What I’ve been writing

Here’s a list of some of the things I’ve written lately, in case you’ve been missing out on your daily dose of all things Laura (don’t fight it, baby):

Last but not least, I’ve also been ghostwriting my cat’s blog The Daily Nedwardian (which I need to go update for His Highness). Yes, my cat has a blog. And a Twitter account, too.

In closing, here’s a photo featuring the miniature Salvador Dalí my husband bought me for my birthday:

I can’t resist a man with a mustache (photo by Laura Roberts)

Why “chick lit” does a disservice to chicks everywhere

Recently, I’ve been writing about some of my literary opinions on a blog called The Perpetual Post. There, I’ve had the pleasure of debating a variety of Arts & Culture topics on a weekly basis with a spirited bunch of people who are eager to take sides on everything from Obama’s politics to the latest episode of Mad Men.

This week, my assigned piece was on the topic of the much-maligned literary corner of the universe known as “chick lit,” and thus my co-blogger Molly Schoemann and I launched into our little monologues on why the label “chick lit” should be outlawed.

You can read all about it in our piece “Female Authors and the Chick-Lit Rap,” and don’t forget to give us some love (or some lip!) in the comments section, yo!

And for more of my mouthing off on subjects both literary and otherwise at The Perpetual Post, just click here.

15 books in 15 minutes

Here’s a meme everyone can play along with.

THE RULES:

This can be a quick one. Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Tag 15 friends, including me because I’m interested in seeing what books my friends choose. Ready? Go!

  1. beautifullosersBeautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen
  2. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
  3. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
  4. Anna Karenina by Tolstoy (as it’s taking FOREVER for me just to read it!)
  5. The First Five by Henry Rollins
  6. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
  7. The Moor’s Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie
  8. Madame Bovary by Flaubert (probably because I read it WAY too young)
  9. those effing vampire books by Anne Rice—The Vampire Lestat, Interview with a Vampire, Queen of the Damned, etc. (ah, impressionable youth)
  10. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (anyone who’s read it as a young person understands why this will stick)
  11. The Pearl by John Steinbeck (I think I had to read this three times in junior high, no wonder)
  12. Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk
  13. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  14. Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote (okay, it’s a short story; so sue me)
  15. Sarah by J.T. LeRoy