Top Ten Finished Series I Have Yet to Finish – Top Ten Tuesday

It’s another week of Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by the lovely ladies at The Broke and The Bookish. This week’s topic is “Top Ten Finished Series I Have Yet to Finish.” Originally I was going to skip this week because I thought it was the “freebie” week, but that’s next week (oops).

1. The Sookie Stackhouse Series (or, The Southern Vampire Mysteries) by Charlaine Harris – I read only five of the 14 book series (13 books and a “13.5” “what comes next” book). I couldn’t keep up with the show and the books, and I was quickly losing interest in both formats. Did anyone else feel this way?
2. The Pretty Little Liars Series by Sara Shepard – IS IT OVER YET, SARA?! There are 16 books and two “.5” books. Of those 18, I’ve read 13. Who knows how much longer this will go on…
3. The Rats of NIMH Trilogy – I read the first book written by Robert C. O’Brien within the last two years, and I recently found out it’s a trilogy, which was completed by his daughter Jane Leslie Conly. The premise of the book was inspired by the work of John B. Calhoun and his work with mice and rats at the National Institute of Mental Health. If you were like me and my brother and watched “The Secret of NIMH” during your childhood, read the book.
4. The Wonderland Quartet by Joyce Carol Oates – A Garden of Earthly Delights was the second book JCO published and the first book to the series. The series dives into social class in America, and each book a new protagonist.
5. The Earthsea Quartet by Ursula K. Le Guin – I know, I was supposed to read it for class in college, but life happens! I’m 1.5 books in, but at this point, I should just start over.
6. Fables by Bill Willingham – These graphic novels follow fairytale characters in their joint lives in an almost alternate universe. Someone correct me if I’m wrong: There are 150 stories, but 22 volumes. I’ve read Vol. 1, or stories #1-5.
7. Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkein – I’ve read the first book in its entirety and part of the third book, but I should probably read what came in the middle too.
8.  The Hook and Jill Saga by Andrea Jones – If I’m not mistaken, this will also be a trilogy, but I’ve only read book one. It’s an “adult” version of Peter Pan. Seriously, though: there’s mature content.
9. The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyers – Because after Eclipse, I had to remind myself that I have standards.
10. Robert Langdon Series by Dan Brown – I suppose I always knew that this was a series, but I never cared to read Angels & Demons (book one) before I read The Da Vinci Code (book two). Now there are two more books out, which I suppose I should eventually get around to reading. My dad is already recommending Inferno because of how it ties into Dante’s Inferno.

 

What are your series reading habits? Do you usually buckle down and finish as quickly as possible, or do you pace yourself to get the full experience (pending on if the entire series is published)?

Auto-Buy Authors – Top Ten Tuesday

It’s another week of Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by the ladies at The Broke and The Bookish. This week’s topic is top ten authors whose books you’d automatically buy. Considering I’m a sporadic book-buyer and I also go to the library frequently, I may have to bend the parameters for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday.

The ladies at The Broke and The Bookish have already allowed some rule-bending: Top 10 authors or genres I’d automatically buy. I’m going to take it one step further and throw in “collections” and “topics,” and you’ll see why.

Authors

1. Joyce Carol Oates – I have a spreadsheet of all her published works, which needs to be updated since The Accursed came out. Several more books have been published since then, and I need to beef up my collection. My list also includes books published under her pseudonym, Rosamond Smith. Total in the collection so far: 29.

2. Past Professors – I know that’s really vague, but if I happen to stumble across a book by a past creative writing professor from my undergrad, I’ll usually snag it (most likely at a book fair).

“Collections”

3. Norton Anthologies – Maybe it’s the English major in me, but I’m a sucker for these anthologies. Short biography of the author, description of the time period and the published work? Yes, please! Total: 8.

4. Norton Critical Editions – See above. It’s great to get additional footnotes and essays in the “Critical” portion of these books. Total: 6.

5. Little Golden Books – This is truly heartbreaking. We probably had at least a hundred Little Golden Books, including Poky Little Puppy. I can’t explain my rationale for doing this, but I donated the whole box, which had other pristine-condition children’s books, to Goodwill. If I could go back in time and stop myself, I would. Now I’m on a mission to rebuild that library.

Genres

6. Historical Fiction – I think I should’ve minored in history because I really like it when books take on the essence an era or decade. Not only does it put the characters’ motivations in perspective, but it gives a good backdrop (only when executed well, of course).

7. Mystery – I’m into good mystery books every once in a while. In terms of contemporary mystery authors, I’ll jump on a Harlan Coben book.

Topics

8. Books about writing – Understanding an author’s writing process can help formulate your own process. I’ve read Life of a Writer: Life, Craft, Art by Joyce Carol Oates, and I’m hoping to get my hands on a few more, perhaps by Stephen King or Anne Lamott.

9. Fictionalized books about authors – Biographies and memoirs are somewhat rare in my collection, however, fiction novels that use real names as characters capture my attention. The Paris Wife, Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, and Mrs. Poe. The only difficulty is that sometimes it’s tough to separate what’s fact from fiction and not take it too seriously.

10. Books set in France – This double-dips into historical fiction. This doesn’t necessarily mean French literature, even though it could, I suppose. I’m fascinated with France, French architectures and French history, so I’m always ready to jump on a book set in France, like Paris: A Novel by Edward Rutherford (Beware: That book is over 800 pages long and jumps across various storylines and time periods).

