Blog Feed – Page 5 – Reading Responses at 2am

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 3, by Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals #3

June 7, 2023 – June 8, 2023

Ok these books have stolen my heart. They are fun and meaningful (all the serious scenes of Pierce helping her through her grief). All the people in her life that are weaving around her. The scene when Pierce finds out that her cousin had spent her livelihood was awesome. Then all their little interactions, I think I’m routing for him and her to end up together. The problem is that I don’t see anyway for her to have a happy ending. Like I’m still pushing that Maxwell is still alive and is going to resurface at some point, probably right after she figures out how to move on and accept the fact that she’s in love with Pierce, maybe with him saying something to her too. Because that would narratively be a huge “AH!” moment. I’m also having other day dreams of when her Aunt decides to marry her off and all her rich friends try to figure out how to save her and them all coming up with terrible ideas … but I can’t find a way for her to get out of that one. I just can’t find the happy ending. But this is only book 3. I’m waiting for book 4 from a friend. I’ve already read this through twice (it was a bad mental health week)- maybe I’ll read it again.
Oh I almost forgot! That scene with her outside in her ball gown and he appears and checks her out… it was intense and magical- I don’t think them kissing could be as intense as that scene. Ug. How is she going to top that!
There is something that is hard. She is twenty, and I think we determined that he’s in his early thirties. But it isn’t just the age difference- he has seen so much of the world and lived such a full life, while she hasn’t. She had spunk, but is still so much a child to the world- their age difference feels big for some reason.
Oh well. This has been kind of scatter brained.

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 2, by Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals #2

June 4, 2023 – June 4, 2023

This book was fun. And so many men! I can’t decide on who I want her to end up with. All of them wouldn’t be one her aunt would approve of. Right now I’m moved toward Roland even though he flat out said he wasn’t interested in her. The Tenant is shaping up nicely as well. Sigh. I had a hard day at church today. My brain was misbehaving again and even though the sun is shining I locked myself in my room rather than sit outside. Everything was perfectly set up for this book.

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 1, by Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals #1

May 27, 2023 – May 28, 2023

What a delightful little story! A friend of mine recommended it to me after deeming it “safe” and it was. Lacking in gory narrative and all the trimmings of books that “matter”, this book was full of this girl’s thoughts and life. I was quite INVESTED by the midpoint. The details about the geography of the neighborhood kind of went over my head, and it was kind of confusing when she went off about someone whether they were important to the plot or just world-building.
I was furious over her salary being held by her psycho cousin’s psycho sister, then shocked and furious again when you found out the cousin had spent all her money. And I was sad about her boy dying, but as he died over seas and no one actually found a body he clearly is still alive and faked his death for some reason. That’s my guess at least. I actually thought he would be the renter and was trying to figure out how that reveal would play out, but it didn’t.
The next book is currently being held hostage by another friend of my friend, otherwise I would eat it up today. And this story isn’t actually done, so I’ll run into a wall and have to read them live (shudder).
Oh well, this book was fun and perfect for reading out on my super nice camping chair in the warm late May weather.

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

May 14, 2023 – May 20, 2023

This book has been sitting on the side of my bed for months, which is frankly ridiculous. I pride myself on being a Sanderson fan, thinking that his stuff is the best and can’t wait to read whatever he writes, Amit’s Christmas present to me was getting the hard copy of his kickstarter books instead of just the ebooks. And I GUSHED over how pretty this book was when it arrived.

But I just couldn’t get myself to start it. All I’ve been able to do lately is write my own stuff because to read someone else’s stuff would open me up to stresses I might not be able to manage.
But a few days ago the stars aligned and I read it! And I didn’t die! A lot of it has to do with the fact that this was a MUCH lighter book than other ones he written. And so much fun! I mean we got pirates and curses and dragons and an advantage girl on her way to save the love of her life! It was so much fun, from watching her experiment with the spores to how she saved everyone in the crimson sea to tricking Crow with the dragon to figuring out Charlie’s curse. For the record, I LOVED what his curse was, I didn’t think he got nearly enough screen time before he left but then it turned out he was there all along! (Yes that’s a spoiler, but I have the warning thing on so deal with it.)
Now for some real talk. Hoid. I got stupidly excited when I realized he was narrating this, like really excited. If you remember at the end of Rhythm of War when he got hurt I realized how ridiculously attached I am to this character. And then he wasn’t just a “find Waldo” appearance but was basically the entire book, it made me smile. It also made it painfully clear that he’s been to our planet, so does that mean we’re part of the cosmere? And let’s talk about all the cosmere stuff, it seemed like every cosmere book was referenced at least once. A friend said she wanted to read it because the cover was so pretty, but now I’m wondering if it will fall flat for her because she doesn’t have all this background info. Amit says you can still read it and enjoy it, which I guess is true. But there were times when they were throwing so many cosmere buzzwords around I got confused. Like I needed Amit to breakdown what in fact happened with Hoid in the end. Sigh. The cosmere is so much fun.
This book was fun. I had to text Amit to confirm that Tress and Charlie had a happy ending at one point, to which he confirmed. That he doesn’t go and marry another girl. That his curse whatever it was would be broken. That happy ending would happen.
Now for some more real talk. Something that always happens to me when I read a Sanderson book is that I get depressed. Because his stories seem to matter so much and the stories in my head lately are interpersonal relationships where there are no stakes other than emotionally what is happening inside themselves- and I just felt so down about it- until I realized that this was a small story too! It’s about a girl trying to save her guy and having self discovery and stuff! The world isn’t in peril! What I was experiencing was just me reading something by a very skilled writer. I need to remember all stories matter, because the heart of stories are the characters and their growth. The world in peril stuff is just the stage.
Anyways. I read a book. A really good book with a pretty cover and pretty illustrations. Everyone should read it, especially if you’ve read his other stuff.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

