Books on Writing

This year is my first year to participate in the National Novel Writing Month. So far I've made it to 5,725 words. It's been really fun so far. I say fun because so far I haven't ran out of ideas. Knock on wood.

But what happens if I suddenly run out of steam? What if I suddenly can't put the words on the screen? I know I shouldn't be worrying about getting a writer's block since it hasn't happened yet. But I do know that there were days when I just stared and stared at my monitor. Depending on my mood or events going on in my life, I couldn't write for days, weeks, months, or sometimes even years.

This month though, I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to stay in this contest. Reaching the goal of 50,000 words is hard, but I think that getting those words on paper is also a battle. So to fend of the writer's block, I've chosen three books to read in case I get to a point where I can't write anymore.

My first choice is Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg. My creative writing teacher recommended this when I took my writing class at Gotham Writer's Workshop. Natalie Goldberg encourages writers to keep writing no matter how bad it is. She also has some writing exercises. She does talk quite a lot about Zen, but I really didn't mind it too much.

The second writing book I'm keeping close by is The Writer's Idea Book by Jack Heffron. There are so many writing prompts to choose from in this book. I use this book often when I run out of ideas for my creative writing projects. It's extremely helpful.

The third book, is Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamont. I haven't read it yet, but I've heard how inspiring and funny it was so I'll give it a try.

And now...back to my writing...

Fatal by Michael Palmer

Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary: Physician Matt Rutledge is looking for a score to settle with the local mining company in Belinda, West Virginia. He believed that his wife and father were victims of toxic waste exposure. In Boston, pathologist Nikki Solari is devastated of her friend's mysterious and sudden death. She goes to Belinda where her friend is originally from to investigate. A new vaccine has been developed, and Ellen Kroft is afraid that it hasn't been further tested. After disagreeing on its release with the committee, Ellen gets a visit from a stranger who threatens to harm her granddaughter. Ellen tries to find out the real source of threat, which leads her to Belinda, West Viriginia. Matt, Nikki, and Ellen find out that they are dealing with the same enemy. They join forces to seek answers and before they lose their own lives.

Review: The first Michael Palmer book I read was The Fifth Vial. I enjoyed the story so much that I decided to read The Second Opinion next.

Fatal was written before The Fifth Vial and A Second Opinion. I bought the book at a second hand store and was being sold for a couple dollars. I remembered how excited I was to read another Michael Palmer medical thriller. Now I'm relieved that I didn't spend as much.

Fatal, though it was entertaining, was just okay for me. I didn't think it was as good as the first two books I read. It started off well, but towards the end I was ready for it to be done. Maybe because I was starting to suspect the culprit was, and in the end, I was right. Although I should be pleased that I figured out who the villain was, I wasn't. Maybe because I wanted to be shocked by the ending.

Recommendation: Although Fatal wasn't the best book Michael Palmer has ever written, the story was still good. You might enjoy this if you like medical thrillers, or if you're a big Michael Palmer fan. If you haven't read any of his works, read The Fifth Vial, which was an enjoyable read from start to finish.

On the Nightstand

After recovering from laryngitis last week, I finally had the chance to turn my attention to reading my books. Yay! Only I soon found out that laryngitis or not, I really couldn't find the interest to read The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.

I know. I know. Ms. Wharton won the Pulitzer Prize for this. I really don't know what my problem is with this book. Maybe I got so bored reading all that gossiping about Madame Ellen Olenska. I am determined to finish this, however. I'm just going to set it aside for now.

I've moved on to The Portrait of A Young Lady by Henry James. Isabel is the type of person who tells it like it is. She makes the story interesting. So interesting that I didn't realize that I was already on page 120 on the first night I read it.

Here's Isable Archer from The Portrait of a Lady.

I wasn't going to read it until December, but War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy was just calling my name one chilly Friday evening. Finally, I just said, "What the heck! It can't hurt." So I plucked it out from my bookshelf and started reading. I finished the first chapter, the second...and then the third... Well, you get the picture. I was so absorbed in the story that I almost didn't take my sister's invitation to go watch Cirque du Freak The Vampire's Assistant. (She was paying. How can I say no?) I don't care how long it will take me to finish War and Peace, but I do intend to enjoy every page of it.

