Beg, Borrow, and Steal (017)
Hi all! Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate! Happy day to you equally wonderful people who do not. 
Time for a thanksgiving Beg, Borrow, & Steal!
These posts are my take on the In My Mailbox meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. Just a way to showcase the books in my life, because not all of them will be reviewed. 
Well, this post fits with the spirit of giving and thanks! No books begged for or bought (but we’ll see what happens tomorrow!).
Let’s see what my gravitational pull of bookishness managed to snag…
Borrowed
From the library.
Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon
The Children’s Librarian at work read this and said she liked it.
I have a copy of Life Eternal, so I thought I’d give it a try!
Steals
Many thanks to The Children’s Librarian and my professor!
Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Playing with King Arthur mythos? Yes, please!
The Children’s Librarian had an extra copy, so she let me take it. 
Breath of Angel by Karyn Henley
I’ve never heard of this book but I do like angels and I am really intrigued.
Received from TCL.
Legend by Marie Lu
Absolutely love the cover.
Have seen this book around the blogs, and am glad to have grabbed a copy.
Thanks to TCL for letting me grab this ARC!
Huntress by Malinda Lo
SO EXCITED to have this ARC.
Badass chick on cover? Hells yeah!
I have Ash and have been wanting to read it. Now I have both books and no excuses!
(Well, after I finish with classes I’ll have no excuses.)
Many, many thanks to my professor for giving me this beautiful book!
Story Review: Infinity, Ltd: 1963! by Julio Angel Ortiz
In
finity, Ltd: 1963! by Julio Angel Ortiz
Former Grim Reaper Palequus and discharged cherub Peter are back! While on a fairly innocuous personal mission at a comic convention, troublemakers–inspired by the setting and influenced by a clever baddie named Supremo–rear their heads.
I am so pleased that Mr. Ortiz is writing more ebooks featuring this pair. When I finished this story, I felt like I came away with more cool worldbuilding, especially in regards to Palequus and what he can do. I have a thing for angels, but Palequus is pretty badass. The narrative does feel a little unbalanced because of this focus on him though, as I feel Peter is more along for the ride. But I like both of the protagonists, so it’s not really a problem for me.
The way Mr. Ortiz writes Supremo is interesting. At first he feels like that generic bad guy who is really powerful and has no real motivations but power and destruction. But then he proves himself to be very smart and have specific weaknesses. And by the end, there is a twist on his character that is really intriguing. I do wish that more hints of this end twist could be present earlier in the story. Considering Palequus and Supremo seem to have a past together, I think there are opportunities to mine that history and use it explore the characters more.
Overall, this story is fun. There are twists where I don’t expect them, and spots of humor that hit the mark. (Like the Facebook thing. Oh, SO TRUE.) I obviously enjoy the cool fantasy elements. I do wish there were more to the ending. Right now it feels a little too quick, like I don’t have enough time to process the revelations and what’s happening. Don’t get me wrong, I like the actual plot ending, I just think more narrative time could be spent on it.
When comparing this short to the first Infinity, Ltd story, Unnatural Time, the two feel quite different. Where Unnatural Time was about a mission in a setting that was brimming with the fantastic, 1963! has fantastic elements based in realistic settings. Unnatural Time also, through plot points, spent more time with both Palequus and Peter as characters. In 1963! there is less of that internal gaze and more focus on external action. I think I enjoyed Unnatural Time more because of the above, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time in 1963!
Thanks to Mr. Ortiz for providing the review copy of this story.
You can find the ebook at Smashwords here for 99 hot cents!
Workshop Wednesday (003): Constructive Criticism
“I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974.”
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
So what exactly is Workshop Wednesday? Well, it’s going to be an ongoing discussion of ways to read and critique (and hopefully improve) writing. Basically, I’m going to be drawing on my experiences in writing workshops through undergraduate and graduate studies and sharing them with you all. These posts are for everyone, whether you’re wondering how you can give good feedback to a writer friend, or whether you’re a writer yourself and want to find new ways to look at your writing. Hopefully these discussions will be helpful. And hopefully seeing a compelling first line every week will inspire you to write your own, or to read the rest of that story!
