Last 2 months of the year - starting to think about the great reads of 2012

2012 started off as an ok reading year.  Over the summer, I wasn't sure how many books I'd read I'd actually put on my best books from 2012 list.  I was starting to despair I'd have a list at all!  

After the last few months, I can honestly say that I have read some unforgettable stories.  I'm really looking forward to putting the list together in a couple of months, but even more than that, I am looking forward to the books I have yet to read in the next 2 months.

I read a mixture of books -- Kindle self-published ebooks from the free list, books downloaded from the library written by best selling authors and audio books I get from the library (usually from authors I've never heard of).  My search criteria for books has been wide open.  I always read books by authors whose books I enjoyed in the past and I always read books given to me by authors (although it can take me a while to get them onto my Kindle if I don't get them from Amazon). 

As an author on goodreads.com, I get a lot of wonderful recommendations from fellow authors and readers.  I also have had interaction with authors of books I've liked on goodreads and as a reader, that is such a thrill!

It's really great to be a part of the writing/reading community.  I know there are a lot of writers who do not interact with their readers and there are a lot of writers who do not read. 

There are also a lot of readers who write and a lot of readers who have no interest in writing. 

For me, I'm happy to hear from everyone within the community and learn what makes each group happy as readers.

Writing makes me happy.  I want to be a better writer and take my readers on a once in a lifetime journey.  The story has to be compelling and reach to the reader's heart.  The characters have to be people we care about and enjoy spending time "experiencing." 

Is it embarassing to be imperfect as a writer?  YES!

I'm learning from my readers.  Keep the language tight and simple.  My new mantra for 2013:  EDIT!
Readers are forgiving if the story is good but they don't want to be left on the side of the road with a flat tire.  The journey needs to be flawless so they can see the beautiful sites.

Is there a better feeling in the world than sharing a beautiful journey with another?

Not for me.

New Laptop!

I got a new laptop! 

It's sleek! 

It's shiny!

 It's a saucy little Samsung Series 5.  I love it!  I haven't had my "own" computer since before I got married. 

My husband has built us several computers over the years and we have a large and ever-growing family of computers in the house (along with as many hand-held devices that you can imagine), but the only other computer that was truly mine was an old "Leading Edge" computer I bought through the University of Iowa's student computer purchase plan. 

It's such a great feeling to have my very own machine! 

Sure, I've had access to many wonderful computers over the years - Macintoshes in the computer lab at the U of Iowa, IBMs and HPs at Emerson and my first work lap top at the travel company I worked for a couple years ago.

Before that, it was all desk computers.  I had a snazzy little PDA, an Edge, that was the BEST thing since sliced bread. 

Sure, I have a Kindle Fire and an iphone, but my heart belongs to Sam 5.  I've spent most of the day getting the laptop loaded with all my favorite software and weblinks, so it's looks like home. 

Now, the next big project for me will be to get all my old stories off those archaic floppy disks.  I'm really hoping that I managed to transfer them onto the small floppy disks and that they are not all still on the big floppy disks.

Last year, I took three or four "ancient" computers to Staples and paid them $10 each to take them to recycle. 

I wonder how long Sam has before he's considered too old to load with "new" software? 
As a mom, I know I never look at my kid and think that in 80 years, she'll have been superseded by at least three generations of new Hansens. 

So, Sam and I have been working hard together to write my third "Guy" book.  We've surfed the web, customized software and driven my husband bonkers asking about all the options.

So many options, so little time!

Thanks, Sam, for helping me write my first blog on your lovely keyboard.  Your beautiful purple screen saver is surely a sight for sore eyes. 

I can't wait to see all the beautiful scenes we create together over the next 3-4 years. 

(Lap top of the future?  http://www.rucksandrolls.com/soon-your-laptop-will-be-a-table-top/)

Some books are like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get

I'm fascinated with the gorgeous covers available to e-book writers!  Paperback and hardcover covers are limited by cost, but with digital covers, graphics can be gloriously vivid.  I've been reading several blogs about what makes great e-book covers.  The exciting news is that simplicity and boldness reign.  Deep colors and imaginative graphics are also appealing.  It's interesting to see that the NY Times bestsellers from the publishing houses are still, for the most part, using class covers for their e-book publications.

Here are some covers from the top-selling books on Amazon:

Fifty Shades by E.L. James series:
Incredibly stark and simple - grey against black.
Large, bold object.
Very appealing!
I wish the books were as enticing as the covers, but that's just my take.


Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn:  Great use of color in the author's name.  Note the size of the author's name versus the book's title.
It's exciting to see how the publisher markets the writer as well as the book.



Last to Die by Tess Gerritsen:  The USA bestselling cover is the yellow and blue.  Love the blackground!  This cover is busy, but effective.  Intense!

What do you think of the cover used in the UK with the girl looking down and the big window behind?  Is it as effective and intense?

I'm definitely drawn to the closeup of the girl's face in the US cover.

Bared to You by Sylvia Day:

Very sexy cover with the high heel!

What do you think of the other two covers?

The text really pops on the cover with the earrings.

Bones are Forever by Kathy Reichs: 

Can't beat a classic layout!

But, honestly, is that the best they can do?!






THE BOY IN THE SUITCASE, by Lene Kaaberbo and Agnete Friisl. 

I like the faded Polaroid/old photo style of the cover to the left

Here's the same cover to the right with more green:


The colors and the faded image are pretty scary.







#10 on the NY Times fiction bestseller e-books is The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James.  Nothing ugly about either of these covers, but the cover to the right is the one that is the bestseller.  Personally, I love the purple, glittery swans, but I like a little glam.



OK, so what's happening in the Indie book cover world?
Let's take a quick look....


From Amazon's Bestselling Indie authors:

Pretty classic if you ask me!  Some of the erotica novels are using some beautiful colors.

I'm curious about how long it will take for the 3D world and the art world to intersect with the book covers.  I'd like to see book covers jump off the page and grab readers!  Let me know your favorite book covers.

Movie v Book "Hunger Games" and "The Secret In Their Eyes"

Here's another chapter in our dialog about whether a movie can ever live up to the book.

This week, I saw "The Hunger Games" based on the book by Suzanne Collins on DVD and "The Secret in Their Eyes" by Eduardo Sacheri.


I read the book, "The Hunger Games" and the rest of the series on my Kindle and I listened to the audiobook version of "The Secret in Their Eyes."

Listening to an audio book is a luxurious experience - the imagery is created by a voice that pronounces each word precisely and adds emotion to the reading.  It's an emotional rollercoaster to hear the narrator's emotion and also feel your own emotional reaction to the story and the words building.

I'm a fan of the Hunger Games series and can't wait to re-read the books and see the upcoming movies.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give both books a rating close to 10.  I'm a fan of both authors and can't wait to read more from them.

On a scale of 1 to 10, the movies will get very different ratings from me.  "The Hunger Games" will get a high rating and "The Secret in Their Eyes" will get a middle of the road ranking.  I have to admit that the "Secret in Their Eyes" as a stand-alone movie is probably marvelous, but after reading the book and seeing how the director and scriptwriter massacred the story line, I can't do the movie justice.  I hated it!!!!

"The Hunger Games" movie almost rivals the book.  It's very, very close, but there are some essentials gaps for me.  SPOILER ALERT:

So, for those who stop reading now because of the spoiler alert, watch the movie, "The Secret in their Eyes" and consider it influenced by the book, but not based on the book, and you'll probably love the movie.  For "The Hunger Games," read the book first and then savor seeing the images on the big screen.  There will be some diffuseness in depth of emotion, but the action is fantastic.

Hope everyone had a fun week reading and watching "The Hunger Games" on DVD.  We'll see what books and movies fire up the screen over the coming months.  OK, now the spoiler (scroll down below Cato's image...):

The biggest gap in the movie for me was the relationship between Peta and Katniss and the complexity and confusion in what Katniss knows to be real and what she isn't sure is real in her feelings.  I don't think the movie captured that completely.  Also, the pivotal scene between Peta and Cato is MISSING from the movie.  That really irked me.  However, I'll definitely watch this movie again and go see the next movie.

Summer Lovin' Happened So Fast

Tell me more, tell me more!  The movie, "Grease," starts off with the story about Danny and Sandy and their perfect summer love.  Summer dreams may rip at the seams, but oh,

oh, those summer nights....

We're down to summer nights here on Revere Beach.  Just a few more perfect beach days and then we'll have a few more imperfect beach days.  Sweatshirts and walks on the beach aren't all that bad in the fall, either!  

Nights on the beach with the moon reflecting on the ocean are beyond description.  It's mesmerizing to stand and watch the lights flash near Nahant all the way out to Winthrop and down to Boston, guiding the planes in from up and down the coast and across the Atlantic.

