Books I should have loved but didn't

Everyone has one, most of us have several. It's that book everyone you know thinks you should read, the book all the reviews rave about, that book that is right up your alley. There's just one thing wrong; that book leaves you feeling kind of... meh.

These are some of mine.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

I have tried to love this book, really I have. But every time I start to read this book either my mind drifts off or I fall asleep. I really like Patrick Rothfuss as the person he seems to be on the internet and I love how enthusiastic people are about this series but despite having started the book at least three different times I pretty much only know that there's a tavern and the owner is somehow famous and at some point he loses his family to reavers and winds up in the circus or something. Then he maybe goes to some school. Rationally, I know that this is nowhere near to an accurate representation on what the book is about. I may have to try to read it at least once more. I have the sequel too after all. I may have a slight problem with book buying habits.

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Superheroes! Consequences to ordinary people! Feeling like an outcast! These are all things I loooove in my fiction, more than I can describe. Heck, some of my all time favorite books are Seanan McGuire's Velveteen books which are all about superheroes set into a world where plowing into a building actually has consequences to the people whose lives revolve around said building, regularly wearing spandex also means no bacon etc. I love it. 

Steelheart presses many of those same buttons for me. It's wonderfully written and I will absolutely recommend it to people. And yet... And yet I didn't love it. I thought David, the protagonist, was whiny and annoying in that special way only teenagers seem to manage. I hated the way his inner monologue went "OMG! GIRL! DANGER! BE COOL!" any time a member of the opposite sex turned up. Basically I just wanted to slap him silly for it. Which is probably not a healthy response to anyone, let alone a fictional character.

At this point I'm still debating myself whether or not I should read the sequel. The first book was entertaining and well written, I just don't know whether I should subject myself to a book that I know going in I'm not going to love.

Song of Ice and Fire -series by George R.R. Martin

Then there's that. I devoured A Game of Thrones back in 2006 while on holiday in Paris and got maybe a third of the way into A Clash of Kings. I came home and completely forgot about the book for years. I finally got through the second and third books in the series around 2012 or 2013. That's also pretty much when I decided that that was going to be it for me and that series. And to be perfectly frank, I only managed to finish the second and third book because of professional curiosity. The series is exciting in a way that few books are exciting, Monsieur Martin is undoubtedly a great writer and so on but the books are just too bleak and hopeless for me. Everyone is such a horrible person that I just can't find it in myself to be invested in their outcomes. And if I don't care what happens to them, I might as well stop reading.

So that's me. What are the books you should have loved but just didn't?

Books I Wish I Wrote

August is all about wishing here on The Prosers. I have a theory that every writer has at least one book they wish they'd written, something that's taken hold of their soul so profoundly that it's almost like someone had crawled up inside their brain and found the pieces there.

Indexing by Seanan McGuire

A government agency filled with living fairy-tales solving crime? I am there for that. I grew up watching cop shows and murder mysteries. My mother was, and probably still is, addicted to them so I have a permanent soft spot. Granted, my favorites more along the lines of NCIS, Bones and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries rather than Hercules Poirot, Inspector Morse and Der Alte but the affinity is still there.

One of the first things that I wrote that I actually remember what happened was a Finnish language assignment of my sister's (she wrote the one she actually turned in but I was so inspired by the assignment that I wrote one just for me); change a key aspect of some fairy-tale and write the story. I've been hooked on subversive fairy-tales ever since.

This book is something that combines both of those elements with dry, dark humor and an episodic story-telling style so reminiscent of all those cop shows I know and love. Every time I read this (I've lost count) I am both in awe of McGuire's work and kicking myself that she got there first.

Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

Cop just trying to arrest a mass murderer accidentally goes back to his own past and ends up leading a revolution because that's the job that's in front of him.

Sam Vimes in Night Watch is basically a noir hero who's trying to do good. He's Casablanca's Rick Blaine after Elsa gets on that plane (sorry for the spoilers but it's over 70 years old and spoiler warnings have an age limit). He is mainly interested in keeping the piece and protecting a few people.

What he gets is a whole mess of trouble. The Unmentionables, Ankh-Morpork's then patrician's private police, do not like the man who refuses to hand over curfew breakers to them for torturing. The book is filled with social commentary as well as ruminations on the nature of right and wrong.

Pratchett is one of the first authors I started reading who showed me just how subversive humor can be. Because it's "just humorous fantasy", Pratchett can do and say things that "serious" writers would have to work a lot harder for. Night Watch is very much "message fiction" but because it's also laugh-out-loud funny I've never heard it accused of being that. The book sticks with me and I keep coming back to it at least once every year.

