Library Days

There was a time, long ago, when if you’d asked me whether spending the day in the library was my idea of fun, and I would’ve told you “Absolutely not!”. In secondary school, I would spend breaktimes in the library on some days, but never alone – sometimes I’d be catching up on late homework, but I’d always have my friends in the library with me, and we’d get told off repeatedly for making too much noise.

College was very much the same, although I became more comfortable with being alone in the library. At lunchtime or breaktime, I’d sit in the library on my own and do work – either on the computers or by hand – but if I had a free period and wanted to go to the library, I would’ve needed to find my friends and be in the library with them, because otherwise it would have been unbearably boring.

Everything seems to have changed now that I’m at uni. I’m writing this from in the university’s library, in the social study zone, where I have been sat for the last three hours, working on portfolios and attempting to learn lines (yes, I learn lines by typing them out on the computer repeatedly for hours. Don’t judge me!). The strange thing is, I’ve been completely happy here. It’s a pleasant atmosphere, plenty going on but not too loud that I can’t concentrate, and it’s nice to be able to just turn up with my laptop at 12 and know I don’t need to leave until 10pm if I need to stay. I’m quite happy to be here.

There does seem to be a certain type of person who goes to the library. I thought at uni EVERYONE would flock to the library – I suppose things may be different in exam season – but for the most part, it does seem to be filled with either international students, or solo students like me who need somewhere away from their flat to get on with some work. There’s too many distractions in my flat – my playstation, the ability to blast my music as loud as I want and impromptu games of Twister (as last night showed) – so being here in the library is great.

I really do think that libraries are underrated. People see them as just a hangout for nerds and weirdos when actually, it’s a lot more than that. There’s so much you can do – yes, you can read books – don’t scoff, there are some books that look really interesting here – or you can bring your laptop and relax, you can chill with a coffee on the comfy sofas, you can spend hours getting lost amongst the books and the journals.

I have a lot of love for the library. Without the two libraries I was a member of as a child – and, to my knowledge, am still a member of today – I wouldn’t have learned to read so quickly, and I wouldn’t have developed the love of reading which made me such a passionate writer and the lover of literature I am today (as long as that literature isn’t Wuthering Heights, of course).

My Recommended Reads!

I’ve got an hour until my lecture and some time to kill (technically I should be doing uni work and tidying but… nah!) so I’ve decided to go through some of the books on my bookshelf (both real and virtual) and give you my list of recommended reads.

 

 

“If I Stay” by Gayle Forman

I’ve finally learned what the genre is called and technically it’s “sick-lit”, there’s been a bit of controversy over books in this genre being marketed to vulnerable 13-year-olds, but honestly I think it’s all down to the maturity of the reader. This book isn’t an easy read – it’s not very long, I finished it in a couple of hours (although I am a fast reader), but some of the content is quite graphic (I’ll post a warning now – brain chunks are mentioned) and I do think that this should be aimed at more 16+ than 13+ purely because it is a bit… gross at times. Still, it’s a great book.

 

“To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee

Honestly, this is one of my favourite books. I love the story, I love the language used in it, I love the characters and I love the imagery it evokes; Lee is an incredible writer. I studied it for GCSE and it didn’t ruin it at all for me, unlike many stories where studying it has put me off ever wanting to read it for pleasure (step forwards, Wuthering Heights!), this one I could easily read again and again, because of the nostalgia it evokes – my childhood was so different to Scout and Jem’s, and yet reading this evokes memories of hot childhood summers.

 

“The Hunger Games” Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Obviously these books are fairly well known because of the films (which are quite possibly my favourite film-adaptation-of-a-book because there wasn’t that much they left out and the actors were all great and it was everything I hoped it’d be), but the books in themselves are great. I know there’s been a lot of comparisons with Battle Royale; personally I can’t comment because I haven’t read it, but I think these books are fantastic and I’d highly recommend them.

 

“Tales From The Terra Firma Fleet” series by Christopher Maine

I know, I go on about this guy a lot, but I really enjoy his writing! He’s an indy writer and I think he deserves to do well because he’s got a great series going on. Check it out on http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Flight-Renegade-Tales-ebook/dp/B007B3CZF2 . Great characters, great plots, some fantastic relationships building up… it’s like sci-fi-action-romance-drama all in one.

 

“Harry Potter” series by JK Rowling

Do I really need to explain this one? If you haven’t read the books, just read them! Do it! Now!

