Category: Ruminations

2011 Reading Challenges Wrap-up

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations7 Comments

It’s the end of December, and time to report on Reading Challenges (before I dive into my reading for 2012, of course).  I met all my goals this year, thanks to some careful reading in December to finish out the last few.  🙂  I really enjoyed all the challenges, and the nice feeling of accomplishment it gave to my reading whenever I read something that fit a list.  Not every book I read for the challenge was excellent, of course, but I did find some good ones, and I got to read many books (and types of books) I’ve wanted to, but tended not to get around to.

So I’m calling that a success!  A little more detailed reflection on each challenge below.

Here’s my final list for the year.  Linked titles go to my review of the book.   If you see something you’re curious about that doesn’t have a review, let me know!  If I don’t feel like I have enough to say for a full post, I’ll at least let you know what I thought in a reply-comment.  Rereads are designated with an R for all but the Library challenge, and aren’t counted.

Here’s what I’ve read in 2011 Continue reading “2011 Reading Challenges Wrap-up” →

2012 Reading Challenges

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations18 Comments

You did read that year correctly in the title. 🙂  I’m finishing up my 2011 Reading Challenges (details coming in about two weeks!) and have started thinking about what I want to read for 2012.

My thoughts on Reading Challenges is that they’re a good way to inspire myself to read books I want to read, but don’t get to often enough.  I’m rarely interested in something totally outside of my reading comfort zone, but I’m also not bothering to sign up for challenges related to books I read all the time anyway–like YA Fantasy!

So, here are the challenges I’ll be reading with, and telling you about, for this year.  Much thanks to A Novel Challenge for helping me find most of them!

Finishing the Series Challenge at Socrates Book Reviews

In 2011, I decided I wanted to find more series, and chose a challenge accordingly.  Then halfway through the year (a little belatedly!) I actually sat down and figured out all the series I was partway through…  So my goal for next year is to FINISH more series!  I started a bunch in 2011 that I want to read more of, plus there are others that have been hanging around neglected for much longer.  I’m going for the top level on this one, which is to complete three or more series, and hope to at least get farther on in more.

I Want More Challenge at Teatime with Marce

There are some books that I just love (and have raved about here)–but I’ve inexplicably never read anything else by that author.  You’d think one good book would be a good sign for more, right?  The idea of this challenge is to read more books by those authors.  I’m just going for the first level here, reading 2-4 books.

The Dusty Bookshelf Challenge at Books: A True Story

I have a long To-Be-Read list, but the only ones I feel pressured about are the books actually sitting on my shelves.  I rarely buy a book I’ve never read, so I don’t know where they all come from!  (Although my book club’s periodic book swaps may be a factor…)  I’m aiming for Level 2 here, Dust Bunny: 5-10 books.  My library is closed most of the week between Christmas and New Year’s (sob), so I should be able to get a strong start on this one at the beginning of the year.

Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Challenge at My Book Retreat

Sorry, the image is refusing to post for this one…  I almost never read non-fiction, which may make this seem like a strange choice (see: “not too far out of my reading comfort zone” above).  But what I’d really like to read more of, but never get to, are biographies.  I haven’t found a challenge focusing specifically on biographies, but this one should cover that, plus give me some extra incentive to tackle a few more broadly non-fiction books that have been sitting on my shelf for way too long…  Probably just going to attempt the Elementary Level, of 5 books.

The Science Fiction Experience at Stainless Steel Droppings

This challenge (experience) runs only for the first two months of the year, and has no particular rules or goals–except to read some science fiction.  I think of myself as a sci fi/fantasy fan, but the truth is that my reading is heavily skewed towards the fantasy.  This looks like a good chance to get into more of the other side.

So that’s my reading plans for the year–I hope you’ll come along for the ride.  🙂  Anyone else thinking about Challenges yet, or less formal reading plans?  If you could only achieve one reading goal in 2012, what would it be?  For me, I think I’d really like to finish the Horatio Hornblower series–so that first challenge up there is very appropriate!

A Tribute to Libraries

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations4 Comments

One thing I’ll say for that terrible book about evil librarians, it did make me think about how much I deeply love libraries.

I think libraries are one of those things that are so omnipresent, we forget how amazing they really are.  So sometimes I try to stop and really think about it.

Imagine that you’ve never heard of a library.  You find out there’s a place where you can go and choose anything you want from thousands of books.  And you can take as many of these books away with you as you choose.  Libraries have a limit, but I’ve mostly seen it at 50, which is so high as to be nearly irrelevant.  You get to take all these books away with you completely for free.  You don’t have to pay them any money per book, or buy a membership, or give them any deposit to guarantee you’ll bring the books back.  You just show them a card (which you get for free) and they let you take armfuls of books away with you.

Most of the time, you can keep the books for a couple of months.  My library’s usual borrowing time is three weeks, and you can renew at least twice, if no one has the book on hold.

If the book you want isn’t in the library near you (and they scatter branches all over the city, so most people don’t have to go too far to get to the nearest!) you can search for another book anywhere else in the system.  Then they deliver it to any branch you choose, and they send you an email to let you know it’s ready and waiting.  They’ll keep it for you for over a week, so you can come and get it whenever you want.