In the past two weeks I’ve covered the basics for preparing comments on a manuscript. Read at least twice and take notes. Fairly straightforward, right? Now comes the hard part… How do you tell the author in a constructive way that you didn’t like something? The key here is to be CONstructive, as opposed to being DEstructive. Yes, writers need to grow tough skins, but that doesn’t mean they deserve to have their confidence razed to the ground. Pure hate doesn’t help anyone. Constructive criticism, on the other hand, shapes art.
Here are some tactics for offering constructive criticism:
1) If you hate, elaborate. There’s a huge difference between saying you hate a character because he’s useless and figuring out that a character isn’t fleshed out enough for the audience to care. It’s totally okay to think a character is useless. But if you are critiquing a piece of writing and this is how you feel, you’re not going to be constructive until you can tell the writer why you think this. I will elaborate on this thought process at a later date, but the element to take away from this advice is: always ask why, and try to answer.
2) Offer examples from the text. Offering criticism is kind of like preparing an argument. And in a way, you are preparing an argument. You need to prove what the text made you feel, and why you feel it. If you say the dialogue gets tedious and don’t give details, the writer is going to be left fretting over every single line of dialogue and not knowing where to cut and tighten. But if you point out specific examples, you might be able to track a pattern, or at least point out certain problem areas that the writer can focus on.
3) Offer solutions. Do you think a certain point-of-view isn’t working? Maybe the story is told in first person and you get no sense of the narrator’s character. How can you remedy that? This ties in with #1 and #2. If you notice that you have no idea how the narrator is feeling and her grandmother just died, perhaps a good exercise for the writer would be to take a moment from the story and try to write a paragraph that focuses just on what the character is thinking and feeling. Another helpful solution can be as simple as a book recommendation. Think of stories or books you’ve read that handle first person narration well. Suggest them as guides and how-tos.
4) Put the story first. This probably sounds obvious, but sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes you’ll read something you might not normally be inclined to read. Let’s say you dislike romance and your friend just wrote a romantic novella. Obviously you have the option of just not reading it. But if you do go ahead and read it, try to separate your dislike from the story itself. Ask yourself, what is this story trying to accomplish? If the goal of the story is to show a budding chef’s tumultuous journey to true love and wedding bells (a goal which you’ll discern upon the first read, and be able to comment on in the second read) then base your comments on how well it portrays that journey. Stick to the basic questions of character, plot, setting, etc. Don’t tell your friend to add evil fairies if this isn’t a fantasy story.
There are more I could list, but I think these are good for giving you a general idea. I hope they provide good jumping off points for framing a constructive critique.
Beg, Borrow, and Steal (016)
Hi everyone! Beg, Borrow, and Steal time!
These posts are my take on the In My Mailbox meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. Just a way to showcase the books in my life, because not all of them will be reviewed.
Let’s see what fantastic books came my way this past week…
Begged
Books I absolutely had to have.
The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff
I absolutely LOVED The Replacement, so couldn’t wait to get my hands on this!
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Review forthcoming.
I am so in love with this book so far.
Tahereh Mafi is seriously my new literary hero.
Borrowed
Checked out from the library.
Local Girls by Alice Hoffman
Nine Pound Hammer by John Claude Bemis
Steampunk set in historical America? Yes, please.
Steals
Received for review, or via giveaway.
Born at Midnight by C. C. Hunter
Thanks to Goodreads.com & St. Martin’s Press for the giveaway!
Adventures in Funeral Crashing by Milda Harris
Thanks to Ms. Harris for the review copy!
That’s it for this week!
Thanks for stopping by!
Workshop Wednesday (002)
“124 was spiteful. Full of a baby’s venom.”
Beloved by Toni Morrison
So what exactly is Workshop Wednesday? Well, it’s going to be an ongoing discussion of ways to read and critique (and hopefully improve) writing. Basically, I’m going to be drawing on my experiences in writing workshops through undergraduate and graduate studies and sharing them with you all. These posts are for everyone, whether you’re wondering how you can give good feedback to a writer friend, or whether you’re a writer yourself and want to find new ways to look at your writing. Hopefully these discussions will be helpful. And hopefully seeing a compelling first line every week will inspire you to write your own, or to read the rest of that story!
All right, so last week my WW post was fairly simple. Read twice, get the whole picture before you start thinking critically. Easy as pie, right? Well, in addition to giving the writing a second chance, it’s good to take notes. This seems pretty intuitive. If you’re going to give feedback, or if you have an issue somewhere you’d like to look at in more depth later, you want to mark it so you can find it and you don’t forget.