Fireworks over the water on a beach night are pure bliss.  

Walking home after fireworks and ice cream on a hot summer's night is about the perfect way to end any day - work day or weekend.

So, this is where my third book takes place....  oooooh, those summmmmmer niiiights!

I'm A Reader!

Flipping through the Fall Movie Preview edition of Entertainment Weekly (August 17/24, 2012), I adored the Q+A with Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series.

The interviewer went through the usual ropes - how does she feel about completing the movies, what to expect from the filming of The Host, the unusual choice of the baby's name from Breaking Dawn, what her favorite Twilight movie was, etc etc. Link to EW Q+A

The usual blah blah blah...

THEN...

"Q:  When you were writing the first Twilight, could you ever have imagined it would become such a phenomenon?

A:  If I'd had any idea that anyone would see what I was doing, I'd have stopped immediately.  I'd never have been able to finish it.  It's a huge amount of pressure, and it's taken me forever to be able to call myself an author.  I'm a reader, and to me authors are magical creatures."

Love you Stephenie Meyer! bravo bravo!

So glad you kept writing!

Fifty Shades of Grey - like a moth to a flame!

My book club chose Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James for its next book.  I was both happy to finally have an excuse to read it and dreading it out of jealousy.  E.L. James has written such a sexy, fun and SUCCESSFUL book that I have been green with jealousy over the whole sensation!

I do applaud the success of the series!  It's awesome to see a book take off like that!  Yes, I am green with jealousy, but I am also excited to see it happen and to own a copy.

Now, the book.  Talk about being in the right place at the right time.  Both the main character in the book and the book itself have this in common.

This book's simplicity is that it is an encyclopediac look at one man's sexual preferences.  We basically take apart Christian Grey's kinks until he's just like the rest of us - a guy who is searching for satisfaction.

He's a dominant who was a submissive for many years.  I'm not done with the book, but he's chosen a virgin who has no experience in the world of sex he  experiences.  His choice is very telling -- he's a dominant who in the end, wishes to meet his equal.

Will Ana be his equal?

Christian Grey says he wants her to be a submissive, but he is most attracted to her when she is assertive.  He bends to her will on many occasions and when she is submissive, the book tends to focus on how he bolsters her back up to being "open" and assertive.

Is our decision to read this book as telling or are we readers just attracted to the sensation?

So, can love between two people happen if neither one of them really is honest about what they want?  How do they "grow up" and be the people they truly are if they bind themselves into a fantasy world where they play out certain parts and then erase and re-do the fantasy so they feel like they can function in real life?  

The best love stories are when two people come together and honestly love each other in the way that makes them a powerful force as a couple.  My gut reaction so far to this book is that it truly is a middle aged woman's fantasy about what her life would have been like if she had met a rich, powerful man who introduced her to mind-blowing sexuality without any of the usual bad mistakes young couples tend to make early on (no money, no security, no power).

The only problem with this is that the girl does get the sex and the money, but where's the fun?

Part of the joy of a relationship in your early years is NOT having it right - not having the money, the power, the security, but having a hell of a good time together.

So, enjoy the fantasy!  Have fun with it!

Read to your heart's desire, but remember that love is all about the metamorphosis of one person into a person who is in love with a second person. That change into something beautiful and extraordinary has to happen to make the love story fun to read.

So, I'll keep reading and waiting for this story to hatch our of its chrysalis!  The world is attracted to this story like a moth to a flame. Hopefully, we'll enjoy the heat and the fun of reading the books.

HOT Enough For You?

I was checking out the New York Times E-Book Bestseller list and saw Shades of Grey
is dominating. Yes, yes, I should have read the books a month ago, but remember that blog post I wrote on goodreads.com a few months ago about not wanting to be on the "pop" book band wagon?

I do love the Saturday Night Live sketches, jokes and that wonderful YouTube video about the three golden ladies commenting on Shades of Grey:
You Tube Golden Sisters Commenting on Shades of Grey
I'm also enjoying all the talk about how HOT ebooks are right now, but the thing I noticed today on the New York Times Ebook Fiction Bestseller List, none of the books on the list are on the "Most Popular Books" emailed list to the right on the web page.at New York Times E-Book Fiction Best Sellers

None of the ebooks are on the "blogged" list of most popular books.

None of the ebook bestsellers are on the "viewed" list of most popular books.

Strange!!!

Anyone have any theories about this?