In Which I Talk Books (part two)(2016 Debuts)

Last week I talked about my top 5 non-arcs that I read in 2015 and today I'm talking about my top 5 2016 debuts I read in 2015 as arcs.
It's not even close to a complete list, since I'm still reading 2016 arcs, and I've read so many great ones. I could literally do weeks and weeks of posts on the 2016 debuts I've read (and, hey! Who's to say I won't do more of these posts (I'm definitely doing more of these posts)) but I have to start somewhere.

So, here we go! (in no particular order)


Cure for the Common Universe - Christian McKay Heidecker (6/14/16)

When I saw this book was about a gamer who gets sent to gaming rehab, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Because I'm a gamer and this book feels like it was written for me.
It's full of wonderful little Easter eggs and jokes that are aimed at all the other gamers out there. But even if you don't know who Leroy Jenkins is, the book is still a wonderful look at what it takes, sometimes to get something you want, and what happens when it turns out it's not what you expected. And also what kind of person you choose to be.


Learning to Swear in America - Katie Kennedy (7/5/16)

Oh man, I loved this book so much. It's about a Russian boy, who's a genius and is brought to America to help solve a crisis. The crisis is, of course, an asteroid heading straight towards earth.
So right away I was invested because I love potential disaster stories and an asteroid heading towards earth is right in my wheelhouse. But then Yuri is so wonderful. And funny. And I rooted for him so hard right from page one. I've been talking up this book a lot and can't wait to get my own copy.


Enter Title Here - Rahul Kanakia (8/2/16)

I feel like I've been talking about this book for forever, but it doesn't come out until August (sad face). But there were so many things I loved about it. On the surface it's about a girl who, in a bid to get into Stanford, tries to write a YA novel for a literary agent, and has to change how she's living her life in order to inspire her book. And all of that's true. But it's so so SO SMART. There are layers of meta stuff going on in this book (the book is the book Reshma is writing) and more than once I laughed out loud at something that took me utterly by surprise. On top of that, Reshma is a hard character to "like" which I love because there's so much BS about how teen girls in YA novels have to be "likeable" but even though she does things which would be easy to dismiss her as someone terrible, I still rooted for her from page one.
I cannot wait till this one comes out so I can tell all my friends to read it.


Shallow Graves - Kali Wallace (1/26/16)

I love horror. I grew up reading Christopher Pike. I write horror short stories. I read adult horror when I can (see Bird Box). So when this arc arrived, I was so excited to dig in. And not only was I not disappointed, I was delighted and surprised on multiple levels.
Shallow Graves is about Breezy, a murdered girl who wakes up in a shallow dirt grave a year after her death. And she sets out on a path to try and find answers as to how she can be alive (sort of) again and what happened to her.
Another book I read in almost one entire sitting, there are monsters and creatures in this that are creepy and wonderful and twists and turns that kept me guessing.


Where Futures End - Parker Peevyhouse (2/9/16)

This was one of the first 2016 arcs I read, and at first, I wasn't sure I would like it. On the surface it's a novel that's actually 5 short stories that are semi-related. It isn't normally something I read, and therefore I thought I might not like it. But I was utterly wrong.
Each story is amazing. I literally could have read a full novel of each of them. And any time I finished one of them I told myself there was no way I would like the next one as much. But then I would. And I just kept turning the pages, unable to stop reading.
It's kind of a strange book, but strange in all the best ways in that it caught me off guard, surprised me, kept me guessing, which is a hard thing for a book to do. And I hope every takes a chance on it too.


How about you? Any books you've read that took you completely by surprise?
 

Friday Fun

Friday! And we're so close to spring I can almost smell it.

it smells like this

So let's get this started!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday Weird: Potamsky Crater

In 1945, in Irkutsk Siberia, a geological discovery was made that still baffles scientists today: te Potamsky Crater, also sometimes called The Eagles Nest because of it's convex shape and round mound in the center

 

 

 

The current theory of the crater's strange shape is a meteorite strike, but if so, it's shape is unlike any other meteorite strike and no evidence has been found to otherwise support the theory.

