Book Memories

I was fortunate to have a mother who loved to read. But not to me. It was during answering this week's Author's Answer question that I realized that while I was always surrounded by books as a child, they weren't mine.

I have no memory of books for children. Not of my parents reading them too me or a bookshelf or even few of them floating around in my toy cupboard. Yes, I had a toy cupboard. In the kitchen, no less. Bedrooms where for sleeping and waiting for your father to come home when you were naughty. They weren't for playing in.

In fact, while I remember learning to read, because we did that in school, not in preschool like kids do these days, it was reading the spines of my mother's massive mystery book collection at home that I recall actually reading. Once they were read, they were 'done'. My mother wasn't a big re-reader. After all, these were mystery books and once she knew who did it, that was that. Even worse, she couldn't even wait to find out who did it, so she would always read that last three or four pages first and then read the book to find out how the detective put the clues together to figure it out. That has never made sense to me. Appreciating all the little nuances you missed the first time is what re-reading a book is for. Sheesh.

A book got read and then put on the shelf. After that, it didn't matter what happened to it, other than the fact that it was still there in case one of her friends might stop by and want to borrow something to read. That left things wide open to my little organizational tendencies. I spent entire afternoons organizing them by author, or by color, or by how old they were. Did you know that a couple hundred books propped open on the floor also makes a really fun hamster trail? They do. Just don't let the hamster start chewing on the books. It makes parents angry.

Occasionally, as I got older, I'd skim a page here and there and so I started reading Watership Down, a raunchy pirate romance, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and The Crystal Cave. You may have noticed, none of those were mysteries. That's probably why they stuck out to me and begged to be skimmed. I have no idea how those anomalies ended up on my mother's bookshelves because our weekly trip to the local bookstore always ended up in the same aisle. Mystery. And we couldn't leave with just one book, no, there would be two or three. While I didn't learn to read from my parents, I did learn that reading a lot was perfectly acceptable.

Thank goodness for school libraries and those scholastic book fairs. Remember when everyone got a free book at the book fair? That was my favorite part of school: Free books. Now those book fairs are all about selling erasers and bookmarks and every variety of pencil you can think of. Yes, kids still buy books. Occasionally. I spent several years working at the book fair during my children's elementary years, and I can tell you, given the choice between spending a five bucks on a book or getting two pencils, a puppy pencil sharpener, an eraser that looks like a cell phone, and a bookmark, they'll go for the handful of crap nearly every time. What do they use that bookmark for? I have no idea. We can hope its for their library books, but it's probably because it had a cute kitten on it.

When I did start reading voraciously in my later elementary years, I first went to mystery, because, surprise, that's what I thought I was supposed to like. I joined my mother on the weekly trip to the bookstore, and came home with two or three books of my own. Ask for a new pair of jeans from the store (as opposed to the 'denim' ones my mom made for me) and there was no way in hell I was getting a yes, but ask for a couple books, and there's no argument. Priorities.

Mystery quickly gave way to horror, fantasy and sci-fi, and I've been there ever since. Would I let my kids read the stuff I was reading in middle school? That would be a huge no. I don't recall my mother ever questioning my reading choices or even paying attention to what pages I was stuck between. We didn't talk about what we were reading. We just read. Separately. Preferably in different rooms where we didn't distract one another. Books were for getting lost in.

I do attempt to be a slightly more attentive parent when it comes to what my kids are entertaining themselves with. We sometimes even curl up on the couch and read our books silently together in the same room. Do I succeed in protecting them from reading things that are socially unacceptable for their age? Probably not, but I do at least make an effort and we do talk about what they're reading. They have bookshelves filled with books of their own, and I read to them every night until they were old enough to read for themselves. All in all, I'm going to call it a victory.

What are you reading?

As another new year launches into the golden pit of good intentions, I am hoping to add a little more reading along with my one word goal of writing. And no, I don't mean writing checks. I've done enough of that to add up to a novella last year. Sadly, it wouldn't be a very exciting novella so I'll pass on sharing an excerpt from November's chapter of plumbing and septic.

< In packing the contents of my bookshelves, I was again reminded of how little I've added to them in the past year or two. On the other hand, my TBR pile is massive, and not yet packed. Why not? I guess I'm not ready to admit utter defeat yet. It's a new year, I get to optimistic about at least one thing, don't I?

This week on Author's Answer, we discuss what we like to read. Out of curiosity, I'm also going to take a peek at all the books I'm currently reading. Maybe this will subconsciously spur me into actually finishing some of them. Eventually.