April 5, 2023 – April 6, 2023

Hello faithful readers! Remember me! I read a book! Well listened to one.

This one had been on my radar for a while. I haven’t read any of his books and I’m not really planning to, but I knew he was a discovery writer too and wanted to hear what he had to say. Clearly someone so insanely successful must have something helpful to say.

“But you don’t listen to books! You actively advocate against it!” Well yes USUALLY I do (and that awful music at the beginning of the forward made me almost return the book without going any further), but this is narrated by Stephen King and I had this magical idea that it would be like sitting down with him and talking about writing.

Thoughts on this decision? I’m glad I listened to it but I’m still going to be needing a hard copy because when he got into the craft part, man, I need to see those sentences he’s ripping apart. I enjoyed the autobiographical parts (which is funny because in the forward he said this wasn’t an autobiography and then he spends hours doing just that) but what I got this book for was, like I said, the craft stuff.

And I was not disappointed. I felt like I was just skimming along learning about his drug addiction when he comes up behind me, grabs my head and dunks it underwater and suddenly we’re talking about grammar. This is something that was awesome and unique to this book, other books and classes from Scott Card to Sanderson cover really great over arching story stuff, but no one has dug into the nuts and bolts like this and honestly that is what I need right now.

I’m working with my own agent on my book and she just casually mentioned that I keep dropping into the passive voice. I tried not to panic, because I know the passive voice is BAD, but I have never actually taken a class in writing before so I don’t actually know how to spot it let alone fix it. So having him go into these mechanics was amazing.

Anyways, yes read this book, it’s great and I’ll probably end up buying it. If anything I’ll get it from the library. But tomorrow. Tonight I have edits to make!

The Impossible Us by Sarah Lotz

September 22, 2022 – September 24, 2022

This book was painful to read, and I mean that in a bad way. So many times I was like “no, don’t do that. Why?” Like how she fell for the guy in her timeline, I was at the point where I was like “there are no good answers. Either way she loses.” I felt physically ill when she said she married him, then ill again when he found her messages to Nick. Then things felt kind of relieved for a while. Until psycho lady said she was going to cut the cord. Then to have his mind sent to the other guys head? Ug it reminded me of this book I read where the girl fell for each guy equally so the author had them share a body.
This book was so messed up and I think unnecessarily painful. Good premise. And it sucked me in really quick. I just, daugh. I ordered The Accidental Beauty Queen to be my reward for finishing this.

Update: I’m thinking about this book against my will. It made me not like reading anymore. I’m working on transcribing my reviews onto my blog and it’s helping reading books that did make me happy to read books. Ug.

Games Wizards Play by Diane Duane, Young Wizards #10

September 10, 2022. -September 13, 2022

And that’s it. It’s done. I’ve been burning through these as fast as I could, reading for me because I decided books ago that these aren’t appropriate for a 10 year old- which was re-emphasize in this book by her talk with her dad where he doesn’t say “you’re too young, don’t do it” and was more “well I guess you’re going to anyways so just make sure you use a condom.”

Ok serious stuff first. This is easily the weakest of the books plot wise, even more than Wizard’s Holiday. Her visions didn’t make sense for the final scene, the lone power sort of is there and she has an open-ended conversation that I guess we’ll never get figured out because there aren’t any more books. Still, Dorrine’s (sp?) story was way more interesting than a lot of her’s have been. And I totally felt her with the men in India staring at her… happened to me when I went there and it is uber creepy. Anyways, whenever it would switch to her in the past I’ve always been “oh great, the POV I don’t really care about.” Well I did in this book!

Now to the fun stuff and the uber saving grace of this book- they actually acted like teenagers!! With hormones and insecurities and everything! I GET that they needed to have a rock solid friendship so they can have a “it makes so much sense why haven’t I thought of it before?” But EIGHT books?!? I’ve complained about how she had mismanaged this as far as pacing, especially since they started book two and three with her being like “I have a huge crush and he didn’t notice I have breasts now?” To “I’ve never thought of it before” when yeah, you did! Anyways, this book made me so happy and so sad, because I don’t actually get to see them figuring out their relationship or being a unified power couple. Ug!

