Write Stuff: October 2010

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

After Reading

Avalon High by Meg Cabot

Avalon High seems like a typical high school, attended by typical students: There’s Lance, the jock. Jennifer, the cheerleader. And Will, senior class president, quarterback, and all-around good guy.

But not everybody at Avalon High is who they appear to be…not even, as new student Ellie is about to discover, herself. What part does she play in the drama that is unfolding? What if the bizarre chain of events and coincidences she has pieced together means—as with the court of King Arthur—tragedy is fast approaching Avalon High?

Worst of all, what if there’s nothing she can do about it?

I have a minor confession: I love the King Arthur legends. I mean, ever since I was a kid, it's been one of my favorite tales. I've lost count of all the different incarnations I've read of the story. My favorite is Steinbeck's unfinished one, which is utter awesomeness, but it's Steinbeck, so what would anyone expect? Anyhow, Avalon High was a seriously fun read, and I adored it. Cabot's funny voice is great, and reflects the story well. Plus, Ellie's parents being professors just about made me die laughing. Spot on with that one! My only thing with the book was that Cabot's voice seems to be pretty similar across all her books, which I find somewhat frustrating. It's hard to distinguish between characters from the different stories I've read of hers. I don't really mind, just something that came to mind while reading. Also, dude, lots of back story right at the start, but since it's Cabot, she can get away with it :) Anyhow, I totally loved this one, and will have to check out the sequels, which I just found out are in Manga form. That will be interesting...

After Reading

By: Meradeth Houston on 1:50 PM

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Here’s the deal: Aunt Peg, the New York artist and the person Ginny Blackstone depended on to make her life interesting, took off to Europe without a word three years ago. Aside from a few postcards, Ginny hasn’t heard much. Then she gets a horrible phone call that changes everything.

But the story is only beginning. Soon after, Ginny receives one little blue envelope from Aunt Peg containing a thousand dollars and some very strange instructions…

I have heard so many good things about this book that I really, really was looking forward to reading it. I mean, a cross-Europe trip with a crazy set of instructions? Sounds great, right? Well, there were parts that were great. I loved the descriptions of the cities, especially because it let me remember what I loved about them so much. But, quite frankly, the characterization just fell flat for me. Ginny was just a medium for what was going on around her, and though she makes an effort to kind of tune into the coolness of her trip, for the most part she just kind of struck me as kind of blah. Like, really, I just didn't care. I wanted her to DO something and stop worrying about being alone and meek all the time. Sure, I'm shy, I get that, but that's the best thing about traveling--you get to be someone else in the places you go. It's not like you're going to meet those people ever again. Obviously, this is my take on the matter, but I was annoyed.

(Okay, so I made a VALIANT effort to not be biased by the Great Query Debacle from earlier this year wherein Ms. Johnson ripped my query a new one in a less than kind way, so I really tried to just get past it, read this book, and not think about that. I think I succeeded. Except that I didn't like Ginny. Oh well. Can't exactly help it.... Does bring up the whole 'can I like a book and not like the author all that much?' topic, which I'm still working on :)

After Reading

By: Meradeth Houston on 1:59 PM

Need by Carrie Jones

Zara collects phobias the way other high school girls collect lipsticks. Little wonder, since life’s been pretty rough so far. Her father left, her stepfather just died, and her mother’s pretty much checked out. Now Zara’s living with her grandmother in sleepy, cold Maine so that she stays “safe.” Zara doesn’t think she’s in danger; she thinks her mother can’t deal.

Wrong. Turns out that guy she sees everywhere, the one leaving trails of gold glitter, isn’t a figment of her imagination. He’s a pixie—and not the cute, lovable kind with wings. He’s the kind who has dreadful, uncontrollable needs. And he’s trailing Zara.

Okay, this was a totally cute, quick read. And when I checked out the facebook page for the series, I accidentally read a spoiler from the next book, Captivate (which has, quite possibly, the most awesome cover, ever. If I ever get published, I want a cover like that. It. Is. Sweet. And I digress. As usual). Anyhow, now I'm dying to read the next one, and rather ticked that my library is closed until December. So Not Cool. Anyhow, I'll have to suck it up and read something else in the interim, and day-dream about some hypothetical future date when I have $$ to go buy the books I want, whenever I want them. Anyhow, as for the book, I am fairly certain that Nick is one of the hotter characters I've read about in a while. Yum. The only problem I had with things is that I really couldn't see why the pixies hadn't shown up and taken Zara earlier--if he can get into her house whenever, what was stopping him? Whatever. It is something I could overlook. Overall, lots of fun!

