Recent Reads

It's been nearly two months since my last Recent Reads post, but due to various real-life situations kicking my arse, I haven't actually read that many books since.

Whilst I hang my head in shame, I will give a quick review of everything I have read since The Lost Symbol.

First of all, I am pleased to report that my will to live has been restored since reading that particular novel! For that I have to thank some perennial favourites.


* The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien

Could I love these books more? I don't think so.


* The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Yes, I have been overdosing on the Oxford scholar - so sue me. I actually don't rate The Hobbit anywhere near as much as LotR, but I re-read this so I was up to date on the story and characters, just in time for the making of the movie. Apparently there is a big announcement coming on the 8th December. All bets are off that the news is about the casting of Bilbo Baggins.


* The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

My favourite book of all time. It was the last novel to be packed away for our house move and I finished it the day before we left. I simply cannot recommend this novel enough. Fermin Romero de Torres is my single favourite literary character ever.


* Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Was it worth the ball-busting $4.8 million advance? Well if it pays out, then of course. I certainly enjoyed it immensely, although it did plateau in the mid section. It also has the prettiest cover art I have seen in a long time. The big question though: is it as good as The Time Traveller's Wife? In my humble opinion, no. Not even close.


* Cross Stitch by Diana Gabaldon

Historical fantasy fiction that has been recommended to me by several friends now for a number of years, and I am so glad I finally got around to ordering this and the second in the series, Dragonfly in Amber. Sexy, exciting and bloody, with two main protagonists that are far from perfect but are still brilliantly written. I look forward to reading the others in the series.


Now what will Santa bring me?

New Moon: my review

Last night I braved hoards of giggling, screaming females - and several rather sheepish looking males - and took my daughter to see New Moon.

My expectations weren't great to be honest. I enjoy the novels for what they are: fantasy popcorn lit. I saw the first movie a couple of times and whilst it was enjoyable, I wasn't blown away by the acting which I felt was stilted and at times, embarrassing. The special effects were also rather lame and clearly done on a small budget.

Yet I was pleasantly surprised by New Moon.

First of all I have to mention the crowds. I have never seen anything like it in my life! Hundreds, possibly over a thousand people had descended upon the main cinema in my area and the queue - which was ten people wide - was out of the door, along the pavement and spilling into the street. I has pre-booked my tickets and so I walked the red carpet and was then ushered - by security - into the screen. Too many people had turned up hoping to watch the movie on its opening night, and so other screenings were cancelled and people were just herded into any screen where the showings started simultaneously.

I honestly think this was to prevent a riot, bearing in mind the temperatures here have topped 35 degrees c for the last two weeks.

The movie itself is quite possibly the closest book to big screen adaptation I have ever seen. I can understand some reviewers and critics saying the pace is too slow, but that is the pace of the novel. It deals with Bella's devastation at Edward leaving her and the foundations of her relationship with Jacob. I thought all three main leads - especially Taylor Lautner - handled their scenes with genuine, heartfelt emotion. In fact all of the actors seem to have settled into their roles and no longer possess that deer-in-the-headlights look about them which marred the first movie in the Twilight series.

The scriptwriters have also gone more for the novel aesthetics than they did in the first movie. So we see Alice leap over a school banister with effortless grace; the Volturi at first sight have thin, onion type skin, and the three month depression of Bella, that is noted by blank pages in the novel, has been given screen time.

My own personal favourite scenes involved the peripheral characters: the cinema scene with Mike, Bella & Jacob is hilarious; the Volturi are fabulous with Michael Sheen totally stealing the show as a campish, excitable Aro, and Billy Burke who plays Bella's father, Charlie, just carries on from where he left off in the Twilight movie by stealing every scene he is in.

The CGI was also pretty impressive. The wolves are really well done, especially the first appearance of the Alpha Sam in the meadow, and sparkly Edward actually looks like diamonds this time, instead of just appearing sweaty!

The only thing that got a bit wearisome was the screaming of the women - and I mean women - in the audience, who whooped and cheered every time Edward and Jacob took their shirt off. My ears are still ringing from the screams that accompanied Edward's first slow motion walk across the screen!

Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable film which ended on quite a note with two little words!

Catch-22 (not the novel!)

One of the sites I read regularly is Pub Rants. Yesterday, agent Kristin posted this article under the title, "Really Good Might Not Be Enough."

It's enough to make a struggling, penniless writer weep.

