Tag Archives: book reviews

FANGIRL FRIDAY: Read All About It

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Not to be confused with the show I watched as a kid, “Read All About It,” which, I believe they need to bring back beyond the world of YouTube. I’m not asking for a reboot. I want all the camp and outdated special effects of the original show. I know there are people out there who pine for the shows of yesteryear, fromage, and all.

Apologies for the brief nostalgic detour. Today’s post is about reading for more than just pleasure or edification. I learned of a new reading challenge that is right up my alley in the “two birds, one stone” department.

Over the last few months, I’ve been using the Reedsy blog and their YouTube channel as writing resources. A few days ago, I received an email announcing their inaugural reading challenge and had a look. Clearly, there are many parts of the Reedsy umbrella I have yet to discover.

Speaking of, they host the reading challenge on the aptly named Reedsy Discovery platform. Since I’m already doing a reading challenge, I could have shrugged this one off, but it intrigued me to learn that they’re working together with Room to Read, a non-profit organization aimed at helping children in need develop literary skills through structured reading habits.

I rated the books I’ve read, so far, in the Goodreads challenge, but I’d put off the actual reviews and said I’d get around to them when my schedule let up. With this challenge, however, for every review I post on Discovery during the month of June, Reedsy will donate $5 to the charity, up to $10K USD. The email didn’t specify if that’s for the entire challenge or per person, but since I don’t think I could review close to 2000 books this month (unless I somehow go through every book I’ve ever read in my life!?) it’s probably the overall cap.

Considering how many people are already part of the Reedsy community, somehow, I already know that we can reach the $10K goal. I think it’s a great way to read up a storm for my benefit, while helping other people, too.

If you haven’t started a reading challenge yet, or even if you just read for fun, consider posting your reviews to help this charity. I’ll do more research into the Discovery platform and will share what I’ve learned about it in an upcoming post. Until then, I’m going to continue reading, with the extra motivation being my participation in contributing to a worthy cause.

Stay creative, stay weird, be kind to yourself and others.

Until next time,

T out.

FANGIRL FRIDAY: Whatcha Readin’?

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I love to read. It’s shocking how little I read throughout the first lockdown, but that’s another story altogether. My earliest memories of the joys of reading were how these tomes served as portals to other worlds. Some slightly different from our own, while others were far beyond our expectations. That was the beauty and power of a good book. You could be everywhere at once, learn new things, travel to the farthest reaches of existence. Reading expanded my imagination and immersing myself in these worlds at such a young age set the foundation of my desire to become a writer.

I’d previously mentioned how Goodreads is a wonderful community for book lovers to come together to discuss and recommend a wide variety of books to each other. When I went to update my Goodreads account for that post, I saw I was late to the party for a 2021 Reading Challenge. I braved the storm and entered with a more modest number and challenged myself to read 30 books this year. Some have set one book a week, or more. Kudos to them. I’m just getting back into the groove of reading for pleasure and wanted to set a realistic goal for myself. Turns out, I’d already read five books over the last couple months, so I’m well underway. When I get the chance, I will share those book reviews both here and on my Goodreads account.

I have three books currently on deck. As with the others, they’re all MG or YA books because I’ve been reading in the genres I’m writing. Yes, I write across genres, but these are the stories that my current WIP tackles. I will hopefully expand to other genres this summer.

In the lovely Twitterverse, I stumbled across this awesome author’s thread with a slew of Asian books (author and/or characters) that they’ve read and recommended. You know how they say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover? Well, these covers were certainly enticing, and I now have a small army of books to add to my endless TBR pile. I’m excited to tuck in.

What is everyone reading these days? Do you have a particular medium of choice? E-reader, tablet, laptop, traditional hardbound or paperback? Because of storage limitations, I’ve been resorting to digital reading, courtesy of my local library. Remember those magical places? However, there’s something to be said about the tactile experience while reading an actual book. My dream home includes a vast library with those rolling ladders to reach the higher shelves–and yes, there will be shelves a-plenty. (I went online to search for an appropriate picture to illustrate my exact specifications and naturally, I went down an architectural and interior design rabbit hole that went on for much longer than intended.)

