I did pretty well with my reading goals for the month. I did not finish one of the books from my TBR pile, but I’m almost done with it, so I’ll finish it and another book this month to catch up. Here’s what I read in February:
1). Where My Heart Used to Beat, by Sebastian Faulks (read to review).
2) The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde (read for school, but worth a read, even if only at the sheer absurdity of the characters).
3) The Awakening, by Kate Chopin. (Read for my AWR class, but wow.)
4) Love Sick, by Cory Martin (read to review, but enjoyed a lot).
5) Suddenly Spellbound, by Erica Lucke Dean (read to review).
6) Simple Matters: Living with Less and Ending up with More, by Erin Boyle (I’m a huge fan of her blog, and this encourages my goal to simplify.).
7) Stone and Silt, by Harvey Chute (read to review).
8) The Man who was Thursday: A Nightmare, by C.K. Chesterton (read for British Lit. Eh.).
Two weeks ago, I reviewed Love Sick, by Cory Martin. Today I have a lovely interview with the author, who was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions. Love Sick is a great read for anyone who has ever struggled with an illness, dating, or trying to find themselves. The author is open about her struggles, and this honesty shines through on every page. You can pick up a copy here.
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Write Out Publishing.)
(I was interested in reading Love Sick because I’ve been through health issues, too. I had a major stroke almost three years ago. Learning to live with a new reality is challenging, at best. If you’re interested, you can read about that here and here.)
Who is your favorite author and why? (Do you love being scared by Stephen King, inspired by Maya Angelou, loved by Nicholas Sparks, entertained by Jane Austen?)
You know what’s funny is I literally just looked at my bookshelves to find an answer, like I was just going to pluck one out of thin air so I could look smart, but the truth is I don’t have a favorite author. I have plenty of authors who I admire and whose books I adore, but there’s not one that I return to over and over. If I went through the books on my shelves I could probably give you a reason why I like, love or admire each and every author. But let me just give you a sampling…I love Erica Jong for her fearlessness and portrayal of women, and Curtis Sittenfeld for her well crafted character based stories, and Jeannette Walls for writing a memoir that felt like a piece of literary fiction and Jenny Lawson for making me laugh out loud on an airplane and Dave Eggers for taking his writing and parlaying that into a publishing company and an amazing non-profit (If you don’t know about his 826 program you should check it out.) and Tom Wolfe because he is such a part of history, and Fitzgerald and Austen and Hemingway and so many others. I guess I am a fan of writers in general and anyone who can persevere and not only finish writing a book but then put themselves and their art out there to be judged by all has my support.
What is your absolute favorite, read over-and-over again, book? (Mine is “Gone with Wind,” which I’ve read about 25 times, because the story and the characters are so real to me.)
The one book that has stuck with me forever is “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin. I have only read it a few times, but the way it made me feel the first time I read it has been imprinted on my soul. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to go out and change your life or do something grand and against the norm when you finish reading it.
The two other books that I have read over and over have more to do with me being a writer. They are Stephen King’s “On Writing” and Erica Jong’s “Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life”. If anyone reading this is a writer or aspiring writer, I highly recommend these books. They’re about the craft, yes, but they also make you feel less alone in your idiosyncrasies and habits that have to do with writing.
Where is your dream place to write? (Personally, I have visions of white sand and waves. Maybe a drink with an umbrella in it.)
Oh my gosh, I’ve had visions of white sand and waves too, but I know me and I would get way too lazy and comfortable there and would probably never write another word. But take me to some old flat in Europe with character and history, somewhere like Prague or Vienna and I think I might thrive. Whenever I travel I love to research the writers who were from that place, or who were ex-pats there and I try to visit the locations where they lived or wrote or got drunk on a daily basis. I have always been fascinated with the lives of writers, and to be where they once were inspires me.
How has writing changed your life? (If I’m doing “character research,” people-watching is much more socially acceptable.)
I don’t know if it’s necessarily changed my life because I’ve always been an introverted observer who loved writing, but I can definitely see now how it has affected the way I interact with the world. I think being a writer has taught me how to empathize with people. To be a writer and to be able to develop characters and write dialogue you have to really understand the way humans interact and work and think and feel, and I believe that because of this I have become a great listener and I have learned to sympathize with someone before jumping to conclusions or passing judgment.
How is your health these days? Do you feel like your body betrayed you? (One of the reasons I wanted to read your book was because I have had a major health issue myself. Almost 3 years ago, at the age of 36, I had a major stroke without warning and almost died. Overnight, my entire world changed, and it felt like my body had tried to kill me, literally, so I had to relearn how to trust it again.)
Wow. How scary. I can’t even imagine what that must’ve been like and all that you’ve probably had to go through and might still be going through as a result. That must’ve been so hard to learn to trust your body again. I hope you are doing much better and are as healthy as can be. Thank you for sharing that. Stories like yours and mine and so many others are the reason I wrote the book. I knew I couldn’t be the only woman struggling with an illness or betrayal of their body who was also trying to navigate life in the most normal way possible and I wanted to share my story in the hopes that it would at the very least make other women feel less alone.