Rise of the Spider Goddess by Jim C Hines
The Faded Sun: Kesrith by C.J. Cherryh
The Book of Shadows by James Reese
20 Master Plots (and How to Build Them) by Ronald B. Tobias
The Years Best Science Fiction 2006 edited by Gardner Dozois
The Passage by Justin Cronin
Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire
Two-Handed Engine by Henry Kutter and C.L. Moore

Well now, that's a lot of books to be reading at once. At least for me. Here's to a year of conquering this list and hopefully getting to a few I haven't cracked open yet.

Repurposing a First Novel

This week on Authors Answer (which I forgot to post a few days ago. Oops.), we talk about Foreign Language Novels.

Also a few days ago, that I'm just now finally catching up on, author Jim C. Hines did an entertaining presentation at our NaNoWriMo regional TGIO party. He has a new book out that is also an entertaining read. Having seen him in person, the commentary on the page comes alive.

He had a fun idea with this new book, Rise of the Spider Goddess. After successfully publishing a shelf full of books, he went back and pulled out his first novel that never made it to publication. Like most of us, he know realizes that first novel sucked.

Rather than putting it back and trying to forget it ever happened, he decided to publish it as is, but now with commentary sprinkled throughout as to why it sucks. Think of it as a self-depreciating guide to what not to do. I thought it was a rather creative and productive use of an old project. We've all been there so his mistakes were easy to relate to. Learning to overcome the mortification of their existence to the point where one can laugh at them is also a good thing. If you're looking for a laugh along with the opportunity to possibly learn a few things, give it a read.

May stories update #3

May 16: Prompt: Shame. I started out writing a shame story but that didn't last much past the concept stage. Then it became a 700 word story about Ambrose reading a spell and trying to figure out how to not become bacon in the future.

May 17 & 18: Another weekend. Forgive me as I wander off a bit here.

I've been in novel mode straight up until May 1. And beyond. In the midst of everything else going on, I'm editing novel chapters as critiques come in (and I'm behind. Surprise, surprise.). I'm still rather in that mode. I'm supposed to be in short story mode, and even though I pants my way through both lengths, shorts take a very different focus. No matter which angle I headed off in with this story, the idea kept getting too big and too many characters wanted in on the action.

I'd started out with a nugget of an idea. I liked this idea. Then I re-read the theme for the anthology I was asked to attempt to try for and, gah, my idea didn't exactly fit. It was off in sorta kinda territory. But liked it. But it didn't fit. So I changed it up. And nope. So I went a step back to where I'd been originally heading. Nope. Okay fine. I went to back to the story I wanted to tell. And things clicked. Now I just need to find time to finish it. Will it fit? More importantly, will I even get it done by the 20th? We'll see.

Knowing I was percolating Colonization 2.0 and changes to Sahmara's novel, I spent the majority of the weekend working on the new house: digging footings and leveling the entire basement floor on my hand and knees. It was quite a workout, but yay for progress. Geothermal and concrete are going on this week and next week: the framing begins! Exciting stuff.

Exhausted by the end of each day, I indulged in some book crack: Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dream Warrior. I did enjoy this installment in her world, but the ending was disappointing...because it didn't end. The romance plot was resolved but the other half of the plot was left dangling. While I didn't throw the book (Yes, I have really done that.), turning that last page left me annoyed. However, I do love her world so I'm sure we'll make up soon.

May 19: I know how Colonization 2.0 ends. I just can't get time to write it. So frustrating!

May 20: Oh hey, another day happened with a whole paragraph of writing accomplished. On the brighter side, framing on the house starts next week, and thanks to a massive rush of work, I know my bills will be paid.

May 21: Headdesk.

Current tally: Shorts that worked and might become something good: 4
Shorts that I set aside for later: 3
Days I didn't get to write: Too many

A to Z Twenty

Welcome to the 2014  A to Z Challenge. My theme for this year is why I shouldn't be participating. Thank you to David for writing the post that got the voices in my head working against me.

Twenty Master Plots and How to Build Them is the book I've been trying to read all March, and now into April. Not that it's hard to get through, I just haven't had much time to sit down and actually digest it. What I've gotten through so far is set out quite comprehensively with lots of examples from tv, movies and books that make the text easy to relate to. With each major plot type clearly explained along with beginning, middle and end goals to make them successful, it's really helped clarify where I'd like to go with a few of the novels and stories I currently have on my back burner. It's a really big burner.

Now I want to get through Sahmara's story so I can get back to Not Another Bard's Tale so I can play with my silly fantasy quest. Must. Control. The voices. Wait your turn! Then again, I really want to get through the book too. So many things do to, so little time.

A to Z Reading

Welcome to the 2014  A to Z Challenge. My theme for this year is why I shouldn't be participating. Thank you to David for writing the post that got the voices in my head working against me.

