Faves of 2011: The Year in Reading

It's been an awesome year for reading, people. Thus, I have a lot of ground to cover.

I tried to edit myself, I swear! I just have so much book love to spread!

Favorite Newly Discovered Authors of 2011

Requirements for this category:

1. I have to discover them this year.
2. Then, I must become so obsessed with them that I read ALL their books.
3. They must have more than one book out, because with each book, my love for that author exponentially increases.
   

(Last year, the only author in this category was Melina Marchetta, but she is SO awesome. My love for would put her on the list three times. I actually turned around and reread ALL her books again earlier this year, because I just missed her so much.)

Stephanie Perkins, author of Anna & the French Kiss and Lola & the Boy Next Door

You knew this lady would be on here, didn't you? I've already talked about her a lot this year, especially in this post and this post.

But what you might not know is that her blog is pretty awesome. And she likes to recommend books on it, which led me straight to the other two authors...

Sarah Addison Allen, author of Garden Spells, The Sugar Queen, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, and The Peach Keeper

I think of her as the Southern Alice Hoffman. Tales of magic, love, heartbreak, and healing set in small town, probably North Carolinian Appalachia. I devoured all four of her books in the space of two weeks, and I've been giving them as gifts ever since.

Laini Taylor, author of The Drowned, Blackbringer, Silksinger, Lips Touch, and the recently released, chart-topping Daughter of Smoke & Bone

She could always write a gorgeous, lush, gut-wrenching story, full of the most marvelous stuff, objects you would risk a curse to go purchase at a Fairie Market. But Lips Touch and Daughter of Smoke & Bone are where she really starts to shine, hooking all the threads together in a tapestry of WOW. Note: Taylor uses the whole spectrum of tones here, people - gruesome and glorious, so she's definitely the dark/gritty to Perkins's light/fluffy.

(Fun fact: Perkins and Taylor are critique partners and good friends! I like it when my favorite people like each other.)

Favorite Books of 2011

For Early Readers

The Rotten Adventures of Zachary Ruthless, by Allen Woodrow

Funny, evil, and my very favorite super-villain-in-training of all time. Please read for zucchini-flavored gum, scary squirrels, and a loyal best friend. Probably best for fans of Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants books.

Cinderella Smith, by Stephanie Barden.

Sweet, humorous, and heartwarming. This book is about an absent-minded, lovable little girl, who gets nicknamed "Cinderella," because she has a terrible habit of losing her shoe. Probably best for fans of Sara Pennypacker's Clementine books.






(Disclaimer: I've already written about most of the following, so click on the title or cover of the book if you want to read more about it.)

Middle Grade

Winner of the Most Exciting New Series Award!

The Books of Beginning #1:
The Emerald Atlas,
by John Stephen

Winner of Best Tearjerker Contemporary Award!

Flyaway,
by Lucy Christopher

Winner of Best Tearjerker Fantasy Award!

Breadcrumbs,
by Anne Ursu

Honorable Mention: Liesl & Po, by Lauren Oliver
(They were neck and neck, but Breadcrumbs is just slightly more my cup of tea.)

Winner of the Best Humor with Heart Award!

The Origami Yoda Books,
by Tom Angleberger

(The second might even be more wonderful than the first.)

Winner of the Full of Sheer Awesome Award!
(a.k.a. the "there's nothing else like it" award.)

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland
in A Ship of Her Own Making,
by Catherynne M. Valente

Honorable Mention: Wonderstruck, by Brian Selznick
(There is something like it, though. It's called The Invention of Hugo Cabret.)



Young Adult

Winner of the Most Exciting New Series Award!

Divergent,
by Veronica Roth

Winner of the Tearjerker Contemporary Award!

The Sky Is Everywhere,
by Jandy Nelson

Honorable Mention: If I Stay, by Gayle Forman
(The Sky Is Everywhere made me cry slightly more.)

Winner of the Humor with Heart Award!

Hexhall and Demonglass,
by Rachel Hawkins

Adult


Winner of the Contemporary Tearjerker Award!

One Day,
by David Nicholls

(One of my best friends made me read this. It made me cry, and then she made me give it back to her. That almost made me cry too.)

Winner of the Best Paranormal Romance Award!

