For my Write ... Edit ... Publish ~ ROMANCE post, click HERE.
Cephalopod Ramblings
Some things of note occurred this month, in terms of reading:
- I finished Alex J. Cavanaugh's CASSA series, and found the third book to be my favourite of the series, even if I thought they were all great.
- I read my first Sarah Dessen novel, Dreamland. I thought it was very good, but I couldn't relate to the main character at all - just kept yelling at her to GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM, DUDETTE.
- I read my bloggy friend Cheyanne Young's Motocross Me, and really enjoyed it. I liked that main character Hana was far from perfect. This book reminded me of the movie Rush, just a little bit.
- And finally, I read Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, which is my pick of the month:
This book left me feeling rather depressed. As soon as I'd finished it, I put it aside and said, "Ohhh that's saaaad!" and gave my kitty a big hug for comfort.
This is a great book, though the story is terribly tragic. I feel like a bit of a psycho saying this, but learning the truth about what happened in the last moments of the massacre made me just a tiny bit ... happy. But I certainly didn't finish this book feeling happy in any way. The thing that haunts me most is Peter's story.
This book is so important - it's relevant to the past, but also to the future. America is inevitably going to continue to suffer more of these horrible tragedies, until some very drastic changes occur. I sincerely hope those changes are nigh, but I can't help but doubt that they are.
Goals
Ummm, so yeah, another month has passed, and what have I achieved since last time? Let's recap the last few months for just a second here.
At the end of April I was up to Chapter 13 in my revision project. At the end of May, I was still stuck on Chapter 13.
At least I can say now that I've made it to Chapter 16. But it's been the usual hard slog. And I believe I have edited Chapter 16 already about 5 times. The most recent edit is still confined to paper, because it was rather disheartening to realise I'd have to transcribe edits and print out yet another copy of the chapter to edit ... again!
Anyway, I hope to actually be done with Chapter 16 by the time June is out. But my days for achieving that little goal are numbered!! But at least I can say June was better than May, by along shot!
Hope you guys have had a great June!
You're making progress. Knock out that chapter and move on to number seventeen.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you! Glad you enjoyed my third book so much. You're awesome.
I enjoyed all of them, Alex, very much - just found that they got better as the series went on. :) I loved following Byron's character development.
DeleteWow, you read alot. I long to read quickly like some folks, but I am alas a sluggish reader. I have to digest every word or they just don't compute. Unless it's non-fiction and I can skim all day? *groan.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain with revisions. I have considered ditching my MS altogether. Stick with it. Good luck :)
http://shahwharton.com/
Sometimes it's very tempting to ditch. But I haven't ditched any yet - except where I've ditched a draft to totally rewrite the story.
DeleteI don't feel that I read very fast at all ... but I guess it sort of adds up over the year. But I have friends who read 200 books a year. I am sooo not at that level. ;)
It's been a while since I've read Nineteen Minutes, but I do remember enjoying it. That's a new cover from the edition I have.
ReplyDeleteI've been stuck on Chapter 25 in my current WIP for a couple of months now. Best of luck with your revisions!
Your Chapter 25 sounds very pesky indeed! I hope you make some progress on it soon. :) I really hope to get something done on my Chapter 16 today. Gahhhh.
DeleteCongrats on your editing progress! It might seem slow to you, but it is bringing you closer to your goals. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd that is what I have to keep telling myself every time I feel that sinking feeling that I haven't done more. :P
DeleteThanks, Misha!
Some great books there! I'm just about to put a bow on my novel revisions (I've been slogging through them for 2 month--ack!), so I'm going to leave you with this bit of encouragement: Onward. Always onward. And good luck! :)
ReplyDelete2 months? that's NOTHIN'! I basically took 2 months on one single chapter. :P
DeleteThank you for the encouragement, E.J.! Congrats on your pending revision bow! :D
That actually sounds like an interesting book. Is it based on a real story or complete fiction? Seems like it would be hard to read, though.
ReplyDeleteIt's fiction, really, but when I was reading up on other school shootings after reading this, I did find some similarities with some of the "true" stories. Mostly in the actual way that the massacre unfolded.
DeleteYou're making progress, that's great!
ReplyDeleteI often wonder if the question that Americans should be asking ourselves is why are our children so very, very angry?
Thanks, Elizabeth.
DeleteInteresting question - but I think kids everywhere are pretty angry about a fair few things. I don't think that is just an American thing.
I do think that the gun issue in America is unique, because other developed countries don't tend to have such gun freedom. I know I was shocked to learn there was *a* gun shop here in my city, about a decade ago.
You are one tough lady to stick with a book where you don't connect with the main character--I'm not sure what I would've done, though, maybe set it aside if the plot or other characters didn't pull me in.
ReplyDeleteI wish you mentioned a bit more about Nineteen Minutes other than a limited and enigmatic thought on that, though what you've said did intrigue me.
♥.•*¨Elizabeth¨*•.♥
I should probably remember to write a brief plot note for my reviews, in future. For this one I was really trying hard not to give away any spoilers, so that's why it sounds vague, I think. But the plot line would probably be beneficial for anyone who doesn't know much about it.
DeleteI did write a spoilery review on GoodReads though, that is a lot longer than this one. :)
Hi Trisha - great to know Alex' 3rd book is the best ... but your Jodi Picoult review is a little daunting .. but her story is obviously very important in this day and age .. thanks for posting .. cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThe Picoult novel is definitely distressing in a way, but I definitely think it tackles an important issue that isn't going away in our modern age.
DeleteI really enjoyed all of Alex's books, but I do think they got more interesting as Byron's life progressed. :)
Aww, you sound like me with the edits. There's got to be a way to break out of the slog!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I really miss the drive and energy I had back in 2011 ;)
DeleteJodi Picoult is a wonderful writer. I've liked all the books I've read of hers. I'll have to see if my library has this one. Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteI agree - love her work. I have read a lot of it as well, but have a few that I've missed.
DeleteHi, I've come over from Beth and Misha's Five Year Project blog hop. Glad to see you are making progress, even if slow. I love writing the first draft, but I HATE editing!
ReplyDeleteHi Ruth, thanks for visiting! :)
DeleteI never minded editing before... I have a feeling it's this story in particular that's giving me trouble. Along with my new method of editing a chapter over and over until I'm happy with it, instead of editing once & moving on.
Maybe you should have skipped Chapter 13 and gone directly to the next floor?
ReplyDeletehaha, good idea. Maybe I'll remember that next time ;)
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