I read about a new book by a new author in the WSJ today (here). At first I was not intrigued, seriously, who wants to read about a woman who’s losing her mind. I don’t need to read about it, I’m living with it (just kidding sweety). But the more I read about the book, the more inspired I was to read it. As I have so many books on my plate that I want to read, and as I already have a series of posts on books I’ve read, I can’t imagine a better place to compile a list of books I want to read than here.
To begin with, Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson.
Why do I want to read this? Firstly because so many have said it is a good, well written thriller. Secondly though, I want to read this, because so many people thought for so long that the author of the book had to be a female, when in fact it was a dude.
Miss Alter says in her article about the book, A Daily Breakfast of Amnesia:
"The author's agent and publisher have been cultivating an air of mystery around the book by forgoing a book-jacket photo and using the initials "S.J." Many early readers of the novel found the female narrator so convincing that they assumed Mr. Watson (S stands for Steve) was a woman, says Clare Conville, Mr. Watson's literary agent. Some foreign publishers even demanded photographic proof once they learned his identity, Mr. Watson says."
""Ninety percent of the publishers and 90% of the people who read it think he's a woman," Ms. Conville says."
For so long people have told me, don’t try and write from the point of view of a female, and I’ve heeded that advice. I want to see how Watson handles it and does it so convincingly.
Showing posts with label Reading List. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reading List. Show all posts
Monday, May 4, 2026
Reading List - The Wrong War
I've been looking forward to reading The Wrong War by Bing West for several months now. I read an article about it and it only re-ignited the fire that I felt to read it. The author Andrew Exum writes:
"First, the grit. "The Wrong War" contains some of the most compelling descriptions of small-unit combat that I have ever read. Mr. West has argued in the past that the U.S. armed forces have lost their "warrior ethos" and calls them here "a gigantic Peace Corps." But these claims in no way square with what he depicts."
Who wouldn't want to read a ware that has the most compelling descriptions of small-unit combat?
"First, the grit. "The Wrong War" contains some of the most compelling descriptions of small-unit combat that I have ever read. Mr. West has argued in the past that the U.S. armed forces have lost their "warrior ethos" and calls them here "a gigantic Peace Corps." But these claims in no way square with what he depicts."
Who wouldn't want to read a ware that has the most compelling descriptions of small-unit combat?
Reading List - Rough Edges
To continue the theme from the last couple of days I offer, Rough Edges by James E Rogan (here).
I wrote this down on a piece of paper and have since forgotten why I wrote it down. Rogan was a congressman from California and a Superior Court Judge. I seem to recall that his childhood and teen years were quite, spectacularly checkered and that he came up from all that with aplomb.
Still in all it makes the list. If someone recommended it enough to me to write it down, I must have had a good reason, right?
I wrote this down on a piece of paper and have since forgotten why I wrote it down. Rogan was a congressman from California and a Superior Court Judge. I seem to recall that his childhood and teen years were quite, spectacularly checkered and that he came up from all that with aplomb.
Still in all it makes the list. If someone recommended it enough to me to write it down, I must have had a good reason, right?
Reconsidering My Views
A couple of posts back (here) I discussed a quick book review and excerpt from Escape for Camp 14, the story of an inmates escape from a North Korean prison camp. At the time I decided it might not be worthwhile to read. Although I am incredibly intrigued by the subject matter, the writing didn't really speak to me. This review (here) may have just changed my opinion.
This review has once again shown me that it might not matter whether the writing pulls me in or not, it is such an engaging subject matter, such a view of a dystopian, unbelievable society, that it might be impossible for a "Nork-o-phile" like myself to avoid it. It's not that I think his relationship with his mother, who he saw "not as a source of affection but as a competitor for the limited amount of food that was available to them," nor do I particularly want to read about how he was tortured and beaten during his interrogation after his mother and older brother tried to escape, (by the way, in what is another stunning revelation, he didn't mourn their eventual hanging, but blamed them for the pain he suffered during his interrogation). It's the fact that such places exist in the world that I find amazing. Doubly amazing . . . the fact that he eventually got out.
It's on my reading list now.