Kuka lohduttaisi Nyytiä? By Tove Jansson

Translated to English as Who Will Comfort Toffle? this one is ostensibly a children's picture book. It's all about Toffle, a little troll who's afraid of the dark, of his neighbors, basically everything around him. He's more or less an introverted, depressive agoraphobic who leaves his home to find a safer space, scared to leave but even more scared to stay. Outside he sees many wondrous things that make him feel even more alone because he's too afraid to approach anyone. He finds a lonely seashore that's calm and makes him not afraid and he makes a home there. Then he gets a letter in a bottle from a girl troll who says she's also scared and needs help. The rest is about him overcoming his own fear because there's someone who needs him. They end up comforting each other and, of course, living happily ever after.

I loved this book as a teenager, heck I still love it, because it assured me that however I was feeling at the time, there were people out there who got me and would love me for me. I know it sounds trite but as a writer I would love to have that kind of impact on another person's life. It is, after all, a part of why I write.

My favorite books of 2014

I don't think any year could be quite as awesome of a reading year as 2013, which was the year I first started reading Code Name Verity (and Rose Under Fire), and the year I started reading the Raven Boys series. I didn't find any books this year that rose to that level, but I do have a new favorite author for fun reading, and I did find some amazing books.

There are some obvious gaps - I'm only 1/3 of the way through Ancillary Justice, though it might have made the list otherwise.
Also, looking at the other 2014 YA best of lists, I'm apparently the only person on the planet who was bored by E. Lockhart's We Were Liars. It wasn't bad...I just didn't connect.

Note: these books aren't ones published in 2014, just ones I read in that calendar year.

10. 

 2788. Only the handicapped live on Earth. Eighteen-year-old Jarra is among the one in a thousand people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Sent to Earth at birth to save her life, she has been abandoned by her parents. She can't travel to other worlds, but she can watch their vids, and she knows all the jokes they make. She's an "ape," a "throwback," but this is one ape girl who won't give in.

Jarra makes up a fake military background for herself and joins a class of norms who are on Earth for a year of practical history studies excavating the dangerous ruins of the old cities. She wants to see their faces when they find out they've been fooled into thinking an ape girl was a norm. She isn't expecting to make friends with the enemy, to risk her life to save norms, or to fall in love



Here's the weird thing about this book - if I were to do a top 10 least favorite books, this would also be on there. I absolutely adored the first half of this book. I wanted to never stop reading about Jarra's archaeology class, and the fascinating, dynamic world she lived in. But then I got to the halfway mark, and there was a Coincidence. The Coincidence required a large suspension of belief. Worse, I soon realized the major flaw of the book:

Jarra is a Mary Sue. In fact, she may be the most exaggerated Mary Sue I've read in ages. Everything she does is perfect. And - this gets worse in the sequel - even when she thinks she's screwed up, no, everything is actually better than fine! Everyone is rushing to reassure her about how wonderful she is!

It's probably not sounding now like this book belongs on my top ten. But my rage is more connected to my initial love for the book (also, a great deal of my bitterness comes from the sequel, which is one of those ones where the Mary Sue is put in charge of a group of adult experts and somehow manages to outthink the entire military and academic profession to find the solution to a crisis). Still, I'm putting this book here, in memory of that love, and because the first one is still worth the read. Just pretend the sequel doesn't exist. Trust me.

9. 

 Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.
So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be, she says, we’re 16.
What about Romeo and Juliet? 
Shallow, confused, then dead.
I love you, Park says.
Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be.

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love—and just how hard it pulled you under.

One of my favorite romance novel blogs has come up with something called Romancelandia, which is basically the unlikely alternate universe where all romance novels seem to happen. It's a magical place where dukes are plentiful (and handsome), love always conquers all, and no one ever has BO. Sometimes I feel like a lot of YA exists in its own special universe too. With rules like:

a. Something like 75% of the teens are lacking at least one parent.

b. Love interests ALWAYS come in pairs.

c. Also, newly discovered magical powers seem to inevitably be accompanied by a mysterious handsome boy.

I'm sure there are other rules that I'm blanking on – suggestions?

Anyway! I love that YA world. I'm not dissing it, I'm just saying that Eleanor and Park is one of those books that seems to be cut straight out of the real world, and it's all the more chilling for it. But it's also all the more lovely in its portrayal of Eleanor and Park meeting and falling in love. I don't want to say much more about the book, because it's the characters that matter, not the plot. If you haven't read this yet, go do it now.

8. 

No plot summary, because this is book 3 in a trilogy.

The third book in a trilogy is hard, but Sarah Rees Brennan pulls it off. I got the ending I wanted, but I'm still mad about the cost to get there. But, you know. Good mad. Not throw-the-book-against-the-wall-mad. And Kami is still the best heroine in the history of ever. Plus, her dad rocks, which is not something one often says about YA dads.

