Happy Friday, everyone! It’s also the last Friday in February, and I’m hopeful March won’t bring quite as much soul-crushing snow. Here’s a look at what I’ve been reading and writing, in fifteen words or under:
Reading: El Deafo by Cece Bell
Just as honest, funny, and adorable as I’d hoped. Little me would have loved it!
Writing: “Resolution: a/ Girl needs a best friend, and mine/ Is so the best one.”
My WIP includes lots of haiku and friendship feelings.
Somehow it’s already Friday? Not that I’m complaining, but it kind of snuck up on me. Here’s to a weekend of keeping warm and reading lots of books! To start us off, a look at what I’ve been reading and writing in fifteen words or under.
Reading: Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally
Quiet, touching; I didn’t want to leave these characters behind. Also appreciated the summery feeling.
Writing: “Just wrap my body in this blanket and give me a proper burial at sea.”
Loving my melodramatic WIP character.
This was a short week thanks to a couple of snow days, and I am still so relieved to see Friday. Let’s go into the weekend with a look at what I’ve been reading and writing, in fifteen words or under.
Reading: The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds
Touching and gentle and real. First time I teared up at a list of recipes.
Writing: “It made me want to punch Thomas Jefferson for agreeing to the Louisiana Purchase.”
Really enjoying the voice of one of my WIP protagonists.
Happy almost Valentine’s Day, everyone!
Happy Friday, everyone! It’s like -20 outside with the windchill, and more snow is on the way for the Boston area, so I think this is going to be a great weekend to stay inside with a stack of books. Here’s a look at what I’ve been reading and writing, in fifteen words or fewer:
Reading: Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero
Funny and honest and heartfelt and real, and now a Morris winner!
Writing: “With each chapter and every word, I’m increasing my capacity for sympathy and survival.”
This month at Ploughshares, I’m talking about surviving, reading, and making dioramas. Check it out here!
Happy weekending!
Happy Friday, everybody! Even though it was technically a short week thanks to a snowstorm in the Boston area, I’m really glad to see the weekend. Here’s a little look at what I’ve been reading and writing, in fifteen words or less:
Reading: Bright Before Sunrise by Tiffany Schmidt
May we all wear sparkly green nail polish more often.
Writing: “Maybe Masha and I couldn’t belong to ourselves. But we could belong to each other.”
From my latest short story at the Hanging Garden–go check it out!
Happy Friday, guys! As someone who just spilled an almost full cup of coffee all over herself, I am really feeling the need for the weekend. Let’s start things off with a glimpse 
into what I’ve been reading and writing, in fifteen words or less.
Reading: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Loved Mandel’s writing; the Traveling Symphony and airport sections were my favorites.
Writing: “Si id facere non potestis…pretium…” “Don’t talk your dead languages at me, O’Rourke.”
People love the Latin jokes.
Feel free to a little of what you’ve been reading or writing in the comments. Have a great weekend!
Hi everyone! Regular readers may remember my blog feature, the Friday Fifteen, in which I’d post five to fifteen book reviews in fifteen words or fewer. It was a lot of fun to put together these microreviews of books I’d been reading and books I’d read years ago, but eventually it got kind of draining. I took off some time to reassess and now I’m back with a new Friday Fifteen format.
The new Friday Fifteen format:
So now, onto the first incarnation of the Friday Fifteen v. 2.0. (Or version 3.0?):
Reading: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
First book written for adults in while that’s touched me. Lived up to the recommendations.
Writing: When I blinked again, she said, “Seriously, how do we ever have a conversation?”
Digging these characters’ banter in my current WIP.
Feel free to share your own microreviews or WIP snippets in the comments. Happy Friday!
Happy Friday, everyone! And happy September! Summer kind of flew by and, as you may have noticed, I’ve been a slightly delinquent blogger. Part of that was working on my WIP, which I finally finished! (Well, you know, I finished the draft, but that means diving into revisions and polishing everything up.)
But another part of that is being a little burnt out by stuff like the Friday Fifteen. Even bumping it down to five reviews a week instead of fifteen has been hard over the past few months. So I’m thinking–maybe it’s time to restructure Fridays a little. I’m toying with the idea of making the Friday Fifteen a biweekly or monthly post, and mixing in other recurring threads on the other Fridays.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments. At least for today, we’ve got a regular Friday Fifteen. Onto the book reviews in fifteen words or fewer!
1. Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma
Beautifully written and delightfully creepy. Another to add to my literary YA list.
2. The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
Growing things takes dedication and patience. Which may be why I’m bad at gardening.
3. A House Like a Lotus by Madeleine L’Engle
Not my favorite of the L’Engles. The Athenian setting stands out for me the most.
4. The Haunted House (Sweet Valley Twins #3) by Francine Pascal
Jessica thinks the new girl is a witch, is mean to her, surprising no one.
5. Good Enough by Paula Yoo
Sweet and funny and genuine. Special place in my heart for Patti’s church youth group.
Happy Friday, everyone! Time for a few book reviews in fifteen words or under. Onto the reviews!
1. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
I want Lola’s wig collection. The family dynamic stuff was unexpected and touching.
2. Stories of Anton Chekhov Paperback by Anton Chekhov
People died, there was a dog. Read this in a really bad English class.
3. The Witch’s Eye by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Lynn finds Mrs. Tuggle’s glass eye, gets possessed by it. Scared me most in series.
4. Mary Anne’s Bad-Luck Mystery (The Baby-Sitters Club, #17) by Ann M. Martin
Mary Anne would totally be the person to forward all the forwards.
5. Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
How did this woman not get fired all the time?
Happy Friday, everyone! I can’t believe it’s already the first of August. My brain is still back in June. Let’s catch up with some fifteen-word (or fewer) book reviews.
1. Molly Saves the Day (American Girls: Molly #5) by Valerie Tripp
After I read this, I asked my parents, “Have you ever heard of D-Day?”
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home (Season 8, #1) by Joss Whedon
Only season 8 graphic novel I’ve tried. Weird to see the characters after the finale.
3. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol I: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson
Brilliant. One of the YAs I recommend to people who don’t think YA is literary.
4. Micro Fiction: An Anthology of Fifty Really Short Stories ed. by Jerome Stern
Read in a class I took on flash fiction. Some were a couple of paragraphs.
5. Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
One of those books that you remember and think “Oh, that was kind of racist.”