Donna Tartt

Tonight I went to my first book fair related event for 2013! By "book fair" I mean the Miami Book Fair International,the most wonderful time of my year! I'll be writing more as the actual fair draws nearer.

Tonight as a "pre-fair" event Donna Tartt read from and discussed her latest book "The Goldfinch". It was a lovely evening. I feel so comfortable in book fair events, this year the fair celebrates its 30th anniversary and I've only missed maybe 3 or 4 of them. There were familiar faces, a certain way of doing things which has been perfected through the years, it was like visiting a favorite relative's home.

Although I've been a fan of Tartt's since her first book "The Secret History" published in 1992, I had never seen her in person. She's much warmer than she appears in pictures, petite and pretty, looking much younger than her 50 years.

This book, clocking in at 750+ pages is a bit of a commitment, but tonight's reading definitely made me want to read it. It deals with art, a coming of age story, takes place in Manhattan - all major pluses for me. I hope to read it soon.

That's the danger with going to book readings - it makes me want to read ALL the books!

Elizabeth Bennet (yes that Elizabeth Bennet)

For NaBloPoMo, BlogHer is providing Daily Prompts for those days when the muse isn't musing. I had a couple of ideas for today but nothing really gelled, and I've always liked using writing prompts, so I'll probably use them again.

Aaaaanywaaay...today's prompt is "Who Is Your Favorite Character of All Time?" OK, that's practically impossible, especially if you watch a lot of TV *and* read a lot. There are so many fantastic characters out there. There's Scout Finch - who is one rockin' little kid, there's Fanny Brice who was all  kinds of brassy and ballsy, Holly Golightly (the movie version), Lisbeth Salander who's a straight-up bad ass, Hermione Granger who needs no explanation, Annie Hall so effortlessly beautiful and boho-chic and cool, and so many others.

I managed to narrow it down to Jo March and Elizabeth Bennet. I like that Jo is a writer and so determined and disciplined about it. As you can see by my so far hardly inspiring attempts at NaBloPoMo, I am not Jo. She's stubborn, and a little rougher than I would like to think I am, but she's loyal to her family - even when Amy is at her most annoying and destructive.

But finally Elizabeth Bennet won out for me. I love that she doesn't put up with Darcy's crap, and that she doesn't seem particularly concerned about getting married - other than her marrying would be beneficial for the family. She isn't as brusque as Jo but is equally literate and outspoken. She loves her father and her father respects her more than his other daughters, because...can you blame him? We see her accept, with relative grace, Darcy's seeming indifference to her and we see her admit she was wrong in allowing herself to be temporarily charmed by Wickham. She too is tolerant of her family and loves them despite their flaws.

I'd like to be that way, that strong and smart and determined. But is anyone really that way? Do we need to turn to literature or movies or television to find all the different pieces needed to make a "you" that you like? Probably. That's what keeps us coming back for more.