Also, the amazing snark continued:

“I suppose some were born acting, some achieve action, and some have action thrust upon while they wail feebly ‘Dear God, no, let me sleep in.’ I’m only acting once, and then never again.” 

7. 

Love can be a dangerous thing….

Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna’s tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.

But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she’s far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.




You know what you need? A book about a half black half Finish bipolar teenager and the crazy town she moves to! Don't worry, I didn't know I needed that either, until I got to the end of chapter 1 and was totally hooked. Nina would have to tell us if the portrayal of Hanna is appropriately Finnish. :)

Seriously though, this is NOT a book for everyone, and especially not for young teenagers. Hanna is, as many bipolar teenagers are, suicidal. So, trigger warning for suicidal thoughts. Also, the gore level is relatively high. There's one scene that still makes me cringe to think about it.

But, for all that, this is a dark, lovely book, and I can't wait to read the next one in the series.

6. 

“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.” January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Speaking of things I didn't know I needed, I didn't think I needed any books about WWII. I didn't think I wanted to read a book that was entirely letters. I didn't think I'd make it past the first fifty pages.

So yeah, I was wrong. This is another book that lives on the strength of its characters and the beautiful friendships that arose between them. And yes, it broke my heart, even though I should have seen it coming. Despite that sadness, when I think of this book, I think of the vivid images of Guernsey Isle it evoked, and the warmth of the friendships it described. Such a lovely book.

5. 

It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they're worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help. Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other's arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever? Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won't be the same people who landed on it. The first in a sweeping science fiction trilogy, These Broken Stars is a timeless love story about hope and survival in the face of unthinkable odds.

A lot of the books on this list celebrate the unexpected. I thought I know the basic outlines of a story about a boy and a girl stranded on a planet together. But dang if this didn't take all my expectations and blow them out of the water. There was one part that's about... umm... 2/3 of the way through the book that made me go, "WAIT NO, WHAT?" and then furiously read to the end. And it still managed to surprise me.

If you decide to read this (and you totally should), be aware that the next book features a different couple, so the trilogy is connected world rather than one love story spread over three books. I'm on the waiting list for the sequel at the library- is it ready yet? How about now? How about now?

4.

The city of Ludlow is gripped by the hottest July on record.  The asphalt is melting, the birds are dying, petty crime is on the rise, and someone in Hannah Wagnor’s peaceful suburban community is killing girls.
For Hannah, the summer is a complicated one.  Her best friend Lillian died six months ago, and Hannah just wants her life to go back to normal. But how can things be normal when Lillian’s ghost is haunting her bedroom, pushing her to investigate the mysterious string of murders?  Hannah’s just trying to understand why her friend self-destructed, and where she fits now that Lillian isn’t there to save her a place among the social elite. And she must stop thinking about Finny Boone, the big, enigmatic delinquent whose main hobbies seem to include petty larceny and surprising acts of kindness.
With the entire city in a panic, Hannah soon finds herself drawn into a world of ghost girls and horrifying secrets.  She realizes that only by confronting the Valentine Killer will she be able move on with her life—and it’s up to her to put together the pieces before he strikes again.

Fun fact: Brenna Yovanoff is Maggie Stiefvater's critique partner.

This book had a lot of flaws. The ending was rushed, and the author tried to pack too much into a relatively short book. But I didn't care about any of that. Reason #1 was the language:

I stand in front of him, trying to figure out how to look friendly or normal and where to put my hands. I never used to have to think about any of that-it just came naturally. It seems ridiculous suddenly that people have hands and no place to put them.

"I'm sure your parents already told you to be careful about talking to strangers and not to go places alone, right?"
I nod, peeling a stray piece of tape off the counter. The number of times I've been told this in the past twenty-four hours is beginning to rival the number of days when the thermometer at the bank has broken a hundred. Days when the sun sits over the city, blindingly white and baking everything to a hard, brittle crust. The nights when I let Lillian's ghost in bed with me, because maybe she's cloud and vapor and not really real, but the dry chill of her next to me is better than empty silence and brutal, unrelenting heat.

But mostly, what made the book was the relationship between  Hannah and Lillian. Lillian died from complications due to anorexia, and Hannah is still very angry with her. Too often, ghosts are portrayed as idealized versions of their human selves, or as monsters. But Lillian is still herself, but finally able to address the frailties that led to her anorexia, and why no one could save her. It still breaks my heart to think of it.

3. 

In the kingdom of Goredd, dragons and humans live and work side by side – while below the surface, tensions and hostility simmer. 

The newest member of the royal court, a uniquely gifted musician named Seraphina, holds a deep secret of her own. One that she guards with all of her being.

