So sometime over the last few months, I seem to have morphed from a bar-hopping twenty-something into a Lifetime television-watching forty-something woman.

Shocking, I know.

But what’s even more shocking to me is that the shows that premiered on Lifetime this past summer are much more than the usual Tori Spelling movie of the week. They’re actually… good. The cable network which (I think) was famous for giving young actors and actresses a start with over-dramatized, based-on-a-true-story shows, has recently become the channel I flip to most often. Lifetime, which bills itself as “the leader in women’s television,” has really stepped up its game with addicting new dramas like Army Wives (I’m pretty sure you can figure out the premise) and Side Order of Life, about a young photographer whose outlook on life changes when her best friend is diagnosed with cancer. The characters are complex. The story lines are interesting. And, hey, any network that brings back Jason Priestly is okay in my book.

While this development in cable television may be old news to some of you, I’ve only recently come to terms with my change in attitude. Maybe I’m getting more mature in my old age–or maybe Lifetime just got some fresh and talented writers. Whatever the cause, I’m glad that a network that is dedicated to women and their families is finally one that I’m excited to watch.

-Beth

Word in the fishbowl is that Jane magazine is folding. Jane was founded by Jane Pratt who also founded the defunct Sassy Magazine–a cult favorite among 80s teens. If Sassy was the edgy, sarcastic girl who developed before all the other 8th graders at the sleepover, Jane was the equally sarcastic, slightly jaded, tell-it-like-it-is best friend to the more mainstream women’s magazines out there. With Jane gone, there leaves a hole in the market, and a need for a fresh new voice from the modern American woman.

To me, this is the voice of a woman who enjoys kick boxing as much as salsa dancing, reading postmodern fiction as much as shopping for party dresses, and creating great art as much as appreciating certain pop culture guilty pleasures (SexyBack, what?) She’s the type of woman who will check her lipstick in the glass ceiling before smashing it with the stilettos she got on sale.

Who is this woman to you?

Remember those summers you spent trekking your little pink backpack to the public library in town, filling it with as many Sweet Valley High books as you could carry, and then reading those books like it was your one and only summer job? Okay, so the details may vary, but I can bet that everyone did their share of summer reading as a kid. Whether it was the table full of classics on the 10th grade reading list (Ugh, Lord of the Flies, again?!) or just a breezy beach read, there’s something about sitting in the sun with a good paperback in hand that puts me in the mood for more.

So, I’m giving all of you my brief list thus far–with the hope that you will send me some of your favorite summer reads as well. That’s how it works people.

Special Topics In Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

Not only does this novel have one of the coolest websites I’ve seen yet, but it is by far one of the most entertaining, beautifully written, and articulately crafted books I’ve read in a very long time. The story will have you guessing from start to finish–and even at the end you’ll feel the need to flip back to page 1 and start again.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Yes, it’s on my list. Deal with it. No, I won’t be waiting in line for my copy at midnight on July 21, but I stand firm in my support of Harry and his adventures based on the fact that since Potter’s first appearance in 1997 J.K. Rowling has gotten millions of children reading. Plus, this type of book defines summer reading. The last installment in the Potter saga is sure to be quick, fast-paced, dramatic and heartwrenching til the end.

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

I’m in serious Hemingway phase right now, so if you want a classic choose one from the master. I have nightly dreams of Paris, sitting in cafes, and drinking from one of those wine sacks the characters all carry around. If you want something that won’t disappoint–this one is a sure thing.

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

McEwan’s latest, which comes out TODAY, is the first in a long string of summer reads that are apparently… bringing virginity back? Read a short excerpt and decide for yourself.

Happy Reading!

A friend of mine passed this on to me and I thought I’d pass it on to all of you. Today is the Day of Silence to raise awareness against anti-LGBT discrimination in schools. Check out the site and print out your own Day of Silence cards to explain to everyone on campus why being silent today is even more important than being your usual charming self.

Well, Marathon Monday has arrived here in Boston, along with a huge Nor’easter that has kept me secluded to my studio apartment for much of the long weekend. However, I plan to fight the elements at some point to check out the amazing athletes who are literally braving the wind, rain, and snow to make it to that finish line at Copley Square.

For many, Patriot’s Day marks the start of spring in Boston. People emerge from their winter cocoons to check out the runners, the Red Sox, and the BU students partying along the marathon route on Beacon Street. For me, the day is a reminder of how much discipline I don’t have when it comes to working out. Recently, as I was riding comfortably in a friend’s jeep past a slew of sweaty runners, my companion asked me if I ever had any desire to run a marathon.

“For a hot second,” I told him. “Then I realized it would be a horrible idea and I got over it. “

I’ve never been a real athlete by competitive standards, and thus I admire those who have the discipline and drive to train for such a huge undertaking. Last summer, my younger brother stayed with me while he was marathon training, and he would return from long runs with calves caked in salt from the sweat that had dried on his cooling body. Meanwhile, I spent my days drinking coffee, and sitting by the large window in my apartment, concentrating on a page, a paragraph, sometimes only delivering a single line of workable prose. And so it went, each day, for most of the summer.

As a teacher, the summer is when I get most of my writing done, and I just started reading Francine Prose’s Reading Like a Writer to motivate myself to write more in the next few months. The first chapter discusses how much a writer can learn from close-reading and analyzing the works of great writers–not a new idea, but one that I think writers often forget in the competitive marketplace. I know that there are times when I feel so pressured to get the work done that I find myself unable to concentrate at all. Prose brings us back to the basics by pointing out that sometimes all we need is a burst of inspiration from those writers who have been down the same road many times before us.

Maybe that is why every year when I watch the marathon I find myself clapping and cheering for the runners as they climb their way up Commonwealth Ave towards the finish. It’s a little like reading Nabokov–you can’t take your eyes away from the scene. The hundreds of feet pounding the pavement make me think of all the training, the mental preparation, and finally the immense feeling of accomplishment that must come from such a feat. I always vow that I will start running the next day.

Maybe this year I’ll start writing instead.

As a nerd and a teacher, I just read this article in Teacher Magazine about teaching young adult literature in schools, and the controversy that surrounds some of these contemporary texts. It seems that though these recent publications could be more realistic because of their modern settings, I can’t help but gasp that some parents could consider a YA novel more violent or disturbing than something like Crime and Punishment–a novel that was part of my high school curriculum, and also one that I loved. Nonetheless, it’s an interesting argument.

I’d love to see what the curriculum for high school students does look like these days. Any teachers out there? Or anybody have a particular favorite from their own school days?