i'm not really gonna set a specific amount of books or a time frame, but i decided that im going to do tons of reading...
because its fun, because it will help my writing, because I'll be doing it for me and i dont do things like that enough.

I started with david sedaris's "Me Talk Pretty One Day"
I liked it a lot, i read it in 3 days....

I bought "I know this much is true" by Wally Lamb-- i read another one of his books when I was 15 and i loved it.. i read the first 20 pages and im totolly into te book, but i dont have enough time to commit to it right now, so i think its gonna live on my bookshelf until i have a rainy day or somethin.. or maybe winter vacation--but thats not for a while....

so, i borrowed Tuck Everlasting from the kid i babysit for and read it ---yeah, i know its a kids book, but i wanted to know the story.... i really liked it, i wanna see the movie... so that doesnt really qualify as reading a book, but avctually the writer is awesome for a kids writer, i have a great vocab and she used some words i didnt even know...

OKay,next real book, i borrowed "White Oleander" yesterday from the mom of the kid i sit for...
I'm on page 253.... i started last night.. im gonna put in another half hour tonight.. ill finish tomorrow im sure...
see, thats the problem with me and reading..if it's interesting, i'll want to read it in one sitting,but of course thats a ridiculous goal,so ill be glued to it for a few days and i'll take more time from my schedule of other stuff- like studying, and just be engrossed in the book.... So yeah, i need to see this movie... i think i;ll go this weekend.. my mom wants to see it to, but i wouldnt go with her.... not to see this movie...

i finished White Oleander tonight and borrowed another book from the mom of the girl i sit for

"The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold
on page 48 and so engaged in the book.... i'll be done by the weekend...

oh and i so must see white oleander this weekend, i think ill try to go by myself on saturday or sunday morning...

done with the lovely bones... i dont think i've ever read a 300 page novel that fast before--- or at least not within 24 hours...

all i have to say about that book is...wow... seriously, read it-- go to your bookstore right now....the bad thing about borrowing all these books is that i know im gonna have to go out and buy them... i need my own copy to reread and scrawl things in the margins...

i watch a lot of tv, and i dont always even pay that much attention to it, but it pretty much lives in the On position...
when you are surrounded with that much crap (not that it is all crap,but a lot of it honestly is) anyways, you forget how much more richness you get from reading a well written story...

i have a feeling im ready to get past page 228 on my novel--- where i've been for a while...

now added to the "DOne" list are

James patterson's book, "Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas"
major tear jerker

also, "The Nanny Diaries"
One of the best books I've ever read. AWESOMENESS..no wonder everyone's talking about it

Ijust borrowed "Apaches" by Lorenzo Carcaterra...
his book Sleepers is one of my favorites... even though the movie wasnt good..the book was very stirring and im hoping this authors other book was great also... but i dont have a lot of time to put into it right now

i also need to read all the harry potter books....

In my personal opinion all the Harry potter books are some of the coolest stories ever written. it so reminds me of the chronicles of narnia stories like the lion the witch and the wardrobe. Not really because they are all that similar beyond the whole fantasty aspect but because I get the same feeling now in my 20's reading H.P books as I did when i was 8 and reading C.O. N.
I would definatly recommend them all and number 4 rocks..LOL

Originally posted by Shelter
In my personal opinion all the Harry potter books are some of the coolest stories ever written. it so reminds me of the chronicles of narnia stories like the lion the witch and the wardrobe. Not really because they are all that similar beyond the whole fantasty aspect but because I get the same feeling now in my 20's reading H.P books as I did when i was 8 and reading C.O. N.
I would definatly recommend them all and number 4 rocks..LOL

imo they are super cool as well. I just finished the second book. LOVED IT! cant wait to see the movie.
last week i finished the first book and watched the movie. wow. i cant wait to read the next two.

okay, so i'm still reading htat wally lamb book, i'm only in a little over a humndred pages... its a SLOOOOWWW read.. but its very good writing... just a big time commitment.

just finished I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.
She's brilliant. I knew I'd love her book.

300 pages (out of 900 pages) done of Wally Lamb's book. Its long, but i'll finish it somehow. Meanwhile, I think I'll start another book as well.

Also, I read all four Harry Potter books. Loved em. Especially 3 and 4.

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
I read it yesterday.. all of it. I like reading books in one day--or a few days when i can. It's like watching a movie.. you want to know what happens-- if it's a good book anyways.

Now I'm reading Sula by Toni Morrison. I started tonight.. i'm a third through it... i'll probly finish tonight... but i want to work a little on my own writing too. I havent really sat down to work on my novel for a while. hmm. actually... i have a few times, but if i feel like i'm not gonna be able to do any quality writing at that time, i usually just say, hey, i need to write at a time where i feel like i can write... I'm hoping all this reading will spark a major writing binge like last year. that was great.

i also want to write other stuff... short stories.. or screenplays. and i have some things i wrote this semester to fine tune and then submit places. *sniffs the air for the stench of rejection* well, I'll see howthat goes. I'm kinda afraid to taint my love of writing with any rejection. Even if someone likes my work, i'm sure i'll get my share of "thanks, but no thanks" and the thing is, I havent had ANY of that with my writing.