This review has once again shown me that it might not matter whether the writing pulls me in or not, it is such an engaging subject matter, such a view of a dystopian, unbelievable society, that it might be impossible for a "Nork-o-phile" like myself to avoid it. It's not that I think his relationship with his mother, who he saw "not as a source of affection but as a competitor for the limited amount of food that was available to them," nor do I particularly want to read about how he was tortured and beaten during his interrogation after his mother and older brother tried to escape, (by the way, in what is another stunning revelation, he didn't mourn their eventual hanging, but blamed them for the pain he suffered during his interrogation). It's the fact that such places exist in the world that I find amazing. Doubly amazing . . . the fact that he eventually got out.
It's on my reading list now.
To Be Read
Right now I'm reading a book on how to develop characters by Orson Scott Card. It's pretty thick and it's taking me quite a bit of time to chew through it, when I do I think I'll move on to this one (here).
The article states:
"Hit Lit" focuses on a murderer's row of commercial best sellers from the past couple of decades: Tom Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October" (1984), John Grisham's "The Firm" (1991), Robert James Waller's "The Bridges of Madison County" (1992) and Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" (2003). It looks back at earlier sensations, too: Stephen King's "The Dead Zone" (1979), Peter Benchley's "Jaws" (1974), William Peter Blatty's "The Exorcist" (1971), Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" (1969), Jacqueline Susann's "Valley of the Dolls" (1966), Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1960), Grace Metalious's "Peyton Place" (1956) and Martha Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind" (1936). These literary cash cows may tell us something about prevailing tastes, and they certainly share many features that wannabe blockbuster writers might keep in mind while going for the gold.
This article by Dave Shiflett on Hit Lit by James W. Hall seems like it would be just up my alley, no . . . not because I'm looking for all the right boxes to check in order to write a well-rounded and best selling novel, but because it seems like it would be a terrific sequel to Donald Maass' Writing the Breakout Novel (here) which is my favorite book on writing.
Each book on writing that I read is more dry than the last and none of them as the excitement (what excitement that there can be in a book on writing) of Writing the Breakout Novel. Hit Lit just might be the one. It's on the "To Be Read List!"
The article states:
"Hit Lit" focuses on a murderer's row of commercial best sellers from the past couple of decades: Tom Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October" (1984), John Grisham's "The Firm" (1991), Robert James Waller's "The Bridges of Madison County" (1992) and Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" (2003). It looks back at earlier sensations, too: Stephen King's "The Dead Zone" (1979), Peter Benchley's "Jaws" (1974), William Peter Blatty's "The Exorcist" (1971), Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" (1969), Jacqueline Susann's "Valley of the Dolls" (1966), Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1960), Grace Metalious's "Peyton Place" (1956) and Martha Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind" (1936). These literary cash cows may tell us something about prevailing tastes, and they certainly share many features that wannabe blockbuster writers might keep in mind while going for the gold.
This article by Dave Shiflett on Hit Lit by James W. Hall seems like it would be just up my alley, no . . . not because I'm looking for all the right boxes to check in order to write a well-rounded and best selling novel, but because it seems like it would be a terrific sequel to Donald Maass' Writing the Breakout Novel (here) which is my favorite book on writing.
Each book on writing that I read is more dry than the last and none of them as the excitement (what excitement that there can be in a book on writing) of Writing the Breakout Novel. Hit Lit just might be the one. It's on the "To Be Read List!"
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Gonna Be a Hard Choice
I have a slate of books to be read now that I've finished Flashman and the Mountain of Light (see here).
First there is a book recommended by Kristi Jones (see here). A horror to be sure, so outside my norm, but I'm a horror fan historically, and I know Kristi has an excellent sense of taste and writing talent (see thinks I'm a good writer, need I say more), so there's a lot going for The Troop.
.jpg)
Some thrillers produce shivers, others trigger goose bumps; Cutter's graphic offering will have readers jumping out of their skins. Scoutmaster Dr. Tim Riggs takes his troop for their annual camping trip to Falstaff Island, an uninhabited area not far from their home on Prince Edward Island.
Then there is Mila 18, a "deep dish" or "commitment" novel from Leon Uris. I loved Armageddon (see here) and based on what Amazon says about Mila 18, I'm betting I'll love this one just as much. The question is am I ready for a commitment book.
Italian-American journalist Christopher de Monti finds himself in Nazi-controlled Warsaw before the outbreak of World War II. Though wined and dined by German officers eager for sympathetic coverage, de Monti’s nose for the real story soon leads him to discover the terrifying conditions of the Warsaw ghettos and the Nazis’ chilling plans for the ghettos’ inhabitants. He soon comes to know the Jewish resistance movement and joins their courageous—if doomed—last stand.
