Stories and Book Talk

Tag: Books/Comics/Poetry Read

Books read , comics read, Poems read

  • A Court of Wings & Ruin- Book Review

    A Court of Wings & Ruin- Book Review

    A Court of Wings and Ruin

    A Court of Wings & Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

    Feyre will bring Vengeance.

    She has left the Night Court – and her High Lord – and is playing a deadly game of deceit. In the Spring Court, Tamlin is making deals with the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees, and Feyre is determined to uncover his plans. But to do so she must weave a web of lies, and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre but for her world as well.

    As mighty armies grapple for power, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords – and hunt for allies in unexpected places. But while war rages, it is her heart that will face the greatest battle.

    Book Review

    A Court of Wings and Ruin is Book 3 in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series.  Feyre has sacrificed herself and returned to the Spring Court with Tamlin in a bid to protect her chosen family from the villainous King Hybern.  Her sisters have faced a life-changing trial and Rhys is without his High Lady as Feyre is now in enemy territory on her own.

    Feyre has grown into herself.  As she stays in the Spring Court a second time, it is easy to see she has changed.  She is calculating risks, gleans motive easier, and is no longer clueless about the dangers and machinations hidden behind the beautiful Spring Court.  She is different from the Feyre in the first book.  She knows who she is, and what she wants and I found that part of her growth inspiring.

    A Court of Wings and Ruin is focused on bringing Rhys and Feyre together as a power couple.  They are High Lord and High Lady of the Night Court.  Their journey starts with Feyre living in the enemy’s camp to get vital information for the coming fight.  The two, Rhys and Feyre, endure a separation. This series has developed a large emphasis on adopting or choosing a family of your own.  None of the people Feyre comes to love as her family is related to her. 

    Rhys, Cassian, Azriel, Mor, and Amren have become her true family who now takes on the care of Feyre’s blood sisters. This court has a very strong sense of loyalty and love for each other.  It is also important to note that each of these characters has gone through a trial of their own at a point in their lives.  From Rhys who is shunned by his mother’s people for being a hybrid, Mor has endured unimaginable abuse from her own family in a bid to choose her own life.  The most impressive, Cassian and Azriel, who endured savage childhoods, conquered prejudice, and rose up in the ranks to become the strongest warriors known to their kind.  Amren is constantly in search of where she belongs after having endured horrors in prison. Together, this group of characters becomes a strong foundation, strong family support, protecting and loving each other as only family can. A foundation Feyre knows can now help her support her blood sisters who now need help adjusting to a new world. I found this aspect of a chosen family to be the most endearing part of this series.  A theme that works, that anyone can relate to.

    A Court of Wings and Ruin redeems Book One and Book Two for me.  Feyre and Rhys hold the story as they bring different courts together to face down an enemy who could cost them their very lives.  They compromise and open themselves up to potential friendships and allies.  This book becomes the strongest part of this series.  Each character grew and played an important part in the larger plot.  It even managed to redeem Nesta, Feyre’s big sister, who I’ve had a hard time getting to like.

    The burgeoning number of characters in this series is its greatest strength and weakness.  Each court has a strong character deserving of a story.  They cannot get it told in a book about Rhys and Feyre, so I felt it was a great weakness. As noted before, Tamlin’s storyline is quite unfair, to him. He suffers from a broken heart, holds a massive power he fights to control, and is perceived as a villain through Feyre’s eyes.  Tamlin goes through the wringer with Feyre and Rhys, I feel from another point of view, he would be better understood.  Characters like Lucian, Mor, and even Amren have stories that are deserving of more. They could each have a standalone book. A Court of Wings and Ruin is also very long, as the war is fought, allies come together and new villains emerge. I wished the ending did not feel like a plan to bring more books ahead. ^_^ This is a problem of late, as series books work to keep their worlds open and with that maybe…for the next book.

    It makes sense why there is A Court of Silver Flames after this, a story about Nesta, Feyre’s big sister, and Cassian.  Of which, I will not be going into because I think I’ve had my fill of ACOTAR this month.  I loved the development of Rhys and Feyre’s relationship and their fight at the end was worth the journey.  Their supporting characters are great and I enjoyed getting to know all of them.  However, it is hard to continue with Nesta who is a difficult character to understand through Feyre’s eyes. On her own, I have not done so well and could not finish her story.

    A Court of Thorns and Roses Series is written by Sarah J. Maas. She has also written The Throne of Glass series which I truly enjoyed, all seven books and side stories. You can check out more about the Throne of Glass series here.