When a member of the royal family is brutally murdered, Seraphina is drawn into the investigation alongside the dangerously perceptive—and dashing—Prince Lucien. But as the two uncover a sinister plot to destroy the wavering peace of the kingdom, Seraphina’s struggle to protect her secret becomes increasingly difficult… while its discovery could mean her very life.

This was one of the first books I read this year, and I loved it instantly. Admittedly, because I read it in January of last year, I'm having difficulty recalling minutae of the plot. So I'll just say awesome, unique dragons + fantastic worlbuilding + music + love story + fabulous heroine = total win. And the sequel is ALMOST OUT. Have you all read this yet? You should. 

2. Ilona Andrews

Okay... this isn't really a book, but a celebration of my new favorite author. I can't pick any of their (Ilona Andrews is a husband and wife writing team) books as one of my favorites, but I basically glommed their entire backlist in like a month. They are the people whose fault it is that I can no longer proclaim my hatred of urban fantasy loud and clear, because their Kate Daniels series is essentially crack in book form. They do write adult fantasy and not YA, and there are Adult Scenes, but they're not terribly egregious.

And holy cow, how I love them. I own all their books. No joke. I recommend starting with the Kate Daniels series, but you have to give it at least two books, because the first one is kind of shaky (it's their first novel). But their growth in the series is exponential, and I was totally hooked by book 2, and a slavish fan for life by the end of book 3.





1. Sorrow's Knot.

In the world of SORROW'S KNOT, the dead do not rest easy. Every patch of shadow might be home to something hungry, something deadly. Most of the people of this world live on the sunlit, treeless prairies. But a few carve out an uneasy living in the forest towns, keeping the dead at bay with wards made from magically knotted cords. The women who tie these knots are called binders. And Otter's mother, Willow, is one of the greatest binders her people have ever known.

But Willow does not wish for her daughter to lead the lonely, heavy life of a binder, so she chooses another as her apprentice. Otter is devastated by this choice, and what's more, it leaves her untrained when the village falls under attack. In a moment of desperation, Otter casts her first ward, and the results are disastrous. But now Otter may be her people's only hope against the shadows that threaten them.


I almost didn't read this book because of its cover. The cover screams hippy-dippy native american story about how Life is Magic and Everything is Connected. But I really liked the author's first book, so I gave this a chance, and I'm so glad I did. This is a dark, complex, deep story about death and how we deal with it, and a perfect metaphor for how hard it is to let go of those we love. My definite favorite book that I read last year. A+. Read it now.


There you have it! What were your favorite books of the year? What do I need to add to my reading list right away?

Bits and thoughts about books

It's been a while since I talked about great length about books. Perish the thought! I haven't read anything earth-shattering in the past few months, so here are some short thoughts and notes.

I finally read Delirium, and I was kind of underwhelmed. Part of the problem was that the dystopian setting is all too familiar at this point, and another was that I couldn't get how society would make such a drastic and radical change. A lot of people hate prologues, but I think this is one book where a view of the tipping point would have served the story well. But the real issue for me about sympathy with the main character. For the first half of the novel, Lena has thoughts about love that are, in her world, completely understandable. But we as the readers know her reasoning is completely flawed and incorrect. Even though Lauren Oliver does a good job of showing why Lena would think this way, I was missing a connection to Lena and her views that would allow me to sympathize with her more completely. I'm not explaining it well, but there you go.

Should I read the other two books in the series, or just look up the plot on Wikipedia?

E. Lockhart is my new favorite teen contemporary author. I loved The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks and The Boyfriend List. Her characters feel more like real teenagers than most books (painfully and hilariously so), and her plots are far from ordinary. See? Frankie Landau-Banks was nominated for the National Book Award AND the Printz Award. (I've done very well reading books recommended by those awards; it's how I discovered E. Lockhart (and John Green said she was one of his favorites)).

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:
Debate Club.
Her father’s “bunny rabbit.”
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school. 

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:
A knockout figure.
A sharp tongue.
A chip on her shoulder.
And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.
Frankie Laundau-Banks.
No longer the kind of girl to take “no” for an answer.
Especially when “no” means she’s excluded from her boyfriend’s all-male secret society.
Not when her ex boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places.
Not when she knows she’s smarter than any of them.
When she knows Matthew’s lying to her.
And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.

Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:
Possibly a criminal mastermind.

Speaking of John Green, I just noticed that The Fault in Our Stars has 11,000 reviews. With an average of 4.8 stars. Wow. I mean, if you're looking for any evidence that you should read a book, there you go.   

\

Did you know that advanced mathematics could make the basis for an awesome, creepy middle grade/YA novel? Me neither. But it worked. And now I know what vampire numbers are.

Another recent read. The characters and the concept wasn't particularly new. But this book served as a reminder to me that just making your book fun can carry you far. This won't make my top ten list at the end of the year, I'm so in for the sequel. And the inevitable movie adaptation. 

