Category: updates

Unpopular Opinions Book Tag

~ EMM

I’ve not been tagged, but my friend Sharon answered these on her blog (Library Hungry), and I got inspired. I tag anyone who hasn’t done this yet and wants to share their responses.

1) A popular book or series you didn’t like: I’m going to have to go with The Giver on this one… Maybe it’s just because I read it for the first time as an adult and after what seems like a million other books have come out that more or less have the exact same plot and, in my opinion, do it better.

2) A book or series everyone seems to hate, but you love: Like Sharon said in her post, my tastes (for the most part) are pretty mainstream. So, for this question I’m going to shine the light on an older series that doesn’t get a lot of love. Most people, when they think of Madeline L’Engle, shower all the love on her Wrinkle in Time series. I liked that series a lot, but the one that really got me was her series about Meg and Calvin’s family which focuses on the adventures of their children and mostly features their eldest daughter, Polly. The first of these books is apparently considered to be the last (5th) book in the Wrinkle in Time series (called An Acceptable Time). I think that book launched the O’Keefe family spin-off series (or maybe it was the other way around?) that starts with Arm of the Starfish. Both of these books were formative books in my YA reader life. (P.S. While adding links to this post, I realized that the Kindle version of Arm of the Starfish happens to be on sale for $2.99 right now… go buy it! –> )

3) A love triangle or romantic pairing you’re not a fan of: The one in An Ember in the Ashes. It’s actually more than a love triangle. There are conjoined love triangles in this book with one pair appearing in both, then each having their own “third wheel,” so to speak. I’m not even sure what shape that makes. But I was absolutely not invested in any of the pairings and possible romances, even though everyone seems to be all swoony over the boys in this book/series.

4) A popular genre you hardly ever reach for: Horror/Thriller. I’m not into the scary stuff.

5) A beloved book character who gets on your nerves in a major way: This is the part where everyone is going to hate me… Celaena Sardothien (aka Aelin) from the Throne of Glass series… There are a lot of other reasons why I enjoy these books, but the main character is rarely one of them. She’s got that angsty, broody YA hero thing down, and she’s independent to a life-threatening, world-destroying fault. She’s not shown herself to be a very good leader, or friend, which sometimes makes it just really hard to root for her. We’ll see how I feel after I read Empire of Storms, but so far, the books I’ve liked her best in are the prequel novellas. Please note: saying this *does not* mean I don’t like this series. Just because a character gets on your nerves, that doesn’t mean a book is bad. Sometimes it means exactly the opposite. Another example: Book 5 of the Harry Potter series is my favorite and that one features Harry at his most angsty and difficult to love point in the story.

6) A popular author you can’t seem to get into: I really can’t think of anyone here… I can’t think of a time when I wrote off an author because of one book/series I didn’t like. And, I can’t think of an author who is still writing books that I would never read anything by again just because I didn’t like one of their books, or a series they wrote.

7) A trope you’re tired of seeing: At the moment, I am burnt out on the “orphan teen queen/king hiding out as a street urchin / thief / assassin / rebel” trope. For some reason, it feels like this trope, and the “chosen one” trope, have been the only two plot arc choices for nearly every YA fantasy book over the past decade. I’m ready for something new.

8) A popular book or series you have no interest in reading: The Mortal Instruments series. I know this series has some serious fans, but it just doesn’t sound like something I’d enjoy (mostly due to burn-out on that type of story/world/trope). However, at some point I do plan to try her Infernal Devices series.

9) The saying goes: the book is always better than the movie. But what movie or TV adaption did you like better than the original book? I really like the SyFy Channel’s TV show version of The Magicians better than I liked the first book in that series. I haven’t read the other two books in that series, yet. I’m trying to finish them before the second season starts. But so far I like the TV show better.

If you did this book tag, share a link to your post in the comments so I can go check it out!

September 2016 TBR (#IGAuthorLifeSept)

~ EMM ~ 1 Comment

I’m splitting my TBR in two this month.

First are the books I’d like to read for research that will help me achieve my Fall Bootcamp goals.

FallBootcamp2016TBR

  • Under the Black Flag — I think I mentioned this one on here before. It’s been on my TBR stack for a while now. I bought it with the intention of reading it for research on the book idea that includes space pirates.
  • Physics of the Impossible — I just got this one. It’s a popular science book that I’ve heard is really helpful for understanding some sciencey bits that I need for world building.
  • The Seven Basic Plots — I checked this one out of the library years ago and read some of it, then skimmed through the rest before I had to return it. I decided to splurge and order myself a copy so I can use it for research and refer to it at my leisure.
  • Outlining Your Novel and Writing the Breakout Novel workbooks — I’ve heard these are good. I’ve read the Outlining Your Novel book and thought it was really helpful. So, I decided to try the workbook. I don’t really want to mark up the pages though… I may just use these as writing prompts and scribble in a notebook instead.

