It’s time to do some blog cleaning chores and start the New Year fresh. So today I’ll catch up on a couple of outstanding awards. First, I was nominated by Sheila Hurst for the Booker Award. Thank you, Sheila! This one was tougher than I thought it would be, but I did finally narrow the list.
The Booker Award rules are to list five favorite books and to include why we loved them before passing the award on to five others. So, here we go.
The Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkien. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? You know why you love it, hate it, or never read it. I wish there were more strong women in it. But I still love the epic quest and the lesson that one person can make all the difference in the world.
City, by Clifford Simak. This is a sci-fi classic that many sci-fi fans have never read. Simak was never as well known as some of his contemporaries. But this is considered one of his best. He handled sci-fi in a way that emphasized the everyday human reaction more than technology. I think that has influenced my own sci-fi WIP, Death Out of Time.
The Screwfly Solution, by Raccoona Sheldon (aka James Tiptree). Yes, this is a short story. But whenever I read about the worst of American culture and society (which is all too frequently), I have a chilling sense of this story becoming true in some way.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul, by Douglas Adams. It’s a tie. We lost Adams far too soon. I love his humorous take on sci-fi and human behavior. I should keep a towel closer to me than I usually do. You just never know….
The Illiad, by Homer. Hey, what do you know—one of the classics sneaked in here. I read this in my high school freshman Humanities course (Honors English) and loved it. I’ve always loved mythology and epic tales, even if I don’t write their modern counterparts. Is it any surprise this relates to the first book on my list?
My five nominees for the Booker Award are some recent new followers of my blog. They are under no obligation, of course, to pass the award forward.
I was also nominated by SusArtAndFoodBlog for the Super Sweet Blogging Award. Thank you, Susie!
This award graphic is probably the healthiest way for me to enjoy cupcakes these days.
Part of the procedure is to answer 5 sweet questions. And these are:
1.Cookies or cake? Cake, but really for the frosting—preferably a really good buttercream.
2.Chocolate or vanilla? Yes. Wait, you mean I must choose one? Okay, chocolate
3.What is your favorite treat soft? Real ice cream. Or fudge. Yes, fudge. Or maybe hot fudge (and caramel) on real vanilla ice cream. With pecans.
4.When do you want the most sweet things? After dinner, usually. And I wish I could indulge as much as I used to, but I don’t want to develop Type 2 diabetes or gain extra weight.
5.If you had a mild nickname, what would it be? I have no clue!
Then, I’m supposed to choose 12 nominees. Er, 12? I think I risk leaving out too many bloggers. So I’m falling back on a favorite cheat in Blog Land. If you haven’t yet been awarded the Super Sweet Blogging Award and would like to add this delicious-looking graphic to your blog, please consider yourself tagged!
Now go enjoy your Saturday or get ready for the upcoming New Year’s Eve/Day holiday!
Mayumi-H
/ December 29, 2012Great list of books, there, JM! (I love that we crossed over a bit with the Guide! It’s truly a modern classic.) As for The Iliad, I think we see a lot of counterpoints and archetypes in modern tales that were written of in the classics. You may not envision Meghan as a classical hero(ine), but I can see glimmerings of those traits. They’re just masked a bit by the modern trappings and language.
Happy new (blogging) year to you!
jmmcdowell
/ December 29, 2012Thanks, Mayumi.
I would have included you in the nominations except you had already it! Douglas Adams always had me laughing, even when he was sneaking in some painfully true insights into modern culture. I could easily see someone like Zaphod becoming president of the US. *shudders*
I daresay Meghan loves your comparison, even if she would be too modest to admit it publicly. It is famously said that there are no original stories—only original ways to tell them. And the ones that are well told can last for thousands of years. I wonder what Homer would think of Star Wars or the Lord of the Rings?
Have a Happy New Year filled with inspiration and writing!
4amWriter
/ December 29, 2012Congrats on your awards. I haven’t read some of those books, but I read the Iliad in high school and enjoyed it. I keep telling myself I need to re-read The Lord of the Rings as I think I would enjoy it more now. I have a feeling I tried to read it during the wrong point in my life, if that makes any sense.
Have a great weekend and New Year’s Eve. Looking forward to seeing what new tales Meghan will be bringing us in 2013.
jmmcdowell
/ December 29, 2012Thanks, Kate.
