So between the sale Walmart was having on a few books from my “TBR ASAP” pile and the arrival of my Chapters/Indigo order from Mother’s Day… Guys, I’m losing my mind.
(and I mean that in the best way possible, of course.)
Category Archives: books
*Is Overwhelmed and Faints Like A Weak Heroine*
Book Review: Matched
I finished and reviewed Matched by Ally Condie.
Guys, I’m really surprised at how much I enjoyed this one. I’m usually not a fan of the straight-up love triangle, and this one did make me feel badly for one guy, but at least neither of them was abusive/controlling/disrespectful/etc like you see so often in these settings. I gave it four stars, based entirely on my own reading experience. It was fun, relaxing, and interesting enough that I spent my afternoon yesterday reading it instead of writing. Good enough for 4 stars from me. 🙂
It’s my birthday: my novel is free to celebrate!
Free book from A.E. Shaw that looks fantastic. Stop by and say happy birthday, then go grab a new read!
I’m 31 years old today!
To celebrate, my twisty-turny dystopian YA novel The Pulse is FREE to download from Amazon UK and Amazon US (and on all the regional Amazons, too!) so do, please, download, share the link and either forget about it completely, or enjoy it!
I’ve had a wonderful year. Being 30 was much better than I’d imagined. I thought my thirties would be all grown-up and scary, but actually, I’ve been surprisingly childlike and daft, and also, also, much braver than in years. I’ve published my novel, run a half-marathon, lost a slew of weight and fixed a lot of food and exercise things in my mind and body, made some big decisions about who and where I want to be, and, more than anything, I’ve had some really great times. Actual fun. I forgot to have fun a lot in my twenties, perhaps because I was…
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BOOKS!
Books are fun, aren’t they?
Yes, Kate, they are. Duh.
I have a lot of books. Not nearly as many as most of my friends; space restrictions mean I have to be selective about which ones I keep, and I get rid of anything I don’t love and/or want to keep around to re-read or lend out. Still, it’s been a long time since I had enough shelf space in my house for even half of my collection.
A few nights ago, I got sick of it. I went downstairs, unloaded everything from a shelf in the playroom (it wasn’t much, most of it was already on the floor), and hauled that sucker upstairs. There wasn’t technically space for it in the living room, but I didn’t need to open those desk drawers, anyway.
I went to my room, apologized profusely to the books that have been stacked beside my dresser since we moved here last June, gathered up my library books, and got the shelf set up.
Wheeeee!
That stack on the middle shelf and everything to the right of it are all TBR, mostly things I’ve grabbed when I saw them at Value Village or the used book store. I also have a few in progress or TBR on the Kobo.*
You’d think that would be enough, but noooooo. No, I had to go and remember that I still had Chapters/Indigo gift certificates left from Mother’s Day, and I ordered four more books. All fiction, all Fantasy or Dystopian, all but one YA. Read what you write, right?
I’m especially excited about Shadow and Bone, which sounds right up my alley. Adenture + romance + magic? Yup, that’s me!
And yes, all four are real, paper-and-ink, taking-up-space-on-my-shelf books. I really appreciate the prices and portability of e-books, I do. And I’m learning to enjoy reading them. But if someone gives me FREE MONEY for books? Yes, I’ll pay more plus shipping for the real deal.
Even if it means buying more shelves.
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I ALSO have a few on the Kindle app on the computer, books I got from Amazon when they were cheap or free, and not available elsewhere. Thing is, I can’t sit and read fiction on the laptop. I can’t. So until I get a Kindle or an iPad, those books are going to go un-read. It makes me sad. 😦
Sunday #ROW80 Update: Writing, Reading, and… Cleaning?!
Hello! First Round of Words update since JuNoWriMo started yesterday, so I guess it’s time for those updated goals, isn’t it?
Yes, Kate. Yes it is.
50,000 words in a month breaks down to 1667 words a day, which isn’t so bad on good days. Sadly, they’re not all good days, so I set my goal at 2,000+ words a day so that there’s some wiggle room when family stuff comes up and I can’t write, depression decides to kick my ass into the corner, my personal muse decides to sit his own ass in the corner and pick the dirt from under his fingernails instead of doing his share of the work… whatever.