 

“Marley and Me” by John Grogan

I watched the film and it made me cry. I read the book and it made me cry even more. This book is hilarious, heartbreaking and so touching all in one, and it really is wonderful. I read it all in one sitting and I wouldn’t recommend it because the emotions are overwhelming; read it bit by bit but just make sure that you do read it!

 

NaNoWrapUp or, Winner!

So, my word count has been verified and I am a 2012 NaNoWriMo winner 😀 yes indeed, I wrote 50,000 words (and then some) in the fine month of November, and as we go into the last day, I hope anyone reading this who’s making that last push towards the finish line accepts my best wishes and cheerleading efforts, and a huge well done for when you cross that line and hit that target! For those who’ve already done it, congratulations! For those who didn’t quite manage – if you’ve got even the barest bones of a novel as a result of doing NaNoWriMo, you’re a winner in my book!

So how did my NaNo go? Well, it’s an interesting one. Originally, I had another idea for a story that was going to be my main NaNo, but a few days before it started, an idea came into my head. An already established character in Christopher Maine’s series, during her time at the Terra Firma Fleet Academy. A character I have an affinity for, because she’s based on me, essentially going through the upheaval I’ve been going through recently – leaving home, moving in with new people I’d never met before, making friends, going to new classes and learning new things. Those are the bare bones of the plot; I’ll leave the rest for you guys to uncover when you read it, hint hint 😉

So this was just going to be a little side story – my main NaNovel would be this idea I had a while ago, the one I’d been planning for and had even written a little bit of it (don’t worry, that bit wasn’t going to get used for NaNoWriMo, before I get accused of cheating!), and then when I needed a break from that plot and a little bit of light relief, I’d write about this character’s antics in the Academy.

How did that one work out? …. not like I’d planned it, let’s put it that way.

The original plans got shelved when I started writing this story, tentatively titled “Blue”, and realized that I loved it. Starting with an already-established character (and the blessing of her original creator, Christopher Maine, who gave me permission to create the origins story for her) really did help, because I already had the centre of my little universe – all I needed to do was build up that universe around her. At first I expected it to be difficult, but when it started, it came easily. Characters started appearing in my heads – some of them are ones you’ll recognize from the Christopher Maine books, as you should have all read them, I’ve pestered you guys enough! Others are ones who are entirely my creation – for example, two of her close friends were minor characters, both appearing just a couple of times in the main series. In mine, they’re main characters. However, her two best friends are completely mine, and they both have fairly well-rounded personalities and I’m really pleased with that, because characterization is something I usually struggle with a lot.

Another issue I’ve had this time is attempting not to Mary-Sue, but not with the main character – she has plenty of flaws, the real challenge is finding the good bits about her! (I’m totally kidding, she’s a lovely character but she definitely has her flaws) – it’s her best friend, who at the beginning was just a lovely guy and… yeah. Really vanilla, everything nice and sweet and kind about the world. I needed to find a fault for him, but instead of just throwing in a random one like being really nice and sweet and kind but having a random murderous streak, I looked at his positive aspects and figured out which ones could become negative. He’s loyal to a fault, doesn’t see when people are taking advantage of his kindness and his loyalty is often misplaced. I considered giving him a temper, but a) my main character already has plenty of that, as highlighted by the fight scenes I’ve put her in over the last few days, and b) that’s just not his personality at all. I’ve let the characters run away with themselves, developing their own personalities until actually, I find it hard to talk about them as characters – they’re more like people. I’m not saying they’re imaginary friends, I’m not in danger of having tea parties with them yet, but it’s been really useful because it means they write the stories, they decide what happens – I just have to get it all typed out before they go off on another tangent.

Usually, being ill during NaNoWriMo is a godsend – extra time for writing, yay! However, I’m ill at the moment and it’s not too shiny – I’m sure my wordcount would actually be even higher than the not-too-shabby number it currently stands at, which will stand as my NaNoWriMo final count unless I get any more done today (and manage to validate it in time). I’ve really just felt too ill to write at times, wanting nothing more than to curl up under my duvet and sleep it all away. I think for the last two NaNoWriMos, I’d stay up until stupid o’clock in the morning writing, but sleep has become a precious commodity at uni, so I’ve not been nighttime NaNovelling either (I’m on a bit of an alliterative kick at the moment, can you tell?).