Speaking of movies, there were two big YA trailers released this week: Maze Runner and The Giver. Both trailers look amazing, though I'm not 100 percent sure about the free bonus romance they've added into The Giver. I'll probably still go see both, because Dylan O'Brien and Meryl Streep, respectively.

I am not, however, planning to go see Divergent. Mostly because I'm still bitter about the third book (all of it, not just the ending), but also because it only has a 35 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. What a shame that the filmmakers apparently screwed it up so much. It had such great potential for a movie, my personal bitterness aside. Blargh.

Ack, I almost forgot about this book!

 Despite the fact that it slipped my mind (which I blame on my long, long work day today), this was one of my favorite recent reads. Anyone here who loves romantic YA definitely needs to read this (looking at you, Melanie and Sheena). I wish I'd known when I read it that it was a one-off rather than the start of a trilogy (there are two other books the authors are planning, but they're going to be about different characters). 

Upcoming reads:

Because I keep hearing good things                            Because Sheena loved it.

about Bacigalupi. 

Because that cover. Wow. Also, the Book Smugglers gave it a 9, which is super rare, so I'm sold. 

This book looks at Frankie Landau-               Won a paltry one award, but it 

Banks' two  awards and scoffs.                  was the Nebula. Also, it happened   

 The Book Smugglers gave it a 10,               to be sitting visibly on the shelf 

which I think they've done to a grand            at the library, so I decided to 

total of a dozen or so books in the              give it a try.

history of their blog.

In closing, I would like you to know that this is a real thing. 

Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks; and when she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one. It’s not as if she had much choice. Her parents were trying to eat her.

Now it is 1894.
In the wake of her trial, Lizzie has changed her name to “Lizbeth Andrew,” and she’s bought a house on the other side of her oceanfront hometown—a sprawling Victorian mansion called Maplecroft. Her inherited fortune has been invested in a terrific library and laboratory, installed in Maplecroft’s basement; and from this center of operations she observes and researches the supernatural foe that so hideously transformed her parents.
Someone has to. And no one else even suspects what’s truly happening. No one knows that just offshore lurks an ancient god, starved for blood. Its agents are masked, and eager to kill. They are ready to invade.
But one woman stands guard on the shore between the ocean and Fall River. She has seen the dark forces of the Atlantic firsthand, and she has no illusions. Every night she hears the tide bring messages of madness, apocalypse, and monsters.
And she is ready to meet them all. With an axe.

WIN.

Links! Self publishing, gifts, and not-so-guilty pleasures

First of all, I wanted to note that my next post, two weeks from today (which is December 26… less than two weeks till Christmas… AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!) is my favorite books of 2013. Everyone else should do that for their posts too, if they don't have anything else planned, be it favorite books or movies or music or anything else! I love year end lists.

These first two links I found through Dear Author, my very favorite review site on the web. Focuses on all sorts of romance novels, but has amazing near-daily link roundups of everything relating to reading and publishing

Perfect gifts for book lovers 

This has made the rounds on facebook too, but it's so much fun. I want 3, 5, 9, 14, 20, and 22. Oh, and 23, because they were all out of the tents with 'giant nerd' written on the side.

Seriously though, I would buy that tent if it's adequately roomy and waterproof.

Graphs on self publishing vs. traditional publishing 

I never really thought I'd be thinking too much about self publishing, that is, until we published Alchemy. So I'm even more interested now in graphs like this. Of the group, this one on motivation is the most fascinating.

As the article says about that graph:

For aspiring and self-published authors, the next most popular answer was “to satisfy a lifelong ambition.” In contrast, traditionally published and hybrid authors were more likely to choose “to make money from my writing.” As a priority, “sharing my personal experience” or “sharing my particular expertise” were more popular choices for self-published authors than for others, but these priorities were not at the top of the list for most self-published authors

  

Rejections aren't personal

I found this link at the same website as the others. I think we can always use some reminders that even though rejection will always hurt, you're in good company. And you've got to keep on going.

  

Guilty pleasures

I love this New Yorker essay, in which the author says, 

"But the guilty pleasure seems to me the distillation of all the worst qualities of the middlebrow—the condescension of the highbrow without the expenditure of effort, along with mass culture’s pleasure-seeking without the unequivocal enjoyment. If you want to listen to Rihanna while reading the latest from Dean Koontz, just go ahead and do it. Don’t try to suggest you know better. Forget the pretense and get over yourself. You have nothing to lose but your guilt."

Right on. I'm always fighting embarrassment talking about things I love. Really, why do I care if people think it's silly that I've seen every season of America's Next Top Model? It's not like I'm watching it for their approval. I do too many other things for other peoples' approval. I'm doing all these things to make me happy. You should never, ever be ashamed of doing something that makes you truly happy.

