@ Mellissalo…I lost my nearest and closest friend 28 years ago. I stepped out of my person not even realizing it until this past year. Face the pain and always cherish the memory of that friend first and foremost…don’t lose yourself, allow diversions but stay grounded
A short-story collection, Harrowing the Dragon, by Patricia McKillip. If you like fantasy at all and haven’t read her you’re missing out. Her prose is so gorgeously crafted.
Enduring Love is my favorite McEwan. (BTW: If you love McEwan, you’d probably also like Kate Atkinson if you haven’t read her yet.)
I just finished “The Monsters of Templeton,” by Lauren Groff, which was a completely fun first novel. And I just started Laura Lippman’s newest novel. Also re-reading Nabokov’s “Pale Fire” for the class I’m teaching this semester. Good times all around.
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. She breaks all the rules – omniscient narrator, head-hopping, lots of telling – and does so absolutely magnificently. It’s a keeper.
In my to-read pile, among others: The Longevity Thesis by Jennifer Rahn, Liar’s Diary by Patry Francis, Stones of my Accusers by Tracy Groot.
Bloggers… How often do you read books in your target genre for market research while writing/editing your own book? Do you find that it helps you in writing to get into that frame of mind (i.e. other YA books helping you think like a teen)? Or does it distract you away from your own voice?
Nathan, Would you recommend it to your authors? Or to unpublished authors? Does it help to mention to a potential agent that you are well-read in your target genre?
Recently, I read: “Saving Fish From Drowning” -Amy Tan I thought the characters and story undeveloped and the book longish too much like a tour that could have been tightened. It bored me.
“Oh My Stars” by Lorna Landvik It knocked my socks off. Wow.
Thirteen Moons” by Charles Frazier He also wows me!! This book made me grow with his protagonist! What a full on characterization! I only wished he would have done the same for the female, who he keeps cloaked.
Usually I read 3-20 books at a time.
Currently I am reading:
“The Truth” – Terry Pratchett I am SUCH a fan!
“Living Your Unlived Life”-Robert Johnson and Jerry Ruhl “Ecstasy” – Robert Johnson (above two are Jungian nonfiction)
and “In the Night Garden” by Catherynne Valente (because a friend recommended it, but have to say,it is tense, requires a LOT from the reader to keep up with the constantly changing story, and this book could serve as example of the constant overuse of simile, that I now understand, can, even when well suited to a read, exhaust the reader.)
BTW, Nathan, I always gleam a new reading list from these blogposts! Thanks!!
To Anonymous, Yes. When writing a YA novel, I read a whole bunch of YA. Not exclusively, though. Reading popular YA is research. Reading great authors in general is inspiring. I have certain authors I pull off the shelf whenever I need to hear a strong, well-defined voice. Ian McEwan is one such writer. So is Sherwood Anderson, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. They get my mind turning on a more creative level.
As for what I’m reading right now, Away by Amy Bloom. I took a personal writer’s trip to Orcas Island last week, and Away jumped off the bookshelf, wrapped its legs around me and wouldn’t let go. I have to finish it because I feel silly walking around this way.
Just finished The Tender Bar by JR Moehringer, during which I found myself LOL-ing a lot. My poor husband got to hear a lot of passages until he finally relented to read it himself.
@Jacky – LOL! No…what I meant, was that people who aren’t big readers – as most writers/agents/publishers/random people – tend to be, have to join the ‘office writing pool’ of sorts at work, they fib. It’s a COLES NOTES sort of thing. I adore Sophie Kinsella.
I don’t usually read more than one book at a time, but currently I am reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Weird combination, huh? I guess I’m in a yin and yang mood. Chris
My next book to be read will be REMEMBER ME? Has anyone picked it up yet? It’s her latest, and it looks amazing – as per usual.
Chock full of fuzzy memory, cocktails, a hottie husband, 10 millions + dollars, and Louis Vuitton. Therefore, it has to be good.
Admittedly, that famously dodgy $20,000 or so patchwork bag by Louis Vuitton was so ugly it couldn’t have been dreamed up; Louis Vuitton is Louis Vuitton.
