march book fail, and other fun stuff.

Well, I've certainly not been my usual bloggy self lately, have I?  In my defense, I have been working a ton.  Working and writing and emailing friends.  Totally an acceptable series of excuses.

It is the last day of March, and I can say without any real surprise that I didn't reach my reading goal this time around.  Meh.  Plain Kate was too good.  It sort of turned me off to anything that was't just like it.  I tried to read a book I'd never heard of, that jumped out at me at the library, since it was fantasy like Plain Kate, and in third person, like Plain Kate.  But it just hasn't hooked me yet.  Maybe I'll still read it (I think I'd like to, I really do), but not this time around.  So then I checked out Howl's Moving Castle, which I've always wanted to read.  Surprisingly, I haven't gotten into it yet, either!  I mean, I'm enjoying it, I'm just not reading it.  Am I flickering out?  Again, I cite working too much and writing too much (der, that's supposed to be a good thing) and emailing friends.  You know who you are.

Oh, wait, I have one more excuse to file: spending too much time online.  How does one break such a habit?

For the past few days, I've been thinking, I have to post something.  I have to post something.  Why can't I think of anything?  What's wrong with me?  So, since my brain is currently fried with working and writing and emailing and wasting time online, I thought I would share with you some of the interesting things I've learned, lately.

First of all, what the heck?  It is incorrect to insert two spaces after a period?  You really should only use one?  It's an actual thing.  It's true.  What?  I mean, this post has two spaces between sentences, and I don't think it looks too bad, but it is wrong.  Wrong, I say.  I cannot wrap my mind around this (and, I'm overreacting a little bit, too).  I remember being taught in school to use two spaces.  I remember that!  What were those teachers trying to do to my brain?  Now I have to unlearn the double space. Must. Try. Does this look better? Is that why it's the rule? I am never going to get anything written if I have to spend so much brainpower correcting my impulse to double space.

Another thought: I was always taught that boys have blond hair and girls have blonde hair, but I've been noticing lately that everyone seems to have blond hair.  These are the sorts of things an untrained mind wants to be sure of before embarrassing herself in front of professionals (you like how I highlighted that double space?  Yeah, even after writing about it, I still can't change it.  Doh!  Did it again, and again, and again.  This is what editors are for, right?).

Also, a few weeks ago, Laini Taylor posted the best-ever thing about writing beginnings, and you should read it.  [I'll be here when you finish.]  

Isn't her writing advice just the best?  Or maybe it goes a little beyond advice and into the realm of a real education.  If she ever writes a book on writing, I will be first in line.  I love the idea of asking myself questions to iron out development.  And with the revision stage looming in front of me, I'm starting to get really excited about figuring all this stuff out.  No guarantees on the outcome, but it should be a fun ride.

Oh, and one more excuse: I'm still not over the Jennifer Lawrence thing.  How could I be?  It has turned me into a veritable casting rat, and I'm trying trying trying to not care about who gets cast in the rest of the roles.  Trying.  Failing.  So, if you really couldn't care less about who lands what in the Hunger Games, just ignore this next part.

The most amusing thing I've seen in casting possibilities is this:

As Gale.  Baha.  Bahahaha.  Oh...  Oh, no....  I mean, don't get me wrong, I think David Henrie is great.  But he is so goofy, and I would thinking about Wizards of Waverly Place the whole time.  That can't be right.

The most exciting one I've seen is this:

As Prim!  Oh, Joey King.  Oh, this would make me so happy.

And, since I have to share my opinion on this matter, 

the boy I'd most like to see as Peeta:

I know, I KNOW, he doesn't have blond hair.  I know.  But... I like him.  I like him more than almost all the other guys who are up for the part.  And, I mean, Jennifer Lawrence is blond(e?), and if they can dye her hair to be Katniss, they can dye Josh Hutcherson's hair to be Peeta.  I hope.

See?

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Okay, maybe not.  But I'm not giving up on him yet.

in which i gush over plain kate, etc.

I stayed in bed until 12:30 today, reading a book.  And not just any book.  It's my new of-many-favorites book: Plain Kate, by Erin Bow.  I cannot begin to describe all the reasons I loved it.  Here's a list, to get my brain going:

1.  It was beautifully written, and I mean that in the most genuine sense.  Meager broken lines away from being considered verse (in my book).
2.  There is a talking cat.
3.  You both love and fear the villain (Can you even call him that?  Genius).
4.  It's a story about friendship and family, a breath of fresh air after so much boysboysboyskissingkissing.
5.  There are boats, and I love boats.
6.  I cried at the end, but I'm not depressed.
7.  The heart and message are intriguing and incredible.
8.  The magic is terrifying.
9.  The story is concise.  No wandering around without purpose, thinking.  Every scene fills a role.
   and...
10.  I am, for the first time in a while, not left to wish the author had done something different.

That's a pretty concise view of my opinion, actually.  Oh, but this is so hard, because I want so badly to tell you everything, but then you won't read it, and I really think it would be better for you if you just read it.  I have to be honest, I haven't felt this way about a book in a long time.  I've read a lot of great books in the past year, but this is one of maybe a fistful that call out to me in a different way.  I loved The Hunger Games, of course.  Brilliant.  But something unique happens when I read a story I not only wish I could have written, but also encapsulates the kind of writing I think I actually could do.  That was a muddle of a sentence.  What I mean is, as much as I loved THG, and as much as I would love to write something that awesome one day, it just doesn't feel like me.  Plain Kate feels like me, like what I think my voice could be.  And it's so cool and inspiring to read, and it fills me with confidence.  Or, if nothing else, encouragement.  I want to write this kind of book.

The last time I felt this way, for anyone who's interested, was after I read Lips Touch: Three Times, by Laini Taylor.  My semi-embarrassing review (which she actually read, and then thanked me for, if you can believe that-- I know, I about peed my pants) can be found right here.  And, hey, now that I think about it, guess how I found out about Plain Kate?  Laini Taylor.  Talk about full circle.

And, no, of course I'm not jumping up and down like a hyper kitty over the upcoming release of Laini's next book, Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  Of course not.  Silly you for even thinking that.

So, yes.  It's been a good day.