We all know, as writers, that it's important for us to read. Read within our genre. Read outside our genre. Read the back of that cereal box before you put the groceries away. (You never know what inspiration may strike from a box of Cornflakes. Aliens attack and the only weapon strong enough to defeat them is their intolerance to cereal products. It could happen, right? *grins*)
"If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot."
Stephen King
But there's something about reading that stirs something inside a writer. Whether it be the fantastic craft book you read that helps you solve that plot problem. The wonderful YA book that you connect with. The book that makes you strive to write something that makes others feel what you just experienced in that moment. The book with beautiful, lyrical writing. The imagery. Even the book you couldn't seem to finish can help with your own WIP. What made you stop? How can you avoid that in your own story?
And then there is reading for the pleasure of it. The book that sucks us in, makes us forget about the craft and enjoy the story.
All writers read. We read to learn. We read for pleasure. We read to help us write. We write what we'd like to read. We read.
What are you reading at the moment?
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale with my daughter. It's a reread for both of us, but she wanted to read it with me this time. This is another reason I love to read--it brings our family together.
ReplyDeleteThe Fault in our Stars by John Green. It came out yesterday and I'm halfway through it. I used to be the type to buy a CD the day it came out, now I've moved onto books. I can't believe there was ever a time when I couldn't think of what to read next. My To-Read list is super long now.
ReplyDeleteI'm between books at the moment (just finished The Mostly True Story of Jack by Kelly Barnhill, which was gorgeously surreal) but The Near Witch is next up on my list.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading non-fiction for book club: Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger mother. Next in line: The Future of Us (Jay Asher and Caroline somebody--I can't remember her name at the moment) and Maggie Stiefvater's Scorpio Races.
ReplyDeleteHere there be Dragons by James A. Owen (again), Crafting the Personal Essay by Dinty Moore and The Structure of English for Readers, Writers and Teachers by Mary M. Clark (for school).
ReplyDeleteI can't just read one at a time!
I just read Shatter Me (awesome) and am about to start a Dean Koontz book (What the Night Knows) just need to get a few things off the to do list before I get lost in his writing.
ReplyDeleteI have found that I am not the same reader I used to be. I'm more into the words and style, but am a sucker when the story is so good I forget about their sentence structure and character development :)
I'm reading Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, the final book in my favorite fantasy series
ReplyDeleteI'm reading I Am Number Four. Outside of my preferred reading and writing genres, I might add. And, Ilima, I LOVED The Goose Girl. Can't wait 'til my daughter's old enough for us to read it together :)
ReplyDeleteBecca @ The Bookshelf Muse
For YA fiction, just finished Hex Hall and Uglies, and am halfway through Behemoth. It's been a while since I read Leviathan, but this one's just as good! In nonfiction, really getting a lot out of Alexandra Sokoloff's Screenwriting Tricks for Authors
ReplyDeleteI'm reading Hallowed by Cynthia Hand at the moment.
ReplyDeleteThe Omen Machine by Terry Goodkind. I finished the whole Sword of Truth series and loved it. This is kind of a book after the series. It's also quite good.
ReplyDeleteReading May B. by Caroline Starr Rose and oh my---it's good!
ReplyDeleteI'm waiting for Hallowed to come out right now I'm reading YA City of Bones (The immortals) I got sucked right in and am loving it.
ReplyDeleteCurrently reading Pegasus by Robbin McKinley! :D
ReplyDelete