Writing Wrongs

Booking it eternally

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.

Because I’m missing Downton Abbey

Don’t be defeatist, dear. It’s very middle class.

So I totally glommed Downton Abbey over spring break with the kids (although the kids, they did not glom Downton Abbey–in fact, my Downton Abbey addiction completely escapes them).

I’m posting this since Maggie Smith gets all the good lines. That being said, my favorite is not in this compilation.

I think my favorite (so far) must be:

Sir Richard: Do you enjoy these games in which the player must appear ridiculous?

Lady Violet: Sir Richard, life is a game in which the player must appear ridiculous.

I’m thinking I may have to do a mid-year re-watching of seasons one and two. Just because.

Reading recap for March: Fifty/Fifty update

I have been reading, but haven’t been updating or writing reviews recently. Uh. Clearly. Here’s what I have for March in the Fifty/Fifty challenge:

Books

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley (William C. Morris Debut Award and the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature)
Sapphique (Incarceron) by Catherine Fisher (The sequel to Incarceron–read that first)
The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West (WWI Challenge book)
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai (a middle grade novel in verse–wonderful)
Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King (Love A.S. King)
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (Cute!)
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan by Rick Riordan (About time I read this)

Movies

None. Surprise! But now that I’ve caught up on Downton Abbey, I plan on watching some. Honest.

Another good review and 99 cents too!

Hey, what do you know? There’s another nice review of e-anthology The First Time, over at Eli to the nth. And … I’m not just saying that because she liked The Trouble with Firsts (but she did).

Even better, The First Time is now on sale for 99 cents at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble. For how long? Who knows. So if you don’t have your copy, you might want to hurry. Twenty five stories for 99 cents? You can’t beat that with a stick. (Well, you could, but you’d break your e-reader and nobody wants that.)

Waking up to a terrific review

Over at Long and Short Reviews, in the YA/Middle Grade section, there’s a terrific review of the 2009 Debs e-anthology The First Time.

And I’m not just saying that because the reviewer said some very nice things about my story, The Trouble With Firsts. (Although she did. Click through to read.) But she went above and beyond the call of reviewing. This is one thoughtful and comprehensive review, which touches on nearly all the stories included in the anthology. Considering there are twenty five stories in the anthology, that’s no small feat.

All in all, not a bad way to start the morning and the work week. Thanks to Long and Short Reviews and reviewer Honeysuckle.

There’s always room for Pi(e) and YA

Happy Pi day! Mmmm …. pi(e).

There’s always room for some pumpkin pi(e). And yes, now I will stop making pi(e) jokes.

In other news, I’m blogging today over at Chick Lit Writers of the World about my top five reasons to read and write YA. Stop on by and add your own reason(s) in the comments if you’re so inclined.

Writers, non-writers and the things they say

Too good not to share.

First, the non-writers:

And now the writers:

Fifty/Fifty check in: week 8 and 9

I didn’t bother with last week’s Fifty/Fifty check in, since all I finished was Rita book #6. So again, I’m giving you a two for one.

Not movies, again–sadly. However, I really want to see The Artist and Kyra want to see The Secret World of Arrietty. The trick is making that happen. In the meantime, I’ve still manage to read and watch a few things.

Books

How to Be a Writer: Building Your Creative Skills Through Practice and Play by Barbara Baig

I “bought” a copy of this for my Kindle during a promotion last year. I say “bought” because I think it was actually free at the time or 99 cents. Either way, an excellent deal. Have you always wanted to write but don’t know where to start–as in, literally, no idea. This is the perfect book.

I really like the emphasis on deliberate practice and using writing to learn how to write. This isn’t a book where you learn point of view or fantasy world-building, but it will get you writing. Even though I’ve been writing for a while, I never refuse helpful hints and techniques. I really love the idea of the zero draft (will be using that a lot more as I go forward) along with some excellent tips for doing “required writing” (again, spot on).

In fact, even if you’re not a writer, but need to do some “required” type writing for work or school, I really recommend those chapters.

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson

A very interesting and detailed look at Germany between the wars, in particular 1933 – 1934, although the author takes us through 1938 and a bit beyond. I always enjoy this in-depth, personal view of historical events. I spent a lot of time in the car (this was one of my audio-reads) marveling at the things I didn’t know about this time period. Well worth the listen!

Rita Book #6

Rita Book #7

And there was much rejoicing! I finished this one on Friday evening and put the final score in on Saturday morning. Done and ahead of the deadline.

Bonus

Not a movie, but I start in on the second season for Downton Abbey. I bought the DVD, not only so I could watch whenever I wanted to but for all the extras as well. This is my reward for making it through all the Rita reading.

That being said, during January and February this year I somehow managed to read 20 books! I think that should earn me a break for a few movies to round out my challenge.

A fifteen-year-old’s perspective on Perspectives in American Literature

So, Andrew is taking Perspectives in American Literature this semester–and already they’ve been reading like gangbusters. Well, if gangbusters read, that is. More accurately, they’ve been reading like high school sophomores in Perspectives in American Literature.

Here’s his take so far:

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Once I figured out it’s one of those books without a plot, I kind of liked it.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Everyone in class is complaining about this, but I’m enjoying it.

He really liked reading the play format and said he could see the whole story in his head. Then he wanted to know, since he’s enjoying Perspectives in American Lit so much, if he has a “literary mind.”

I told him he might. He just might.