Monday, June 18, 2012

Sometimes Middle Grade Mafiosi read non-MG books...

I don't have a Marvelous Middle Grade Monday book for you today, but I do want to reassure you that I've been reading. A lot. Most of it's been A Game of Thrones and its sequels, but right now I'm almost at the end of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. It' s a merengue of musicality, opening my eyes to the terror that was the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic in the 1930s-1960s.


Sometimes it's good to flex the reading muscles in other areas, like working on your biceps rather than your abs. It'll be interesting to see how much infiltrates my writing too.

Have you strayed off your usual reading track lately? If so, what have you been reading?

12 comments:

  1. It's good to know the Don works on his biceps.

    Make sure he goes to the Samovar today. He might be happy (or not) but he is mentioned.

    I am absolutely NOT revealing the names of the team of experts so tell him don't ask.

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  2. Oh, there are more books that I would like to read than I have time for reading. I keep meaning to get to Game of Thrones, but it's such a loooong book, and I do have a stack of MG and YA books waiting to be read. Maybe I'd listen to an audiobook version on my commute. Have you enjoyed the series?

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  3. I've been very good about staying on task. It helps that suddenly I have been getting a TON of ARCs and I feel compelled to read those. I did start L. Frank Baum's Aunt Jane's Nieces, which is done in the style of Louisa May Alcott, but then another box of books arrived and I abandoned it. Just don't make your brain sore!

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  4. Good for you, Michael! I'm not a writing craft book lover, but one of my CPs sent me Save the Cat, so I'll be flexing some different muscles soon too (and I'm sure I will learn LOADS).

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  5. Just finished The Book Thief on Friday, and now am onto an unpublished work by a friend.

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  6. I read an interview with Junot Diaz and reviews of the book - I was so excited to read it, but I didn't get very far. If I'm remembering correctly, I loved the voice at first, but then it wore on me. I'll try it again at some point - it's funny how your mood can influence your reading. I usually read a mix of adult and MG/YA novels. Right now I'm enjoying State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.

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  7. If by straying you mean "haven't been," then yes - I'm straying. ;) I'm actually reading Divergent right now by Veronica Roth - it's fabulous. I just have been short of time and haven't been getting through it as quickly as I'd like. After that, I have Shatter Me on my shelf. I've heard that one is good too. Both are more YA than MG.

    Thanks Michael for stopping by my blog and sharing your story! Happy reading!

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  8. I've been reading thrillers, like Michael Connelly, etc. It's good to read outside the box, though I kind of miss the greatness that is middle-grade.

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  9. I have just finished reading POD by Stephen Wallenfels. This is a YA novel with some very mature themes. Stephen is a local (to me) author and we are in the same PNWA writer's group. He and author Maureen McQuerry just gave a very insightful presentation on YA characters at our last meeting. So my next YA book will be The Peculiars by Maureen!

    Hop on over to my blog - I have passed the Liebster Blog award onto you!

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  10. He he. Maybe it will inspire you to write the Games of Throne equivalent for MG readers. :D

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  11. I love the title of this post :)
    And to answer your question, yes I read something other than middle grade. I read a picture book this week. It was oddly refreshing.
    Thank you so very much for your kind and encouraging comments on my blog. I miss hanging out here and I hope life will allow me to resume a more frequent visit.
    Take care :)

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  12. I don't often read anything else than MG books, but I recently started reading The Clan of the Cave Bear, recommended to me by a friend. I'm hooked! It's good to read other types of books than what we're already reading, sometimes.

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