I seem to have three moods as they pertain to writing. First, I have the I-don’t-want-to-write-anything mood. This is my default. Consequently, I can go weeks upon weeks without writing anything. This is a horrible habit, and since I want to write a book in the near future, one I will have to kill. Second, …
How fiction makes me better
A friend gave me a deck of 100 writing prompts for my birthday, and I am really excited about using the cards because I often have writer’s block and have no idea what to write about. The past two weeks have been rather heavy, so I’m going to write about something on the light side. …
The Casual Vacancy — J.K. Rowling
2 out of 5 stars This book was disappointing. It was disappointing from a literature perspective, not because “it isn’t anything like Harry Potter,” which is a common complaint about this book. It isn't anything like Harry Potter; a lot of things aren’t like Harry Potter, but they still have substance and believable characters. The Casual Vacancy …
The Reason You Are Alive — Matthew Quick
5 out of 5 stars I loved this story. I have most of Matthew Quick’s other books, and this one is my favorite. David Granger, the main character, is a Vietnam War veteran, and he’s a crotchety old man. The book is set during the Obama administration, and there is a fair amount of Obama …
A Man Called Ove — Fredrik Backman
3 out of 5 stars Unfortunately, this book was not worth its salt. It’s actually a great story, and the writing is okay, but the author overuses similes. I’ve never read a book with so many similes and metaphors. There were often two or three on EVERY page. Like anything, similes are fine in moderation, …
Perfectionism (aka the fear of failure)
I’ve always been a perfectionist. Some of my perfectionistic qualities when I was younger were probably indicators of some mild obsessive-compulsive tendencies. I’ve gotten better, but my desire for perfection is still alive and well. I remember doing an assignment in first grade, and when we graded our own work, I got one wrong. I …
A book that inspires me
Several months after my psychotic break and after I had begun to accept my diagnosis, I went to Barnes & Noble with my dad. He’s always enjoyed going to the psychology section, and I tagged along. I found a memoir called Manic written by Terri Cheney (you can buy it on Amazon here). The cover and …
The faux book club
Last month, my best friend, who has this brilliant book blog, had the brilliant idea to start what she has dubbed a faux bookclub (I think faux may need to be italicized ‘cause it’s French, which means it’s fancy). What the heck is a faux bookclub?? I’m glad you asked. The top definition of faux is …
Between Two Poles 