  • A Court of Mist and Fury – Book Review

    A Court of Mist and Fury – Book Review

    A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J. Maas

    A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

    Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.

    Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

    With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas’s masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.

    Book Review

    I loved A Court of Mist and Fury more than ACOTAR 1.

    Rhys is a great character to follow. Feyre is also going through a rebirth, rediscovering herself and her strengths. It feels like Sarah J. Maas wrote book 1 in anticipation of book 2. Her characters show their true colors in Book 2, while Book 1 felt like a very quiet introduction with a very angry villain named Amarantha.

    In Book 2, Feyre observes that her love for Tamlin came about because she fell for the first nice person she ever met, the first person to show her kindness. I agree with this assessment fully. Book 1 had its moments of bravery and fighting to survive, but the romance between Feyre and Tamlin felt too weak, placed on a shaky foundation. It was a huge issue for me and I didn’t love it.

    Book Two has Feyre with Rhys. He becomes a source of strength for her as she fights her demons, finds confidence in herself and her abilities. Their relationship has a lot more growth as opposed to Feyre’s relationship with Tamlin. The big bad grows, and a host of new characters to love emerge.

    I do admire how Maas depicts difficult family relationships. No character in this book has an easy relationship with family, from bastards born unwanted, to Feyre who was the breadwinner of her family during their difficult times, perceiving that her sisters did not help in her efforts to feed them. No one has a perfect homey life, but they do try their best to create moments of happiness.

    A Court of Mist and Fury is a better book than A Court of Thorns and Roses. I enjoyed it more and found the characters much more agreeable. I do think Tamlin continues to get the short end of the stick. He had potential in book one, book two turns him into an unagreeable sort. It’s a tragedy.

    I find myself both enjoying and struggling with the ACOTAR series. My fault for having read Throne of Glass first. Feyre is a good strong character, but she’s not grabbing at me the way Aelin Galathynius (ToG) stood out. Their fight is different, in a way. I know the comparison in my head has to stop for Feyre to get a chance as I continue to Book 3 and Book 4. Still, Throne of Glass remains a more compelling tale at this point.

  • A Court of Thorns and Roses – Review

    A Court of Thorns and Roses – Review

    A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

    Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is cold and bleak in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator, and killing something so precious comes at a price …

    Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jeweled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she learns why her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion, the faerie lands become even more dangerous. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

    Book Review

    ACOTAR has a surprisingly slow start. I judge this by how quickly I sink into a story when reading. It took me a few tries to get into Feyre’s world. When I did, she was in trouble and discovering Tamlin’s world. I loved Lucian more and learned more about him than Tamlin, which worried me. Tamlin and Feyre are end game in ACOTAR. I found that I’m not quite in love with this pairing. Lucian and Rhysand really stand out for me. Their characters are so well-developed that it was hard not to enjoy reading their moments and experiences. I hope the next book will have a stronger story for Tamlin.

    ACOTAR is so popular that I wanted to jump into this world and discover what it’s about. So, I did. I suppose it can all be summed up as surviving day-to-day, then being pulled into a new world where it is all roses and thorns, and then fighting for what matters. I enjoyed the fight part. Feyre’s determination shines here, and she is admirable.

    Maybe because I know this is a series, the entertainment Rhys serves up so late in the book doesn’t annoy me so much as it would if this were not a series. I’m on to book two, and I hope Rhys features more.

  • January 2022’s Reading List

    January 2022’s Reading List

    The Year started with An American Marriage. Celestial Davenport is as real as ever in this book.

    Blurb: Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit.

    Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy’s time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love that has been her center. After five years, Roy’s conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together.

    Book Review

    The Fifth Season

    Then came The Fifth Season. This is not an easy book to get into, but once you do give it the time, it does deliver a riveting story, with remarkable characters.

    Blurb: This is the way the world ends. Again.

    Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze — the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization’s bedrock for a thousand years — collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman’s vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.

    Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She’ll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.

    Book Review

    Dread Nation & Deathless Divide

    These two books came I picked up at Text Book Center. I loved, loved them, great story and Jane McKeene remains a favorite. I will say that it is a Zombie series so a bit of gore and serious fighting and injury is expected. But mostly Ms. Ireland focuses on Jane McKeene’s bravery and tenaciousness. Discover more about these books here: Dread Nation & Deathless Divide.

    Book Review

    The Midnight Library

    We ended the month with The Midnight Library.