The crater's edge stands 80 meters tall and 150 meters wide. The depth around the mound in the center is 10 meters.

The crater was discovered by Vadim Kolpaknov and since then many expeditions have been made to sample the site, including one in 2013 but because of the remoteness of the area, there weren't enough people living in the area to remember how the crater could have come about.

Some other theories include that the crater was a gulag (though there were never any in the area) or that it was a slag heap (though, again, not enough people living nearby to create one.)

Which pretty much just leaves two thoughts: meteorite strike or volcano.

But the area is not a volcanic region which pretty much rules that out. Plus, scientists think the crater is relatively young: formed between 100 and 500 years ago.

It's possible the crater could have been a result of the Tunguska meteorite, which fell in the region in 1908 and whose crater was never found. But of all the numerous samples collected, none have been meteoric.
On top of that, scientists suspect there is something buried with a high iron content and ferromagnetic materials about 100-150 meters below the surface. Possibly a meteorite or another dense object.
And if all that isn't weird enough, let's put the cherry on top. The crater is considered to be "alive". That is, it's shape constantly changes by rising and falling. And, apparently nearby trees tend to grow abnormally fast.

Thoughts or theories?

In Which I Talk Books (part one)

So I read about 80 books last year, and each year I like to do a post of my top 5 or so favorite books. Not that I haven't read more than 5 amazing books, but a line has to be drawn somewhere.


Last year, though, I read a ton of 2016 arcs. So I'm splitting this post into two: one post today about my favorite books of 2015 that are already out, and one post next week about my favorite 2016 debut arcs that I've read (and that's also not all that accurate because there are plenty of 2016 debuts I haven't had a chance yet, so this list is subject to change)


But anyway, here my top 5 non-2016-debut books I read last year (in no particular order)




Glory O'Brien's History of the Future - A.S. King

I'm a big A.S. King fan, so I was super excited to read this book. And it did not disappoint. About a girl (Glory) who drinks a mummified bat (yep) and then is able to see the futures of any individual people she comes across. Which is disconcerting enough until she starts to see a pattern of a future world war coming her way.
Glory's story is fantastic, but even if there was no Glory, the secondary story about the world war is also amazing. I read this book in one sitting. I could not put it down




The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater

I absolutely LOVE Scorpio Races, so when I'd been hearing good things about this series, it didn't take much persuasion for me to pick it up. And since I was behind, 3 of the 4 books in the series were already out!
This series is hard to explain but it's about a girl who lives with her card reading, hippie psychic mother and aunsts and the 4 prep-school boys she befriends when she has a premonition about the death of one of them. There's an overall mystery across all three books, the supposed death of Gansey, and whether or not they'll be able to find the body of a celtic king, but each book also has it's own mysteries that are solved or not. I can't wait to read the last book in a few weeks.




Bone Gap - Laura Ruby

Caveat - I know Laura, she was one of my advisors for my MFA. But even if I didn't know her, or work with her, I would still love this book so much. It fully deserves it Printz award and I still wish it had won the National Book award, but that's neither here nor there.
Bone gap is about two brothers and a beautiful polish girl who comes to stay with them. But when she disappears, and the youngest brother is the only witness to her supposed kidnapping,  no one believes him because he can't describe the man who took her.
So he has to find her on his own. And along the way there are magical horses, and bees and honey, and ugly girls who are actually beautiful and beautiful girls who are kind and so much magic. Everyone should read this book. I can't wait to read it again when I have time.




Bird Box - Josh Malerman

This was a book that came my way via my sister, who got it via a co-worker who thought she'd like it. And then my mom read it. And my brother. And most of my writing group. And everyone loved it as much as I did.
Bird Box is a horror novel, about monsters (or something) that have appeared in the world. And anyone who looks at them go mad and kill everyone around them and then themselves. The story fouces on a single woman and has two timelines, the story of how everything starts, and a story of 5-6 years later, of what it's like having to live in a house, and never, ever, open your eyes outside.
It's so creepy, and the pacing is rapid fast so you cannot put it down. Highly recommend if you like creepy horror with mysteries that may or may not be solved.




Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic - David Quammen

I read a bit of non-fiction last year, and I look forward to reading more this year. This NF book not only beat out all the others, it beat out a lot of the fiction I read as well.
Spillover is an account of zoonotic diseases that led to pandemics (or could have had things gone differently) From Ebola, to Hanta to Aids, it's a fantastic accounting of the diseases that have come before, and a look at what we positively face us in the future. It's frightening and fascinating. Would recommend for people who like the movies Outbreak and Contagion or The Hot Zone




What were some of your favorite books you read last year?

Friday Fun

Here we are, the first Friday in March. And yes, I'm a dog and time has little meaning for me (time is a made up human concept anyway, sooooo) but it was so warm last week, and so much of our snow melt, that now I can't wait for Spring.

Is that Spring over there?

But until it gets here, we'll have to settle for Friday Fun.

LET'S GO!

Insecure Writer's Support Group

I know I kind of say this every month, but I really mean it today: I cannot believe that we're already into March.

It still feels like March is a month away. What happened to February?

Anyway, it's the first Wednesday of the month which means it's time for IWSG

Today's co-hosts are Lauren Hennessy,Lisa Buie-Collard, Lidy, Christine Rains, and Mary Aalgaard!

Every month I sit here and ponder what it is I'm feeling insecure about. And, I mean, there are insecurities that come and go. But generally, I sit here and kind of shrug. There's not much there. Or at least not much I want to write about (because sometimes I'm feeling insecure, but I know it's dumb and for stupid reasons that have no basis in logic or reality. And on those days I don't want to write about them because it will just sound whiny and junk)

So yeah, which makes me realize that though I sometimes have insecurities, in general I am not an insecure writer.

And, yes, it helps that there has been validation. There's the agent. The book deal. All those things that many writers dream of.

But, honestly, even before that stuff, there wasn't a lot of insecurity. I've always had confidence in myself and writing. Maybe it's because I've had a lot of support over the years. Maybe it's because I had a bit of an ego about it (earned or unearned, who knows)(and, just realize, every time I wrote "because" in this blog post, I spelled it wrong)

Honestly, it's a nice place to be. I wish more people could be here, too.

Just believing in yourself and writing. Knowing that when you do feel insecure, recognizing that everyone does, sometimes, and that it will pass.


Also, today, I'm over at Crystal Collier's blog and there maaaaay be a chance to win a copy of ASSASSIN'S HEART if you want to check it out

In Which I Make 2016 Goals

Before we get into this post, how exciting is it that it's Leap Year today?

I didn't know that women are supposed to trap men in marriage on Leap Year. I should best get going

I think this is my first Leap Year post, even though my blog is over 6 years old. Anyway, it's not actually a big deal, just kind of a little bonus.

Also, it means, that it's still February so I'm not making my goal for the year ridiculously late. Like in March or something.
No. It's February. It's fine.

So, last week I talked about my 2015 goals and how I did, so now it's time to lay out some 2016 goals. Let's get to it.

In no particular order:

1. Read 100 books. I didn't make this goal last year, but I'm going to try it again this year. We'll see how it goes.

2. Finish my MG fantasy. This means both finish the draft and fully revise it.

3. Revise my YA fantasy. Draft is done, but it needs some work, which I'm excited to get to.

4. Teach a class. It can be anywhere on anything.

5. Teach a query writing workshop. This was a goal last year, too, but things just kept coming up. So we'll see how it goes this year.

6. Put the house up for sale. We'd really like to move this year. We'll see how it goes.

And that's pretty much it!

How about you? What are some of your goals for the year?

Friday Fun

Here we are, ape-friends. Another Friday, which means another weekend!

One day, the sun will return

And which also means, another day of laughs!