Category Archives: Reading

recharging, holidays, and a link round up!

01 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by in Link Round Up, Reading, Writing, YA

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

i’m copying and pasting one of my tweets from yesterday:

Going to stare at a blank page while sitting on the deck in the sun. Am bringing peanut butter and spoon with me. #brainfood

and then this one shortly after:

I started the day thinking I needed to work on a new book, but now I’m tweeting about Pinkberry and eating PB from the jar with a spoon.

so it’s pretty safe to say the creative gears aren’t exactly turning right now. and as important as reading time is, i’m feeling a bit sluggish after a couple of weeks of doing nothing but working through my TBR pile. but holidays are just around the corner, so i’m hoping the restlessness will go away and the time will be great for recharging. not only for the revisions for DIVIDED that will be waiting for me when i get back, but maybe a new idea will spark while i’m away from the norm.

until then, some links! i blogged about books i wish i’d written over on the lucky 13s last week. as well, i’m now taking part in best book ever, a weekly feature on short and sweet reviews where authors, bloggers, and book lovers get together and post what they choose to be the best book according to that week’s topic. last week was series; this week is book-to-movie adaptation. also, i’m this week’s author on writer odyssey wednesday over on chasing the crazies. thanks so much to amy for hosting me!

the month of august is an exciting time for fans of dystopian ya! both presenting lenore and reader of fictions are running dystopian august, an event in which each blog features upcoming dystopian novels, reviews, interviews, and giveaways! i’m incredibly excited and flattered that DUALED will appear on both sometime during dystopian august! much thanks to lenore and christina!

and holidays! it’s supposed to be sweltering in japan right now. i can’t believe how much i’ve missed the joy of finding vending machines on every corner selling drinks for the equivalent of a loonie. in the spring, i went for hot canned coffee or heated red bean drinks; this time, it’s going to be chilled green tea.

random: listening to b.o.b feat taylor swift both of us; about to start reading REBEL HEART by moira young, the only thing i’m looking forward to during a ten hour flight. (it’s not out in north america until october, but this means you still have time to read book 1 in the dust lands series, BLOOD RED ROAD); watching olympics. nothing but olympics. getting my fill while i can, since i don’t know if i’ll be able to stream this overseas.

so can i have a DUALED floor display for myself, please?

19 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by in Link Round Up, Publishing, Reading, YA

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

because it’s me and i’m lazy with fine print, i had no clue DUALED was going to be sold in australia as part of the deal for north america. so that was incredibly exciting to find out! but i think the best way was how i found out.

i came across this listing for a 9 copy floor display at angus & robertson, an australian bookstore! come february i don’t know if it can actually be ordered as it says, or even actually made, but if so i’ll most definitely try. because how fun would this be to have in the house? i’d rotate the book selection on a regular basis!

a brief link round up this week! DUALED was mentioned in Publisher’s Weekly Spring 2013 Sneak Previews, which was amazing! i was floored to be included with such talented authors. also, an interview i did was translated into romanian at i’m wide awake and fantasy books. english is here! thanks so much sabrina, laura, and ramona!

i only have a few days left until my first set of edits come in for DIVIDED, but since turning in the first draft to my editor, i’ve been madly working through my to-be-read pile (it’s still huge). i’m pretty careful with the books i choose just because of how little time i seem to have left for reading nowadays. this is what i’ve read recently and enjoyed:

ellen oh PROPHECY
april tucholke BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA
shannon messenger LET THE SKY FALL
daniel marks VELVETEEN
kendare blake ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD
ransom riggs MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN
patrick ness THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO
patrick ness THE ASK AND THE ANSWER
patrick ness MONSTERS OF MEN
joshua c. cohen LEVERAGE
moira young BLOOD RED ROAD
laini taylor DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE
lauren destefano WITHER
emma donoghue ROOM
patrick ness A MONSTER CALLS
rj palacio WONDER
huntley fitzpatrick MY LIFE NEXT DOOR
jandy nelson THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE

link round up!

03 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by in Link Round Up, Reading, Writing, YA

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

my brain is mush and i’ve lived off take-out sushi, tea, apples, and egg whites for 3 weeks. there’s scuzz growing in our sinks and i’m scared to check the state of the pvr. i miss the treadmill.

but there’s also something really cool about not going to bed until it’s getting light out. and it’s fun to see the difference between my twitter feed during day and night. being on the west coast, my feed dies down around 11pm. but then it’s the end of the workday on the other side of the world and aussie happy hour hits from 1-2am. then i get to talk to some cool brits. finally the east coast feed kicks in around 4am.

all this to say…i’m finally done DIVIDED!!! drafting it, anyway. there will be much revision and editing ahead before it’s done done. but YAY! 89,000 words and i’m so happy with each and every one of them.

okay, link round up before i take a day or two to read through it before hitting SEND to my editor.

