ROML* Rolls Over Another Week

While I still have two days left to log writing time for this week, they will be the weekend, so I think it's highly unlikely that I will get to my goal hours this time around. Maybe it serves me right for getting cocky about how well last week went (614 minutes) and upping my goal by half an hour. When I think about it, though, it was mostly *Rest Of My Life issues that kept me from writing.

I'm really not sure what I can do about that except try to plan better (the things I CAN plan) and try to find catch-up time when the planning doesn't work.

~.~.~

In other news, I came to a huge and sad realization last night. I need to get rid of some books.

I've been buying books since I was in university and the city offered a variety of used book stores, of which I would make the rounds almost every weekend. The book acquisition habit has continued over the years, and although I do get more titles from the library these days (especially when trying an author for the first time) I still like to buy books. Part of me would like to count the number of books in the house--and part of me is afraid to do that.

However, when I was doing some pre-housecleaning housecleaning in the bedroom last week, I realized that I have at least 50+ books in that room alone waiting to be read or in various stages of being read. And when I do read them--I have nowhere to put them if I want to move new to-be-read books into that space. Every bookshelf in the house is already packed or over-packed. I don't see us adding a new room to the house just to hold books. Sooooo...the only conclusion is that I have to get rid of some. And while we're planning a Great Purge of the house this spring, the idea of sorting through the books and moving some them out of here is more daunting than all the rest of the things that I know need to be done.

*Sigh* I wonder if I could convince my husband to add on that extra room...

Photo courtesy of mzacha @ sxc.hu

2009 Reading Roundup

I'm diving into a new pile of books, but thought I'd take a moment to look back at some of the reading I did in 2009. Sadly, I didn't read as much as I would like to have. That seems to be a perennial complaint for me of late. Maybe it's because I am writing more, but I'd like to find a way to balance the two. What follows will not be in any particular order, just as things occur to me.

By far, the standout book of 2009 for me was Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson. It was the first fantasy I've read in a long time that pulled me in from the beginning and offered something different. In fact, it's the first fantasy I've read in a long time, period, because I've seemed to put them down almost immediately for lack of those elements. The characters in Elantris were highly engaging right from the start, and the situation and conflicts very involving. Sanderson is part of the Writing Excuses podcast team, which I've also only recently started following, and I'm really enjoying that as well. It's like a master class in genre writing, in 15-minute lessons. Highly recommended!

Near the end of 2009 I read The Affinity Bridge by George Mann. This was also a very enjoyable read, in the Steampunk genre, although I found the author's frequent use of passive voice somewhat distracting. This is probably the writer/editor in me coming out, as most readers likely wouldn't even notice it, but I found it especially strange since Mann is an editor himself. At any rate, I'll be looking for future stories about these same characters, as the other elements of the book were good enough to overshadow that one complaint.

In the summer I devoured a batch of Stephanie Plum mysteries by Janet Evanovich. These books are just plain fun, if some of the jokes do get to feel a bit old if you read too many of them at once. Before those, I caught up on some Sue Grafton mysteries, with Q, R, and S in her Kinsey Milhone series. I wonder, when she began writing these, if she thought they would take up so much of her writing career? They've certainly been good to her, I think, and I am still enjoying them; she has done a good job of keeping the main character interesting and evolving over so many books. Grafton has made the choice to keep them all in the same time period, though, instead of keeping pace with the times, and I also wonder if this is difficult. Anyway, I hope to keep reading them to the end of the series.

Other good reads from the year included Into the Green by Charles deLint and Marvellous Hairy by Mark A. Rayner. I met Mark at WorldCon in Montreal and heard him do a reading, then had to read the book! It was fun and funny and kind of strange (in a good way!). I'll be interested to see what he writes next.

In non-fiction, I read most of (still reading) The Language of the Night, by Ursula LeGuin. This is a collection of her essays and lectures on science fiction, and really excellent reading for anyone interested in the genre. Some of them seem a bit dated, but are still very relevant in many ways.

I also listened to some audiobooks last year, including three notable ones: Murder at Avedon Hill by P.G. Holyfield, Playing for Keeps by Mur Lafferty, and Space Casey by Christiana Ellis. All very different books, but all very enjoyable. And I really love being able to "read" this way when I can't read, if you know what I mean.

Rounding out the field are a few short story anthologies. I am always surprised at the number of people who say they don't like reading short stories. I am very fond of them. Last year I read three collections that I really liked: Many Bloody Returns, edited by Charlaine Harris (all stories about vampires and birthdays), My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding, edited by P.N. Elrod (all stories about, well, weddings and the supernatural), and Extraordinary Engines, edited by Nick Gevers (steampunk).

And I think this post is long enough now. I've just added a new page to the site, The TBR Shelf (see the new link in the right sidebar), to try and keep track of what's on my to-be-read list, so you can follow along with that if you'd like, and by all means friend me over at Goodreads if you're a member. Happy reading in 2010!

Thanks, Tor.com

As some of you may know, October was Steampunk Month over at Tor.com. The month was jam-packed with interesting blog posts, steampunk tips for DIYers, beautiful free wallpapers, and tons of giveaways. I didn't stumble upon things until at least partway through the month, but then I entered every giveaway after that.

And, I won one!