Reading. Every year I seem to go into reading mode in January and February and then March is a total loss for whatever reason (this year was because of work). April is either Camp NaNo and/or A to Z blogging (I don't recommend both. Did that last year and it was a lot to take on) and May is short stories. June is editing those short stories and July might allow me another spurt of reading before diving into critiques for the May stories that survive editing. The rest of the year is usually wrapped up in a novel project and I generally don't read while writing because things leech in. For a woman who loves reading, I don't ever seem to have enough time to read.

This April has allowed enough time for the whole Divergent series. I say 'allowed', but what I mean is I let my reading addiction to rule my every spare minute for five days while I squeezed in three books between working and running the kids around. Once that was done, I took a few days to breathe and then dove into critiquing a novel for a CP. Thankfully I'm not attempting Camp NaNo this April or I'd have no time for sleep.

February Reading

The snow just hasn't let up around here. Even in the few moments of sun we've been getting, the flakes are still falling. This is the most white stuff we've had to move around in all the seventeen years we've been in this house. It's getting a bit absurd. Enough already.

The one thing snow is good for is giving me an excuse to stay inside and attempt to be warm. Warm is best accomplished on the couch or bed under layers of blankets. Which means more time for reading.

Okay, so it's not exactly reading, but I did make my way (there wasn't much making, as much as there was careening) through the entire series of Breaking Bad. I hadn't watched a single episode while it was originally airing, but that turns out to be a good thing, because the best way to appreciate this amazingly written series is binge watching. The last season's writing was particularly excellent.

Hugh Howey's Sand was next on my list of things I'd been meaning to get to. This dystopian world centered around sand and heat and a dysfunctional family in a lawless land of hardships took a little edge off the chill. I don't have a lot to gush about on this one. It was middle of the road for me and the repetitive wording did get on my nitpicky nerves in some spots.

Now I'm going to gush.

Ever have one of those moments at a bookstore when a spine just catches your attention and you must pick up that book? I had that while meeting with a bookstore owner for work. I wasn't even looking for a book to buy, but yes, I bought this one. It cried out to me with promises of awesomeness. And it fulfilled them the next day when I couldn't but the damn thing down. All day. I'm sorry, Douglas Hulick, your ten years of effort in writing Among Thieves was devoured by my hungry eyes in a single day. And what a tasty meal it was.

What made me pick up fantasy novel full of swords and intrigue? I admit that it might have been the guy on the spine in those first seconds. Then it was the endorsement quote on the cover. I usually ignore those, but the words funny and twisting caught my eye. I love a little funny and a lot of twisting. I was sold after reading the first three sentences. The first page so reminded me of Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos Series and my favorite character, Shadowspawn, from the 1980's Thieves' World Series, that I nearly jumped for joy...right into the nearest chair so I could start reading. Full of swordplay, sarcastic wit, and a twisting plot full of mystery and colorful characters, there was nothing to pick at and everything to enjoy. I was blissfully whisked away to a land of reincarnating emperors, thieves with agendas and angels who may or may not actually exist. Now I have to wait for May to get the second book. Is it May yet? Must. Have. More.

January Reading

Because I still have a bunch of books beside my bed begging to be read and several on my computer...I went to my Kindle library to find something to read. What the heck is wrong with me?

I found the sequel to Atlantis Gene that I'd read last year waiting there for me, begging to be read. Who am I to say no? A.G. Riddle's,  The Atlantis Plague is a fast paced continuation of the first book. I finished it in three days. This thriller picks up right up where book one left off and leads nicely into the final book in the trilogy while still being a complete story - which is a wonderful thing, because I absolutely hate the sudden cut endings that some trilogy books suffer from. Thriller, mystery a bit of romance, all in a tasty science fiction shell.

Then it was off to more book crack...because I said was stopping, but my local book dealer found this and pointed it out to me, and yeah, it somehow ended up at my house. Sherrilyn Kenyon's Seize the Night turned into a twenty-four hour readingfest. Somewhere in there I got some sleep and a little work done. Having read the first three books in this series, and then the last, jumping into the middle was fun in that I happened to pick the book that included the single event alluded to in the final book that I'd really wondered how that had come to pass. That's my considerate way of putting it without any spoilers rather than an major effort to be vague. So yes, book 7, that's where that happens. I'm sure I'll succumb to the rest of the series eventually. I'm weak like that.

Next up was The Queen's Vow by C. W. Gortner. On occasion I like to take a break from the paranormal, fantasy and sci-fi and wander into historical fiction. This well researched book was a lovely portrayal of a woman trying to please her country, husband and her God. Mostly it showcased how the church manipulated everyone from royalty to pauper and how many countless thousands lost their lives due intolerance. That aspect was quite tragic, but there was also romance, and lasting friendship to balance out the betrayals and hardships.