The basic gist is that the market continues to be - in her own words - "brutal" and she is passing over really good novels because in today's market, "they might not be good enough."

What are we supposed to do in these times? Hold off from querying at all until the market picks up? Yet if you aren't putting your work out there, how can you possibly hope to find a publishing deal?

A year ago I thought things would have improved by now.

We clearly have a long way to go.

In a quandary

I'm trying to decide what to do next. I inexplicably find myself with a full five hours tomorrow of writing time. This has been impossible to achieve of late and so I intend to grab those minutes with both hands and make the most of them.

My quandary is what to do?

I have two projects on the go right now: a stand alone novel and a series that is two thirds finished. These pieces of writing have been consuming me now for a full two years and I am joined with the characters and worlds as one.

But I am also itching to start something completely fresh and original. To just start with page one and see where a completely new voice takes me.

My head tells me to see the other two projects through to completion; my heart tells me to have some fun for a while.

Do other writer's have this problem? How many projects can you handle at any one time?

I seriously do not want to spend another day cooking in the sun!

My first ever blog award!

Do you have your posh frock and tiara on? Good. Botox and other poisonous toxins injected into your face? Excellent. A gorgeous man on your arm? - (hands off Paul Bettany, he's mine!)

Fabulous.

Then without further ado I would like to thank Jo Treggiari over at the Feltus Ovalton blog for awarding me the Superior Scribbler Award.

*starts to well up*

I would like to thank my agent for making this possible...*muted whispers from the sidelines*...what do you mean I don't have one? OK, I would like to thank my incredibly supportive editor for her painstaking...*whispers become louder*...what do you mean I don't have one of those either? OK, I'll just thank my fans for their support...*loud whispers are now embarrassed hissings*...I don't have fans either? Look will you people in the peanut gallery stop interrupting me in my moment of glory.

*Paul Bettany realises I am not Jennifer Connelly and flees for his life*

Bugger it. Thank you, Jo and thank you readers.

*is dragged off stage by a giant hook*

Getting back into the groove...slowly

The house move was a complete success and I am now writing this entry from my new office - complete with brand new cherry wood furniture and comfortable leather chair!

All the boxes - bar three - have been unpacked and my books, Jimmy Choo shoes and Harry Potter collectibles are all getting used to their new surroundings.

So I guess I should get back to doing what I (allegedly) do best: writing.

Um...

Ahh...

*procrastinates a bit more*

Um...

*looks out of the window into the cornflower blue sky and the garden recliner that just so happens to have Cross Stitch by Diana Gabaldon perched and poised by the edge*

Perhaps the writing can wait a little bit longer, after all, genius must not be rushed!

Anyone?

I've been given a gift voucher and was contemplating getting The Host by Stephenie Meyer. Has anyone read it? If so, thoughts? Please bear in mind that I need quick, easy popcorn lit right now - nothing too taxing for my poor overworked brain cells.

Much obliged.

Confessions of a Tolkien addict

I have now finished my annual read of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy - just in time for my house move next week.

It doesn't matter how many times I read these wonderful tomes, I always find a sentence, a phrase, a character action that I missed before.

That for me is the joy in re-reading a novel: finding something new in something so old.

I'm a bit of a Tolkien addict, and eagerly lap up any bit of original news I can find. In my humble Hobbity opinion, the single best website out there for Tolkien aficionados is TheOneRing.net. Right now I am clicking daily, just waiting for news on the casting of Bilbo Baggins for the new movie which starts filming in March 2010.

Can I haz a James McAvoy pleaze?!

Just recently they had a couple of articles that had me salivating over the keyboard! The first was news that original manuscripts for The Fellowship of the Ring were on display at Fordham University in Manhattan, including notes, drafts and illustrations. (And not for the first time I wished to the heavens I lived in the Big Apple.)

The second was this article that suggested that Tolkien and his great friend and fellow Inkling, C.S. Lewis, were planning to write together.

Can you imagine that? Two of the greatest writers of the 20th century combining on a piece of literature. I swear us fan-girls/boys would stroke if evidence of this was ever found!

This article brings me very nicely to the picture I have for this blog entry. Yours truly is on the far left, and grinning with me are two friends, Lily and Andrew. This picture was taken in the Eagle and Child pub in Oxford, in the very space that John Ronald Reuel Tolkien and Clive Staples Lewis used to meet to discuss their literary works. The walls are jam-packed with pictures and letters; the pub itself is ancient and dusty and full of character. It felt as if the walls had absorbed the words of its patrons. I just wanted to listen to the wood, hoping it would reveal a long held secret.