The Shadow Reader,
by Sandy Williams

Winner of the Best Nonfiction Award!
(Those Pulitzer People thought so too. :-P)

Cleopatra, A Life,
by Stacy Schiff

2011: The Year of (Missed) Deadlines

Don't look at me like that. I didn't miss all of them.

I just missed the same one. Four times.

Yes, my friends - I'm talking about the Dreaded Second Book.

(FYI: I actually have a lot to say about Book 2, and this one post can only hold so much. I'm planning a whole blog series about it early next year.)


This is what I imagine Joanna's expression looked like every time I emailed her to say, Book 2 isn't ready yet. I'm still writing/revising/slaving over it. (But I'll finish it in time for Courtney to see it next year, I swear!!)

She was actually super patient with me, and I really really appreciate it.

Initial Estimate: mid July (har, har)

Actual Date turned in: December 10

I'm not a slacker, y'all. My pride just wants to make that clear.

Turning Stuff In Late is in my Top 5 Least Favorite Things To Do. It even ranks above going to the dentist. I hate, Hate, HATE feeling like I'm letting somebody down.

So, the second part of this year was rough. My brain wasn't a comfortable place to live in.

But anyway, after I sent the Dreaded Second Book to Jo, I started thinking back over the year, wondering what my deal was and why I couldn't get the stupid book in at a reasonable time, etc. Mainly to make myself feel better, I listed out all the months of the year with everything I was working on during each month. Then I realized something important:

Every single month, I either had a deadline, or I was working toward a deadline in a few weeks.

EVERY SINGLE MONTH.

(Yes, I'm counting the ones I missed.)

In fact, in October, November, and December, I was working toward more than one deadline at a time. In those months, deadlines would literally interrupt other deadlines. Insanity!

And here's the really scary thing: I can't expect things to ease up next year. In fact, it might even get worse. I thought that 2010 was the year of the deadlines, but 2011 really gave last year a run for its money.

So, it's probably not surprising that I dropped the ball somewhere. Until July of this year, I had a perfect record. Right now, it's...well, less than perfect.

Which led me to my next Important Realization:

Deadlines are just part of the writing life. They're not really going to change.
So, instead I need to change how I handle those deadlines.

This is my plan for the future:

Cut out the angst.

You would think that this is obvious, but it's not. Deadlines are terrifying things when you're a newbie writer, and then they're still scary even when you get used to a few things. All the doubts pour in.

Edit letter: Ack, my editor's right! This section sucks! I'll never fix it. *wails*

Copy-edits: What if I'm wrong about the correct usage of "each other"? The copyeditor knows so much more than me. *wails*

First pass: This is the last time I'll really be able to change anything. What if I miss something important? What if I screw it up and I can't fix it later? *wails*

Finally: *sob* Another deadline? Right now? Seriously? *wails*

Okay, so there wasn't really any wailing. I almost burst into tears a few times, sure, but mostly, I calmed myself down by taking long walks, venting in my journal, and begging my mom for hugs.

Do you see the pattern here?

The deadlines themselves aren't bad, but the angst over them is extremely problematic. And time-consuming.

I can save so much time if I just stop wigging out over the things and just do the things! Or at least minimize the wigging. Because really, everything pretty much worked out okay.

Moral of the story: Angst = time too precious to waste.

Be more honest with myself, my agent, and my editor about how do-able deadlines are.

This one is tricky. It's hard to schedule stuff accurately when you don't know when an editorial letter will arrive in your inbox or your copyedits will land on your doorstep. (Note: it's hard for agents and editors too!)

Confession: the July deadline I missed?

I picked it.

I think I picked it back in January or February. I'd started writing Ever Afters 2, but I hadn't even started revising Book 1 for Simon & Schuster. I had no idea how long it was going to take.

But time management is still key, and (I hope) I'll get better with experience.

Let go, and enjoy it.

I am living my dream. That's a fact.

Living your dream can be stressful. That's also a fact.

But it shouldn't be that way. The great and wise Joanna wrote a post on the NC Lit blog (read it here), which reminded me of this.

And honestly, it's not all stressful. In fact, I usually got the most stressed out right before I started working for the day and right before I fell asleep at night. You know, when the deadline looms larger in my mind than the actual, in-the-trenches writing or revising.

Because you see, I like the work.

Okay, I love it. I love the way I can discover new things about my characters and my world in a first draft. I love ripping a messy scene apart and stitching it back together in revisions. In my deepest, darkest heart, I love copyedits too - it means someone was paid to sit there and take my little manuscript seriously enough to point out all its tiniest faults.

