Top Ten Tuesday: Character Driven Novels

Once upon a time when asked the question, do you like plot most or characters, I would hum and ha and ponder and stress. Since then, I've learned that I'm much more of a character novel type person. If the plot is too complicated, it makes me crazy or goes over my head and all I want is to get back to the characters. Here are some of my favorite character driven books, both recent and old favorites:

Top Ten Character Driven Novels

1. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
2. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
3. The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
4. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
5. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
6. The House at Tynford by Natasha Solomons
7. Room by Emma Donoghue
8. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
9. On the Fence by Kasie West
10. I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak


Gah. There's so many I could have listed! So so many! And it's going to make me crazy if I think about it too long!

What would you put on your list? Link up over a The Broke and the Bookish!

Book Review Discussion: The Letters by Luanne Rice and Joseph Monninger

Book: The Letters by Luanne Rice and Joseph Monninger
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
For: Fun
From: The Library

Short Synopsis: A husband and wife are dealing with the aftermath of their adult son's death. In fact, it has torn them apart. In order to deal with it, the husband goes on a wild trip to Alaska to find where the son's plane crashed and make peace there. The wife goes to a secluded beach house in Maine to start up her painting again. This book is composed of the letters they write to each other. Through them, we learn the whole story about the son,  their background and how they met, their love for each other and how they are dealing with their issues. We also learn that they are actually still committed to each other.

My Response: I'm really curious about how an author can tell a story through letters. Ang from Eastern Sunset Reads knows this and suggested this book. Thanks Ang! I really enjoyed it and found it a wonderful way to tell the story of these two people. You really CAN get a good feel for what's going on in the lives of the letter writers. I love how you can portray each of their voices too. I bet with a collaboration such as this one, it was especially fun. (I'm assuming each author took one of the characters. I mean, how fun would that be! Anyone want to try this with me?) Anyway, I'm planning for my upcoming NaNoWriMo story to be such a book. We'll see how it goes!

Bottom Line: I love so called epistolary books and this one was awesome!

Let's Talk About: Your feelings on epistolary books... ie. books written in letter form. Love 'em or hate 'em? If you love them, what are some of your favorites? If you hate them... I'd love to know why! Spill!

Other Reviews: 

Honestly this is one of those books I wish I had a book club to share it with and discuss! From Eastern Sunset Reads

I get feel this book is so realistic. It feels that it could be non-fiction. From A Blog on Books

An epistolary novel is interesting to read; there is no omniscience. All the information the reader receives comes straight from either Hadley or Sam and is limited by what they want to tell one another. From S. Krishna's Books

Laini Taylor Presentation and Writing Workshop

The other day I drove the 45 minutes to the Salt Lake Library in the pouring rain to see one of my recent favorite authors. Laini Taylor is the author of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, the two final books which I read just this summer. These books blow me away. I love the story, the characters, the amazing writing, the rich descriptions and all the crazy emotion. I couldn't wait to see what this author was like and maybe to learn something from her.

My phone made a gif. Cute, huh?

She did not disappoint. I was interested to see that she read whole her presentation, but it didn't SEEM like she was reading it. It was written wonderfully, just as I would expect from her, and so down to earth and funny and real. She gave us the whole background of her writing life, starting with fun little stories she wrote as a kid. She shared some writing excerpts from her sordid French romance she wrote for her best friend during high school. Great stuff!

Then she talked a lot about her experience living in Paris the summer after high school, and how she expected it to be one thing, but it was totally another thing. She wanted to fall in love with a street violinist with an eye patch! (Mik anyone?) And that just didn't happen! She did end up spending the fall there too and had many experiences that lent themselves to what would later become Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

Then in college a teacher told her that she had what it takes to be a writer. She HAD it! And what did she do... she stopped writing. For years. She was a graphic designer/artist person instead. But she thought about writing a lot (sound familiar my writing friends?) and thought and thought. And then, one day, nearly 10 or 15 years later, she finally sat down and finished a book. (If you do the math, this actually makes her an "older" author... not one of those late 20s early 30 somethings that everyone seems to be which in turn makes me feel like I'm too old to do this thing.)

Another interesting thing I learned is that she agonizes over every word. She says it sometimes takes her a whole day to write a paragraph. Why does this make me so happy? :) I think that with authors I admire (ie. Mr. Zusak) and their amazing words they come up with, I think that I assume these words just FLOW from them... but it appears that in most cases, they don't. Which means that anyone of us, word genius or not, can maybe learn how. Don't you think? Or we can just get better with practice? Something like that anyway. Somehow, it gives me hope.

I didn't take notes on the presentation so I can't give you all the cool quotes she shared, or anything. But it was awesome and I loved it.