Sometimes you just have to walk, sit and drink beer in the space of literary genius in order to be inspired.

At what cost?

Where do you buy your books?

It's a simple enough question, but for those of us who cherish novels with a passion, it is also a question layered with hidden implications.

Barely a week goes by now without another news story about bookstore closures. The big chains are making sweeping cuts, and the little stores simply can't keep up. The bottom line is people are losing their jobs and their livelihoods.

So, where do you buy your books? Me? I use Amazon for 99 out of 100 purchases, and the reason is simple.

Cost.

Last week I went browsing in my local Borders. Now I like Borders. The layout is clean, organised and my local store is always well stocked. The sole reason I do not buy more novels there is the price.

Some examples:

* I am desperate to get hold of Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. Borders price? AUS$32.00. (That is the equivalent of US$29.60 or £17.84.)

Amazon price? £8.49.

* My son is a huge fan of the Guinness Book of Records. Borders price? AUS$55.00. (Doing a quick currency convert shows that is approx. US$50 or £30.)

Amazon price? £9.98.

* Borders initially charged customers AUS$55.00 for Dan Brown's, The Lost Symbol. It has now been reduced to AUS$32.00. You already know how much I paid for it. (Honestly, fifty five dollars would buy me over twenty Mars Bars. I would take obesity and tooth decay over that book any day!)


You see where I am going with this?

I truly wish I could pop into a local bookstore, sit amongst teeming shelves and lose myself. But I find myself having to make a choice: do I pay more for one novel and support the store, or do I get more books for my money and support the writers?

When it comes down to the harsh reality of cold currency, there isn't even a debate raging in my head. I choose the latter and get more books. It is cheaper for me to order five books from Amazon and get them shipped halfway around the world, than it is to walk to my local Angus & Robertson and get the same tomes.

So what is the resolution? Under normal circumstances, I would raise an issue and then come up with an obvious answer, but in this situation, I don't think there is an obvious answer. Any fool can tell you that the reason Amazon is so much cheaper is because they don't have the same store overheads as the bookstores.

Perhaps we have to look to technology to save the bookstore? Barnes and Noble has just announced they are entering the e-reader market with a device called the Nook. The one advantage this will have over the Amazon Kindle is that owners will be able to lend electronic novels to friends who have the same device for a period of fourteen days. It will cost the same as a Kindle and will have access to nearly one million e-titles.

Retailers were far too slow to react to Amazon's "warehouse and deliver" style of book buying. At least they are quicker to gatecrash the e-party!

But of course this is no consolation to those who face the unemployment lines.

ETA:

By a remarkable twist of coincidence, the literary poster boy for cuteness, Nathan Bransford, has a blog article up today about the new e-readers - (and some have truly dreadful names) - the cost of books, and the price war that is now underway in the US market. Very interesting stuff.

Bloody awesome!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was great.

The Girl who Played with Fire was brilliant.

But The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is so unbelievably, bloody awesome that it requires a blog post all of its own.

It's a little bloated for sure at 600+ pages, but I have come to expect that now of novels from authors who have received worldwide acclaim. Are editors too afraid to edit the words of successful writers? The final books in the Harry Potter and Twilight series do little to refute this suggestion. In TGWKTHN, there are several story threads that offer nothing to the main tale - in particular the "stalker" narrative springs to mind - but to be honest, this book is so well written that I could forgive anything.

The one thing that really stuck in my mind when reading this particular novel was the fact that the denouement starts when the reader is only a third of the way through the book. It is spellbinding and yet patient in equal measure. That takes amazing skill as a writer. I kept waiting for some amazing twist to turn things on its head, but one never came. Instead the story unfolds at a steady, yet believable pace, and yet again I found myself with a novel I simply could not put down.

I thoroughly enjoy crime novels and this may well be one of the best I have ever read. Tragically we will never get to read another Salander/Blomkvist tale, but at least we have the Millennium series to continually re-read.

Crime writers - the bar has been set.

This will make you laugh

So, for the last year - (as you are all probably bored to tears of hearing about) - I have been working on a trilogy. It has required a lot of research into areas I was previously uneducated in, and so because of this, I decided to hold off any form of querying until the first two novels were completed.

