Category Archives: Books

Books by others; whatever I’m reading.

November readfest, Day One, Book One

By | |
Comments Off on November readfest, Day One, Book One

While some of you are madly writing, and writing, I am reading. I am starting with a series I love, something Kelly and I both read annually. This year’s edition of The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2011 is especially exciting because it was edited by the hilarious Mary Roach, along with series editor Tim Folger.

I have already learned exciting things about fermentation. How cool is that?

And, since these are articles, I am also going to embark on reading a novel… just as soon as I pick one out.

Nano not so much

By | | ,
Comments Off on Nano not so much

I have been thinking about it a lot this past week and it is clear to me that, fun though it would be, spending all of November writing new fiction isn’t the best use of my time. So, while some of you are madly novelizing, I plan to spend the stretch from now to mid-December doing two things: putting final touches on the current novel in progress and reading as much as I possibly can.

Meego Read Mo, I’m calling it. I have a bunch of research books to mow through, and the remainder of the horror rereads, and the The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2011 was edited by Mary Roach this year, and the new The Children of the Sky is in the house too. And all that’s for starters! There’s so much good stuff I want to pay attention to.

I’ll report how it’s going, just as I would if I were writing a book.

I like Nanowrimo. I’ve done some good writing in past Novembers and I am sure some future year will play out so that I can participate again. It was a bit tough to let the idea go, because I love writing draft and I love playing with the Nano community. But with one book 85% done and things going well, it just doesn’t make sense to hare off in a completely different direction.

Grappling with Stephen King’s IT

By | | ,
Comments Off on Grappling with Stephen King’s IT

As previously threatened, my latest horror lookback has been to Stephen King’s monster novel It. Interestingly, my feelings about the book and where it went wrong are unchanged. I hope, though, that time and more experience–life experience, writing experience, feminist experience–has sharpened my analysis.

You can read my essay here.

Exquisite Words had a great time at SiWC

By | | ,
Comments Off on Exquisite Words had a great time at SiWC

Today’s snippet is from Stephen King’s It.

The lightning plays fitfully across his face and although he does not know it, the day has just turned. May 28th, 1985 has become May 29th over the dark and stormy country that is western Illinois tonight; farmers backsore with plantings sleep like the dead below and dream their quicksilver dreams and who knows what may move in their barns and their cellars and their fields as the lightning walks and the thunder talks? No one knows these things; they only know that power is loose in the night, and the air is crazy with the big volts of the storm.

We have a character on a journey here, and this conveys that–time passing, miles traveled, and storms ahead.

There should be a review of It up soon on Tor.com, by the way, as part of my look at Eighties horror.

More Torrors… and all that Shat

By | | , ,
Comments Off on More Torrors… and all that Shat

My second look back at Eighties horror novels is up on Tor.com. It’s called “The Dog Who Played with Scrabble” and is about Dean Koontz’s Watchers, which I remembered quite imperfectly.

I am now one thousand pages into Stephen King’s It. Part of me wishes I’d picked Christine instead, for reasons having everything to do with time management. But It has been very fun and thought-provoking. I’m enjoying it immensely.

In between the two–and ain’t this a bit of a head-twist?–I have also read and reviewed Shatner Rules: Your Guide to Understanding the Shatnerverse and the World at Large, by William Shatner. My thoughts on that are here.