Before starting on Kingsolver's "Demon Copperhead" I decided to read Dickens' "David Copperfield" first.
Frankly, I find it a bit too slow and long-winded. But I like the little jokes like when David says about himself as narrator "When my thoughts go back ... to my youth, I wonder how much of the histories I invented..., an innocent romantic boy making his imaginative world out of such strange experiences and sordid things!".
I read The Candid Life of Meena Dave, a poignant story about a woman recovering from commitment issues and discovering her cultural heritage. Has a touch of mystery, a bit of unusual Indian-American history, a great dog, and a nice romance too.
A lot of life can happen in twenty years. This book is one that was available for free through Prime & usually I never give those books a second glance (b/c they are usually just not very good) let alone read. Since I am reading other books at the moment, I’m not sure why I decided to also read this one. (I had download awhile back). Anyway— it’s pretty darn good, I’m 70% through and I would definitely recommend. Maybe Prime picked it on accident 😉 #books#kindle#fiction#amreading@bookstodon
Hullo friends! #amwriting panic stations. I have gotten The Date. By 27th Sept the platforms wants my latest book, Stainless Steel Souls, so they can have it definitely by October 1st, to satisfy all their (my) preorder customers.
I had 2 weeks and 2 days for edits from the day I learned of the date, but since then:
-I got conjunctivitis, as did my child-bot and feminine companion
-we got better, hers got worse
-my car died
-her car died
-my car is better
-I do not know what day it is, because Monday is usually grandparents visit day but we've been sick, so "events of the week" are totally out.
I woke up today, Monday, and honestly felt like it was Wednesday. It's a sheer force of effort to know where my mind is, let alone the day.
Excuses, right? No, just what's been going on while I've been trying to settle into good, 4-hour long edits of my book. So far I have managed exactly 0 of these.
Honesty gets you square with yourself. I have filled out 2 chapters with character descriptions that were lacking in my earlier edits, but I need proper chunks of time to write the missing chapters, needle the chapters that will hint at fun for the next book(s), and otherwise make sure it's fluffy and reader-friendly.
This has also meant not reading that book I saved for #amreading time, Andujar, the Robot Gentleman, but I guess now it's a reward book for after everything is actually submitted.
Support me, I love Mastodon and will keep writing whether I get wondrous sales or not. The link to the presale (.99c) of Stainless Steel Souls is in my profile, as well as to books 1 and 2, "The full life of a robot" and "A machine of blood".
Love you all, feel free to post your own promo too. @bookstodon
Just finished a very good fiction book, so pivoting to some history for something a little different. Today I started A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599 by James Shapiro. Looking forward to spending some quality time in 16th century London. @bookstodon#AmReading#Bookstodon#Books#History#NonFiction#Shakespeare
In her description of the 'arrival' of Alleyn, Ngaio (the g is NOT silent, folks) Marsh unintentionally highlights why I love Allingham's Campion. For him, tempus really did fugit, at more or less real pace. #AmReading#Aotearoa#GoldenAgeMysteries@bookstodon#ebooks
I'm reading "Alice Fantastic" by Maggie Estep and so far I love it.
Until recently I didn't know her, but wow, she can write! The main characters are two sisters, their mother (and their many dogs). All of them are slightly crazy, but Estep makes them very believable and lovable. Funny dialogues and telling details.
Fridays are for dark chocolate peanut butter fudge. I stopped eating most sugar & processed stuff 6 yrs ago (I make this with stevia & 90% chocolate), so finding a dessert that I love so much was a big thing.
Continuing my prep for Sea of Tranquility by re-reading Emily St John Mandel's backlist... or, at least, the two novels I'm familiar with. In July, I read Station Eleven for the 3rd time. Now I'm on a re-read of The Glass Hotel. I was struck by this:
"(Idea for a ghost story: a woman gets old and falls out of time and realizes that she's become invisible.)"
Looking for a quick read to hit off the spooky season? The Red Knight is a quick mystery set in the fictional duchy of Graystoke. Follow the Inquisitor Diane as she investigates the disappearance of a court official.
Hey #bookstodon , have you come across any books with misleading and / or bad blurbs? Please share!
I just finished Wole Soyinka's "Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth" and.. that book has a misleading blurb with a big spoiler. Wish I hadn't read the blurb. (Good book, though. More on that later.) #amreading#booklove#publishing#blurb#librophile@writingcommunity@bookstodon