For the month of January, I met my reading goal of four books. Two of which were on my reading list for this six-month period. I generally try to read one comp title and one context book within my four. I accomplished this and they were the two titles I marked off my reading list.
Night Must Fall by Angela White
I am addicted to her Life after War series. If you haven’t read them, you should. This book is part of a spin off that I found while waiting for the next book in the LAW series. Alexa is the daughter of the founder of Safe Haven in a post-apocalyptic world. She travels across the wastelands looking for signs of his whereabouts while running into bad people and strange creatures. While not as exciting as the LAW series itself, Alexa’s spinoffs are a nice aid to keep you in their world.
The Gunslinger by Stephen King
This was the comp title on my reading list that I was able to mark off. I’ve been jumping around Stephen King’s work and have landed on this series. In the introduction to the book, he talks about getting inspired by The Lord of the Rings to write this series. I can definitely see the similarities in the tales. The epic journey begins in a way that foreshadows all the bad things to come. We learn about the characters and the world they live in, we learn of the quest and the dangers, and we can see that the trail will get much messier as time goes on. It was a very good introduction to the series, and I can’t wait to read the next one.
Infinite In Between by Carolyn Mackler
I heard about this book on a DIY MFA Podcast episode. Gabriela interviewed Carolyn Mackler and her book was one of the discussion topics. I don’t read much YA anymore, but the story sounded nice, so I decided to pick it up. It was an enjoyable read about a group of kids in high school. It is compared to The Breakfast Club in reviews and that’s pretty on the mark. The kids deal with all kinds of dramas through the four “greatest” years of their lives. Addiction, death, sexual identity, and divorce to just name a few of the trials they face. I would recommend it to high school age kids that were looking for something meaningful and inspiring to read.
How to Start a Home-Based Writing Business by Lucy V. Parker
This was the contextual book I was able to mark off. I’ve been dabbling into the world of freelance writing (nothing serious yet, just checking it out) and this book was a helpful read. It takes you through all the ins and outs of business startup with several helpful checklists, questionnaires, and worksheets that point you in the right direction and make sure all your bases are covered. It also helps with all the legal aspects of starting a business. While I’m not exactly at the point of starting a “business,” this book was a nice read and I can see how I can utilize its information in the future.
What have you been reading? What would you recommend?