Next is a horror that I read about last week on a blog. Never heard of this, but the writer stated it was among his top ten more horrifyingly creepy, psyco-murder novels. How can you say no to that?
.jpg)
Lou Ford is the deputy sheriff of a small town in Texas. The worst thing most people can say against him is that he's a little slow and a little boring. But, then, most people don't know about the sickness--the sickness that almost got Lou put away when he was younger. The sickness that is about to surface again.
Then there is the old standby, Frederick Forsyth. I've loved all of the Forsyth books I've read (see here), and I can't imagine The Veteran would be a disappointment.
.jpg)
On a grimy sidewalk in a defeated neighborhood, an old man is beaten to death. When a cop investigates, he finds two killers and a startling legacy of honor ... In a prestigious London art gallery an impoverished actor is swindled out of a fortune-until an eccentric appraiser hatches a delicious scheme for revenge... On an airplane high over war-torn Afghanistan, a passenger sends a note to the plane's captain, warning of suspicious behavior. But no one can guess who is really conspiring aboard the 747, or why... From the war-torn Italy to the Little Big Horn, from soldiers of fortune to victims of fate,The Veteran is a riveting experience in crime, heroism, and the kind of mano-a-mano duels-and surprising twists of fate-that are the hallmark of Frederick Forsyth at his very best.
Finally there is The Forever War. This was one I picked after following my way through this flowchart I found online through NPR (see here). Granted, the last Sci-Fi, by my favorite author no less, was a miserable failure since I gave up on Vernor Vinge's newest novel, but I'd be willing to try again.
The Earth's leaders have drawn a line in the interstellar sand--despite the fact that the fierce alien enemy they would oppose is inscrutable, unconquerable, and very far away. A reluctant conscript drafted into an elite Military unit, Private William Mandella has been propelled through space and time to fight in the distant thousand-year conflict; to perform his duties and do whatever it takes to survive the ordeal and return home. But "home" may be even more terrifying than battle, because, thanks to the time dilation caused by space travel, Mandella is aging months while the Earth he left behind is aging centuries...
First there is a book recommended by Kristi Jones (see here). A horror to be sure, so outside my norm, but I'm a horror fan historically, and I know Kristi has an excellent sense of taste and writing talent (see thinks I'm a good writer, need I say more), so there's a lot going for The Troop.
Some thrillers produce shivers, others trigger goose bumps; Cutter's graphic offering will have readers jumping out of their skins. Scoutmaster Dr. Tim Riggs takes his troop for their annual camping trip to Falstaff Island, an uninhabited area not far from their home on Prince Edward Island.
Then there is Mila 18, a "deep dish" or "commitment" novel from Leon Uris. I loved Armageddon (see here) and based on what Amazon says about Mila 18, I'm betting I'll love this one just as much. The question is am I ready for a commitment book.
Italian-American journalist Christopher de Monti finds himself in Nazi-controlled Warsaw before the outbreak of World War II. Though wined and dined by German officers eager for sympathetic coverage, de Monti’s nose for the real story soon leads him to discover the terrifying conditions of the Warsaw ghettos and the Nazis’ chilling plans for the ghettos’ inhabitants. He soon comes to know the Jewish resistance movement and joins their courageous—if doomed—last stand.
Next is a horror that I read about last week on a blog. Never heard of this, but the writer stated it was among his top ten more horrifyingly creepy, psyco-murder novels. How can you say no to that?
Lou Ford is the deputy sheriff of a small town in Texas. The worst thing most people can say against him is that he's a little slow and a little boring. But, then, most people don't know about the sickness--the sickness that almost got Lou put away when he was younger. The sickness that is about to surface again.
Then there is the old standby, Frederick Forsyth. I've loved all of the Forsyth books I've read (see here), and I can't imagine The Veteran would be a disappointment.
On a grimy sidewalk in a defeated neighborhood, an old man is beaten to death. When a cop investigates, he finds two killers and a startling legacy of honor ... In a prestigious London art gallery an impoverished actor is swindled out of a fortune-until an eccentric appraiser hatches a delicious scheme for revenge... On an airplane high over war-torn Afghanistan, a passenger sends a note to the plane's captain, warning of suspicious behavior. But no one can guess who is really conspiring aboard the 747, or why... From the war-torn Italy to the Little Big Horn, from soldiers of fortune to victims of fate,The Veteran is a riveting experience in crime, heroism, and the kind of mano-a-mano duels-and surprising twists of fate-that are the hallmark of Frederick Forsyth at his very best.
