One of my novels is about a girl who lived in the Haight-Ashbury during the sixties, so I regularly do research on everything having to do with the hippie movement. The novel, Far Out: The Journey to Oblivion…, is one I intend to revise during the next year or two. I wrote it in 2004.

Here are some things I’ve learned through my research, added to personal recollections and perspectives:

The hippie movement started in the Haight in the early to mid-sixties. (We who have been associated with that location generally say Haight rather than Haight-Ashbury District.) At that time many young people moved into the neighborhood because it provided cheap rental opportunities. A college student could rent a room in a flat there for $25. Because so many young people gravitated to the area, a community spirit came into being that included community newspapers and other shared creative experiences.

The movement was, at its inception, a creative movement. The spark of creativity sent showers of bright brilliance into the hearts and minds of hundreds of young adults there, causing artists, musicians, writers and others to be empowered to bring forth amazing creative works in a massive inner-community sharing. This light was seen by others, and many were attracted to it. At that time the movement was still young and pure.

Then the media got hold of the story. They degraded the movement by emphasizing the role of drugs (marijuana and hallucinogenics) and free-love (promiscuous sex). Plus the message of “love everyone” was added to the media version of what the Haight was about. All this served to attract thousands of young people from around the country, who flooded the neighborhood in search of. . . . something. Perhaps some came for the drugs, others for sex, others for the joy of participating in a movement where everyone was loved and shared love. But while they enjoyed the creative works of the founders of this revolution in human thought, they did not, for the most part, share or understand the creative spark that got it started.

I was one of those that found the Haight after it had already been changed by the media. At the time I was a teenager living across the Bay, in Richmond. My father always subscribed to the San Francisco Chronicle so I had access to all the early articles that brought attention to the neighborhood. At some point in early ‘67 our family drove through the Haight just to see what it was like. There were thousands of young people milling about on the streets, newspapers being sold, and other than that, I mainly remember the outlandish clothing and happy faces. Later that year a friend of mine wanted to cut school for the day and go to the Haight, and I agreed to go with her. It was a memorable day, and more of the same. I thought it was all beautiful; I saw no fault with it - but I was only fifteen that year and couldn’t remain a part of it.

My recent research revealed that at one point all the marijuana and LSD became unavailable for a few weeks, and then heroin flooded the area. It must have been intentionally done, by someone, somehow, for some reason… to further destroy and degrade the movement. Most of the people who started the movement were long gone - often to communes where they could continue what they’d started and live in peace with people who shared their values.

Only a few years later I was 18 and moved to the Haight after spending the summer working in a cannery in Santa Cruz. I met the man who would become my first husband the night I got there, and later we lived together in a room at the back of a flat at 1649 Page Street. That was on a block that was one of four that surrounded the infamous intersection of Haight Street with Ashbury Street.

By the time I moved there in 1971, the Haight-Ashbury was dead. Most of the happy faces were gone and a few distressed-looking drugged out street people remained. The head shops and poster stores were all boarded up. Only the Masonic Cafe survived at the corner of Haight and Ashbury, and down the street there was a small store selling handmade soaps. Compared to what it once was, the neighborhood was depressing! A saving grace was the proximity to Golden Gate Park, and that’s where we spent a large part of our time. The park was and is a magical, joyful place.

Years later I watched The Beatles Anthology and heard George Harrison make a disparaging comment about the “dirty” street people he’d seen during his one visit to the Haight-Ashbury when it was in full bloom. A few days ago I mentioned this to a high school friend who said he’d literally bumped into George while he was there. I was surprised my buddy agreed with George’s assessment, since I tended to see only the beautiful aspects of what was happening, and ignore the negatives. So I’ve done some analysis of what those comments are based on. I believe George was looking for spiritual enlightenment within the Haight’s community, and that he arrived way too late. He may have sought out that original creative spark that motivated the early artists and musicians, but instead found the massive assault of wannabes who flooded the area looking for cheap thrills and that ever-elusive “something”, and love.

