Oh, books and spreadsheets, how do I love thee! I’ve been keeping data on which books I’ve read for the past five years, since early 2010, which is awesome for those times when I want to figure out, for instance, the percentage of female authors I read or how many fantasy novels I’ve scarfed down. … [Read more…]
I’ve long planned my reading–kept a TBR list, led two book clubs, read books in thematic clusters–and I thought other readers did, too. But one of the things that has surprised me about the Writers Who Read series is how many of the writers interviewed, most of them big readers, don’t consciously plan their reading. I think spontaneous, … [Read more…]
Today I welcome a guest post by Kieran Lyne discussing Sherlock Holmes and the longevity of ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ as part of the Halloween 2014 series. Some words possess a quality, a magic spark which instantly conjures certain images to our minds. If I were to say ‘Halloween’ for example, what would come … [Read more…]
I asked the authors who’ve participated in my Writers Who Read interview series a simple question: What’s the scariest story you’ve ever read? Down below are their answers, from Stephen King to Shelley to an old MR James collection of ghost stories. Adrienne Celt H.P. Lovecraft’s “Dreams in the Witch House” I read The Dream … [Read more…]
Today I welcome a guest post from Orrin Grey, author of Gardinel’s Real Estate, writing about haunted spaces and how Gardinel’s came into existence, for the Halloween 2014 post series. “An evil old house, the kind some people call haunted, is like an undiscovered country waiting to be explored.” The Haunting (1963) I don’t really know where … [Read more…]
This week I’m welcoming a guest post by Daniel Hales, whose new book of poetry, Tempo Maps (ixnay press, Philadelphia), will be released this Saturday when he reads at the Philly Art Alliance as part of the Philalalia Small Press Festival. Here Daniel shares his ten favorite books of prose poetry from roughly the last fifty … [Read more…]
I recently did that Facebook book nerd meme that is making the rounds, the one where you’re supposed to list ten books that have stayed with you. The question, as I copied it, instructed me to not think too hard about this question, so of course I then proceeded to think twice as long as most other people … [Read more…]
I’m excited to announce a new series on this blog, Writers Who Read. I’m both a writer and a huge book nerd, and I’m thrilled at the chance to bring these two interests together through a series of writer interviews particularly focused on books and reading. I’ll be interviewing writers–of all stripes, at all stages … [Read more…]
Recently my friend Jenny Vinyl sparked a discussion on our reading and writing group asking how we “audition” books. This came from a recent episode of the Bookrageous podcast where Paul Montgomery used “auditioning” as a term to describe how readers decide which novels to pick from the vast cast of books waiting to be … [Read more…]
You know the old USDA Food Guide Pyramid, the shape that specified the amounts of grains, vegetables, and oils Americans should consume daily? I’ve been wondering if we can adapt a similar concept for reading–at least for those of us who like to consciously plan our reading, or maybe just the next book or two. … [Read more…]