My copies of Jay Lake's Mainspring and Escapement arrived in the mail today, quite promptly I must say. Also included in the parcel were a Tor bookmark and a handful of buttons, so it made a nice little prize package.

I was especially pleased to win this prize, because I am a big fan of the columns Jay Lake writes (often with Ruth Nestvold) over at IROSF (I always snag this one to proofread when I can!). If you are not familiar with the columns, I recommend you click over and check some out. They are available in the archives, many under the "features" tab, and are easy to find. Sadly, I haven't had an opportunity to read enough of his fiction, so I'm really looking forward to these books. They may even jump the line in my TBR pile, since I just finished reading George Mann's The Affinity Bridge last night and need something new to add to my being-read list.

Less than 46 cents per story!

Last year I was pleased to have my short story, "Summer of the Widows," appear in an anthology titled Speculative Realms: Where There's a Will, There's a Way. It's a wonderfully eclectic mix of fantasy, science fiction, and horror stories from a global collection of writers.

In "Summer of the Widows," one of my recurring characters (a young female wizard's apprentice with a knack for attracting trouble) is suspected of murder, and must find the real killer AND save her master from an even more dangerous threat--marriage!

Right now, I see that Amazon.com is offering the anthology for a sweet $5.88. That's less than forty-six cents per story for the thirteen stories in the book. At that price, I'd suggest you get it while it's hot!

Life-Changing Books

In response to a high-school English teacher who wants her students to read something "life-changing" but seems to have very narrow ideas of what might fit that category, I'm doing a little research. I would love to hear from anyone on this.

Have you ever read a book (or books) that you would consider "life-changing"? By that I guess I mean, a book that affected you deeply, or changed your view of the world, or your understanding of human nature, or made you think about life in a different way--or anything along those lines.

Send me your answers any way you'd like--comment here, send me an email, catch me on Facebook or Twitter, whatever. I'd just like to hear some opinions. You don't have to explain how the book affected you unless you want to--just tell me title and author if you want (although of course I'd love to hear more!).

Thanks! I'm looking forward with interest to your answers.

Reading Meme

Well, it's the 16th of November and this is the first meme I've included all month. I think that's pretty good. And this was an interesting one to answer.

Do you remember how you developed a love for reading?
Really, I don't remember a time when I didn't read or when reading was not important to me. The library was one of my favorite haunts as a child, and I remember the wonder of the big floor-to-ceiling bookshelf at my grandparents' house, its shelves piled with everything from science and astronomy texts to fiction to art books to field guides. I loved it.

What are some of the books you read as a child?
Well, this could take a while if I answered it in detail. I was never afraid to bring home more library books than I thought I could read in two weeks. I recall some favourites, at different ages, being Edward Eager, Enid Blyton, L.M. Montgomery, Walter Farley (were there ANY Black Stallion books I didn't read?) Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins. On that bookshelf I mentioned there were also old titles like Invisible Scarlett O'Neil, Girls of Silver Spur Ranch and The Casting Away of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine.


What is your favourite genre?
Definitely speculative fiction, although I have an abiding love for well-written mysteries as well. I branch out sometimes with historical fiction, thrillers, YA, chick lit, and the occasional "literary" novel, although I find them generally trite, misery-obsessed and pretentious. I also like non-fiction on topics that interest me, which could be anything at any given time.

Do you have a favourite novel?
Wow, I don't think I could pick one. Some favorites are The Sea and Summer, The Hitchhiker's Guide series, Discworld, and Beggars in Spain, but there are many, many more I love that I'm leaving out.

Where do you usually read?
Anywhere, really.

When do you usually read?
Anytime, although often at bedtime.


Do you usually have more than one book you are reading at a time?
It's not unusual for me to have more than one on the go, especially if they are different genres, or if one is non-fiction.

Do you read nonfiction in a different way or place than you read fiction?
No.

Do you buy most of the books you read, or borrow them, or check them out of the library?
I don't buy as many as I used to, and I check more out of the library now. Which is probably a good thing, since all our bookshelves are full and there really isn't much space to put more bookshelves.

Do you keep most of the books you buy? If not, what do you do with them?
I do keep most of them, in case I want to re-read or loan them. I should cull more than I do, but it's difficult.

If you have children, what are some of the favourite books you have shared with them? Were they some of the same ones you read as a child?
I've read and recommended a lot of my old favorites to my kids, as their ages match up. Some tastes in reading are not the same though, and books that appealed to me don't stand the test of time with young readers now. My daughter and I often read and enjoy the same newer books now; in fact, we're reading the same copy of the same book right now. That takes some scheduling! I am glad to say that we are a household of readers.

What are you reading now?
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, and Kiki Strike by Kirsten Miller, and Payback by Margaret Atwood

Do you keep a TBR (to be read) list?
It's more like a stack, which starts on the floor and reaches a little higher than my nightstand. Oh yeah, and it's double-stacked in some spots.

What’s next?
Not sure--possibly Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, but it will depend on my mood on the day I'm choosing.


What books would you like to reread?
I reread the Douglas Adams books every couple of years, just because they are so much fun and they still make me laugh out loud.


Who are your favourite authors?
In no particular order, Terry Pratchett, Nancy Kress, Connie Willis, Dave Duncan, Jack McDevitt, Elizabeth Moon, Neil Gaiman, Sophie Kinsella and I could go on and on...