Browsing for Books

The best thing about blogging, for me, is the ability to learn about new books. I always feel like the last to know about something and blogging lets me find out about all these brilliant books I wouldn’t otherwise have heard about.

It puts me in mind of when I’m on a plane.

I’m walking down the aisle, the lights are off and people are sitting in their seats watching movies on their little screens.

Some of these films I have never heard of let alone seen. Even flicking through the catalogue, they didn’t capture my interest but once I catch a glimpse of something someone else is watching, it sparks my interest and gives me a better insight into the film. I plonk down in my seat and seek it out to watch.

That is how I feel about blogging. I might have passed a book many times on a shelf without giving it much thought but once I learn about it through blogging and know what it has to offer, it glows at me and I beam back and reach out for it.

What are your favourite ways to learn about new books to read?

Any recommendations for good books you’ve read recently?

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

After her older sister Bailey dies, Lennie is thrust into a new life of loneliness, searching for meaning through music and words and the people around her: her Gram, her uncle Big and two boys, Toby and Joe.

Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend, the only one who seems to understand Lennie’s grief. Joe is the new boy in town who lights up like the sun and takes her out of her misery.

Both boys have an incredible pull over Lennie, sending her from one emotion to the next but how much can she take before she tears apart and will she ever discover who she is in a world without Bailey?

I picked up ‘The Sky is Everywhere’ by Jandy Nelson on a whim when I was at the library. I had read about it in a blog (forgive me for not remembering which one, I am scatterbrained) and it intrigued me, so I took it out.

What I liked first about this novel was that the author’s skills were eminent. The novel is written entirely in first person and present tense. Lennie’s voice is wonderful and unique and so easy to read. Not just pleasant, I wanted to read it. It has a sort of subtle literary magic that gets under your skin – I hope it’s contagious because the writing is excellent.

I was a little wary of this book. A novel about a girl’s grief over her dead sister? How depressing! It wasn’t at all like that, however. Lennie was a very sympathetic character and so beautifully written. I never found her tedious or grew bored of her. She was real and likable. Most of all she didn’t throw pity parties every second and wallow in her grief. ‘The Sky is Everywhere’ displays the loss of a sister – or anyone close – in such an effective but not dark way.

‘Thy Sky is Everywhere’ is not just about death and grief. It is about discovering yourself and falling in love. Not just falling in love with another person but falling in love with life. At least that’s how I felt when I was reading it. I felt as though I were falling in love with life.

Mostly I just fell in love with the novel. There were only a few moments where I was a little confused by the wording or time frame but other than that I found no fault. All the characters came alive and I was transported into and through the story. I loved how Lennie wrote down her feelings in notes and poems - on candy wrappers, inside books, on the sole of her shoe - that were scattered all throughout the book in between chapters. It just gave the novel an extra essence and allowed another spark and angle to the story telling.

‘The Sky is Everywhere’ is the best book I have read this year and I am sad that I will have to return it to the library. Ironically the three highest-rated books I have read this year all came out of the library. I will be eager to get my own copy and I encourage others to read it too.

In accordance with the FTC, Quill Café would like to disclose that the reviewer borrowed this book from the library. The opinions expressed are hers alone and no monetary compensation was offered to her by the author or publisher. Cover art is copyright of Dial Books and is used solely as an aide to the review.

The Darcy Factor

You might love the character of Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice…or you might not.

If you find his character shallow or not very interesting, it’s a shame because if you don't understand the appeal of the character of Mr. Darcy, you cannot emulate it in a piece of fiction.

Anyone who can is very clever.

'Or a copy cat!'

Not at all. If you can see an element in a story that works and incorporate it into your own work so that the effect is the same, then it's not copying at all. It's understanding an effective element and being able to execute it.

'Yeah, but if I don't see the appeal, I wouldn't want to emulate it anyway.'

It's fine if you don't like the character of Mr. Darcy…but have you ever felt drawn to a fictional character? If you could figure out what the author did to make you feel that way, you might be able to emulate it under completely different circumstances in your own story.

That is "The Darcy Factor."

'Ohh, okay.'

In my opinion, this is why Stephanie Meyer hit the jackpot with her Twilight novels. You may have heard that Twilight was very loosely based on Pride and Prejudice. Why is this? I think it is because she utilized "The Darcy Factor." People can say all you want about the plot being rubbish or the characters being whiny but Meyer knew how to build excitement in her readers toward the character, Edward. Some might say the readers are obsessive but I think it's a sign that the author is intelligent.

Of course, "The Darcy Factor" has nothing to do with characters that are like Mr. Darcy in any way. It is not even restricted to characters at all. If you can pin point an element of a novel that intrigues you or pulls you in and find the technicalities behind it, you can work it into your own story.

My favourite fictional character is Severus Snape from the Harry Potter books. The reason I love his character is because J.K. Rowling built intrigue around him in the Philosopher’s Stone and that caught and held my interest. In the subsequent novels, every time he entered the story I knew there would be conflict. Something interesting would happen. Also, he has a sharp tongue and wonderful, sarcastic wit.