I did however make one exception.

Several months ago, I decided to query uber-agent, Jonny Geller, at Curtis Brown in London. I tailored my submission to fit him alone because I genuinely believed that this trilogy would suit his taste because of the unique voice and humour.

Of course two days after I sent my query off, his status page at Curtis Brown changed to say he was no longer accepting unsolicited queries!

(Was my query really that bad that he lost the will to live and decided to stop accepting any others?!!)

At least reception at Curtis Brown was nice enough to email me to say that the query had been received but...yadda yadda yadda.

Anyway, yesterday I read that Mr Geller has been very busy selling the rights to another book that crossed his path:

NELSON MANDELA'S DIARIES!!!

*dies* Seriously, I knew I was aiming high by looking to Jonny Geller, but I now have this mental image of two submissions landing on his desk at the same time: one postmarked Australia; the other covered in stamps from South Africa!

Submission spotlights?

Now I regard myself as a pretty confident person. I have put myself "out there" as a writer; I have had essays and articles published for public scrutiny, and even on occasion lent my voice to the odd podcast feature.

And of course there is that abiding wish to have my full length novels published one day and consumed by as many people as humanly possible!

However, I do draw the line at putting my submissions on the line for Joe Public to dissect and criticise.

I really do admire those that do, and I hope the feedback they [the writer] get back is helpful, but I do find it uncomfortable reading. There are countless blogs now offering this service: agents, writer's and even those who don't appear to have any publishing experience. The only one I find invaluable is Query Shark, and that is because the query is torn apart by an agent who is very exacting with what she wants. Too often I find on other sites that the advice offered by the inexperienced is contradictory, or just too nice to be constructive.

Getting a query or submission fit for viewing is not an exact science. Some agents/publishing houses want a three page synopsis; others just require the full mss and a brief blurb/hook.

I'm not daunted by submissions, but they take time. Tailor to fit is my mantra. What suits one agent may not fit another.

And it will always, always stay in the privacy of a word doc until such time as I see fit to unleash it upon some poor unsuspecting agent!

Recent Reads

* Guernica by Dave Boling.

Utterly brilliant! I cannot recommend this novel enough. Very similar in storyline and pace to The Return by Victoria Hislop, it is set during the Spanish Civil War and came to me via a book club suggestion. An epic story that would make a great film. If you decide to purchase one book from this entry, make it this one. You will not be disappointed.


* A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle.

I think it took me about a day to read this novel! It is so simple in premise: a couple chart a year in their life in the French region, month by month; and yet it is possibly the most charming book I have ever read. Just adorable and jam-packed with the most delicious descriptions of food you will find anywhere.


* Northern Lights/The Subtle Knife/The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman.

My third read of the His Dark Materials trilogy by the worthy successor to Tolkien. As a fan of fantasy novels and someone who would love one day to be able to write a trilogy in that genre, I cannot even begin to fathom how Pullman found the inspiration and imagination for this one. Incomparable.


* The Clan of the Cave Bear/The Valley of Horses/The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M. Auel.

It all started off so well. I was thoroughly absorbed into the world of the Neanderthals with The Clan of the Cave Bear, and then for some inexplicable reason, Auel decided to turn the main protagonist, Ayla, into the biggest - and by default, the very first - Mary-Sue in prehistoric literature. There are another three in the series, but I don't think I'll bother. I can't bear to read the same orgasmic sex scenes, over and over again; or the fact the Ayla will clearly invent the light bulb before Edison; or the fact she will walk on the moon by projecting her thoughts...

FLAWED CHARACTERS! I like flawed characters.


* The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo/The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson.

Love, love, love, love, love. I want, want, want, want, want the final book in the trilogy called The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, but it will have to wait until we move because I can't risk Amazon delivering to my old house. One of the most enthralling crime trilogy's I have ever read.


* The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.

Yuck!


* A Room with a View by E. M. Forster.

Pointless! 200+ pages of nothingness, (and I'm not even sure that is a word, but it is the only description I can come up with!)


* Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

I am appalled that this novel consistently finds its way onto all time lists. I don't find paedophiles engaging characters.


I am currently nearing the end of my annual reading of The Lord of the Rings before they are packed away for yet another move. I think I will probably slip into reading The Hobbit as well in the next couple of weeks. I also have the first two novels in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldan to look forward to - thanks Suzie and Tuuli!