My second TBR are the books I want to read for fun this month. What’s appealing to me right now is fantasy and sci-fi aimed at “older” readers. That’s why my TBR for September looks like this:

September2016TBR

  • Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas (Kindle, pre-order) — Book 5 in the Throne of Glass series will be magically delivered to my Kindle on Tuesday and I’m so excited about it that I can hardly wait! I may have too call in “reading” to work on Tuesday… 😉
  • This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab (Kindle) — I’ve had this for over a month now and it’s killing me that I haven’t had time to read it. I started it last weekend and I think I may try to finish it this weekend. We’ll see how much reading time I get…
  • The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Kindle) — still kicking myself for not having read this book yet. Argh. So many good books and such a brutal trade off for me between reading and writing.
  • The Just City by Jo Walton (Kindle) — this was the Tor book club book last month and it looks fascinating. It also looks like it would be exactly the sort of novel my husband (a philosophy major) might enjoy.
  • The Magician King by Lev Grossman (Kindle, library) — I have this one on hold at the library because I’d really like to read it before they start season two of the TV show. I feel like season one may have already spoiled me for some of this story, but I’d still like to see how it plays out on the page.
  • Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (signed hardcover) — I convinced my work bookclub to read this book this month. Since I have a nice hardcover edition, I haven’t been taking it with me on my commute. I desperately need some at-home reading time so I can dive back into this story.

I definitely will not have time to read all these books this month. But, I’m hoping I’ll find time to at least finish a few of these. A book a week is my goal. I’m already behind schedule this week, but hoping to catch up over the long weekend.

Hope everyone has a relaxing and fun long weekend! Happy reading!

September goals (#IGAuthorLifeSept)

~ EMM ~ 1 Comment

I posted this photo of my goals for the month for today’s #IGAuthorLifeSept post.

Sept2016Goals

To expand on item #3 in the photo, also hinted at by the piece of paper underneath my planner in the photo… I’m participating in the YA Buccaneers NaNoWriMo prep fall bootcamp. I’ve decided my goals for this bootcamp (September through November) are as follows:

FallBootcamp2016Goals

I have a bunch of ideas that have been tumbling about in my brain for the past year or so while I’ve been working on getting my two finished novels query-ready. They are:

  1. A private school, mother/daughter, all-girl super-hero gang ensemble story… I kind of want it to feel like the Taylor Swift “Bad Blood” video…
  2. A space opera romance that I’ve been meaning to write for almost ten… this one has space pirates, adventure, and female “coming of age” MC, pining after an unrequited love (that ultimately ends “happily ever after”)…
  3. A sequel to “Eve of the Fae” that will dig more into why the demons teamed up with Lord Edric against the Fae… Ari will be the star of this story and there will be a “stuck in the snow,” forced-proximity romance…
  4. The sequel story for “Lost Empire” that will flip between the drama at home (as Zane, Kilm, Katz, and Jace try to keep the tribes united) and the drama abroad (as Mia, Vlad, and Isla face the Koto on their turf).

I’m planning on nailing down the basics for each of these (protagonist, antagonist, goal, conflict, stakes, other key characters, some basic plot points, etc.). Then I want to pick one to write in November. If you feel strongly about any of these ideas, definitely let me know. If there is a lot of interest in one of these ideas over the others, I could be swayed in that direction. Otherwise, I’ll probably go with one of the first two because I really don’t want to write a sequel for a book that doesn’t even have a home yet.

Goal #4 in the photo above is a bit of a “stretch goal.” I’d like to re-read and figure out what to do with one of my old WIP novels (code name: “Falling”). More on that next week because I’m planning on using this for one of my Instagram photo challenge posts…

Oh yeah! One goal I didn’t list in my planner is the #IGAuthorLifeSept Instagram challenge! I’m attempting another Instagram photo challenge in September. I did one back in May and another one back in December. This time I don’t think I’m going to cross post the photos to this blog unless the topic seems blog worthy (like today’s and tomorrow’s prompts). So, if you want to follow along, go check out my Instagram feed.

