Y is for Yes, More T.S. Eliot

Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I know I've mentioned this already, but I do love T.S. Eliot. His poetry isn't the kind that you understand right away. It's not light reading, but it's beautiful.

Four Quartets is, without a doubt, my favorite of his collected poetry that I've read so far. Wasteland was beautiful, wild, crazy, and deep, but Four Quartets is much more soulful. It was also written after his conversion to the Anglican church, so it has a lot of religious and spiritual themes, a lot more than Wasteland did.

The book is arranged into four separate poems: Burnt Norton, East Coker, The Dry Salvages, and Little Gidding.

When reading T.S. Eliot, my routine is usually this:

•  Read once, just listening to and enjoying rhythm and sounds of words
•  Read again, this time looking for the meaning
•  Read the third time, trying to make sure I understood the right meaning
• Read again, understand enough to move on

That's actually a lot like how you're supposed to read the Bible. Read, digest, read, digest.

I'll leave you with some bits of poetry from the book:

The wounded surgeon plies the steel

That questions the distempered part;

Beneath the bleeding hands we feel

The sharp compassion of the healer’s art

Resolving the enigma of the fever chart.

Our only health is the disease

If we obey the dying nurse

Whose constant care is not to please

But to remind us of our, and Adam’s curse,

And that, to be restored, our sickness must grow worse.

- From East Coker

I said to my soul, be still and wait without hope,

For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love,

For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith,

But the faith and the love are all in the waiting.

Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:

So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.

- From Burnt Norton

For most of us, there is only the unattended

Moment, the moment in and out of time,

The distraction fit, lost in a shaft of sunlight,

The wild thyme unseen, or the winter lightning

Or the waterfall, or music heard so deeply

That it is not heard at all, but you are the music

While the music lasts. 

- From The Dry Salvages

We shall not cease from exploration, 

And the end of all our exploring 

Will be to arrive where we started 

And know the place for the first time.

- From Little Gidding

Have you read any T.S. Eliot? Have a favorite book of poetry? Have a fixed way of reading poetry? Hate poetry? Love poetry?

Let me know by commenting!

S is for Seven Books

I've read a lot of books on writing, but only a few have really impacted the way I think. 

Here are seven books that changed my perspective on writing:

Invisible Ink: A Practical Guide to Building Stories That Resonate by Brian McDonald

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is probably the best book on screenwriting I've read. I read it twice in a row the first time I picked it up, and I don't normally do that (especially with writing books). In clear, accessible terms, Brian McDonald explains the reasoning behind the choices that writers make - the "invisible ink" that holds the story together.

The Lively Art of Writing by Lucile Vaughan Payne

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of the earliest books on writing that I read, and I really enjoyed it. It focuses on essays (the forms and how to craft arguments) and how to write descriptions, use active voice, and what to avoid when writing. It's one of my very favorite books.


The Elements of Story: Field Notes on Nonfiction Writing by Francis Flaherty

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I stayed up much too late reading this book. The length of the chapters made it easy to read just one more.

Francis Flaherty believes that every article, whether it's about finance or medicine or anything in between, is a story, with actors who feel things and do things, and the key to good writing is to identify and bring out the human elements.

The book, though aimed mostly at journalists, contains practical advice on crafting interesting stories that all writers can use. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone writing non-fiction.

Screen Teen Writers: How Young Screenwriters Can Find Success by Christina Hamlett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very easy-to-read, informative book on screenwriting (geared toward teens). It inspired me to read more books on writing.

The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers by John Gardner

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I believe this was the first book on writing I ever read, and I still have fond memories of it. A good book on the "art" of fiction. He uses a metaphor that I wholeheartedly agree with - that a story should be like a "dream" for the reader, and that you want to do everything possible to keep them in the dream and not disturb them by putting yourself or anything unnecessary in the story.

77 Reasons Why Your Book Was Rejected by Mike Nappa

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An excellent book on how to (as far as possible) avoid rejection. The author can sometimes be a little harsh (he even apologizes for it at the end of the book) but most of the time it's on topics that writers need to hear. I would highly, highly recommend this book for anyone who's serious about getting published.

The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script by David Trottier

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A well-written, comprehensive book on screenwriting. It taught me a lot about writing dialogue and crafting tight narratives, as well as the terms, rules, and general observances of screenwriting. I would highly recommend it, right after Invisible Ink.

What are some books that changed your perspective on writing?

