As it's the last Friday of the month, I'm here to post for the Do You Have Goals? hop (hosted by Misha and Beth), as well as the Cephalopod Coffeehouse Book Club (hosted by the Armchair Squid).
This month I've read 5 books, and they've all be 4 or 5 star books, so it's been a pretty darn good reading month compared to some others I've known. ;) It's kind of hard to pick a favourite because I've read books from very different genres, but I think I'll go with ...
Finally this month, I got around to starting this series, knowing I wanted to see the movie when it comes out here (next month). I really loved this book, and read it fairly quickly, by my standards. It was fast-paced and gripping, and the setting was fascinating.
I guess you could say I didn't really have any complaints, though I did get annoyed at a critical moment when Tris and Four, reunited, get too busy making out to remember they have to save thousands of people from dying right that second. I kind of don't blame them for taking their moment, since it was a very intense, full-on time, but still, PEOPLE DYING, DUDES. I do wonder how many actually did die while the heroes were having their little love fest. But I do get that it wasn't just a normal make-out session. :P
Since I haven't exactly drowned myself in dystopian books since the genre became "big", I'm still not sick of the genre as other people seem to be, so I very much enjoy reading books set in futuristic, run-down worlds like this one.
Oh, and I really loved that Tris wasn't a stunningly beautiful, physically perfect heroine. It was a nice change.
Last month I reported that I'd made some progress with editing SQUEAKY. I can say the same this month. I've made more progress in March, yes, but it's been very slow going, and some chapters are proving particularly torturous to edit. As I edit on paper, I often wind up with pages so heavily scribbled on I can barely read what was originally there. I'm getting the work done ... but at a snail's pace.
I'm stuck on chapter 8, which has been divided into 2 chapters. The second half is now a tiny chapter 9, which definitely needs fleshing out in one section in particular. The first half was, I thought, mostly done, but tonight I went through again and scribbled heavily on a few sections. And even after transcribing those edits, I realise I am probably going to have to do a lot more rearranging of one section in particular, before I can finally say this chapter is done.
March was NaNoEdMo month (even though EdMo isn't running officially this year), and yet I have only done about 15 hours of editing, which is FAR less than the aimed-for 50 hours of EdMo. That is a fail, for sure, but on the win side, at least I'm still going.
See you next month. ;)
I have a feeling this might be too violent for me, being a squeamish soul but I can recommend it to my friends who like the dystopia genre. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'm not burned-out on dytopia books, either, but that's because I haven't read any... unless you count some of the post-nuclear destruction books of the late fifties and early sixties. The idea of the couple pausing to make out when they were supposed to be saving the world kinda cracked me up. That'd drive me nuts. I mean, really! Everyone knows it should be save the world first, and THEN play kissy-face. Sheesh.
ReplyDeleteGreat review. Thanks.
Make out AND save the world? Here I thought I had a busy day...
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the editing. And yes, I also think you can claim the win just for sticking with it.
My 6th grade creative writing students have been after me to read Divergent but, the more they tell me about it, the less I want to read it.
ReplyDeleteDivergent is a great book series and I saw the movie on Thursday. It was quite good, not Hunger Games movie great but still a very good movie. As long as you keep working on your writing you are achieving something.
ReplyDeleteLOL. You and I had the SAME thoughts! "Kissing is good, but, um... world to save...priorities people!" Realistic though. I've seen people get lost in a moment like that and forget that they had something urgent going on. Annoying though.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with keeping up with your goals.
Hi there. I'm doing Misha's Five Year Project too and my own goal is 1/2 as ambitious as yours, as I am only aiming to get ONE book published! But, like you, I am stuck at the editing phase and finding it very difficult to make progress. We must just keep persevering I suppose. Writing is difficult work isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh about the make-out session while people are getting killed. That would have had me rolling my eyes as well.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your continued editing progress. 15 hours is still something to celebrate even if it's not 50.
Editing at a snail's pace is still okay. You know what they say: slow and steady wins the race...
ReplyDeleteSnails pace or not, you're getting work done, despite the edits being hard to do. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe inopportune make-out sessions don't get any better, or rarer, as the trilogy progresses, I'm sorry to say. My teenage daughter and I both read the whole trilogy and during the last one, I said, "I wish those two would make out less. I'm starting to fast-forward through those bits." I expected her (as a teenager) to disagree and tell me how romaaannntic those scenes are. She didn't. She fast-forwarded through them, too. I'm not sure why we find these scenes so unappealing: I could read about Diana Gabaldon's Jamie and Claire making out* all day long.
ReplyDelete*Yeah, that's what they're doing. Making out.
I always edit on paper too; there's something very therapeutic about wielding a red pen! And remember; the only failure is giving up. If you're still going, then it's win win win!
ReplyDelete