Under the Influence

I have come to the realization that I can't read reviews. Whether it be of a book or a movie or a television show. I have always respected a critical review of the above mentioned subjects. Back in the day, I used to read any book that got a good review of Amazon, without realizing that a lot of the reviews were done by friends or family or fans of that author and ended up with crap.

That's when I found the review sites that would tell it like it is. I ended up finding a lot of good books that way. Plus, I got the chance to read a lot of bad reviews that made me laugh. Heck, even I snark on some of the Harlequin Presents books.

But then it all backfired on me. I'd go on Television without Pity to read a recap of a favorite show and find them tearing apart a scene that I really liked and it started clouding my judgment. Suddenly, I was looking at the show through someone else's eyes.

Then I'd start getting defensive. Defending why I liked it to myself and forgetting one important fact. These are all people's opinions. One person's opinion. Not mine.

The logical answer here is for me to just stop going to these sites. I should just form my own opinion, which makes sense, but I enjoy these sites. Like I mentioned above, I've found some good books from them. I don't want to go back to reading fangirl reviews on Amazon. And TWoP is funny when it's not making fun of a character or scene I liked.

Is there a middle ground? Maybe I should stop reading negative reviews. Or stop reading recaps of shows I like. Or just stop being wishy-washy. I like what I like. If I like Finn on Glee despite the fact a lot of people think he's a crap singer, I should just stand by that. If I like Meredith on Grey's despite the fact a lot of people think she's whiny, I should stick by that.

And maybe stay away from the internet and television for awhile and get a life. That might be a good idea too...

What I've been doing....

Since I haven't been posting in awhile, I thought I'd do a quick, Quickie Review of what I've been doing...

Grey's Anatomy-I finally finished watching Season Three on Friday, which brings to an end my Grey's marathon. Now I'm ready for the DVD of Season Four, and then after that, Season Five. More McDreamy!

How I Met Your Mother-I'd never watched this show before, but two of my coworkers really liked it, so I asked if they could loan me Season One and Two. This weekend I finished Season One and I'm now working on Season Two. It's a funny show! I especially enjoy Barney aka Dougie Houser, although I'm pretty sure he has a real name. Suit up!

Books by Helen Brooks-I found a new author named Helen Brooks. She's a British writer, and seems to mostly write for Harlequin Presents. I like her books because she reminds me of Betty Neels. Well, without the frumpy nurses. She mostly writes from the female POV, but she does it so well I don't really miss the male POV. The love scenes are minimal, but again, I don't miss those either. She's able to get the point across without them. I finished three of her books Friday and Saturday and now I'm going to keep looking for more.

LaVyrle Spencer re-reads-LaVyrle was my first romance writer, and still the one who has a special place in my heart. I reread one of her books last week and I'm reading The Hellion right now. I don't think I'll ever get over her retirement back in the 90's. Sigh.

Tribute, Nora Roberts-in the midst of all these other *cough*important activities*cough*, I've also been reading Tribute. I'm not sure why it's taking me so long to read it. I guess it's just not holding my attention as much as I want it to. But I will finish it soon.

Writing-as I was driving home Friday, I was talking out loud, working all the kinks out in my book. I really need to figure out exactly where I'm going with the plot, and make sure I have all the characters in order. It's taking me way too long to write, but I am writing now!! I think all the reading has inspired me.

Swingtown-it's funny because I originally started watching this so me and Suz could make fun of it, but I think I'm actually becoming addicted to this show and the plot. Although I'm still disappointed by the lack of swinging and the kids need to go. I'm really not interested in their plotline at all. But come Thursday night, I'll still be sitting here watching it. It's just too irresistible.

Project Runway-actually any show on Bravo. I'm a bit of an addict when it comes to that channel.

In the life that doesn't involve books, television or the computer (I do have one), I'm still working (eeh) and going to my mom's house. My husband is starting on her house this week so she can put it on the market.

So that's my life...Quickie Review style. I'm still looking for people to interview if you're interested. Oh, and if I owe you an interview, I'm finishing those up today!