M is for Mysteries of Udolpho

The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"Emily gazed long on the splendours of the world she was quitting, of which the whole magnificence seemed thus given to her sight only to increase her regret on leaving it; for her, Valancourt alone was in that world; to him alone her heart turned, and for him alone fell her bitter tears.”

When I first read Northanger Abbey I thought that the Gothic novel referenced in the book, Mysteries of Udolpho, was made up.

Then, a couple of years later, I decided to see if it was real. Lo and behold, it was! I downloaded it for free off Project Gutenberg (link to the book here) and began to read it.

Emily St. Aubert is a young lady who lives with her parents in a villa in Gascony. Having a father who quit "society" to live a secluded life in the country, her daily activities consist in taking long walks in the woods, playing the lute and singing, reading and writing romantic poetry, reading romantic authors, and fainting in random spots.

No, just kidding about that last one. Fainting is more of a weekly occurrence for Emily than a daily one.

Then, after living their happy peaceful lives, tragedy strikes. Emily's mother becomes ill and dies (for reasons of which I'm still not sure) and, after some fainting, weeping, and sighing, she and her father decide to go on a vacation to help her father's ailing health.

After wandering around the Pyrenees for a while, admiring the views, painting, sketching, writing and reciting romantic poetry, and sighing over the beauty of the mountains, they run into a hitchhiker traveler named Valancourt, who is also wandering around the Pyrenees admiring the views.

Obviously, they get on well together, and they wander around and sigh over beauty (with Emily and Valancourt exchanging a few shy looks) until Valancourt decides to go his own way.

Then Emily and her father wander and sigh at the beautiful mountains some more (with a little bit of sighing over how Valancourt would love to look at these mountains) when their carriage is pursued by a lone horseman.

Monsieur St. Aubert is frightened - he thinks perhaps they are being chased by banditti - so he whips out his pistol and shoots the rider, who just happens to be... Valancourt!

The gun shot only broke his arm, however, and he is forced to stay with them a little longer and alas, has to be taken care of by Emily. What a tragedy.

Of course, they fall deeply in love, before Valancourt, after being healed, must rejoin his regiment, from which he was on leave.

Emily and her father are making their way home when Monsieur St. Aubert worsens, and they must stay in a villa (which holds a mysterious secret), until Monsieur St. Aubert dies. There is much weeping and sighing, and Emily almost decides to join a convent, but decides to go home instead.

Now that you've read this far you may skip book one and start directly with book two.

No, I'm serious. The novel is divided into four "books," and what I just described all takes place in the first book, accompanied by page after page after page of description and detail.

The second book is where the action really starts to happen. In fact, the entire novel could have started with the second book, instead of providing us with the immense backstory of the first.

In the second book, Emily goes to live with her aunt (who enjoys "society!" Oh the horror.) Emily's undiscerning aunt marries a rich man named Montoni. Surprise, surprise, Montoni is an evil Italian banditti lord who lives in the secluded Castle Udolpho, where he takes his new wife and niece.

This is where the book starts to get exciting. A great portion of the scenes inside Castle Udolpho had me holding my breath as Emily escaped danger after danger, discovered a mysterious secret, was held captive, was threatened, sighed, fainted, and wept.

Through it all, the only thing that keeps her going is that somewhere Valancourt is waiting for her, and her hope that someday they will be reunited.

For all I've made fun of it, Mysteries of Udolpho was a fun book to read, if a little tiring at times.

Emily is a strong heroine (despite all the fainting) and is intelligent, opinionated, and brave. Valancourt is a little more flawed - a little sappy and foolish - but he's all right as a character. Montoni is a truly good villain - I mean he's really good at being bad. He's frightening by being cool and calm and in control.

There is some really good suspense, but it's often disrupted by Anne Radcliffe's pageful of description of details that we don't really need, or interrupted by one of Emily's long poems that she recites for the reader's sake, poetry that has nothing whatsoever to do with the story.

I need to read Northanger Abbey again, because I can appreciate it more now that I've read the book it makes fun of.

It seems to me that Mysteries of Udolpho was the Twilight of its time, spawning a whole genre of copycat Gothic novels (none of which I'm planning to read!)

Someday I would really like to edit or abridge(or read an edited or abridged) Mysteries of Udolpho. It's got great potential, but to our modern ear for sparse, to-the-point prose, it just doesn't work.

However, don't let that deter you from reading it. If you can get past or ignore the descriptions, the poetry, and the long, unnecessary dialogue, it's a really fun and thrilling book.

Have you read Mysteries of Udolpho or any other Gothic novel? Have you read Northanger Abbey? Let me know by commenting!

