The Last 10

I've been doing a lot of reading lately. One of the most important parts of improving your writing skills is to read...a lot. So in the last 4 months I have read 10 books. That may not sound like a lot but considering all of my school work and my internship, I think 10 is good. So I'm taking the time to give a little review of the last 10 books I have read. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn- This classic was fantastic. A good writer has to be able to tell a good story and this was a great story. It was well written and you connected with the characters immediately. When I was done, I realized why this is considered a classic. I would definitely recommend it. I couldn't put it down. I didn't want to. A Purity Myth- I usually don't read a lot of nonfiction but when I heard about this book on Anderson Cooper's show, I had to read it. The purity myth discusses purity balls. During these balls, young girls promise their virginity to their fathers until they are married. Jessica Valenti presents an intelligent discussion about the sexualization of girls in our culture. She makes the argument that by basing a woman's purity on her virginity, we are perpetuating the sexualization of young girls. We are making their sexuality the thing that defines them which can be dangerous to the development of their identity. I found the book an easy read and extremely intelligent. Cat of the Century- Okay, so this isn't a Pulitzer Prize winner. But it is a fun and interesting read. My mom bought me this when I was in the hospital. I have a cat named Boo and I love him. So my mom thought this book would be perfect. If you want an easy and relaxing read, pick it up. Back to Work- This was one of my other endeavors into the world of nonfiction. This is a book written by Bill Clinton about what can be done to get the economy going again. It was insightful and full of good ideas. It was nice reading what a former President, who actually did bring the country out of recession, would do in this current situation. It provided a much needed perspective concerning how to improve the economy. That Used to be Us- This was a book assigned by my Policy professor. It discussed how the United States has gotten to its current state. There are too many discussion points to mention in just a few sentences, but it did spark intelligent conversations in the classroom. The basic premise is that we need to change how we invest in this country. We need to turn our attention to improving education, creating clean energy jobs, reducing the deficit, and investing in infrastructure projects and research and development. These investments is what got this country to its current state of greatness. Now we have to go back to that in order to improve our current situation and put us back on the right trajectory. The Marriage Plot- I loved this book. I absolutely loved it. Now, I will say, there are a lot of literary references in this book that you may not understand if you don't have a background in literature like I do. But the story is universal. It's sort of a coming of age story about recent college graduates. One of them is trying to handle the man she loves who suffers from a mental illness; he has bipolar. I think Jeffrey Eugenides gives such a realistic and in depth view of what it is like being in love with someone with a serious mental illness. I think he tells such a well-rounded and complete story. I couldn't put it down. When I should have been sleeping, I was up reading this book, anxious to know what would happen next. Middlesex- This is another book by Jeffrey Eugenides. The novel revolves around a young man who is a hermaphrodite. What is so interesting is that the physical abnormality isn't presented as something strange or abnormal. It is easy to relate to this young man's story despite the extraordinary circumstances surrounding his life. It is a great story about trying to find your identity and how to cope with life's difficulties. This author actually does a very good job with pacing the story and not having one of those hurried endings. I can't wait to read his next novel. Freedom- Okay...so...Jonathan Franzen. I was really excited about reading this book considering all of the positive things I heard about him. And I hate to say that I was disappointed. I think the book was average. And even though one of the books on this list was a cheesy mystery novel with some cats and dogs as major parts of the plot, I still enjoyed that book more. Maybe I had too high expectations. I think one of the things that ruined the novel for me was the ending. It was one of those endings that was tied neatly in a bow. I hate that. I think he is a good writer but the story was extremely scattered and at some points I thought the plot was all over the place. It was a pretty good book but I truly wanted more. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close- Exceptional writing. Those are the two best words to describe this novel. It could have easily been about 9/11. Jonathan Foer could have easily made 9/11 the focus of the plot but I found myself forgetting about the event and concentrating on the characters. I thought Oskar was so intoxicating as a character. I laughed, I cried and I got angry in this book. To be honest, he was the writer that made me feel a little insecure about my own. He was funny when he needed to be and serious when the occasion called for it. I can't wait to read something else he has written. I would definitely recommend this novel. I was hooked after the first paragraph. The Hunger Games- Again, not a Nobel prize winning novel but it is a good read. The book is extremely fast paced and a lot happens in such a short novel. Sometimes I wondered if it was too quick but I did take into consideration that it was the first of three novels and there was time to learn more about the characters. But, I didn't get invested in them. I think the plot moved too fast for that. But I'm just going to assume that as I read through the rest of the trilogy, I will become attached to Katniss or Peeta. I think it is a good, but not necessarily original, story and the first one made me want to read the rest of them. That is the point after all. This is how I would rank them, 1 being my favorite. 10. Freedom 9. Cat of the Century 8. That Used to be Us 7. The Purity Myth 6. Back to Work 5. Hunger Games 4. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 3. Middlesex 2. The Marriage Plot 1. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close In my opinion, all of that hype surrounding Jonathan Franzen really was just hype. But that hype can unreasonably raise expectations, which is possible. And yes I realize all of the nonfiction are clumped together. But I'm a fiction girl. :) Next on my reading list is to finish the Hunger Games trilogy and then read a book I heard about on NPR called Escape From Camp 14. I'll let you know what I think about those.

Rejection

I have always wanted to publish a novel. I will always be a writer but being an author was my dream. I worked hard on my first novel and edited and revised over and over again. And then it was time to find an agent. That turned out to be fruitless. I don't know how many agents I sent my first chapter to. I do know that all of them rejected my work. So I decided to take matters into my own hands. Thanks to James, I found a website that will publish my novel electronically for free. I knew that would be the best route. I just finished my Masters in Social Work and will be starting a PhD program in the fall. Because I didn't want writing to necessarily be my paid career, I just wanted to get my words out there. I wanted people to read what I wrote and be affected by it. (I do also have a dream of my book being discussed on NPR) So it came time to hit that publish button on the Smashwords website. The formatting was done. I had done all of the editing I could without being obsessive. (Most writers will tell you a novel is never done. They can always find sentences to restructure and plot points to change. The key is to get to a place where you have done your best). And it took me hours. Took me hours to hit that button. Why? Because that would open myself up to rejection. My words are like my children. I want to protect them. I want to keep the best possible opinion of them. And I know some people will not like my book. I know there will be people who won't connect with the story. I know this and I'm afraid. I'm afraid that this criticism, whether constructive or not, will affect my ability to write. I don't want to lose the confidence in my ability to tell a story. I'm no Philip Roth, Jeffrey Eugenides or Toni Morrison. But I think I'm a good writer. I'm definitely better than Stephanie Meyer (sorry if I offended anyone who is a fan). I just have to have faith in myself. Faith in the thoughts of those who have already read my novel and said it was great. I know my feelings may get hurt but in the business of creativity, it is inevitable that someone will say something critical. I have to be able to read it, figure out if it is beneficial and apply the advice if necessary. I must also believe that there will be more good than bad. That I can tell a story. That if I weren't good and not so motivated to write that I wouldn't be editing my 2nd novel and starting my third soon. One thing I have learned is that you don't have to be destined to just do one thing. I don't have to just be a social worker. I don't just have to be a writer/author. I can be both...and I will. And I can use my passion for writing and helping others. One, I can use my ability to write to make the things I learn about substance abuse treatment available to a lot of people. Secondly, real life makes better stories. And my clients can provide inspiration for good stories (of course I will not break confidentiality). They will also give me insight into what people can relate to. I hope that my first novel does well. I hope that my stories connect to people on the deepest of levels. I hope the beginnings keep them reading and more importantly, that the endings make them want to read my next one.