IGAuthorLifeSept2016

I think that’s probably enough to keep me busy this month… What do you think?

Don’t forget… Leave me a comment and tell me if you have strong feelings about any of my NaNoWriMo ideas.

If you donate to my fundraiser, I will reward you by sending you a link to read some of my post-NaNoWriMo draft chapters via a secret link for donors…

Or, if you’re not into that, you can sign up to be a beta reader… I’m always on the lookout for awesome beta readers!

August in Review

~ EMM

August is over. The summer is over. It’s officially “Back to School” time, and somehow I have resisted buying new notebooks and pens. Maybe it’s this very un-Fall-like Bay Area weather. I’m not a fan. Fall is my favorite season. I need the crisp, cool air! I need the hayrides and the football games! I need cozy sweaters and boots! Maybe what I really need is a trip to the homeland… Excuse me while I check prices for flights to the Midwest…

Oh, never mind. Who am I kidding. I used up all my vacation on summer adventures. I’ll just have to sit here in my new fall jacket and pretend that there’s a chill in the air. (Did I mention that I have the wanderlust real bad? Because I do. I really, really do.)

What was this post supposed to be about? Oh, right. August recap. Let’s talk about August, then.

As I mentioned in my last post, I didn’t get into PitchWars this year. But, it’s okay. Oddly enough, I’m not that bummed about it. I feel good about the work I put into this novel. It’s a really hard contest to get into. I had requests (which is better than last year). Now, it’s time to get back to work. I’m going to have one more look at my MS (for you non-writer people, that stands for “manuscript”). Then I’m going to query and see what happens.

The other significantAugust event was that I competed in US Masters Swimming Summer Nationals. I raced five events, total. Two were events I’d never previously raced in long course (1500m free and 400m IM). In two others, I dropped significant chunks of time off my personal best times (6 second improvement in the 200m IM and 3 second improvement in the 200 breaststroke!). And, in my fifth event, I proved (once again) that I’m not a sprinter (my 100m breaststroke time was the same as the first 100 of my 200m race…). I ended up bringing home 3 medals: 4th in the 1500m free, 6th in the 200m breaststroke, and 7th in the 400m IM. I have to say, I’m pretty damn proud of myself.

So, if you’re keeping score, that’s one disappointment and one major accomplishment. Though, even without getting selected for PitchWars, I think you can count the writing, finishing, and polishing a second novel squarely in the “accomplishment” category. So… two accomplishments and one disappointment? Sounds good to me.

I will say, though, I didn’t get many books read while I was busy doing all this accomplishing. (That might have also had more to do with the time I spent obsessively checking my PitchWars mentor lists on Twitter hoping they’d drop hints about how much they loved my novel… Pathetic. I know.).

I did manage to read a few books. Not many, but don’t worry. I’m still on track for my annual goal of 50 books (35 finished so far). I started a bunch of different books, but I had a lot of trouble focusing on anything. Somehow, I managed to finish these three in August.

August2016

  • I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Kindle) — This shouldn’t even count because I started it on vacation in July and finished it on August first. But I didn’t include it in my July recap. So, I get to count it here. Ha! What? You wanted to know about the book? Fine. It’s another of those Adirondack mystery stories with a side helping of romance. I’m making myself wait until next year to start the next one. It’s an Adirondack thing.
  • Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (ebook, library) — I read this one so I could see if a young reader I know might enjoy it. I liked it and thought he might as well. So, I gave him a copy for his birthday, but it turns out he already had one. I should probably have saved my money for buying marked up candy from his “store.” If only he knew how much he has in common with the boy genius that is the “hero” of this novel… 😉
  • Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Parts One and Two by Jack Thorne (hardcover) — Thanks, Mom, for buying me this hardcover! If you haven’t heard of this and you’re a Harry Potter fan, you must be living under a rock. I won’t say anything else because: no spoilers! Also, don’t click that link if you don’t want to read my review which may contain spoilers. Just saying.

Oh! I almost forgot! I’m more than halfway through my Gilmore Girls re-watch in preparation for the new episodes that are going to be released in November on Netflix. (Really, if you don’t know this already you must be living off-grid or something…) I’ve finally reached the episodes where Luke and Lorelai start kissing (finally!) and Rory is nearly ready to dump Dean for good. And, perhaps the accomplishment I’m most proud of this month is that I introduced my hubby to the show (in the middle of season four) and now he’s actually into it! Hooray! I knew he’d like it if he just gave it a chance!