The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle. It’s probably the most beautifully written book I’ve ever read, and I’ve gone through most of the Booker Prize winners and half the pultizers
Last night I finished reading Hades’ Daughter by Sara Douglass. Today as I visited my local library I saw a copy of volume 2 of the series God’s Concubine for sale in hard cover. I snapped it up and plan on reading it soon.
It is epic fantasy with loads of Greek Mythology entwined in the story.
🙂 glad to make you laugh Adaora… we are all aspiring to create an environment that people will want to escape in, I hope I get the honor to achieve that
Recently read – DUMA KEY by Stephen King (loved it!) CHANGE OF HEART by Jodi Picoult (excellent!) THE MONSTERS OF TEMPLETON by Lauren Groff (enjoyed it) OBEDIENCE by Will Lavender (Could not put it down!) PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by Geraldine Brooks (just started but like so far)
glad to make you laugh Adaora… we are all aspiring to create an environment that people will want to escape in, I hope I get the honor to achieve that 😉
I just finished GRIMSPACE by Ann Aguirre, a fabulous scifi, that is going on my top reads of 2008, and am now reading MADHOUSE by Rob Thurman, the third in the series about two brothers in NY that fight against creepie crawlies that nightmares are made of. Love Rob’s writing!!
I’m reading Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil, because I finally hit a point where I’d read enough stuff that quoted Nietzsche, paraphrased Nietzsche, referenced Nietzsche or mocked Nietzsche that I figured it was about time I got some primary source knowledge.
I recently finished Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky, which is about the impact of new networks on the way we communicate. It might be of particular interest to anyone in the publishing industry, because it faces the changing definition of “publish.”
I just finished ‘Slip of the Knife’ by Denise Mina – the 3rd in a series about Paddy Meehan. Mina also writes about character Maureen O’Donnell, three in this series too. Talk about character driven novels – these are incredible, set in Scotland, a definite must read if you like mystery/ suspense type stuff. strong 5*
I’m finally getting around to reading Robert Jordan’s THE EYE OF THE WORLD. Fantasy is the genre I write, and I thought it was high time I checked out Jordan’s work. I have to say I’m underwhelmed, though; I’ll finish this one, but I won’t be reading the rest in the series.
I’m also reading a book on deserts for novel research, THE RIGHT TO WRITE by Julia Cameron (recommended if you like that sort of writing book), and THE ART OF WAR by Sun Tzu.
I was reading the second Squad book by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (KILLER SPIRIT) for this site I’m a reviewer for. Interesting promise, albeit a little … familiar?, but the writing didn’t match up. Too matter-of-fact when it should’ve been flamboyant.
I’m doing a big book order soon, and amongst those are:
– THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by Jay Asher (It sounds amazing!) – STORY OF A GIRL by Sara Zarr (Again, sounds amazing!) – LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green (I’ve heard so many great things about him and this book, so…!) – DEVILISH by Maureen Johnson (Because she’s awesome. It’ll be my first book by her; it was the one that appealed most to me.) – SECOND HELPINGS and CHARMED THIRDS by Megan McCafferty (LOVED the first book. Mustgetmore.)
(I’m almost an exclusive YA reader, it seems. :D)
And I wish I could get CHANGE OF HEART by Jodi Picoult, but I’ll have to wait for the paperback–the hardback is too expensive here in Brazil. 🙁 I love Jodi, though. I own almost all of her books.
Just like Beth, and a lot of others it seems, I like to read many books at once. And I do keep a few in each room for ease.
I am currently reading A YEAR IN PROVENCE by Peter Mayle, SIR THURSDAY by Garth Nix (book 4 in his Keys to the Kingdom series), CHRIST THE LORD: ROAD TO CANA by Anne Rice (book 2 in the series), LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding (because I’ve never read it!), THE AMBER SPYGLASS by Philip Pullman, and THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH by Norton Juster (because I love it and will never tire of it). I’m enjoying them all so far, though I’m not entirely sure about the Anne Rice book. I do admire her courage for writing Jesus in the first person, however.