Finally there is The Forever War. This was one I picked after following my way through this flowchart I found online through NPR (see here). Granted, the last Sci-Fi, by my favorite author no less, was a miserable failure since I gave up on Vernor Vinge's newest novel, but I'd be willing to try again.
The Earth's leaders have drawn a line in the interstellar sand--despite the fact that the fierce alien enemy they would oppose is inscrutable, unconquerable, and very far away. A reluctant conscript drafted into an elite Military unit, Private William Mandella has been propelled through space and time to fight in the distant thousand-year conflict; to perform his duties and do whatever it takes to survive the ordeal and return home. But "home" may be even more terrifying than battle, because, thanks to the time dilation caused by space travel, Mandella is aging months while the Earth he left behind is aging centuries...
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Yep . . . Can Be Done
This article I found by Alison Heller called Why a Lawyer Mom Decided to Write her First Novel is not a bad three minutes investment of time for an apsiring writer with a family and full time job. It proves that despite those obstacles (and I don't generally like calling my family obstacles) a successful writing life is out there.
The Love Wars, although not on my To Be Read list, is her go at having it all. In the article she writes:
When I signed up for a writing workshop, in the midst of all I was doing, I kept it quiet. I was embarrassed for even having the goal of writing the book that had been buzzing around in my head, let alone selfishly demanding the time to try to write it.
This is exactly why I'm waking at 5 AM to write for an hour or so. Three days into it and still struggling to make it a habit, but it's better than not being able to throw the ball with the seven year old and his friends in the street as I did last night.
I do like the way she saw hours as "billable time" to be traded and bought as needed.
More difficult was owning up to what I let slip: exercise; home-cooking beyond the microwave; staying on top of thank-you notes and dentist appointments and school deadlines. I still managed to waste time on the Internet (and then, of course, more time beating myself up about it). I also incurred the literal cost of buying more time. For example: food—I relied on online groceries, prepared dinners and take-out. My husband’s salary enabled the hike in expense; mine on its own couldn’t have.
As a lawyer, I’d found it unnatural and unromantic to view an hour as a commodity. But at some point in that year, I forced myself to budget my time like it was money, spending first on the necessities: family time and client needs. After that, I consciously “paid” myself in writing hours. (And after that, there was almost no time left.)
Nevertheless, she's prove that you can "have it all" providing you have the proper motivation and support.
When I signed up for a writing workshop, in the midst of all I was doing, I kept it quiet. I was embarrassed for even having the goal of writing the book that had been buzzing around in my head, let alone selfishly demanding the time to try to write it.
This is exactly why I'm waking at 5 AM to write for an hour or so. Three days into it and still struggling to make it a habit, but it's better than not being able to throw the ball with the seven year old and his friends in the street as I did last night.
I do like the way she saw hours as "billable time" to be traded and bought as needed.
More difficult was owning up to what I let slip: exercise; home-cooking beyond the microwave; staying on top of thank-you notes and dentist appointments and school deadlines. I still managed to waste time on the Internet (and then, of course, more time beating myself up about it). I also incurred the literal cost of buying more time. For example: food—I relied on online groceries, prepared dinners and take-out. My husband’s salary enabled the hike in expense; mine on its own couldn’t have.
As a lawyer, I’d found it unnatural and unromantic to view an hour as a commodity. But at some point in that year, I forced myself to budget my time like it was money, spending first on the necessities: family time and client needs. After that, I consciously “paid” myself in writing hours. (And after that, there was almost no time left.)
Nevertheless, she's prove that you can "have it all" providing you have the proper motivation and support.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Thriller Writers Listen Up
I may not ever read the book that inspired this post by James Scott Bell at The Kill Zone, I find most 40's and 50's noir to be much the same, but this post, 11 Keys to Making Your Novel a Page Turner has some good advice.