So, what next? It turns out that there is life after NaNoWriMo, although it can seem pretty hard to believe when you emerge from that heady fog thinking “I just wrote 50,000+ words!…. now what?”. Well, there’s always NaNoEdMo – National Novel Editing Month, although for me I believe it’ll be NaNoFinMo, as I attempt to mould this novel into something publishable by June 2013 (I fully intend to take advantage of that CreateSpace offer I get for winning!). Once it’s finished, THEN the editing can begin! In short, this could keep me occupied for a long time.

When I started uni, I was worried I wouldn’t have much time for writing. I’ve found instead that actually, I have more time for writing than ever, because I actively make time for it. I don’t have homework – I set aside a little bit of time each day to work on my pieces for assessment, but once that’s over, apart from eating and sleeping, I can write all the time. Having the privacy of my own space is great, but so is being able to go into the lounge and socialize when I get bored of my imaginary friends and want to speak to some real ones for once 😉

So, onwards into December. If NaNoFinMo/EdMo isn’t your thing, it’s nearly Christmas! Oh, and there’s something called a life – I suppose it wouldn’t hurt any of us to get one, now that we’re not spending each day furiously scribbling/typing away, trying to hammer out these words. Now then, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to have high tea with some of my characters, they’re waiting quite impatiently for me.

 

Signing out (and watching the smoke rising from the keyboard as it breathes a sigh of relief),

Maddy x

(P.S – Want a better idea of what my novel is about? Buy Christopher Maine’s “Tales From The Terra Firma Fleet” series so far on your Kindle, tablet, smartphone or anything else with the Kindle app on it)

Dragon Flight: Renegade – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Flight-Renegade-Tales-ebook/dp/B007B3CZF2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1354267570&sr=8-5

Dragon Flight : Wrath – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Flight-Wrath-Tales-ebook/dp/B0089CLIT8/ref=pd_sim_kinc_1

Dragon Flight: EndGame – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Flight-EndGame-Tales-ebook/dp/B00A9HSQ8W/ref=pd_sim_kinc_2

(P.P.S – He also has a blog! www.christophermaine.wordpress.com )

(P.P.P.S – Thanks for reading!).

Some progress on the literary front!

Funnily enough, the time when I start getting busy – that is, Freshers’ week and being at uni in general – is the time when I start writing and reading again (as you may have guessed from my reviews). The writing is taking a while to start up again because I keep getting an idea, starting it and scrapping it, but I think I need to re-visit and continue older stories before I try and write new ones – I have so many that are un-finished and it’s really bugging me!

I’m also enjoying reading a lot more. I think that after the rowdiness of freshers week, reading is something quiet and pretty much free once you’ve bought the books. Currently lined up for me to finish/read are “Where She Went” (the sequel to “If I Stay”, which is proving a little harder to get into because it isn’t really as good as the first so far), “Before I Fall” by Lauren Oliver, which I think is in the same genre as “If I Stay”, and “Marley and Me” by John Grogan. I’ve wanted the book for ages because I loved the film so much, but couldn’t quite bring myself to buy it before now because I know it’ll require an evening where I’m left on my own, because I’ll end up crying at the end.

So that’s a little update on the literary front from me, I’m going to really try and get back into the hang of writing because I enjoy it and miss it, but it’s all dependent on how busy I get with uni.

Freshers’ Fair!

As a student, I’m practically obliged to love freebies. I mean, you’re trying to balance your priorities between spending money on a good time and boring necessary things like food and groceries – if someone hands you free stuff, you’re not going to turn it down, are you? That’s why Freshers’ Fair is amazing! It was held in the sports hall and there were loads of clubs and societies there, as well as local organizations and groups who wanted to recruit us. I signed up for the Am-Dram society and the choir, and I think somewhere along the way I got distracted by freebies and also became a Christian, a Pagan, a bingo player and a Conservative, but I can’t be sure – I definitely have the freebies that would suggest so.

I also have pizza hut vouchers, subway vouchers – I’m wearing my “Zombies – Eat Flesh!” t-shirt today,which they seemed to like), vouchers for the shops in the shopping centre, notepads from various organizations, lollipops and sweets, I won a teddy bear!, and lots and lots and lots of leaflets and other cute little bits and pieces like lanyards, keyrings, pens etc, which are all now spread out on my desk so I can sort them out. Looks like free pizza for dinner tomorrow and Friday!

