Tattoos

Literary tattoos are a growing trend, and there are some gorgeous ones out there. I've seen some quotes in beautiful script, images from childhood favorites, or a book commemorated with a picture that means something to the individual.

I have three literary tattoos - two quotes and one image that was the author's "trademark". Well, I kind of have four - I have a typewriter with a blank page in it so I can write what I want, forever.

I want many, many more tattoos - many literary. There are just so many books I love, books that have spoken to me and make me want to have their words on me forever. There are so many illustrations I love that would make an amazing children's lit sleeve. The thing is, I'm running out of room, and have other things I want done, also!

What I love about tattoos is they tell stories, whether they're literary or not. Someone can ask about any of my tattoos, and I'll tell a story. I'll either talk about what it means to me and why. I can tell a story about how I chose it. I can tell about the day I got it. I can tell something funny that happened when someone else commented on it. They are definitely conversation starters and stories all in one!

Do you have any tattoos? Are any of them literary tattoos? If you hate tattoos, why? I've met so many people that absolutely hate tattoos - not just for themselves, but on me, too!

Some Writer!: The Story of E.B. White

Some Writer!: The Story of E.B. White

by Melissa Sweet

I've read a lot of E.B. White's work, but I didn't know much about him. This book was an incredibly enjoyable way to learn about him, and is probably my favorite biography read so far.

I loved this book because it really pulls the reader in. It goes beyond words on a page; it is presented as a scrapbook of E.B. White's life. Snippets of letters and White's early work are beautifully laid out on the pages. Sweet adds a lot of color and character with bright illustrations, giving readers visual insight into the author's life.

Some quotes I could especially relate to:

- "'There is a secret joy in discovering a blunder in the public prints,' Andy wrote. 'Almost every person has a little proofreader in him'" (44).

- "To a writer, a child is an alibi. If I should never write anything worth reading, I can always explain that by pointing to my child" (50).

- "A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell" (102, also from The Elements of Style).