I didn’t first read the Lord of the Rings until college. I think I would have missed a lot of the subtler imagery before then. I’ve read it many, many times since then. 
One of the things I enjoy about Simak’s sci-fi is that many of the stories take place in rural southwest Wisconsin, where my husband and I have been. (We lived in Madison for two years.) Simak knew the area and really did a good job bringing it to life on the page. And Douglas Adams was just brilliant if you haven’t read him. He could have you laughing on the floor with his take on the absurdities of modern culture, disguised as fiction/sci-fi.
We’ll see what happens with Meghan, but I’ve got some other characters who are chomping at the bit to get going again. But that’s next Saturday’s post.
You enjoy the weekend and New Year’s holiday, too, and here’s to inspiration, writing, and helpful Muses in 2013!
Carrie Rubin
/ December 29, 2012Hot fudge and caramel on real vanilla ice cream? Oh yeah, I’m there. Throw in a brownie and I’ll never leave…
Loved learning your favorite books. So different from my own choices. But that’s what makes the world of books wonderful.
jmmcdowell
/ December 29, 2012The perfect brownie must be moist and dense to go with that perfect ice cream sundae.
How many calories did we just assemble? Grams of fat? Sugar? Yikes! Fortunately, they’re all virtual. 
It’s funny—as I worked on this list, I realized my WIPs really aren’t like any of these books or other favorites. I can see a few influences, but the stories and writing style aren’t at all similar. I’m honestly hoping that’s a good thing!
Carrie Rubin
/ December 29, 2012Definitely good to have your own writing style. As for the brownie, I concur. But I, too, better stick to the virtual. I’ve consumed too much sugar over the holidays. Must be a better girl now. Oh, and butter. Way too much butter. Because I make my stuffing the old fashioned way. But hey, it’s only once or twice a year, right?
Sheila
/ December 29, 2012I love hearing about people’s favorite books and also loved Hitchhiker’s. I’ll have to give City a try. Thanks for doing that and congratulations on your awards!
jmmcdowell
/ December 29, 2012Thanks, Sheila.
It really saddens me to think how many more books Adams might have written if not for his untimely death. He was so original and talented. City is really different from a lot of sci-fi and won the International Fantasy Award when it was published (but it is sci-fi). I also really enjoyed Way Station, which won the Hugo Award.
Julie
/ December 29, 2012Congrats on the awards! And your sweet tooth sounds related to mine, especially about the buttercream icing. Also, I love how eclectic your reading tastes are. Variety is always a good thing.
jmmcdowell
/ December 29, 2012Thanks, Julie.
The 5-year-old in me has never lost her love of buttercream frosting. 
This list really is eclectic, isn’t it? And if the award called for 10 books, it would have been even more so. Of course, even then I couldn’t find any that are similar to my WIPs. 
Julie
/ December 29, 2012That is always a good thing. Doing something different is always wonderful
And I’ve determined to never lose my inner 5-year-old. She’s too much fun.
jmmcdowell
/ December 29, 2012I think mine wants to come out and play more. Maybe that’s also why some of my characters are getting antsy and want to do more writing…. I’ve promised them we will as we catch up from our break!
annewoodman
/ December 29, 2012Congrats, JM! Hope you had a good Christmas. I fear that I’m seriously falling behind in my visits to other blogs.. please forgive me that I’m not caught up yet!
I will have to read “City.” I hadn’t heard of it, and I like sci-fi that deals with human reaction rather than every single technological discovery.
jmmcdowell
/ December 29, 2012Thanks, Anne.
And no worries on catching up. Busy holidays are exactly why Meghan is on break! I even closed comments on my Christmas post so people didn’t feel like they should reply. 
Some of it is a bit dated, but Simak’s Way Station is also a good one. Of course, some of what I call dated has its modern parallels in many ways. The protagonist’s concerns are still very much relevant in today’s world.
