Sorry it has been awhile since my last post. I wanted to write some reviews on the books I've read recently but every time I sit down to do it, well, I don't like the end results. So, I've decided to give just a quick impression of each since my blog is looking otherwise abandoned.
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer: Well written and somewhat depressing. I didn't like it as well as Twilight, and yes, I will admit it, I missed Edward through the rather large middle portion that seemed to drag on forever without him. I really liked the character development of Jacob and the unique story surrounding him though. The ending was satisfactory and I did run out to buy Eclipse right after finishing New Moon.
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer: Of the three, Eclipse ties with Twilight as the favorite. I can't decide which I like best. Eclipse was definitely better than New Moon and the story felt more rounded. I feel like the complexities of human emotion really shone in this third book, although New Moon boasts quite a relatable collection of emotion too. I have high hopes for Breaking Dawn coming out this August.
Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini: Hilarious and original. It wasn't my usual kind of pager turner but I went through it pretty fast nonetheless. All I can say is definitely give it a chance if you haven't already read it. The ending is a little vexing (at least it was for me) but not enough to diminish my appreciation of the book. Someone tell me there is a sequel?
Wake by Lisa McMann: Brilliant, original, and truly intriguing. This fabulous novel was another that strayed from my usual genre preference and didn't disappoint. Wake is definitely a page-turner that offers a little bit of everything from romance and drama to mystery and action. I'm definitely recommending it if you haven't read it!
That's all for now folks! Hopefully I'll be posting again soon.
New Books - YAY!
I went shopping at two book stores yesterday and it was at once both overwhelming and underwhelming.
It was overwhelming because it's been a LONG time since I have been able to browse a book store by myself, without distraction, for as long as I liked. It was heavenly. I can't tell you how many books I fingered and loved (yes, I really just wrote that. Take it how you like) while I was there. I wanted to take them all home with me - it was quite the sordid affair, actually - but I kept myself in check quite well, I think.
It was underwhelming because it reaffirmed my fear that my town royally sucks. I had a mental list of eight books with me that I wanted to look at. After searching and searching, I found one, ONE, of them at the first book store. I bought it and went to the other.
At the second book store I found three, yes only THREE, of the eight. And one of those three was the one I had already bought. It was very disappointing.
I have to give each store a little more credit than I have, I suppose, because they did each have two other books that were suggested to me. They just weren't ones I had on my priority list. So I suppose they weren't completely devoid of decent reading.
I did get three books out of the trip too, and that's about what I wanted to bring home, so I guess I can't complain too much. When I'm done with these, I'll have to order the others online or go to one of the bigger bookstores about 45 minutes from me.
So, out of the wonderful suggestions everyone gave me over the last couple of days, I came home with the following:
"New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer
"Be More Chill" by Ned Vizzini
and,
"Wake" by Lisa McMann
I'll make sure to write reviews or post my impression of them as I get through them. I still plan on reading everything else that was suggested too, so stay tuned!
It was overwhelming because it's been a LONG time since I have been able to browse a book store by myself, without distraction, for as long as I liked. It was heavenly. I can't tell you how many books I fingered and loved (yes, I really just wrote that. Take it how you like) while I was there. I wanted to take them all home with me - it was quite the sordid affair, actually - but I kept myself in check quite well, I think.
It was underwhelming because it reaffirmed my fear that my town royally sucks. I had a mental list of eight books with me that I wanted to look at. After searching and searching, I found one, ONE, of them at the first book store. I bought it and went to the other.
At the second book store I found three, yes only THREE, of the eight. And one of those three was the one I had already bought. It was very disappointing.
I have to give each store a little more credit than I have, I suppose, because they did each have two other books that were suggested to me. They just weren't ones I had on my priority list. So I suppose they weren't completely devoid of decent reading.
I did get three books out of the trip too, and that's about what I wanted to bring home, so I guess I can't complain too much. When I'm done with these, I'll have to order the others online or go to one of the bigger bookstores about 45 minutes from me.
So, out of the wonderful suggestions everyone gave me over the last couple of days, I came home with the following:
"New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer
"Be More Chill" by Ned Vizzini
and,
"Wake" by Lisa McMann
I'll make sure to write reviews or post my impression of them as I get through them. I still plan on reading everything else that was suggested too, so stay tuned!
Must Reads for the YA Writer?
I'm pretty new to writing YA. In fact, I'm very new to it. I'm also new to reading YA.
You're probably wondering what the heck I'm doing trying to write YA when I have hardly read it or written it. Good question. Well, it first started when a close friend suggested my writing suited YA better than adult. Then I read a few YA books and decided it seemed like a heck of a lot more fun than what I was doing.
So here we are.
My question for you now, is: What, in your opinion, are the "must reads" for the aspiring YA writer? What books should someone interested in writing YA have under their belt and in their brain before considering themselves even somewhat qualified to write YA?
I know some people are naturally talented enough to pull this off without an impressive compendium of books in their brain, but for the rest of us... please advise.
(By the way, I'm also just looking for some awesome reading material to add to my need-to-read list.)
You're probably wondering what the heck I'm doing trying to write YA when I have hardly read it or written it. Good question. Well, it first started when a close friend suggested my writing suited YA better than adult. Then I read a few YA books and decided it seemed like a heck of a lot more fun than what I was doing.
So here we are.
My question for you now, is: What, in your opinion, are the "must reads" for the aspiring YA writer? What books should someone interested in writing YA have under their belt and in their brain before considering themselves even somewhat qualified to write YA?