…

My last article in this blog (Be God-Like; Create Beauty) may have come off a bit religious-sounding, but it wasn’t meant to be religious… as a matter of fact, my spiritual understanding of the universe is nothing like any organized or formal religion I’m aware of. I wrote that in a moment of cosmic consciousness … in my notebook, right before going to sleep the night before. It was something I felt so strongly I wanted to share it with all of you - and it served another purpose in getting me to write in my blog again, something I hadn’t done since I finished my last NaNoWriMo novel in November. Maybe that was MY creative spark. It felt like a writing epiphany… and though I may not see “God” as being the same thing many religious people believe He is… I do remain a believer in the Great Spirit as the supreme creative conscious force bringing benevolent joy into our lives.

…

My character in Far Out: The Journey To Oblivion… is a 100% fictional teenage girl who lived near where I lived in the East Bay Area. Though her life is far different than mine was, I drew on my personal experiences of having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1960s. A lot of what my fictional character experiences in the novel may be my wild fantasies of how I wish things had been for me. Other parts of the novel would have been a nightmare for anyone… but that’s the way it is for fictional characters. You have to make them suffer to make them interesting at all.

…

I’d like to hear from others who experienced the Haight-Ashbury and who have additional information or opinions they may want to share, whether they agree with or differ from mine. Please write to me by leaving a comment to this post, or by using the ‘contact’ link in the left-side column of this blog. I like blog comments better so please do that unless you need the privacy of an email.

After channeling my energy through the NaNoWriMo grinder this month, I’ve come out with a fairly good first draft to add to my Antediluvian Adventures series. The novel, The Valekan Migration, is the fourth in the series and brings some closure to Maralin’s story, and Raoli’s, since he makes an appearance in this novel too. I’m still working on the ending. Currently I’m in Chapter 21, my characters are working as healers in Valeka during a battle, and the word count stands at 53405.

I made this banner to inspire my writing this year:

Here’s are eight links for writing sites I’ve visited during the past week:

The Writers Chatroom hosts two chats each week. On Sunday you’ll find writers chatting there at 7pm Eastern Time. Here in California, that’s 4pm Pacific Time. The Sunday chat is moderated as there are guest speakers. The second chat takes place on Wednesday from 8pm to 11pm Eastern time, or here on the West Coast, 5pm to 8pm Pacific Time. This is an open chat. Sounds like fun! You might see me there with the screen name, LindaJM, or LindaJo, or something similar. If not, you’ll surely find me on their forum as I’ve been posting there the last couple of days and plan to make it a regular thing.

The Copperfield Review is a quarterly journal for writers of historical fiction. They are currently accepting submissions, and are especially interested in getting non-fiction articles including interviews with writers of historical fiction, essays pertaining to the writing life and historical fiction, and history-related creative non-fiction. There’s also poetry and fiction in the journal. I read quite a bit of The Copperfield Review earlier today and love it. Great stuff!

Forward Motion is a huge writing community for novelists. There’s a heavy fantasy/scifi population there, but all novelists will find it a very helpful and welcoming site. I noticed today the schedule for writing and edit marathons for the rest of the year has been posted. I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of these marathons, and recommend them. There’s also a lot of support for NaNoWriMo writers, and critiques are available. It’s a pretty impressive place.

2nd Annual Golden Coffee Cup - Now suppose you are a die-hard anti-NaNoWriMo writer. Perhaps your writing style doesn’t allow for writing 50,000 words in one month, or you think it is silly, or you just don’t want to suffer that much. Well, there’s an alternative for November: The Golden Coffee Cup competition. Good luck to all who enter!

NaNoWriMo - In case you are one of those people who still don’t have any idea what NaNoWriMo is, I’m putting this link here. I’ve been participating in NaNoWriMo for the last six years. This November will be my seventh journey into novelist insanity. You can see my collection of NaNoWriMo awards here. I recommend it to anyone interested in having fun and writing a novel at the same time. Though a blog I read today inferred that NaNoWriMo writers produce only “incomprehensible words” - I can attest that this isn’t always so. I think my NaNoWriMo novels are worthy of eventual publication, even though some of them are still first drafts and will require a lot more work before I could submit them anywhere. Many authors prefer to write their novels quickly. Whatever works is best, don’t you think?

The 2008 Muse Online Writing Conference is a mailing list at Yahoo. This link is for those of you who missed the recent online conference in October 2007, or for anyone else who isn’t aware of this mailing list. The conference organizer will be sending messages through this list to keep us aware of conference sign-ups and other vital information. The conference is free, and requires only a time commitment. And here’s a secret I’ve been saving to share with you. I’m planning to be one of the presenters there next year. More on this and my topic some other time.

Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Chat Board - This is Verla Kay’s very active and helpful message board for writers of children’s literature. I’ve been posting over there for a few days now, ever since I discovered I’m reconnected to the system. It is a great place to meet new friends and get feedback on all your questions about writing or illustrating for children.

WeBook is an amazing new website where you can contribute your writing and get thoughtful, helpful suggestions on short stories and nano stories (200 words or less). Four advisors who are qualified, talented writers themselves, staff the site. It is a bit like a free writing school where you can find out what works and what doesn’t. You can participate in writing collaborative novels, read posted novels, or contribute novel ideas. The site owners plan to have the novels and stories printed, so you might get your work into a book! It is in Beta testing now and fairly new so currently membership is by invitation only. I have 40 invitations, so leave a message here if you want me to email you one. I think this is a great way for new writers to get lots of productive writing practice.

So that’s it for my writing link roundup this week. I’ll be posting something similar about a week from now.

Perspectives on Writing has a new design, thanks to two people who motivated me to change things.

The first person I want to thank is Nancy Cavanaugh, owner and editor of Fandangle Magazine, an online magazine for children. She kindly wrote to tell me my website colors were all wrong. At first, I didn’t believe her.

I’d had the same colors on this site since 2001. Coral and white. And I thought everything was peachy-keen. But Nancy was looking at the site with Internet Explorer, a browser I don’t normally use. I was looking at it with Firefox, and I had all white-space where the blog text was. Nancy didn’t, and was probably wondering why anyone would want a blog with such a dark background obliterating the text.

A few months ago I redesigned seven blogs within the space of a month. This was one of them. At that time I kept my coral and white colors, but installed a WordPress blog (this one) on what used to be a static page. Apparently I didn’t think to check this particular site in Internet Explorer, or I would have seen the problem and fixed it then.

Yesterday I went to our local computer center, which is a gift to the community from the Karuk Tribe. (I live in a tribally dominated small town in a forest.) I was there to visit with and train the woman I recently sold Happy Camp News to. While I was using one of their computers, which provide only Internet Explorer for browsing, I happened to drift to this site, and was aghast to see the dark coral all over the page where the text was. I’m a long-time lover of white space on websites, so it suddenly hit home as to why Nancy had emailed me telling me my colors needed fixing!

THANK YOU NANCY!!!

Later that evening I showed my boyfriend, Bob, the site, and told him my story about Nancy’s email and how grateful I was for her kindness in sending it. He looked at the site I was starting to redesign, and said, “Get rid of the pink!” I started to protest. My site has always been that color. He said it looked terrible. “Get rid of it tonight,” he said.

I hate to admit it but Bob is usually right. He will never bother reading this so I think it is safe to tell you this here.

I changed the colors, and decided to use the photographs you see at the top of each page. They are very special photographs, to me. The blue photo which is the background for the banner is the view from the top of Mt. Shasta in Northern California. What an inspiring perspective that is! It looks out over the Trinity Alps and the Marble Mountain Wilderness. The small photo in the corner is a closeup of Mt. Shasta itself, featuring an orange butterfly drinking near a spring high on the mountainside. Best water in the world, according to Bob. He’s been around the world a few times so I think he should know.

THANK YOU BOB, for inspiring me to do something different with the site. (Just in case he ever reads this.)

Today I’m participating in Getting To Know You by answering the following questions about my blogging experiences and how they relate to creative writing.

When did you begin your first blog and what inspired you to do so?

My first blog was a simple online journal called Linda’s Life. It started back in 2000; I updated it manually just like any other site. It served as a record of my family life and activities from 2000 through 2006.

In 2002 I graduated to Blogger.com for Linda’s Life and started a few other blogs there as well. Most of my early blogs are no longer online, but they inspired me to write about many different topics. I wrote about homeschooling my children, my spiritual beliefs and experiences, my reactions to the world’s news, Coast to Coast AM (yes, the radio program I used to be addicted to), creative writing, and many other aspects of my life and experiences. Anything that gets a writer to write is a good thing, right?

Do you have more than one blog? Why? How are they different?