DUALED got a mention from the utterly fantastic kari olson over at a good addiction. she’s read the ARC and counts it as one of her drool worthy upcoming books! thanks so very much, kari! i’m incredibly floored to be included in such amazing company.

as a lucky 13, we’re at the halfway mark until our books are published! six months to go! so to celebrate, we’re having a massive book giveaway of some of our favourite books. my selection was stephen king’s the eyes of the dragon. i love the heck out of this book. it’s king, it’s fantasy, it’s amazing. come enter, contest closes midnight, july 6th!

i’m taking part in ya highway’s the first sale: expectation vs reality. this is part 2. did you miss part 1? thanks, kristin halbrook, for putting together these posts! i love reading about how everyone’s publishing journeys are so different.

twincest FTW

10 Thursday May 2012

Posted by in Reading, YA

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,

taking a quick break from drafting to share this fantastic write-up about DUALED on cuddlebuggery!

four concept books that need to be awesome.

kat and steph are both amazing bloggers and have HUGE followings as reviewers; find them on their book blog and on goodreads!

absolutely floored. and, yes, twincest. hah!

thank you, kat and steph!

livre du jour

17 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by in Random, Reading

≈ 15 Comments

Tags

, , ,

before this little thing called writing came along, i used to blitz my way through books. i’d crack one open sometime during the day and not put it down until i was finished. not because i had to, but because i had no choice–a good book won’t let you go until you’re done.  and there was something special about being the only one awake at 3 or 4 in the morning, cocooned in bed, the reading lamp aimed just so. it was in that kind of deep quiet that a book really came to life; characters breathed and moved, their words not merely read but also heard.

i still love discovering books that can do this. of course, some books are just way too long, and some too exhausting to get through in one sitting without feeling like your brain’s going to explode. and now that i don’t have as much time to read anymore, i’m resorting to sneaking bits and pieces here and there, like a little kid swiping candy from the hidden stash on the pantry’s top shelf: a page while cooking, another while eating. it’s not the same, but what can you do?

what books have you read in the course of a day? or wanted to, only to be interrupted by the real world? the last book i got to read in one day was we the animals by justin torres. it’s not hefty in terms of pages (it clocks in at 128), but the world within them is immense, brilliant, and more than a bit heartbreaking.

what books-turned-movies might be up for oscars in 2013?

27 Monday Feb 2012

Posted by in Random, Reading

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,

so the 2012 oscars are over, and you’re either

1) self-satisfied in knowing you actually saw all the best picture nominees this year

or

2) kind of feeling there’s no point in playing catch-up now, and, hey, there’s always next year.

however you stand, whether you’ve seen the films or not, you can decide to read them.

six of the nine best picture nominees were based on books.

moneyball
the descendants
the help
the invention of hugo cabaret
war horse
extremely loud and incredibly close

other films based on books that got nominated for other oscars? harry potter and the deathly hallows part 2, girl with the dragon tattoo, tinker, tailor, soldier, spy, and my week with marilyn.

this beats last year’s list, when four of the ten best picture nominees were based on books: the social network (the accidental billionaires), true grit, 127 hours (between a rock and a hard place, and winter’s bone. how to train your dragon got a nod for best animated film.

think we might be seeing any of these movies-based-on-books play a role on oscar night, 2013?

the hobbit
the hunger games
dr. suess’ the lorax
life of pi
the great gatsby
the silver linings playbook
the wettest county in the world
abraham lincoln: vampire hunter

personally, i cannot wait for the hobbit. it’s been much, much, too long since the adaptations of lotr hit the big screen. and the hunger games, though i’m worried they’re going to mess up the adaptation (i think the harry potter movies fall far short of the books). what say you? (sorry, had to sneak in an aragon quote, there.)

random: listening to midnight city by m83, reading the art of fielding by chad harbach, watching nhl trade deadline news all day.

Like this at Facebook!

buzzed

08 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Reading, Writing

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

i’ve been back and forthing with a fellow ya author friend about another author whose books we just love. someone whose books came to form much of our reading and writing foundations. and our clear favourites of the bunch? the ones written when the author had been charged on just a bit more than the normal “writer’s high”.

and i don’t mean just caffeine, either.

it came down to a sense of just leaving everything out there, uglies and dirt and all. there’s edge, it’s raw, and pure feeling poured out in every word and turn of phrase. like there was no care about structure or mechanics as long as the story made its way onto the page. it was almost romantic, the hurry to love before the passion was gone.

i still reread those books all the time. the worlds are familiar now, but no less vivid.

what do you think about needing to be elevated to write well, or write at all? being hopped up on nerve-jumping adrenaline from lack of sleep? chain-chugging red bull? stuffing down sugar-laced candies by the handful? does it just come down to catching that groove that lets you tap into that writer side of yourself? is this when you write most as yourself?

oh. i’m up for my truth or dare this friday on friday the thirteeners. don’t miss!