There are some really good passages in there to read, but the eleven keys are:
1. A decent guy just trying to find his place in the world
2. The trouble starts on page one
3. Unpredictability
4. A nasty but charming bad guy
5. Sympathy for the bad guy
6. A spiral of trouble
7. A love triangle
8. A crisp style
9. A relentless pace with a tightening noose
10. Honor
11. A resonant ending
Without the supporting text some of these may be scoffed at, but whilst scoffing I encourage you to jump over to post and read the passages following each key. You will find great advice like this that bolsters the second key, starting the trouble on page one:
HE WAS DRIVING AN MG—a low English-built sports car— and he was a tire-squeaker, the way a wrong kind of guy is apt to be in a sports car. I heard the squeal of his tires as he gunned it, and then I saw him cutting in front of me like a red bug. My car piled into his and the bug turned over, spilling him and the girl with him out onto the street.
Turns out the other guy and girl are not hurt. The guy walks over to Jim and sucker punches him. He's about to stomp Jim's face into hamburger when the girl who was with him grabs him from behind.
The guy's name is Buddy Brown. The girl is Wild Kearney (her real name. Love it!) And immediately Jim is drawn to her—another noir trope. She is a "bronze-blonde" but "looked like the kind of girl that would be with winners, not losers, top winners in the top tournaments and never the second-flight or the almost-good-enough. Not the kind of girl that I'd ever known."
So here we have both violence and potential romance from the start. And the Lead is vulnerable in both toughness and love.
The rule here is simple: Don't warm up your engines. Get the reader turning the page not because he's patient with you, but because he needs to find out what is going to happen next!
I have that series about the importance of first lines and first passages. Whenever I need to spell out why I continue that series I might refer to that final paragraph. "Get the reader turning the page not because he's patient with you, but because he needs to find out what is going to happen next!"
Anyway it's a good post, well worth reading to provide a boost to any writer. And who knows, maybe I will read John McPartland's Big Red's Daughter. If it pulled James Scott Bell into a "fictive dream" it might be well worth the time.
There are some really good passages in there to read, but the eleven keys are:
1. A decent guy just trying to find his place in the world
2. The trouble starts on page one
3. Unpredictability
4. A nasty but charming bad guy
5. Sympathy for the bad guy
6. A spiral of trouble
7. A love triangle
8. A crisp style
9. A relentless pace with a tightening noose
10. Honor
11. A resonant ending
Without the supporting text some of these may be scoffed at, but whilst scoffing I encourage you to jump over to post and read the passages following each key. You will find great advice like this that bolsters the second key, starting the trouble on page one:
HE WAS DRIVING AN MG—a low English-built sports car— and he was a tire-squeaker, the way a wrong kind of guy is apt to be in a sports car. I heard the squeal of his tires as he gunned it, and then I saw him cutting in front of me like a red bug. My car piled into his and the bug turned over, spilling him and the girl with him out onto the street.
Turns out the other guy and girl are not hurt. The guy walks over to Jim and sucker punches him. He's about to stomp Jim's face into hamburger when the girl who was with him grabs him from behind.
The guy's name is Buddy Brown. The girl is Wild Kearney (her real name. Love it!) And immediately Jim is drawn to her—another noir trope. She is a "bronze-blonde" but "looked like the kind of girl that would be with winners, not losers, top winners in the top tournaments and never the second-flight or the almost-good-enough. Not the kind of girl that I'd ever known."
So here we have both violence and potential romance from the start. And the Lead is vulnerable in both toughness and love.
The rule here is simple: Don't warm up your engines. Get the reader turning the page not because he's patient with you, but because he needs to find out what is going to happen next!
I have that series about the importance of first lines and first passages. Whenever I need to spell out why I continue that series I might refer to that final paragraph. "Get the reader turning the page not because he's patient with you, but because he needs to find out what is going to happen next!"
Anyway it's a good post, well worth reading to provide a boost to any writer. And who knows, maybe I will read John McPartland's Big Red's Daughter. If it pulled James Scott Bell into a "fictive dream" it might be well worth the time.
Monday, February 4, 2013
On Writing Good
There was a decent little article yesterday in the Word Craft section of the WSJ called In Writing, First Do No Harm by Ben Yagoda. It's not earth shaking by any means. Nor did it have any fundamental messages that could be cut and pasted into this forum. It was just a good all around article about the demise of simple, effective writing.
He does mention a book by William Zinsser entitled On Writing Well, which I think I will add to my to be read list. If it has an many little, prescient, defuse nuggets as this article it will be well worth reading.
He does mention a book by William Zinsser entitled On Writing Well, which I think I will add to my to be read list. If it has an many little, prescient, defuse nuggets as this article it will be well worth reading.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)