Okay. But how intensive should these notes be? I’d say you probably don’t want to squeeze an entire analytical essay in the margins. But you want to get your thoughts down, for sure. I will admit that my line notes used to be pretty sparse, but I’ve found that forcing myself to do substantial line notes helps me formulate my ideas for a critique.
If you feel like you don’t have anything to say for a page or two, that’s acceptable. It happens. But I make an effort to make at least one note on most of the pages that I read. Don’t feel pressure to make each note a line of genius. You can simply mark up lines that you think are funny or clever or beautiful. You can put marks next to sentences you don’t understand, places where you felt something was off.
The key in these notes is trying to identify what you felt and why you felt it.
Perhaps you find a paragraph description of a garden beautiful. Why? Poetic word choice? Alliteration? Strong, vivid image painted by words? Allusion to paradise?
Maybe you feel bored on page twenty. Why? You don’t feel connected to the characters? They’re talking in cliches that don’t sound like natural conversation? They’re acting like they don’t care about each other when they just got married three pages ago and you don’t believe them?
It’s not an easy task. Trying to identify what text makes you feel and why you feel it can be tricky. When I first started taking writing workshops, I was terrified of and terrible at giving feedback. I’ve only really started feeling comfortable in writing workshops this school year, which means… when I came back to school at the end of September. And this is my second year of grad school.
If you’re stuck trying to figure out something that jumped out at you, don’t sweat it. Stop. Maybe step away from it and come back. Then try to ask yourself, how does this particular line or scene relate to the other scenes? Is the character different in this scene? Is the use of language or the tone different? Is it happy when it should be sad? Was there an expectation that wasn’t met? Or is there an expectation created that is not fulfilled later on?
There are a ton of questions you could ask and answer, and ways a criticism can go. But it all starts with taking notes on things you notice, good and bad. Don’t be afraid to wield the red pen. (Or even the blue one… or the green highlighter you’re using because you can’t find a a real pen or pencil in your house.) If you simply have a question, that’s helpful too. Sometimes writers know the answers in their heads, but forget to put them there on the page.
All notes are welcome. Not all notes are going to be taken into account, but everyone has something to contribute, so don’t be afraid to speak up. It’s taken me over twenty years to find my voice in school, but I’m glad I’m talking now.
Toaster Tuesday (006)
Toaster Tuesday is a series of posts about ereaders, specifically my experiences as a new Nook owner. The concept was partially inspired by a show called Battlestar Galactica. Basically the antagonists in the story are the Cylons, who are robots. The humans like to call them Toasters. I figured since there is a dichotomy between organic and electronic in the book world as well, I’d play with the idea and (affectionately) refer to my Nook as a Toaster. (Her real name is Ariadne, though, thank you very much.)
That’s me hanging with Ariadne, Homer, and the Gutenberg Bible at the Huntington Library.
A small field trip to the Huntington Library in San Marino with some fellow MFAs and friends made me think about book-ish things. For one, I couldn’t pass up the photo op you can see above. (Nook vs. Gutenberg Bible… WHO WINS?!) For another, where does history go when it’s all electronic?
For all of the positive aspects of owning an ereader, I think that old cliche of a strength also being a weakness applies here. Let’s be honest. You guys see how many paper books I deal with in real life from my Beg, Borrow, and Steal posts. And those posts don’t include what I deal with when I’m working in the library. So obviously I am invested in the paper side of the publishing industry. Yet I’m not shy about loving on my Nook for the ease of reading, convenience in purchasing, selection, and the ability to carry my whole library with me in the palm of my hand.
But when it comes right down to it, I can’t let go of paper books. I want the beautiful covers, the physical presence, the ability to see a personalized inscription and autograph on the title page. And of course that book smell we all love. When I look at old texts like the Gutenberg Bible, I wonder how people are going to be able to look back at certain texts of our day centuries or even decades from now. With everything digitized, will they see history? The original manuscript? Or will it just be a few megabytes on a flash drive somewhere?
How do you put that kind of thing on display and have the same aura and power and grace as the Gutenberg Bible?
It’s just not the same. Which is why even though my Nook is a winner and I still love it, I will never stop supporting the physical book industry. We need books and bookstores and libraries to take up space, even if it’s a hassle that they take up space. Paper trails are far more interesting than electronic ones. At least, I think so. I want to have my own physical library, even if I already have one on my Nook.