 

Who does your top ten include? Do you have ten authors you’d automatically buy books from? If so, how empty is your bank account, like I assume it would be?

Facing the Blank Page

Writers and aspiring authors alike want to know how to conquer the fear-inspiring blank page. Fortunately, there are a few things to do before confronting that daunting task of writing. Joyce Carol Oates shares her tactics on how she approaches the blank page.

“I would never write first. I don’t think that’s good at all. […] Writing prematurely is a mistake.”
~ Joyce Carol Oates

“It’s Thrilling to be Writing.”

If you haven’t noticed by now, I adore Joyce Carol Oates. I practically worship her, her writing and her accomplishments. The New Yorker did a profile on JCO at her home last year. This frail-looking woman is a literary mastermind and shares her writing secrets and musics.

[youtube http://youtu.be/gEnROS8bcTI]

“It’s thrilling to be writing. If I’m not writing a short story or a novel, I would then be writing an essay or a book review or I could be doing Twitter. I now do Twitter. The only time I really feel that I can get away from the physical act of writing is when I’m running and walking because then I can think about the writing from another perspective.”

Novel Soundtracks: Characters come to life with music

I don’t know how to explain how I came to writing about this today, but I’ll try.

Joyce Carol Oates

About a month or so ago, I was searching the University of San Francisco’s website on Joyce Carol Oates to do a bit of research for my other blog, A Year With JCO. Fumbling around the pages, I knew there was a section for her future appearances, but it had been a while since it was last updated that I didn’t really expect to see anything different when I clicked on it.

But, lo, was I mistaken.

Among almost a dozen appearances all over California, two in Washington state and Massachusetts: April 19, 2013 (University of) Evanston, IL.

I know it’s cliché to describe it like this, but I have to. My heart sank into my stomach. I became nauseated. I think I may have even started tearing up. Was the writer who I admire beyond words and recognition be in the same state as me?! Would I really have the opportunity to see her and be in the same room as her?! I stalked the Northwestern University (since there technically isn’t a “University of Evanston,” but Northwestern is the big university in that town) calendar. Nothing. Maybe an error? Maybe they don’t want to announce it yet, even though it’s three months away? Who knows. Either way, my Google Calendar had that day blocked out for Joyce Carol Oates. Yes, the whole day.

Yesterday, I stumbled upon HarperCollins’ author tours page. JCO’s tour dates in California, Washington and Massachusetts were there, but not Illinois. My world slightly shattered. I was less myself the rest of the afternoon. Okay, okay. That’s a tad over-dramatic, but I was bummed when I found out.

So today, I was looking up book tours in general, but couldn’t find a site that I felt had what I was looking for. Then I searched other authors I would hope to see on a book tour. I googled “David Nicholls.” He wrote One Day, a book where each chapter takes place on the same day in sequential years and show the relationship of Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew develop and change over the years. It’s not a “typical” love story, I suppose. It’s more a story about growing up, staying friends, fighting, loving, getting hurt, moving on, and living. This book means a lot to me and is significant to my life in a way that I cannot explain. It’s characters, their actions, they way they interact with each other, their story—I carry them with me.

Like I said, I googled “David Nicholls.” His website was the first search result, obviously. Clicked on it, and a bright orange button appeared on the right-hand side underneath his picture that read “Emma Morley’s Mix Tape.”

Pause. Wait. What?

Nicholls explains that one person asked “what’s on the rest of those mix tapes that Emma makes for Dexter (one in 1989, one in 2000).” so he pursued finishing that list. “So here they are,” Nicholls writes, “muddled up and in over-extended form. Emma has a fine record collection, and far better taste than Dexter, and this could have been two-hundred songs long.”

You’re probably asking, what’s the point? Why am I writing about this “discovery?” Well, friends, it’s because I can admire when an author takes a question from a reader and works it into something substantial, as though the characters were real. Most stories don’t need a sequel, even though readers want to see how that “happily ever after” plays out or if a “happy ever after” will ever be reached. Authors know that sequels shouldn’t happen. It could only ruin the beautiful story they have created unless there is absolutely is another story that involves these characters and their new lives, and that story needs to be told. However, removing the characters from the world of their story and have a snapshot, like a mix tape or a sketch book, placed in our reality is something uniquely beautiful that I can appreciate. For me, that shows the author is versatile and can appreciate his characters as individuals.

And I wish I could tell you all which songs on this playlist resonate with me the most, but I haven’t been able to dedicate the 5 hours it would take to listen to them all. But rest assured there are great songs on this playlist. The ones that struck me so far include Jeff Buckley’s “Last Goodbye,” Massive Attack’s “Unfinished Sympathy,” PJ Harvey’s “This is Love,” just to name a few. Be sure to check it out yourself.

So, quick recap on how we got here:
Joyce Carol Oates –> Joyce Carol Oates’s book tour –> general book tours –> David Nicholls –> One Day‘s Emma Morley’s mix tape –> here, blogging.

See? Easy to follow.

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If you haven’t, read One Day. If you haven’t, visit my other blog.

 

Update 4/22/13: The USF website has been updated. University of Evanston (IL) is actually University of Evansville (IN). “Friday, April 19, 2013: Evansville, IN. University of Evansville.” I both can and cannot see how this confusion has happened. One is a very ritzy city north of Chicago, the other is southern Indiana. Notice the lack of excitement in the latter. Just sayin’.

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