I have been perusing Julie Orringer's notebooks enjoying the look into her writing process. (link via Tingle Alley) I think part of the reason I have loved Writers on the Air so much is because it is another peek inside of creative hearts and minds. I love that glimpse of what pushed someone to produce a certain thing - how they moved from one idea to another. I adored the movie Frida largely because it showed so perfectly how Kahlo came up with her art (and Salma Hayek rocks!). You can see how the pain in her life prompted amazing acts of genius and beauty and power. If her life was not pained, would she still have been such a great artist? Who knows...it is intriguing to look at and think about though.

Ray Bradbury has the best book on writing ever, Zen and the Art of Writing. There is not a wasted phrase in this book - none of that nonsense about how to get an agent or develop plot. He dwells more on the spark of creativity, on how to remain curious and connected to the world and thus open to the possibilities that you need to see in order to create art. It's one of my favorite books and shouldn't be missed by anyone even remotely interested in the creative process.

I was thinking about putting Orringer's new short story collection on my Christmas list anyway before I saw her notebooks, now it's a given. My list is a bit obnoxious but it is for birthday too (in November) and in my family we are all very listy. The thing is, you are going to get presents anyway because we are big holiday people. So either you do the list and get what you want or you don't....and take your chances. So yeah - I'm a big listmaker! It's always fun because people use your list to get ideas that you hadn't thought of but fit with what you were looking for and that kind of thing. And we all always have a good time with it. My list is very bookish (big surprise) and also music and movies and some clothes and some charms for my charm bracelet and fun girly Body Shop type stuff and also pot holders! I would love to find some decent and not stupid looking pot holders! We are down to the last one in house now and it has poinsettias all over it. But I refuse to have silly cows or dogs or sunflowers! Not that I don't love cows and dogs and sunflowers, but must I have them on my potholders?

This sort of thing annoys me, can you tell?

I'm reading the Colson Whitehead interview in WOTA and remembering how interesting both of his novels were for me. I haven't checked to see when his new book is coming out (is it out?). I'm never sure if I "get" him - seems like I'm not quite hip enough to realize what I'm missing (don't even get me started on ZZ Packer...I totally missed that boat.) but at least he takes chances and he is never boring. The interview is quite good, more of the process involved in coming up with such original work. Ahead is Paul West and Diane Ackerman and I'm really looking forward to both of those.

Best headline ever - Barbie is a Slut. I knew it, I just knew it. (Scroll down because you have to see the picture!!)