List

Now that I’m a Librarian…

I will be posting lots of book recommendations. There’s just something about working at the library that compels you to tell everyone about what you’re reading. For this post I happen to have a podcast to share of summer book recommendations that I made with the other Popular Materials librarians. We had fun making it, which hopefully means it’s also fun to listen to!

(I don’t know as I have made it a point to never listen to myself on audio recordings.)

Summer Reads 2018

My recommendations:

    

What are your summer reads?

RT Vegas Top Ten

In what is now a tradition, here are my top ten moments from this year’s RT Convention!

  1. Meeting up with friends from last year and making new friends. This isn’t a moment, this was the whole five days. I loved seeing my posse again and adding some new members. We’re taking on the world, one romance novel at a time.
  2. Pitching. I pitched my book this time and it was great! Nerve wracking, very scary, and more than a little overwhelming, but great.
  3. Meeting Julia Quinn. A lot! Julia Quinn is on my list of authors to meet during my lifetime and I met her!
  4. The Help! Crazysauce Broke the Interwebz… panel. If I am ever in the middle of a media blitz, these are the ladies I want handling it.
  5. The Smart Bitches Trashy Books reader recommendations party. Basically we went around and recommended books to each other. There’s nothing I love more than hearing someone talk about a book they love. I came away with pages and pages of new books to track down and read.
  6. Lady Jane’s Salon. The above times a thousand because this was authors reading from their books. Nothing makes me want to read a book more than hearing the author of said book talk about it. This particular event led to #7…
  7. Receiving an advanced copy of J. Kenner’s Dirtiest Little Secret. I told her I’d heard her at the salon and desperately needed to read the book she shared so she gave me a copy!
  8. Jennifer Armentrout, who no doubt met hundred of people in those few days, remembered me from one of her panels. Did I feel special? Absolutely.
  9. The romantic comedy panel. Last year’s led me to Wallbanger and everything Alice Clayton. After this year’s I need to read everything by Christina Lauren. It’s on.
  10. Making new friends everywhere. I made a friend while waiting to pitch who I hope to see at Spring Fling in Chicago. I made friends in every line I stood in and waiting for my plane at the airport. Everyone at the convention loves books so we always have something in common.

There are more and the minute I post this I know I’ll think of them. I miss RT already and am looking forward to Atlanta 2017!

Ten Best Books I Read This Year

I made this list for obvious reasons. Obvious to me but since you’re not in my head, here they are:

  1. I love lists.
  2. It’s the end of December* so end of year top ten lists are all the rage.
  3. I read a whole lot of books this year that you should read too.

Ten Best Books I Read in 2015

Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski – have questions about your sexuality? (if you don’t are you sure you’re human?) This book is for you. It’s for all of us.

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari – It makes you think, it makes you laugh, and I loved it.

Wallbanger by Alice Clayton – Oh wow. Just so much love for this one!

The Duff by Kody Keplinger – This is an awesome YA novel to read at any age and the movie absolutely doesn’t do it justice.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman – This one is a life changer for sure.

Sandman Volumes 1-10 by Neil Gaiman – I don’t recommend binge reading these like I did. They are intense.

Tanglewreck by Jeanette Winterson – I was surprised to find out Jeanette Winterson wrote a book for young readers. Turns out it’s only in the youth section because the heroine is twelve.

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown – If you haven’t read anything by Brene, do so now.

A Room with a View by E. M. Forster – delightful

How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran – Hilarious, insightful, and relevant.

Happy reading!

 

*Note: When I started writing this list, it WAS the end of December.