Yes, I have a collection of blogs because I’m interested in many different topics:

Linda Jo Martin: Perspectives on Writing - my writing website includes this blog which is intended to inspire writers and give helpful creative writing tips.

FightCPS - a popular family rights site where people who are falsely accused of child abuse can find helpful ideas on fighting for their rights through the legal system.

Klamath Design - I used to be a web designer, but I’ve transformed my design site into a blog that tells people how to start a web design business.

Happy Camp News - a small town news website that I’m transferring to WordPress blogs. I’m in the process of selling this business so I can do other things.

Bigfoot Sightings - my Bigfoot research. I live in a town well-known for Bigfoot sightings so I got interested in the topic; I wanted to know if they really exist near here. I think I’ve found the answer.

I also have a MySpace blog that I use to keep in touch with friends and family members.

How would you characterize your blog?
Creative
Political
Informational
Community-oriented
Or something else?

This particular blog is about creative writing. I started blogging on this site in 2001 to keep track of my progress in writing a novel. As it turned out, I used the old writing blog for quite a few novels. That blog is no longer being used as it was powered by blogger.com and I wanted to switch to WordPress.

This newer version of my writing blog is intended to share what I’ve learned about creative writing with others.

To paraphrase Oprah, what is “one thing you know for sure” about blogging?

One thing I know for sure about blogging is that it is a great way to practice and develop creative writing skills.

Is it important to you to get feedback in terms of comments or pings? Why or why not?

Yes, I love comments because I like to connect and communicate with others. To thank those who comment I’ve installed the DoFollow plugin for WordPress on all my blogs.

What 3 blogs would you recommend to our readers and why?

There’s a lot of blogs I love. A few I read often are:

Copyblogger - a blog that teaches copywriting skills. I recommend this because copywriting ability is essential for any blogger who wants to have a great blog.

Dosh Dosh - a blog about how to make money online. I recommend this for anyone who is thinking about monetizing their blog. I have monitized a few of my blogs and eventually will add advertising to others. But there’s a lot more to it than just putting AdSense on the page, and Dosh Dosh comes up with some great ideas.

SEO Moz - a blog about search engine optimization. I recommend this because it gives good quality information about how to make your blog more visible through the search engines - another skill I feel is essential for blogging enthusiasts.

You can tell a lot about people by looking at their book shelves. Here’s your chance to learn about me by seeing what books I’ve been reading. I’ve read a lot more than what’s listed here, so as I remember more titles I’ll be adding them to this list.

One of the most important things we writers need to do is read, because it helps us know the genres we choose to write in, and because through reading we learn to recognize good writing from bad. It is as important for us to read other genres as it is to read the ones we gravitate to in our writings. In this way we expand our understanding of writing, and develop our own unique styles.

Fiction

Picture Books to Middle Grade Illustrated

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears by Verna Aardema

The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop

The Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dalgliesh

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack

Millions of Cats by Wanda Gág

My Father’s Dragon by Ruth S. Gannett

Paddle To The Sea by Holling C. Holling

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Liza Lou And The Yeller Belly Swamp by Mercer Mayer

There’s a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business by Esphyr Slobodkina

Middle Grade Fiction

The Book of Three (Prydain Chronicles) by Lloyd Alexander

The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli

Sounder by William H. Armstrong

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard & Florence Atwater

On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer

A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl’s Journal, 1830-1832 by Joan W. Blos

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary

The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth

What Jamie Saw by Carolyn Coman

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

Julie by Jean Craighead George

Julie’s Wolf Pack by Jean Craighead George

Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

Along Came A Dog by Meindert Dejong

The House of Sixty Fathers by Meindert DeJong

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes

Calico Bush by Rachel Field

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

Blue Willow by Doris Gates

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

Lily’s Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff

Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janel Gray

Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

All Alone by Claire Huchet Bishop

The Little House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg

Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth by E. L. Konigsburg

Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison by Lois Lenski

Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski

The Magician’s Nephew by CS Lewis

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis

Prince Caspian by CS Lewis

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark

Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North

Sing Down The Moon by Scott O’Dell

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

The Black Pearl by Scott O’Dell

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

Seesaw Girl by Linda Sue Park

When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Park

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Pussy Meow: The Autobiography of a Cat by Susanna Louise Patteson

