Top Ten. Or Fab Five times two...

Since I recently started writing and have decided, though my tastes run broad, that I’d focus in the YA realm, I’ve done a lot of catch-up reading this year. I still have a huge TBR list, but I got to many of the books I’d wanted to read. Here are my ten favorites. (Keep in mind that they were not all published in 2009.)

Realistic contemporary:
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher: Love his style.
Cracked Up To Be by Courtney Summers: Laughed and cried through the whole thing.
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta: Beautifully written.
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead: This may belong below, but I'm putting it here.

Fantasy/SF:
Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore: I’ll read anything this woman writes.
The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins: On the edge of my seat.
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer: Sorry, you’ll have to wait until October. (I’ve got an awesome crit partner!)
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl: I’m actually in the middle of it right now and loving it.

So, there’s mine. What about yours?

Good writing versus beautiful writing: is there a difference?

I’m back to writing—every waking minute and some not-so-waking minutes—but this summer I took some time off writing to read. A lot. I caught up on everything I’d been wanting to read this last year but didn’t because I was absorbed with my own characters. I found some new favorite authors and read a few lemons, but the two I still can’t get out of my head are The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

I love the way they write. Their styles, though very different, resonate with me. Simple and beautiful. They’re some of the least obtrusive writers I’ve ever read, meaning their words never distracted me from the story. And they had me crying, I don’t know, like twenty times.

There are some beautifully written stories out there that are sometimes too beautifully written. I know it sounds crazy, but if the prose is so beautiful that I start thinking about the prose, I’m no longer living the story. As a writer, I’m thinking that’s not such a good thing.

Am I wrong? Is there a difference between a well written story and a beautifully written story?

What do you think?

A funny thing happened on my way home from the bookstore...

I just realized that my favorite author isn’t very good. I’ve been really disappointed in his last two novels. His stories are interesting, so I keep reading them, but the writing really sucks.

I’m a relative newcomer, a mere novice, in the writing profession, so other than my status as a frequent book buyer and avid reader, I realize I’m in no way qualified to make judgments regarding someone else’s writing. But all the things I struggle so hard to avoid in my own writing—using the same phrases over and over…and over and over; using too many dialogue tags (especially the character’s name) over and over…and over and over; putting my characters in the same situation over and over—okay, you get it, I know—he does, over and over…and over. And his attempts at suspense are kind of lame and very predictable—which is bad, since he writes thrillers.

I’ve decided that I need to go back and read the first book of his that really sucked me in. Then I can figure out if I was just a less discerning reader before I started writing or if his suckiness is more recent—maybe due to deadlines and being rushed. He’s a NYT best seller and puts out at least two books a year, so he clearly knows more about writing than I do…

But it’s really disappointing to realize that someone I looked up to (and recommended to a lot of other people) isn’t as great as I thought he was.

I know. You’re rolling your eyes and yelling at the screen that I need professional help. Hero worship and all that… And you’re probably right.

I’ll reread some of his earlier books and report back.