I survived the launch of A Time to Speak! The pre-ordered paperbacks FINALLY shipped this week and now . . . Amazon is out of stock again. :/ I’ll just assume that means I sold so many, they couldn’t keep them IN stock long enough to change the status on the Amazon page. Still, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and other stores have A Time to Speak in stock. The Lifeway Bookstores should have them on the shelves very soon (if not already.)
But, now that the launch is over and I met my deadline for book three (title reveal coming soon) . . .
. . . it’s time to read.
I read all the time as a kid. I’m sure you did, too. Then I was surprised how hard it was to read books while in college. I figured, when I graduated, I’d have more time. Then I went to grad school, and then I started freelance editing, and then I received a contract offer from Enclave Publishing that included deadlines for books two and three.
All this to say . . . I rarely got to read. And yet, one of the most frequent pieces of advice I heard from other authors was: read all the time! It’s also a piece of advice I give out, too. Why?
- Because you know you want to.
- Because it will help you write better.
- Because . . . why did you want to be a writer in the first place? It probably started with being inspired by a book.
- Because it will show you what your competition is.
If you want to create the best chocolaterie, what do you do? Eat the chocolate at other stores. You immerse yourself in chocolate (no, not literally . . . though that’s tempting.) So if you want to write the best book, you need to immerse yourself in words! In story!
Okay, enough of that.
How did I find time to read?
I scheduled it in. Sounds so drab, doesn’t it? But I turned Saturdays into reading days. Hubby and I agreed to make sure there’s at least one reading night a week. And suddenly I started going through books. One a weekend, sometimes even one during the week and another on the weekend. And I watched my writing grow stronger (not to mention that my imagination got stirred faster than a Kitchen Aid on extra high.)
So I’m posting my reading list for the rest of the year. If I don’t get through all these books . . . *shrug* . . . okay then. If I do . . . awesome! At least I’m trying. Every year I set a goal on Goodreads for a number of books I want to read in a year. It keeps me on track. This year’s goal was 40. I’m at 34!
I’m sharing my list because I hope it inspires you — whether you’re an author or not — to read more and to keep reading and to make it a priority. (Tweet this) Most of the books on my list are in the Young Adult category since that’s what I write and plan to continue writing.
Some books on my reading list aren’t releasing until later this month, or other (like Bellanok by Ralene Burke) are on my Kindle.
Now it’s your turn. What books are on your list to read before the end of the year? (Tweet this) Share the list in the comments! And come back and give a report when you’ve read through some of them! 🙂 Maybe you’ll find a reading buddy below who has the same books on their list as you do!
Definitely planning on getting to Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson and The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riodon! I also was accepted to the King’s Folly launch team for Jill Williamson’s King’s FOlly series! And I have several books for review 🙂 My goal for the year was 100 books and I am currently sitting on 112 😀
Wow! I wish I could read as many books as you do in a year!! Impressive. 🙂
I just started reading Orphan’s Song by Gillian Bronte Adams! Really excited about getting that one read!
Also, I’m part of Tricia Mingerink’s launch team, so will hopefully be reading Deny here soon!! Can’t wait! 🙂 🙂
And then I have Cinderella’s Shoes by Shonna Slayton, and Chivalrous by Dina L. Sleiman waiting on my bookshelf and hoping to be read before the year’s end! 😀
Eep! I spy Cress on your shelf! I’ve read Cinder and Scarlet, and am really excited to continue this series! (Though I’m hoping the rest of the books will be much less violent/gruesome than Scarlet! O.O)
Can’t wait to hear what you think of all those YA books once you read them! Some of them I’m really curious about! 🙂
Deny is fantastic!! I know you’ll love it! 😀 I’ll definitely follow up with my thoughts on these books.
Excellent idea to schedule your reading time. I try to sit down first thing and read and then wind-down at the end of the day with a book as well.
Just finished A Time to Die, so obviously A Time to Speak is on the list. I’ve got a few other YA titles waiting on my Kindle: Impervious, Daughter of Light, Firebird (picked that up for free today on Amazon!) and Siren’s Fury. And I need to start The God Artist by Roma Waterman which isn’t fiction but about how artists can be world changers when they model themselves after the master Creator.
I accidentally read Marissa Meyer’s Winter first so I need to backtrack! And maybe I’ll reread The Philosopher’s Stone – I see it peaking up there from the top shelf 😉
Ooooh, The God Artist sounds really cool! I’ll have to look that up. 🙂
Cool, I read a lot. I probably should do more writing and less reading, but I set my reading goal at 100 at the beginning of the year and now I have completed and exceeded it which I was rather happy about.
Reading is important! And I’m super impressed with your completed reading goal!
YAY! Books are amazing. I can’t wait to read A Time to Speak! I also have on my list Dare and Deny by Tricia Mingerink.
Aww thank you! And Dare & Deny are fantastic! I’m sure you’ll enjoy them.
Dying to read A Time to Speak! I’ve also got Deny by Tricia Mingerink on my list and I am looking forward to Ashes by Laurie Halse Anderson.
Can’t wait for you to read it!! I haven’t heard of Ashes. Hm… *runs to look it up.*
Shadow and Bone and the Throne of Glass series are sooo good!! Definitely two of my favorite series! I’ve been meaning to finish up the Lunar Chronicles, but I’m still trying to wrap up Scarlet and read Cress so I can get to Winter!