As always, any recommendations are gratefully received.

Dear Dan Brown

You owe me - big time.

First of all, I would like an immediate refund on the £4.99 that I paid out for The Lost Symbol. Granted it's not a huge amount, but thanks to some very generous discounting by Amazon.co.uk, that was the amount I paid for your latest tome.

It was £4.99 too much.

Secondly, I would like the hours I spent reading this turgid piece of crap back please. It's taken me five days to wade through the 500+ pages, so let's round it up to a nice even ten hours shall we? That is ten hours I could have been:

* packing up my house

* eating chocolate

* gazing at images of Paul Bettany on the Internet

* reading another book that was actually written by someone who gave a crap!

Now I am not jumping on the bandwagon here because I have blogged several times about the fact I am actually a fan of your novels. Pre-Symbol, I would have described your books as fast-paced, thrilling, enjoyable romps through history/mythology/religion.

But The Lost Symbol is none of these.

It is bloated with dialogue that thinks it is cleverer than it really is. It is packed with characters that the reader simply can't give a rat's arse about. I ask, honestly, how do you expect a reader to care about the jeopardy a particular character is in when that character has done nothing except give long-winded speeches about how much knowledge they have? This novel wasn't about the Masons - it was the biggest convention of Mary-Sue's and Stu's the world has ever seen.

This book has no voice and breaks the number one rule in writing: it is all tell and no show. The entire thing reads like an application to join the world's most famous and elusive boys brigade. We get it, you love and respect the Masons, now please give us a story. The "villain", Mal'akh, was a regurgitated Silas with tattoo's! At least I could find a tenuous Paul Bettany moment there as I forced myself to keep reading by imagining him in the movie version that Ron Howard is no doubt already salivating over.

Dear Mr Howard - DO NOT TOUCH THIS WITH A BARGE POLE, even one engraved with every symbol mentioned in this book.

I'm so disappointed because I really wanted to enjoy this in the same way I enjoy the other four novels. They are akin to literary crack: you know they are bad for you, but they are oh so enjoyable!

Unfortunately, The Lost Symbol becomes the latest novel to receive the tag, "PleaseDon'tMakeMeReadThisAgain."

To those who have yet to read it, be warned, you will never get those hours of your life back again.

NaNo NoNo!

First of all, the good news.

As those who regularly follow/stalk this blog will know, I have been writing a trilogy for the past year. Book one has been edited, re-written and generally thrashed to within an inch of its life and is now good to go. *drum roll* I am now exhausted but delighted to say that book two has a completed first draft. It requires a lot of editing obviously, but the plot and structure are there and I am very happy with it.

Bad news. There is no way in a million years I am going to get this completed by my original target date of the 31st October 2009, and so I am afraid NaNoWriMo 2009 is now a dead parrot...for me at least!

The main reason for this is because...*more drums*...I have just bought a house and we move in the first week of November!!!! I won't bore my friends who already knew this with more squealing, but even an amoeba would be able to see that editing a mss, writing a new one and packing up a four bed house is simply not going to happen.

I am disappointed because I had a lot of fun with NaNo last year; I managed to get to 45,000 words until a chest infection floored me in the last week. However, my idea isn't going to go anywhere and it can rest on the back burner until I have that magic word: Time!

Good luck to those who are planning to participate. I will be cheering you on from the sidelines...if I can find where I packed my pom-poms that is! In the meantime, I need to start crafting a query letter because when book two is perfect, I am sending this series off into the scary world of lions and tigers and agents, oh my.

Blogoffee morning: can & can't!

Today's entry comes courtesy of Nicola Morgan's, Help! I Need a Publisher!: a fabulous blog that I have had on my own roll since January. The idea is to get as many literary blogs as possible joining together in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support's World's Biggest Coffee Morning.

First off - a disclaimer. I don't actually like coffee! Yeah, I'm not starting off very well am I?! However, being British, I do love a nice cup of tea and because I am also the hostess with the mostess, I also serve fancy cakes.

So, plonk your bottom in a comfy chair, grab a saucer, a fondant fancy and welcome to my coffee morning - minus the coffee!

For those who already follow me or have this linked on their own blogroll - a big thank you. I have only had Musings of a Penniless Writer up and running since December, but it is something I really cherish and your support means a lot to me. For those of you who are visiting for the first time because of Nicola's "Blogoffee Morning", then in the words of Stephanie Perkins, (who really has the cutest YA blog), "I find you very attractive. Let's be friends."