My health these days is quite good and I feel very lucky. The one major thing I deal with is my cognition. I forget things or names of things quite frequently and there are so many mistakes in my writing these days that I swear I spend more time editing than I do writing, but this I can tolerate. However, and this is the thing that makes MS so hard to deal with, you can never predict what will happen next, so while I don’t feel like my body has betrayed me yet, I live in constant fear that one day I will wake up and it will have done so.
What is your advice for anyone interested in getting into yoga? (Because I’d like to, but I have limited time and resources. It seems like such a beneficial practice. And maybe my brain would stop talking to itself so much.)
Ah, yes, yoga is great for quieting the mind and getting your brain to stop talking to itself so much, but it definitely takes practice. My advice for anyone interested in getting into yoga is to not assume that it has to be perfect right from the get go. Try a class here and there, or just learn one or two poses you enjoy, or follow a video online or read a book (not to plug my own work, but I did write a book called Yoga for Beginners, which might be helpful). Also, know that it might take time for you to find a teacher or a type of yoga that you connect with and that’s fine. There are so many different types of yoga out there and you have to try them out to find out what works for your body. I think the problem now, especially in the US, is that yoga has become this big flashy thing you see on Instagram where yogis are tying themselves into knots or doing these poses that are displays of amazing feats of strength. And that’s great and I don’t want to take away from any of that, but the real yoga lies in being able to simply be in the moment. I practice yoga constantly, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I get on my mat and move my body into the poses. The poses are just a way to help you get to the point where you can, as you said, get your brain to stop talking to itself so much. So truthfully if you can get into one pose, which might be Sukhasana, which is basically sitting Indian style like you did as a kid, and get your mind to quiet even if just for one second, you are doing yoga and that’s the best place to start.
Thank you, Cory, for taking the time to answer these questions. I purchased “Yoga for Beginners,” and I can’t wait to start reading it. I have some cognition problems, too, but they are sporadic–and without warning–which is quite frustrating. I still worry sometimes that something else will happen, so I understand your fear. I’m happy that you are doing so well, and I hope “Love Sick” does well. I recommend it to everyone.)
Reading is always a priority for me. However, I’ve been super busy lately, so it fades a bit under the need for sleep while working 12-14 hour days. With only small increments of time at my disposal, I’m reading several things, in tiny chunks. So, here’s what I’m reading currently:
Suddenly Spellbound, by Erica Lucke Dean. (Just started it, but I like the breezy voice.)
Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell. (Will always be my favorite, but only time for a little bit at a time right now.)
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin. (Just a few chapters in, but I’m liking it a lot.)
Beginning Theory, by Peter Barry. (Quite dense textbook.)
Fatal Revenant, by Stephen R. Donaldson. (Considering this series has been around since the year I was born, I’m really loving it.)
Friday I spent a little bit of time in a place I never really imagined I’d be: the house where Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone with the Wind.
The Margaret Mitchell House, where the tiny apartment the author and her husband lived in was located.
Gone with the Wind is my favorite book. I read it for the first time when I was 11 years old. I’ve probably read it at least 25 times. I’m reading it now (Sort of.). The name of this blog comes from the novel. It’s not that I idolize the era it takes place in. I don’t. There was a lot wrong with that society, its practices, and its beliefs. It’s not that I wished I lived there. (Ha. I despise wearing dresses, so living where elaborate dresses was the norm is a joke.).
This painting was actually used in the movie. Gorgeous dress, but not my style.
But the characters are so vividly realized I feel like I know them, as is the setting. I think Margaret Mitchell did an astounding job creating characters and bringing them to life. I still laugh, and cry, every time I read the book.
Where she actually wrote the novel (Although not the actual desk or typewriter, which is on display at the Atlanta library.). She used a towel to cover her work when unexpected visitors dropped in.
I did not know that Ms. Mitchell had her husband burn the first draft (there was only one copy) of the novel after her death, as well as any other projects she was working on. I didn’t know that she never intended to publish it at all, and wanted it back after she did let a publisher look at it.
A story the author wrote as a girl.
I knew she worked as a reporter for a while.
Ms. Mitchell was so short that the legs of the desk she used as a reporter had to be shortened.
So, last year, I joined the Goodreads 2015 Reading Challenge. Initially, I set my goal at 50 books. Between school and work, I decided that was a good number, but I ended up revising it to 75 later in the year, when I passed the 50-book mark with plenty of time to spare. I actually ended up reading 110 books (My Goodreads account only shows 108, but I re-read The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear, both of which I had previously read, and if there’s a way to mark them as re-read, I haven’t figured it out yet.)
This year, I’m setting my goal a bit higher right from the start, at 75. We’ll see how that works out.