    I loved this one too. I read it fast, barely slept getting to the end, hehe. There is a deep divide in opinion about this book’s worthiness. I suppose it depends on taste, but I found Nora Seed’s odd journey interesting and thought-provoking.

    Blurb: In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig’s enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with a decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

    Book Review

    Notes Under the Door & Other Stories

    From December 2021, Notes Under the Door & Other stories. An anthology of short stories about African women dealing with experiences that leave them making some hard choices. These stories are eye-opening and speak on important issues in our African society.

    Notes Under the Door & Other Stories

    By Michelle Chepchumba

    Blurb: Dead fathers. Critical mothers. Abusive marriages. Body insecurities. Young love. And always, expectations. Notes Under the Door is an anthology of seven African literary short stories that explores what it can mean to be a girl, a young woman, in a world that demands too much of women, and gives back too little. Set in urban Kenya, each story follows a girl or a woman grappling with the experience of being who they are – young, female, African, layered, complex, whole.

    Book Review

    A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas
    A Court of Thorns and Roses

    Reading Next for February 2022 – The Series

    Feb is here and I’m excited to jump into the world of Sarah J. Maas. I have wanted to read A Court of Thorns and Roses for a time. I’m finally getting in and I can’t wait.

    Zev's Afrotheria

    The Fiction part of this blog is moving to a hosted site. If you enjoy reading fiction online, check out Zev’s Afrotheria at the following links. ^_^

    Prologue

    Chapter 1

    Chapter 2

    I wish you a beautiful week.

  • The Midnight Library – Book Review

    The Midnight Library – Book Review

    The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

    Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?

    In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig’s enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

    Book Review

    This book is about a woman who feels she has nothing left to give to the world.  She lives in a world that feels utterly isolated and there’s no one she sees who needs her.  She is suicidal and ends up in The Midnight Library.  Where she meets a guide who allows her to explore an infinite library of lives she could have lived, and a chance to discover the weight of her regrets.

    Nora Seed embarks on a unique adventure.  She explores various lives and possibilities.  She is greatly disappointed and intensely impressed with her accomplishments in some parts.  In others, she faces crippling grief at the loss of people she cares about, and in the end makes the decision to continue living.

    The concept of landing in a The Midnight Library saves Nora from an otherwise devastating choice.  She is a character who is depressed and in a low moment in her life.  The Midnight Library does serve toward bringing her out of this low moment.  She rediscovers what she felt passionate about, who matters in her life, and even finds the existence she thought useless matters to a young man she gave piano lessons.  I love this book for adding an extraordinary magic into the mundane events in life.  Nora discovers that the best she can do with her life is simple, just to live it to the best of her ability. 

    “If you aim to be something you are not, you will always fail. Aim to be you. Aim to look and act and think like you. Aim to be the truest version of you. Embrace that you-ness. Endorse it. Love it. Work hard at it….don’t give a second thought when people mock it or ridicule it.”

    The Midnight Library, Matt Haig

    No need to add anymore.

    Rating: 5 out of 5.
  • Dread Nation & Deathless Divide

    Dread Nation & Deathless Divide

    Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

    Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

    But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems

    The sequel to Dread Nation is a journey of revenge and salvation across a divided America.

    After the fall of Summerland, Jane McKeene hoped her life would get simpler: Get out of town, stay alive, and head west to California to find her mother.

    But nothing is easy when you’re a girl trained in putting down the restless dead, and a devastating loss on the road to a protected village called Nicodermus has Jane questioning everything she thought she knew about surviving in 1880’s America.

    What’s more, this safe haven is not what it appears – as Jane discovers when she sees familiar faces from Summerland amid this new society. Caught between mysteries and lies, the undead, and her own inner demons, Jane soon finds herself on a dark path of blood and violence that threatens to consume her.

    But she won’t be in it alone.

    Katherine Deveraux never expected to be allied with Jane McKeene. But after the hell she has endured, she knows friends are hard to come by – and that Jane needs her, too, whether Jane wants to admit it or not.

    Watching Jane’s back, however, is more than she bargained for, and when they both reach a breaking point, it’s up to Katherine to keep hope alive – even as she begins to fear that there is no happily-ever-after for girls like her.

    Deathless Divide, Goodreads.com

    Book Review

    Dread Nation came first and it is super amazing.  I enjoyed discovering Jane McKeene because she is feisty, strong-willed and kicks ass. She is a fierce black girl lead. Nothing can keep her down.   She lives her life how she wants it, despite her circumstances.  Book One (Dread Nation) is badass. 