Jenny and the Jaws of Life by Jincy Willett has graced reading stack for a while. I picked it up while on a David Sedaris kick a while back and it got lost in my workspace for over a year before I recently rediscovered it while on cleaning frenzy. This collection of short stories is best described as: off the wall, touching, silly, sad, laugh-out-loud hilarious, and thought-provoking. An eclectic array of characters deal with life, death, marriage and everything in between. It was the perfect book to keep in my car to read in between shuffling kids around...until I lost it by taking it out of my car. Oops.

I'll just sit here and let the story happen

I've never read a book that suffered from a more passive character than the one I'm currently in the middle of. I won't name names, because at this point, I don't have a lot of nice things to say.

My first novel suffered from this in places. It's an easy pit to fall into, just having your charming and interesting main character sit there while wild and crazy things happen all around them. You have so much to tell! You can't wait to show the reader everything about everyone, and don't worry, we'll get to the actual story in good time. Just bear with me, indulge me, won't you? It will all be worth it in the end.

Ah, yes, I've been there.

When I read 'wait, I'll tell you about that later' and 'but I'm getting ahead of myself' for the tenth time, I knew I was in for a rocky read. But I'm sticking with it. Why? The main character is interesting and I'm hoping the promise of a great plotline pans out.

So far, we've spent the first third of the book getting to know all about the main character's childhood and launching into the big thing that I'd hoped would get the pace really cracking. However, instead, we've wandered off into the full backstory's of several other characters. Don't get me wrong, they're well told and interesting, but it's not furthering the plot. In fact, that's at a complete stand still.

The main character has all the promise of wowing me, but they seem content to react to others, going with the flow, and never acting themselves. Thankfully there are other characters to propel the plot forward (when we're not busy learning all about their past). But what I really want to see is this character moving forward of their own accord. Less learning about everyone and everything and more doing.

I find myself wanting to haul out my red pen and make notes. Lots of notes. But the damage is done, it's already published. I'm just hoping that, by the end, I'll see the awesome that grabbed someone's attention and made them want to publish this particular book.

Excuse me now, while I put my optimism back in it's box.

December Reading Blitz

With NaNo over and my brain fried from the even busier than the usual work rush before Christmas, I've decided to get some reading done. I need a little escape from reality.

Unfortunately, I stumbled upon some book crack while sifting through book donations and totally checked out of the real world for a little while. You have to appreciate a writer who can torture her men so well. I really enjoy the fact that there is an overarching plotline that pulls all the books together rather than just featuring romance stories from a shared world. Here's what I read in seven days:
Dance with the Devil by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Night Embrace by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon

And then I came up for some air and got some work, holiday shopping and decorating done and remembered to get some full nights of sleep.

My daughter handed me a YA book from her school bookclub that she really liked. I have to say that it's interesting fiction set in the 1860s based on some actual caged graves that the author ran across. The story kept me turning the pages at a rapid pace.
The Caged Graves by Dianne K Salerni

My Mother-in-Law passed The Town That Forgot How To Breathe by Kenneth J. Harvey to me. She said it was "very weird". I have to second this statement. It is has a very Lovecraftian feel. While the first third moved rather slowly as we are introduced to all the pov characters, it gets rolling in the middle and entered the can't-put-it-down stage in the last third. Set in Canada, we get to visit a small town afflicted with a mysterious illness and some of the characters have really trippy scenes which described vivid detail. Of all the horrific images that are so graphically described (drowned bodies, decaying bodies, living dead bodies, psychotic wishes to murder people in great detail), I admit, the one that really grossed me out, was of a little girl picking her nose. Just euw.

Reading and Echoes

Ever have the feeling your email must not be working because there's nothing in the inbox? So you check it. Frequently. Because darn it, something should be in the inbox.

That's my inbox the past month and half. I'm usually a pretty patient person when it comes to the submission waiting game. I really am. But I've got four projects floating out there at the moment and they've all been out from one to six months. Usually there's at least one project that bounces back with a quick form rejection to prove that my inbox is indeed operational. Not that I'm begging for a quick form rejection, that just how the submission game usually works.

Now that I've broken down and complained about it, the rejections will come flying in. That's also how it usually works.

Deep cleansing breath.

While I'm waiting, I've been busy writing. Swan Queen, which I've been searching for a new title for now that I've adjusted what I'd originally set out to do with the theme, is creeping along. Chapter three is now done.

I've also been busy reading. However, not much from my TBR pile. That pile has been there long while as have two books I'm in the middle of that I just can't seem to finish reading. Nothing is lighting my fire at the moment. Meh. Even a trip to the bookstore didn't reveal a book that I knew I could dive into and love. Tis a sad state of anxious emotional affairs I've worked myself into.

