Books I've liked lately

My mom and I were talking about how passionately we love books, and while we love our friends who don't, there is still something wonderful about being with other people who share the love. I married DH in part because of his book love--I realized--in quite a terrifying moment, since we'd only been out twice and both times were almost accidental--that he was The One after seeing Shadowlands (movie about CS Lewis) with him, and the ensuing conversation. His research is about books, so we actually eat them, and he knows they way to my heart is through credit at Barnes and Noble, not a trip to the jewelry store. My kids say one of their favorite things is when I read to them, even though the oldest is 11. I always like hearing about other people's favorite books, so here are some recent reads that I've liked:

Oppel, Kenneth. Skybreaker series--sort of Jules Verne-ish, only with female characters, too, which is refreshing. (I dislike books with either all male or all female casts.)

Lord, Cynthia. Rules. Middle grade book about a girl whose younger brother has autism. What I liked about it: it was a positive book and had a lot of plot for being contemporary. The writing was excellent, and I LOVE the scene running through the parking lot.

Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. Dairy Queen. A dairy farm girl in Wisconsin ends up playing on her high school football team--after coaching the quarterback of her rival school all summer. Possibly the most honest, strong, believable narrator voice I've ever read.

Ibbotson, Star of Kazan and The Dragonfly Pool. Both of these are MG novels that are historical, and take place in German-speaking lands. The first has and a mystery, and jewels, and Lipizzaner horses, and Vienna before WWI. The second is during WWII. I read Kazan to the girls and they loved it.

Farmer, Nancy. The House of the Scorpion. Kind of SF--the main character, Matt, is a clone and lives in the opium-producing country between Mexico and the US. It's got plenty of action and ruthless villains, and leaves you thinking about what it means to be human.

Turner, Megan Whalen. The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia. Inspired by Greek myth, about a thief named Eugenedis. With surprises.

Moss, Jenny. Winnie's War. A sad MG story about a girl living in a little town in Texas during the 1918 flu epidemic.

Anderson, R.J. Faery Rebels: Spellhunter. Lovely faery book that manages to value men and women and faeries and humans equally--something that doesn't always happen in books, fantasy or not.

Rex, Adam. The True Meaning of Smekday. Okay, this book is hilarious! About a kid who ends up on a road trip with an alien after the alien invasion has happened. Only, they have to save the world from other aliens. The alien friend happens to be a wannabe cartoonist, so some of the story is told in comic strips.

van Drannen, Wendelin. Flipped. I liked her MG mysteries about Sammy Keyes, but Flipped is really my favorite by her.

Crossley-Holland, Kevin. Crossing to Paradise. First he wrote a trilogy about a boy named Arthur living in the middle ages, and there is this parallel storyline to King Arthur stories. This fourth book is from a different character's viewpoint, and in my opinion, it's by far the strongest. I don't think you have to read the other three to get it. (And it ditches the King Arthur stuff.) Gatty, a poor girl from Arthur's village, ends up accompanying a lady on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Usually, novels about the middle ages muff it on the religion for me. It never feels like real faith. It feels more like an interesting character quirk. But in this one I really felt like Gatty not only went on this pilgrimage in proxy for her village, but also for the reader, and the faith felt dead-on for me. And the writing is excellent.

Stork, Francisco X. Marcelo in the Real World. Autistic-like teen works in his father's law office over the summer and gets more real world than he or his father wanted. Another extremely honest and vulnerable voice.

Shusterman, Neal. Antsy Does Time. Humorous contemporary story of a boy trying to help a friend, and getting into quite a lot of complications because of it.

Archer, Linda Buckley. Gideon the Cutpurse (trilogy). Two modern kids inadvertently mess with a time machine and end up in the past, accidentally sending a dangerous criminal to the present.

Korman, Gordon. Schooled. Hilarious. A boy raised by his hippie grandma has to go to school for the first time because she's broken her leg or something and is incapacitated. Everyone is out to get the weirdo--but he's savvy despite his ignorance, and charms his way out of things.

Well, there are lots more, but I should stop...

Thoughts on writing

I'm alternating between trying to develop a whole new book, and working on this scrap-and-rebuild project. I have to keep reminding myself that I really can write a novel, and have, in fact, done it twice. It's really hard, though--especially from the beginning!

One thing I learned from the last book: there are (or should be) natural nodes, or turning points, in the book. Maybe 3-4 of them. The plot should grow to reach these nodes, at which point an irreversible change takes place, one that ups the stakes and forces the character onward. Also, if you can get things put together right from the inciting incident at the beginning all the way to the first node, then you have successfully set the mold for the rest of the story. You will have the problems you need to resolve, you will have direction, and you will lock things in to some degree, and avoid all that messiness of too many possibilities.

I'm trying to set up that first part, as you might guess. Trying to have faith that things will simplify themselves when I get it right. If my hair looks thinner when you see me, don't worry--I'm just tearing it out over trying to get it right.

Slight change of subject--a general thank you to agents and editors whose blogs talk about books and writing craft. It's always more fun to read those kind than the ones that just talk about how amazing their sales are. I like the ones where I can come back and enjoy even if that person does not end up working with my book. I found Michael Stearns's blog this weekend and found it very entertaining (especially his short--true--story about nearly getting robbed). I mean, I can look up on PM or whatever about your sales. the ability to sell in the field you say you work in is sort of a baseline given. The thing that is really going to make me respect you, though, is knowing how passionately you love books. And which ones.