So, the bibliophile is back and rendering opinions. This time on genre. I love books of all sorts: mysteries, romance, horror, children's books, westerns, sci-fi, fantasy and that deep adult literature.
And don't tell me paranormal is a genre, sorry, it's fantasy, people.
Anywho... my favorite genre is fantasy. I am crazy about fantasy. I almost hate to say it, because there are people out there who don't give you the time of day when they find out you read fantasy or sci-fi. Why is that? Why are those genres associated with geekdom or I don't know... being less worthy.
As though somehow, Toni Morrison is more worthy than George R. R. Martin. As though a book picked by Oprah has more merit for culture or learning or entertainment than fantasy. (Although, I must admit, Oprah did choose Harry Potter for book club once, but I don't think anyone took that seriously.)
I've read Toni Morrison: Sula, The Bluest Eye. I've read The Reader and Anna Karenina and Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and Gone With the Wind and many, many other works of literature. And believe me, they are WORK. Rewarding, ultimately, but not the easiest.
Fantasy, is easy because even if there is deep writing there is always something there, drawing you in deeper to the story. For me, I love fantasy because it reminds me of being a child. It reminds me of that magic of believing in Santa or fairies. Fantasy reminds me of how I used to prance around in my dress up clothes playing make believe.
Fantasy is a true escape. It's transportation to another world that may be similar to our own or so completely different that there is no hope for comparison.
It's worth reading and incidentally, worth writing. Both books that I've written are fantasy, Six Keys is "urban" and I don't know what to call Compis. It's not high fantasy -no elves or wizards.
I digress. My point is, read fantasy! Don't be a snob! :)
Soon to Follow: A list of my favorite fantasy authors. That is an entry in itself.
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
How I Choose What I Read...
I've been a reader since I picked up Nancy Drew in the first grade. That love of reading progressed to Louisa May Alcott, Tamora Pierce, Gene Stratton Porter, etc. My mom loved older books, so I have a rather unusual education in that regard.
Still, I read everything, pretty much, that I can get my hands on. Any genre, any style, any age group. I have a particular fondness for children's and young adult books, maybe because most authors are afraid to let anything TOO bad happen in them. Or maybe because there are no boundaries in a children's story. Anything could happen.
Look at the Harry Potter books. Amazing. Whether you like the series or not, you have to agree that J.K. Rowling used her vivid imagination to the fullest when writing those books.
How do I choose what to read? Well, it used to be, before I had a two year old who runs shrieking around the library, that I would go in and browse the new books to my heart's content, in every section, including children's.
I would pick out a huge stack of books -10-15, depending on the length, and be back again in a week. I was a mass consumption lady.
These days, between writing and raising a family, my reading is much more limited and so is my browsing time. These days, I go by word of mouth.
Word of mouth is a powerful engine. Thanks to word of mouth, I discovered the Hunger Games, Terry Goodkind, Harry Potter, Katie McCallister and my favorite author of all time George R.R. Martin -followed closely by Orson Scott Card.
Even now, I'm reading Ranger's Apprentice, because my sister Hope loves them and gave them to me to try for myself.
If I like the books people suggest to me, then I pass them on to others. If I don't, I either tactfully give reasons why I don't like something or I keep it to myself.
That is why I like goodreads so much! I can find out what my friends are reading, through word of mouth, and figure out what to try for myself.
VERY COOL.
I loved that site before I was a writer and will continue to love it, even if Six Keys never sells another copy. Somehow, though, word of mouth must be in MY favor, as sales are holding steady. :)
Keep on reading your books and reviewing them, people!
Still, I read everything, pretty much, that I can get my hands on. Any genre, any style, any age group. I have a particular fondness for children's and young adult books, maybe because most authors are afraid to let anything TOO bad happen in them. Or maybe because there are no boundaries in a children's story. Anything could happen.
Look at the Harry Potter books. Amazing. Whether you like the series or not, you have to agree that J.K. Rowling used her vivid imagination to the fullest when writing those books.
How do I choose what to read? Well, it used to be, before I had a two year old who runs shrieking around the library, that I would go in and browse the new books to my heart's content, in every section, including children's.
I would pick out a huge stack of books -10-15, depending on the length, and be back again in a week. I was a mass consumption lady.
These days, between writing and raising a family, my reading is much more limited and so is my browsing time. These days, I go by word of mouth.
Word of mouth is a powerful engine. Thanks to word of mouth, I discovered the Hunger Games, Terry Goodkind, Harry Potter, Katie McCallister and my favorite author of all time George R.R. Martin -followed closely by Orson Scott Card.