 

 

Stuff I’ve Done – The Outtakes

  • I have managed to spill coffee on myself, my couch, my afghan, or my floor every day for the past three months. I’m not even surprised anymore.
  • I finished my NaNoWriMo challenge with 2 days to spare! The last week was tough because what I thought was the midpoint was actually the climax and the whole book needs to be rewritten from that scene onward. So I wrote down how I want to do the rewrite then wrote some fun scenes with the characters. Like fan fic of my own fic. Now the whole thing is simmering until I decide to pick it up again.
  • I got over the half way hurdle with the line edits on my novel. Now that there’s some semblance of an end in sight, the editing is going far more smoothly. One for the win column.
  • The Christmas movie watching obsession has officially begun! I’ve been watching them for weeks already but it wasn’t official until December 1st. Some of these movies I’ve seen a dozen times and watching them is like meeting old friends. And not the ones you’d assume. Oh I watch the classics – It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Elf, Love Actually…but the ones that I most look forward to? The ABC Family Originals. Particularly the ones with the insane plot lines and actors who used to be singers (or models or child TV stars). My end goal here is to some day have a list of the 25 absolute best Christmas movies ever, all defended with brilliant examples and screen shots.
  • I make my bed every morning and tell myself that it’s basically the same thing as having a clean house.
  • Of course I’ve been reading A LOT. I have a stack of books to share and I hope to get caught up before the year is out. I started two new reading challenges for myself – my own personalized 100 Books to Read Before You Die list (all the classics I feel I might not hate) and a list of romance authors to read before the next RT convention. More on these later. Also look for my list of the top books I’ve read this year – that’ll be showing up sometime around December 31st.
  • And now I’ve got another book to plan because why have one book project going when you can have three?

Things I Have Done, Am Doing, Want to Do, Etc.

Time for a list, don’t you think?

  1. This weekend I went to Chicago to visit my sister. It was a huge wake up call for me. I’ve got to figure out how I can fit more reading time into my day.
  2. My new favorite animal is the Sand Cat. They are so cute! An dangerous predators of course. But mostly cute. I spent most our zoo time trying to figure out how get one of my own.
  3. I came home bemoaning the lack of used book stores in TC. We went to 3 used books stores within a few blocks of each other! And they were all different and bizarre and amazing.
  4. Let’s talk bonsai trees. These things are amazing. They are so tiny and adorable looking but they are actually super old, wise, and incredibly strong. If I were a tree, I’d like to think I’d be a bonsai tree. Here are some of my favorites that I saw in the Chicago Botanic Gardens this past Saturday:

IMG_20151010_145814132  IMG_20151010_145844634

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So do I want to move to Chicago where I can be amidst the used book shops, sand cats, and bonsai trees all the time? Gah, I don’t know! I’ve been doing so much adulting today I can no longer do decisions.

Love a Good List

This past Sunday I finished the first draft of my novel (yeah!). The moment I wrote those words “the end,” I felt sad, like losing my best friend sad. I love first drafts, that’s why I start and abandon so many of them. BUT, if there is ever to be a final draft or a published book, there will have to be a second draft (and probably a third, fourth, maybe fifth draft). I need something to help me get into this second draft business and what usually works best for my motivation is a good list. So here we go:

Things I Will Do Now I’ve Finished the First Draft

  1. Remind myself that the dirty dishes in the sink are not a sign that I’m failing at life.
  2. Ditto the pile of laundry.
  3. Clear and organize my desk – a clean desk means a clear mind (or some nonsense like that).
  4. Organize my notes because there are a lot of them – some on the computer, some on a legal pad, and the really good ones on the backs of old receipts.
  5. Get some moral support. Stat.
  6. Ditto a writing group. If these two things could co-exist as one (my writing group provides said moral support) that would be the ideal.
  7. Do NOT fall into the black hole of procrastination caused by work, television, the internet (particularly YouTube videos), toxic friends, guilt over the messiness of my apartment, food, and even, occasionally, books.
  8. Post inspirational collage over desk to remind me why I’m doing this (why am I doing this? Figure that out first).
  9. Perhaps some actual editing. In cupcake sized pieces. Otherwise I try to eat the whole cake at once, get sick, and never want to eat cake ever again.
  10. Find and eat some cake.