Saturday Loot

Not only did I go Christmas shopping this Saturday, I also went book shopping. What can I say? I can never get enough books. So here's what I bought:

The first one is I, Claudius by Robert Graves. This is Peter's (from KyusiReader) favorite book. Just by reading from an excerpt of the book blurb below, it really caught my attention:

Despised as weakling ad dismissed as an idiot because of his physical infirmities, Claudius survived the intrigues and poisonings that marked the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and the mad Caligula to become the Emperor of Rome in 41 AD.

I love any book (fiction or non) that has anything to do with world history so this is right up my alley.

The second book shown is actually three books. They were all combined into one. It's the first three books of Cirque du Freak series by Darren Shan. They are: A Living Nightmare, The Vampire's Assistant, and Tunnels of Blood. I just watched Cirque du Freak The Vampire's Assistant in the movies this past Friday. I was really intrigued by the storyline. It's about this teen named Darren who decides to go to the Cirque du Freak show with his best friend Steve. There they meet Mr. Crepsley, a vampire. When Steve falls into a coma after being bitten by a spider that Darren stole from Mr. Crespley, Darren goes to the vampire for help. Of course, they only way Mr. Crepsley helps him is if Darren agrees to become his assistant. There's more to it, but I don't want to say too much.

Written by Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God is the life story of Janie Crawford. Janie is a black woman who is very independent. She goes through three marriages, survives poverty and challenges while trying to find herself. I've heard so many good reviews on this so I am excited to read this.

Finally there's Tana French's The Likeness. Detective Cassie Maddox investigates a murder of a young woman who turns out to be Cassie's double. The victim's name is Alexandra Madison, an alias that Cassie once used when she was undercover. Whew. Talk about weird. Still, weird stories are enough to get my interest.

Well, that's it for now...until the next loot...

Yet Another E-Reader

Usually just before I start working my 12 hour/7 day schedule at the hospital, I try to review a book. Unfortunately, I've been sick with flu-like symptoms. I tried to continue The Age of the Innocence by Edith Wharton, but it was just too difficult to concentrate when my head felt like it's about to split open. So...no book finished = no review.

I decided to blog about the new e-reader that Barnes and Noble just launched. It's called the Nook. I think they could've have come with a better name, but oh well. I guess it's kind of cute in a weird way. PC Magazine released an article about the Nook. You can also learn more about the Nook at the Barnes and Noble website. You can also pre-order it. The Nook will also be available in November at the Barnes and Noble bookstore.

Am I excited that my favorite bookstore in the whole wide world is finally releasing their own e-reader? Well, yes, in a way. I wish them luck in taking on the e-book competition with Kindle 2, which everyone of my friends, but me, seems to have. Still, when I got my email from Barnes and Noble this morning, I didn't jump up and say, "Oh, boy! Let me pre-order that Nook right now!"

There are times when I wish I have an e-reader. The truth is I'm a little apprehensive shelling out $259 plus tax for something I might end up rarely using. I'm really not a gadget geek like brother who likes to buy the latest and the greatest mp3 player or laptop out there.

Even though I think that I can put that $259 to a better use, like say a monthly car payment, I do wonder if it will be worth it economically in the long run. I have read in some people's blog that if they like the e-book they bought through their e-reader, they will still buy the real book. That's fine. I just don't see any sense spending $14.95 (if it's a paperback) or $24.95 (if it's a hardback.)

I'm not trying to be an anti e-reader here, but I guess I need to be convinced a little bit more. And for those of you who have an e-reader (or e-readers), I have some questions. How often do you use your e-reader? Do you think that it was worth buying it in the long run? Has it saved you money?

I'd love to hear from you.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

First Published: 1897

Pages: 422

Rating: 5 out of 5

Introduction: My original intention was to read Dracula by Bram Stoker for Halloween and review it. Then I saw this book:

I thought, "Hmm. Why not read and review all three books?" Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were pioneers of horror tales. All their stories were very original and creative that many storytellers of today still use the ideas and adapted them to the modern standards. This is my way of reminding us to give the credit where its due.

So...let's go on with the review.

Summary: Jonathan Harker is a young lawyer who travels to Transylvania to settle a business with Count Darcula. Little does he know that Dracula is a vampire who is set on having Jonathan as his next victim. Jonathan escapes, but the Count is far from over. He is determined to unleash his bloodthirsty terror on London society.

Review: Unlike Frankenstein and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Hyde, I already read Dracula. I was sixteen year old. It was one of the scariest books I'd ever read. I admit it gave me nightmares. You would think that I would stop reading it, but I didn't. The story was so amazing that it was hard to put down.