Now I need to get back to that life I pretend I have...

e A Novel

I just finished up a book called e A Novel by Matt Beaumont. I got it after reading some recs for his books on a couple romance blogs.

This is not a romance, but a very funny book "...told in a succession of emails that zip around the corporate network with escalating intensity." (That's from the back of the book.) I've always enjoyed books written this style. Meg Cabot had a couple books like this as well, although her books were romances, and this book is more like a trainwreck you can't help but stare at.

The book is about an ad agency set in London who is trying to win the all important Coke account. As you read the book, you watch as the agency slowly go down the drain, and the various characters that help take it there.

I think my favorite was the boss who couldn't stop copying the Helsinki office on every email he sent. He of course thought there was something wrong with email, when it was really operator error the whole time. The best was when he copied the entire corporation. Something most of us are afraid we might do at one point or another. :oP

I have to admit it took me awhile to get the characters straight. In fact, I think I'm going to go back and read it again, now that I know who is who. Yet even that didn't stop me from enjoying it.

I stayed up to 12:30 last night reading it and then woke up early so I could finish it. It's definitely a book I recommend to everyone who has ever worked in a office or just enjoys British humor.

Here's the Amazon listing for the book: e A Novel

I see he has other books listed. I'm going to have to look for those as well. For someone in a reading slump, this was a breath of fresh air!

P.S.... I'm reading!

I'm reading a book! That shouldn't be big news, but it is for someone who has been trying to read Creation in Death for about a month now and still hasn't finished.

The book is called P.S. I Love You. And yes, it's also a movie now, something I didn't realize at the time I bought it, despite the fact it has one of those awful movie covers on it. I hate when they redo the covers of books once the movie is made. It seems so cheesy. But since I didn't know that at the time, I bought it anyway.

So far its a really good book. It's set in Ireland, which makes me very happy. I love books set in Ireland. They just love to eat and drink...a lot. It's great. It's also had some LOL moments and some moments that made me cry. Always a sign of a great book. But....

Yes, there is a "but". I accidently looked ahead. I hate when I do that. I never used to do it, but ever since I've started going through this stage where I don't read a lot, I seem to be doing it more and more. I even read ahead in Creation in Death. Usually I read so fast I don't think about doing it, but not anymore. I've grown impatient.

It sucks.

But at least I'm not looking at it like some kind of educational material. When I'm in the middle of writing a book or editing one, I'll find myself dissecting everything I read. Looking at the way they phrase a sentence. How they change a scene. Just trying to figure out what I can learn from it. It makes it really hard to just get lost in a book.

Well, let's hope I finish this one. I'd hate to add it to the graveyard of unfinished books I've started in the last couple years.

Can you say wow?

I'm in the middle of Jane Eyre. Or can we say towards the end? I'm actually on page 364. I can hardly put this book down at all. Even now, I wish I could be reading it. It's incredible. It has brought me to tears time and time again. I also refuse to Google it or watch the movie version until I'm finished. I don't want to know the ending.

But... Yes, I have read ahead a bit. I couldn't help myself. Not so much as to spoil me, but just to get a jist of what might happen. To find out if she sees Mr. Rochester again.

Wow. This book is unbelievable. It reminds me of why I wanted to be a writer. This is the kind of book I want to write. A book full of darkness, of heartbreak, of rejoicing... This book has really inspired me.

I don't think my writing always fits under the role of pure romance. I want darkness in my writing. I want to write large sweeping books, full of drama, but the ebook format doesn't always support that. Don't get me wrong... I love my books. I put a piece of my soul in every one. (Which must be why I feel the sting when a review isn't altogether postive...even though I seek these reviews). When I go to write my driver series books, the characters are as real to me as my son is real to me.

All I'm saying is that I just know there is a book inside of me that is my Jane Eyre. No, I'm not saying I could ever write as well as Charlotte Bronte. I'm just saying that my epic novel is inside me, somewhere, just waiting for my writing to mature enough for me to put it down in words.

Now I just need to get through this work day so I can read some more...

