Creating a To-Read List

My house is full of lists: to-do lists, grocery lists, but most interestingly, a to-read list. As a writer, it is important to be informed about the industry. From reading others' books, writers can get a better sense of technique, style, and tone. Just as researcher has to go out into the field and conduct clincial studies to collect data, a writer should constantly be reading. So, it is a good idea to maintain a list of books to read. This list should include a variety of novels, but a few important classes to consider are classics, the tried-and-true novels of your discipline, and what's currently popular.

Classics Reads-

Classics have been read, studied, and enjoyed for years, and sometimes centuries, for a reason: they were gracefully written and tell an interesting story in a well-crafted way. These novels get to the core of writing, so it's a good idea to tag a few of these on your list. A few authors to begin with are William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edith Wharton, and Agatha Christie. Make sure a wide spectrum of years and styles is represented on your list.

Industry Reads-

Also choose some books which are classics in your specific field. It is important to know what your intended audience enjoys. If you write for children, you should definitely read or reread E.B White's Charlotte's Web, L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Norton Jester's The Phantom Tollbooth. While you may feel silly reading these books now, they are among the best in children's literature and will be useful tools in your writing.

Popular Reads-

Finally, it is a good idea to look at those prominent displays at the bookstore to find out what everybody else is reading. J.K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins, and Rick Riordan are popular with both their intended middle-grade audience, young adults, and adults. Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling's books are often shared and sought out by young adults and women (at one point, there were three copies of this book in my house, one for each woman, which were bought or lent). Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy can be found almost anywhere as well. It is good to be familiar with "Pop-Lit" because these are the books which are currently doing well. They represent ideas, themes, humor, style, and tone which people today can't get enough.

Now, with your list prepared, spend some time at the Westborough Public Library and Tatnuck getting the books from your list. Every writer should also own a copy of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style. Also, if you're in Westborough, read A.S. King's Please Ignore Vera Deitz. The Community Reads project is a fantastic initiative and this book is great.

Please (Don't) Ignore Vera Deitz

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I read this book for part of a Community Reads project and really enjoyed it. King is in touch with what it means to be a teenager and her writing reflects this understanding. I definitely recommend this book to all who like high-stakes and suspensful reads.



View all my reviews

Worcester Writers Collaborative

A lot of new and exciting things are happening with the Worcester Writers Collaborative (WWC). Next Saturday, January 28th, there will be a group signing at Tatnuck Bookseller in Westborough, MA from 1-5 PM. As of now, I am planning on sharing a reading from MiF. We'll see how that goes. Telegram Towns published an article today about the upcoming signing. Also read about WWC authors and founders Cheryl Cory and Jessie Olson in The Daily Holden.

In other news, the Collaborative has insipired me to work on my next book. I'm currently editing and am hoping on releasing it for summer 2012. I've also kept busy with the Westborough Patch and Story to Tell.

Overcoming Challenges

It has been one grueling month since beginning Moby Dick. It's finally springtime, although it snowed today, and I am halfway through reading the book. It's been challenging to keep up with the reading but it's manageable. Feel free to comment on headway you've made towards your goals thus far, at this halfway point.

Fortunately, I received some inspiration in overcoming challenges this past Saturday at the Eric Carle Museum from the author panel on "Overcoming Challenges" with authors and author/illustrators Brian Lies, Mary Newell DePalma, Jo Knowles, and Barbara O'Connor.

These authors discussed how they traversed adversity in their careers and writing. They emphasized values such as discipline, balance, and perseverance in reaching success. After being stuck at a writing standstill, this event motivated me to get back to work and helped me realize that sometimes the best remedy to a writing problem is to simply write through it. In general, this seems to be a great way to solve problems: to plow through them and persevere even when things seem unwelcoming. Try new things. Although certain choices may not work, they may segue into a solution.

Everything is Booked on New Year's

Today is New Year's Eve and 2011 is quickly approaching. As always, we usually create New Year Resolutions for ourselves. The first few days can come easily but it's more challenging to committ in the long run. Work, school, taking down Christmas decorations, and schedules interfere with goals and may sometimes cause the resolution to fade away. One book may be able to help with that problem.

When Turtles Fly by Nikki Stone, gold medal Olympian and motivational speaker, tells stories about intriguing people who have accomplished great things. I've been reading the book recently and the stories are incredible. They show how people's efforts pay off with practice, dedication, and hard work. At the end of each story there is a tie-in to the book's theme and a challenge. These challenges are truly helpful in achieving goals. I definitely recommend this book for people striving to accomplish that New Year's Resolution.

2011 is almost here. A quick stop to the bookstore may be a good way to start the year off.

More details on Nikki Stone's book can be found on her website, http://www.whenturtlesfly.com/index.html

Fast Facts: Recent Writer Updates

I have a few writer related updates at the moment:

-Misadventures in Filgersville is now available on Amazon's Kindle store for devices supporting Kindle programs. It can be viewed through this link. Filgersville on Amazon

-With that said, a new edition has been added to Goodreads of Misadventures in Filgersville for the Kindle edition. Feel free to review/rate that edition if you so please.Kindle Edition

Author Andrew Clements signing books at Tatnuck.

-The last Local Author Extravaganza on Black Friday went great. Thanks to everybody who came. It was nice to see some familiar faces and meet new authors from the area and reconnect with old friends from last time. I will also be attending the same event on December 26th at Borders from 1-4/5.

-Finally, I attended Andrew Clement's book signing at Tatnuck recently. It was really great to meet an author who I read and enjoyed through my childhood. He was very friendly and I was amazed by his timeline of book covers which was so long that it needed to be held up by multiple people. That's impressive!