Best books I discovered in 2015

(All purchased by me; Affiliate links)

Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K...

I’ve been a bit busy lately, and my blog has suffered—the most relevant reason is that I was contacted by an indie publisher interested in publishing one of my books, and I’ve been researching like crazy to see if we’re the right fit. Exciting, and I'll keep you posted!

Before time got away from me, I intended to put together a year-end post about a few of the books I read and enjoyed last year…So today we're gonna jump into the not-so-way-back machine and travel to the last week of 2015 to enjoy a year-end review of my favorite literary-type discoveries!


Let's start with some serious stuff...



An Unnecessary Woman, by Rabih Alameddine

Summary: Aaliya Sobhi has spent her life set to the side by circumstance and culture, unwanted, unnoticed, and for the most part, unloved. She navigates war-torn Beirut and the loss of almost everything that matters to her with stolid doggedness; her life force comes always through books: selling them, reading them, and translating them. As she approaches the nadir of her life, an unexpected tragedy threatens to take the painstaking translations she's spent her life shaping, and she has to learn a new form of acceptance to save them.     

Why I love it: Aaliya's story could easily be a depressing indictment or veer off into cheesy redemption, but Alameddine manages to make it nuanced, engaging, and relatable. She explores the complexities of Lebanese culture and the disparities of gender while eschewing stereotypes and easy explanations. Aaliya shouldn't be likeable, but she is; she touched the part of me that knows what it's like to be marginalized and is afraid of finding myself alone. The ending is powerful in an understated way, and Aaliya has stayed with me for months.     



Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides

Summary: Middlesex follows the story of Calliope Stephanides, beginning two generations before she's born. Cal is a hermaprodite, her biological reality the fluke result of her Greek grandparents' incestuous marriage; their complicated love story and the consequences of their choices interweave with Cal's discovery of her body and the development of her gender identity. 

Why I love it: As a developmental psychologist and amateur family genealogist, the story of how a family's complicated history culminates in the identity of one modern-day protagonist pulled me in from page one (not a surprise--my first novel, Hazel-Green, is a family saga with similar themes). Eugenides celebrates taboo topics rather than 'deals' with them--he explores without judgement and as a result allows the reader to engage fully with important questions of nature, nurture, and the human spirit. 


And now for something completely different...



Soulless, by Gail Carriger

Summary: Alexia Tarabotti has no soul--and that's a good thing. At least, it is when you live in a world populated by werewolves and vampires, because it means you can neutralize their powers with a touch of your hand. Of course, that ability makes Alexia dangerous to many and useful to others, and within pages she's being hunted by those who want to destroy her and those who want to employ her. Add to that her hidden (even from herself) passionate love for one of the most powerful werewolves around and you have a fun, fast-paced steampunk romp with a fair amount of suggestive situations and even some steamy sex.

Why I love it: Steampunk. Strong female protagonist. Steamy situations. Isn't that enough? Oh, fine--Carriger's writing is also witty, her dialogue engaging, and her world-building strangely believable, given the content revolves around werewolves and vampires. This book is a good time, plain and simple. Grab some tea and biscuits, cuddle up in a cozy throw on the couch, and enjoy the ride.



Etiquette & Espionage, by Gail Carriger

Summary: Sophronia Temminnick is a spirited fourteen-year-old tomboy who doesn't fit the Victorian template for what a young lady should be. When her mother reaches the end of her rope, she sends Sophronia off to a finishing school; but as it turns out, while this school is about 'finishing' young ladies for their introduction to society, it's also about teaching them to 'finish' off anyone who poses a threat to that society. They learn how to dance, and how to use weapons; how to flirt, and how to deceive; how to be beautiful, and how to be lethal.

Why I love it: Steampunk. Strong female protagonist. But-- appropriate for teen readers. Sophronia deals with the politics of young girls and young love (ish) while learning how to climb airships, care for mechanical pets, master martial arts, and faint without wrinkling her frock. I wish I'd had this book when I was a teenager, and I'm not too proud to love it now. The world Carriger builds is full of fun surprises, and Sophronia is an empowered young woman you'll want to spend lots of afternoons with. 


There you have it! Hope you saw something that intrigued you. I'd also love to hear about which books you loved last year--tell me about them in the comments. 

Happy reading!
M.

Review: Veronika Layne Has a Nose for News

(Review copy provided for honest review; affiliate links)

Hello! Good to see you again! I’ve been away for a few weeks both finalizing my second novel, now called Deadly Avatar, and jumping deep into the query process. But that’s a post for another time, and I’ll be back with more about that soon.


Today I’m back with a review of the second Veronika Layne book (click here to see my review of the first book), Veronika Layne Has a Nose for News, by Julia Park Tracey. This review won’t contain spoilers for the new book, but will contain a few soft spoilers for the first book, so if you want a virgin reading, go read that book first!