We also enrolled today, which was a long and tedious process, but on the bright side I now have my ID card – and the picture isn’t too bad – and I’m definitely enrolled on the course, which is always good! There’s no ifs or buts, tonight is definitely a night in for me – I’m exhausted. In a couple of hours I’m going to head down to McDonalds and have my first chips since I got here – yes, I have willpower! – and use their wifi to get a couple of books for my Kindle. Then tomorrow, I have my IT induction and course induction lecture, and after that, I’m done and just got to wait for lectures to start on Monday! It’s a really exciting, busy time but I’m trying to make sure I set some time aside to write this blog.

I went to Waterstones yesterday – I could spend all day in that shop! – and bought a fantastic book, which I’ll be reviewing when I get a chance. It’s called “If I Stay”, by Gayle Forman, and it really is very good! I’ve bought the sequel on Kindle, but don’t have wifi – only wired internet – at halls, so it’s a trip to McDonalds with their free wifi for me, to have something to eat and start reading. I could go to Starbucks, I guess, but I think going there and getting a caramel frappuccino (my favourite!) and whipping out my Kindle might seem a bit pretentious – only less so than writing my novel there and talking about it loudly for everyone to hear, a la that Family Guy sketch.

So, plenty to come – I’ll keep you all updated on how uni is going and I’ll get back into the swing of writing and reviewing things, starting off with that book. If you haven’t read it yet, I really do recommend it – it’s touching and sweet but quite upsetting at the same time. I hope the sequel lives up to expectations!

The Fifty Shades Of Grey dilemma – (WARNING – Strong language and scenes of a sexual nature)

I’m very firmly of the belief that you shouldn’t knock it unless you’ve tried it. New foods, new ideas, new books – especially books, because when I was six and was given a book for Christmas, I didn’t think I’d like it. Still, my parents got me to try it – and they turned out to be the Harry Potter books; the series which I credit for making me such a good reader and giving me a good start with my writing too. Even if I don’t think I’ll like that genre, I’ll generally try it. But there is one trilogy that I am trying to weigh up whether it might be beneficial to go back on my promise and never read, because I don’t know if it’ll even be worth the £3 per book to get it on my Kindle.

From reading extracts and reviews, I’ve concluded that 50 Shades Of Grey is my idea of a nightmare book for a number of reasons.

1. It’s been described as “Mummy porn”. I’m not a mother and I have no interest in porn, so why would I want to read it?
2. The whole concept of erotica fiction just seems a little weird. I mean, there’s so much porn on the internet, there’s so many videos and pictures… some people seem to think that porn is dirty, unless you read it. Why? Watching it doesn’t make you a bad person and reading it doesn’t make you some great intellectual person.
3. It started off as a Twilight fanfiction. Twilight isn’t exactly well-written, and every Twilight fanfiction I’ve read seems to try and emulate Stephenie Meyer’s style, so I think that alone would be enough to put me off. I’ve heard enough about the errors and poor writing style in 50SOG to put me off – yeah, maybe I’m a snob, but a bad writing style really annoys me and I’d end up throwing it out the window.
4. There are so many better fanfiction writers out there! There are some who have written Harry Potter fanfiction who could easily have best-sellers published, and from the excerpts of the book I’ve read online, the HP fanfiction authors are so much better.
5. What the hell is an inner goddess and why does she talk about it so much? I’ve only read a few excerpts and yet it’s all over the place.  Also, what is “there”, what is “kinky fuckery”, what is a “considerable length”…? Seriously, if you’re going to write porn, at least be brave enough to use the actual words.
6. Jeez. Holy cow. Biting lips. 50 Shades of Repetitive! Oh, and apparently “Oh my!” is used 79 times in the book, and not once in reference to lions, tigers and bears. Not amused. I mean, who is she? George Takei??
7. Anastasia Steele should have been called Mary Sue (or Bella Swan). Flawless and innocent and virtuous other than being a teensy bit clumsy. I can’t be the only person who automatically despises these characters and longs for their eventual gory, messy, painful death. Oh, and Christian Grey is Edward Cullen.
8. Some of the sex just sounds disturbing. And hello? Have you ever heard of UTIs, Ms James? They exist, and they’re painful. And some of the other bits… no. Just, no.
9. BDSM and abuse are not the same thing, and one of the major off-putting things about this fanfiction is that reviewers have said that it confuses the two things. Oh, and since when have women been incapable of being dominant? Way to set us all back 100 years… I hope that in the future kids will read The Hunger Games, not 50SOG, and see what a real female protagonist should be like.

So, for the record, I’m not judging the people who read it. Heck, I may even read it at one point, so I can put my money where my mouth is. If I enjoy it, or I’m wrong in any of the points I just made, I’ll hold my hands up and admit it. However, people are spouting the figures of book sales like it’s a good thing… but how many of them are reading the book for a laugh, or have read it and immediately posted reviews of how terrible it is (answer = a lot)?