Instead of reading from my pile, I did critique a full novel last month. My month of reading accomplishments isn't totally lacking. I also had the driving urge to read Trust and Chain of Gray. Not for editing, but for enjoyment, though I did fix a few lurking ninja typos. Sneaky bastards.

Now it's time to get back to chapter four and, yes, waiting.

Reading: January Summary

Part of my resolution this year was to make more time for me to do what I enjoy. One of those things is reading. Another is critiquing for my writing buddies. When I can put these together, relaxing things happen and relaxing is very good.



 

I had the privilege to critique a novel for one of those aforementioned writing buddies. Making it through a whole novel with chapter by chapter crits usually takes much longer than a few weeks, but I'm fresh off a new resolution here so I made record time through Niko and the Shadows. It turned out to be an enjoyable YA Fantasy read with enough darkness to keep my interest. I hope to see it in print someday.

The angel angle was good, something different from what I've read before as far as angel romance goes. However, there are only so many times the MCs can blindly misunderstand each other for the sake of the plot that I can handle.

A collection of short strories that spans touching, quirky, and funny. My favorite was a story about a the death of a mother which was very easy to sympathize with and touching, yet laced with humor.

Reading: It does the body good

...and the overworked mind. Rather than attempt the "Calgon take me away" experience, I've taken a more reasonable approach, knowing I'm constantly interrupted by husband, kids and work. I decided to book myself on a month-long vacation from reality (in every available moment) by getting some reading done. Authors, take me away!

In the past few weeks, I've devoured:

 

Some of sentence structure tickled my critting urges but other than that, an enjoyable and lighthearted read. Lighthearted, by my standards that is--people died, creatures died, people had sex but nothing overly graphic. My only big complaint is the cover is deceiving. I went in expecting an adult male, but ended up with two lusty teenagers. Definitely aimed at a younger audience rather than forty-something me.

Much higher on my enjoyable scale. A good balance of violence, sex and sci-fi. Adult characters, were a definite plus. I'd somehow missed this series altogether, and now I will have to hunt the other two books down as time allows.

John Moore is one of my favorite comedic authors. If you still haven't read Heroics for Beginners, get thee to a bookstore and rectify that oversight immediately.

This book brought some much needed laughter to my high stress days. A humorous romp though fantasyland intrigue.

I'd been meaning to read something by Dave Barry for a couple years now so when this book ended up in my used book drive collection box, I decided to give it a go before sending it on it's way. The pacing was excellent and it was an entertaining twist on Peter Pan. I won't be reading the rest of the series, just for the fact that there's only so much light-hearted YA I can handle.



Next up, something darker or at least back in the adult arena.

May Writing Challenge - Week 3

A Story A Day In May update:
(a daily log of  victory and shame)

May 14: Took a break from writing today (or trying to write) and finally read Hunger Games. All of it. Today. Because that's how I read (devour) books. I was very disappointed in the ending. I hate 'buy the next book to continue the story' endings. A story should end, leaving me the choice to continue on with what happens next or not.

I don't usually read YA, but I'm percolating my June Camp NaNo project--which is to revise (and write in the last half and ending of) an attempt at a YA fantasy. I figured getting in the YA mode of thought might help get the ideas flowing. Overall, I liked Hunger Games. It was an easy, enjoyable read and had some touching moments. However, I kept waiting for something really drastic or unexpected to happen but it never did. Maybe this says something about me when twenty-two kids dying horrible deaths inflicted by one another just isn't drastic enough to wow me.

May 15: Yanked last week's failed story from the percolator. Got the first couple hundred words down and realized it still has no goal. It is slightly more funny though so hey, that's something. I shoved it back in the percolator. Worked on catching up on crits and revising A Broken Race instead.

May 16: Got a good idea for a story but beyond the opening line, didn't get time to write it down. Maybe tomorrow. On the other hand, I did get some more revisions of A Broken race completed.

May 17: Wrote opening scene for as of yet untitled story and have the rest all laid out in my head. I'm liking this one--it's inspired by a failed short I wrote during NaNo two years ago. Spent the rest of the day prepping for annual garage sale.

May 18: Ran annual garage sale singlehandedly AND worked then volunteered for four hours at night at school for PTO event. No writing.

May 19: Garage sale all day AGAIN and cleanup. Worked on the ending of story from the 17th in my head, though I didn't get a chance to write any more of it down on account of crashing, exhausted and with a migraine into bed at 8:30pm.

May 20: With the garage sale done I was really looking forward to a day of writing after my busy week. I curled up with my laptop, got yet another idea for a short that brought together several ideas I'd had floating around for quite some time and started writing. Damn that felt good! That is, until my husband reminded me that we had agreed to spend the day at our property picking up the thousands of sticks from over the winter. (insert excessive amounts of internal swearing.)

