My top 5 books of 2012

Not all of these books were published in 2012, but I just happened to READ them in 2012. :-)

Here they are, with no. 1 being my favorite. What are your favorite reads from 2012?



5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

 
4.  A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway



3. The $100 Startup, by Chris Guillebeau


 2. Half Broke Horses, by Jeannette Walls


 1. Maus: A Survivor's Tale, by Art Spiegelman

Let me entertain you

As I sit here typing on the computer, my cat Sophia is lying next to me, as always. Right now I'm taking a look at some writing I initially did for story 4 that will, instead, appear in story 5. (I always save my drafts -- all of them!)

As a fiction writer, my goal is simple.

I want to entertain you. 

I want you to read my stories and disappear into a world I've created just for you.

I want to give you characters you can root for and enjoy getting to know.

I want to pump up the adrenaline by taking you on a thrill ride.

I want to have it all play out like a mini movie in your mind.

And if I can generate some thoughts about deeper issues along the way, that's great, too.

Let me entertain you.

If you haven't climbed aboard The Pandora Chronicles yet, on Dec. 7 and 8 I'll be offering the first story, Pandora, free on Amazon Kindle.

Mark your calendars. And you can bet I'll remind you of those dates. A few times. :-)

How much gore is too much gore?

No offense to the presidential candidates, but I'm debating right now ... about how much horror to include in story no. 4.

These aren't horror stories, per se, but they do contain a bit of gore ("bit of gore" sounds weird, doesn't it?). And certainly the circumstances under which these people are living are horrific, with the annual plague killing thousands of people and leaving those behind with emotional scars.

Decisions, decisions.

What did you all think of the level of gore in The Hunger Games, for example? I really liked the books, especially the first one. But I was kind of shocked at the violence in it, especially since it was child-on-child violence.

So how gore much is too much gore?

Forget TV. Make your own movie.

What I love about reading is the way my mind creates the scenes as they unfold in the story. It's such a creative and stimulating process; reading activates the brain in such a way that as I read, I become even more creative. Cool, right?

I'm not knocking TV -- I've watched my fair share, although I don't watch TV at all anymore. (A digression here: Life is so much better for me without TV. Give it a try. Turn it off for 2 days and let me know via a comment if you think your stress level has gone down without the TV on.)

Reading, for me, is where it's at. I love that we all have the ability to create mini movies for the mind every time we read a book. Or Kindle book, as the case may be.

Make your own mini movie in your mind today. Read story 1 of The Pandora Chronicles, Pandora, on Amazon Kindle (or any of their bazillion apps!). Dive into the world of Hope and Jake and create the near-future city in your own mind's eye. What does it look like to you? What does it smell like? Sound like? Share your thoughts via a review, too. I'd appreciate the feedback.

OK, back to plotting story number 4 ...

What kind of reader ARE you?

The Atlanic and I want to know. Check out the article here and the super-fun addendum here, then post your answer below.

Me? I'm definitely The Muli-Tasker. I'm always reading more than one book at a time. Usually it's a non-fiction book plus a fiction book, but sometimes I double up with non-fiction/non-fiction and fiction/fiction. Right now, it's "A Moveable Feast" and "Romeo and Juliet" -- time for the classics.

(I'm not ashamed to admit that I've read "R&J" probably a dozen times, and I simply never get tired of the language. While I haven't read all of Shakespeare's plays, I can say that as corny as it is, "R&J" is right up near the top of my list. I mean, come on, people ..."But soft. What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun. / Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, / Who is already sick and pale with grief / That thou her maid are far more fair than she.")

I often read one book on my commute into work, and a different one on my way home from the gym at night. The only problem with reading on the subway is that -- it's true -- I've been known to cry and not realize I'm doing it. Like when I was reading "Persepolis" and got to that part ... well, if you've read it, you know which part.

So ... What kind of reader are you?