Afterwards I had all my books signed. I would have bought Lips Touch Three Times, but they didn't have that one there to buy. :(

Then, I went to a writing workshop. This ended up being a very small, informal gathering of just a few of us. Laini asked us what we wanted to learn about writing and she just talked and gave advice. It was so fun. I did take notes this time. Here's a few things I came away with:

• Do lots of FREE WRITING using prompts or certain scenes from your story. This is actually how Daughter of Smoke and Bone came to be.. from a prompt!
• Do brainstorming.. or write about what you want to write about. And just let your ideas run wild because this is not the real thing... this is just to get the ideas out.
• Think of all kinds of things that COULD happen, even the most bizarre things. 
• Swim form buoy to buoy... you might not know all that is coming ahead, but you have markers to get to a certain spot and then go from there.
• FINISH THINGS!!!
• Write that book that can't be ignored.
• Have your characters sit down and start talking, even if it's not a scene you plan to include in the book. You'll be amazed at what they say and how much you learn from them.
• The best stuff comes from spontaneity.
• When revising, make a list and then go through your whole story checking off the items one by one. 
• Use an idea notebook, Make lists and lists and lists. Huge lists. Make lists of "things that light your mind on fire!" Things that you love, are curious about, find fascinating, etc. Push yourself on these lists. Go further than is easy.

Anyway. It was an awesome day and I'm so glad I made the effort to go despite the rain and etc.

A couple of pictures of the library and gardens.
It's such a cool place! I wish it was closer to me.

Cinda Williams Chima's The World of Weir Blog Tour Week Three Round Up and Giveaway

Those with magical powers in The Heir Chronicles series by Cinda Williams Chima are known as the Weir. The World of Weir blog tour leads up to the release of the can’t-miss series finale, The Sorcerer Heir (in stores October 21^st) by celebrating the magical fantasy world and the five types of magical guilds.  I'm so honored to be part of this promotion and am helping out by posting the round up of this week's awesome links for those of you that are in love (or plan to fall in love) with this series. Follow along for playlists, nail art, and more goodies inspired by the series, plus exclusive excerpts from the upcoming finale. Also, see below for the giveaway details.

Here are the links for WEEK THREE: THE SEERS:

• Learn all about the Seers on  Pure Imagination Blog
• Follow a tutorial for a Seers-inspired Manicure on  Wondrously Polished
• Listen up to the Seers-inspired Playlist on Sarah Scoop
• Get your style tips from the Seers on  College Fashion
• Read a sneak peek at the Seers role in Book 5: The Sorcerer Heir on  My Bookish Ways
• Plus, find out who should be reading The Heir Chronicles series on  Tsk Tsk What to Read

Here's what's coming up this next week: The  Enchanters. 

Don't miss it!

Here's the line up of the whole tour:

WEEK 1:  THE WARRIORS September 14 – September 20

WEEK 2: THE WIZARDS September 21 –  September 27

WEEK 3: THE SEERS September 28 – October 4

WEEK 4:  THE ENCHANTERS October 5 – October 11

WEEK 5:  THE SORCERERS October 12 – October 18

Be sure to follow along with #TheSorcererHeir celebration at these official links:

Cinda Williams Chima’s Official Site

Cinda Williams Chima on Twitter

Disney-Hyperion on Twitter and Instagram

ABOUT THE SORCERER HEIR

The can’t-miss finale to the beloved and bestselling Heir Chronicles series.

The delicate peace between Wizards and the underguilds (Warriors, Seers, Enchanters, and Sorcerers) still holds by the thinnest of threads, but powerful forces inside and outside the guilds threaten to sever it completely. Old friends and foes return as new threats arise in this stunning and revelatory conclusion to the beloved and bestselling Heir Chronicles series.

ABOUT THE HEIR CHRONICLES

The Heir Chronicles series will keep readers glued to their seats through riveting fight scenes, deadly political machinations, burgeoning romance, and the unfolding intrigues of a contemporary magical world.

The Sorcerer Heir is a self-contained story accessible to readers just discovering the Heir series, but loyal fans will be rewarded by visits from beloved (and lovingly reviled) characters.

Series order:

The Warrior Heir

The Wizard Heir

The Dragon Heir

The Enchanter Heir

The Sorcerer Heir

Praise for the series:

"Chima offers a pitch-perfect blend of high fantasy and small-town reality..." –The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

"Chima uses her pen like a wand and crafts a wonderfully rich web of magic, while thankfully leaving some dangling threads for subsequent tales." –VOYA  (starred review)

"A smoldering story soaked in tears, sweat and blood, constantly threatening to blaze into an inferno. Spellbinding."  –Kirkus Reviews  (starred review)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cinda Williams Chima is the New York Times bestselling author of The Warrior Heir, The Wizard Heir, The Dragon Heir, The Enchanter Heir, and the four books of the Seven Realms series: The Demon King, The Exiled Queen, The Gray Wolf Throne, and The Crimson Crown. Cinda is a graduate of The University of Akron and Case Western Reserve University. She lives in Ohio with her family.

THE GIVEAWAY!

Disney-Hyperion is giving away the WHOLE SERIES to one of my most favorite readers! (That's five books! See the whole list above.) How awesome is that? Pretty dang awesome I'd say. If you'd like the chance to win this series, please fill out the form with your info and I'll choose a random winner at the end of the tour...on October 18. (Sorry, the giveaway is only open to US mailing addresses.)

