What I Actually Read in August 2019

I’m honestly surprised about how much reading I got done this month. It was probably due to me realizing how little reading I did in June and July and that the school year is around the corner. I panicked read most of these books as the reality that I would never get to read them if I waited until classes started up again. 

Storm Siren (Reread)

    I finally got a hold of the third book in this trilogy and realized it has been two years since I read the other two books. I started the third book, Siren’s Song, and noticed there was much I had forgotten. Wanting to appreciate every word of the final to one of my favorite series so far, I decided to read through the other two books again. That is when I dusted of Storm Siren. 

The Poppy War (DNF)

     I borrowed this book from the library and got over a hundred pages into it. Although I was curious about what would happen next, and I was enjoying the world building, the protagonist bothered me to the point I couldn’t continue. Maybe, I’ll give it another chance in the future, but that is a little unlikely. 

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

    This was an impulse buy from BAM! I’m glad I picked it up after all. This book was clearly inspired by fairytales and I found the themes of the story to be delightfully woven in with the text. I think my favorite part of the book were how the little stories told within the story related to Minli’s adventure. 

Scarlet (Reread)

    I suddenly started craving Robin Hood one evening. I recalled in high school I read one of my sister’s books that was a YA retelling of Robin Hood’s adventures through the perspective of Will Scarlet. Scarlet is good, worth picking up, and I have to admit there was a lot I had forgotten from the first time I read it so it was nice getting reacquainted with this old favorite of mine.  

Wild Rover No More

     I started reading the Jacky Faber books in high school and loved them. Part of me feels like I went on those adventures with Jacky from England to the Far East. I have to admit, was hesitant when I came to the final as I didn’t want those adventures to come to an end, but I also wanted to know how those adventures did end. It was worth it to finally finish the long-running series after all these years. 

Siren’s Fury (Reread)

    I am now more thankful than ever that I decided to read the other two books in the trilogy. Although I remember enough of the first book, Siren’s Fury had almost disappeared from my memory. I didn’t realize how much I had forgotten until I read it again. It has definitely left me more excited for Siren’s Song than ever. 

    So, I guess that is all that I managed to read this month. My favorite of all of them is certainly Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. I have a soft spot for fairytale inspired children’s book. I know I probably won’t be able to get that many books under my belt until after I graduate. Reviews for some of the books are soon to follow. 

       Have a great day, and good luck with all your classes if you are returning to school. 

Writing Advice I cannot Recommend

    

     

* Disclaimer, I am not a professional writer so take everything I say with a grain of salt.*

     I like the internet. It’s a pretty cool place despite it distracting me from my daily responsibilities every so often. However, I have made many valuable discoveries on the internet that have helped me, Apple Student Deals, Goodreads, Churchpop, Pintrest, etc. This article isn’t about those discovers. As much nice things nestled in the web there are some nasty things as well, especially bad writing advice. This can be even worse when many times this “advice” is treated as something good. 

1. Said is Dead 

    Said’s not dead it’s surely alive, living on the inside roaring like a lion!

    I used to be on board with this advice until about two years ago. I found this info graph on Pinterest when I was in high school. That infographic was consulted though many editing sessions, until I deleted it from my board. Why? Because I took a university level creative writing class where I learned “Said” is a fine word. The brain tends to ignore it, but that’s okay. The focus should be on the dialogue itself and the action surrounding it. 

      “Said is Dead” doesn’t have its roots in writing advice. It started as a way for primary school teaches to prepare their students’ vocabularies for standardized tests. Unique dialogue tags do not equal to good dialogue. Some of the examples of “fresh” words to use instead of said were very odd including, chortled, gurgled, babbled etc. It doesn't exactly make the dialogue itself pop. From my experiences, the best option is to mix dialogue with action, and then use said only where dialogue tags are needed. 

 (Dialogue with flashy tags)

    “I am the best swordsman on this side of the continent,” David boasted.