Letters from Pussycatville by Susanna Louise Patteson

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck

The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois

Daughter of the Mountains by Louise Rankin

Missing May by Cynthia Rylant

Fog Magic by Julia Sauer

The Light at Tern Rock by Julia Sauer

The Family Under The Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson

Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer

The Cricket In Times Square by George Selden, pseud. (George Thompson)

The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket

Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorenson

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

Middle Grade Non-Fiction

The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane by Russell Freedman

The Great Fire by Jim Murphy

Blizzard by Jim Murphy

…and lots of biographies…

Young Adult Fiction

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino

The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter

My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier & Christopher Collier

Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

The Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene

The Dark Frigate by Charles Hawes

Moccasin Trail by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Twilight by Stephenie Meyers

Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson

A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The Perilous Guard by Elizabeth Marie Pope

The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

Holes by Louis Sachar

Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous (Beatrice Sparks)

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JRR Tolkien

Contemporary Adult Fiction

The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom

Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

Peony by Pearl Buck

This Side of Innocence by Taylor Caldwell

Breakfast At Tiffany’s by Truman Capote

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven

One Harlequin romance, title forgotten, by Janet Daily

A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III

Poor Cow by Nell Dunn

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards

The Carousel by Richard Paul Evans

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

The Collector by John Fowles

The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles

The Magus by John Fowles

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

Body Double by Tess Gerritsen

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Ordinary People by Judith Guest

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

Demian by Herman Hesse

The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse

Narcissus and Goldman by Herman Hesse

Siddartha by Herman Hesse

Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse

Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt

Kirkland Revels by Victoria Holt

Bride of Pendorric by Victoria Holt

The Legend of the Seventh Virgin by Victoria Holt

Menfeya in the Morning by Victoria Holt

The King of the Castle by Victoria Holt

The Shivering Sands by Victoria Holt

The Secret Woman by Victoria Holt

The Shadow of the Lynx by Victoria Holt

On the Night of the Seventh Moon by Victoria Holt

The Far Pavilions by M. M. Kaye

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb

The City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre

Memory of Fire by Holly Lisle

The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

A Little Yellow Dog: An Easy Rawlins Mystery by Walter Mosley

The Sands of Kalahari by William Mulvihill

We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Love Story by Erich Segal

Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Spark

Palomino by Danielle Steel

The Promise by Danielle Steel

The Ring by Danielle Steel

Summer’s End by Danielle Steel

Earth Abides by George R. Stewart

Moonspinners by Mary Stewart

The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan

Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler

Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler

Pocho by Jose Antonio Villarreal

Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Slaughterhouse Five, or the Children’s Crusade by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Short Stories

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft

At the Mountains of Madness and Other Tales of Terror by H.P. Lovecraft

Selected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

Plays

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

Poetry

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Basho

Another book (can’t remember title) by Basho

Stanyan Street and Other Sorrows by Rod McKuen

Several other poetry collections by Rod McKuen

Classics

Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas

Tender Is The Night by William Faulkner

A Farewell To Arms by Hemingway

The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Call of the Wild and lots of short stories by Jack London

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

1984 by George Orwell

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare

Hamlet by Shakespeare

Antigone by Sophocles

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The Red Pony by John Steinbeck

A Cup of Gold by John Steinbeck

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain

Candide by Voltaire

Non-Fiction

Memoirs, Autobiographies, Biographies, True Stories, Essays, etc.:

Medicine Woman by Lynn V. Andrews

Spirit Woman by Lynn V. Andrews

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

Emma Lee by Juanita Brooks

A Walk In The Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

Cheaper By The Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

When Rabbit Howls by Truddi Chase

In the Land of the Grasshopper Song: Two Women in the Klamath River Indian Country in 1908-09 by Mary Ellicott Arnold and Mabel Reed

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

I Never Promised You A Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg

The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia by Esther Hautzig

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt

Mutant Messages Down Under by Marlo Morgan (may be fictionalized)

The Other Side: An account of my experiences with psychic phenomena by Bishop James A. Pike