In summary: This week sucked for writing.

In search of a little funny

In my effort to be less this year, I'm seeking out ways to be less stressed. Laughing seemed like a good start.

The first book I read this year, Sara Barron's, People are Unappealing  made me laugh inappropriately in all sorts of places. When I spotted this book on the shelf, it was the title that grabbed me. Normally I'm a cover kind of girl. Titles aren't my thing. Usually. But this one was so damn true that I had to nod in agreement and skim a few pages. While I found it entertaining, it wasn't the sort of book I usually read so I put it back on the shelf and went about my search for books on writing--which was why I was at the bookstore in the first place.

A couple weeks later, still haunted by the amusing title, I made my way to the bookstore and sighed with relief when I found it was still there. I'm rather one tracked minded once I'm set on something and if the book hadn't been there, I would have had to drive to another bookstore until I'd found it. Ordering it, and then having to wait for it, just wasn't an option.

With my new purchase in hand,  I went home and cracked it open. And laughed. And laughed so hard that I had to leave the room with the book rather than attempt to explain to my husband what was so damned funny in front of my kids. FUPA anyone? Filled with all aspects of unappealing life from dealing with parents to sex. The vulgar observations were so up my alley that I brought this book with me everywhere. It fit right in my coat pocket. I even schemed my way out of the house for an extra half hour of quiet reading time by offering to drive to the pizza place, order, wait and then bring it home. I'm pretty sure the girl at the counter thought I was on something from the amount of snickering I was doing over a particularly amusing passage wherein real people are "renamed" to protect their identity.

I was sad when the book ended. I'd had so much fun laughing my way through that one that I had to get another. I went back to the bookstore and came home with four more books. One of which was Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. Also known as the second book I read this year. Not quite as funny as the first book of the year, but still amusing and much safer to leave sitting around the house.

Filled with short essays that are the perfect lunch-break size, this book covers everything from speech therapy as a kid to drug binges, artistic expression, jazz bands, leading an unmotivated life, claiming the perfect boyfriend in order to have a house in France and attempts at learning French.

As a writer, the last section of the book where he divulges his daydream characters is by far my favorite. Anyone who desires to best describe their hair as cravy is all right in my book. Curvy, wavy, yep, totally makes sense to me. I've seen that hair. Some great character tidbits in that section, yes indeed.

Laughter. Yep, I feel less stressed already. I wonder what the third book of the year has in store? 

August Readingfest - OUCH!

As my readingfest frenzy creeps toward its end --September, with the kids back in school should see my back to my quiet writing time-- I finished George R.R. Martin's A Feast for Crows. I'd only read that one once before and I was amazed at how much I'd missed my first time through. It may be that I'd forgotten more than I remembered after six years, but I have a feeling it was more a case of devouring the book and missing subtleties of the plot lines. Having read the first four books now in close succession, the forth felt the weakest, mostly for the simple fact that it was only half of what was going on during that book's timeline.

It's book five, A Dance with Dragons that I have to thank for the fire red sunburn on my back today. Just a couple chapters at the beach...and one more...maybe just one more. Roll over? I can't read on my back! Just one more chapter.

I'll slather myself in aloe and read from the comfort of my couch in air conditioned house from now on. Or acutally remember to apply sun screen. That probably would have been a good idea too. Hmm, staying inside, yeah, that's a safer option, I think.

Book five of A Song of Ice and Fire promises to make up for the partial story of book four by relaying all the character's stories we missed in A Feast for Crows and then concluding by twining them all together again so we can happily lead into book six--which is promised in the opening notes. I just hope it won't be another six year wait. Ahem. I'll try to be patient. Besides, I have another few days of reading until I reach the end and the long wait for the next one begins.

Something I've noticed along the way: weasels. They're everywhere in this series. Particularly in book three, which is filled with them. Rippy McWeasel is not particularly pleased with the way his kind are portrayed in these books. I've told him to be quiet and bide his time. NaNoWriMo will be here soon and his time to shine will come.

August Readingfest

A couple weekends ago we took a long weekend road trip to Chicago. This trip reinforced the facts that I am NOT a big city kinda girl and that my TBR pile has gathered dust for far too long. To keep my daughter busy, we had stopped at the video store to stock up on DVDs for the long ride. As we wandered through the family video section I spy City of Ember and something clicks in the back of my head. Huh, that sounds familiar. Why? Oooooh! I have that book... and its sequel... in my TBR pile... from 2004. Behind much? Umm yeah.