    It made me want to read Deathless Divide, and continue with Jane.  Book Two is absolutely darker than the first book.  Which is a strange perspective considering the background of zombies and settlements where Jane is faced with segregation and fighting for equal rights for resources found in book one.  The zombies continue in book two, and the settlement where Jane ends up with her friends is a bit more civilized, to a point. 

    However, in Book Two Jane deals with grief and the part she plays in the death of a man she cared about. She loses people close to her, and the ensuing grief plunges her into a very dark period of her life.  The added bonus is that Book Two includes Katherine Deveraux’s POV.  Katherine is Jane’s best friend, and the one person capable of pulling Jane back from the dark side. We get to meet a host of new characters as they all fight to survive the world-ending zombie pandemic.  Katherine helps pull Jane back when she is all but lost in a quest that could threaten her life. 

    In all, Dread Nation and Deathless Divide represent strong-willed black women willing to fight for their friends and family  in order to survive a harsh and brutal world.  

    Dread Nation

    Rating: 5 out of 5.

    Deathless Divide

    Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

  • The Fifth Season – Book Review

    The Fifth Season – Book Review

    The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

    This is the way the world ends. Again.

    Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze — the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization’s bedrock for a thousand years — collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman’s vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.

    Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She’ll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.

    Book Review

    This is not a fast read. It took me a bit of time to get through the first three chapters. They are full of world building, which is necessary, but felt very tedious. I found myself stopping and coming back again hoping to reach an easier part. Once I was over this, it was easy to sink in to the world of the Stillness.

    The characters are extraordinary. The development of each one is thorough and compelling. From Essun’s devastating loss which she carries through the book, and at each point defines her actions. To Syen and Alabaster who are part of an organization working to tame their very nature. These characters face incredible horrifying scenes. They survive in a world in which they are oppressed for being different and extraordinary.

    The Fifth Season is not a one day read. It needs time because there is so much to unpack. Once I give it the time it needs, I loved the resilience weaved into among the characters.

    I give this 3.5 stars because of the start.

    Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

  • Notes Under the Door & Other Stories – Book Review

    Notes Under the Door & Other Stories – Book Review

    Notes Under the Door & Other Stories

    By Michelle Chepchumba

    Dead fathers. Critical mothers. Abusive marriages. Body insecurities. Young love. And always, expectations. Notes Under the Door is an anthology of seven African literary short stories that explores what it can mean to be a girl, a young woman, in a world that demands too much of women, and gives back too little. Set in urban Kenya, each story follows a girl or a woman grappling with the experience of being who they are – young, female, African, layered, complex, whole.

    Book Review

    Notes Under the Door & Other Stories is a collection of seven short stories.  Each story is a glimpse into a deeply profound moment.  A moment delving into the secret, complicated mind of Kenyan women at different stages of life.  The experiences described in these moments are tangible and feel very real.

    Chepchumba’s characters speak on diverse, sensitive issues such as, unexpected pregnancy, and how hard it can be to acclimate to the dramatic change of life a baby brings.  She delves on relationships, and how hard they can be to maintain. A short story on domestic violence from the perspective of a young girl shows the impact it has on children. How domestic violence changes a child’s view of a parent.

    Notes Under the Door gives this book its name.  It is a story tackling grief, obligations, and abortion. Each one of these adding on to the damaging effects on a mother at the time of abortion, and years later, when life continues on.

    In Spilling into the World, a character asks, ‘…why can’t you decide you’re beautiful?’.  What a powerful question.  Spilling into the World looks at body image in a world where mainstream stereotypes impact women’s views of their own beauty, and their self-confidence.

    A heartbreaking story told from the perspective of a young girl whose father does not look at her, nor treat her as ‘his princess’, concludes the collection.

    Overall, Notes Under the Door & Other Stories reads like tales told from a best friend’s perspective.  Stories to make you feel, ‘Ah, I’m not alone in this. There are others like me.’ These stories depict women living experiences in our rapidly changing modern world.  They are a conversation to continue, and normalize.  I most enjoyed the realness of these short stories.

    Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

    (4.5 Stars)

    Connect with Michelle on her blog

  • Mombasa Raha, My Foot by Haroun Risa

    Mombasa Raha, My Foot by Haroun Risa

    Happy October! 

    This is my birth month, so I always feel as though I’m full of excitement in October.  The post today is about Haroun Risa’s Mombasa Raha.  He sent me his book for a read and review.  The content in this book is a lot on the heavy side.  My soul felt sad reading the harrowing experiences his characters go through.  I would call this an Awareness Book.  The topic tackled is on human trafficking, sex tourism, and murder in a world hidden in plain sight.  I give Haroun respect for daring to delve into this topic and making a book out of it. 