Nonfiction: Confessions of a Political Hitman, by Stephen Marks. Fascinating and somewhat terrifying account of the daily work of a Republican “opposition researcher” (read: negative campaign dirt-digger).
Fiction: Dashiell Hammett, The Dain Curse. Hammett never gets old. Also just finished Red Cat by Peter Spiegelman. Pretty good.
ALL THE KING’S MEN by Robert Penn Warren. Modernism with a capital ‘M’. Moral Ambiguity and Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all! Muahahaha!
I just put down A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb and picked up The Brightonomicon by Robert Rankin. The first was a well done love story from the perspective of a ghost. The latter is a silly romp pretending to be… uh… science fiction?
I’ve been on a bit of a history kick lately. I just finished Claudius The God by Robert Graves, and now I’m reading the nonfiction book Ike & Monty by Norman Gelb.
Kathryn Harrison’s SEEKING RAPTURE. I have read several of her books and although they often explore very disturbing issues, her writing is first rate.
Anybody who can get me completely engrossed in the execution of a tick is an amazing writer. After I read that, I was like I can’t believe she sucked me into the scene like that!!
hey nathan! i’m reading a graphic novel and some military nonfiction:
Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 by David Petersen and The Fighting 69th: One Remarkable National Guard Unit’s Journey from Ground Zero to Baghdad by Sean Michael Flynn
Fic: Plowed through Harlan Coben’s “The Innocent.” His pacing’s almost a bit too fast, but it kept me from pondering the thin spots.
Just picked up Pete Hammill’s “Forever.”
Nonfic: “The Stuff of Thought” by Stephen Pinker. (Glad to see somebody’s reading the Guinea Pig’s History of Biology; I’m waiting for it to come into the library)
>Jackie said… > > step back a notch Scott, I am >still scratching my head at Old >English and am totally accepting >that, yup, these are the people I >descended from
Old English is fun to try to sort out. I’ve read Beowulf at least once a year (skipping a year here and there) for a long, long time. I read it in modern translations, but i also like to play around with the original. I used to be better at it, but I can still work my way through sections for the fun of it.
Speaking German helps, and so does understanding the sound shifts that have taken place over the centuries.
But it’s work. Chaucer’s Middle English is pretty easy for me (again, German helps). Other ME authors, especially earlier ones, are tougher, but enjoyable. The thing about Chaucer in the original, is that the guy was often very ironic and funny, and modernizations don’t always pick that up because they have to miss double meanings.
OK, I guess I sound like a boring English nerd right about now. But I love language, and I have fun with it.
Amos Magliocco says
REFRESH, REFRESH by Ben Percy. Just finished TREE OF SMOKE a few days ago and COLTRANE weeks before that.
Jackie says
@ Mellissalo…I lost my nearest and closest friend 28 years ago. I stepped out of my person not even realizing it until this past year. Face the pain and always cherish the memory of that friend first and foremost…don’t lose yourself, allow diversions but stay grounded
Jason R. Clark says
A short-story collection, Harrowing the Dragon, by Patricia McKillip. If you like fantasy at all and haven’t read her you’re missing out. Her prose is so gorgeously crafted.
Kelly says
Enduring Love is my favorite McEwan. (BTW: If you love McEwan, you’d probably also like Kate Atkinson if you haven’t read her yet.)
I just finished “The Monsters of Templeton,” by Lauren Groff, which was a completely fun first novel. And I just started Laura Lippman’s newest novel. Also re-reading Nabokov’s “Pale Fire” for the class I’m teaching this semester. Good times all around.
Anonymous says
THE LULLABY by Sarah Dessen
As market research for the YA novel I am writing.
Janet says
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. She breaks all the rules – omniscient narrator, head-hopping, lots of telling – and does so absolutely magnificently. It’s a keeper.
In my to-read pile, among others: The Longevity Thesis by Jennifer Rahn, Liar’s Diary by Patry Francis, Stones of my Accusers by Tracy Groot.
Anonymous says
Bloggers…
How often do you read books in your target genre for market research while writing/editing your own book? Do you find that it helps you in writing to get into that frame of mind (i.e. other YA books helping you think like a teen)? Or does it distract you away from your own voice?