Even now, I'm reading Ranger's Apprentice, because my sister Hope loves them and gave them to me to try for myself.
If I like the books people suggest to me, then I pass them on to others. If I don't, I either tactfully give reasons why I don't like something or I keep it to myself.
That is why I like goodreads so much! I can find out what my friends are reading, through word of mouth, and figure out what to try for myself.
VERY COOL.
I loved that site before I was a writer and will continue to love it, even if Six Keys never sells another copy. Somehow, though, word of mouth must be in MY favor, as sales are holding steady. :)
Keep on reading your books and reviewing them, people!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Selling Out...
In Six Keys my protagonist has a conversation with her mother about selling out. Basically, the point is, if you take money for your craft -your gift- you are a sell-out. You have given your soul for cold hard cash. My point isn't as harsh in the book, but sometimes I feel like that about my own writing.
Up until now, I've kept all my glorious words to myself, with the exception of a very few friends and family that I've been brave enough to show my stories to.
I've been writing quite a long time, actually. I think I started reading in kindergarten, but I started reading the REAL books in 2nd grade. Like anyone who discovers the glory and power of imagination combined with the written word, my world opened up and I felt like I could go anywhere I read about. I was one of those character: Nancy Drew, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Anne Shirley, Alanna of Trebond, Josephine March, or Elnora Comstock.
And thus began my desire to create my own worlds for readers to get lost in.
My first stories were sad little affairs of 2 or 3 pages. I've saved them all. And laugh continuously over them. When I was in high school, I wrote the first third of an adult romance. I still don't know what I was thinking. It was full of drama and utterly ridiculous, but I loved the characters. I smile even now, when I think about them.
Right after that, I decided that Science Fiction was the way to go and I wrote about 23 chapters in that, before I gave up completely. Rhiannon was, I think, a misdirected Anne McCaffrey character who fell out of the pages of Crystal Singer or something. She was tall, gorgeous and sassy.
In the next phase of my writing career, I wrote nothing but poetry and short stories. The short stories were part of a creative writing course I took. That was probably one of the best decisions of my life. I learned so much about self-editing and finding my "voice".
Then all was silent. I was rushing through a double major in Computer Science and Applied Computer Graphics. I was busy, busy, busy -too busy to write or breathe. But there was an idea, a small inkling of something I wanted to try out.
And for five years, that small inkling was a sketch here, a brainstorm there... one chapter then another.
I got married. I had a baby. I got a job with an independent game studio, coding my brains out. One day, the book was done, I had done my edits and my rewrites and there it was. A work of genius? Ha! But MY story, all MINE.
Back to the question at hand...
Am I a sell-out?
No, I am a writer.
Up until now, I've kept all my glorious words to myself, with the exception of a very few friends and family that I've been brave enough to show my stories to.
I've been writing quite a long time, actually. I think I started reading in kindergarten, but I started reading the REAL books in 2nd grade. Like anyone who discovers the glory and power of imagination combined with the written word, my world opened up and I felt like I could go anywhere I read about. I was one of those character: Nancy Drew, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Anne Shirley, Alanna of Trebond, Josephine March, or Elnora Comstock.
And thus began my desire to create my own worlds for readers to get lost in.
My first stories were sad little affairs of 2 or 3 pages. I've saved them all. And laugh continuously over them. When I was in high school, I wrote the first third of an adult romance. I still don't know what I was thinking. It was full of drama and utterly ridiculous, but I loved the characters. I smile even now, when I think about them.
Right after that, I decided that Science Fiction was the way to go and I wrote about 23 chapters in that, before I gave up completely. Rhiannon was, I think, a misdirected Anne McCaffrey character who fell out of the pages of Crystal Singer or something. She was tall, gorgeous and sassy.
In the next phase of my writing career, I wrote nothing but poetry and short stories. The short stories were part of a creative writing course I took. That was probably one of the best decisions of my life. I learned so much about self-editing and finding my "voice".
Then all was silent. I was rushing through a double major in Computer Science and Applied Computer Graphics. I was busy, busy, busy -too busy to write or breathe. But there was an idea, a small inkling of something I wanted to try out.
And for five years, that small inkling was a sketch here, a brainstorm there... one chapter then another.
I got married. I had a baby. I got a job with an independent game studio, coding my brains out. One day, the book was done, I had done my edits and my rewrites and there it was. A work of genius? Ha! But MY story, all MINE.
Back to the question at hand...
Am I a sell-out?
No, I am a writer.
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