G is for Goodreads Reviews

I love Goodreads. I can search for the book I want, write a review, and then hit "publish to blog" without doing any work. It's so easy that I've decided that every Saturday during the A-to-Z Challenge I'll be reviewing a different book (and publishing it from Goodreads). 

I Serve: A Novel of the Black Prince by Rosanne E. Lortz

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I usually lump historical fiction into two categories: the kind that is mostly fiction with very little history, and the kind that is mostly history with very little fiction.

I Serve falls in between these two categories, leaning slightly more towards mostly history. It's this tendency, I think, that made I Serve a very enjoyable read.

I Serve tells the story of a young squire named John Potenhale who is knighted and becomes the attendant to the Black Prince. The story is set in the 1300's during the reign of Edward III of England. At that time England was involved in the Hundred Years' War with France.

The tale, told by Sir John Potenhale to the widow of a French Knight named Sir Geoffroi de Charny, begins with the English army landing in France. There Potenhale, then a squire serving an old knight named Sir Chandos, fights in his first battle and is knighted. He then becomes a member of the Prince's household.

Soon afterwards the ladies of the court in England visit the English camp in France. Among them is the prince's cousin, the Lady Joan of Kent. It is immediately apparent that the prince favors his lady cousin very much.

While delivering a note to the lady from the prince, Potenhale meets the lady-in-waiting Margery. He is instantly taken with her spirited manner and bright red hair.

Yet the love he desires is long in coming for Sir John Potenhale. Many obstacles stand in the way of his happiness, including the uncouth Sir Thomas Holland, Margery's loyalty to the Lady Joan and even Potenhale's own conscience.

When the Black Death strikes Europe, Potenhale, seeing it as a punishment for the world's sins, considers giving up knighthood and entering a monastery. But then, "torn between losing his soul and losing the love of his life, he finds friendship with a French knight who might - just possibly - help him save both."

I Serve would be an excellent resource for those interested in studying the Hundred Years' War or the Black Death, but it also stands by itself as a novel. Some of the rich descriptions thrust you straight into the action - take for example, the battle of Crecy:

It was no easy matter to reach Warwick. The slope of the hill had liquefied from the rain... I slipped several times in the mud as I dodged here and there to avoid encountering the enemy. One little man-at-arms gave chase, and I was forced to delay my mission to parry his blows. But the mud proved as treacherous to him as it had to me. His legs lost footing, and I drove my sword into the joints of his armor, right where the breastplate meets the helmet.

One of the things I appreciated most about this novel was that Potenhale was a very convincing character. He had fears, joys, and desires that I could identify with, but he was also historically accurate. Too often in historical fiction the main character has a modern mind-set. With Sir John Potenhale, this was not the case.

If you like your historical fiction with more history than fiction (like me) than you should enjoy I Serve. If you want to learn more about the Black Prince, the Hundred Year's War, or the Black Death, then I Serve will provide you with a unique and unforgettable way to see these events. or if you're just looking for a good book to while away an evening - well, what better way than to journey back to 13th century England for a little while?

Intrigued? You can buy the paperback or ebook here.

Also, today on the blog English Historical Fiction Authors Rose wrote a guest post on one of the main romances in the book, the love story of the Black Prince and Joan of Kent. Go check it out!

How do you like your historical fiction? More history, or more fiction? Are you interested in the time period that I Serve is set in? Ever read a book about the Black Prince?

Let me know by commenting! Happy Easter y'all!

Review: Mockingjay

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the Hunger Games trilogy. Real or not real?

Perhaps my four-star rating will tip you off.

Mockingjay opens with the Districts in open rebellion against the Capitol. Katniss is in... a place which I won't name because I don't want to give it away, along with refugees from her district and the rebel leaders. They ask her to become the face of the rebellion - the Mockingjay. Meanwhile, Katniss struggles with PTSD, numerous injuries, her worry over her friends and family, and a feeling of helplessness in the face of the war between the rebels and the Capitol.

The blurb on the book asks the question "will Katniss become the Mockingjay?" which is a much harder choice than it seems.

If Katniss becomes the Mockingjay, that implies that she agrees with everything the rebellion is doing, which she does not. If she refuses to become the Mockingjay, she risks not only being responsible for the loss of the war and the loss of morale, but for anything that happens to her family because of her refusal to join the rebellion.

To top it all off, Peeta Mellark is being held prisoner by the Capitol, and Katniss cannot seem to work out her feelings for Gale.

I think Mockingjay might be my favorite out of all of the books (even despite the violence). There's so much to talk about that I liked, so I hope this review won't be too long/boring.