Hope you have a Happy New Year filled with inspiration and writing!
char
/ December 29, 2012Hitchhiker’s guide…good one. I liked Lord of the Rings and felt some parts were full of deep symbolism (at least to me)…but there were parts (like the 6 page epic poems and stuff like that) that I didn’t love. I skimmed to get through boring history and poems. I like poems…but not when they’re too long. Poems take work to dig into, and I don’t want pages. Give me a few paragraphs to tingle my literary nerves…and then move on to prose that I don’t have to think about too long. The others I haven’t read…but they sound interesting.
jmmcdowell
/ December 29, 2012Those epic poems killed the story for a lot of readers, who then called it “Bored of the Rings.” Honestly? I skimmed many of them, too.
But I loved the overall story and the elves, especially. So much so that I read The Silmarillion and some of the Untold Tales. Those are a lot harder to get through. They read more like scholarly works, which was Tolkien’s day job. I wonder if Peter Jackson would try to make a movie about them? 
Simak had a very low-key approach to many of his books that I really enjoyed. They probably wouldn’t be as popular with today’s younger readers, who are more into heavy-duty action that translates to cool special effects on the big screen. His aliens were often very “unknowable,” which is probably how they would be in real life. And the books aren’t ones a parent would have to worry about being inappropriate for teenage readers. I think I should go back and reread some of them now….
Brigitte
/ December 29, 2012JM, my sister and her kids got a DVD set of Lord of the Rings and spent two days watching it and they love the Harry Potter stuff. I’ve not read/seen any of these — not being a big fan of fantasy but perhaps I should give it a shot — New Year resolution — to try something new maybe? That short story is one I’ll have to search for — sounds interesting.
You deserve these awards and more, my talented friend/blogger/writer. Have a wonderful and beautiful New Year!!
jmmcdowell
/ December 30, 2012To me, Lord of the Rings is more like a mythic tale than true fantasy. Others might disagree.
But you might enjoy it more than you would other fantasy books. The Screwfly Solution is probably in a number of anthologies and could also be in a collection of short stories by James Tiptree, which was the usual pen name for Alice Sheldon.
Trying new things is always good, right? I think it keeps our minds young and agile. And I’ll continue to force myself out of my comfort zone in the new year. I’m still getting braver with my clothes!
May your New Year bring you health, happiness, inspiration, and regained stability!
Kourtney Heintz
/ December 30, 2012Congrats on your awards!
I don’t know how you picked your five favorite books. That had to be agony! I’d be a cookie girl myself.
jmmcdowell
/ December 30, 2012I wouldn’t say no to cookies.
Narrowing that list was nearly impossible. And I still bent the rules and included a short story! Although with the tie, I did have five full-length books. 
If the rules called for more books, my list would have become even more eclectic. This is a toughie! 
Kourtney Heintz
/ January 3, 2013LOL. I think I favor cookies because you get more. One slice of cake is like 4 cookies right? At least in my world.
I don’t know that I could have done it. I’m getting a headache trying to figure out my top 5. 
philosophermouseofthehedge
/ December 30, 2012Congrats! Nothing better than a good epic or great short story to read ( will check that one out). Must have been hard to pick so few to list!
Ditto on vanilla ice cream (caramel and pecans…drooling)
Sweet post to end the year!
jmmcdowell
/ December 31, 2012Thanks, Mouse.
It was so hard to choose five. I’ve always loved reading, so how to narrow that list? It almost came down to drawing them out of a hat. 
Answering those sweet questions got me craving cake and sundaes. Where did I put that willpower…?!
philosophermouseofthehedge
/ December 31, 2012not doing so well avoiding food here…must walk dog more…
jmmcdowell
/ December 31, 2012We’re still finishing up some of the goodies, too. They should be wrapped up tomorrow, and we’re still getting in our exercise. But I need to ramp it up, I think.
The Wanderlust Gene
/ December 30, 2012Well done, JM, beautifully handled – and so interesting to read your top five list. I couldn’t agree more with your choice of the Iliad, and while the Tolkein and Adams books would certainly feature on any lists of mine, the others are new to me – which is why blogging is such a blast!
Now, with your good example spurring me on I think I’d better go to attend to some unanswered awards …
Happy New Year – and best wishes for all your endeavours
jmmcdowell
/ December 31, 2012Happy New Year to you, too, Wanderlust! And may it be full of wonderful new adventures to ease the move from one home to the next.
I think I follow many traditional cultures in viewing the New Year as a time to cast out the old (in the sense of “bad” or “hurtful” things/behaviors) and make a fresh, better start. Heaven knows we need more good in 2013 than ever.