After Reading

By: Meradeth Houston on 2:08 AM

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object--artfully encoded with five symbols--is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation... one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.

When Langdon's beloved mentor, Peter Solomon--a prominent Mason and philanthropist--is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations--all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.

Okay, so I figured I'd read enough YA for a while and I'd pick up an "adult" book. I really enjoyed Brown's other books, particularly Angels and Demons, and The Lost Symbol was still fun. The only problem I had was that it was kind of formulaic. As in, it followed the exact same course as the other two. I mean, the places and such might have changed (and lets be honest, settings in Europe are always going to be a bit more fun than those in the US, I can't help it) but what happened isn't. Plus, I found a few errors in his research and that kind of ticked me off. Still, I read it, and it was interesting. It's almost more like a lecture in story form than a book--something that I actually rather enjoy. So long as its interesting :)

I finally did it

By: Meradeth Houston on 6:21 AM

I've been thinking about doing this for some time, as I honestly wish there were a place/reference for females thinking about higher degrees. Not that there's a whole lot of differences between men and women in grad school, but, hey, the things that ARE different are important! So, check out my other blog,A Girl's Guide to Graduate School. I'll still post writing stuff here, but I'll be tackling the world of grad school in the other blog. Swing by, leave a comment, follow me, or ya know, be edumacated :)

The Devil is in the Details

By: Meradeth Houston on 4:24 AM

There's one thing about reading that can really frost my cookies: when I'm trying to enjoy a story and come across a giant, blundering error that someone SHOULD have caught somewhere along the editing process. I'm not talking typos, because those I can kind of understand, but a general fact that is obviously wrong, especially when it's coming from a character in the story who should know better. This can make me put down a book--no matter how good it is. It can also make me spend the next three hundred pages looking for more errors as I read, which is not what I originally wanted to do when I sat down to enjoy a novel.

So what brings about this little rant? I have been reading an adult book, by a very famous author who has had his movies made into several movies, and is extremely popular. And within the first hundred pages I've found several blatant errors. Sometimes I can brush these aside and not let them bug me too much, but these were statements by the main character who's supposed to make his living studying the things he's now erroneously reporting. And it annoys me. Really bad.

Now I'm not trying to say that every author has to be perfect in every fact they include in their books--authors are humans, too. But there are fact-checkers for a reason, and I do think that the big, glaring errors should be addressed. Because there are very anal readers out there who are going to get annoyed :) And write blog posts about it. And generally just spend the rest of the book picking apart every last detail, and enjoy pointing fingers and giggling.

So is it possible to not get frustrated by these little errors? How do other people get around them? I know I read a lot of paranormal and F/SF because the world building allows me to overlook little flaws :)

After Reading

By: Meradeth Houston on 8:00 AM

Torment by Lauren Kate

(Note, I actually managed to get a photo up!)

Lucinda is sure that she and Daniel are meant to be together forever. Now they are forced apart in a desperate bid to save Luce from the Outcasts–immortals who want her dead. As she discovers more about her past lives, Luce starts to suspect that Daniel is hiding something. What if he has lied to her about their shared past? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?

Oh holy hannah did I love this book! I'm really not sure if it's just because it was a great story with tons of fun and a giant mystery, or that it's just *my* kind of book, but honestly, I don't care. It was awesome. One of those I-want-to-go-live-in-there kind of books. I really enjoyed the first book in the series (Fallen) but this one is not only better written, but the pacing and characterization is much more developed. Kate fills in the details slowly, and the book is set in Fort Bragg (props for a NorCal setting--that always won some bonus points for me--I love that area of Cali and wish I lived up there, well, minus the considerable amount of pot smoking that kind of rules that area :), which is a lovely, creepy atmosphere for the story she tells. There are some seriously big questions that get left unanswered here, but I'm not exactly complaining--I think the next book (Passion, which I don't honestly think I can wait til next summer for, waah!) will fill in nicely. Oh, and this time around, Kate finally fills in a battle scene, which was something I felt very cheated about in the first book. Overall, go read this one!

Okay, this is a totally rambling review, but I can't help it. Totally loved it, and now I'm kicking myself that I decided not to drive to Frisco to see her on launch day. Grr. Grad school really needs to stop interfering with my life... :)