I thought I'd finally jump in on YA Highway's Road Trip Wednesdays ... I've been a lurker for awhile and they just look so fun!March was actually a surprisingly busy book month for me. I was doing a fair amount of beta-swapping so I was in reading mode not writing mode. Looking back, I'm not entirely sure that was the best approach. I often found myself unable to switch myself out of crit-mode when doing my "fun reading." In some ways this could be a good thing, but it also meant I was hyper-critical of many books that I might not have had such a problem with otherwise. At first audiobooks helped me a bit, but then I started getting annoyed again. My experience culminated in me complaining, blogstyle in a post entitled: Does your YA paranormal romance have enough clichés?
What do you think? Keep beta-reading and fun-reading separate? Turn off your inner critter when reading published novels or keep it roaring?
Note: I read a great post by
My Favorite March Read: TEMPEST - Julie CrossNow that I've digressed enough, back to the topic! Favorite March Reads. This was a tough one, but I think in the end, I'd have to choose TEMPEST by Julie Cross
I loved Cross' approach to time-travel in this book, and I think my fascination with how she developed this aspect was what kept me hooked. It was a little on the longish side, but so fascinating and the relationships so tangible and real. The voice of the MC was great (it's a male protagonist -- props to Cross for writing it so well!) The believability of the male MC might have been helped along by the fact that I listened to this on audiobook, so heard it read by a male narrator (who did a fantastic job, btw).
March Reads Runners Up
I loved the characters of Kate and Matt in AIRBORN, plus airships, cloud cats, pirates and tropical islands? You just can't go wrong! A great MG read.
CINDER was a fascinating cyborg retelling of Cinderella. Sci-fi post-apocalyptic with plagues and lunar intrigue. Loved it!
SAVING JUNE was a great contemporary YA book recommended to me by Sage of Like Fireflies in the Brain for its slow, believable approach to the relationship development. It didn't disappoint. Thanks Sage! It's a great book that weaves road-trip, romance, and dealing with the suicide of a loved-one.
Welcome to RTW! It can be a bit addicting. Glad you've joined in the fun!
ReplyDeleteI really need to pick up Tempest. I adored Cinder.
ReplyDeleteTempest and Cinder are both on my TBR list - interesting that you liked Tempest better...now I'm not sure which to read first, haha.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think you might be referring to one of my posts on critical reading - just in case, here's the link (http://akfotinoshoyer.blogspot.de/2012/03/turning-off-critical-eye.html).
Welcome to Road Trip Wednesday, and thanks for the recommendations!
ReplyDeleteI definitely empathize with your overactive crit-mode. I had a similar problem right after grad school, and now I have it again because I'm editing my stories and reading so many blogs and books about writing craft. It can definitely get annoying, but it also means that when a book is good enough to make me forget about critique and just enjoy the experience, I know it's a REALLY good one!
"Tempest" is a well thought out story about nineteen year old Jackson Meyer, novice time traveler, that explodes with non stop energy and is lots of fun to read. The author has written an interesting and novel story, one that strains the limits of what some may think of as time travel and goes beyond what I've read anywhere else. But it is cohesive throughout. I had no difficulty connecting with all the characters as Ms. Cross develops them all nicely and brings them to life. And although there's, of course, a bit of back and forth, in time, there's also a story that is riveting in its complexity. Most of the characters are in their teens but this is not a book for children as there is intrigue, sickness, death, love, and everything else that promises to make this a great trilogy. I really can't wait for the next installment.
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