I’m a writer, but before that I was a reader. Since the uterus. And my reading tastes are eclectic… as are my writing tastes. Think of this as a this-or-that of books. (Click on the covers to go to Amazon US.)
1. a book I recently read that I loved
This one is a domestic thriller, which I’ve discovered I love almost as much as a psychological thriller. That’s something that is fairly recent, as I used to hate them. With an ex who was less that kind, some of them hit a little close to home, but I guess time heals, because now I read them voraciously.
2. my all-time favorite
I’ve been reading the still-being-written Valdemar saga by Mercedes since it began with the first book, Arrows of the Queen, in 1987. Literally constantly. I have never not been reading a book in the series, reading and rereading. They are part of the fabric of my soul. I’ve read others by Lackey, but these are my favorite.
In a testament to my life committment, I have a spreadsheet, actually four tabs. The most important one, which I continually update that lays out the reading order by world chronology, including most of the dozens of short stories written in the world. I daresay it’s more correct than the Lackey-endorsed one on Fandom.
3. the book everyone loved that I read out of FOMO but didn’t like… at all
I detested this book. But, as with anything, what I hate others may love, and what I love others may hate. I couldn’t stand the over-the-top misogyny and racism. Yes, I get that these things are a part of the point of the book, but it was the way they were treated that bothered me. It felt lazy and underdeveloped. It felt gratuitous at times.
I won’t go into it all here, but if you’re interested, you can read my review here.
4. the book I loved but hated the movie
This is a YA novel I read a decade ago, after the movie came out. I read the series first, then watched the movie. I loved the characters, the gothy vibe, the mythology of the created world. And every last bit of the beauty of the book was missing in the movie. Solid pass. Nope.
5. the book I thought was meh but loved the movie
Another YA novel, but this time I watched the movie before I realized it was a book. The movie is very different than the book… in plot, in characterization. There were some dark themes I liked in the book that would have been great in the movie, but that was it. The movie worked much better, in my opinion.
6. the first book I reviewed on my book blog
I started my book blog thirteen years ago, and this was my very first review. It was so long ago that I read it on my Sony Reader!
You can read my review of it here.
7. my first novel
I published my first book on 14 August 2017. It started as a short story for a writing class in college a few years earlier. In that same class, our final was to take one of our stories and expand it to 20-25 pages. I used that same story, and my prof told me I should expand it and publish. It became my first book. Its prequel was released a year later on the same day.
8. books I came late to
It was a toss-up here. The Giver came out after I graduated high school, so I missed the required reading and discovered it years later. And loved it. I’m not really sure why I didn’t read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but once I started, I couldn’t stop.
9. a book that affected me profoundly
While this came out when I was about 16, I never read it until seven years ago. In a lot of ways, I regret that. It would have been interesting to compare the experiences, some 40 years apart. I’m quite certain that 16yo Kim wouldn’t have seen it the way 46yo Kim did. I was fairly worldly at 16, but I don’t think I would have understood as deeply the themes and implications of the story.
Interesting fact… the author has said that every bit of the happenings in the novel have happened somewhere in the world at some point in history, and contemporarily.
10. also based on a college paper
This one is a thriller based on a 5-page story in a different writing class in college. The last chapter is a revised version of that paper. I essentially plotted the rest of it in chunks going backward. I had the entire first draft done when I suddenly thought of a new way to go from A to Z, so I rewrote the entire thing, adapting the original to fit with the new idea. That’s what was published.
11. according to goodreads
According to Goodreads, as of this posting, I’ve read 114 books. In reality, I’ve read 128. I work as an editor, so I log those books on my personal spreadsheet, but sometimes there’s a log between when I read them and listings on Goodreads, so my count is always off.
12. i <3 banned book week
Banned Book Week is coming, 1-7 October. I read lots of banned and challenged books. I will always support the reading of banned and challenged books. No one person or group of people should have the right to determine what others read. Make the choice for yourself and for your littles. If you don’t want to read, or have your child read, a particular book, don’t. But don’t make decisions for others.
In 2022, a record high number of books were challenged, almost double that of 2021. It says something that most of those challenged were by or about LGBTQIA+ people or Black, indigenous, and other POC. I think that message was very clear.
When books are banned, ALL readers are kept from new ideas, places, people, and perspectives. THAT should be an individual choice, not a universal one. Standing up for books means that the power of the written word lives on for those who seek it. There are voices that deserve and need to be heard.
I will die on that hill.
Learn more and find lists of books to read here.
13. the book I just started
I’m buddy-reading this with my eldest son, who is 31. I buddy-read often with him. Recently, I’ve also started buddy-reading with Son #3, who is just shy of 22.
Two other recent mother-son buddy-reads:
I saw a couple of those as movies. Banning books is a scary trend.
We have a group of book haters here in my locality, but fortunately so far the county leaders have stood up to them. It’s been a tough year, though, listening to these people wanting to save the libraries morality “for the children.”