Me? I love romance novels, anime, and any book (no matter how terrible) about women disguised as men. Well, you all know most of that already. But that's because you're awesome and non-judgmental.

What are your favorite happy pleasures?

Recent reading favorites

This past month has been absolutely insane for me: see my last post, etc. During such times of stress, escapism reading is especially helpful. Here are my three recent favorite books:

The Summer Prince

by Alaya Dawn Johnson

 Amazon Description:

 The lush city of Palmares Três shimmers with tech and tradition, with screaming gossip casters and practiced politicians. In the midst of this vibrant metropolis, June Costa creates art that’s sure to make her legendary. But her dreams of fame become something more when she meets Enki, the bold new Summer King. The whole city falls in love with him (including June’s best friend, Gil). But June sees more to Enki than amber eyes and a lethal samba. She sees a fellow artist.

Together, June and Enki will stage explosive, dramatic projects that Palmares Três will never forget. They will add fuel to a growing rebellion against the government’s strict limits on new tech. And June will fall deeply, unfortunately in love with Enki. Because like all Summer Kings before him, Enki is destined to die.

I adore the cover. I have no idea why this book is called The Summer Prince and not The Summer King.  Anyway, I loved the artist characters, the awesome worldbuilding (Futuristic Brazil! With hints of ancient Maya!) and the way art intersected with politics. It slumped a bit in the middle when it ditched art for pure politics, but then the quality picked up again in the last third. 

Pro tip: do not take this book to read when you go out to dinner, or you will end up blubbering into your pizza when you reach the ending. 

How to Lead a Life of Crime

by Kirsten Miller 

Amazon description:

A Meth Dealer. A Prostitute. A Serial Killer.
Anywhere else, they’d be vermin. At the Mandel Academy, they’re called prodigies. The most exclusive school in New York City has been training young criminals for over a century. Only the most ruthless students are allowed to graduate. The rest disappear.
Flick, a teenage pickpocket, has risen to the top of his class. But then Mandel recruits a fierce new competitor who also happens to be Flick’s old flame. They’ve been told only one of them will make it out of the Mandel Academy. Will they find a way to save each other—or will the school destroy them both?

  

Interesting and unusual. The first half of the book is a fun read… and then Joi shows up, and well… that half of the book is why this it made its list. Can't say much more about the book without giving anything away.

The Raven Boys

by Maggie Stiefvater 

From the front cover flap:

"There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve," Neeve said. "Either you're his true love . . . or you killed him."

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them -- until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.\
 But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little. 

His name is Gansey, and he's a rich student at Aglionby the local private School. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

I liked this author's other recent book, The Scorpio Races. It was beautiful and atmospheric. And yet I didn't love it. I loved everything about this one and was almost immediately entranced. I also appreciate that Maggie Stiefvater’s books feel deeper and more substantial than a lot of other YA stuff I read. Not that there’s anything wrong with fun, fluffy books, but rather with those that aspire to complex subjects but only brush the surface.

Less than a month until the sequel comes out. But it's a four book series. Clearly, I have years of suffering to come. But it'll be so, so worth it.

What have your great summer reads been? 

What I Read Over Summer Vacation by Melanie Crouse

And my top 10 Must Read books for Fall...

On the first day of summer vacation, I posted my summer reading list. Unfortunately, I haven't read them all yet, partly because I strayed away from it on more than one occasion. Hopefully that won't affect my final grade on this report. J

A quick note about The Prosers Read: I still LOVE this idea, and long to do it. However, other projects have hit me over the head and hijacked my time, and I have made a conscious decision not to feel guilty about letting it slide. Some day I hope The Prosers Read will get the attention it deserves. 

Books I Finished:

1. A Spy In The House by Y.S. Lee

This was the first book I read over summer vacation, so many months ago that it seems like a dim memory. It is the story of a girl in Victorian England who works for a spy agency. This is her first assignment, and she makes a lot of mistakes, but things work out in the end. I'm only going to mention the complete implausibility of the story this one time, because it was fun. I will probably read the sequel someday, but I haven't rushed out to get it yet.

2. The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

Susan recommended this series. It starts with The Thief, which is a much more simple story than the rest of the series (kind of the way The Hobbit was such an easy read compared to The Lord of the Rings). I read this book three times this summer, because I love Gen so much. It hurts to watch a character I love so much purposely open himself up to such humiliation, but that just makes his comeback that much more fun to read.

I <3 Eugenides!

And, for extra credit, I read A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner. I still love Eugenides. J

3. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Gorgeous book. It's marketed as Young Adult, and it belongs in that category, but it's really for the older YA readers. There is some sex, which makes me cautious in my approval, but I did recommend it to my daughter in high school. This is a book I would love to read with a book club, because I long to discuss it with someone.

4. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

I've gotten stuck in a huge fantasy rut lately, and I thought a little historical fiction might help snap me out of it. Wouldn't you know that even my historical fiction would have a speculative element? I really enjoyed this book, though I try to read sad books sparingly. You can see my post about it here. 

5. Bloomability by Sharon Creech

You can see my post about Bloomability here. My family listens to this book on audio every summer. There are two versions, and we listened to the newer version for the first time this summer. I like the older one better, but it is still an amazing middle grade book.

6. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Read by Jim Dale

I love Jim Dale's voice, and chose to listen to The Night Circus completely because he was narrating. I'm only about 2/3 of the way through, but I'm enjoying it. I probably wouldn't have gotten very far into the book if I'd been reading it myself. The plot is really just an excuse for the descriptions of the circus and the lyrical language throughout the book, and it's probably too slow for my taste. 

If it hadn't been Jim Dale's voice reading, the use of the present tense (and the occasional slippage into second person point of view) would have turned me completely off as well. It's my opinion that present tense should be saved for high action/suspense novels. However, 2/3 of the way through, I'm beginning to see why she chose to use it. She wants us to slip so fully into her novel that we feel like we are experiencing the circus, not hearing about it. If you like this sort of thing, I recommend it.

(I was completely put-off by hearing Jim Dale say the F-word a few paragraphs into the story. But I think it might be the only swear word in the whole book.)

7. Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

Sabrina recommended this one, and it was the catalyst for our own version of the Letter Games that I talked about a couple of weeks ago. It seemed appropriate to read it, so I finally checked it out from the library.

I'm almost finished reading it for the second time. These women are geniuses. I haven't had this much fun reading a book for a long time. I am in awe of the way the two authors, completely independently, were able to write two plots and merge them together. Besides, who wouldn't like an action packed version of Jane Austen, complete with magicians and the London Season? I highly recommend this one.

8. The Makeover of James Orville Wickenbee by Anya Bateman

I read this while I was on vacation in Utah. When I went to the library, I tried to check out as many books by LDS authors as I could, since I would like to find another one that I like well enough to purchase their books. This one was by far my favorite. It's about a girl whose brother becomes best friends with a nerd (James) who happens to be Mormon too. When he decides to run for student body president, she decides he needs a makeover--before her brother commits social suicide. Jana is not a very likeable main character, but she grew on me over the course of the book.

9. The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer

I've never been a huge Artemis Fowl fan, and I wasn't very impressed by The Supernaturalist either. I'm not sure what puts me off about them, except that the character development doesn't seem very deep. IMO, you shouldn't give your character so many flaws unless you are going to take the time to make us like them.

10. White Cat by Holly Black

Another YA read for more mature teenagers. I'm looking forward to reading more, especially because of the twist at the end. I'll say no more. Sh...

I know I read more this summer, but those are the only ones I can think of right now. If you compare this list to the one I wrote at the beginning of the summer, you'll see that I haven't read everything I wanted to yet. So, here's a quick peek at

My Fall Reading List:

1. The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling

2. The Grand Tour by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (The sequel to Sorcery and Cecelia)

3. Legend by Marie Lu

4. Insurgent by Veronica Roth

5. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

6. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskill

7. Red Glove by Holly Black (sequel to White Cat)

8. Kill Switch by Chris Lynch

9. The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson (sequel to Girl of Fire and Thorns!!!)

10. The Kill Order by James Dashner

11. The Outcasts: The Brotherband Chronicles by John Flanagan

12. The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus book 3) by Rick Riordan

How about you? Are you planning to read/have you already read something you'd like to recommend?

I'd die without...

Okay, it's mid- summer. By this point, we're all probably feeling some degree of lazy, sweaty or frazzled (depending on our level of activities, air conditioning and family on hand). So, maybe it's time to kick back, grab a strawberry lemonade and play a game of:

I'd Die Without...

(metaphorically speaking, of course)

Since oxygen, food and water are fairly obvious answers, let's put on our writing hats and answer these like authors would. Maybe we can learn a bit about each other and pick up some new tools and tricks to help us improve our prose. Give your answers in the comments and I'll update them into the blog proper for ease of reference.

1. The Old-School Writing Tool I'd Die Without...

My trusty 1962 Roget's International Thesaurus Third Edition. It was my mom's and she passed it on to me when I was in high school. Oh, I've tried other thesauri, but I always come back to this one. I love thumbing through the numbers in the back - it's like a treasure hunt for words.

Spiral notebooks--I have a thing about not throwing them away because on a page somewhere inside there is probably a brilliant idea that I wrote down and promptly forgot about.