And it was a good feeling to catch up on these neglected awards—bending the rules as always.
The Wanderlust Gene
/ January 3, 2013Apropos of nothing, I wonder if Dr. Megan has been reading about the latest archeological find in China? Perhaps it’s not as spectacular as the tomb of the soldiers, but with so much pottery and weaponry and jade, and those glorious chariot wheels, it must be fascinating – and exciting – to be working on something like that.
jmmcdowell
/ January 3, 2013I think Meghan’s been thinking about her Virginia excavations.
And it’s hard enough for me to keep up with North American archaeology, let alone all the really interesting things going on in the rest of the world. (To be honest, North America doesn’t have anywhere near the number of “sexy” sites you find in most other areas.) I was fortunate enough a couple of years ago to see the traveling exhibit of the Chinese Terra Cotta Warriors at the National Geographic Museum in DC. Apparently, that exhibit gave much closer and better views of the artifacts than the in situ museum in China. And the soldiers and artifacts were amazing—I will never find anything like that!
The Wanderlust Gene
/ January 3, 2013Oh dear, I can imagine poor Meghan having to keep up with her reading, and teaching and of course the Virginia excavations! As to ‘sexy’ finds, my cousin used to say the same about working in Australia …
I hadn’t heard that China lent some of the warriors out to DC! I can imagine how exciting that must have been. I remember seeing an exhibition in London, in ’73, of the jade suits and other marvels – It was the most exciting thing I’d ever seen, I think – perhaps being in London (which stood for the “western” world) the parallels between the west and China were astounding, and some of the jade carvings and things were astoundingly beautiful.
Arlene
/ December 31, 2012Whoa *double takes* is that ME? Thank you JM, that is so sweet!!!! By the way, congrats on YOUR awards. Like your favorite books, especially Hitchhiker’s Guide, and love the cupcakes. That swirly icing looks really good!
jmmcdowell
/ December 31, 2012You’re very welcome, Arlene.
I should do it more often, but I like to feature new followers so that other readers can find them, too. I think that’s the best part of the awards, even though they can be overwhelming at times. 
And please feel free to add those cupcakes to your blog!
diannegray
/ December 31, 2012Excellent list of books, JM!
Congratulations on the awards – very well deserved
jmmcdowell
/ December 31, 2012Thanks, Dianne.
Hope you’re having a great New Year’s Day!
diannegray
/ January 1, 2013Very relaxing after the road trip!
Smaktakula
/ January 3, 2013I always like “book lists.” Of the books on your list, I’ve read two (or more properly four, as LOTR is a trilogy). The Illiad–wow! I know another blogger, Tom Simard, who is re-reading that right now. I read the Odyssey in high school, but I’m afraid the Illiad is all Greek to me.
Sorry, having not read that classic work, that was all I had to offer, sadly.
jmmcdowell
/ January 3, 2013I wondered if anyone would point out that trilogy bit…. Of course, Tolkien’ original intent was that they would stand as a single book. So that’s my reasoning, and I’m sticking with it!
We read both the Iliad and the Odyssey in high school, as well as the Aeneid for good measure. I really loved mythology, so it wasn’t hard for me to get into the books. A good, readable translation certainly helps, too.
Margarita
/ January 3, 2013Thanks for the reading list, JM. My daughter loves Hitchhiker’s Guide… and I see her frequently re-reading her favorite parts while giggling. I’ll have to get City for sweet husband and me, that sounds interesting. Never a Lord of the Rings fan. My brother loved it when we were in high school, but I never got into it – and neither did my daughter, surprisingly, since she likes mythology and epic. Hot fudge and caramel with pecans on vanilla ice cream? Yup, I’m sooooo there! xoxoM
jmmcdowell
/ January 4, 2013Hitchhiker’s Guide turned out to be more popular here than I expected! But as I suspected, not many people have read Clifford Simak, even though he was really well-respected by a lot of popular sci-fi writers. Just one of those things, I guess. Like whether we like or don’t like LOTR.
And you had to mention the sundae again—I’m getting another craving for one now!
mskatykins
/ January 17, 2013Congratulations! Very well deserved!
jmmcdowell
/ January 17, 2013Thanks, Mskaykins.
Hope you’re feeling better and getting back in the groove!