The Girdle of Melian

aveat! This is a longer post than usual - but it's all about books. Chime in with your own opinions - I'd love to hear what everyone else has been reading. Here's the list of Books Read in 2010 , and for reference, there's also the Books Read in 2009 list, the addendum to the 2009 list , the Books Read in 2008 list, and addendum A and addendum B to the 2008 list (I must have had more days off during the holidays that year, and kept reading). Note - Thank You Contest still running! Only five new followers needed - to enter, please leave your comments on the original contest post. Books read : 92 , compared to 131 in 2009 and 101 in 2008. Though if you count three writers' houseparties over at the Compuserve Books and Writers Forum - the best writers' hangout on the web! - that ran to hundreds of thousands of words (each story read through twice), plus the beta reads, other forum writings, and so on, the number rises a little. I won't gripe, since...

ooks read in 2010! Here's the full list, with all my original comments: Rainy Days With Bear by Maureen Hull (reread) A Christmas Walk by Zan Marie Steadham Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling (reread before I see the movie!) The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling (reread) Break on Through by Jill Murray Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks (for review) The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis (reread, of course) Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings by Helene Boudreau Songs of Love & Death (anthology, featuring a new short story by Diana Gabaldon) Milo - Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze by Alan Silberberg (brilliant!) Facing Fire by kc dyer Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L Sayers 50 Uses For Your Cat Constantinople, City of the World's Desire by Philip Mansel The Hating Game by Talli Roland The Joy of Spooking Book One - Fiendish Deeds by PJ Bracegirdle The Cat Who Tailed a Thief by Lilian Jackson Braun Our housepart...

post on Books Read in 2010 is coming soon! Until then, Woo for Wednesday! presents... Contests, New Releases and Recommendations! 1. Three fellow bloggers are hosting contests to win copies of Helene Boudreau's Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings - a new Middle Grade novel that'll have you laughing out loud . 2. Marte Brengle has just published her grandmother Evelyn Eaton's collection of autobiographical short stories Every Month Was May . Don't forget to check out Brengle's own novel, Closed Circuit . 3. Ev Bishop has three new short stories out! 4. I've finished reading Zan Marie Steadham 's A Christmas Walk and highly recommend it. You've still got lots of time to order her first devotional, An Easter Walk . 5. Don't forget to order a copy of Legacy by Kate Kaynak , third in the Ganzfield series. I've just started and if I don't watch it, will be pulling another all nighter - I just can't put it down! Anyone...

ix days left to the end of the year on St Stephen's Day. Let's see... What have I actually done this year, writing-wise? January - At the start of the year I wrote a post called Where I'm At ; looking at it now, it's obvious how little I'd written of the novel. I didn't even have a title! And Rosa was still all mixed up with a boy called Joseph. A little later on I was excited to have written 1,000 words in one day. More importantly, January was when Baha came into the picture , thanks to an amazing exercise that Claire posted on the Compuserve Books and Writers Forum . The story was still meant to be Young Adult (YA), but the idea of Baha dying was there from the start. Ah, if only I'd known what was coming... February - A Post About Posts to Come . I'm impressed to see that I was actually getting up early and writing, as well as doing some research. Looking at my writing diary though, I see it was a matter of a mere hundreds of words per day...

ingle bells! It's Christmas Eve Eve, and I haven't written a new word in days (though over the past week I have typed up half the 10,000 words of The End that I wrote last Saturday). On the other hand, I just discovered something fun: Did you know that chocolate can be used to cure a cough? This may simply be anecdotal. However, it was precisely the sort of historical fact I was seeking. I needed something that my heroine's father might have obtained during his voyage with Christopher Columbus, something that only he could provide to help cure her husband's illness, and something which he eventually does offer, once he accepts her marriage. And now I know exactly what he brought back - cocoa beans! Rather appropriate for holiday time, no? Speaking of holidays, if you have a day off and would like to see a brilliant movie, I recommend The King's Speech . Don't think I've ever plugged a movie on this blog before, but this one is certainly worth it. Fo...

nly a little while ago, I entered the Dear Lucky Agent Contest . While I didn't win, I was one of the first 100 entries, and won a copy of Regina Brooks' Writing Great Books for Young Adults . Came home one day to find it on my doorstep! I don't normally read writing advice books; I can count all the ones I've read on one hand: Stephen King's On Writing , White and Strunk's The Elements of Style and Donald Maass' The Career Novelist . Yet Brooks was a pleasure to read, and would make a great gift for the beginning writer in your life; basic enough not to scare them, while covering all the essential points so that they feel well-armed and not daunted to start writing. Her style is clear and straightforward, and the book even features exercises, to help kick start your ideas. Having just completed my first/second draft, I found the sections dealing with story arcs and conclusions the most helpful. Brooks has fired me up to finish my synopsis and st...

uestion number two: when was the last time you read a book straight through without stopping? (Question number one was a few days ago, on The Lord of the Rings ) I did today, when I read Jill Murray 's Break on Through , a fast-paced tale about six months in the life of Nadine 'Lady Six Sky' Durant, who just happens to be a breakdancer. Talk about reading outside of my comfort zone, but Jill's writing is so smooth and Nadine's voice so true, that I couldn't step away from her world for even a minute. I can't wait to read the next book, Rhythm and Blues . It felt even better doing this - that is, the guilt factor was very low - as I wrote over 10,000 words of my own yesterday. Yes, I even wrote The End. Squee! Of course, now I have to turn right around and rewrite it. The last time I read a book straight through was Alan Silberberg 's Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze , and before that, PJ Bracegirdle 's first book in The Joy of Spooking Se...