Woah. Look at the time. This post has gone on forever, and I haven’t even started talking about my goals for September yet. I guess I’ll save that for my next post… Right now it’s time to get to bed. Those swimming medals don’t just win themselves. (Translation: I have to get up at 5am to go to practice). ‘Night!

Prepping for NaNoWriMo 2016

~ EMM ~ 1 Comment

Well, I didn’t get selected for PitchWars this year (more on that in my August wrap-up post). But I’m not bummed. I’m actually pretty excited because this frees me up to spend the next two months diving into some serious NaNoWriMo prep. I haven’t written anything new since last year’s NaNoWriMo, and I seriously can’t wait to get started on a new novel! I have so many ideas. I just know I’m going to have trouble picking one to focus on.

In addition to being excited about writing the “new thing,” I’m also excited because I’m going to be a Municipal Liaison again this year for my region! I’m looking forward to planning some really fun write-in events. But before I get to that, I’m going to spend some time brainstorming, world-building, plotting, and outlining. I think this may be my favorite part of drafting a new novel…

This year, I’ve joined the YA Buccaneers fall writing bootcamp which is focused on NaNoWriMo prep. You can join too. Here’s a link to more info. The thing I’m most excited about accomplishing during bootcamp is creating my novel beat sheet. This is the tool that will guide my plot and character arcs and keep me on track during the drafting process.

As part of my NaNo Prep, I’m considering doing some blog posts and/or YouTube videos about my tools and process. This would include some writing books I find helpful, tools I use (like the beat sheet I mentioned above), and what I like to have done before I start writing. So, stay tuned if that sounds interesting to you.

I also took some time today to set up my donation page for this year’s Night of Writing Dangerously. I had so much fun at last year’s Night of Writing Dangerously (thank you, donors!), that I’d like to attend again.

Between now and November, I’m hoping you might consider donating $5 or $10 to the non-profit that runs NaNoWriMo, The Office of Letters and Light. Your donations help run their writing programs (like NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo), but donations also help bring creative writing programs to children, and provide resources for teachers. For a full run down of where your money goes when you donate, check out this page. And, when you’re ready to donate, please contribute through my donation page, here. (Right now the video is from last year. Stay tuned, I’m planning on posting a new one soon.)

If I can get 30 people to donate $10 each, I’ll have met my fundraising goal. So, please consider a donation, even a small one. Your contribution is much appreciated!

July in Review

~ EMM ~ 1 Comment

So, my “make July awesome” plan worked. Partly, this was due to a last minute change of travel plans. To quote Ferris Bueller’s famous words of wisdom: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around every once in a while, you might miss it.” These words of wisdom took on even more meaning due to a death in my extended family. Nothing like a little mortality in your face to remind you to get out there and live.

But, enough deep thoughts from me. What you really want to know is what I read in July, right? (links take you to my reviews on Goodreads)

July2016

  • Storm Vol. 2: Bring the Thunder by by Greg Pak and Victor Ibañez (trade paper) — Enjoyable second volume. Storm is pretty freaking awesome. I kinda wish there were more in this series.
  • The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante (Kindle, library) — Took me forever to get around to reading this second book in the series, but once I started I couldn’t put it down. And, of course there is a cliff-hanger ending. So, now I need to go get the next one off my digital holds at the library.
  • Girl Code: Unlocking the Secrets to Success, Sanity, and Happiness for the Female Entrepreneur by Cara Alwill Leyba (Kindle) — Not my usual read, but it came highly recommended and it sounded like it contained some useful advice. It definitely delivered on the promise of the subtitle, and had the added bonus of reading like a pep talk from a (much more stylish) girlfriend.
  • Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (Kindle) — I really liked this little novella. I loved the concept (boarding school for children who’ve returned from magical worlds and wish they could return). I love the way they’ve created a sort of “map” of the various magical worlds these children disappeared to (logical vs. nonsensical, good vs. evil, etc.). And I really enjoyed the mystery that drove the plot.
  • Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn (Kindle) — I pre-ordered this one based off an early sneak-peek (maybe this one?). As expected, I definitely enjoyed it. It’s a really fun and really cute book. The romance was well done and the characters were all fully fleshed out and engaging. I felt like the mystery that drove the plot wasn’t executed as well as I’d like, but it worked, even if the double-ending ending was a little less than satisfying.
  • The Unleashing by Shelly Laurenston (Kindle) — If I had to sum this one up in three words, I’d say: Vikings, sisterhood, and rescue-mutts. So, if you like those things (plus romance), you’ll probably like this book. The characters, world-building, and romance are all very well done. I really enjoyed the first ~75%, but I had some issues with the plot development of the final ~25%. I still really enjoyed it. I was just a little annoyed by some distracting sub-plots that didn’t really add anything to the main plot and would have preferred more focus on the main mystery, or at least to have the sub-plots tie in to the main plot better.

