What I've Been Reading

I have been reading quite a lot as of late, and these are some of the books that I have enjoyed!

Beware, spoilers  aplenty to follow!



The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
The Pillars tells the story of Prior Philip and Tom Builder,  and their mutual dream to build a cathedral in the town of Kingsbridge, England. With a backdrop of historical events, this is the kind of book that draws you in, so much so that you can almost see the characters facial expressions in the dialogue.

While I did enjoy this book, I felt like it was a tad bit repetitive. Philip gets ahead, Tom gets ahead, William comes along and screws them over. Then Tom dies, Jack takes his place, he gets ahead, Philip gets ahead, and then William comes and screws them over. Pretty much the whole book.
However, I do love books that span generations like this. I love getting the story of a characters whole life, as opposed to just a brief glimpse into a notable period of it. And I did feel like the characters were well defined, and believable. I loved the character of Jonathan, and I wish he had discovered Tom was his dad BEFORE Tom got smashed in the head. But such is life, I suppose. I do almost feel like I would have enjoyed it more had it been split into two books, because it definitely could have been. As much as I love to read, this book was so big, and heavier than some  hardcover's I have.
All in all, it was a good read, and I recommend it.

An Abundance of Katherine's by John Green
I've been going through a lot of YA novels lately, mostly because they are easy reads, and they are almost always hilarious. Especially John Green's novels. I wish they had been around when I was still a young adult, as opposed to just an adult.
An Abundance is (so far) my favourite of his, although I haven't read all of them. It follows Colin Singleton in his quest to find out why he keeps getting dumped by girls named Katherine. So far, there have been nineteen, and Colin is looking to break the curse.
After his latest heartbreak, Colin finds himself on a road trip with his best friend Hassan that leads them to Gutshot, Tennessee. Gutshot. Love it.

Room by Emma Donoghue
Room is told from the point of view of five year old Jack. To him, room is the whole world, the only world he has ever known. Its where him and his mom live, eat, sleep and never leave. I'm not going to lie, this book is weird, and for some it may be hard to read. You soon realize that Jack and his mom are being kept prisoner by a man Jack knows only as Big Nick, who kidnapped Jacks mom when she was only a teenager. Because this is told by Jack, it's hard to really understand what's happening in the first couple pages. It's like being in a five year old kids head, listening to adults talk, and not really comprehending.
After a couple chapters, you get used to the voice of Jack, and can understand a lot more of what's happening. I liked this book, but I almost feel as though even saying I liked it is weird. I mean, it's a story of kidnap, rape, imprisonment, mental abuse, child abuse. It is a well told story, with a good dose of comic relief right when it is necessary.


I've also been reading The Dark Tower books, by Stephen King. I have finished The Gunslinger, and am about half way through The Drawing Of The Three. I'm not going to say anything about them just yet. Not quite sure how I feel about them. Definitely different for King. Hmmm.


Also, totally unrelated to things I have read lately, but filming has begun on the movie version of The Hobbit, and that makes me really happy! Who's excited?

Any recommendations of what I should read next? I'm always on the prowl for new authors and books.
Happy reading!

Editing My NaNo Novel

After spending the entire month of November working on my nano novel, literally every spare second I had writing, I took a loonnngg break away from even looking at it. Yes, maybe I have procrastinated just a wee bit. And maybe I have been avoided rereading something that I'm convinced is pure crap. But its time. I'm going to kick myself into action and get'er done!
So I began going through the first couple chapters, and I was right, it is pure crap. There is plot holes galore, I didn't separate any of it into proper chapters, some of my sentences run on for far to long. I learned that my spelling and grammar are awful. I discovered that I absolutly hate the names I have given my main characters, and while I managed to find a suitable replacement for the female main, one for the male has yet to come to me. Please share any suggestions!
With all the things Ive learned from the process of editing, Ive also learned that I can write. There is some good stuff in there, some damn good stuff. One of the main reasons I like to read is for the escape it gives me, out of this world, and into one someone has created. And despite pinpointing and fixing errors while reading my own novel, I found I could escape into the world that I myself had created. And that's a pretty awesome feeling.
Im actually starting to think that allowing other people to read my novel would be a good idea. And that they might actually like it. Who knows, maybe one day I will walk into a book store, and see my own book sitting on a shelf, and be able to say to the shop owner "I wrote that".