So this week organic gained some points and electronic is holding steady. We’ll see how the next round goes!
Spooktacular Giveaway and Zompacolypse Giveaway 2011 Winners
Hi everyone!
I think it’s time to see who won my Halloween giveaways!
The winner of my Spooktacular Giveaway is…
Krystal
blog: Live To Read
and
the winner of my Zompacolypse Giveaway is…
Tatiana!
Emails have been sent. Congratulations!
I look forward to seeing what your final book choices are!
Thanks to everyone who entered!
It was really fun to see all of your comments and book choices.
Remember I’m giving away one ebook copy of Bridger by Megan Curd here!
Don’t miss out on the 200 Subscriber Giveaway!
And be on the lookout for more giveaways, including
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor,
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi,
and more!
Thanks for stopping by!
Beg, Borrow, and Steal (015)
Hey all! Welcome to this week’s Beg, Borrow, & Steal post.
These posts are my take on the In My Mailbox meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. Just a way to showcase the books in my life, because not all of them will be reviewed.
Haven’t made a BBS post in some time, but don’t worry, I’ve still been keeping an eye out for books. I came upon a goldmine when the library was looking to discard a bunch of teen books in order to make more room on the shelves. I of course had to swoop in and save all of these treasures. I know I have enough books as it is, but who can resist the chance to add to one’s personal library for free?
Here’s what I acquired since my last post:
Begged:
Books I had to have at awesome prices.
A Game of Thrones
A Clash of Kings
A Storm of Swords
A Feast for Crows
by George R. R. Martin
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Who can resist that cover?
Borrowed:
Checked out from libraries.
Kindred by Octavia Butler
Welcome to Bordertown by various authors
The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl
Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Steals:
Scavenged from the library’s discard pile.
The Decoding of Lana Morris by Tom Mcneal and Laura Mcneal
B for Buster by Iain Lawrence
Whitechurch by Chris Lynch
The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd
Captives by Tom Pow
Zigzag by Ellen Witlinger
Ribbons of the Sun by Harriet Hamilton
Hello, Groin by Beth Goobie
Song for Eloise by Leigh Sauerwein
Time’s Memory by Julius Lester
A Walk In My World by various authors
The Traitor Game by B. R. Collins
Booth’s Daughter by Raymond Wemmlinger
Touching Snow by M. Sindy Felin
A Brush With Napoleon by Laban Carrick Hill
Stories for Young People: Leo Tolstoy by Leo Tolstoy
Workshop Wednesday (001)
“Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.”
One Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Hello there! Welcome to the first post in my new series called “Workshop Wednesday.” I know, I know I’ve already got Toaster Tuesday, but I’ve been thinking of ways to incorporate some of this aspect of writing and reading into my blog, and I think this is the way to do it.
So what exactly is Workshop Wednesday? Well, it’s going to be an ongoing discussion of ways to read and critique (and hopefully improve) writing. Basically, I’m going to be drawing on my experiences in writing workshops through undergraduate and graduate studies and sharing them with you all. These posts are for everyone, whether you’re wondering how you can give good feedback to a writer friend, or whether you’re a writer yourself and want to find new ways to look at your writing. Hopefully these posts will be helpful.
My first point of discussion will be quite brief. It’s a simple tip if you’d like to critique a piece of writing: read the whole work at least twice.
The general rule is once for pleasure, and once for critique. But feel free to read a piece of writing as many times as you can if you’d like to critique the heck out of it. Why this rule of thumb? Of course you can dissect a piece of writing from one read. But doesn’t it help to know how the dance is supposed to look before you try to dissect it, step by step?
It’s important to know how a piece functions a whole, how the whole package comes together, so you know what the writer’s going for. It’s difficult to know the purpose of the opening line if you don’t know what it means in relation to the close.
Simple enough for our first week. But–at least, I think so–quite key. Read at least twice.
Now I bet you’re wondering what’s up with that quote at the top. Well, going off of what I’ve just said, I’ve decided that Workshop Wednesday needs the touch of professional writers out there. First lines are incredibly important for gaining the reader’s trust and commitment. Why not have a look at the classics? So every WW will feature an opening line, which will hopefully inspire you to read more (or again), or write your own first line.
And… There’s our first Workshop Wednesday. Hope you stick around for more!