My current plan for August is that it will be more of a reading month than a writing month. But, I’m resisting the urge to adding a ton of books to my August TBR right now. Instead, I plan to leave things open and read exactly whatever I feel like reading.

Here’s what I’ve got on my August TBR:

August2016TBR

Most of these are carry-overs from last month’s TBR or books that I’m currently reading but haven’t finished yet… I decided to leave my hardcovers and paperbacks at home when I traveled. So, I never got to finish Homegoing, and never started School for Good and Evil. Instead, I started The Iron King while I was traveling, but I didn’t get the chance to finish it.

I’ve been really looking forward to diving into This Savage Song, but I decided to save for after I submit my novel to PitchWars this week. And Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is back on the list because I saw a review on Booktube that reminded me how much I want to read this book.

I think Artemis Fowl is the only new addition to this list. I bought this when we stopped at Literatti in Michigan because I couldn’t go in without buying a book, and I had to limit myself to just one so that it would fit in my luggage on the way home. The booksellers recommended this to me when I told them I was looking for a gift for a middle-grade reader. But, it seems to get mixed reviews on Goodreads. So, I think I might read it first, just to make sure.

If you’ve read any of these and have thoughts, or want to share what you’re reading this month, leave a comment. Happy reading!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with less than 2k reviews on Goodreads

~ EMM ~ 3 Comments

toptentuesday

When I first saw The Broke and The Bookish‘s prompt for today, I thought there was no way that I would come up with ten books that I enjoyed that didn’t have more than 2,000 reviews on Goodreads. But, guess what! I was wrong.

I sorted my “read” shelf by number of reviews and, of the ones with less than 2k reviews, these are ten of my favorites:

HiddenGems

How is it that these books don’t have more Goodreads reviews? Do people just not know about their awesomeness? Well, let me tell you a little about why I liked them and maybe you’ll check out some of these hidden gems for yourself (links take you to my reviews on Goodreads).

  1. Serpentine by Cindy Pon — To everyone who says that they want more YA fantasy that set in non-Western worlds: you should be reading this book. If you liked the female friendship in Uprooted: you need to read this book. And, if you read it now, you’ll be all set to read the sequel when it comes out in September.
  2. The Fire Horse Girl by Kay Honeyman — This one is YA historical fiction that takes place in San Francisco (and a little bit in China) during the 1920s. It features a girl who pretends to be a boy so she can escape from Angel Island where all the Asian immigrants are being held, waiting to enter the United States. She has to figure out how to survive on her own in the city, once she gets there. She learns to fight and becomes a body guard for some Chinese mafia-types. And she does a bunch of other really cool stuff. I seriously do not understand why more people haven’t read this book.
  3. Sword by Amy Bai — I’ve talked about this book on my blog before. It’s epic fantasy with really cool world-building and it throws a bunch of tropes on their head. It’s not as flashy as a lot of other YA fantasy I’ve been reading. It’s a little quieter, but there are still battles. It’s more thoughtful and leaves a little more unsaid. But there is still a ton of emotion, a strong female friendship, and a little bit of a romantic sub-plot that’s more about character development than plot development.
  4. Swim: Why we Love the Water by Lynn Sherr — If you love to swim, even if you don’t compete or like to swim laps, but just love being in and around the water, you must read this book. There’s a bit of interesting history about the pastime and the sport, a bit of personal narrative and stories, and a ton of cool photographs and prints (enough that I recommend getting a paper copy).
  5. 28 Barbary Lane by Armstead Maupin — You may know this better by the title Tales of the City. This edition is a collection of the first three books in that series. If you’ve never heard of this series, the novels take place in San Francisco in the 1970s and they are excellent. They follow the story of a young woman who moves to San Francisco from the Midwest and the fabulous ensemble of characters she meets and befriends in the old Victorian building she moves into. I highly recommend this.
  6. The Romantics by Galt Niederhoffer — They made this book into a movie featuring Katie Holmes, but I think the book is better (surprise, surprise). If you’re doing the “Read Harder” challenge, may I suggest that you do this one for the “read a book / watch the movie” task? Definitely check this out if you enjoy unlikeable characters and stories of complicated friendships. Especially check this out if you liked the book Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld.
  7. The Tricksters by Margaret Mahy — I originally read this because Kirstin Cashore (author of the Graceling series) mentioned that this book was one of the books that inspired her. It’s tense, creepy, the writing is excellent, it takes place in New Zealand, and there is a fabulous supernatural element to the story that will keep you turning pages, wanting to see what happens next. It’s such a good book. If you loved A Wrinkle in Time, or other “old-school” YA, then you should definitely check this one out.
  8. The Sea Runners by Ivan Doig — This is historical fiction, set along the Pacific Northwest coast (from Alaska to Oregon), in the mid-1800s. The book starts out in an Alaskan work-camp, and quickly becomes an epic canoe trip (based on a real event!). The descriptions are fantastic. The writing is so good. It probably doesn’t have many reviews because it was first published in the 1980s, but if you are looking for a literary fiction page-turner that strongly evokes a place, you should check this out.
  9. Momentum is Your Friend: The Metal Cowboy and His Pint-Sized Posse Take on America by Joe Kurmaskie — This book is a little like Wild, but if she had kids and took them on a back-roads bike trip across the country instead of the Pacific Crest Trail. It features an adventure loving father hitting mid-life and taking his sons across country on a bicycle tour, proving that kids can survive outside of “hermetically sealed SUVs” and that there can still be adventure and passion after 40.
  10. Nice to Come Home To by Rebecca Flowers — If what you’re really looking for is a contemporary romance featuring a woman in her mid-thirties and reads like a modern-day Jane Austen rom-com, then you should check out this book. Seriously, if you love realistic, feel-good stories, you need to read this book.

