What I'm Reading
At the weekend I finished my first Shirley Jackson novel, The Haunting of Hill House, and I really liked it; I'm really eager to read more of her work now, particularly her short fiction - I still haven't read The Lottery!
I'm also currently reading three other books: I'm still reading Maria V. Snyder's Scent of Magic, I'm about a third of the way through Essie Fox's The Goddess and the Thief (which is a great read for fans of Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone) and I've just started Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, for the third challenge in the Hogwarts House Reading Challenge! I've been meaning to read Good Omens for a while now, so I'm really excited to have finally started it!
What I'm Writing
Honestly I've been a bit naughty this week because I've barely done any writing. I've started to realise that the LGBT retelling of Beauty and the Beast I've been working on could be stretched into something longer than a short story, but I don't want to start writing another novel when I'm still working on Bloodroot and Bracken.
I've also been making notes on a shiny new idea I've had this past week, which is also historical/paranormal fiction. I can't seem to be able to break away from the genre, but I don't care!
What Inspires Me Right Now
Again, reading! So far April's been a great reading month for me, and there's nothing more inspirational than learning from published writers!
What Else I've Been Up To
On Friday I went to see Noah. It was... interesting. It wasn't the worst film I've ever seen but it wasn't spectacular either; it was nice to see the story of Noah being portrayed in a darker way, it is basically an end of the world story after all, but it felt as though the director had had too many ideas that he simply mashed together, meaning that the end of the film felt like the end to a different film than the one I started watching at the beginning.Before I went to the cinema I had a look in The Works and came out with three books for only £5 (how could I resist?). I got myself copies of Stephen King's The Green Mile, Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora, and Charlotte Brontë's The Professor. I'm not a big fan of Stephen King's novels but I really like the film adaptation of The Green Mile, and I've heard great things about the book.
Then on Saturday I met up with two of my friends in Cardiff, neither of whom I've seen for quite a few months, so it was lovely to catch up! I always enjoy going into Cardiff - the shops are great - and while I was there I bought myself a little jar that looks like a honey pot (it's so cute!) so that I could make myself a TBR jar.
I've been wanting to make a TBR jar for a while now, and the bonus challenge for Ravenclaw in the Hogwarts House Reading Challenge is to make a Ravenclaw-themed book jar. So after I bought my jar I bought some blue paper to write all of my unread books on (shockingly, I own 128 unread books!), and then I made a blue and 'bronze' easter chick; I'll just pretend they're eagle chicks!
And of course I'm still watching Game of Thrones and Hannibal, and they're both so good! The latest episode of Game of Thrones was just brilliant, whereas the latest episode of Hannibal broke my heart a little bit. Poor Dr Chilton, he's grown on me. I've also started watching The Crimson Field, which is a historical drama about a group of women who journey to France during the First World War to work as volunteer nurses. I've only watched the first episode so far but I really enjoyed it, and I highly recommend it!
I feel like I could use their expertise myself, the past couple of days one of my wisdom teeth has been really sore, so it looks like I'm going to have to go to the dentist and see if it's growing through like it should be or if I need to get it removed. Hopefully it feels worse than it is!
What's new with you?
You've been getting tons of reading done, and I love the idea of a TBR jar. How cute!
ReplyDeleteGlad your writing/idea juices are flowing. It doesn't matter what genre you write, only that you love the stories you're doing.
I've definitely been reading more than I thought I would be in April, it'd be nice if this reading kick could carry on throughout the rest of the year!
DeleteThis is true! :)
That TBR jar is such a cool idea!
ReplyDeleteArgh, wisdom teeth. Mine haven't been too bad, but both my parents had to have all theirs removed later, which...uh, doesn't bode well. Hope I can avoid that!
I think it'll come in useful the next time I find myself in a reading slump. :)
DeleteYou never know, yours might be fine. :) Both of my sisters had to have theirs removed, but three of mine have come through just fine.
Game of Thrones! SO good. I keep thinking that show won't be able to top what it did the week (or season) before, but I'm continuously impressed. Hope you get more writing done this week, Jess, and have a good one!
ReplyDeleteYes, this season's certainly started with a bang! Thank you, you too. :)
DeleteI love the TBR jar! Such a great idea!
ReplyDeleteThe Crimson Field sounds like exactly the kind of show I'd like. I doubt we have it over here in Canada so I'll have to write the title down and wait until it comes out on DVD.
It's quite cute, isn't it? :)
DeleteI've been watching it on the BBC iPlayer here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p01tly0c/The_Crimson_Field_Episode_1/
Hopefully it'll work for you, too - there are only two episodes so far. :)
I love the idea of a TBR jar! That's so great b/c I never know what to read next lol.
ReplyDeleteI have the same trouble whenever I'm in a reading slump, so I'm hoping it'll come in useful! :)
DeleteThat TBR Jar is such a brilliant idea! I hope it works out really well for you :D
ReplyDeleteThanks, I hope so too! :)
DeleteI looked into the Ravenclaw House Challenge, so I know exactly what you're talking about with the TBR jar. Good for you! I'm not sure if I could come up with enough ideas for a jar like that. You should definitely read "The Lottery". I used to teach that one to my students. :-)
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that you have so many great story ideas to work on. And paranormal/historical fiction is actually a favourite genre of mine, so it's wonderful that you're writing stories that fall under that bracket. Hope you're having a wonderful week, and that your teeth stop bothering you.
I've heard nothing but amazing things about The Lottery, and I'd like to read more short stories in general. :) I'll definitely be picking up a collection of Shirley Jackson's short fiction soon!
DeleteThank you! :)
That's the crazy thing about good story ideas--they always want to grow into something bigger. When I started writing my trilogy, it was supposed to be a stand alone. So much for that!
ReplyDeleteYour TBR jar is so cute, and what a fun way to decide what you're going to read next! I should really do that with some of those books that always seem to get forgotten on my shelf.
The Crimson Field sounds interesting. Might have to check it out sometime. Have a great week and good luck on your writing endeavors!
Wow, you obviously had more to say than you originally thought! It's funny how certain ideas carry us away like that. :)
DeleteI think it'll definitely come in handy the next time I find myself in a reading slump. :) You should give it a try! I was worried that it would make me feel bad about how many unread books I own, but then it turned out I owned less unread books than I thought so I felt a little better. ;)
Thank you! :)
Oh i love the TBR jar, that is such a cool idea. I have a heap of books I want to read but haven't gotten there yet. Though this year I have made a huge dent in it.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week.
I think I'm in a similar boat to you - this year I've finally started making my way through all the unread books I own.
DeleteThanks, you too! :)
I need to make a jar like that because I have SO MANY unread books. I think because I own them, it seems less pressing to read them? Speaking of books, the only Shirley Jackson I've read is The Lottery and it is a story that stays with you! I definitely want to read more of her work, and I'm also keen on your other read the Goddess and the Thief now. I quite liked The Moonstone & I just read the description for The Goddess...and it sounds great. GOOD OMENS is one of my favorite books - so funny! It plays with all the supernatural apocalypse tropes in a clever way.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying both GoT and Hannibal as well. That last episode of Hannibal was something else. So intricately plotted and I thought the music was just spot on. I'm curious as to Will's plan!
I know what you mean. I sometimes feel bad that I own so many unread books, but then I kind of view my book collection as my own personal library; there are a lot of books I haven't read, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to read them. :) By the sounds of it I really need to get my hands on a collection of Shirley Jackson's short fiction!
DeleteIt really was - poor Chilton! :(