list

Ten Best Books I Read This Year

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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.

 

 

Things I Love – October Edition

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Things I Love

  1. Inside Amy Schumer. Amy, you are an empress of comedy. I literally could not forget some of your skits even if I tried.
  2. The “What Not to Write” post series by Smart Bitches Trashy Books. Cave splooge, Twinky metaphors, and calloused naughty bits. I thought I would fall out of my chair from uncontrollable laughter.
  3. Rainbow Rowell. Every time I find out about a book by her that I haven’t read I’m like “wait, WHAT?? How did I not know this existed!!!”
  4. The Michigan inter-library loan system. Even though it’s going down for a month and I have no idea where to get my fix of books that aren’t available in my local library system.
  5. Cider mills, apple orchards, pumpkin patches, pretty much anywhere they make and sell pumpkin doughnut holes. Yum.

 

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

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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.

There’s Some Weird Stuff Out There

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This is the beginning of another blog post series I’m embarking on. In this series I will fill you in on some of the strange and unusual sub-genres that exist within romance. You don’t have to be a romance reader to know the basic ones – contemporary, historical, chick lit, erotica, etc. Those aren’t what I’m talking about. I’m not even talking about the cross genres, YA paranormal romance for example, or stand alone books that don’t fit into any category. I’m talking about sub-genres that have multiple books within them, as in more than one author thought it was a good idea to write this type of romance novel.

The first category I’ll be exploring is one that, if you know me at all IRL, you’ll have heard me talk about because I cannot get over that fact that this is a thing: Dinosaur Erotica. As in books that feature a human-dinosaur relationship.

Let that sink in for a moment. Human-dinosaur romantic/sexual relationship.

Here are some of the books in this sub-genre:

Taken by the T-Rex by Christie Sims (she is actually dinosaur erotica’s most prolific author and has a whole range of books about a whole range of dinos)

Space Raptor Butt Invasion by Chuck Tingle (a series of dino/man erotica set in locations from outer space to a corporate boardroom)

Seized by the T-Rex by Roxy Stone (a dino horror erotica)

A Billionaire Dinosaur Forced Me Gay by Hunter Fox (the second book is set in space)

Jurassic Jane Eyre by Carrie Sessarego (this is exactly what you think it is, Jane Eyre travels back in time to the Jurassic period)

And many, many more. Most with ridiculous, overt, pun-filled titles. I can’t say I’d recommend any of these books but they do serve as a fun tidbit to share at parties when the conversation lulls.

I do have to give a special shout-out of to Smart Bitches Trashy Books for first introducing me to dinosaur erotica. My life has never been the same.

 

This Week I Read…

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Welcome to the September 14th Edition of This Week I Read…

Since I started working at the public library, I have discovered so many new and interesting books (like A LOT of books!). I’ve mastered the inter-library loan system that allows me to get books from anywhere in Michigan. The only problem is, when five of these requests show up at the same time, I only have three weeks to read them. Challenge accepted.

One of those books was Adulting: How to be a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps by Kelly Williams Brown. Love the title. Love the format (a book long list!). Some of it was funny, some serious, some obvious, and some new. Overall I’d say, according to this book, I am about 33% of the way to being a grown-up. Not bad. Not bad at all.

It feels like something I should have written. If I had, it would be less useful and far more ridiculous. Since I didn’t it, I commend Kelly Williams Brown for writing a book that had some very funny moments in it and a lot of practical, useful ideas. I particularly recommend the section about friendships. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be a good friend, how to break up with toxic friends, and what the appropriate boundaries are for what type of friend (I get SO much TMI!). Thanks for the tips Kelly!

Love a Good List

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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.

Off the Grid, Just a Little

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I spent the weekend without wifi.  Is this even possible you ask?  Well I was house sitting and had forgotten to get the password.  Rather then be a pest, calling to ask for the wifi password, I decided to go without, thinking it might help me write.  Which it did, sort of.  What I really did was:

  • Checked my phone every ten minutes out of habit, even though nothing had refreshed.
  • Had the constant feeling I was missing something important.  What if my friends were getting together and talking about it on facebook?  And I missed the whole thing because I couldn’t log on?  What if they didn’t think to text or call me but instead decided I didn’t want to be friends with them any longer?
  • I tried logging on every seemingly open network.  They were all password protected at some point or another.  What happened to the days when one could easily mooch wifi because no one thought to have a password?  Now everyone watches their broadband, not wanting anything to slow up their Netflix streaming.
  • I felt bored and a bit listless.  I couldn’t research anything.  I couldn’t post blogs entries or check my email or look for job postings.  I couldn’t sell clothes online or tweet or put filters on Instagram photos.
  • I read more, wrote more, went to bed earlier, and didn’t watch terrible TV.  I felt a refreshing distance from the outside world for the first time in a long time.  My phone sat quietly.  I left it out on the balcony and forgot about its existence for a couple of hours.  I was ok.

5 Reasons I Almost Stopped Writing This Blog

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Let’s face it, once the blog is up and running and you’ve spent a few giddy hours playing with font and rearranging photos, the excitement of the whole thing wears off and you’re faced with the prospect of now actually running a blog.  Thus this list:

5 Reasons I Almost Stopped Writing This Blog

1. I got bogged down trying to come up with post ideas that would be fun to write but that I wouldn’t mind my grandma reading.  Trying not to offend anyone, particularly dear grandma, is a fast track to writer’s block, the graveyard of the one-post blog.  To combat this I am giving myself permission to go all in and write what I want without apology.

2. Then I started going off on how, with so many zillions of blogs are out there, no one will want to read mine. Well this blog isn’t really about you, it’s about me.  I am writing it because I want to so who cares if no one reads it?  Eventually, of course, I would like some reader feedback but for now, I write for me and me alone.

3. Never think too closely about just who can read what you put online.  Or how many people can see what you write!  It takes a lot of courage and lady-balls to post real, honest content online for all to see.  This thought tornado is yet another path to crushing writer’s block and is being stamped out immediately.

4. What if I don’t have enough to say?  It is the paradox wherein I have all these things floating around in my head all day but, when I actually go down to write them, poof, they vanish.  This is not a new concept and there are number blog entries, articles, and books written on how to deal with this phenomenon.  Therefore, not a good reason not to write my blog.

5. Finally, time.  Thou fickle hearted mistress.  Time that seems to stretch on forever at breakfast but then has all but disappeared just after lunch.  Who has time to write a blog?  I have no comeback to this reason – it has been the cause of failure for all my other blogging attempts.  So I will post Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday when I remember and won’t when I forget!