Trying to get my groove back

I think I mentioned before that I'm having a hard time finding something to read. Well, the other night I took my son to Borders. Looking over the hundreds of books, I still couldn't find anything I wanted to read.

I wanted to find a really good romance but lately I'd been turned off by them. Not because of any particular author, but because everytime I read them, I'm not paying attention to the story, but to the mechanics of the writing and looking for ways for me to improve my own writing. It's not as enjoyable as it used to be. I can't just get lost in a book anymore. And for someone who enjoys writing as much as I do, it's kind of like losing your sex drive.

Then, as I was standing at the shelf filled with staff picks for the summer, I noticed the book Catcher in the Rye. A book I've never read before. I then turned to my son and suggested we both start reading classic books over the summer. We could have kind of a book club.

He rejected this idea right away. I think because I was refusing to buy him the $30 video game book her really wanted. (I refuse to pay that much for a book that isn't somehow enriching his life in some way).

We left Borders both unsatisfied.

Then on Saturday night he came into my room and said he wanted to go ahead and go with the idea of reading classics and that my MIL wanted to join in as well. Great! The more the merrier! But instead of my idea of us reading the same book, he thought we should each pick our own, then swap.

That was fine, too. I could agree to that. But where to get the books? I don't have a whole lot of money right now, and I'm not buying all these books. My son rejected my library idea, plus the library was already closed Saturday and doesn't open on Sunday. That's when I remembered there was a used book store in my town that I hadn't yet checked out.

So on Sunday, I got ready and away we went. I picked out Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, my son picked out Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and we picked out Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton for my MIL. I have never heard of this book, but it said it was a classic, and was kind of short. The storyline looked interesting, too.

I started Jane Eyre yesterday, and it's caught my attention so far. It's the first time in awhile that it's hard for me to put down a book. I even want to skip to the end to see what happens. The great thing about this book is that, even though I've heard a lot of people mention it, I don't remember any of the storyline. So it will be a total surprise to me.

Now I just have to find a good movie version of it for when I'm done.

I haven't been reading at all lately and I keep trying to figure out why. The only theory I can come up with is because all the books on my to-be-read pile are paranormals.

In theory, I love the thought of a paranormal book. Vampires are hot. But every time I try to start a vamp series, I only last a couple books before I quit.

Sometimes I can't even make it through the first book.

Christine Feehan; Dark Series: I got through about 2 or 3 of these books before they all started to sound the same. I took a break and when I tried going back, I'd lost track of where I'd left of and all the details. Since all authors have their own rules in the worlds they create, it really pays to keep up.

Charlaine Harris; Sookie Stackhouse: I really liked this series. It was funny and involved many characters-and not all of them vampires. But again, I only made it through about 2 of the books before quitting.

J.R. Ward; The Black Dagger Brotherhood: I read the first book in this series and LOVED it. But the man I loved the most was the only non-vampire in the bunch. He was a cop who gets fired for crossing the line and ends up hanging out with the 'brothers.' And I found that I wanted to skip the books in between and go straight to his. That's not good.

MaryJanice Davidson; The Undead series: I got pretty far in this series. But I think it was because it was first person and lighthearted. Plus, it was really, really funny. Humor can get me through any genre. Even Historical; my least favorite genre. But I'm still a couple books behind in the series. I'd have to read the blurbs to figure out where I left off.

Nora Roberts; The Circle Trilogy: Now I'm a HUGE Nora fan, and I haven't even started this series. I have them all, ready to read, and I haven't touched them. And all my friends-even the non paranormal fans-swear to me it's a really good series. But every time I pick up Morrigan's Cross, I can't get through the first page. What is with that?

I'm thinking it might have to do with the amount of work involved in reading paranormals. Because the authors build their own worlds, they have their own rules. You have to remember all the rules to really understand the books. Pick up any contemporary book and you can usually get into it right away with no real confusion. (Unless it's about a career/sport/place you're not familiar with).

Maybe I should give up on the paranormals for now. Do you think? Or maybe I'm just not in the reading mood. I think I'll have a pact to read at least one a week and review them here. Do you think that'll motivate me?

We'll see!