Currently, I’m reading this:
And this:
(This isn’t the actual book cover, but it is the movie poster that is hanging over my desk, on a piece of old barn wood. My parents got it for me somewhere years ago.)
I’m also reading Warrior Chick, by Holly Wagner, and various assorted other books (textbooks) for school.
Can we talk about The Runes of the Earth? I read The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant I-have-no-idea-how-long-ago, when my mother gave me the initial two trilogies. Meanwhile, these last four books have been on my TBR shelf for…I have no idea how long. At least 6 or 7 years (hence the goal of actually reading from this shelf this year). It’s ridiculous. Initially, I didn’t start the first book because the second book was about to come out and I wanted to wait…then life happened.
I picked this up New Year’s Eve, and immediately got sucked in. Now I’m slapping myself in the forehead for not reading these years ago.
So, what’s everyone reading right now? What do you plan to read this year?
I used to make very complicated, intricately planned-out lists of resolutions every year. A few years ago, I stopped that, but this year I decided to give it another go. I ended up with three separate lists (Life, Writing, and Reading), each with eight goals.
Here are my Writing goals for the year:
1) Finish Witches HTRYN.
2) Finish 1st draft of Siren Song.
3) Finish 1st draft of The Fall.
4) Start Camelot
5) Revise Casting Shadows.
6) Finish copyediting classes and make X dollars at it per month.
7) Have 500 followers on this blog. (I can dream, right?)
8) Have 200 followers on my personal blog (It’s a goal.)
Here are my Reading goals:
1) Read Gone with the Wind (for at least the 25th time. I normally read it every year, but it’s been a few years.).
2) Read 1 book per month from my TBR shelf.
3) Read all books on the reading list for my American Women Writers class (8 total).
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Kensington Books and Lyrical Press.)
Laura Johnston loves music, reading, and running. She also loves to write stories with heart. Her newest book, Between Now and Never, is a contemporary young adult novel with shades of mystery and romance.
Cody Rush is the “good” kid: basketball star, stays out of trouble, has a loving family. Julianna Schultz is his complete opposite: she loves art, her brother has a troubled past, her home life is falling apart. Cody’s dad is an FBI agent. Julianna’s mom is in prison. To make things worse, Cody’s dad is the man who put her there. Cody has only spoken to Julianna once, but he knows that their parents’ history will always make them enemies. And Cody agrees.
Until he wakes up in the hospital, with no memory of the night before, and finds pictures of himself and Julianna. Laughing. Having fun. Kissing. What happened that night? Why can’t he remember anything? And what is going on between him and Julianna? As Cody searches for answers to the mystery, he and Julianna grow closer. But the secret hidden in Cody’s memory may drive them apart forever.
Between Now and Never is a contemporary romance with hints of old-fashioned sweetness. Cody and Julianna are perfect foils for one another, and their relationship grows throughout the trials they face while the two learn to judge things—and people—for themselves, despite their past and what other people say. Between Now and Never is a great read that will have the reader intrigued by the mystery of Cody’s memories while rooting for him and Julianna to work out the issues that stand between them.
(Galley provided by Kensington Books and Lyrical Press via NetGalley.)
So, I started revisions on Witches on Sunday, using HTRYN. I haven’t touched this story in years, and, in fact, have actually forgotten large chunks of it, so reading it has been an experience. In the first lesson of HTRYN, you’re looking for places the characters, story, or world went wrong (or places they went right). I remember the first time I used it to revise a story: I had red ink all over the pages, with notations of things. This time…the first few chapters have a few scattered marks, but the rest of the 20 chapters I’ve read so far have nothing. Nothing.
This concerns me. Oh, the story isn’t perfect, not by any means. But it’s written in a far different voice and POV than I use now, and that is what bothers me. It feels off, but not wrong. I’ve found a few “wrong” things: like a couple of details that don’t mesh well with the worldbuilding, but the story/plot itself seems to be sound. So…
I still have a lot more reading (and lessons) to get through, but as it stands now, the main thing seems to be that I’m going to have to fix the voice. I’m not as worried about that as I probably should be, because I would fix that a chapter at a time, which isn’t an overwhelming idea.
I have zero experience with this result from revisions. Anyone have any thoughts?
I’ve found inspiration both ways. (Or, really, it has found me.) Usually, though, it’s a bit more…mundane. A random thought, picture, name, or word will settle in my brain and I’ll hear an almost-audible click, and I know the Muse has snatched up whatever tiny piece just arrived and ran off into the darkness with it, giggling. (My Muse is a bit terrifying at times.) That little bit will be fitted together with other random bits to form a somewhat-complete idea. When the Muse is finished with an idea, she’ll give it to me. Or I’ll have to pry it from her greedy little fingers. One of the two.
But reading inspires me. Fiction. Creative non-fiction. Classics. Blog posts.
That being said, here are a few interesting, inspiring links I’ve come across lately:
Tomorrow Is Another Day 