Holidays are meant to be enjoyed. Holidays are meant to be shared with someone. Holidays are lonely when your best friend is still working hard each day.
So, I was just “off” for a week.
If I could go back to March or early April and change the way I ended up organizing things this spring, I would. I wouldn’t have scheduled in programs and meetings and class visits, knowing that it would mean my holidays would be spent alone. But I took advantage of the days and caught up on some reading.
First, I finally finished listening to Gillian Flynn’s GONE GIRL. I always enjoy audiobooks, and this is the first one I listened to in the car (usually I download books on my phone). I must admit it was a little distracting while driving, and I had to go back and listen to certain tracks more than once when my mind wandered. But, all in all, a well-read book…and one I enjoyed.
Next up was WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart (aka Emily Jenkins). I read this in a day. For me, that’s big news. I’m the slowest reader in the world. But it was a combo of quick text and uncomplicated chapters that moved this along so well for me. Twisty books were in the mix this week!
And I couldn’t wait to dig into DOROTHY MUST DIE by Danielle Paige. I am a HUGE Wizard of Oz fan, so I was curious about this book from the start. I liked that she mixed movie references with tidbits from L. Frank Baum’s book because that is how most of us probably think of the story. It was another quickish read for me, and a lot of fun, although I must admit, I was surprised this is only the first in a series.
I read LOVE LETTERS TO THE DEAD by Ava Dellaira and AFTER THE END by Amy Plum at the same time. LETTERS was right up my alley (have you read my Love Letter posts?), so I enjoyed this. It was an interesting way to work through a character’s life without traditional narration. AFTER was a bit of a surprise for me. I picked it up simply because of the cover, even though I know apocalyptic fiction is really, really done for now. But this had some interesting ideas in it. Great read!
THE FURIES by Mark Alpert leapt off the covering truck for me at work. The cover was just so pretty and mysterious I couldn’t leave it there. Reading it reminded me that adult fiction is REALLY great, and that I need to read more of it.
Now, as I begin writing my next book, I’m inspired and ready to face it. I’m sure it was Stephen King who talked about Harry Potter being so brilliant because it wasn’t written for kids. I get that now. I really get that. One of the biggest ideas I’m taking from a week of reading both YA and adult fiction is this: write a better story than you think you can, write it bigger, and write it not for “teens”, but for readers.
