Banned Books Week

This week is banned books week, where we are all supposed to go out and read all those books people are telling us to avoid. In case you were wondering which books have made the list, here is a link to ABFFE’s Banned and Challenged Book List.

After skimming through the list, I calculated that I’ve read 20% of these books. And I seriously loved almost all of them. “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, “The Giver”, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, can someone say greatest books ever! Looking at this list actually makes me feel kind of guilty. I haven’t read 80% of these books. What have I been missing out on?

I don’t know about you. But I’m going to make sure and read a banned book or two. ‘Cause despite what the people with pitchforks say, books that make you think are a good thing.

Favorite Fiction

This week at YA Highway they are asking the question, “What is the best book you read this month?”

So far this month I’ve read seven books. I think I read 25 books in September of 2009. I’ve really been slipping lately. Anyway, my September reads were

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christy
Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich
Paper Towns by John Green
The World According to Garp by John Irving
Around the World in 80 Days by Michael Palin
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell

With only seven books to choose from, it should be easy to pick a favorite, but I honestly can’t. So I’m going to pick three favorites.

For overall best writing and compelling storyline, I’m picking “And Then There Were None”. Agatha Christy is an amazingly good writer, and this is one of her best books. It may have been written 7 decades ago, and be way un-PC. But I totally don’t care. This book is a serious page turner with a dozen interesting and well developed characters/suspects/victims.

For book that made me think the most, I’m picking “The World According to Garp”. I don’t know how I made it through high school and college without ever being required to read this book. It’s one of those books that would be really easy to write a term paper about. It deals with lots of really heady themes, many of which are still occupying a large portion of my mind. But while I was reading it, I wasn’t all that into the story itself. It’s really great literature, but not as great of entertainment.

Finally, for the best contemporary read, I’m picking “Paper Towns” by John Green. Since this post is linked to YA highway, I thought about only picking “Paper Towns”. It is one of the best YA books I’ve read in a while. The characters are all well developed and interesting, and the story has lots of fun twists and turns and a neat mystery element to it. It is a very very good book, I’m just not sure if it’s quite as good as “And Then There Were None.” Sorry John, not everyone gets to be Agatha.

Paper Towns

I have to admit, I’ve been a slow convert to the I <3 John Green club. “Looking for Alaska” was the first John Green book I ever read (about a year ago). I kept hearing all these rave reviews about it, and then I found myself liking it but not loving it as much as everyone else. The next John Green book I read was “Will Grayson, Will Grayson” which I totally loved. Except I’ve been a David Levithan fan for years, so I mentally downplayed John Greens co-authorship.

But everyone I talk to loves John Green. So last summer I read “An Abundance of Katherine’s”. My name’s Katherine, so I was supposed to love the book, right? I did like all the characters, I just found the story hard to believe. My John Green loving friends all insisted I couldn’t write off John Green yet. First I had to read “Paper Towns”. So I did, yesterday, in one sitting.

And my friends were right. Now that I’ve read “Paper Towns” I actually find myself remembering “An Abundance of Katherine’s” and “Looking for Alaska” in a brighter light. I finally get it, and I now totally <3 John Green.

If you haven’t read “Paper Towns” yet, go read it. Then once you’ve totally loved it, you can go out and read the rest of John Green’s books. The plot in “Paper Towns” is great, filled with mystery and intrigue. But the thing that makes this book so great, and the thing I always enjoyed about John Green’s other books is the characters.

John Green writes about nerdy kids. So many YA books are about the popular kids. Or the not so popular kids who wish they were popular. But John Green’s books are about normal, unpopular, nerdy kids, who have a small handful of equally dorktastic friends. These characters are so honest and believable and relatable.

“Paper Towns” is narrated by Q, a band nerd who isn’t in band. All his friends are in band, but Q’s totally tone deaf, so he’s just a marching band groupy. Q’s best friend/side kick is obsessed with editing omnictionary (fictional version of wikipedia). These kids use big words and fight over rights to the grammar kingdom. They are exactly like all the kids I hung out with in high school. They are slightly less mature versions of all the adults I hang out with now. And I totally love them. I love these characters. So when they fall into a crazy dangerous adventure, yeah I’m hooked.

And Then…

I am a very character driven writer. I start a first draft of a novel as soon as a character’s voice is loud enough in my head that I have a hard time silencing it. I jot down a few scenes and get to know my protagonist as I write. Eventually I start to put together an actual plot, and toss out the majority of my early writing.

My final story is more plot driven. With a clear beginning middle and end. Normally covering a short period of time. I read a lot and tend to enjoy books with interesting characters trapped in even more interesting stories. So that is what I attempt to write.

But my mind doesn’t stop there. By the time I’ve finished a first draft, I’ve also started to wonder what happens next. And what happened before. And before I know it, I’m staying awake at night wondering about the details of my characters life 20 years after my novel ends.

Right now I’m putting the finishing touches on the 7th draft of my WIP. I should be worrying about the transition between chapter 24 and chapter 25. That is the weakest part of the story right now. But I’m spending lots of time obsessing over the middle aged lives of the characters in my YA novel.