It's only when I think about the consequences of missing my deadline that the STRESS MONSTER rears its ugly head and screams, Doooooooom.

Looks strangely similar to a dust mite, don't you think?

So, I need to let go of the consequences - to deal with them as they happen, and not before.

You only get so much time, people. You better enjoy the life you got, especially when you're living your dream. :-)

The Brazen Life, or 2011 is going to be epically awesome. :-D

Okay, I know that the definition says brazen has roots in brass,
but I always think fire.
(Maybe because dyslexia runs in my family. Brazenly -> blaze. Totally possible.)

In 2011, I want to live brazenly.

Yes, this is the resolution post. I'm been putting it off again and again. I have my reasons. I'll show you those reasons in a sec. Actually, those reasons kind of explain why I've decided to pick this resolution.

(Disclaimer: in this post, you'll soon see exactly how odd and insane it can be inside my head. Be afraid. Be v. afraid, and maybe even run away while you still can.)

Anyway, in 2011, I want to live brazenly. Unapologetically. With boldness and flair and the kind of wide-open passion that is practically contagious. I want to be vivid and real and bursting with verve. Like that Thoreau dude, who said he wanted to suck the marrow out of life.


Thoreau = The guy that Robin William quotes in Dead Poets' Society

That's what I've been meaning to say for weeks, but every time I sat down to write, these little doubts crept up:

1. I can't write a resolution post. Everyone has written a resolution post. In fact, everybody wrote their resolution post maybe three weeks ago, and you're just completely behind the 8-ball. (Obviously, I decided not to care.)
   
   
2. Brazenly may not be the best word. I mean, it has a negative connotation.
   

   bra·zen

   adj.

   1. Marked by flagrant and insolent audacity. See Synonyms at shameless.

   2. Having a loud, usually harsh, resonant sound: "sudden brazen clashes of the soldiers' band" (James Joyce).

   3. Made of brass.

   4. Resembling brass, as in color or strength.

   tr.v. bra·zened, bra·zen·ing, bra·zens

   To face or undergo with bold self-assurance: brazened out the crisis.

   ---

   [Middle English brasen, made of brass, from Old English bræsen, from bræs, brass.]

   ---

   brazen·ly adv.

   brazen·ness n.

   (But I totally love this word. Just the way it sounds. I'm a sucker for words with "z" in them. :-P)
   
   
3. Unapologetically really isn't the best word either. For one thing, I'm not even totally sure it's a real word. Also, what if people think that I'm one of those punks who never apologize? (But this word has been beating in my head for the past few weeks, right along with brazenly.)
   
   
4. What if people think I have no self-esteem? I mean, if I'm spending a blog post on all my doubts, it's probably not hard to believe that I get paralyzed by them. (But that's just not true. Sometimes, I'm a little too confident. To the point of even sounding very sure when I am completely BSing. For example:
   
   Me: "No, Mom. Of course you didn't leave your purse in the car."
   
   Mom: "Are you positive?"
   
   Me: "Absolutely."
   
   Mom: "Then what's this behind the seat?" *pulls purse out*
   
   Me: "Oh. Oops. Hahahahaha."
   
   And yes, this is a true story.)
   
   
5. [This one happened more recently.] I can't write a blog post about all the voices in my head! People will think I'm neurotic like whoa. (But I'm pretty sure most people I know guess that I'm a little neurotic anyway. It kind of goes with the writer territory.)
   

It's safe to say that I seriously over-think everything.

But remember the Internal Editor demon? It's like he's come away from the revision desk and started following me around in regular, every day life. He shows up not when I'm doing things, but after I've done them. For example, I'll send an email. Then I'll reread the email, biting my fingernails and wondering, "Why did I have to write that line? That's a stupid line. What if [the recipient] think I'm [insert negative adjective here]?"

So, when I say that I want to live brazenly, I mean I want to gag the Internal Editor. I want to cut through all the chatter in my head (see above) and chart my own course.

I want to be bold. Brazen even. Like these guys:



I'm not gonna be taking up skateboarding or diving off freakishly tall ladders, but I totally want to be the little girl circa 3:46, who can parallel park her training-wheeled bike in one smooth skid. And how cute is her bow? :-P