusion of the book.
Amal, like most teenagers, is OBSESSED with movies, television, Cosmo, celebrity gossip, etc. We see Amal’s parents telling her that these pop-culture icons are nonsense, but we don’t see her very moved by this. Amal never seems to really get that celebrity culture and fashion magazines are completely the opposite of what the hajib stands for. Some of the trouble she must deal with is actually created by her involvement in mainstream culture. She keeps watching “Friends” even though the characters make life decisions incompatible with Islam, and she compulsively does Cosmo quizzes and uses the magazine’s advice to flirt with boys even though she will not date them. I wish the book would have been more insightful about how our society feeds into immodesty, and how it’s healthy to step out of that largely-immoral media mix.


Most Orthodox Jews would tell you that the solution is to retreat from secular media, to varying degrees. It’s common to monitor our children’s television viewing (or ban it from the house altogether), restrict what movies they see, limit internet access, and the like. Many frum children aren’t permitted to use cell phones, or the phones do not have text access. And many Orthodox Jews send their children to schools with separate girls’ and boys’ departments, if not entirely separate schools. I know that many Muslims adopt such strategies (none of which is perfect, but which help)…what puzzles me is that Ms. Abdel-Fattah doesn’t bring them up (except that Amal’s parents disapprove of Cosmo, so she has to sneak it into the house).
There are fleeting mentions of political beliefs that most Jewish readers will disagree with (there are a couple references to the Palestinian-Israeli dilemma); however, none of these are obnoxious, argumentative, or deeply offensive. There is mutual respect between all sorts of characters (it’s very nice that Jewish characters are portrayed favorably, with a marked distinction between politics and religion, although as an Orthodox Jew, I flinched when the Jewish kid falls for a non-Jew). 


Two things cause me to hesitate from recommending Does This Make My Head Look Big? to every Bais Yaakov girl, though: 


I was surprised that there is some swearing in the book (no F-bombs, though, I think), and there is some frank talk about how Amal’s beliefs address sexuality and women’s body image, although nothing graphic. However, I think that this book would be a very good read for many young women or even teachers/parents of young women. I think that the book has a lot of insights that are unlikely to be found in a YA novel published by a frum publishing house, and I think the fictional format is particularly useful in approaching this audience. I hope this book’s pro-modesty message will reach teens that wouldn’t normally pick up an Orthodox Jewish book. 

Books about friendship

beccakinla david ezra stein, friendship, mo willems, recommended reading, reviews, yaffa ganz 1 Comment

In one of those bizarre synchronicity moments you sometimes have at the library, my family borrowed a slew of books all about friendship at our visit yesterday (the first three are by Mo Willems, who is wonderfully engaging). I’ll briefly review each and add several other suggestions on the topic at the end.

My Friend is Sad
My Friend Is Sad (Elephant and Piggie Series) by Mo Willems: Book Cover
A wonderful book for new readers to read on their own about how to comfort a friend feeling down.
City Dog, Country Frog
Teaches how to build a friendship and how to cope with loss of a friend. A charming, even moving read and a stylistic departure for the author Mo Willems.
Leonardo the Terrible Monster
Friendship turns out to be the great purpose in life for Leonardo, a monster unable to scare anyone.
Cowboy Ned & Andy, by David Ezra Stein

Cowboy Ned & Andy (Paula Wiseman Books)
Andy the horse loves his owner, Ned, so much that he wants to give him a birthday cake in honor of Ned’s big day. But what does Ned really need?
OTHER GREAT “FRIENDSHIP” SELECTIONS:
the Mimmy and Simmy books by Yaffa Ganz,
the Toon Book Stinky,
the classic series commencing with Frog and Toad are Friends,
That’s What a Friend Is by P.K. Hallinan,
Little Bear’s Friend by Else Holmelund Minarik,
A Friend for King Amadou by Robert McKissack,
Dog Blue by Polly Dunbar,
Winnie the Pooh books,
Sheila Rae, the Brave and almost any book by Kevin Henkes,
the magical Charlotte’s Web,
anything about Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan,
As Good As Anybody by Richard Michelson
…and for older readers Louis Sachar’s amazing The Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom,
Beth Firestone’s Candles in My Window,
The Sea of Trolls trilogy,
Sorcery and Cecelia,
The Chosen,
and Patricia Wrede’s Dealing with Dragons.

Please Share more “Friendship” books for children–fictional or not–below!