Unplugged Weekend

Every now and then I find I need to get away from the hustle and bustle of the internet world. This weekend was one of those times. I checked in on my e-mail and the news of the day, but it wasn't the first thing I did (like usual), nor did I stay on very long.

I planed on working on my WIP, but instead I was drawn to my bookshelves. There are several books in my TBR pile, but the ones calling out to me were some that I hadn't read in a long time. So, between Friday night and Sunday night, I re-read 10 romance novels. (I did skim parts, as they were re-reads, but didn't skim that much. And yeah, when the reading bug bites me, I devour books as though I can never get enough of them!)

What books do you find yourself drawn to re-read? Or, do you not go back and revisit old stories/characters as there are so many news ones waiting for you?

Paper or E?

Since the beginning of the year, I've been reading more than I did last year. Part of it is because I have finally adapted back into working full time and have figured out how to spread everything around, the other reason is my tablet PC. I can have multiple books on there I can read whenever I want.  And with the exception of a book coming out in May that I plan on buying in paperback (I already have the rest of the set that way), I see more e-books in my future.

I don't miss the paper feel or smell. I do find flipping back to that earlier section to compare something a little more challenging than with a paperback, but I don't flip back that often, so it really isn't a problem.

What about you? Are you reading more e-books than paper? Why do you prefer one over the other?

What's in Your TBR Pile?

I have a confession to make.  I love to read, but haven't been doing as much of it lately as I usually do.   I haven't found a way to work, have family time, write, and read all at the same time.

Normally, I will read a book cover to cover.  I can't help it-- it is an obsession.  One I am trying to re-train.  This week I began reading Kim Harrison's Pale Demon.  I've been reading a few chapters a day, even when I want to just sit and devour it.  So far, it is working well.   I am about half way through after 2 days of reading, and I will be making my TBR pile smaller over the next weeks.

What's on your TBR pile and how do you read through your books?

Yesterday I responded to a post by Vickie Motter at Navigating the Slush Pile concerning your favorite comfort books.  After replying, I thought about the books I had listed and decided to explain why I chose them, as they aren't really the most comforting of stories.

First, there was Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli.  I had to read this in college for one of my reading classes and quickly fell in love with the story, even though it made me cry.  Jeffrey, aka Maniac, is race blind.  The shade of your skin doesn't matter (in fact he doesn't understand why he is called white or blacks are called black) what matters is your actions. The acceptance of people for who they are, not what they are, makes me hope our children will focus more on actions than race.

The other book I chose was Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt.  I can still remember sitting in my third grade classroom, listening as our teacher read this aloud after lunch.  The description was so vivid I could see the story in my mind, as though I were watching a movie.  While the story is not a happily-ever-after ending, the memories it brings warm my heart.

What stories from your youth do you turn to for comfort and why?

My Two Cents

This weekend I hopped on line to check on some things and found the internet (or at least my Twitter friends) ablaze with comments on THIS article from the WSJ.  There were many wonderful comments on Twitter (you can find the at #yasaves)

As I haven't read the books (at least the newer ones) discussed in the article, I don't feel I can comment one way or the other on that part of the article.  (I do know several of these books will be appearing on my TBR pile!)  But I wanted to share some observations I had.

First, if you are going to comment on books (either good or bad), you really should read them first.  I am not saying the author of this piece didn't read them-- I have no way of knowing if she did or didn't.  However, I know from personal experience how easy it is to be self-righteous about your POV.  See, when I was in college I wrote a paper about how violence in TV was bad for children, and encouraged them to behave violently.  The two shows I wrote about were the Power Rangers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-- shows I had never watched.  Fast forward about 15 years to me and my 6 year-old son watching those very shows and me loving the lessons they taught.  I happened to stumble across my college paper and laughed at how naive and biased I had been. Unless you have actually read/watched what you find "offensive" you really can't comment on it correctly.  You are entitled to your opinion, but I will respect it more if you do your research.

Secondly, I found it rather ironic that the author of the article used previously banned books to support her view that these new books are not things teens should be reading.  In fact, I have found that the more you make a book controversial, the more people want to read it, just to see what the controversy is about.

Thirdly, there are too many people already telling us how to live our lives and what are children should and shouldn't do.  Children have parents for a reason, and if I think my son is old enough to read a book with "dark" content, or play a realistic war game, that is my decision, not yours.

One other thing. I find it really hard to believe there were no other books than Vampire or issue books at Barnes and Noble.  What about GRACELING?  or Frank Beddor's LOOKING GLASS WARS series? Those were ones I thought of immediately.


Agent Bree Ogden mentioned in a tweet about going from reading RL Stine to Ayn Rand, and it made me think of my reading progress as a teen.  For my sixteenth birthday (IIRC) my mom bought me a subscription to Harlequin.  Not something most people would do, but she knew I could handle the content.  And that is what I think this entire debate comes down to.  Knowing your children, and knowing what they can handle in reading/games/life in general.

What do you think?

Happy June!!!!

Hopefully all of you made it through the storms last week with little/no problems.  We had heavy rains, high winds, and tornado threats here, but fortunately no damage.  Power was out to several people in our area over the weekend, but as far as I know most of it has been restored by now.

We had a great cookout with family and friends on the new deck Monday (finally the weather cooperated!!!) It was so nice to have the area to entertain on.

I'm getting to the end of my re-writes for my WIP, and catching up on some reading.  My son and I are reading through the Percy Jackson series (we're on THE TITAN'S CURSE), and I am reading JACOB WONDERBAR AND THE COSMIC SPACE KAPOW.  What titles are you reading or is in your TBR pile???

How do you replenish your muse?

I've been working at finishing my first draft of The Lost Princess before November gets here so I can come back to it in December with fresh eyes.  I am almost done (one chapter remaining).  Last week, however, I noticed I was struggling to write, and feeling at a loss for words.  My muse was tired.

So, I went into the bedroom and stared at my pile of books to be read (there are so many, I don't even know what they all are.)  I decided to pick up the second book of the Percy Jackson Series, The Sea of Monsters, and I wasn't disappointed.

Yesterday, while watching football at the neighbors, I took over a pen and notebook, and book three, The Titan's Curse.  I was sucked into the story and finished, returning home to start (and finish) book four, The Battle of the Labyrinth.  And, yes, you guessed it, I started book five, The Last Olympian this morning. 

So, when your muse gets tired, what do you do to refresh it?