 

Like this at Facebook!

young adult books in school

03 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in Random, Reading, YA

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , ,

looking back on my high school english classes, only one book stands out to me as having been young adult. that would have been s.e. hinton’s the outsiders. ok, we probably did quite a few more over the years, but that’s the one that comes to mind right away. plus, my memory’s been shot ever since i got into this crazy writing thing, so there’s that.

the outsiders floored me. the angst, the drama, the names (sodapop! ponyboy!). i looooved that book. so much so that i wish i could drop the “stay gold, ponyboy, stay gold” quote courtesy of johnny cade more often in conversation without looking absolutely idiotic.

wow. i just realized this post has totally and utterly dated me. hah.

soooo…five years from now, what ya books from today might be studied? in ten years?

(oh, and check out fellow ya author ellen oh’s post on naysayers at my group blog, friday the thirteeners. yours truly is up next week for truth or dare!)

Like this at Facebook!

books you wish you’d never heard of

16 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in Random, Reading

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

…if only because you could read them again for the first time.

yes, those books. everyone has at least one.

when i start a new book, i never go in expecting not to absolutely love it. otherwise, why start (barring it being required reading, that is)? there’s millions of books out there and limited time (almost no time now, with writing. sleep was the first to go, but since it’s a biological requirement, a line must be drawn somewhere). so always, always, i’m hoping to stumble on that rare spark again, whatever it is that takes a book beyond mere plot expressed in words, punched out to fill a page. most of these books ask for nothing more of me than the simple act of reading–a satisfaction equivalent to clearing a show off your pvr queue for the week, or buying a shirt simply because it’s on sale and not because you fell in love with it.

but, those books. injested, absorbed, inhaled. where turning the last page means more than just shuffling it from one column to another, the ones in your head labelled “to-be-read” and “read”. because you’re left adrift now, no longer part of a world that captivated you for a few hundred pages, where the hours flew by like minutes. you cling to the characters like friends you don’t want to say goodbye to. you want more.

here are just some of the books i wish i could rediscover again for the first time:

his dark materials–philip pullman
watership down–richard adams
lord of the rings trilogy–j.r.r. tolkien
the millenium series–stieg larsson
the eyes of the dragon/the stand/the body–stephen king
outlander series (1-4)–diana gabaldon
harry potter series-j.k. rowling

Like this at Facebook!

so i got an e-reader

02 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in Random, Reading

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

, , ,

my hubby got me a kindle for xmas. which, surprisingly, i’m actually using. not because i ever had a thing about e-readers one way or the other, but i’m the walking definition of the term creature of habit. i just really, really love the feel, weight, tangibility of a bound book in my hands. the satisfying crack of its spine, the creasing of a corner to mark my place, the way it gets fat and fluffy from its pages being ruffled and read. water damage, too, in my case. (i used to get upset when a book started to show its wear and tear, but not anymore. it just means its been well loved. that, and there’s no point with the kids around. i do draw the line at manga, though, since the story is told through visuals and artwork.)

the ipad never worked for me outdoors because of the glare, so the lack of a backlight on the kindle is perfect. which is pretty ironic, considering that the new kindle fire goes on about having that backlight so you can read in the dark…which leads to that same issue of glare while outside in the sun…which is exactly what amazon railed about for the ipad.

(but i don’t think the fire is even available up in canada. so, y’know, moot point and all that…)

anyway, i’m already looking forward to loading up my kindle for vacations. no more buying books halfway through because i didn’t bring enough to read–again.

and the screen’s already really dirty–mostly toothpaste spatters since i read while brushing my teeth (gross, i know). i guess it’s pretty much the e-equivalent of creased spines and dogeared corners. apart from travel, it doesn’t replace bound books for me (*looks around at all the piles everywhere*). but it’s a great option.

the house will be empty tomorrow. back to school, back to work. which means i can start writing at 8 in the morning instead of 11 at night. cannot. wait.

OH. it’s 2012 and i can finally say DUALED is coming out next year! crazy, surreal, somewhat frightening! happy new year, y’all!

Like this at Facebook!
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 64 other followers