    Mombasa Raha, My Foot is available to purchase at The Nuria Store, Moi Avenue ( Next to Assanand’s Music Shop).

    Mombasa Raha, My Foot

    by Haroun Risa

    Book Review

    Mombasa Raha has an insightful collection of characters.  Together they form a tapestry of life at its very worst and at its very best.  The characters in Mombasa Raha experience great betrayals, suffer pain and unimaginable tragedies.  The one thing they have in common is the knowledge that there is a hidden underworld found at the Coast of Kenya.  This underworld is not kind, or safe, instead it is brutal and takes everything to survive an encounter.

    At the center of Mombasa Raha is Ruth.  Ruth consumes herself with an investigation of her estranged sister’s murder.  Ruth tackles the realities of human trafficking and rape.  She discovers what living through such experiences did to her sister. She delves into the hidden parts of her sister’s life to discover the devastating truth of her sister’s death.

    This story is not easy, nor is it a story to read fast.  It is a revelation into the harrowing experiences Kenyans fall into and how they fight to survive the cards dealt in search of Mombasa Raha.

    This book was given to me by the author for a review. The book’s content is R18+ and above.  There is mention of rape and human trafficking.

    Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
  • 5 Writing Books to Add to your Writer’s Library

    5 Writing Books to Add to your Writer’s Library

    June ends with grace and half a year is in the bag.  Nairobi is cold.  Coffee, warm clothes, and scarves have become a staple in our corner.  It’s perfect reading weather.  If you’re a writer working on improving your writing skills, here’s a list of books to get you started, or to keep you going.  They add great resources to your writing kit and I’ve found I’ve returned to all of them more than once.

    1. Gotham Writer’s Workshop: The Practical Guide from New York’s Acclaimed Creative Writing School

    I discovered this book right after high school and it’s been a staple in the library.  I’ve lost copies of it and ended up with an ebook. This book is a great start if you’re just beginning.  When you don’t know where to start, it will get you through the idea stage, to how to formulate your story, and equip you with tools on how to create characters, decide your POV and dialogue basics.  My favorite concept from this book is, ‘Ideas are everywhere.  The writer of fiction must learn to search the world for these seeds.’  It’s a great addition to your writing books, and will help you find out how to plant your seeds and help them grow into fiction

    2. The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller

    This book was a referral.  My favorite quote from this book is: ‘Good Storytelling…gives the audience the experience of a life…” If you want a more in-depth way of approaching storytelling, this is the perfect book.  It discusses story structure, parts of the ‘story world’, and exploration on how to develop that world.

    3. On Writing

    I absolutely love the idea of looking at writing as a form of telepathy.  I love magic and the possibilities it represents.  On Writing is a look at how to deal with rejection letters from publishers, how to build your writing toolbox and unearthing the fossils of story that fill your imagination.  It’s a very entertaining take on the craft and I find that it helps to return to this book when I’m stuck.  The best advice I got from this book is that you need to keep reading.  Read everything that you can, to become a better writer, to increase your knowledge on people, places, ideas, concepts…just read, probably more than you write, or just as much.

    4.  Roget’s Thesaurus of Words for Writers

    Now, if you’re like me and English is the third language, hahaha, you’ll know that writing English can be difficult.  It has very many words and a gazillion ways to describe things.  This thesaurus is a great addition to your library for this purpose. Writers need new words in their writing toolbox so as not to repeat themselves and become boring.  We remember what we often practice, so the thesaurus will help you discover new ways to say remember.

    5. Show Your Work by Austin Kleon

    This last book is about embracing your writing and loving it no matter what level you are in terms of publishing/self-publishing or just sharing your fiction space.  I love everything about this book.  It explores productivity, how to create and share without allowing fear to cripple you.  Mostly because I have a serious productivity weakness that I’ve been working on conquering.  The last two years have been full of activities in my personal life that took attention away from writing.  It’s not easy getting back.  It’s like starting again when you get back to it. You need input, ideas, and concepts in books to help you along. ^_^ This book has been perfect.  Words like these, ‘Share what you love, and the people who love the same things will find you. Make me really happy.  I want to say I’m in love with this book and because I love it, I’m sharing and hoping you will love it too. 

    Writing is a skill to learn and improve.  The books above have been a great addition to my reading list.  There are more, but these have stood out for me in this month of June.

    Keep writing!