I mean, the people who've read my stuff... first there's been my family, but they are biased, so that doesnt count much. except my sister Jaime, cause she tells me when things dont work (whether its an acting thing, an outfit, or an essay and she almost always likes my writing...

then there are the people who've read snippets of my novel.
Carlshawn-- one of my favorite people. he read the first 100 pages and loved them. and this is NOT someone who uses the word "love" loosely. I respect that about him. I myself use the word love a lot.. i sign a lot of letters, Love... if i love someone, i can tell them. But, Carl... carl only says things he means. i miss him. it sucks that he lives in NY.

okay, then Danny Chesler-- a high school bud--who will hopefully be at my school next semester. He read what i had of my novel in 12th grade. how weird to think of how long ago that was. Anyways.. it was like 9 pages.. or 11.. I don't know. It was handwritten back then. We were in the half filled drama room and i handed it to him and i made him go into the adjoining room that we called the #5 room (after the #5 key *shrug*) he came out 10 or 15 minutes later and looked me in the eye and nodded approvingly, telling me it was intense. He also wouldn't have said that if he didn't mean it.

then there is my fake little sister.. uhh dont ask. but she is a younger friend and she read probly the first 40 or 50 pages.. she liked it. genuinely, but somehow it went over her head. which is weird.. because its quite straighforward.

i feel like i'm forgetting someone. oh yeah... duh. Rachel. she read the first hundred pages... I was really disappointed that she just said, "I liked it". I think she thought positively of my writing. I think she was a little unsure of what to say about the subject matter.

so, thats it for the novel. Then teachers... The ones that stay in my mind.. Actually, there are a bunch now.

Mr Castaneda--- 11th grade history teacher-- i transferred out of his class, he was a major punk, and he graded brutally, but even if he gave my essay a D for historical content, he commented on my writing style.

Mr. Gilbert --12th grade, creative writing. that was such a fun class. he was a very critical teacher, he didn't go around telling kids how interesting or great their stuff was, unless he really liked it. He liked my stuff... it was good times.

Prof. Tannenbaum--- sophomore year at Pierce College, creative
writing. --another critical teacher... i kept my papers with his comments and when i read them over a few months ago i couldnt believe how nice the comments were.

Mona... my professor from this semester-- narrative writing.
Great comments.. and more than any other teacher-- helpful. She is great at figuring out what you need to make a story better. I'm takin class again this semester-- Whee! I can't wait.

Prof. Gutierrez (Media Writing) Csun, this past semester-- he really liked my work. not everone aced that class.. but i did. The only thing was that i wanted some criticism and all he had was pretty much, good this, good that... but it's still very nice to get an A... very very nice.

So, these people are the ones i've gotten the most feedback from in my very short writing career. My, up to this point, untainted writing career. But I'm glad I've been able to build this confidence. That way i have the confidence to know i am capable and creative and that I CAN and have written quality work.. but i dont have an ego, because, what can i brag about until i get published? Lots of people can write well, i reckon. But man, that urge to get published is really brewing in me... and more and more, its becoming something i want to pursue. Whether or not i end up "minoring" in writing along with Majoring in film, i will pursue this.. just like i planned when i was younger.

just finished Sula.
All i can say is OH.... MY... GOD. That book was just... I've never read anything remotely like it. I also have a copy of Beloved, so I can't wait to read that. The thing about Morrison is that she writes very densely. But i like that. Like, other authors, you can read their stuff through very quickly, without much attention. almost like the amount of attention you'd pay to a television, but with Morrison, you need to pay attention. If you dont, you'll get lost and more importanty, you'll miss out.

I think next will be "What Looks like crazy on an ordinary Day."
last night i watched the last Oprah's Book CLub episode (i taped it when it went on) and they talked about sula in it, and every other book she'd ever had on. I'm SO glad i have that on tape-- the authors say some pretty incredible things about writing on there.

I wrote a little last night too. Not so much, maybe a page or two. But i think it was a good page or two and isn't that what matters anyways? hopefully i'll do some more writing tonight.

"What Looks Like Crazy on an ordinary day... " is definitely giving The Nanny Diaries and White Oleander a run for their money for the superlative of my new favorite book...

This one was just... man. I think the author might be my new favorite. We write about very different subject matters, but she is right on the nose in terms of the way i write-- the right mix of humor and seriousness... the right tempo. The length (241 pages) was good because i could read it in one day, pretty easily. Wow. I gotta get her other books. I need to start a thread so i can put up some quotes from the book.

"The Rapture of Canaan"
I just started it an hour ago and i'm not picking it up again till tomorrow. It is very impressive on the engaging meter... i expect it will get even better. I gotta enjoy this reading for leisure thing while i have nothing to read for school. :) also, i think it makes me less stressed out--especially if it's a good read- and a certain kind of read. If someone puts a sentence just the right way you need to hear it... it can change your life. I love that. I want to write things that make people look at the world differently. I'm going to go work on my novel in a bit. I wrote about 5 pages last night. *happy dance* and i left off at a place i can work from as opposed to something i'm stuck on.

The Rapture of Canaan was excellent. I will definitely reread that one.

I also just read "The Reader". It was really good. and profound even.

i've read a whole bunch of books lately-a lot of them in the last week.. and they seem to usually fall into categories.

the rapture of canaan was profound and amazing and heartbreaking, but also very enjoyable to read... and exciting.

the reader went a little slower. it was only about 200 pages, but it was divided into 3 sections. the first went very fast and the others didn't drag, but they were undeniably slower, though it is kind of impressive how the timeline of the book is parallel to the pace.