Nathan,
Would you recommend it to your authors? Or to unpublished authors? Does it help to mention to a potential agent that you are well-read in your target genre?
Suzan Harden says
DEAD OVER HEELS by MaryJanice Davidson
Had to know how Betsy and Eric’s New York honeymoon/shoe shopping trip got fubar’d.
Anonymous says
Recently, I read:
“Saving Fish From Drowning” -Amy Tan
I thought the characters and story undeveloped and the book longish too much like a tour that could have been tightened. It bored me.
“Oh My Stars” by Lorna Landvik
It knocked my socks off. Wow.
Thirteen Moons” by Charles Frazier
He also wows me!! This book made me grow with his protagonist! What a full on characterization! I only wished he would have done the same for the female, who he keeps cloaked.
Usually I read 3-20 books at a time.
Currently I am reading:
“The Truth” – Terry Pratchett
I am SUCH a fan!
“Living Your Unlived Life”-Robert Johnson and Jerry Ruhl
“Ecstasy” – Robert Johnson
(above two are Jungian nonfiction)
and
“In the Night Garden” by Catherynne Valente
(because a friend recommended it, but have to say,it is tense, requires a LOT from the reader to keep up with the constantly changing story, and this book could serve as example of the constant overuse of simile, that I now understand, can, even when well suited to a read, exhaust the reader.)
BTW, Nathan, I always gleam a new reading list from these blogposts!
Thanks!!
nancorbett says
To Anonymous,
Yes. When writing a YA novel, I read a whole bunch of YA. Not exclusively, though. Reading popular YA is research. Reading great authors in general is inspiring. I have certain authors I pull off the shelf whenever I need to hear a strong, well-defined voice. Ian McEwan is one such writer. So is Sherwood Anderson, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. They get my mind turning on a more creative level.
As for what I’m reading right now, Away by Amy Bloom. I took a personal writer’s trip to Orcas Island last week, and Away jumped off the bookshelf, wrapped its legs around me and wouldn’t let go. I have to finish it because I feel silly walking around this way.
Anonymous says
I recently read The Old Man and The Sea by Earnest Hemingway.
It was long overdue.
Anonymous says
The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril by Paul Malmont
B.E. Sanderson says
I’m in the middle of Spillane’s I, The Jury, and I’ve got Roxanne St. Claire’s First You Run on deck.
Cheryl Mills says
The Road.
Just finished The Tender Bar by JR Moehringer, during which I found myself LOL-ing a lot. My poor husband got to hear a lot of passages until he finally relented to read it himself.
Adaora A. says
@Jacky – LOL! No…what I meant, was that people who aren’t big readers – as most writers/agents/publishers/random people – tend to be, have to join the ‘office writing pool’ of sorts at work, they fib. It’s a COLES NOTES sort of thing. I adore Sophie Kinsella.
Anonymous says
I don’t usually read more than one book at a time, but currently I am reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Weird combination, huh? I guess I’m in a yin and yang mood.
Chris
Shannon Yarbrough says
I’m about 12 pages from the end of Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Amazing book! The kind I’d love to write.
Adaora A. says
On the note of Sophie Kinsella,
My next book to be read will be REMEMBER ME? Has anyone picked it up yet? It’s her latest, and it looks amazing – as per usual.
Chock full of fuzzy memory, cocktails, a hottie husband, 10 millions + dollars, and Louis Vuitton. Therefore, it has to be good.
Admittedly, that famously dodgy $20,000 or so patchwork bag by Louis Vuitton was so ugly it couldn’t have been dreamed up; Louis Vuitton is Louis Vuitton.
Jordan Lapp says
The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle. It’s probably the most beautifully written book I’ve ever read, and I’ve gone through most of the Booker Prize winners and half the pultizers
L.C.McCabe says
Last night I finished reading Hades’ Daughter by Sara Douglass. Today as I visited my local library I saw a copy of volume 2 of the series God’s Concubine for sale in hard cover. I snapped it up and plan on reading it soon.
