Category Archives: Memes

April 12, 2012 · 1:34 pm

Booking it eternally

From Booking Through Thursday:

What book took you the longest to read, and do you feel it was the content or just the length that made it so?

Wow, I haven’t booked for a while, and this is a fun question.

The first really long book I read was Gone With The Wind. I was maybe twelve at the time and I remember taking at least one break part way through to read a few shorter novels. Because the book is long, and Scarlett, kind of annoying. I’m really not all that wild about Rhett either.

In college, I booked through both Anna Karenina (long) and War and Peace (longer) relatively quickly. Maybe because there was going to be a test. Tolstoy fun fact: the man did know how to write a short story. Really.

More recently, I read the first two books in the fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. I’m still tired from that. I read these on Kindle and I was all:

29%? How can I still be at 29%? I’ve been reading for hours.

Will I continue the series? Maybe. When I’m in the mood for epic fantasy and don’t mind seeing all my favorite characters killed off. I think it’s this last bit that keeps me away. Not that I think authors should never kill off their characters. It’s that I don’t trust Martin. I don’t want to get attached to anyone in the series, so I keep all the characters at arm’s length–which is no way to read a book.

As I mentioned, epic fantasy is a mood read for me. Now I need to add epic fantasy where I don’t mind all my favorite characters dying and the books are really, really long, kind of like the literary equivalent of running a marathon. 

That’s a very specific sort of mood. It may be a while before I pick up book three.

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September 29, 2011 · 9:34 am

Booking it loudly

This week on Booking Through Thursday:

1. What do you think of reading aloud/being read to? Does it bring back memories of your childhood? Your children’s childhood?

2. Does this affect the way you feel about audio books?

3. Do you now have times when you read aloud or are read to?

I’ve spoken before about how much I love audio books. Yes, I know some people don’t consider this “real” reading. I. Don’t. Care. I’d be certifiably insane right now if I didn’t have them to listen to during the commute. (Don’t get me started on “drive-time” radio …)

1. I love being read to and reading aloud. In fact, I still read with Kyra and we’re planning on reading The Secret Garden this week. Actually she’s going to read it herself first, then I can read it to her. She’s convinced it will be that good. A few weeks back, when I had a horrid cold, I pulled the audio book from the car (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest) and listened to the rest of it while curled up in a chair with a cup of tea.

2. There is something very comforting about being read to. It’s a great way to decompress after work and survive the commute, so there’s that.

3. As I’ve mentioned, yes, I do read aloud and listen to books. I also do a listening edit on my own books. I import them to my Kindle, then use the text to speech function to listen while I follow along on the page.

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September 22, 2011 · 11:09 am

Booking it covertly

From Booking Through Thursday this week:

Do you carry books with you when you’re out and about in the world?

And, do you ever try to hide the covers?

Shh. It’s a secret.

The answer is yes. I almost always have a book (or two) with me whenever I go out. If I don’t, it’s an oversight. I simply forgot to take one with me when I left the house.

And seriously, this is the beauty of the Kindle. Not only can I carry multiple books with me, I can also read them on the sly. No more cover angst for me. That being said, I often have a paperback, hardcover, or library book I’m reading with me that might be seen as a little odd. No, no heaving bosoms or Fabio covers ala old school romance.

But.

I’ve been reading middle grade books.

I sometimes wonder what other people think when they see me tearing through the pages of The Mother-Daughter Book Club, or The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet.

And speaking of mother/daughter and books. Last weekend, Kyra and I went on a driving adventure when Bob’s car broke down. She packed up a bag of at least seven books to take with her–just in case.

I’m pretty sure this is hereditary.

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August 3, 2011 · 11:39 am

WWW Wednesday: the long and the short of it

Cover of "Metaphors We Live By"

Cover of Metaphors We Live By

It’s WWW Wednesday, as hosted by Should be Reading.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

In the car: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray and read by Libba. How can one woman be so talented? The audio version is wonderful. Great production values and Libba is incredible. So. Funny.  I’m lucky I haven’t driven off the road. Highly recommended.

On the Kindle: A Clash of Kings (Book Two in A Song of Ice and Fire) by George R. R. Martin. This is a very long book.  Plus, I totally need to get myself a second middle initial.

On the nightstand: Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson For a writing class I’m taking, although strictly speaking, this is not a writing text.

What did you recently finish reading?

A Game of Thrones (Book One in A Song of Ice and Fire) by George R. R. Martin. This is also a very long book. I read, and read, and read, and my Kindle % goes up by maybe 1%. Still, it’s some good summer reading.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Uh, the next George R. R. Martin book in the series. That would be the logical conclusion. I also want to read The Liar Society by Lisa Roecker and Laura Roecker. As one Amazon reviewer billed it: It’s like Nancy Drew, but cooler, sassier, and funnier. I always wanted to be a girl detective.

And … speaking of reading: the Long and the Short of It review site is having their four-year anniversary celebration this week. As part of that, they’re doing a retrospective on “firsts.” On Monday, Marianne warned me that there was a surprise in my future (or rather, for my Wednesday).

Guess what? Their very first short story happened to be one of mine. Shall we step back to those halcyon days of 2007–before Geek Girl was even published, never mind sold–and take a road trip out to SoCal?  Don’t forget the toilet paper.

