Friday, July 2, 2010

Footloose and Fancy-free Friday Books

Some of you may (or not) recall the post I did last December about how I can't seem to balance reading for pleasure while writing that first draft.  I'll get caught up in reading and not write.  (No, I'm not writing this post to procrastinate writing.  *whistles softly*)  Back then I was trying to motivate myself to finish the draft of Oracles Promise.  Now, I'm trying to motivate myself through the last 10K-11K of Lodestar.

And it's not working.  Not much has changed since that post last December.  My TBR pile and my wishlist are growing exponentially.  In an effort to further motivate myself, I'm going to post my current lists.  I know it might seem redundant since they're both so eerily similar to the lists from December, but go with it.  It's Friday and I can post about what I want.

The TBR List:

Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde
The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde
Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde
First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
Dragonspell by Donita K. Paul
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
The 39 Clues: The Emperor's Code by Gordon Korman
The 39 Clues: Storm Warning by Linda Sue Park
Wake by Lisa McMann
The Naming by Alison Croggon
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

The wishlist:

Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
White Cat by Holly Black
Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison
The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
A Matter of Magic by Patricia Wrede
Aurelia by Anne Osterlund
To Catch a Pirate by Jade Parker
Magic Below Stairs by Caroline Stevermer
Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter by R.J. Anderson
Silver Phoenix: Beyond the Kingdom of Xia by Cindy Pon
Pretty is as Pretty Dies by Elizabeth Spann Craig
Delicious and Suspicious by Elizabeth Spann Craig as Riley Adams

As you can see, both lists have actually grown since I posted them in December.  Sigh.  Oh to have a remote which would let me pause time and read then get back to the daily grind of day job balanced with all other obligations/wants.

Have you read any of these?  Any books I've missed that I shouldn't be passing by?  And if you're not following Elizabeth Craig on Twitter or on her blog, you totally should be.  She's got tons of great links on Twitter for writers and has amazing interviews and very informative posts on her blog.

13 comments:

  1. Great list. My TBR pile keeps growing as well. I've only read three books on your list - Graceling, Incarceron and Princess of the Midnight Ball - good books all three.

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  2. I have a lot of books on my TBR list that are on yours! Summer is too short, I need to get reading! There are a lot on here I've yet to read, so I'm going to jot some of them down...

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  3. I just got my Amazon package with Sisters Red on Wednesday! I'm super stoked to read it. But I'm like you, when I'm writing a first draft I don't even want to LOOK at another book. I'll read in the in-between times.

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  4. Read City of Bones NOW! I ADORED that whole series.

    I have a few of these books on my own TBR pile *sighs*

    Your lists aren't actually all that big, sad to say. My TBR pile is 100+ books (then again, I'm closing in on reaching 1000 books total sooo).

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  5. We have some similar books on our TBR lists -- I'm itching to get the latest 39 Clues book (who says they're just for kids? lol).

    Also, 'Shadow Bound' by Erin Kellison just came out and is FANTASTIC. If you haven't read 'Soulless' by Gail Carriger, I recommend that too.

    (Admittedly, I was less than impressed with Mercedes Lackey's 'The Fairy Godmother' when I read it a few years ago.)

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  6. I have the same problem. Some of these books are on my TBR list as well. I'll now have to add the others...

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  7. I use to have the same problem-not being able to work both my own MS while wanting to read my TBR pile. So in order to focus myself on my writing I told myself if I ever want to be on someone else's TBR pile, I had to write the book. Then I went one step further and told myself, I can only read if I made my quota for the day in my writing. And BTW...great list!

    Umm, if it's no bother, could you tell me where you get your word counters, please? They are much more elegant than the overly large grey ones I have.

    Thanks;-) Happy 4th of July!!!

    ~Talina

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  8. I think this is a brilliant start to your list!!! I'm sure you have plenty more where that came from! I have to say that you've made my list grow now as well! Some of those sound really good! I'm all about the prince and princess stories, they always get me!

    In fact I just finished writing one mixed with fantasy and fell in love!

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  9. A long TBR list means there are a lot of great books being published. And that's a good thing! I read realistic fiction, the dark, literary stuff, or light romance, and divert to sci-fi the odd time. Fantasy rarely, but maybe I need to grow my list and try a few of yours! Thanks for sharing.

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  10. Some very awesome books! A lot of them are in my stack too. :D

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  11. I finished Hush, Hush last week. Though I enjoyed it, I can't rave about it like other people seem to be doing. I think she's a good writer, and I'll read the next one.

    My son is reading The Red Pyramid right now. He loved The Lightning Thief series. I read the first three, but stopped because I didn't love them.

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  12. I finished Red Pyramid a week or so ago. I enjoyed the Percy Jackson series, as did my son. This one is not as strong. It's a lot longer for no good reason and he relies on too many of the same story telling tricks (like dreams and visions to get around that pesky first person POV). Still worth a read, just know it's no Percy Jackson.

    (And it is the only book on your list I have read)

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  13. Love, love, love Wake and City of Bones series. Enjoyed Hush, Hush and Moon Called.

    I have an enormous TBR pile too and am failing miserably with my read 100 books this year goal. But I did finishing my first draft of my WIP today, so maybe I'll get some catch up time.

    I, however, do have to read while I'm drafting or my creativity gets stagnant. It's so funny how it works so differently for different people.

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