Another character I really like is Howl in Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. In fact, I pretty much inhaled that book. It's looking through at stories and characters that captivate you and figuring out why your attention is held that really allows you to understand how you can better your own writing.

A few key words: intrigue, excitement, obsession.

If you can instil these feelings in your readers in that order, you've got them.

Maybe you don't like the character of Mr. Darcy or maybe you do. If you don't, I'm not going to argue. I am sure you feel strongly about other characters and novels you've read. Figure out what hooks you, excites you and leaves you wanting more. Then try and work that into your own fiction.

That is the magic of "The Darcy Factor."

Testing Out a Book

How do you decide if a book is worth your time?

It's often said, "So many books, so little time..." So what are the requirements for you to decide to pick up a book and read it?

I've blogged before about judging a book: covers, blurbs, first sentences.

Do readers plunge blindly into books or do they dip their toes in first? Do they research and read and make sure they're making the right decision?

I always feel like I'm the last to hear about books but when I do there are a few factors that make me interested to read one.

1. A lot of hype.

If I have heard about - or more likely seen the cover of - a book in a lot of places, I might eventually decide to pick it up and read it. Of course hype can sometimes turn me off books, too. The more subtle it is, the more likely I am to approach it after time. If everyone is screaming "YAY, BOOK!" I might back away with caution.

2. Good reviews.

Some people like to sniff around a book's reviews to see if it has positive feedback from other readers, particularly peers here on the blogsphere. I've learned about a lot of books from blogging and if I hear about a new book from a positive review, it makes me more inclined to read it.

3. A good synopsis.

Sometimes all it takes is a really intriguing/interesting/fun idea for me to want to read a book. Whether it turns out to be good or not is besides the point. I want to see if the author can pull it off, so they've got me on this one.

4. Excerpts.

Sometimes you can find excerpts or sample first chapters of novels online. This allows the reader to get a taste of the book. Also, if I am in a book store and pick up a pile of novels, I'll sit down with them and go through them, reading a bit of the beginning to decide if I like the voice and whether or not I'm captivated. The ones that pass the test will usually leave the store with me.

5. Taste.

Offering book to my cat, Severus and saying, 'Does this look tasty?' (What, you thought I meant my literary tastes?) Disinterest means the book probably isn't great. Smooching is a good sign. Drooling or desire to devour novel is good.

There are lots of different ways for readers to decide whether they want to take their time to read a book. Maybe they've read the last book by the same author which they loved. Maybe the book had a wicked book trailer that hooked them.

How do you test out a book? What are your requirements before you make that final decision to read a novel?

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

The Big Bad Wolf. The mean man. He stalks the pages and poses a threat to little pigs and small children with baskets full of cakes. Anything he can get a meal out of, really. Oh and he’s a cross dresser...with a killer smile.

Sounds like a guy who is down on his luck, the world is set against him and so he is set against the world.

Also sounds like a character with depth, plenty of history, conflicts (both inner conflict and that with other characters and curcumstances) but someone who knows who he is, despite what others think of him, how others treat him or how he treats them.

There. I already have the bones of my character and where did it come from? The idea of the “Big Bad Wolf.” Of course, my character isn’t really a wolf at all. He’s a man. Obviously an intimidating man since people are afraid of him...or maybe they just avoid him because he’s different. “Bad” is a relative term of course.

I’ve decided that my character doesn’t steal from children. He bakes his own cakes and trades them with a local kindergartner for jewellery she has nicked from her mother.

I still haven’t decided how old my character is or his name but it’s coming to me.

See? A whole thought process: a character unravelling and a story developing. This is why I love character archetypes.

What is an archetype?

An archetype is a stereotype or generic idea. The hero, the arch nemesis, the corporate power, the trickster, the mentor, the sidekick, the villain, all found in so many places, so very well known. Those are just ideas of character archetypes. You can have story plot archetypes, “the hero’s journey” or “rags to riches.”

There are many different archetypes and so many different names for them. Sometimes when people think of archetypes they think of clichés. There are archetypes such as the “mentor” or the “sidekick” but not every mentor is the wise old man and not every sidekick wears tights and runs after the hero making jokes and blunders.

What if the little girl who trades the jewellery for cake turns out to be my character’s mentor? There’s nothing to say that children can’t impart wisdom and understanding to an adult. In kindergarten, everyone can play together a lot more easily than when you’re grown up. Children don’t judge, they just want to have fun – and eat cakes!

See, my character has a child for a mentor (and an immoral one, she steals her mother’s stuff, but hey, she’s four!) and who knows, maybe he will have a comical sidekick friend in there somewhere but I can always make that character more complex and less cliché.

So archetypes can be a great way to build ideas and characters. You don’t have to be afraid of cliché if you develop them right.

What do you think? Do you ever use archetypes when developing characters?

The example above is not an actual story/character I’m working on, I came up with it for this post. As an idea to begin brainstorming with, it does seem to roll quite nicely.

Try taking an archetype or even a cliché and moulding and developing it into something new!