My library is part of the Link+ system, so I can request books from a few dozen other library systems too.  You can’t renew those, and they come after your soul if you keep them out late (not quite, but it is a dollar-a-day late fine) but despite those drawbacks, it gives me access to even more vast numbers of books.

I couldn’t read the way I do if it weren’t for the library.  I go through twelve to fifteen books a month.  If I had to buy all of those, it would probably cost thousands of dollars a year. Even if I rented them at similar fees to Redbox or Netflix, it would cost me hundreds.  Instead, I can get brand new books, or old obscure books, and it doesn’t cost me a cent.

Sometimes I do have to wait for something popular.  But I just put my name on the list, and whenever I check my account online it tells me my number in the line, and they send me an email to let me know whenever it eventually comes.

Not to mention, libraries are the only public space I can think of that’s indoors, provides comfortable chairs and tables, and will let me sit for hours with a notebook or a laptop, completely free, without even buying a coffee.  Plus they put on activities and events, also free.

I really doubt anything I’m saying here seems like news to anyone.  But try really thinking about it.  Libraries are an amazing system.

How Do You Feel?

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations1 Comment

In  one of my literature classes in high school, we read a narrative about the Great Plague of London.  I’ve completely forgotten what the book or story was.  But I remember there was a scene where the narrator decided he wanted to go see the mass graves of the plague victims, and he was determined to see them at the time when the workers were actually throwing the bodies in (gruesome, I know).  I vividly remember the class discussion, when the teacher asked why the character felt the need to visit the graves at that most horrible time.

I must have had my writer’s brain on, because it seemed abundantly obvious to me that the character wanted to go at that time because it let the writer describe a more compelling scene.

That may only be one jump back from the teacher’s question, which I think is, why is it compelling in its horribleness?  But I think there really is something else at work here.  For me, the interesting question is not why someone would go look at bodies being tossed into a grave (because frankly, I find it unlikely many people would).  The question is, why did the writer want to write about that?

It prompts emotions.  Sometimes I think that is the core of what we are doing when we seek out stories (novels, movies, any kind of story).  We want to feel something.  And it’s easiest to make someone feel something horrible.  Fear and horror are relatively easy emotions to invoke.  I think that’s why we see so much sensationalism on the news–the news companies have realized that it’s easier to create deeper emotions by talking about kidnappings and murders than by covering positive news.

I often think about this in my own writing.  Some of my most helpful responses from people have been about what they feel when they read a story I wrote–are they worried about a character?  Are they angry with the villain?  Does a scene make them laugh or make them sad?  In a way, “it’s good” or “it’s bad” is so subjective.  But if someone says, “I was so angry with that character, how could he do that?” and that’s what I was aiming for–then I feel more sure that I’m conveying what I wanted to convey.

We don’t normally seek tragedies in real life.  Real life has enough feelings, and most people don’t need to go watch bodies be tossed into a pit in our effort to feel something.  But in fiction, we get to harmlessly try on other emotions and other experiences–and then we do seek out the tragedies, the dramatic love affairs, the hilarious comedies, because they all make us feel.  They help us engage with the story–they draw us into the other life we’re reading about.

Blargh

On By cherylmahoneyIn NaNoWriMo, Ruminations1 Comment

As expected, yesterday was a complete flop for writing.  Circumstances were against me.  I had to travel for work, which ate up most of the day, besides being draining.  I knew I’d have about an hour between finishing work and getting on the road, during which I could eat dinner, hang out at a mall near the office (with nice chairs!) and wait for the rush hour traffic to abate before I got into it.  I figured, I could haul my laptop along and do some writing then.

And I did–a grand 174 words!  See above regarding “draining.”  Those 174 only got written because I could tell myself, “It’s NaNo–WRITE!”  And it really, really helps knowing that a lot of other people are doing it too.  But nevertheless, it was not a terribly productive day.

Today was better…ish.  Writers out there, do you ever have a day when you know you got a lot done, but you just don’t feel it?  1,774 words today, which puts me just ahead of the goal, but it was a draggy day for writing.  I love those days when the story pulls me forward and I can’t type fast enough to keep up with it.  Off the top of my head, I can think of two specific evenings that were probably my best ever for that kind of writing.  And there are plenty of satisfying days.  And there are plenty of blargh days, where it’s a matter of me dragging the story instead of the other way around.

Oh well.  The good (and bad) thing is that the feeling can turn on a dime.  The words got written, and tomorrow is another day…and I think I got myself right up to the edge of a pivotal scene that I don’t have the energy to handle right now.  Tomorrow.

In the meantime, have an excerpt.

I closed the book I hadn’t been reading anyway.  I had been talking to Mina.  They say, in the terribly practical books that Mina reads, that if you’re ever so unfortunate as to have a very large and potentially hostile predator staring at you in the woods, don’t move.  Movement attracts them.

My book closed and my father’s eyes swept to me, piercing, hard, cold.  It’s not the sort of comment a girl ought to make about her father, but he has creepy eyes.