NaNoWriMo 2015

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As the end of October rolls around, I like many book nerds, will take part in NaNoWriMo. This is my 3rd year, though I've always lost steam before very long. I'm just as excited about it this year as I've ever been. It just doesn't seem like fall without me taking a crack at writing something.
This year I'm writing a New Adult Romantic Comedy about an awkward girl who accidentally signs up for a ballroom dancing class. She isn't a dancer, and she would quit except for three things: her new job is footing the bill, it's the first time in her life - now that she's graduated college - that she's found herself directionless, and last but not least, her teacher happens to be a really attractive guy.

One last thing - the rules to NaNoWriMo say that you have to start November first. But you know what? Fuck the Police. I've already started and I've got 2k words down so far. That used to really discourage me when other participates did that, but at this point I've decided to hell with it. If you don't write the good bits down as they come to you, they may be gone for good and do you think professional writers adhere to "the rules"? Fuck nah.

Anyway, I'm really going to try to finish my first draft this time, guys! The word count is only a college paper draft a day, and that was one of my favorite things to do in college. Now that I have that perspective framed in my mind, hopefully it will help. You can keep up with my writing progress in the side bar below.

Happy writing!

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

I'm sorry, Dear Blog. It's been a month since my last update and this isn't at all what I'd promised. Somehow, I'd gotten caught up in other things. (Volunteer work, Regular work, Family stuff...) But here I am! With renewed vigor! I recently found that my new library is a nice short-cut between home and work, and even stopping in for 20 minutes shaves off a lot of time from my commute (and avoids a ton of 5pm traffic!) Now that I'm finishing a few of those borrowed books, expect to hear more from me.

Sophie Kinsella, known maybe more so for her fun and trite Chick-Lit novels (mainly The Shopaholic series) tries on a new tact with her first YA novel. Audrey, her heroine, suffers from social anxiety, something Kinsella thinks is very serious. Indeed, Audrey's particular social anxiety is far more full blown than any I've ever had (but not the case for many of my friends).
Still, I feel like Kinsella tip-toed around the subject of mental illness a little too delicately and either took it too seriously or not seriously enough. I suppose that's forgivable as it would very easy to mishandle it. Still, I think I like her adult novels better because she doesn't restrain herself at all from being a goof. I, for one, have always found a very dark, bleak humor in my depression - privately singing the Kenny Loggins track "I'm Alright" during my emotional melt-downs. All the same, I'm kind of glad I borrowed this from the library instead of buying it for myself.
So Audrey has social anxiety. She can't leave the house, and wears sunglasses at all times to avoid direct eye contact. Her family is crazy, but we can all kind of relate to that. But in the midst of her family's wackiness, her brother's friend sort of helps wedge her out of her troubles,
As usual with Sophie Kinsella novels, it was light and funny - but maybe I her gimmick was a bit dark for a first YA novel. I don't know, it didn't seem a good fit.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

UGH!! This perfect book! Why did I wait so long to read you, perfect book? Beautiful book? Hilarious book? I know why - it's because by now I've already read everything by Rainbow Rowell (until Carry On hits shelves in a few weeks) and, though we all know I love reading, I especially love Rainbow Rowell. I'm one of those people who likes to save good things for the right time. I don't eat a chocolate bar all at once - it will survive a week. I can have some self-control like that.
But back to Attachments - it may be my favorite Rowell novel since Fangirl (which I originally read as a library copy, but have since sprung for my own special edition copy and will sometimes take down to reread). It may have something to do with the time and place I am in emotionally. Or, maybe it's because it's a really good romantic comedy that is actually both romantic and comedic. Something (a douchey friend once told me) is as rare as a unicorn and some people assume don't exist. Oh, it exists. The very first page had me cackling - the relationship between Jennifer and Beth are so like me and my work friend (of course, I'm the Beth here). And Lincoln... sweet cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure... awh, Lincoln. You know? I have to give it up to Rowell. She knows how to make normal people lusciously attractive - her romances are not built upon make-believe and fantasy. Attraction isn't about what everyone else sees as sexy, but what you as an individual sees. All of her novels are about that. All of her heroines are Plus Sized (in my head, anyway) and they are all beautiful and vibrant and human-sized. Her heroes tend to be average Joes, sometimes hayseeds, sometimes a little smelly with cow-licks, but always gentlemen. Neither of them present unrealistic expectations for either gender. Except, perhaps, that they always fall for those little quirks and nuances that go unnoticed or discussed by friends, family, and acquaintances. The way, I believe, attraction really works. In other words, it's not about what other people see, but what you see in a person.

In Attachments, Lincoln takes a new job on the night-shift of a local newspaper (this in in 1999, but apart from the pop culture references, there's nothing romanticized about it). His job is to monitor e-mails by reading them - it's not a secret, it's company policy. The e-mails sent between Beth & Jennifer, however, are entertaining and Lincoln decides not to turn them in. Especially now that he finds himself falling for Beth. But how does a gentle giant, awkward turtle like Lincoln breach the subject to Beth? A woman he's never officially met?

It's reminiscent of You've Got Mail, my favorite movie of all time. I highly, hugely recommend it. I see that pitiful 3.97 rating on GoodReads and completely rebuke it. I'm stingy with my stars, but I definitely gave it 5. My other two Rainbow Rowell Reviews are here: Eleanor & Park   Landline

Dune by Frank Herbert: An Impression

I don't write reviews for books that are considered classics by a remarkable group of the reading population. But there's so many books in the world, we can't always read them hot off the presses, and sometimes we get to them late. In my case, 50 years late.
Yes, I finally got around to reading the cult classic Dune. This isn't going to be a real review, obviously, because I'm not qualified. But does it stand up to the test of time? You know, I've always had pockets of friends who were a little bit, more or less, obsessed fanboys of this series. Suddenly, now that I've read the book and I'm so excited about it I can't seem to find any of them. Obviously the hype is gone, but jeebus. So that's the predicament I'm in right now. I'm overflowing with opinions and discussion questions about this book, but I can't seem to find anyone to talk about it with me! I expect if I reread this novel at another time, I'll notice more things than I had this time. This book is mammoth & daunting. I guess this is what they call a "space opera." A great deal of drama over friends and foes and secret friends being secret foes and foes being secretly friends. And some fictional politics - which kind of lost me because why do I want to talk about made-up politics that aren't going to effect me when the real deal is so depressing and not going to go away when I shut the book?
So it was a great, epic novel that was daunting at first, but I feel I breezed easily through to my own surprise. I'd always felt intimidated by it's length, but I read it fairly quickly. I'll eventually get around to reading the other books in the series, but I do want to put some breaks on reading digitally. It's all fine and dandy, but not as pleasurable and satisfying as reading real books.