Journey Through Pen And Paper

NO SPOILERS. This is by far one of the absolute best psychological thrillers I have ever read. I love psychological thrillers, and this book is definitely on my top 5. It is so, so well written, I could cry.  Lisa Gardner has written a deep, disturbing story about a family with a secret. Maybe not A secret, quite a lot of secrets. The entire story line is so well developed. You suspect one person from the start, and it ends up being someone else entirely. I love it so much.  This is what I wrote on goodreads: The first page doesn't plunge into action. It drags you in slowly, and keeps you hanging by the last line of the first chapter. What you expect is never what is real.  Every character in this book is amazing. Ree, Jason, Sandra; they are all so unbelievably real. Each person is so torn, like broken china dolls put hastily together by white glue; each piece ready to fall apart with one touch. I loved every one of them.  I really can't write a spo...

One of the first things we notice about a book is, whether you agree or not, the cover. I personally find myself only half as interested in a book with an uninteresting cover than in a book with an interesting one. I have rounded up my recently favorite book covers into the best five. So here, in no particular order, goes my top 5 book covers of March. 1. The Martian (Andy Weir) The Martian really captures my eye, with the beautiful orange faded design. I love it's simplicity. The book itself is about an astronaut who gets left behind on Mars, and has to survive on the utilities available and find a way to get back to Earth. Haven't read it yet, but am looking forward to.

I haven't updated this blog in months. There are many book reviews I would like to add here, but just haven't gotten to, so I'm sorry about that. Will be many more updates in the near future. 

SPOILERS!! .... (well, duh) For my birthday this month, I received a few books to add to my shelf (including the entire set of The Hunger Games - I had to brag about that in here somewhere). The Graveyard Book was one of them, and it was up high in my reading list as well. So, when I got it, I was thrilled. However, the result wasn't what I expected.  The book takes you on a journey through Nobody Owens's life in a graveyard, where he is being brought up by the ghosts residing there. When he was just a baby, his entire family is killed by a man called Jack, and he was the only survivor. He had toddled up a hill and entered the graveyard, not knowing what had happened to his family, not knowing how much his life was about to change. 

Another brilliant video from Jenna Moreci (can you tell I'm obsessed with her? I hope not) explaining how to evoke emotion through your writing. One of the many complaints I got from beta readers was that my writing failed to touch them. It is a serious issue. Readers will get bored of a book that they can't connect with. Jenna explained it in an easy-to-understand way, and I hope this helps other writers as much as it helped me. ALSO check out the prologue and first two chapters to Jenna's new book, The Savior's Champion, on her blog here :  http://jennamoreci.tumblr.com/

I HAD TO SHARE THIS. It's absolutely perfect. Almost all writers go through the bullying phase where no one believes that they are capable, or that writing is even a career choice. This video is for all those who have been told that writing is going to make you a 'homeless failure' one day.  All the thanks in the world to Jenna Moreci for making this. You go, girl. 

Who doesn't love a good teen spy novel? Alex Rider is one of my favorite (dare I say, my only favorite) spy series. Anthony Horowitz has created the most memorable main character, the 'reluctant hero', who is thrust into a world of villains, heroes, and lots of secrets.  There are 9 books in the series, and one prequel; all of which are absolutely awesome. It's action-packed, thrilling, and gives me a sense of adrenaline even before I open the book.  There are different versions of covers, but the version above is the most beautiful.  Every villain in each book is different. They all have their own story, and sometimes you find yourself feeling sorry for them. Some have been victims of racism, some have been deprived of their rights. But in the end, you will hate every one of them. Their deaths are also very satisfying. Each gets an end they deserve.