Reading (and reading widely, both within your genre and without) is crucial for writers, helping them to develop basic skills and to craft a personal style of writing.
Each month I will include titles I have been reading throughout the month, from most recent backwards. Feel free to post yours in the comment section. Be sure to warn us if you were not satisfied with a particular read.
To make it easy for readers to check out your recommendations, please include a live, clickable link with your comment [Amazon links are great, because the provide both reviews and a means of purchase]. There are two ways to add a link: first, you can compose your comment as a new blog post, add the links in the usual way, then copy it, HTML and all, into the comments section here; or you can write it yourself like this:
[a href="http://paste.amazon.address.here"]write title of book here[/a]
Don't forget to change the web address and name the title of the book. Then replace those two pairs of square brackets [] with pointy ones <>, or the link won't work.
Kicking it off was quite a diverse group of books:
- Dreamland by Sarah Dessen [my current selection]
- Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
- Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
- Digital Fortress by Dan Brown
- These Three Remain (third title in the 'Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman' trilogy) by Pamela Aidan
- On Becoming Toddlerwise by Gary Ezzo [a regular reference book for me]
Posts
8 comments:
OK, that last one was my botched attempt, which was an object lesson in the importance of previewing before posting - sorry!
Here's my list:
Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig
All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock
Hmmm...I will have to check out some of those! Thanks for the recommendations, Alison. Of the five, did you have a favorite?
I'm always up for a good read. I'll have to check out all the recs.
Sorry to not include the links, but I'm short on time. but here's my list of March reads from most recent to oldest.
1) The ABC's of Kissing boys by Tina Ferraro
2) What I saw and How I lied by Judy Blundell
3) Everlost by Neal Shusterman
4) Savvy by Ingrid Law
5) Unwind by Neal Shusterman
6) Paper Towns by John Greene
I loved them all.
There's some good choices there for next month! Thanks.
Okay,I finished reading 'Dreamland' over a week ago and I must say, I LOVED IT! It is definitely darker than Sarah Dessen's other works, but all the stronger for it in my opinion. Having known several victims of relational abuse (even while I was in high school), I can say resolutely that Dessen has written a believable character (and story arc) that quickly grabbed my attention and tugged at my heart. I appreciate how Dessen also delved into the recovery process and how challenging it is for someone to learn to forgive (and love) herself after initially breaking free from the bonds of abuse. And yet, with all the heaviness of the subject, Dessen manages to keep the mood, tempo, and style of the book within her genre of Young Adult. Bravo!
I highly recommend this title--my favorite read of 2009 so far.
~Sarah
Hi Sarah,
I'm so glad you liked Dreamland. It has quickly become one of my favorite books and put Sarah Dessen high on my list of authors I need to read more extensively. I really admire her work. And she seems like such a nice person as well. Always a plus.
I feel much the same as you. I feel that Caitlin is one of the most well-developed characters I have encountered in modern YA, and I consider myself as having high standards for such things. I was also impressed by her use of metaphor and description. I was in that car the first time Rogerson hit Caitlin. In a nutshell: she's good.
I usually speed read through a book if it has no substance. Dreamland was definitely a slow read for me. And an enjoyable one. Again, so happy you liked it.
Hm...I think I will "steal" my comment here for an Amazon review for Dreamland...I've been meaning to do one for a while and I've just been too lazy to do it. Thanks for prompting me to give you my thoughts.
I know what you mean about her 'use of metaphor and description.' She excels when it comes to 'Showing Vs. Telling' (see my recent post on this) and her ability to weave detail and characterization seamlessly into a scene is amazing! She really is a great author for aspiring writers to read. I could spend hours dissecting one chapter and still not uncover all the techniques and artistic tools she used to craft her work. I'm glad to hear we share a common interest. Have you checked out her blog? I used to read it regularly, but now only catch up with it periodically.
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