Reader Problems

Summer Haze

~ shawnaborman ~ 8 Comments

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing today? Are you ready for the holidays? Things here are quiet. I’m lazy and didn’t do Christmas cards again this year (shame on me). Dad’s going to make a shepherd’s pie for Christmas dinner (huzzah!). I still need to decide what I want for my birthday dinner. But I’m getting off track. Today, we’re here to ramble about another number thing, so let’s see what we’ve got. Matt chose 37 (because he likes to be difficult/funny, not because he didn’t know there were only 15). Jokes on him though, because I decided since 3+7=10, I’d make his choice 10 instead. I’ve already covered 13 (you can find the prompt list there), 7, 2, 8, and 3. Numbers 6, 14, 11, and 1 are yet to come. This week’s prompt is “Tell me which book is your favorite to read in the summer.” Hmmm…

That’s a weird question. Or maybe I’m just weird because I don’t have a type of book that I prefer in certain seasons. Is this something people do? Is this what they mean by a beach read? Something written to evoke all the summertime feels? I’m in Texas, in case you forgot. Summertime feels are 100+ degree days and bugs. All the bugs. I don’t care how much a book romanticizes the heat and humidity and bugs, a Texas summer is still not great. You get like three days when you can sit outside in decent temperatures and not get ravaged by mosquitoes. And I like the heat. I don’t think many of my northern peeps would survive down here, though. No matter how many books they had to distract them.

But I digress. Back to my preferred summertime reads. At that point in the year, I’m usually looking at my reading goals and am either woefully behind or a few books ahead. If I’m slacking on my reading, I usually look for a few shorter, easier reads. Cozy mystery series that I’m already into and not going to review beyond a star rating. Poetry collections that I can read in a day or two. Fun, fluffy YA stuff. Things I can get through pretty quickly. But if I’m ahead with my reading goals, summertime is usually when I reward myself with whatever 500+ page fantasy I’ve been putting off. I have three or four on my list right now. So, it really depends on my goals and motivation.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy seasonal themes in books, but they don’t actually have any impact on when I choose to read them. I’ll read Christmas and Halloween themed stuff year round. I’m not picky. I just grab whatever tickles my fancy at any given time. I don’t usually even notice the season unless it plays a big part in the book. And I have zero interest in a specific genre in summer. I think some people get nostalgic for certain things during certain times of the year. Maybe that’s why lean towards different books at different times. I don’t know. I just grab whatever looks good.

What about you? Do you gravitate toward a specific type of book during the summer? Or do you re-read a specific book around then? Or are you a chaotic reader like me? As always, feel free to share your thoughts and questions and comments here or on my social media pages!

What Book Scarred Me: Adult Edition

~ shawnaborman ~ 6 Comments

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this first Wednesday of December? I’ve been procrastinating writing this even though I already know the topic. I just have no motivation. Like usual. Anyway, it’s time to continue with the number thingie! The wonderful Heather Vendetti picked 3 for this week. I’ve answered 13 (you can find the prompt list there), 7, 2, and 8 so far. Numbers 10, 6, 14, 11, and 1 are all coming eventually. This week’s prompt is “Tell me which book had a profound effect on you as an adult.” Eh… let’s see what I can ramble about for this.

Honestly, I feel like I should have some kind of mature answer for this. Like I should pick one of those books that no one actually enjoys, but say they do to impress their pretentious asshat friends. The Great Gatsby, which I’ve read three times and will never understand why people insist it’s good. Anything by James Joyce. I bought a used copy of his short stories for class and have never agreed with a margin note more than the one at the end of “The Dead” where the person drew a rainbow coming out from behind a cloud with the caption “Hallelujah, it’s over!” Shakespeare, though I admit he’s grown on me. He’s a pervert and super over dramatic, so that’s fun. But people get so serious about him and I’m just sitting here giggling at the dick jokes. C’mon. But yeah, I’m not coming up with any serious answers for this question.

