Shaken & Stirred: Let's Go Shopping (updated)

November 02, 2006

Let's Go Shopping (updated)

And it's even writing-related! I need warm boots for my first MFA residency in Vermont this January. The dynamite Haddayr Copley-Woods pointed out some excellent options at Zappos and I think I've narrrowed it down to the following fabulous selections:

crunchy
tall
flowery
gray
these (I keep going back and forth between tusk and rootbeer -- possibly too short; opinions requested, but I kinda like these best at the moment) (or here's a slightly taller version)
taller

Which is where you come in. Preferences? Other candidates? (X-posted at LJ, which is the usual writing nattering spot these days.)

Updated: Thanks to all who played! Cleary, crunchy has won the fantasy boot competition. But the actual cold weather-livers have confirmed my opinion that these or a taller version of these (why is the taller version not available in tusk? gnash) are probably going to work best ... especially when wearing pants. I like pants. So I'm gonna try those first and see if they work. Next stop: warmer coat that does not look like a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man costume!

Posted at 06:04 AM in Write Porn | Permalink

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The first ones, the crunchy reds. Because red boots are fabulous.

Posted by:eek | November 02, 2006 at 02:34 PM

Okay - from my years of Alaska I can tell you that Sorrels will last forever. They do have taller (mid calf) options out there, so you might want to look.

One huge thing to consider - the snow in Vermont is wet and you need to have waterproof (or at the very least water resistant) boots. I don't know how these all stack up on that score but you will be cold and miserable if they cave in to the wetness. So be sure to check that out.

(I'm buying a pair of Uggs for this winter out west. Otherwise - I'm all hiking boots all the time as it is so damn wet in the PN.)

Posted by:Colleen | November 02, 2006 at 02:43 PM

Thanks, guys. (That makes two votes for crunchy.)

Supposedly these are all waterproof and snow-good, but I'm betting some are better than others. Good tip on the Sorrells! My experience in places with lots of snow is that they tend to be pretty good at clearing paths and such, so I'm wondering if I need superhigh boots. Hopefully, someone will tell me if I'm wrong.

Posted by:Gwenda | November 02, 2006 at 02:47 PM

I like the flowery boots. They are the prettiest. I can't speak about boot functionality, as I am from Nashville. If we get cold feet we just go in.

Posted by:Julia | November 02, 2006 at 03:33 PM

I don't know about boot height - I know VT gets a ton of snow but it depends on whether or not you will be straying from the streets. If you don't plant to hike in unplowed areas then heighth won't matter.

In AK we didn't get a lot of snow (Fairbanks is actually a desert clmate) so the snow wasn't deep (unless you were way out in the boonies and whose gonna do that at 30 below?). We went for comfy, warm and dry!!!

Posted by:Colleen | November 02, 2006 at 04:36 PM

Whichever ones you choose, definitely get yourself some SmartWool socks. I'm in considerably less snowy CT, but I love my socks more than any human being should love an inanimate object.

Posted by:erin | November 02, 2006 at 04:47 PM

The crunchy ones look the most Gwenda-esque, w/ flowery coming in a close second.

Posted by:Richard | November 02, 2006 at 05:26 PM

I LOVE SmartWool socks. Yay!

Richard just called me a hippy. (Kidding, I kid. Bohemian. If anything.)

Posted by:Gwenda | November 02, 2006 at 08:22 PM

In other boot news, I bought some bitchy black leather high zip-ups today. I feel like a superhero. Though I kinda wish they were red.

Posted by:eek | November 03, 2006 at 03:43 PM

Drifters?

Posted by:Gavin | November 07, 2006 at 02:58 PM

Read Read

E. Lockhart: Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, The
You might think the world doesn't need any more boarding school novels, but if you haven't read this one then you're wrong, wrong, wrong. E. Lockhart has surpassed herself with this fable of a girl coming into her own and challenging the boy's club at her prep school -- while falling in love with its members at the same time. Lockhart never simplifies or skirts gender issues and power dynamics, and lets Frankie be realistic instead of a treatise disguised as a character. The sly omniscient narrator tells the story perfectly, and leaves hope that maybe one girl can change the world. More novels as funny and true and perfect as this one, please.
Kathi Appelt: The Underneath
Appelt's first novel is a beautiful, magical fantasy for younger readers that will instantly become a classic. Seriously. I can imagine this book being in classrooms right alongside Charlotte's Web in a hundred years. The writing is poetic in the good way, and there's a lamia. Children are going to absolutely fall in love with Appelt's equally kind and brutal universe, where love conquers most, and it can take millenia to come to your senses.
Jincy Willett: The Writing Class
With her second novel, Willett matches the perfect pitch and execution of her brilliant short stories. Every writer will want to read this novel--very little wincing is involved, but expect a great deal of laughter. C and I found ourselves reading pieces aloud, after howling provoked the "what's so funny?" question. As with any good writing workshop or class, the characters become more appealing as you get to know them, and ultimately what she has pulled off is a satisfying mystery, and a satisfying exploration of humanity. Amy Gallup is a character to remember.
Karen Joy Fowler: Wit's End
A new novel by Karen Fowler really is something to be excited about, unlike many of the writers for whom such praise gets bandied about. (If you're smirking because you think you know something about her work from the title--not the book--The Jane Austen Book Club, please go sit in the corner and read any of her novels. You're welcome.) This is an unmystery-like mystery, concerned not so much with dead bodies--though there are plenty--as with the mysteries of healing and the heart, politics and people. How is it that a writer gets a lens on the present that's as revealing as the one she employs in historical fiction? Now that's a mystery. Highly recommended.
Steve Erickson: Zeroville
Steve Erickson novels are often like dreams, or revelations, or discovered artifacts, or written just for you. Zeroville's no different, although it is perhaps the most readily graspable example of his work to date. The Rosetta Stone is there; the secret decoder ring is a film projector. The dizzying Hollywood confidential stylings will make your inner film geek happy, but the uncovering of a truly mythic cinematic story--since cinema has existed forever--of sacrifice and redemption is even more memorable. See also: this review.
Ursula Dubosarsky: The Red Shoe (Neal Porter Books)
Set in Sydney during WWII, this wonderful novel travels between the view from inside each of three sisters. Dubosarsky perfectly captures the differences that come from being the younger, older, or middle child. Perfectly conjuring the period, and yet creating a completely accessible story, the narrative contrasts chapters focusing on the family with interstitials from the Sydney newspapers of the time, stories of polio, the H-bomb, and a defecting Russian spy (who happens to be in hiding next door). Nothing here is heavy-handed. Everything is perfectly balanced. It's a beautiful, beautiful novel. See my full take here.

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