Things I didn’t like, though, is the dad conversation not just because of the whole “sure 15/14 year olds can have sex with each other”- but she also says that they have gotten to first base, which means kissing!! Which means I totally missed their first kiss which is confusing because they were making holding hands into this huge physical jump that I figured I would get to see it. It also took away hugely the power of their kiss on the moon, where yeah squeal and everything but it just was missing a huge amount of significance. I also did NOT like that Kit apparently watches porn, spending hours a week doing research into what makes girls feel the way he felt while checking out Nita and then having to scrub his internet history? This was unneeded and turned me off to him. I can bend it around “maybe he is researching ways to do his hair to make her as attracted to him as he is to her!” But really? REALLY?

Ug. It took forever to get here and now I want more. And not just because of the Kit and Nita thing- I want that conversation with the lone one addressed.

I’ve been live-blogging one of my friends who lives nine time zones away and when I told her I finished she said “but what will I wake up to now if not to your rants?” I don’t know. I honestly don’t.
Should other people read these. The first one definitely. The others wait until late middle school because of all the sex stuff. There is nothing wrong with talking about it, it just isn’t something for little kids to be reading about. And other note, in this book when she transitioned back from being a whale she was wearing a swim suit, so the skinny dipping that happened in book two didn’t need to happen. I’m rambling. Good thing no one reads these except for me.
It was fun to watch the technology change. These books takes place in two years (she was 13 in book one and she’s 15 now) but the difference in tech is from 1985-2010ish (I didn’t check the copyright from this one) so it went from corded phone to iPhone and it felt ok? I don’t know. I’m glad their manuals stayed as books.

Update: And another thing. I felt like fumming the whole time reading these books because she spends soooo much time and effort describing EVERYTHING. I ended up kind of skimming eventually because my brain was just like “insert world building that doesn’t have anything to do with anything”- especially when she got all sciency. I get she probably did a lot of research but I have a degree in physics and my brain shut down with a “no idea if she’s getting this right but it’s a BOOK, no one is going to referencing this in a term paper.” I just, I’m working on scaling down my book right now and these books made me a whiny brat of “why does SHE get to spend eight paragraphs describing stuff that doesn’t actually matter and I can’t keep a scene that actually has something to do with my plot?!?” My husband pointed out that publishing in the 80s was a very different one than it is now as far as what you could do, then the rest were sequels and all the wiggle room that gives you. Ug!

Update: The song and dance was so cute a perfect, and the lyrics were perfect. Daugh!

A Wizard of Mars by Diane Duane, Young Wizards #9

September 8, 2022 – September 10, 2022

Ok remember how I’m complaining about how little relationship stuff there is? Well she dumped it out now and I sort of feel ok? Like she handled the whole “I haven’t thought of this before” kind of ok. It still caught me off guard and I can’t forget how badly she handled it in the past books, but maybe it’s ok now? I’m curious what she does in the next book.
That out of the way, another good book with all the interesting stuff. I wrote a paper about Mars once in high school and had a book called “A Traveler’s Guide to Mars” that was really good, so I had some reference for what they are talking about.

Wizards at War by Diane Duane, Young Wizards #8

September 5, 2022 – September 7, 2022

I need to go to bed. Update tomorrow.

Update: ok! Book! What did I think? Once again really great world-building with a unique idea, but this book was extra good somehow. Maybe because the stakes were higher or the dynamics of a larger cast. Whatever it was it was good. I was worried that she actually killed off Irish boy, then was worried that she was going to make it dumb to save him, but she pulled it off.
Now for my biggest criticism: the boy girl stuff. A friend of mine who I’ve been live blogging reading this book said it was funny how frustrated I was over a book I don’t actually have to read. I told her for my sanity I’m going to pretend all these kids are nine instead of teenagers. Like when Irish boy shows up and she’s just like “hi friend who I have no emotional reaction to even though I had a HUGE crush on and had my first kiss with!” And then to have Kit have no reaction and give him a fist bump? I wanted to roll my eyes. Then when Kit actually starts talking to her about stuff it felt like completely out of the blue, like it didn’t fit with anything at all because there has been zero build up. Then Nita changes the subject and it is completely dropped. Like out of the blue and back into it. Maybe this will be some background to what happens in the next book? This is handled so badly.

Wizard’s Holiday by Diane Duane, Young Wizards #7

August 31, 2022 – September 5, 2022

Getting through this book felt like homework.

I’m still reeling over the gross misstep in sensitivity from the last book, but I’m invested. I think I’ve pin pointed what’s bothering me so much about Kit and Nita’s relationship- it’s stagnated. I know I’ve complained about the jarringness of them as a potential couple, but them moving to anything deeper just isn’t there. If you read it as flat then that’s fine, but if your looking for something more dynamic then you should be ready to be disappointed.

All that being said, it was still interesting plot wise and actually addressed the whole “wait I thought you got redeemed” plot hole of the lone power, which made me happy.

I’m so close to finishing. I need to just power through it and hope for better things. The first book was SO GOOD – this book was easily her weakest but maybe it’ll get good again.