So what to actually blog about today? Well I thought I would use the opportunity to actually talk about myself. Narcissistic, much? Well, not really. After all, I've already mentioned that I am British and we Brits have a fabulous self-deprecating streak that runs through our souls. So instead of getting a boring, "I freaking rock and you should damn well know it" post, I'm going to write about my strengths as a writer, but also what I have discovered I can't do on this literary journey.

Let's get the negativity out of the way first, shall we?


I CAN'T:

* Write poetry. I have tried, but everything turns into a dirty limerick.

* Write short stories. My verbosity knows no limits. Anything under 70,000 words is alien to me and so I really admire those who can write engaging shorts.

* Write YA material. I say fuck...a lot! Too much if I am fucking honest! I don't really enjoy reading YA material either, unless it is fantasy or the supernatural. Stick to what you are good at is my mantra, which brings me nicely to...


I CAN:

* Write a novel. Sounds easy, and rather obvious, doesn't it, but how many people actually start writing a novel and never finish it? Most of us want to be published authors, but our accreditation as a writer is already there in front of us.

* Plot and pace a novel really well. This isn't just my own opinion here, but this was actually a quote from an editor at Random House who read one of my manuscripts. It is probably my greatest strength as a writer right now. Of course there are other areas I want to improve on, but I think I have this area nailed.

* Write in both the first and third person narrative. I'm undecided about which I prefer; I think it comes down to voice. My current WIP is in the first person narrative and I have had a blast with it, but my next piece will definitely be third person. Mix it up, I say.

* Have fun with writing. I think we get so stressed out at times that we forget why we do it in the first place. I started writing because I love it - pure and simple.


So let's have fun with writing, and remember in the grand scheme of things, a rejection letter isn't the end of the world. After all, the core subject behind today's blog entries is a reminder of that.


**To those who have lost a loved one to cancer, my thoughts are with you. To those battling this insidious disease, my hope is with you**

Todays news is brought to you by the letter E

A few months ago, I blogged about the debacle that had sprung up over at Amazon over copies of 1984 and Animal Farm that had been legally downloaded, but were removed from Kindles at the request of the publisher.

The Bookseller.com has now reported that Amazon have offered to deliver the books - free of charge - to those customers affected, or they are offering gift vouchers or cheques for $30. This is in addition to the refunds the customers received when their copies were removed.

Apparently people are still pissed though - and I'm not surprised. If I buy a paper bound novel, I would not tolerate Amazon or Waterstones (or whomever) coming into my house and claiming ownership still. When I leave the store, that book is mine - mine I tell you! I think there are still far too many grey areas to be ironed out over who has overall control of these devices and what goes onto them.

Another story is cropping up over what happens when your Kindle is stolen or lost.

The New York Times reports that unless the police serve a search warrant, Amazon et al, are not under any obligation to say whether someone is now using a stolen piece of equipment, even though they have the technology to find out. What this means is that you can pay hundreds of $$$/£££ for a Kindle, have it stolen, and yet someone else can use their credit card to continue buying books on it. Amazon will not de-activate the device.

One commentator said this: “I finally concluded...that Amazon knew the device was being used and preferred to sell content to anyone who possessed the device, rather than assist in returning it to its rightful owner.”

Amazon refused to comment on "hypotheticals."

In more e-reader news, the Kindle version of Dan Brown's, The Lost Symbol, is apparently outselling the hard copy version. Is this because people don't want to admit to owning the novel and would rather read it in secret on a hard piece of white plastic, than reveal the dust jacket to the world on the subway?! Who cares. My copy is coming this week and I am going to do what the impossibly cute Nathan Bransford said to do on his blog last week:

And now that THE LOST SYMBOL is out, I'd like to make a personal plea that literary bookish types abstain from the whole "I'm so above his writing but okay the books are kind of fun to read" attitude. People! They're entertainment. It's okay to like them without apologizing. Or don't like them. Whatever. Just don't be too cool for school. It's not like I watch The Bachelor in the hopes of finding deep meaning and spiritual enlightenment!! That's just a bonus.

Say it loud; say it proud! I LIKE DAN BROWN NOVELS!!!

And finally, because this made me laugh my ass off!

The book vs. the Kindle: round ten!



My eldest loves the Lemony Snicket novels. Much respect to Daniel Handler.