I mean, I’m glad it’s getting people reading, because that’s always a good thing, I just wish people would open themselves up (no pun intended) to the better works of fiction that are out there – the classics, and if not the classics, then at least good modern fiction such as The Hunger Games, Harry Potter (I’ve also heard rave reviews for the A Song of Ice and Fire series), or even chick lit – at least those tend to be novels, rather than glorified fanfiction.

Hey you guys!

So, as you may recall (and I make no apologies for bugging you all about it; because that’s just how I roll), I am a big fan of Christopher Maine, a new sci-fi author who is publishing his novels via Kindle Direct Publishing. In fact, I would consider myself his number one fan and unofficial publicist (although how he feels about me taking that role, who knows?). I talk about him a lot because he is a really awesome author and I really want him to do well – I think his writing is brilliant and I want as wide an audience as possible to read it.

He recently released the second book in his series, “Dragon Flight – Wrath”, for the Kindle and Kindle reading app, and if anyone has a Kindle, or a smartphone/tablet/etc, I’d really appreciate it if you could buy and read this book (and the first in the series, “Renegade”), and support him! He has a blog – www.christophermaine.wordpress.com – where he talks about his characters, his novels and some of the other writing he does, as well as posting excerpts and small stories for the readers to enjoy.

The book isn’t expensive – just over £2 in the UK and $3 in the US – so please buy it and read it, it’s a brilliant way of supporting an author whose talents have, as yet, gone fairly unnoticed!

Thanks!

Kindle/Kindle App owners, LEND ME YOUR EARS!

(And your Kindles and your enthusiasm for science fiction).

Christopher Maine’s second book, “Dragon Flight: Wrath” has just been released for Kindle and the Kindle reading app, and it is amazing! I recommend it very highly and I would love it (and more importantly, I know Christopher would love it) if you would buy and read the book!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0089CLIT8/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk

Just your friendly neighbourhood self-titled publicist! ;)

So, congratulations to Christopher Maine who, I am told, sold his 20th book yesterday! He’s very happy, having sold 20 in just under three weeks. I’d like to take the chance, as well as announcing it, to remind you of the link where you, if you have a Kindle or any device (Smartphone, ipad, laptop, computer etc) where you can download the Kindle Reading App for free, can buy the book!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Flight-Renegade-Tales-ebook/dp/B007B3CZF2/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329694430&sr=1-7

If you can’t buy it, it’d be great if you could reblog it, or post it on any other social networking sites you’re on – blogster, facebook, twitter, etc – so that it will reach as wide an audience as possible!

Thank you!

Moom’s Views: Illiteracy

I was really shocked today to discover that in Wales, 40% of children enter secondary school with a reading age that is more than six months below their real age, and 3.8 million children in the UK do not own a single book, according to the National Literacy Trust. My first question was, “How?”. How can this happen? And also, is it any wonder that young people are struggling to get jobs these days, when they cannot read at the level they should be reading at?

I know that for some, it’s not through lack of trying – conditions such as dyslexia can seriously affect literacy. However, in many, it seems to just be that their parents never encouraged them to read when they were younger, and that indifference to literature has continued as they’ve aged. Personally, I can’t imagine a life without reading. Not being able to read would mean not being able to write, and for me – when I’m looking to pursue a degree with a high element of writing – the ability to read is absolutely vital. Regardless of that, I love reading – I always have been. My parents have always encouraged me to read from a young age, reading books to me before I could even read myself.

By the age of six, I was reading Harry Potter and by the age of eight or nine I was getting through books like there was no tomorrow – it only took me a few hours to read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which wasn’t a small book by any means, at the age of nine. It really shocks me that there are some children who, even at the age of eleven or older, are unable to read – even simple magazines or small books.

I don’t quite understand why – there is the stigma that books aren’t cool, or that they’re for losers, but I’m pretty certain that when these people who say these things get to the age of about eighteen, when they’re stuck with no money, no job and no prospects of going to university/furthering their education – or probably older, depending on just how immature they are -, they’ll look back and they will regret not learning to read when it was much easier, when their minds soaked up information better and they had the aid of teachers.

When I have children, I will always encourage them to read from a young age and make sure they never encounter the problems children these days are facing – and I hope they will learn to love reading in the way that I did, and reap the benefits in the way that I am doing now.