    “Which means, if I want the truly best swordsman, I’ll have to walk the thousand or so leagues.” Alexander teased. 

    David glared at his companion, “Why must you torment me so,” he lamented. 

(Dialogue mixed with action)

   David tossed his sword in the air, caught it in the opposite hand, “I am the best swordsman on this side of the continent.” 

    “Which means,” Alexander crossed his arms with a playful smile tracing his lips, “If I want the truly best swordsman, I’ll have to walk the thousand or so leagues.” 

    David glared at his companion as he threw his hand into the air, "Why must you torment me so?" 

2. Don’t Write what you Know

    Lately I have found that the internet has been bashing on this piece of advice, and frankly I do not know why.  If I don’t know something then I cannot write about it. If I was given a pen and paper and told to write about the trade routes in the Byzantine Empire, I wouldn’t get a single word down because I know nothing about the trade routes of the Byzantine Empire. However, I can research and expand what I know about the Byzantine Empire.  It’s impossible not to write what you know, but that doesn’t mean you have to only write about your personal experiences. (If that were the case then there would be no high fantasy stories). You can expand what you know by doing research or even going out and exploring. 

3. Write the Villain/Antagonist First

     (If it hasn't been made all that clear yet, I am very opinionated on this one) Unpopular opinion, I do not believe the villain is the most important character in the story, unless the story has a villain protagonist. I have heard that if there is no villain then there is no story except not all stories have villains. Some stories the main obstacle the protagonist has to face aren’t the actions of one person. A story surrounding a man stranded on an island or a community recovering from a hurricane will probably have enough stakes without an antagonist. 

   The reader isn’t following the villain for the majority of the book. My favorite TV series, Avatar the Last Airbender, doesn’t even show us the main villain on screen until the final season.  

Some stories doen’t even have villains. If I hate the villain, I can still love the book. If I hate the protagonist or whoever the POV character is, I cannot keep reading. 

     I know many of these could be considered personal preferences. That is probably true, but I still cannot get behind any of the above advice. However, I do understand people might disagree, and they are free to do so. If they weren't...then there would definitely be a problem there. :D 

Image Sources:

https://hiveminer.com/Tags/broken%2Ctypewriter

https://lindasclare.com/2012/10/the-dialogue-funeral-rip-said/

You are Better off not Knowing These Books Exist

While it is true that many good books remain under the radar of mainstream audiences, that does not mean all unpopular books are diamonds in the rough. Sometimes, when you are digging for hidden treasure, all you end up with is a sandy hole at the beach.  

     I know there is some irony of me drawing attention books that I personally think shouldn’t be popular, but consider this a public service announcement. If you come across any of these books, read at your own risk. You have been warned.  

The Red Keep

     I picked up this book expecting adventure. I didn’t get it. I don’t remember that much from this book, and I can live with that. I’d much remember the good books I read instead. Did I mention this book also struck me, who was thirteen years old at the time, as a bit racist with its treatment of a Jewish character?

Mechanica

     I was at my local library with a friend when we stumbled upon Mechanica. We both wanted to read it so my friend let me barrow it first and tell her how it was. She was the lucky one, because I was greatly disappointed by this book. 

     I remember reading reviews praising this book because it was considered feminist. Well just because a book has an “empowering” message, does not give it a free pass for a five-star rating. It was boring and in my opinion poorly written. 

Need

     I really wanted to like this book for two reasons. A. The book is about fairies and I went through a phase in high school where I was obsessed with the fair folk. B. The author is from Maine and I love looking for books written by fellow Maniacswho are not named Stephen King. However, I could hardly tolerate the main character, Zara. She was so self-righteous it distracted me from the mystery.  

Revolutionary     

What is it with YA dystopian trilogies being plagued by poorly written endings. Maybe it’s just my luck.  However, this final book in the Anomaly trilogy does not hold up to the other two in my opinion. The plot twist seemed only half-baked, and character development seemed to drop from the sky. It, simply, was not a natural ending to the trilogy.