And I am still no closer to buying one!

Around the bend...

...literally and figuratively!

Literally, because lookey-lookey at my little WIP counter! I am now 85% finished. I have gone around that last bend and my final destination is in sight. My target of the 31st October 2009 for a polished mss is still attainable...just.

Figuratively, because I am going bananas trying to fit everything in at the moment. I grab an hour here, an hour there. I catch up on my laundry and then write a page. I read contracts and building reports and then write another page. My life is twisting and turning and slowly driving me around the fricking bend! It is a damn good job that my main protagonist is neurotic, because I am capturing her voice very well indeed right now, thank you very much.

Respite is clearly for wimps! Now back to writing.

It's not just the inside that tells a story

Look at my poor book! The spine is so weathered the actual title is starting to disappear from view.

This, my friends, is my twenty year old copy of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Or as it now reads: h F lowsh p of e R ng!

This book - and its two trilogy counterparts - have been on some adventure, let me tell you. They have been packed up and moved at least five times. They have crossed the Pacific ocean in a container ship. They have been dropped in sand, in water. They have been splashed with beer, wine and are encrusted with food! Their pages are yellow, creased, ripped and held together with tape. They have been manhandled by countless customs officers and were read in a hotel in New York that was crushed a year later when two towers fell.

And yet I refuse point blank all attempts by well meaning family and friends to replace them with brand spanking new copies.

Why?

Because whilst inside they tell the story of two little Hobbits on their hands and knees, trying to climb up a mountain; on the outside they tell the story of my life: my struggles, my fun, my failures and my successes.

Veritable proof that I have lived - and for the most part with a novel in my hand.

And I never intend to part with them.

Looking forward

My computer is so achingly slow at the moment I fear the electronics have been replaced by a little asthmatic gerbil running in a wheel. So this entry - together with links and images - may just blow a hole in the entire thing.

New releases that will grace my bookshelves in the next twelve months.


* I make no apologies for saying Dan Brown's, The Lost Symbol, will be arriving shortly. I thoroughly enjoy his novels and yes, they are the equivalent of literary crack, but I don't care. Guilty pleasures are few and far between these days. I'm sure any "romantic" scenes will be excruciating, and all realms of probability extinguished, but Robert Langdon is a thoroughly likable protagonist. Sue me for liking him!

* Kate Mosse will have two new novels out over the course of 2009/2010 - huzzah! Following in the footsteps of Labyrinth and Sepulchre, Citadel is the third in the Languedoc trilogy. I predict the cover will be blue! In the meantime, The Winter Ghosts is released next month. That cover is definitely blue!

* Have you read The Sound of Butterflies by Rachael King? If the answer is no, then I suggest you do. Her second novel, Magpie Hall, is released in New Zealand in November. (International dates yet to be confirmed.) I just love this author's style of writing: beautiful and elegant yet brutal when the scene demands.

* Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife and creator of Henry DeTamble - (gratuitous mention just for Rachel!) - releases Her Fearful Symmetry at the end of this month. Is it just me or is there a strange lack of hype around the release of this novel? I can't read publishing daily's without some mention of Dan Brown, and yet apart from the ball-busting advance that Niffenegger received, there has been very little press around this release. Curious.

* Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks remains one of my all time favourites and his new novel, A Week in December, was actually released last week. My husband is also a fan and so I may hold off buying this immediately and wait for Christmas. (Yes, I am a sneak in that I buy him novels I want and thereby kill two literary birds with one stone.)

* Like millions of other readers, I am desperate for the release of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest : the final novel in the Millennium series by Stieg Larsson. The date of publication in the UK is the 1st October; thanks to international shipping, I will receive it about a week after that. (And the cover is just as vile as the other two!)

* This next one is definitely for my husband because try as I might, I just cannot get into Terry Pratchett novels. I have no idea why; I love fantasy and humour, and yet I haven't been able to reach a second chapter. So The Unseen Academicals is definitely a Christmas present I won't pinch the moment it is unwrapped. Perhaps I should try the Discworld series again? It seriously vexes me that there are over twenty novels in this house I haven't read yet.


Have I missed any?

ETA: I have just discovered that the incomparable Philip Pullman will be releasing a new tome at Easter. Described as a mix between a novel, a history and a fairy tale, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, will retell the story of Jesus, bringing into focus the concept that stories become stories. A definite must buy.