I know some people are naturally talented enough to pull this off without an impressive compendium of books in their brain, but for the rest of us... please advise.
(By the way, I'm also just looking for some awesome reading material to add to my need-to-read list.)
A Bit About Moi
If you're reading this post, then it's likely you've found yourself curious about me. Call me a nerd (why, thank you), but that's pretty exciting! Unless, of course, you're just trying to find my e-mail address to send me hate mail or lottery scams. In which case, I won't prolong the inevitable: agentspotlight(at)gmail(dot)com. Love mail is much more appreciated. Pls. thx.
Moving on.
As my Blogger profile states, I'm an aspiring author, reader for a literary agent, mother of two, sometime struggler of doubt, and a definite lover of coffee.
If that isn't enough to satisfy, here are some specifics:
Location: I was born in California, grew up in California, I'm still in California (on the Central Coast), and I'm hoping I won't always be in California. But enough about California already, right?
Family: I'm married to a wonderful man, Jesse, who is very supportive of my writing. We have two awesome children together, a daughter, Berlin, who turned three in September, and a son, Dresden, who turns one in January.
Work: I'm a self-employed, work-at-home medical transcriptionist. I don't make much money doing this, seeing as children aren't exactly conducive to free time, let alone quiet free time. The good news? If ever I become published, as hoped, I'm already set to quit my job and become a self-employed, work-at-home, don't-make-much-money writer instead.
Writing: I've been writing since my single-digit days. The first story I can actually recall writing was called The Wondrous Life of Charlie the Ant (wondrous spelled as wundrus) about the life of, you guessed it, an ant. Writing tangents and angsty teen poetry followed. Then...
In 2004, I wrote my first novel. Said novel was a 152k cliche-filled, chosen-one type fantasy. Yes, one of those. By the time I finished, I was fortunate enough to know it was complete and total crap. Fortunate because I never tried to query it. I played around with other various novels and projects after The Beast, but it wasn't until January 2008 that I became serious about becoming a published novelist. Since then, I've been writing YA and learning everything I possibly can about the publishing business. Maybe one of these days I'll write something worth your while.
Questions? Leave em' in the comments. Interested in contributing to Lit Rambles? See THIS POST. Thanks!
Moving on.
As my Blogger profile states, I'm an aspiring author, reader for a literary agent, mother of two, sometime struggler of doubt, and a definite lover of coffee.
If that isn't enough to satisfy, here are some specifics:
Location: I was born in California, grew up in California, I'm still in California (on the Central Coast), and I'm hoping I won't always be in California. But enough about California already, right?
Family: I'm married to a wonderful man, Jesse, who is very supportive of my writing. We have two awesome children together, a daughter, Berlin, who turned three in September, and a son, Dresden, who turns one in January.
Work: I'm a self-employed, work-at-home medical transcriptionist. I don't make much money doing this, seeing as children aren't exactly conducive to free time, let alone quiet free time. The good news? If ever I become published, as hoped, I'm already set to quit my job and become a self-employed, work-at-home, don't-make-much-money writer instead.
Writing: I've been writing since my single-digit days. The first story I can actually recall writing was called The Wondrous Life of Charlie the Ant (wondrous spelled as wundrus) about the life of, you guessed it, an ant. Writing tangents and angsty teen poetry followed. Then...
In 2004, I wrote my first novel. Said novel was a 152k cliche-filled, chosen-one type fantasy. Yes, one of those. By the time I finished, I was fortunate enough to know it was complete and total crap. Fortunate because I never tried to query it. I played around with other various novels and projects after The Beast, but it wasn't until January 2008 that I became serious about becoming a published novelist. Since then, I've been writing YA and learning everything I possibly can about the publishing business. Maybe one of these days I'll write something worth your while.
Questions? Leave em' in the comments. Interested in contributing to Lit Rambles? See THIS POST. Thanks!
Intro Post?
Shiny new blog. Hmm. Where to start?
I suppose the basics will do for a beginning. My name is Casey and I'm a terrible blogger. Since you're stuck reading this, that's probably not what you want to hear, is it? Okay, how about: I'm aspiring writer who struggles, a lot. No? Well, too bad, cause that's me.
In any case, I'm singling this blog out as my "writers' blog," among the many I have. You can search for the others if you like, but plan on being disappointed. I'm really not very interesting.
Most the time I'd just like to be someone else, someone more interesting. I'm not saying this blog will provide a different-me kind of magic, but it's nice to have a new beginning and a focus on writing.
So, expect posts on my writing, on other people's writing, and on books about writing. Occasionally other random things might pop in to stay, but that's all up in the air right now.
Hope I haven't scared you away. I'll try to post something worthy of reading soon!
I suppose the basics will do for a beginning. My name is Casey and I'm a terrible blogger. Since you're stuck reading this, that's probably not what you want to hear, is it? Okay, how about: I'm aspiring writer who struggles, a lot. No? Well, too bad, cause that's me.
In any case, I'm singling this blog out as my "writers' blog," among the many I have. You can search for the others if you like, but plan on being disappointed. I'm really not very interesting.
Most the time I'd just like to be someone else, someone more interesting. I'm not saying this blog will provide a different-me kind of magic, but it's nice to have a new beginning and a focus on writing.
So, expect posts on my writing, on other people's writing, and on books about writing. Occasionally other random things might pop in to stay, but that's all up in the air right now.
Hope I haven't scared you away. I'll try to post something worthy of reading soon!
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