That's why seventeen years later, I decided to pick Dracula up again. While it no longer gave me nightmares, it still gave me the creeps. I do scare easily. I remember reading it this past quiet Saturday evening and familiarizing myself with the story again. While doing so, our family dog who slept next to me, got up and started barking. Startled, I nearly jumped out of my seat. Of course, I stopped there and picked up Norwegian Wood. I do have a wild imagination, and I like to immerse myself into what I'm reading...which is probably why I don't mind reading books with plenty of description.

But I digress. Like in most of my reviews, I don't really talk about what happened in the story. I like for the readers to find out about the story themselves.

Dracula is an epistolary novel. The story is told in different point of view by the characters. I didn't find myself bored or skipping through some parts. Mr. Stoker does a good job of building up one suspense after another. Even though I read it before, I thought it was exciting. I flew through this 400 plus page novel.

I love the characters here. The protagonists - Jonathan, Mina, and Van Helsing - were all very strong, and so were the minor characters who were all interesting in their own way. They are dealing with a powerful adversary here after all - Count Dracula. There are no veggie-eating vampires in this story (No offense to Twilight fans.) Just an evil, blood-sucking monster hell bent on causing his reign of terror during the night.

There are many vampires stories out there. While they are all unique in their own way, Dracula stands out as being the original and, to me, the best vampire book.

Recommendation: If you like horror, gothic, and suspenseful stories, this is the one to get especially if you are a huge vampire fan.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

EDIT: I forgot to include this in my post. I was reminded by it when Diane made a comment about the book covers. Last month while I was at the bookstore buying my copy of Dracula, I saw its illustrated version. The story, of course, was still by Bram Stoker but there were drawings made by the talented Jae Lee. For those of you who don't know, Jae Lee is a Marvel comic book artist. The drawings in the illustrated Dracula version were awesome. Anyway, below is the book cover of the Illustrated Dracula. There's Count Dracula himself on the cover.

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Publisher: Vintage International
Pub. Date: September 2000
Pages: 304
Rating: 4 out 5

Summary: Toru Watanabe is a college student who is in love with Naoko. He and Naoko are bound together by a tragedy - the suicide of Kizuki, Naoko's boyfriend and Toru's best friend. While Naoko slips into severe depression, Toru tries to live his life and meets Midori - a lively, young woman who is a classmate of Toru. They become friends, and he starts developing feelings for her. He soon becomes torn between the Naoko and Midori. Will he choose someone from his past or someone who can be with him in his future?

Review: What an incredible story! I really enjoyed this. Some books take awhile before I find out what the conflict is. Not so with Norwegian Wood. At the very first chapter, I learn that Toru is in love with Naoko yet he can't be with her.

Both Toru and Naoko have a common friend from high school - Kizuki. After he committed suicide, both Toru and Naoko tried to go on with their lives. Toru enrolls at a university in Tokyo and so does Naoko. By doing so, they hope to escape their past and their memories of Kazuki. Each of them cope with their loss their own way.

At first, I thought that Toru was headed in the wrong direction. Well, actually, I didn't agree with his coping mechanism, which was drinking and sleeping with a variety of girls. But I suppose he was living his life like he knows how. Then there's Naoko who eventually decides to seek help with her problems. I thought this was the best way...but the problem was Naoko needed far more help. The cause of her depression was far beyond her boyfriend's suicide.

In the midst of Toru going through grief and depression, he meets Midori. Although sometimes she annoyed me, and she did the craziest things, I actually liked her. Let's just say that Midori gave color to Toru's bleak world. She's like the jalapeno to his nachos. I was really quite entertained by her, and she made me laugh.

Perhaps that's why Toru is drawn to her. Heck, Toru even admitted to himself that he was more fascinated watching Midori than watching a porn film. If that ain't love, then I don't know what is. (Well, I say that for the sake of Toru's point of view.) At the same time, he really can't leave Naoko. Sometimes I got frustrated by him not being able to choose, but in the end I understood that he had to settle things with his past before he could go on with his future.

There were many things I liked about this book. Even at the beginning of the book, I really felt the emotions. Seriously, I almost cried just reading page 9 because of the foreshadowing.

Of course, it really seemed like another love story on the surface. It was more than that. It's a story about living and dying. It's about about grieving and coping. It's about knowing the difference between surviving and truly living by enjoying life.

Recommendation: If you are in the mood to read something with angst, then I would recommend Norwegian Wood.