So here are my goals for June (which will take me past the end of this round of ROW80):
- write 2,000 words a day on TORN
- read one novel a week
- continue edits on BOUND after writing is done for the day so I can get that out to my dear darling special reader friends and start looking for an editor (eep!)
We’ve had some not great news concerning my husband’s job. He’s not losing it, and I’m probably not supposed to share details, but it looks like he’s going to be having a very stressful summer. Not pleased. So in addition to my writing goals, I’m making a set of goals focusing on making his home life easier and less stressful, since there’s bugger all I can do about his work life. He’s been my biggest supporter (and to be honest, my hero) through a lot of my tough times. Now it’s my turn to be at my best for him. It might affect my writing, but there’s not much I can do about that.
- full menu plan for each week with healthy meals (eating out/getting pizza still allowed, but should be planned)
- 10-minute tidy (or 15 on bad days) with the kids every day before AJ comes home (clutter REALLY stresses him out) and before bed
- get the basement in shape so the kids want to play down there more and keep the upstairs tidier
- save extra money so when he does get days off we can get out of town and he can relax (I hope), and also to buy an elliptical for days when he can’t get out to exercise (and days when I can’t get out with Jack)
That’s all I’ve got for that so far. I know from experience that if I set my goals too high I’ll fail and give up, so I’ll leave it at that for now. If you have any suggestions, though, I’m open to them, and prayers and happy thoughts over the summer would be much appreciated. Â And no, he’s not a drinker, so I can’t greet him at the door with something alcoholic in hand when he gets home (and he’s going to be on-call anyway, so no drinking even if he did. Which he doesn’t. I, on the other hand, might take up drinking as a hobby. YAY!)
So what have I achieved since my last update?
- Not much on Thursday or Friday, but yesterday was a good day. I woke up with a migraine (bloody weather), but I took a frightening amount of painkillers and cranked out 3800 words over the course of the day. Were they good words? Darned if I know. I think they were.
- Started reading Fallen. It starts out with one of my least favourite set-ups (people who are DESTINED to fall in love and they JUST CAN’T HELP IT!), but I like the writing, and I’m going to keep going to see what happens.  It might lose me if an IMPOSSIBLY GORGEOUS AND PERFECT BOY shows up, but I’m giving it a good chance. 🙂
- Still struggling with reading fiction on the Kobo. I’m about 12 chapters in on First of Her Kind by K.L. Schwengel. I like the story, but the format makes me put it down a lot, and that makes me sad. Would be better if I was travelling. Great for reading in the bathtub, though (except that my husband thinks I’m nuts for having the Kobo near water)
- Holy crap, how is the living room a mess again? Nobody is doing anything! Ugh, guess I should go round up the troops to take care of that…
I hope you’re all having a fantastic weekend wherever you are, whatever you’re doing. Take care, and I’ll see you later (I’ve scheduled posts for Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Will there be Engrish? Stay tuned to find out…)
…Because I’m an Idiot, That’s Why
JuNoWriMo starts in two days. Technically less than two days. My brain has been wandering everywhere lately– that is, everywhere except where I want it to go, which is writing. Â I need fewer distractions in my life, especially for the next month, when I’m going to be trying for 2,000 words a day (and hopefully most of those before the kids get up in the morning, fingers crossed, yeah right).
So what did I do today?
I WENT TO THE EFFING LIBRARY.
Not only did I go and look at books, I also got out more books than I could hope to finish in a normal two-week period, never mind one when I’m supposed to be writing all of the time.
I picked up a few books I’ve heard a lot about but never went OH MY GOODNESS I HAVE TO READ THAT RIGHT NOW and a few that have been recommended to me personally. Maybe it’s not fair to the books, but here’s how this is going to go: they have maybe three chapters, depending on length, to win me over. If I’m not intrigued/excited/curious/whatever (really, I’m open to a host of possibilities) by then, I’m not wasting my time on it.
Is that unreasonable? All we hear as writers is that it’s our job to hook readers in the first pages. The first paragraphs, even, if you’re talking about querying agents. Is it my responsibility as a reader to give a book more than three chapters to win me over? Even if the story isn’t in full swing by then (and I’m not saying it needs to be; I can enjoy a slow build or a quiet beginning), it needs to have promised me something that will keep me going.