Mid-year Progress Update: Book Riot’s 2016 Read Harder Challenge

~ EMM

Even though I said I wasn’t going to do any book challenges this year, I have been tracking progress against Book Riot’s 2016 Read Harder Challenge, a list of 24 reading tasks to be completed in 2016.

I’m still trying to find a good way to keep track of the tasks and which book I plan to read for each. I created a new Goodreads shelf, and I’m thinking about printing out a copy of their form. But, for now, I’ll just re-post the list of tasks below along with the book I selected for each. Bold means I’ve completed that task (6 done so far), and blue means it’s on my TBR for July.

Below is the list for 2016 (book selections are in parenthesis):

  1. Read a horror book (Slade House)
  2. Read a nonfiction book about science (Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us about Ourselves)
  3. Read a collection of essays (The Empathy Exams)
  4. Read a book out loud to someone else (Information Doesn’t Want to be Free)
  5. Read a middle grade novel (The School for Good and Evil)
  6. Read a biography, not a memoir, or an autobiography –> Kingpin
  7. Read a dystopian or post apocalyptic novel (The Harvest)
  8. Read a book originally published in the decade you were born (To Ride Pegasus <–technically a re-read, but I’d intended to re-read it anyway)
  9. Listen to an audio book that won an Audie Award –>Yes Please
  10. Read a book over 500 pages long –> A Court of Mist and Fury
  11. Read a book under 100 pages –> Binti
  12. Read a book by or about a person who identifies as transgender (George)
  13. Read a book that is set in the Middle East (Escape From Baghdad!)
  14. Read a book by an author from Southeast Asia (The Ghost Bride)
  15. Read a book of historical fiction set before 1900 (Hild)
  16. Read the first book in a series by a person of color (the first book of The Inheritance Trilogy)
  17. Read a non-superhero comic that debuted in the past three years –> Bitch Planet
  18. Read a book that was adapted into a movie, then watch the movie (The 5th Wave)
  19. Read a non-fiction book about feminism or dealing with feminist themes –> Lean In
  20. Read a book about religion, fiction or non-fiction (No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam)
  21. Read a book about politics in your country or another, fiction or non-fiction (maybe Our Kids or North Korea Confidential)
  22. Read a food memoir (An Embarrassment of Mangos)
  23. Read a play (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child)
  24. Read a book with a main character who has a mental illness (The Boy Who Went Away)

Is anyone else participating in Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge this year? If so, what are you reading?

June in Review

~ EMM ~ 1 Comment

Half the year is over. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about that. I’d be a lot happier about it being the 1st of July if I were leaving for vacation today. But, I’m not. So, I guess that kind of puts me in a crummy mood.