Okay. So. Veronika Layne is an independent, opinionated, environmentally-conscious twenty-something journalist who has recently been merged into a large media conglomerate; in the process she has been knocked down the the bottom of the corporate ladder, relegated to covering the fluffiest of fluff pieces. She wants two things out of life: to report real news, and to bask in the affection of her new boyfriend, Aidan.


Too bad that Aidan is flying off to Columbia University to get a Master’s Degree in journalism, while Veronika is stuck behind in California. Veronika is not the sort of woman to tie her identity to a man, and is horrified to find herself pining over him. She throws herself into her work, and while covering a local city council meeting she stumbles on a celebrity house flipper; he seems to have a disregard for local laws, and Veronika’s nose tells her his motives aren’t pure.


Nose for News is a fun, fast read, with smart writing. Julia Park Tracey explores the agonies of long-distance romance in the age of text messages, IMs, and mysterious Facebook photos with insight, wit, and humor. We can all relate, and want to both smack Veronika (stop checking his FB page obsessively!!) and hug her at the same time, because we know the pain. And while the story would have been an entertaining one just with the mystery and the romantic tension, the book goes a level above by allowing Veronika to grow from what she’s experiencing in a meaningful way. And this time around Veronika gets to work with an intern, Ingrid; Veronika converts her from a designer-label princess to a budding hippie in a funny-bone-tickling subplot.


If you’re looking for a strong female protagonist to spend your evening with, give Veronika a try. Just be prepared for the girlcrush you may develop. Right now the book is free if you have Kindle Unlimited, (so is the first book!) and I believe I've mentioned how much I love free. :)

Happy reading!
M.

Is prose the ultimate measure of a book's value?

(Affiliate links)

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that a couple of weeks ago, E.L. James (author of the Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy) held a twitter event that took a turn toward the dark side. A number of people sent nasty tweets attacking her skill as a writer and accusing her of damaging women’s causes. I was disturbed by this, not because it happened per se—internet trolls are gonna hate, that’s no surprise—but because it seems to be the apex of a phenomenon I have a very hard time understanding, both as a writer and a reader.



Before I begin, I have two disclaimers. First: in this post I’m talking about the writing issue, not the abusive relationship issue, but I do not mean to imply this is an unimportant question.


Second: on the recommendation of a friend, I started reading the Grey trilogy shortly after it became a phenomenon. I made it halfway into the second book, and stopped; it just wasn’t my thing, and although my friend loved it, I just couldn’t get into it. No big deal—different strokes for different folks (no pun intended). 


I watched the backlash swirl around the books and have heard more than a few people trash the series. I’ve heard all sorts of jokes about how poorly written the series is, how cheesy, etc., etc.; I’ve seen the random generator that allows you to create Grey-like-prose-filled sex scenes. Before that, I heard people say similar things about how bad the Twilight series is, and before that, I heard people criticize the Harry Potter series with comments like ‘Let’s face it, it’s not great literature’ (interesting that such comments about the Harry Potter books have dwindled almost to nothing nowadays—but I'm quite sure J.K. Rowling remembers the early criticism all too well).  


When people snarked about the Harry Potter series, my response has always been: If it gets kids reading, I’m all for it.

When people slammed the Twilight series, my response was (and is): If it gets teenagers reading, I’m all for it. 

When people trash the Grey series, my response continues to be: if it gets adults to take time out of their busy days to read rather than surfing Facebook, I’m all for it. 


Still, it raises the question in my mind: is perfect, beautiful prose the end-all-be-all of writing a book? Is it the only form of talent and value? Sure, it’s important, and we should all strive for it. But is it the only thing that matters when it comes to telling a great story? Clearly not, if we agree that the novels mentioned above are not examples of transcendent prose. But it’s just as clear that those books have something that makes millions of people read them, some important IT-factor that pulls people in. There are so many other important elements to a great read that should be just as valued: Great story. Great plot. Great dialogue. Humor. Deep, compelling characters. Universally relatable themes. Excellent pacing. Expert world building. 


And, if I’m honest, I know that I’d much rather read a book that has a great plot and blah prose than a book that has a blah plot and great prose.

In fact…I hesitate to say this, but…

I love The Lord of The Rings. I currently own three copies of it, two in hard form and one on my Kindle. But, I find the prose nearly impossible to read without concerted effort. Yes, I hear your collective intake of breath and your declarations of sacrilege, but there it is. I personally find the prose mind-numbing, and in certain places am tempted to stab myself in the thigh with a fork just to stay awake. But I read it anyway, because I love the world that Tolkien created, and the epic battle between good and evil that he plots with such emotion and intrigue. And A Christmas Carol? One of my favorite stories; but that’s despite the prose, not because of it. And these are classics; nobody disputes their status, nor will they. Tastes differ. Styles change. But these books have something that keeps them alive, even for those of us who don’t connect with them stylistically.