Where do you like to read? Do you have a particular spot in the house? Outside the house? Garden, park bench, beneath your favorite tree? Now that the weather is letting up, I look forward to getting out more to explore new places where I can sit quietly and, you know, explore new places through the pages of a book.

Happy reading!

Stay creative, stay weird, be kind to yourself and others.

Until next time,

T out.

Week in Review – 2013/09/16 – 2013/09/22

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WRITING:

Limping the digits through the progression of my Spec Fic Thriller Imprint and more work on my YA Fantasy Aaralyn’s Song. 

Since NaNoWriMo is just a handful of weeks away, I must get cracking. I’m doubling up and doing the Entangled Smackdown over at SavvyAuthors. They also have SavvyAuthors NaNo Bootcamp. Had a ball last year. This time around I’ll focus on one story for all three events this November. I’ve narrowed the story idea down to two. I hope to have it ironed out by the first week of October.

 

READING:

Classes, beta reads, critiques, my WIPs. It never ends. If anyone can recommend an effective speed reading course, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! 😉

 

NETWORKING:

I’m modding another chat this Wednesday. I look forward to learning the ropes some more. The research for the FRIDAY FORAGE series continues. Busy, busy, busy.

 

LEARNING:

I’m still on Level 9 in Spanish and Level 6 in French on Duolingo. Big lessons but learning lots. It keeps my noodle active and my sanity in check–I hope. haha

The first workshop held by the WFWA starts tomorrow. It’s called Writing the Middle. Looking forward to ensuring I can write my way out of anything during the progression of a story.

More classes are coming through Coursera, another great online resource I’ve discovered. More on those classes as they draw near.

Happy fun times with Bilbo Watson. Calluses are coming back even if the visions sucky and the thumb’s messed up. Play on.

 

 

Writing, Reading, Learning, Playing. I’ve been a busy girl.

FRIDAY FORAGE – 2013/08/23

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The Forage Begins

TGIF, everyone. Thank goodness I’ve foraged! Two weeks left in August and come September my FRIDAY FORAGE series really kicks off. I’ll have a weekly round-up of writerly and/or other creative and inspiring sites and blog posts. I’ll also post some book reviews here, as well, the first being K.M. Weiland‘s forthcoming Structuring Your Novel. I’m excited for this series and look forward to the finds.

In the meantime, my YA Fantasy WIP, Aaralyn’s Song, is going well and the POV experiment is providing me with insight as to possible protagonists in upcoming books in the series, including novellas.

While my Uke won’t be playable until tomorrow, I’ve rekindled my bond with mi amigo Duolingo. Keeping my brain creative and my digits well-rested this month. All good things on the writerly front.

Have a splendiferous weekend!

#ROW80 Mid-Week Check-In 2013/07/31

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July draws to a close and I. AM. TIRED. We’re past the halfway point of the year. Can you believe it? I’m still climbing a steep hill on my writing journey. Fortunately, the continuous support in the writing community is making it worthwhile

WRITING:

Camp NaNoWriMo and JulNoWriMo. Tweeting updates with @JulNoWriMo and #CampNaNoWriMo. Every Friday until September 21st, I’ll be writing update posts for WRITE YOUR NOVEL THIS SUMMER.

Fractured Tales Series Word Total for July: 90,436 words

Totals for April, June, and July: 254,295 words

These numbers are daunting. I won’t post them again for awhile to give my revised rebooted revision–yep, you read that correctly–a clean slate. All those words still have their purpose and many of them will find their way back into the finished product. I think starting August with a fresh perspective will mean I have less to live up to. No need to pressure myself and take the fun out of the writing process.

I still plan on keeping at least one day a week writing free. The plan is for Sunday to take that coveted spot, but I’m flexible, depending on the chaos that the week’s activities bring.

For August, my writing goals:

1) The first 50 pages of my Triple R WIP Book 1: Aaralyn’s Song. I certain can and will write more, but this is my absolute minimum. I want a solid and shiny start to the series. Plot holes be gone! Tight prose, crunchy conflict, here I come.