The problem with buying books from a book club blurb is that I occasionally a smidge misled. As I sat watching the movie, I realized, I'd unwittingly purchased two YA books. I'm not a huge YA fan. I know, I know, YA is hugely popular right now, but I like my books dark and twisted or erotic and with plots that keep me guessing. As for the movie of City of Ember, I enjoyed watching it with my eight year old daughter. The effects were disappointing in the main action scene, but otherwise, it was pretty good. After finishing the movie, I vowed to clear these books from my stack.

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau was slightly darker than the movie and not filled with the hand holding reminders and explanations that plague some of the YA I've encountered. While I admit I kept waiting for something dark, sinister or twisted to happen, (it didn't) the plot and its ending was still gratifying in it's own simple way. I wish I could share what drove me to purchase the book in the first place, perhaps it was just the post-apocalyptic flavor, but that several years ago so I don't remember exactly. Apparently there are two more books in the series now that I was not aware of until writing this post. If I happen across them, I might have to pick them up as I will be passing these books on to both of my kids (13 & 8) to read. With both a teen girl and a boy as the MCs this book fits a wide audience. If you enjoy YA and have five to six hours you'd like to spend in a book, this one might be for you.

The People of Sparks This sequel picks up right where City of Ember left off, with Lina and Doon experiencing the outside world for the first time in their lives. This book makes you think a little about all the skills and knowledge we (and our children) take for granted. The moral of the story was a shade more in your face than I prefer even in books for kids, but it did have a character twist that I didn't see coming so I must give credit for that. Another quick read and perfect for my kids. Now I just have to keep them off their laptops long enough to pick up a book.

With two books read in two days, I was feeling far too accomplished. I'd waited a long time (too long because the newest of the series is now taunting me from the top of the TBR pile), but I finally allowed myself to sink into the sumptuous feast that is George R.R. Martin's A Clash of Kings. Since I'd just watched Game of Thrones on TV, I didn't need to refresh myself with the first book of A song of Ice and Fire. This was my third time through the early books of this series, but I wanted everything fresh in my head so I could fully enjoy the fifth book when I get to it. The series should have been named A Feast of Words and Characters. If you have not yet allowed yourself the utter pleasure of reading this fantasy masterpiece, indulge yourself. Go on. Do it. Now.

July Readingfest 3

I'm thinking this reading frenzy is going to continue into August since it's not looking like Camp NaNo is going to work for me then either. At least I'm getting my TBR pile thinned out a little. A very little. But hey, it's constructive and it's progress. This week I was the crazy lady at the county fair, walking around with a book in her hand, reading for ten minutes here and there while my daughter rode the rides.

To finish out my mission of completing the entire Dune series, I sought out Winds of Dune. This is the story of Lady Jessica that continues on after Paul of Dune. For those of you who have questioned the necessity of these newer Dune novels, on this particular one, I agree with you. While Paul of Dune delved into major questions about what drove Paul to leave his new empire behind and disappear into the desert, the few further answers revealed in Winds of Dune could have been tucked into Paul's novel. Filled with what felt with a lot of repeated information, this novel didn't give me the same compelling urge to devour it as the other did. If you're a big fan of the House Vernius plotline, you'll find the answers to all those pesky little questions that have popped up since back in Dune: House Atreides and all the newer books that have followed. If that's not a priority, I'd recommend Paul of Dune and moving on to Children of Dune.

After finishing Hunters of Dune -- which is one of those novels you go into knowing that it's going to end with only half the story told thanks to the author's notes -- I was in such a lurch to find Sandworms of Dune immediately, that I read the last page, set the book down and picked up the phone. I called my local book consignment store (where I'm selling all my leftover NaNoWriMo bookdrive novels) and asked if they had it. They didn't. So I sucked it up and drove to Barnes and Noble.

I can't tell you how long it's been since I've bought a new book off the shelf. Years. This is the problem with reading and critiquing so many other peoples novels, belonging to a book club and living close to a used book store, I don't get out much in that sense. When did the price of a paperback rise to $9.99?

Sandworms of Dune was everything I'd hoped it would be, a well-told, satisfying conclusion to the entire series, old and new. If you can image all sixteen Dune books in a neat stack topped with a bow, that's pretty much what finishing Sandworms of Dune felt like. I was a little concerned when I read that many of the original characters were back (as gholas), trapped aboard a giant no-ship, jumping around the universe to hide from a mysterious unknown Enemy -- you know the nameless, unknown bad entity that hasn't done anything really yet but everyone fears just cause they feel the Enemy is "bad". Granted, there were a few points that seemed obvious to me before the characters figured them out, but as a whole, the novel worked and the series now feels complete.

Wrapping up an epic that spans thousands of years with so many main characters, both good and bad, was a tall order, but Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson managed to do it. Hooray! And now I can set the Dune universe on my bookshelf, take a deep breath and move on. What will I reach for next?