I believe it is good for an author to know more about their characters than what appears on the page. Understanding the back story drives the front story. Even if not all the details of the back story are reviled in the finished text. But knowing the name of my MC’s dog 40 years after my novel ends might not be quite as important. Except that I’m me, and I’m curious, and once I invite a character far enough into my mind to get to the 7th draft, I really can’t shut them up. And even if my readers don’t ever need to know what that future dog is going to be named, my character needs to know, and I need to know too.

Most of the time I feel kind of guilty about my obsession with the future lives of my imaginary friends. This endless daydreaming is just a waist of time, and I really do need to fix that transition between chapters 24 and 25. The stuff I’m obsessing over isn’t even interesting. It doesn’t fit neatly into a plot, and it should never be written down. Trust me, nobody wants to read it.

Except, I read a lot. I’m currently about half way through “The World According to Garp” by John Irving. The book is a lot like the story in my head. It’s long and rambling, and takes sharp turns in new directions every time I feel like it should be winding into its conclusion. It could easily be divided into four or five separate novels. A part of me hates this book, because it rambles too much and seems sloppy and plotless. But I like the characters, and I’m curious enough to follow this book to the end.

Does that mean I should change my aspirations? Should I stop trying to write like Sarah Dessen and aim to emulate John Irving instead? Should I actually write down the entire life story of my characters, regardless of how meandering and plotless they are? Or should I listen to my gut, and admit that John Irving kind of pisses me off, and I’m starting to seriously crave a conclusion but know I’m not going to get one for at least 200 more pages. And if I can’t get the details of my MC’s midlife crisis that happens 30 years after my novel ends out of my head, well I guess that’s just my problem.

Me and My Imaginary Friends

This weeks Road Trip Wednesday, over at YA Highway is asking the question, If you went to high school with the characters in your novel, would you be friends?

My current WIP is titled “Exit Stage Left” and is a LOOSE adaptation of Romeo and Juliet set at a summer camp.

I really like my Juliet character, and I know we would have been friends in high school. She’s kind of insecure and doesn’t always know exactly how to act in a lot of situations. I was like that in high school, and I’ve actually based her character on many of my high school friends.

The Romeo character, maybe not so much. He grows a lot over the course of the book, and by the end I totally love him. So yeah, I’d want to be friends with the guy in chapter 30. But on page 1, I’d probably assume he was a creep and steer clear of him.

What about you? Are your characters your imaginary friends? Or your imaginary frienemies?

Speak Up

In addition to not posting on my own blog, I’ve also been REALLY bad about reading other peoples blogs lately. What can I say, I’ve been busy.

But today I found myself with a couple of free minutes and I skimmed through the various blogs I supposedly follow. It turns out everyone is currently talking about the banning of SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson. Okay, can I just say WHAT?

This book came out a decade ago, and won like a gazillion awards. Why are people banning it now? And more importantly, why are people banning it period? It’s a good book.

The first Laurie Halse Anderson book that I read was WINTERGIRLS, which is high on my favorite books of all time list and I promise to get uber-angry if anyone tries to ban it. After loving WINTERGIRLS, I started tracking down some of Laurie Halse Anderson’s other books. I read SPEAK last summer.

So here’s what I think about it. SPEAK, is one of those edgy YA books that takes edgy to the point of scary. It is a book about rape. Teenagers do sometimes get raped. And reading a well written book about the psychological effects that rape can have on a teen can be a good thing. SPEAK, and other similar books, add to the dialog and may not only help victims, but also humanize victims to there pears who are lucky enough to not know what they are dealing with.

That being said, SPEAK is a hard read. It’s one of those books that you wish could never happen. And the rape scenes (yes there are more than one) take place on the page. It’s scary. I’m an adult and I can’t say I loved reading this book. So if I was the parent of a teenager, I might be hesitant to recommend it.

I don’t think this book should be banned. Because the world we live in is a scary place. And there are some kids who may benefit a great deal from reading it. Still, this is one of those books that needs a giant warning label on the back cover. Instead of saying, “Riveting” and “Fabulous”, it should say “Be prepared to ball for hours.” And “Not recommended for people named Pollyanna.”

Should SPEAK be banned? NO! Should SPEAK be required reading for every 12 year old in the country? Probably not. Am I glad I read SPEAK? Yes, it’s been a few months, so the nightmares have subsided.

Part-time Novels

You may have noticed that I've sort of fallen off the face of the internet lately. Don't worry, I'm not dead or anything. My schedule has just changed so I don't have as much time free for things like blogging.

For the last couple of months, I've been working on a project 50 miles away from my house. So I have a 1.5 hour commute each way. Spending three hours in the car everyday isn't ideal. But the project is interesting and will end eventually so I'll be able to return to my normal commute.

Spending so many hours in the car, gives me lots of time to listen to audio books. I've always loved audio books. But lately, I've discovered something interesting about what I like to listen to while driving. The answer, disengaging books.

I normally judge a book primarily by its ability to engage me emotionally. If I laugh out loud and burst into tears on the same page, it's a great book. But who wants to start crying while stuck in rush hour traffic? Not me. So for my three hours behind the wheel each day, I'm enjoying non-fiction. It's kind of dull, and easy to turn off when I get where I'm going. But it still keeps me thinking.

What about you? What do you like to listen to while on the road?