Category Archives: Reading

PHAIL!

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I’ve been terrible at keeping up with this blog. I apologize to all three of you readers. (Hmm, I’m thinking three is generous, actually.)

So much has happened since I last posted. The holidays. I had a birthday. I went to Disney World. I got to see S.J. Tucker sing many times again. I bought stuff. And traveled. And took pictures. But biggest of all: I got a (more than) full-time job as a proofreader at a Retail Marketing Agency. I proofread Sears circulars. Now, if you haven’t fallen down with boredom already, my job can be demanding. There are so many rules and standards and styles. Each business has its own nuisance, and it’s impossible to remember everything. And printer deadlines can hurt. For example, yesterday (it still feels like today because I haven’t gone to bed yet) I worked from 9am-9:30pm. My brain is still recovering.

Because working so much, writing definitely takes a back seat. 🙁 Being a proofreader makes writing hard; because I am concentrating so much on details and minutiae all day, it’s hard to come home and start THINKING again for plotting and whatnot. So what do I do? Waste time playing FarmVille and Cafe World. If I can tear myself away from the computer, I re-read some old favorites. Right now, I am re-reading GOOD GIRLS by Karen Young. It’s an adult book. I’m sure I got it from one of those Romance Book Clubs I was a party of when I was in college. Sort of like Columbia House or the Disney Movie Club, only with books (and wineglasses) instead of CDs and DVDs. I love the book. It came out in 1997. My copy is yellow. No cover. It sleeps in my bed with me at night. That’s a sign of a well-loved book.

I’ve had to replace a few of my favorite books over the years. Flowers in the Attic. (I’m just now learning that there are some who do not like FitA, but I love it. I truly do.) Heaven. Sweet Revenge. I am on multiple copies of all those books, all in various stages of wear and tear. Cause what do I do? I buy “new” used copies to replace my falling down ones!

I haven’t finished reading a new book since the start of 2011. This is bad, because I’ve usually read at least ten new books by now. I tried to read BUTTERFLY, but can’t bring myself to finish it. I’d like to finish LITTLE WOMEN, but it’s on my computer/iPhone and I still have a really hard time reading books on-screen. I will have to pick up a hard copy sooner rather than later. I won a copy of SLICE OF CHERRY by the awesome Dia Reeves (who is not afraid to let her snark flag fly!), but these days, the most free time I get is before bed. I’m kinda scared it’ll give me nightmares if I read it before I go to sleep. :O I think I’ll inhale the thing this weekend, though. It’s sitting here tempting me all day every day (when I’m not at work.)

I still dream of becoming an author. I’m jotting down ideas all the time. Stories are always taking root in my mind. People keep telling me I am a good writer. I just need for one of those stories to take root and blossom. How badly do I want it? Evidently, not badly enough right now. But it’s coming. I can feel it.

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And really, I need to stop making excuses and writing flowery purple prose and just do the damn thing. As Dia Reeves says:

Take the 26 letters of the alphabet and mix them up into sentences and then paragraphs and then chapters and just keep doing that until you get sick of it.

She’s right.

I freaking adore that woman. Anyway, those few of you who have stuck with me through this silly roller coaster I’m on…thank you. See ya soon. 🙂

Books

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You know that feeling you get when you are reading a book and you don’t want it to end because it’s making you feel excited and happy and completely immersed in the world and the characters?

I got to experience that twice in the past couple weeks. First book was THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ by Frank L Baum. I hadn’t read that book since I was a little girl, so it was amazing to go back and reread it. I rediscovered all of the funny little worlds that I’d forgotten about (like the cute little porcelain people), and I loved watching the Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow long so much for what they already carried inside.

The second book was EXTRAS by Scott Westerfeld. I’d read the other books in the Uglies series and felt quite overwhelmed at how the pace was so fast by the time I got to Specials. Extras was a pleasant surprise. Another one I didn’t want to put down, full of the perfect amount of suspense and action. I really enjoyed Extras.

I recently read POP by Aury Wallington, and I was pleasantly surprised by that one, too. It was one I’d pull down and then put back on the shelf almost immediately. The reason I read it this time was because Adam actually checked it out.

I’m not sure what I’ll read next. I REALLY want to get my hands on THE PATRON SAINT OF BUTTERFLIES by Cecilia Galante, and I want to read AUDREY, WAIT by Robin Benway. And I would love to read AIRHEAD by Meg Cabot. That woman puts out so many books that I can’t keep up with her!

My library doesn’t get in many of the good books right when they come out.  This means I’ll probably have to purchase most of the books I want to read, and then either donate them or try to sell them at a used bookstore (if I decide I don’t want to keep them).  So, I don’t know when I’ll get to the books I want to read.

Anyway, I do have a good-sized pile of library books I need to go through, including MANIAC MAGEE by Jerry Spinelli and THE BOOK OF LUKE by Jenny O’Connell. I’ve been at the computer for hours, so I think I’ll get to that pile in just a bit. 🙂