Today I’m posting over at Secret Archives of the Alliterati regarding change and questions in your manuscript. Got change? No? Then you might have a problem. A big problem!
So I thought I would leave you with a list of some of the books I’ve read recently. I’m still working on branching out of my normal genre of historical fiction. Let’s just say that’s a work in progress.
1. Going Bovine by Libba Bray
2. Hester by Paula Reed
3. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
4. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
5. Alcestis by Katharine Beutner
6. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
7. The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton
8. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
9. Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn
10. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White (my daughter’s first chapter book!)
11. Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
What about you? What have you read recently to branch out of your comfort zone?
How was the secret life of bees???
How was Water for Elephants? I always want to pick it up, but I'm afraid that I want it to be about the elephants more than anything else and I will be disappointed…
Christine- I loved The Secret Life of Bees. It's absolutely beautiful and is a story all about the strength of women, young and old, black and white. Highly recommended!
Amalia- The elephant- Rosie- plays a big role in the book, but it's a riveting read. I had students choose to read it this semester and they overwhelmingly enjoyed it. Same with Secret Life of Bees.
I'm trying to read more literary fiction. I usually read sci fi and fantasy, but I know the literary fiction will help my writing more.
I've been reading a lot of non-fiction lately for some reason. Mostly historical based biographies or philosophy. Hopefully it will still help my writing just by expanding the sorts of things I think about.
I've been branching out by branching into historical fiction, haha. I read a lot of YA, too, just because I "know" so many YA authors online who make me want to read their and others books.
Wow, I've only read one on that list. Maybe I need to branch out too. 🙂
Interesting list! Funny how hard it is to branch out of our usual reading rut, huh?
I just finished The Rise of Renegade X – loved it!! 🙂
Monkeewrench by PJ Tracy (thriller/mystery) — impressive male characters from a mother daughter team from Minnesota.
I'm reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – absolutely incredible 🙂
My general reading choices are amusing, fantasy-style YA. I'm currently reading a contemp YA, and I've been reading a bunch of literary or very old books these few months. I think it helps me grow.
I don't know if I have a comfort zone, but I guess I feel more at home with fantasy and sci fi. I read "The Book Thief" and "The Road" recently, but even they have fantastical elements to them. I'm about to read a Nora Roberts–that will be completely new to me.
I usually read books that are edgy or quirky. I'd like to read more sci-fi and historicals.
You've got some great books you've read recently, Stephanie! And Charlotte's Web was my first chapter book, too. I read it aloud to my mom while I was learning to read. I still have a copy of it with a journal of my reading progress written on the inside covers and first pages. Every time I'd finish a chapter, my mom would take me to a local farm (we lived in a rural area) to see some of the animals I'd read about. The journal entries are dated 1983 — I was three years old! I'm now a zoo keeper (when I'm not writing!) and I feel sure that book is largely to blame for my interest in animals. Good books do influence children for a lifetime!
I have always eagerly read just about anything I come across. Recently, though, I've decided to re-visit some books I haven't read for a long time to see them with fresh eyes.
I am almost finished with The Great Gatsby, which I hadn't touched since high school. It is a totally different book through an adult's eyes, and is now one of my favorites of all time.
I'm reading A Wrinkle In Time, which I haven't read since I was probably six or seven. I'm loving it!
My favorite book ever is Lolita, but I recently found an annotated version and re-reading the book with annotations has helped me see the book in a totally different way. It's very exciting.
Beyond that, I've been reading a lot of Joyce Carol Oates of late, who's a new author to me. Her books are dark and pretty disturbing, but I appreciate her style, and since I'm working on a literary novel at present, it's been good for me to check out a less familiar literary writer's work (less familiar than Nabokov, whose books I re-read all the time.)