It’s no different from dating, I guess. First dates don’t have to be perfect, but you’ve got to make a good impression. I don’t need to know everything about you by the third date (and please, I don’t need to have SEEN everything by then), but there’s got to be chemistry there. If there’s not, there are other people I could be spending time with who might work out better. It’s not you, it’s not me, it’s just not working.
I guess that’s an advantage of library books, at least for readers. If I spend money on a book, I’ll probably push harder to finish it. Now, if it’s not a good book this also means I’ll hate it more by the end, but I’ll at least try to finish it. If I have no money invested, I’m much more likely to leave it and go find something I DO enjoy.
So that’s the plan for these books. I’m going to give them a fair shot when I have time (and thank goodness for library renewals!), and I hope I’ll enjoy all of them.
And no, I won’t be reviewing/talking about any that I don’t finish. 🙂
How do you approach books? Do you feel like you HAVE to finish a story once you’ve started it? I used to. Do you think books deserve a chance to get good in the middle, or do you expect to be hooked/entertained right away? What pulls you in to a book? Voice? Action? A world that you want to take up permanent residence in? Characters who are interesting, either because you love them or hate them? What turns you off right away?
PS- if you’re a blogger friend and I have your book, I promise it’s still on my TBR list, but I’m waiting until I have time to really enjoy it. Yours get more than 3 chapters. 😉
My Goodreads Review of Divergent
My Goodreads Review of Divergent
Done. Not perfect, but it’s the first book that’s kept me up late in quite a while. That gets bonus points. 🙂
Book Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Book Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Guys… I just… I can’t even. My brain is broken. This book was FAN-EFFING-TASTIC.
I don’t go into plot in my reviews (click on the link up there for my review, impressions and reactions), but I’m sure other people have if you’re curious. Or you could just read it.Â
Waiter! Where’s that sequel I ordered?!
Question for Monday
Tell me this happens to you, too:
You write something that, to you, is unique. You’re careful not to use wizards going off to wizard school, dumbass girls falling in love with stalker vampires, or teenagers being all hungry and having to kill each other in a game of some sort*. You reject your muse’s first offer (and second, and third) to try to make everything unique.
You write. You revise.
And then you read new books that have elements that are similar to yours. Not the core concept (at least for me, not yet, knock on wood), but a setting, a situation, a character’s background. Frenemies trapped in a tight space while bad guys lurk outside. A guy who lost his mom young, who was forced to not show feelings, who effing hates his dad.
It’s not that I expect my ideas to be completely unique; I truly believe it’s all been done, and will be again in new ways. And these are small things, and the way they come into my story is nothing like how they show up anywhere else.
But it makes me want to go scream to the world that I thought of it before I read it in someone else’s book. That I’m willing to share, but I didn’t copy off of another student’s paper.
It’s just me being silly, but that’s my question to writer types. Has this ever happened to you? I’m on number 3, which probably isn’t too bad for minor issues… Did you just shrug and go, “eh, whatever,” or did you immediately think that you’ll be accused of lifting other people’s ideas? Do you burn books and curse authors when they [retell the fairy tale you’re retelling, have a similar love story concept, use a name you really wanted]? Change your story? Let it be, secure in the knowledge you’ve done nothing wrong?
I’m not so much asking for advice here; I already know what I’m doing about it. I’m just wondering about times when this has happened to any of you, and whether you changed your own work in response, decided that you’re the only one who would notice anyway and left it, screamed and cried and threw your manuscript (or computer) out the window, stalked the other author and demanded to know how they got into your head… story time!
(For the record, I am changing one name after finding out that my brother and sister duo’s names are the same as a romantically linked couple in a popular YA series I haven’t read yet, but the other stuff is staying.)
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*Crap, there goes my idea for “Starvation Backgammon” 😦
Vines and Vices (All the Queen’s Knaves book one)
Urban Fantasy (writing as Tanith Frost)
Dark, decadent, and deadly... Immortal Soulless books 1-7 (full series) available now! Visit www.katesparkes.com for details.
Bound (Bound Trilogy Book One)
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Torn (Bound Trilogy Book Two)
Into Elurien
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At Any Cost (Bound Trilogy prequel novella)
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The Binding (Short Story)
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Kate Sparkes
disregard the prologue 