Reread Books in 2010

I read two more books the last week of 2010. So my total for the year is now 59. I'd say that's pretty good considering I didn't have access to a lot of books. I'm trucking through this year already with 5. (Loving the Kindle.) With last year's list I read 60 in 2009 and read 5 books by January 28.

So I'll start with the books I reread in 2010. I rate on a scale of 1-5.

La Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery - 5

I read this in both German and English. My mother used to read it to me in the original French. Wonderful children's classic with a depth unfathomable by children. Definitely something to read as an adult.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein - 5

Read this one with Albert. He liked it and wants to read the Lord of the Rings. I can't say much about the Hobbit except that it's awesome.

Harry Potter 4 by J.K. Rowling - 4

This is my absolute favorite Harry Potter. I bought a fancy signed version in London.

Harry Potter 7 by J.K. Rowling - 2

I don't like this one as much. The movie was awesome. (I hate you Hollywood for splitting it into two, grrr.) It's too psychological and philosophical instead of constant action for me.

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon - 3

Love love love this series. Especially the first one, Outlander. Anyone who can keep me hooked for 1,000 pages and never let up on the humor, love, and action is amazing.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer - 2

I don't like these books very much. The Host is so much better. But the movies are fun so I reread before the movies. They are quick easy reads when I just want to relax.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - 4

Amazing.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - 3

Good book. I struggle with her writing. It doesn't quite hook me. But the story is wonderful.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer - 4

This book grabs from the beginning and doesn't let go. The world is well developed and interesting. The characters are heart-wrenchers.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - 3

Had to reread before Mockingjay came out!

And those are my rereads for 2010. I will keep listing what else I read this year in small chunks. Also, I'll have a Kindle review at some point.

Freelance Editing

I posted my review of The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer (click on Bree Tanner). Let me know what you think. I still don't feel very confident reviewing books. I can't seem to get out in writing how the book really made me feel. Which brings me to my main blog topic today, I'm not really a writer. I enjoy writing, but I absolutely love editing.

I worked for a vanity publisher as an editor. I'm not proud of it but I did it. It was the only opportunity at the time, and it gave me the chance to edit. I didn't really understand what vanity publishing was, but as soon as I researched more and completely understood I quit. I don't want to condone that type of publishing; it is not ok to make the authors pay to have their book published. It lowers the standard of books out there. It just isn't fair to the authors.

So now I'm attempting to work as a freelance editor but sheesh is it hard! I can find a few jobs to apply for. Then I google them all to make sure they're not scams. That usually narrows it down to one or two because there are a lot of scams out there. Then I check up on who they are and what they do and whether they are truly hiring or just taking resumes. A lot of the time I'm not qualified, or they aren't hiring. Everyone wants a proofreader or editor who has three years experience. How do I get that experience without working? I've done some small projects for friends but those just don't count. It's a mess.

Anybody have any advice for me? I know it'll take hard work to get there, but I'm at a dead end. I don't know where to go from here. Should I just keep doing what I'm doing?

Stephenie Meyer and Twilight

It seems to be one of the topics of pop culture. Either you hate the Twilight Saga or love it. Typically I don't read books that have a crazy amount of hype, but I read Twilight long before there was hype. She's a wonderful writer, I get completely lost in her books. It's just the topics that are controversial. Is Bella too dependent on the overpowering Edward? I'm much more in love with her Host book. The topic doesn't bug me quite so much as the unbelievable, fantasy relationship of Edward and Bella.

Now Stephenie Meyer has a novella about the newborn vampire from Eclipse, Bree. She's letting her fans read it for free until July 5th (just click the book cover to get to breetanner.com). I'll post a review on it later. I really enjoyed it. It's always pretty fun to think about the other characters in a book, and here Stephenie Meyer took a very small character in the Eclipse book and hashed out her story.

So tell me, do you love it or hate it? Or are you the person I haven't heard about yet that is neutral on the topic?

Confusion as a Writer

Be prepared, this is kind of a vent session on my writing. I've been struggling since November with my inner editor. I participated in NaNoWriMo and wrote 50,000 words in a month. (Yay!) It is my first finished manuscript. Typically I get about 10,000 words in, reread it, and scrap it. This time I wrote all the way through refusing to reread what I wrote until I finished. I'm in the first edit of the manuscript and still working out the kinks. But I've gone back to writing the beginnings of novels and stopping short just a few chapters in. (That or short stories, a whole different animal considering I can finish them and have tons stored on my computer.)

Problem #1 - I can't finish a manuscript.

Now we come to my second problem. I am dying to write a fantasy or science fiction young adult novel. Every time I attempt it, it comes out childish. I could consider the possibility of writing a middle-grade book instead and then this wouldn't be a problem, but for some reason I can't. So now I've spent the last few weeks trying to come up with the right idea. I'm sure I'm a bit out of it in my preoccupation with book ideas because my husband keeps waving his hand in front of my face.

Problem #2 - Waiting for the right idea has taken weeks.

Today I had a break through. I was rereading Eclipse to get ready for the movie, and a line Bella said caused an idea to just pop in my head. I've never had that experience; it was exhilarating. All afternoon I've let this idea sit in the back of my mind. I'm not really touching it yet, just considering it. I don't want to scare it away. And I don't want to ruin it by writing 10,000 words and getting stuck. For now I'm leaving it alone. Anybody have any advice for me? I'll let you know how it goes.