I read the Percy Jackson books when I was in my 20s. Does that count? Is it adult enough? At least I don’t think I was 30 yet. Who knows. But they were awesome and entertaining and I kind of want to read them again. They helped shape my interest in mixing mythology with YA coming of age stories. It wasn’t a life changing thing, but those books have influenced some of my writing.

By Velinxi. I love Nico.

The only other books I can think of that have stuck with me fairly recently are The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (that book made me ugly cry in the best way), Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, and the Simon Snow books (also by Rowell). I guess you can tell I read a lot of YA for an old lady. It’s not something I’m ashamed of, but none of it seems like things that have any profound effects on me either. I just like reading and writing about angsty teens/young adults making stupid decisions before getting their happily ever afters. Preferably with some kind of monster/demon/supernatural being involved. I like other genres too (cozy mysteries for example), but they don’t seem to stick with me in the same way.

So, a handful of books have stuck with me as an adult, but I don’t have any profound insight as to why. I just like what I like. Ask me again in ten years and maybe I’ll have a better answer (I doubt it). What about you? Have any books scarred you as an adult? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts and comments and questions here or on my social media pages!

Short Stories, Novellas, Or Novels?

~ shawnaborman ~ 3 Comments

Hello, hello!  Last week, I asked a friend to suggest a topic for my next blog post (I’m running low on ideas, so feel free to suggest some topics or ask me questions) and she brought up short stories vs. novellas vs. novels.  She wanted to know my preferences based on being a reader vs. being a writer.  So, I thought I would use today to talk about the lengths of the things I enjoy reading as well as of the things I enjoy writing.  It seemed like a good topic since I haven’t written many writerly ramblings lately.

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These are the general guidelines.

First, I suppose I’ll approach the topic as a reader.  If I’m looking for something quick to distract me for a short period of time, I love digging into a short story.  But, most of the time, I prefer to read novels.  I like being able to get lost in a new world and getting to know the characters in a way that shorter works don’t allow for.  As far as novellas go, I don’t actively search them out, but I don’t dislike them for any particular reason.  One of my favorite stories is “The Body” by Stephen King, which is a novella in his collection Different Seasons.  Overall, I suppose I’d rank my reading preferences as novels, followed closely by short stories, then the occasional novella.

As a writer, things are a little more complicated.  Let’s look at novels.  I’m still fairly new to this particular form and I’m not entirely comfortable in it.  Though, I will admit, as I work on each new novel, I’m becoming more and more drawn to it.  At first, it felt like I was rambling.  I couldn’t get a grasp on the idea of the slow reveal and how to keep it interesting while my characters were going about their days.  I’m two-thirds of the way through writing my third novel and I’m finally feeling like I might semi know what I’m doing.  So, writing novels is growing on me.

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Me when I look over my novels.

Short stories, on the other hand, are where I feel most at ease.  I enjoy the conciseness of the short form.  It’s easier to keep track of one or two plots and characters than it is to keep track of a novel full of them.  I’m not constantly stressing because I just know I forgot some minor detail that will inevitably turn into something major.  Don’t get me wrong, I forget stuff in my short stories all the time, but it’s much easier to catch those things when it happens in 20 pages vs. 300 pages.  It’s also much easier to keep the writing motivation going for a week or two instead of three or more months.  Plus, I have a lot of fun with short stories.  That’s why they will always be my favorite to write.

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Well, that was a short story.

Then, there are novellas.  I honestly haven’t ventured into this realm yet.  I stopped working on one of my fetish fairy tales because it was leaving the territory of a short story and becoming a novelette/novella.  I thought maybe it had too much backstory and I needed to cut stuff out.  But recently, I decided to just let it go where it’s going and figure out what to do with it later.  I have at least one other story that needs to be expanded into a novella, so I might try my hand at it one day, but today is not that day.

In the end, I suppose my writing preferences would be ranked short stories, novels, and novellas in a distant third.  What about you?  Do you have a preference when reading vs. when writing?  Is there an equivalent option in your craft if you’re not a writer?  Share your thoughts and comments here or on my social media pages!