Sure, I hear you saying ‘But shouldn’t we try to perfect all of these elements in our writing?’. Of course we should. But we also have to recognize that there is a time and a place for everything. For example, Dickensian prose in the Grey series would be silly and turn off more people than any of the purported transgressions James makes; it would just get in the way of whatever people are connecting with in the books. If the Harry Potter series was written in Steinbeckian prose or in the style of The Great Gatsby, how many six-to-ten-year-old children would have read it or listened to it for more than thirty seconds? We are always faced with these choices. And, all writers have strengths and weaknesses; few if any of us are masters of all aspects of the craft. 


And that, my friends, leads me to another question I struggle with: why do writers feel the need to tear each other down? Most of the harshest criticism I've heard leveled at books like the Twilight series and the Grey series comes from writers. I get that there is an element of professional competition (dare I say sometimes even jealousy?) in most fields. But I find it harder to understand when it comes to writing than with other professions. Clients may have only one general practitioner or one lawyer, may shop religiously at only one deli, but no reader has ever said ‘I only read the works of X’. Especially in this age of binge reading, once a reader is done with the works of one author, they move on to another, usually someone who writes a similar type of book. Because of that, I suspect Stephenie Meyer and E.L. James have done more to drive sales in the paranormal romance and erotica genres than just about any other single element in the past 10 years. So shouldn’t their successes be embraced and celebrated by writers in their respective genres, and across the board? Doesn’t it just give other authors the chance to demonstrate their considerable skill?


At the end of the day, who decides what is acceptable prose and what isn’t? Who decides which factors are most important in making a novel worth reading? Who determines if a book has that magic ‘IT’ that makes them want to keep reading and buy the next book in the series? Is it those of us who write? Is it the academics who study literature?


No. It’s the people plunking down their hard-earned dollars and investing their precious leisure time on the books. And in the cases of J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, E.L. James, and many others, they’ve spoken with resounding eloquence. 

Review: Veronica Layne Gets The Scoop!

(Purchased by me; affiliate links)

Summer is in full swing, which means it's time for beach reads! There's nothing like hanging out on the beach or next to the pool or lolling under an oak tree on a beautiful summer day with plenty of time to read, read, read. And I have a fun read to add to your list: Veronika Layne Gets The Scoop, by Julia Park Tracey, the first installment of the Hot Off The Press series. 

Veronika Layne Gets the Scoop

Veronika Layne is a smart, sassy twenty-something trying to build her career as a journalist on a small San Francisco Bay Area island (modeled after Alameda). She’s doing pretty fine for herself until the paper she works for merges with a larger conglomerate (an all-too familiar situation for many of us), and has to face an unpleasant decision: work on cotton-candy feel-good crap, or quit. She decides to suck it up and pay her dues until she can convince her boss she’s been undervalued. So when she stumbles across what looks like the the desecration of Native American burial mounds, she decides to investigate. Predictably, all does not go well; Veronika struggles with the investigation and her very hot rival co-worker, while the reader reaps the rewards.


Veronika is the sort of female protagonist I love; she’s strong, she’s kind, and she’s flawed in ways that are highly relatable. She can take care of herself, thank you very much, and she can save the planet as she’s doing it (green is her watchword) but she’s simultaneously semi-clueless when it comes to men. I don’t know about you, but that sums up my previous dating life pretty darn well, so I find myself face-palming and wanting to hug her all at the same time. The closest comparison I can come up with is to say that if Stephanie Plum had a younger sister who was a little more tattoed, and a little more savvy, and a little more hippy-dippy, she’d be Veronika Layne.


The author herself was a journalist for many years, and her expertise shows. The book approaches the mystery through the mind of an investigative reporter rather than a detective; this gives it a fresh take and a less predictable trajectory. If you’ve ever watched old movies and wondered what it was like to be one of those guys with the press-pass in their fedora, you’ll enjoy taking this journey in Veronika’s shoes. 


This is Chick Lit, so there is romance threading through it, with some sex. Very sexy sex. And all I have to say about that is: Yum.


So if you’re looking for a fun, fast-paced, witty read to savor on a beautiful summer day, I highly recommend you spend some time hanging out with Veronika. Oh, and? The next book in the series (Veronika Layne Has a Nose for News) is scheduled to come out sometime in the next month, so if you fall in love with her, you won’t have to wait long for a second play date. In the meantime, if you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can read this first installment for free on Kindle Unlimited. I love free, I’m not gonna lie. ;-)


Happy reading,

M.