However, I have a plan to fix that and it involves books. Reading them and writing them. Also swimming. I’m determined to make lemonade from these lemons, even if I’m not going to be drinking it sitting on a dock staring out at a lake with my friends… :/

I didn’t get much reading done in June — only four books. Well, technically, it was one novel and one audiobook plus a novella and a comics trade. So, maybe that only counts as three books?

Anyway, here’s what I ended up reading in June (links take you to my reviews on Goodreads).

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Part of my “make July awesome” plan includes doing a lot of reading — just as soon as I finish edits on Godda’s War. I’m not going to let a little thing like ruined vacation plans put a dent in my summer reading. To cheer myself up, I’ve gone a bit crazy with my TBR and basically thrown out what was left of previous lists and started over with a (mostly) new one. Here’s my new and highly eclectic July TBR:

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  • Storm vol. 2: Bring the Thunder (comics trade) — I’m planning on reading this tomorrow after swimming while I’m enjoying my tea because that’s what I did last weekend with vol. 1 and it turned out to be an excellent idea. Saturday morning cartoons, but in print. Genius!
  • Girl Code: Unlocking the Secrets to Success, Sanity, and Happiness for the Female Entrepreneur by Cara Alwill Leyba (Kindle) — I saw a review from someone whose opinion I trust that said this was a really good book. I was intrigued by the title, so I decided to get it and give it a try.
  • Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (Kindle) — I can’t remember how I found this book but, once I read the premise, I was hooked. It’s about all these kids who, at one time, stumbled into a fantasy world and then returned to the “real world” and how they can’t really let go and are trying to get back. I have high hopes for this one…
  • George by Alex Gino (Kindle) — I didn’t get a chance to read this last month, as planned. But I will definitely be reading it this month.
  • To Ride Pegasus by Anne McCaffrey (Kindle) — This one is a re-read that I started re-reading a while ago and then put down to read something else. I’m not really sure that I’ll actually read it this month, but I want to read it for research, so we’ll see what happens…
  • Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (Hardcover, signed) — I’ve already started this one and it’s so good. I’m hoping I’ll have time to finish it this weekend.
  • Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt (Hardcover, signed) — I’m determined to read through my growing stack of Indiespensible books, and this one looked especially cool. So, I’m thinking I might try to read this sometime this month.
  • Peter and the Star Catchers by Dave Barry (paperback) — This was a Christmas present from our best friends’ son. It comes highly recommended, and I can’t resist a Peter Pan re-telling.
  • The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (Kindle) — I can’t watch the movie until I read the book…
  • This Savage Song by V. E. Schwab (Kindle, pre-order) — This book is all set to deliver to my Kindle on release day (Tuesday, 7/5). After reading only one of her books (Vicious), Schwab instantly became an auto-buy author for me. I am looking forward to dropping everything on Tuesday to start this book immediately.
  • The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante (Kindle, library) — Okay, okay. How many times has this been left un-read on my TBR? Yeah, I know. But I’m actually reading it right now (I started it yesterday), and I’m completely sucked in. So, I predict this will finally be read by the end of this weekend (if for no other reason than my library loan is expired, and I can’t turn my Kindle off airplane mode until I finish this or this book will disappear, and I need to turn off airplane mode to get This Savage Song… #readerProblems)
  • The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani (paperback) — Our best friends’ son is letting me borrow this one. He says it’s really good, but what he didn’t know was that I’d had my eye on this one before he recommended it to me. I mean, magic boarding school for fairy-tale heroes and villians? Yes, please!

So, that’s an ambitious list of books for this month, huh? What in the world am I thinking? Aside from the obvious (books make everything better), I’m realizing that my creative well needs some re-filling and it needs re-filling outside my usual genres. So, in addition to my usual stuff, I’ve added a lot of literary fiction and middle grade on this list. Plus, I’ve made sure there is a healthy dose of diversity (because diversity is life). What may be less obvious is that I’m gearing up for some serious writing and I need fuel to support me on my journey. Bring on the books!

New York Times by the Book Tag (borrowed from BookTube)

~ EMM

What book is on your nightstand now?

The book I’m reading right now also happens to be literally sitting on my nightstand at the moment: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.

What was the last truly great book that you read?

Great is *so* subjective… There are so many reasons why I might love a book and think it’s “great.” Maybe it’s because the writing is amazing, maybe I loved the world-building and/or the characters, maybe the romance was just perfect, maybe it was just so unique that it stood out from all the others, or maybe it just contained something I really needed to hear/read at that point in my life. That said, I think if forced to choose, I’d have to say that the last “truly great book” I’ve read would have to be Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. This book has received so many awards, was on so many end-of-year best-of lists, and has so much positive buzz that you hardly need me to tell you how truly great it is. This book wasn’t written for me, but it did one of those things that truly great books do, it provided a window into a world and a perspective that isn’t mine. It gave me a chance to put myself in someone else’s shoes — someone completely unlike me — and practice empathy. This is one of the many reasons why reading is so powerful and why I love books so much.