You don't have to do anything specific to be eligible to win (besides filling out the form) but I'd LOVE it if you'd comment with your favorite fantasy book/series!

Good luck! These are awesome books and you know you want them!

A Writing Space!

When my oldest son got married in March, my middle son moved downstairs into his room. That left a room upstairs totally free to do with whatever I wanted! And I wanted to create a writing space. I wanted to call it my "morning" room like they do in the Regency books... you know the room where they go in the morning to do their correspondence?  Well, not sure I've settled on that name as I think I'll probably spend many evenings there too!

As I was dreaming about this room, my husband decided he wanted to partake in the excitement, so we began to envision ways to have a shared office. I told him he had to be creative if he was to use this room. So while he might not do writing, he maybe will do some computer programming. That's the idea anyway!

So I waited most of the summer to get moving on this room project. We had some furniture in there that we needed to move out, and we had to wait until my daughter, also recently married, moved to a spot where she could take some of this furniture. So at the end of August after all the moving and furniture shuffling happened, we started working on it.

Here's the bedroom after my son moved out,
and during the time we used it for our Japanese student for a week.

With the furniture gone, we could paint over the green stripes!
This is a nice subtle gray color.
Although this picture makes it look puke color.

Painting is done (and now you can see the gray I' talking about!)
and instead of replacing the carpet
we bought a cool looking area rug instead.

This is where we had a hold up for awhile. I'd seen the perfect desks at IKEA one day, but we weren't ready for them yet. We went back the next week and learned that they were discontinued and there were none in stock. But, they were planning to have a new brand replace the old. But they wouldn't be in for a month! GAH! I wanted my desks!

But we waited. For about two weeks. Then one day, my husband was passing IKEA and decided to drop in and check on the situation. The desks were in! So, we bought them, along with some book shelves, and that weekend, we assembled furniture! So exciting!

Here's what it looked like after assembling was over and I moved in my computer.

And here, with more stuff moved in, a curtain, a lamp and a new chair!
My husband has yet to personalize his half, so Toto is using it for
a homework station. 

So there you go. It's been a fun and exciting project and makes me so excited to sit at the computer and do all my computer stuff... writing, blogging, etc. It's so nice to have a spot to organize papers and writing books, and notebooks and file this that and the other. I love it!

And now that means, no more excuses for not writing!  I'm ready to go. Nano 2014 here I come!

September 2014 Reading Recap

A favorite picture of the month.
Gollum at Comic Con!

It was a strange book month for me! I read some really awesome ones and some really strange ones. All the range!

Here's the September list:

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor
Path of the Skinwalker by Ryan Skinner
Maus Volume by Art Speigelman
Bad Moon Rising by Lorainne Kennedy
All The Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry
Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
The Letters by Luanne Rice and Joseph Monninger
Unbreakable by Kami Garcia

Not a bad month, eh? Two of the books I finished yesterday, had just a few more pages in each, so I'm counting them for last month. I know you all totally care about that. So reviews for them will be coming soon!

Favorites of the month: All The Truth That's In Me and Dreams of Gods and Monsters. Loved them both!

Plans for October:

• Unbroken for book club
• a couple of review books on the docket for NetGalley/Edelweiss
• a couple of graphic novels for the Readathon, like Maus Vol 2 and another Wimpy Kid book
• more books from the Beehive list 
• A Discovery of Witches... maybe.. for RIP?
• I have no idea what else!

What did you read this month? What do you plan to read next month? Isn't it fun to look forward to a new month of reading? I love it!

Book Review Discussion: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Book: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
For: Beehive Award list
From: The library

Short Synopsis: In order to save her family and her village, Nyx has been destined from birth to marry the "Gentle Lord" who is actually the leader of the demons who torment all the people. She goes to her doom bitterly and yet with the hope that she might actually be able to destroy him. She doesn't expect to fall in love with him! And now what's she supposed to do?

My Response: Awesome story. I was a little confused with the mythology tie in.. it was cool but a bit complicated and sometimes over my head. The characters are awesome. The house is awesome. And the twist is awesome, though I knew it was coming. The end... strange business. I might have to read it again just to make sure I got it!

Bottom Line: A little slow to start, but a really cool story in the end that had me glued to the page.

Let's Talk About: Mash ups. Do you like them or not so much? I mean, this book is a pretty interesting mash up of fairy tale and mythology. Intriguing or too confusing? I find them to be so clever and fun!

Other Reviews:

In Cruel Beauty people have “darkness” in them and are still not wastes of humanity. They do horrible things to each other, and yet a little bit of compassion can make all the difference. From Fantasy Book Critic

I think CRUEL BEAUTY is a stunning, romantic debut. I enjoyed it, and I thoroughly enjoyed the nastiness of Nyx and Ignifex. From In Bed With Books

I truly enjoyed Hodge's lyrical prose, her intriguing world-building, and the unforeseen story arc she had created. From Ivy Book Bindings

I could tell that it was beautifully done, but it was just too much for my brain to process. From YA Reads