 I could not do without the backs of receipts to scrawl random ideas on here, there and everywhere. I have a drawer full of them.

Paper and my favorite rollerball pen.

 Reading. That's as old school as it gets.

2. The New-Cool Writing Tool I'd Die Without...

Scrivener has won a very firm place in my writer's heart. I am an outliner and a re-re-re-writer and so the set up is perfect for me (left column: outline, right column: deleted stuff, middle: my current work). The trial is free, and the program very reasonable (I got it 1/2 price when they were doing a promo for people who completed NaNoWriMo a couple years ago).

My laptop.

 Laptops count as new school, right?

 My laptop (except that my laptop died, and I didn't.) Maybe my iPhone. The Internet, in general, and Wikipedia, specifically.

Computers. I know there are those who swear by writing by hand, but if it weren't for computers, I think I'd stick to oral storytelling.

3. My Writing Would Have Died W/O This Writing Book...

Love, love Stephen King's, On Writing. I've never read one of his novels (me and scary do not not not mix), but I found so many gems and so much encouragement in his book. Truly excellent.

Orsons Scott Card's How To Write Science Fiction and Fantasy
Chris Baty's No Plot? No Problem

 I've actually only read writing books in the most scattered of ways. But my writing most definitely would have died without Hatrack.

Any and all the books in the Elements of Fiction Writing series.

OSC Writing Sci fi and Fantasy, and King's On Writing.

4. My Writing Never Would Have Started W/O This Book...

At 12, Anne McCaffery's DragonSinger made my fantasy heart soar, but it wasn't until The Riddle Master of Hed Trilogy by Patricia McKillip that I just had to write.

Twilight. Yup. It's true.

I don't have a particular book that I started writing for, but I adore Patricia McKillip. I first read the Riddlemaster trilogy at 12, and it stuck with me where many other books from that time faded away.

 I would never have begun writing if it hadn't been for Graham Dunstin Martin's books Giftwish and Catchfire.

 Tamora Pierce's Alanna Series.

5. Besides The Prosers, The Writing Website I Have To Visit Every Day...

Hatrack was the cradle for my fledgling writing self. It's populated by incredibly kind and supportive people. Love it.

+1

 goodreads.com

 Duotrope.

 Pub Rants. Kristin Nelson is my hero.

6. A Non-Writing Site I Have To Visit Every Single Day...

Oh, this is a bad one to have to decide (and I'm the one making up the questions!). I make the rounds of news sites and frequent some fabulous home sites like this and this, but I can't think of a particular favorite. Why don't you give me something new to look at by telling me your favorites?

Regretsy (not the nicest of sites, but it makes me laugh like nothing else. NOT for anyone under 18 for the occasional image of nekkid people)

Cakewrecks.com is a hilarious site to waste a few minutes (or hours.)

I check out utahrealestate.com more than is healthy for a human person.

7. The Muse-Satiating Food I'd Die Without...

Chocolate.
You don't actually expect me to narrow that down, do you? Good, because I can't. (I often pity the poor pre-Columbian European women. How did they ever survive!)

+1

 Carrots. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Nachos, made at home, chips and cheese and onions broiled with fresh tomatoes on top (and occasionally chicken, avocados, and black beans). 

 Macaroni and cheese. But not the box kind, I'm talking about the read deal.

 Cereal. Especially Cocoa Roos, or any kind of cereal that makes Chocolate Milk.

8. The Writing Tip That's Kept My Writing Alive...

Okay, I'll give you a two-fer on this one, since it's a toss up. First, Stop Inging. Stringing sentences out using ing, thinking it will keep your sentences flowing isn't working. Stop Inging, Sue, just stop it! Second, BIC TOI WNW (Behind in Chair, Turn Off Internet, Write New Words). Okay, still desperately failing at that one, and frequently getting depressed about it. Think I need to refer back to #7 now. Sniff.

Get the story on the paper before you worry about making it shiny.

That writing is just as much perspiration as inspiration, and that you'll get better with practice. I held on dearly to that during the early years of constant rejections. And guess what? I have gotten better.

"It can be fixed." I've written this inside the cover of every journal and notebook I own.

Use your own voice, and write your own stories.

9. My Writing Would Die If I Didn't Rejuvenate By...

Talking and spending time with real live people. Most often my hubby, then the kids, friends and neighbors (family if they visit). Keeps me out of writer's tunnel vision, and, especially with the kids, gives me lots of inspiration.

 Running, and my family support (oh and the prosers and ex-proser support too).

Visiting nature.

 Walks: my best method for getting through convoluted plot points.

 Getting in the car, cranking up the radio, and just going for a drive.

Taking showers. My best writing comes from zoning out with the water pouring on my head.


What would you die without? 
Thanks for playing!