2) I have at least two short story submissions due at the end of the month. They’re written. I just need to polish them up real pretty and submit them. Easy peasy.

3) I want to dust off old contest submissions. Novelette and novella length pieces. They got positive feedback so I figure it’s a good idea to shop them around. I know there are submission call outs and my pieces are within the word count range.

Just three goals of many, but three of the most relevant at this time.

READING:

Here’s what I read this week:

FLIPPED 331920     

I really liked this book. Authentic voices and a fresh take on young love. I liked the alternating POVs from each of the main characters, though I got muddled a couple of times before realizing that it was strictly alternating back and forth. D’oh. Since no names were addressed right away per chapter, it took me a handful of lines before realizing who the POV character was. Another thing I noticed, and possibly just for the boy’s POV, it was written in first person past tense, but there were some passages that suddenly switched to first person present. Dunno why that was but I got used to it eventually. Overall, it was an enjoyable read and a nice escape from my daily grind (writing or otherwise).

Currently reading:

THE SPARK 15798364

Total books read since June 23rd:

Fiction: 10

Non-Fiction: 3

I need to put my other books on hold for the time being because I’ve been fortunate enough to receive Advanced Readers Copies (ARCs) from NetGalley and from an author herself. I’ll be reading those first and posting up reviews when the time comes. My original plan for friday posts (Pre-FRIDAY FORAGE) was to have book reviews. I think I might include that in the FORAGE as these reads are great finds, too. 🙂

I have three, at the moment, plus the MS that I’m beta reading. I think that all counts towards my continuous reading challenge.

SOCIAL MEDIA-ING ;) (formerly known as BLOGGING):

Thanks to Angelina C. Hansen for allowing us to check in on her blog for #wipmadness. In August, we’re lucky to have Candilynn Fite host for us every Monday. Four Sunday #ROW80 check-ins and five Mid-Week Check-Ins, so far.

As mentioned above, FRIDAY FORAGE will soon include book reviews. I will still post updates for my summer writing challenge. I’ve been gathering some interesting sites and articles for upcoming posts, as well.

OTHERS:

Today’s OTHERS section is devoted to EDIFICATION. Have you ever registered for a course or workshop, perhaps purchased downloadable lessons, and so forth, all in the name of honing your writing skills? How often have you let a couple or maybe a few of them slip through the cracks? I’m at fault on this one, primarily because I enrol in more classes than I have physical ability to stay on top of aside from my daily obligations. Other times, because some of them are self-guided, it’s so easy to put them off and before you know it a year’s gone by. True story.

I need to reevaluate all the resources I already have at my fingertips and make use of them before I start enrolling myself in any more classes or buy anymore downloadables. I kick myself for discovering that I have similar products and the money could have gone towards something else. This is a lengthy process, but it’s necessary, especially since it was an investment made in the first place. I want to make sure it’s money well spent, not carelessly forgotten. It’s one of those things where you don’t realize the value of what you have even if it’s right under your nose, or in my case, on my laptop computer.

To that end, I will go back and truly appreciate the following (These will also be mentioned in upcoming FRIDAY FORAGE posts):

– Dr. John Yeoman’s Writers’ Village

– Ali Luke’s Writers’ Huddle

– Holly Lisle’s many courses, of which I have all but have not gone through yet. *tsk tsk*

– Udemy courses I’ve purchased (some on sale, some free, all pretty nifty)

Those were courses, workshops, and lessons. I’ve also severely neglected the following amazing resources of which I’m a member:

– Children’s Book Insider – The CBI Clubhouse has lessons, vids, and other services all put together in a great community.

– Writer’s Digest VIP Program – This includes great discounts (that I did take advantage of) but also access to WritersMarket.com

– Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators – Got an email today. Free webinars and other great critiquing opportunities!

– Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators & Performers

– Canadian Authors Association

There are more. Like I said, it’s a long process to sift through all that I have. Hello, Self. It’s me talking. You aren’t paying annual dues for nothing, ya know!!!

More on this tomorrow in my goal post–ha! See what I did there? I’ll devote the first of the month, as usual, to all that I’d like to see happen and want to focus on during the month itself.

Happy Hump Day, everyone.