It is epic fantasy with loads of Greek Mythology entwined in the story.
I loved it.
Linda
Jackie says
🙂 glad to make you laugh Adaora…
we are all aspiring to create an environment that people will want to escape in, I hope I get the honor to achieve that
Anonymous says
Recently read –
DUMA KEY by Stephen King (loved it!)
CHANGE OF HEART by Jodi Picoult (excellent!)
THE MONSTERS OF TEMPLETON by Lauren Groff (enjoyed it)
OBEDIENCE by Will Lavender (Could not put it down!)
PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by Geraldine Brooks (just started but like so far)
Jackie says
glad to make you laugh Adaora…
we are all aspiring to create an environment that people will want to escape in, I hope I get the honor to achieve that 😉
Vivi Anna says
I just finished GRIMSPACE by Ann Aguirre, a fabulous scifi, that is going on my top reads of 2008, and am now reading MADHOUSE by Rob Thurman, the third in the series about two brothers in NY that fight against creepie crawlies that nightmares are made of. Love Rob’s writing!!
Bija Andrew Wright says
I’m reading Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil, because I finally hit a point where I’d read enough stuff that quoted Nietzsche, paraphrased Nietzsche, referenced Nietzsche or mocked Nietzsche that I figured it was about time I got some primary source knowledge.
I recently finished Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky, which is about the impact of new networks on the way we communicate. It might be of particular interest to anyone in the publishing industry, because it faces the changing definition of “publish.”
qugrainne says
I just finished ‘Slip of the Knife’ by Denise Mina – the 3rd in a series about Paddy Meehan. Mina also writes about character Maureen O’Donnell, three in this series too. Talk about character driven novels – these are incredible, set in Scotland, a definite must read if you like mystery/ suspense type stuff.
strong 5*
wonderer says
I’m finally getting around to reading Robert Jordan’s THE EYE OF THE WORLD. Fantasy is the genre I write, and I thought it was high time I checked out Jordan’s work. I have to say I’m underwhelmed, though; I’ll finish this one, but I won’t be reading the rest in the series.
I’m also reading a book on deserts for novel research, THE RIGHT TO WRITE by Julia Cameron (recommended if you like that sort of writing book), and THE ART OF WAR by Sun Tzu.
Next up is SOLITAIRE by Kelley Eskridge.
Steph Leite says
I was reading the second Squad book by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (KILLER SPIRIT) for this site I’m a reviewer for. Interesting promise, albeit a little … familiar?, but the writing didn’t match up. Too matter-of-fact when it should’ve been flamboyant.
I’m doing a big book order soon, and amongst those are:
– THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by Jay Asher (It sounds amazing!)
– STORY OF A GIRL by Sara Zarr (Again, sounds amazing!)
– LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green (I’ve heard so many great things about him and this book, so…!)
– DEVILISH by Maureen Johnson (Because she’s awesome. It’ll be my first book by her; it was the one that appealed most to me.)
– SECOND HELPINGS and CHARMED THIRDS by Megan McCafferty (LOVED the first book. Mustgetmore.)
(I’m almost an exclusive YA reader, it seems. :D)
And I wish I could get CHANGE OF HEART by Jodi Picoult, but I’ll have to wait for the paperback–the hardback is too expensive here in Brazil. 🙁 I love Jodi, though. I own almost all of her books.
– Steph
Morgan Dempsey says
The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes.
I italicize instead of all-caps. I’m MLA that way.
Anonymous says
Wow. I went to Amazon.com and read the excerpt of Enduring Love and am hooked. Language and Story.
Jessica says
Just like Beth, and a lot of others it seems, I like to read many books at once. And I do keep a few in each room for ease.
I am currently reading A YEAR IN PROVENCE by Peter Mayle, SIR THURSDAY by Garth Nix (book 4 in his Keys to the Kingdom series), CHRIST THE LORD: ROAD TO CANA by Anne Rice (book 2 in the series), LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding (because I’ve never read it!), THE AMBER SPYGLASS by Philip Pullman, and THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH by Norton Juster (because I love it and will never tire of it). I’m enjoying them all so far, though I’m not entirely sure about the Anne Rice book. I do admire her courage for writing Jesus in the first person, however.