July Readingfest 2

Everyone benefits when I'm in reading mode. Well, everyone but my discarded horde and my current characters in limbo that is. My dog gets to go to the dog park where I can sit on a bench and read. My kids get to go to the beach, ChuckECheese, the park, and get to see me without a laptop attached to my person. My tub gets my attention with lots of long baths (though my shower probably misses me). My husband takes joy in not hearing the constant clickety clack of my fingers on the keyboard. Me, I'm getting a tan and feeling a little more accomplished with each book I take off my TBR pile.

I finished Jacqueline Carey's Naamah's Blessing since my last post. LOVED IT. And was overjoyed to have a strong ending to that trilogy with the promise of a new one to come. If I have to nitpick at something, it would be the overuse of single sentence paragraphs. Every chapter seemed to end with them and they were also scattered throughout. But really, that's digging for something to nitpick just to be fair.

Then I dove into Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's, Paul of Dune. As much as I love Dune, this book has tragically languished on the bottom of my TBR pile since its release in 2008. That's how behind I am. Eek! This was a great point to dive back into the Dune universe. Reading of any of the previous books wasn't necessary, as necessary information was neatly tucked in. Of course, I had read all the previous books, but it's been a LONG time since reading the original six books. Focusing on Paul and the years between Dune and Dune Messiah, we learn the events that turned Paul Muad'dib into a terrifying ruler that brought massive change to the universe. Nitpick: The jump between childhood years and present day was jarring and off-putting at first but well indicated.

Currently I'm halfway into Hunters of Dune, also by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's. The long awaited first part of the divided Book 7 of the original Dune series. Thankfully, this book also does a great job of inserting necessary snippets to jog the memory since Chapterhouse Dune was published in 1985 and I likely read it within a couple years of that. Yeah, it's been awhile. Easy to follow and as enjoyable as all the new Dune books have been, I have found nothing significant to nitpick on. Yet. The chapters are blessedly short, making it a perfect read for the constantly interrupted like myself. With a myriad of characters to follow, there's something for everyone as we follow the spiderweb of plotlines that clash and smash their way toward the climax of this awesome and inspirational series.

July Readingfest

While many of my fellow writing pals are off at CampNano, I'm stuck in a work schedule that leaves my creative brain fried and my fingers reluctant to go anywhere near my laptop. I did manage to get away for a long holiday weekend to take our first official family camping trip.

Other than some majorly rude and annoyingly obnoxious camp site neighbors, it was a wonderful experience. The weather was perfect. We found interesting fossil rocks, played in the sand, paddled around in a canoe and cooked food over the fire. Good stuff. I also brought a book and tried to get a little reading done.

Honestly, I did more carrying the book around intending to read it than actual reading, but having the leisure to do so did manage to rekindle the urge to read for enjoyment that had been lacking due to critiquing for the past couple years and trying to get my own writing done. Once home and the camping gear put away, I sat down and poured through the sand speckled pages. Then I picked up another and read that. I just cracked open a third. I've declared this month my Readingfest.

I'm hoping to work through some of my towering TBR pile. So far I've conquered:
The Barbarian by Judith French A good romance tale with a little lite history on the side. Other than feeling, from the amount of backstory inserted, that this was a book two, I didn't find much to distract me from enjoying the story of Alexander's wife, Roxanne, her hidden child, Ptolemy's need to outshine his dead brother, his missing bastard... oh and, of course, the hot barbarian prince who rescues her. I enjoyed the fact that this was a more mature romance in that Mr. Hottie had adopted and raised two boys on his own and both of the MCs were on their second marriage. No heaving-breasted virgins here, no sir.

For the past two days, my head has been stuck in Dark Fire by Christine Feehan. While formulaic like I've found the Carpathian series generally to be, it was still an enjoyable, quick read. Stong-willed and perpetual loner Tempest finds herself employed as the mechanic of an eccentric band, who are all secretly Carpathians (not exactly vampires). When their large, domineering bodyguard declares she is his lifemate and bonds them together, she must come to grips with kissing her loner lifestyle goodbye for all eternity. Lots of sex seems to help her adjust. The dialogue felt stiff in places and the descriptions repetitive, but overall, I wasn't complaining.

This morning, I dove into the long awaited Jacqueline Carey's Naamah's Blessing which arrived in my mailbox yesterday. Having reached chapter eleven by lunch, I've already laughed and cried. It took Puss in Boots eyes and much tugging from my daughter to dislodge me from the book in order to get my motherly duties and work day going. I marvel at Carey's skill at weaving so much emotion into her characters and creating such a wonderfully detailed world. I'm sad to see another of her trilogies close but anxious to see if another will follow. More gushing on this novel when I finish it. Which will likely be tomorrow at this pace. Who needs sleep?