- Wicked Lovely, Melissa Marr. Listened to this one as an audio book, and it lived up to its title: It was both wicked and lovely. A short, engaging YA novel about one teenage girl’s struggle to find her identity — while also struggling with her unusual ability to see a world populated by fairies, with a love story thrown in for good measure.
- Uglies, Pretties, and Specials, Scott Westerfield. I’d heard a lot about Westerfield’s far future YA series, so I decided to give them a shot. I was not disappointed. Tally Youngblood proved to be a very engaging main character, and well worth spending three books with. I can also see why the first book became a bestseller, because it has one of the best opening chapters I’ve seen in a while.
- Baby, Would I Lie?, Donald E. Westlake. Short, punchy and fun. An aging country western star is on trial for murder. Throw in a spunky female journalist, and a nice twist ending, and you’ve got yourself a good read. I’d never read any Westlake, and always wanted to try him; now I have to go find more of his books.
- What Do You Care What Other People Think?, Richard Feynman. A short nonfiction memoir by the Nobel Prize laureate. I’d read and enjoyed Feynman’s Surely You’re Joking, Mister Feynman?, and I liked this one too, especially the chapters that focused on his part in the committee investigating the Challenger space shuttle disaster.
Recent Reads
- Outliers, by Malcom Gladwell. The story of success. I’ve read Gladwells other two nonfiction bestsellers, and this one was just as compelling a read. Gladwell focuses on the circumstances — both good and bad — that allow people to become extraordinarily successful. The lesson? If you understand that the “self-made man” is only a small part of the story, then you can grant more people the opportunity to become successful. However, I’m not sure I buy the author’s premise completely. There are obviously people who are granted the same opportunities and don’t do anything with them. Determination and persistance will still take you far in life.
- Nightmare in Pink, by John D. MacDonald. A young NY banker is killed and McGee goes looking; ends up falling in love with the young man’s fiance. Drugs. An experimental wing of a psychiatric ward. I’ve now read about half of the Travis McGee series (there’s twenty-two in all), and you could definitely tell this was one of the early efforts. Still, it’s always great to spend a few hours with McGee. It’s like seeing an old friend.
- Stephen King, Duma Key. A wealthy Minnesota building contractor suffers a terrible accident and loses his right arm. He soon discovers a buried talent for painting — and finds himself summoned to Duma Key, off the Florida coast. The rest is typical King, and fun — ghosts, paranormal power, etc. You always want to go along for the ride so long as the characters are good, and Edgar Fremandle is a good one. Perhaps not his best, but good. I was, however, struck with how similar the ending was to “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.” For a writer, all the stuff about the life of an artist was an extra bonus.
- Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin. A great, Pulitzer-winning biography of Lincoln that focuses on his bold, judicious cabinet. It’s all the talk today because of Barack Obama’s fondness for the book and his own choice to fill his cabinet with strong opinions and strong personalities. A long book, though, and it took me months to get through as I kept getting distracted by other books. What I found so fasincating was how this little-known prairie lawyer, who was at first seen as a lightweight his other cabinet members might boss around, quickly came to command the respect, adoration, and even love of his once-time rivals for the Republican nomination.
- Rogue Moon, by Algis Budrys. A short (180 page) classic of science fiction regarding an alien “death machine” found on the dark side of the moon, a transporter that essentially duplicates a human being (which indeed plays a part), and a fascinating assemblage of characters. I’d been meaning to get to this one for a while, and I’m glad I finally did. You can see how many later works of science fiction owe a debt to Budrys.
Those Who Can, Teach
- There’s nothing better than listening to an author you enjoy read his or her own work — if that author knows how to read for an audience. I’m currently listening to Neil Gaiman’s M is for Magic on my MP3 player, and he really does bring his fiction to life. Gotta love that English accent, too.
- If you’re a serious writer who needs help getting your craft to a publishable level, or even a professional writer whose career has stagnated, then you really should check out the workshops taught by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith here on the Oregon coast. Every few years, they do a slate of workshops, and they’re in one of those phases now. They’re pros, having made their living from their writing most of their adult lives, and so you’ll be learning from people who have actually walked the path. I can’t recommend them enough. Be forewarned, however: they’re not for the faint of heart. You should only consider attending if you’re serious about writing commercial fiction — and by commercial, I mean fiction aimed at reaching the widest audience possible.
- Check out the The First Book blog. Sara Hantz is up with her book, The Second Virginity of Suzy Green. A snippet: “I’d been writing chick-lit for a couple of years, when in November 2005 I decided to try a teen-lit. After writing 3 chapters I did what you’re not meant to do and started to send it to agents, to test the water. Ooops!!! That’ll teach me. The story seemed to hit the right nerve because straight away five agents asked for the full manuscript and six for partials.”
Friday Links
Two minor things for a cold and damp Friday afternoon here in the Willamette Valley:
- If you’re into the social networks, check out my Myspace and Facebook pages. And add me as a friend, if you like. I doubt I’ll ever be as into these things as some people are, but with a book coming out down the road, I’ve been trying to put a little more effort into my Internet presence. And it can never hurt to have a few more friends, can it? Well, unless you’re someone like this guy.
- Check out the First Book Blog: the focus is on James Van Pelt, and his book Summer of the Apocalypse. Van Pelt’s a great example of someone who used a quality small press — rather than a big NY publisher — to great effect.