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June 28, 2011 · 11:44 am

Teaser Tuesday: Second Sight

Teaser Tuesday and the rules are simple:

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Let’s try a writing book this week, shall we?

It’s as Richard Peck says: “A good YA novel ends not with happily ever after, but at a new beginning, with the sense of a lot of life yet to be lived.”

From Second Sight: An Editor’s Talks on Writing, Revising, and Publishing Books for Children and Young Adults, by Cheryl B. Klein, pages 217 – 218.

Oh, I love that. It gets it just right, I think. When we did our blog tour for Geek Girl, Darcy and I would often refer to the “hopefully ever after.” But I think this is better.

And it’s not really a spoiler, since Second Sight is a book of essays, so you don’t need to read in order if you don’t want to. Cheryl also has a lot of excellent information online for YA and children’s writers. Check out her blog and her website.

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April 19, 2011 · 9:51 am

Teaser Tuesday: 80s awesomeness

It’s that time again!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read

  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 This week, I’m reading Rose Sees Red by Cecil Castellucci. In short:

Rose has given up. She’s given up on friendship, on happiness, on life being anything other than black, black, black. Yrena wants out. She’s a dancer who doesn’t want to dance, a prisoner in her own home, a resident of New York who never gets to see the city. To Rose, Yrena has always been the Russian girl who lives next door, seen through the window but never spoken to.

At least not until Yrena crashes into Rose’s room-and Rose’s life-and sets in motion a night in New York City that none of them will ever forget. From YA superstar Cecil Castellucci, this is the story of cold hearts and cold wars warmed by simple human connection and the liberty of being young and free in the early hours of a new day.

You guys, this book is all 80s, all the time. It has leg warmers, KGB and CIA agents, Dungeons and Dragons, and is so chock full of 80s awesomeness, it’s making me dizzy just thinking about it.

It was difficult to pick a teaser (and mine’s a little long, but really, you need to read all of it–no spoilers, promise), but here it is:

There were perverts in the Bronx. I knew this to be true because my brother, Todd, was a pervert and he lived in Riverdale. I also knew that his dorky friends were perverts, and they were all downstairs in the garage playing Dungeons and Dragons. Right now, my house was Pervert Central.

~ p. 40, Rose Sees Red by Cecil Castellucci

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March 30, 2011 · 9:04 am

WWW Wednesday

It’s WWW Wednesday over at Should Be Reading.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading:

  • The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson (the commute read)
  • Deep Down Popular by Phoebe Stone (on my nightstand)

Just Finished Reading:

  • Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer (Good, so good. You must read this, especially if you love contemporary YA.)

What to read next:

Oh, the choices, but I’ll probably go with one of my library books:

  • Daughter of Xanadu by Dori Jones Yang
  • Fall For Anything by Courtney Summers

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March 29, 2011 · 9:43 am

Teaser Tuesday: Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer

It’s Teaser Tuesday over at Should Be Reading. The rules:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

I let out a tiny laugh; I couldn’t help it. “How can you be lonely when so many people love you?”

~p 134, Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer

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March 9, 2011 · 12:19 pm

WWW Wednesday: the post-Rita edition

It’s WWW Wednesday!

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

On Monday evening, I entered the last score for the Rita books I’ve been reading and heaved a sigh of relief. Not that reading for the contest is a bad thing. It’s the pressure, the list of books waiting for their score. They look so sad, sitting there, scoreless. But no more!

So, now, back to talking about books!

Currently reading:

On the nightstand: The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell ~ the new release from the wonderfully talented Saundra, one of the 2009 Debs.

In the car: Matched by Ally Condie ~ this is a great book–and audio book–so far. Really enjoying my commute this week.

 Just finished reading:

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller by John Truby ~ Wow, this one was … intense, but I got a lot out of it.

Reading next:

For the nightstand: Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer ~ Sara’s debut and I can’t wait to read it.

For the car: The Girl Who Played with Fire by StiegLarsson ~ the first one was a great commute read, minus scratches on the CDs. I have high hopes for this one.

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February 3, 2011 · 4:44 pm

BTT: Is this the real life

From Booking Through Thursday this week:

I am paraphrasing from a friend’s Facebook wall her question:
“How would a teen-age boy who is going to work with his hands ever use Literature of England in his work?”
The age-old “How am I going to use this in real life?” question. How would you answer it?

Participants this week are writing some wonderful answers. For the sake of time, I’m going steal mine. From one of the writing craft books I’m working through (yes, it’s true, the answer to the question about reading is in … a book):

From The Anatomy of Story by John Truby:

Stories don’t show the audience* the “real world”; they show the story world. The story world isn’t a copy of life as it is. It’s life as human beings imagine it could be. It is human life condensed and heightened so that the audience can gain a better understanding of how life itself works.

*Note: The book is billed as a screenwriting book (hence the use of audience), but it applies to all types of stories.

Books, literature, stories teach us empathy. What’s that old saying? You never really know someone until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes. Literature lets us do that. Never mind cultural literacy, I believe reading can make us better people.

Plus, having a passing familiarity with the Western Canon means you don’t have to have people explain song lyrics to you.

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