If you could meet any writer – dead or alive – who would it be? And what would you want to know?

I think, if I could meet any writer, I’d pick Victoria Schwab because I’d love to have the chance to try to convince her that she wanted to be my writing buddy and mentor. Every time I hear her talk about her writing process, or read her tweets when she’s working on a book, I feel this intense kinship. I’d love to have her as a mentor. That would be a dream come true. There’s nothing in particular I’d like for her to tell me. She just the most visible writer I know who embodies the type of work ethic and writing style that I aspire to. (Maggie Stiefvater would be a close second.)

What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?

I have this one book on etiquette that was particularly important to me in my formative teenage years. I think it’s out of print at this point, but here’s a link to some used copies on Amazon. It’s completely old-school and probably not something you’d expect to see on my bookshelf, but I love it and it maintains a place of honor on my “favorites” shelf. Plus, I think my copy was signed by the author.

How do you organize your personal library?

For the most part, my books and my husband’s books are all mixed together. Our bookshelves used to be totally organized, but they’ve become a bit chaotic since we sold our house near Portland and moved into this apartment near San Francisco. In general, our books are grouped the same way you might find them in a bookstore. There is a shelf for cookbooks, one for travel books, several shelves of non-fiction and of fiction. But, I did reserved a few shelves on one bookcase for my favorite books. That shelf has all my special edition Harry Potter books and basically all the books I’d try to save if there was a fire or an earthquake.

What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around to yet? Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read?

There are a ton of classics that I haven’t read and always meant to, but I’m more embarrassed about the sci-fi and fantasy books that I haven’t read yet. Three books in particular, all by Neal Stephenson, come to mind: Reamde, Anathem, and Cryptonomicon. I’ve had all three of these on Kindle for such a long time, and I keep meaning to read them and then never get around to it. Since so many of my friends (and my husband) love these books, I feel really embarrassed any time I have to admit that I *still* haven’t read them yet.

Disappointing, overrated, just not good: what book did you feel you were supposed to like but didn’t? Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?

One book that I’m always embarrassed to admit that I didn’t love is An Ember in the Ashes. It’s not that I didn’t like it. I did. It’s just that everyone I know LOVES this book and for me it just didn’t live up to the hype. I just didn’t care much for either of the two main characters, and I really didn’t like the “love-square” relationship drama. I’ll still read the sequel, and who knows, maybe I’ll like it more. But yeah, I just don’t have all the feels for that one.

As for last book I put down without finishing… last year, for the Read Harder challenge, I tried to read The Count of Monte Cristo, but I just couldn’t get into it. I’ll probably try again at some point.

What kinds of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of?

In general, I’m drawn to most sci-fi and fantasy stories, but I’m especially drawn to military space operas, alien first contact, magical boarding schools, and anything where there isn’t a clear “good” and “evil” side.

I usually steer clear of anything that involves abuse and anything with messed-up marriages. I don’t have a lot of interest in spending time in those worlds. So, if I get the sense that a popular book includes this type of thing, I usually just skip it. For this reason, I still haven’t read (and don’t really plan to read) Gone Girl, A Little Life, or pretty much anything by Jonathan Franzan.

If you could require the President to read one book, what would it be?

From what I’ve seen, the President reads a lot of really smart books, both literature and non-fiction. So, I think I’d recommend he read something just totally fun. I also think it would have to be a romance because I get the sense that President Obama loves love, but he probably hasn’t read a romance. I’d love to see him read Carry On by Rainbow Rowell because it’s not just a romance — it’s a m/m romance, a sort-of spoof on Harry Potter (and all the other “chosen one” books), and it has some pretty unique magic. Then, after he read it, I’d like to see him sit down and talk about it with the author on YouTube. That would be AWESOME. Someone please make this happen.

What do you plan to read next?

I really, really need to read the second book in the Neapolitan Novels next, The Story of a New Name. My mom just finished the fourth (last) book in the series, and I need to catch up!

Who do you tag?

I tag anyone who thinks this looks like a fun book tag and wants to give it a try. If you do this (or already did it) on your blog or your BookTube channel, post a link in the comments so I can check it out!