Elissa M says
DUST by Elizabeth Bear
Norma Desmond says
Nonfiction: Confessions of a Political Hitman, by Stephen Marks. Fascinating and somewhat terrifying account of the daily work of a Republican “opposition researcher” (read: negative campaign dirt-digger).
Fiction: Dashiell Hammett, The Dain Curse. Hammett never gets old. Also just finished Red Cat by Peter Spiegelman. Pretty good.
Jana Lubina says
WUTHERING HEIGHTS
For the 50th time : )
Anonymous says
ALL THE KING’S MEN by Robert Penn Warren. Modernism with a capital ‘M’. Moral Ambiguity and Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all! Muahahaha!
Cam says
MOMMIES WHO DRINK, by Brett Paesel,and PUTTING YOUR PASSION INTO PRINT by Arielle Eckstut & David Henry Sterry (rereading chaps 2 & 3).
Anonymous says
501 Minutes to Christ, by Poe Ballantine—endorsed by Thomas Aquinas *and* Barabbas!
If you read only one essay, read “Blessed Meadows for Minor Poets.”
Linda
jellybean says
I am all about Jasper Fforde. Brilliant.
Other Lisa says
“Regeneration” by Pat Barker. The first in her WWI trilogy. One of them won the Booker.
I’m still too early in to offer an opinion.
Sam Hranac says
I just put down A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb and picked up The Brightonomicon by Robert Rankin. The first was a well done love story from the perspective of a ghost. The latter is a silly romp pretending to be… uh… science fiction?
Joel Derfner says
TITUS GROAN (first in the GORMENGHAST trilogy), Mervyn Peake.
Furious D says
I’ve been on a bit of a history kick lately. I just finished Claudius The God by Robert Graves, and now I’m reading the nonfiction book Ike & Monty by Norman Gelb.
susan d says
Kathryn Harrison’s SEEKING RAPTURE. I have read several of her books and although they often explore very disturbing issues, her writing is first rate.
Anybody who can get me completely engrossed in the execution of a tick is an amazing writer. After I read that, I was like I can’t believe she sucked me into the scene like that!!
Anonymous says
love robert jordan and jasper fforde too
Kathleen says
SIR THURSDAY by Garth Nix
HELLBOY Seeds of Destruction
BLINK Malcolm Gladwell
Christine says
CHARMED AND DEADLY by Candace Havens, lots of fun =)
Anne-Marie says
THE UNCOMMON READER by Alan Bennett. Queen Elizabeth II meets the local bookmobile.
garrett says
hey nathan! i’m reading a graphic novel and some military nonfiction:
Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 by David Petersen
and
The Fighting 69th: One Remarkable National Guard Unit’s Journey from Ground Zero to Baghdad by Sean Michael Flynn
benwah says
Fic: Plowed through Harlan Coben’s “The Innocent.” His pacing’s almost a bit too fast, but it kept me from pondering the thin spots.
Just picked up Pete Hammill’s “Forever.”
Nonfic: “The Stuff of Thought” by Stephen Pinker. (Glad to see somebody’s reading the Guinea Pig’s History of Biology; I’m waiting for it to come into the library)
Scott says
>Jackie said…
>
> step back a notch Scott, I am
>still scratching my head at Old
>English and am totally accepting
>that, yup, these are the people I
>descended from
Old English is fun to try to sort out. I’ve read Beowulf at least once a year (skipping a year here and there) for a long, long time. I read it in modern translations, but i also like to play around with the original. I used to be better at it, but I can still work my way through sections for the fun of it.
Speaking German helps, and so does understanding the sound shifts that have taken place over the centuries.
But it’s work. Chaucer’s Middle English is pretty easy for me (again, German helps). Other ME authors, especially earlier ones, are tougher, but enjoyable. The thing about Chaucer in the original, is that the guy was often very ironic and funny, and modernizations don’t always pick that up because they have to miss double meanings.
OK, I guess I sound like a boring English nerd right about now. But I love language, and I have fun with it.