Tisha: The Story of a Young Teacher in the Alaska Wilderness by Robert Specht

Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck

Pioneer Women: Voices From the Kansas Frontier by Joanna L. Stratton

Always, Karen by Jeanne Walker - see my review

Writing

Just Open A Vein edited by William Brohaugh

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne

The Artists Way by Julia Cameron

How to Write and Sell Your First Novel by Oscar Collier

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

On Writing by Stephen King

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile by Noah Lukeman

Writing To Sell by Scott Meredith

The New Diary by Tristine Rainer

A Writer’s Book of Days: A Spirited Companion and Lively Muse for the Writing Life by Judy Reeves

How To Grow A Novel by Sol Stein

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books, Second Edition by Harold D. Underdown

Blogging Tips - What bloggers won’t tell you about blogging by Lorelle Van Fossen

Spiritual, New Age, Religious, Philosophy, Energy Healing, etc:

A Course In Miracles

The Bhagavad Gita

The Bible

The Qur’an

Paris Talks by ‘Abdu’l Baha

DreamHealer: A True Story of Miracle Healings by Adam

Epistle to the Son of the Wolf by Baha’u'llah

Gleanings From The Writings of Baha’u'llah

The Hidden Words by Baha’u'llah

The Seven Valleys and The Four Valleys by Baha’u'llah

The Kitab-i-Iqan by Baha’u'llah

The Kitab-i-Aqdas by Baha’u'llah

The Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs

The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda

Trust Your Vibes: Secret Tools for Six-Sensory Living by Sonia Choquette

Acres of Diamonds by R. H. Conwell

The Power of Concentration by Theron, Q Dumont

Unification Culture and the 21st Century by Mose Durst

The Unquiet Dead: A Psychologist Treats Spirit Possession by Dr. Edith Fiore

Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain

The Prophet by Khalil Gibran

The Art of Spiritual Healing by Joel S. Goldsmith

Combatting Cult Mind Contol by Steve Hassan

Vignettes from the Life of Abdu’l-Baha edited by Annamarie Honnold

The Path of the Masters: The Science of Surat Shabd Yoga & The Yoga of the Audible Life Stream by Julian Johnson

The Law of Attraction by Michael Losier

The Romance Factor by Alan Loy McGinnis

The Friendship Factor: How to Get Closer to the People You Care For by Alan Loy McGinnis

Dawn-Breakers, The: Nabil’s Narrative of the Early Days of the Baha’i Revelation by Nabil-i-Azam

The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield

Entity Possession: Freeing the Energy Body of Negative Influences by Samuel Sagan

Hostage To Heaven - Four years in the Unification Church by an Ex- Moonie and The Mother Who Fought To Free Her by Barbara & Betty Underwood

Some Early Baha’is of the West by O. Z. Whitehead

The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson

See You At The Top by Zig Zigler

Children, Recovery, Psychology

Dibs In Search of Self by Virginia M. Axline

Play Therapy by Virginia M. Axline

Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself by Melody Beattie

Games People Play: The basic handbook of transactional analysis by Eric Berne

‘It Will Never Happen to Me!’ Children of Alcoholics: As Youngsters - Adolescents - Adults by Claudia Black

How to Parent by Fitzhugh Dodson

Dysfunctional Families by John C. Friel Ph.D.

12 Steps for Adult Children by Friends in Recovery

Between Parent and Child: The Bestselling Classic That Revolutionized Parent-Child Communication by Dr. Haim G Ginott

Parent Effectiveness Training: The Proven Program for Raising Responsible Children by Thomas Gordon

Recovery: A Guide for Adult Children of Alcoholics by Herbert L. Gravitz

I’m Ok, You’re Ok by Thomas A. Harris, M.D.

Out of Control: Who’s Watching Our Child Protection Agencies? by Brenda Scott

Protecting Children From Child Protective Services by Alan L. Schwartz

Healing The Child Within: Discovery and Recovery for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families by Charles L. Whitfield

A Gift to Myself by Charles L. Whitfield

Adult Children of Alcoholics by Janet Woititz

Struggle for Intimacy by Janet Woititz

Homemaking

Diet For A Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe

Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern

Taming the Paper Tiger: Organizing the Paper in Your Life by Barbara Hemphill

Sidetracked Home Executives(TM): From Pigpen to Paradise by Pam Young and Peggy Jones

Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui by Karen Kingston

[Note: This list will be updated whenever I read another book!]