Review: The Last Olympian

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I wanted to read this book slowly. I didn't want the series to end, or to leave Percy. But I had to find out how everything was resolved. I was hoping that Percy would live, that Luke would be redeemed, that Grover would achieve his purpose, that Annabeth would (finally) figure out who she really loved, and that Kronos would be defeated (practically a given, but still...)

Well, the book didn't disappoint. The action was a little slower than in other books (because there were more battle scenes, all in one place), but the tension was kept up until the very end. There were at least three important deaths, lots of backstory, and one thrilling resolution. The humor persisted throughout the book, putting hilarious twists on even the darker scenes.

My only complaints: the book ruined my two favorite mythological heroes, Sysiphus and Prometheus. Also, Percy encourages the gods to take responsibility for their children; not a bad thing in itself, but it seems to also paint ther continually having illegitimate kids as a good, or at least not a shameful, thing. And then, of course, the whole Greek gods/ illegitimate kids thing is... a bit awkward, to say the least.

But Percy is an amazing protagonist. He's funny, smart (but sometimes clueless) and just overall a likable guy. I liked him better than I ever liked Harry (although that could be due to the series being written in the first person).

Overall, it was an amazing series, one that'd I highly recommend to anyone who wanted a good, funny fantasy story, and a thrilling read.

I might look into Rick Riordan's other Camp Half-Blood series, although I don't think it will be the same without Percy's wonderful narration.

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Review: The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Percy Jackson is a kid who has ADHD, dyslexia, and has gone to six boarding schools in six years. He lives with his mother and his stepfather, since his real father left before he was born. He attends a school for "challenged" kids - a school which he's about to be expelled from... again. But then his math teacher turns out to be a monster - literally - and Percy is thrust into a world he never knew existed - the world of Greek mythology.

I enjoyed this book, more than I was expecting to. There were quite a few laugh-out-loud funny parts. Percy, the narrator, has a really great voice. The author was really great at turning sad/dramatic/gory moments into comically funny ones with one little surprising twist, which steered it away from melodrama.

Of course, being about Greek mythology, it had the Greek gods in it. So, of course, I found some of it to be iffy. For example, when Percy is told that there are Greek gods, he asks, "You mean God exists?" and the centaur, Chiron, says "Well now....God - capital G, God. That's a different matter altogether. We shan't deal with the metaphysical." Which, of course, is wrong. God isn't an abstract matter, but is real - more real than any of us. Also, expressed in the book was the idea that "works" could get you to Heaven... or, in this case, Elysium. People were "tried" in the courts of judgement to see if they had done enough good deeds to go to Heaven. This obviously goes completely against Christian faith.

But, for all of those faults (which I wasn't surprised to find, knowing the subject matter) It was quite a funny book. If you've ever been interested in Greek mythology, I would recommend it for the amusing twists it puts on it. Overall, not as good as Harry Potter, and I don't know if I'll read the next one, or even all of them, but it was a much better book than I was expecting.

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Review: Characters in Action

Characters in Action by Marsh Cassady

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I picked up this book because I was hoping for a more in-depth look at developing characters, like Linda Seger's Creating Unforgettable Characters. It's actually a book on creating characters for plays, so that was a little bit disappointing. However, it did turn out to be a fairly good book on play writing. I would recommend Building Your Play by David Rush before I would recommend this, but it was an amusing book.

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Review: Death Cloud

Death Cloud by Andy Lane

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



Death Cloud was rather disappointing. I picked it up because it's the only teen series endorsed by the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Estate, but it didn't live up to what I was expecting.

It follows the adventures of a 14 year old Sherlock Holmes. He is sent by his brother Mycroft to live at Holmes Manor with his uncle Sherrinford Holmes (which was actually Arthur Conan's Doyle's original name for Sherlock). While there he befriends a street urchin, an American man named Amyus Crowe, and Amyus's daughter Virginia. When two bodies are found dead in the village, Sherlock attempts to solve the murders. This leads him from a creepy mansion on the edge of town, to the dirty streets of London, all the way to France. He uncovers and foils the plot for world-domination of a villain with an odd deformity.

Most of the dialogue was stiff, cliched, and forced. Sherlock as a character was boring. The main love interest, Virginia, was way too independent for her time - even though the book tried to explain it by repeatedly reminding us that she was from America. The villain was extremely disappointing and unbelievable. The housekeeper at Holmes Manor was confusing. About every ten pages we were told "she is no friend to the Holmes family," but the reason was never developed. I'm guessing that it'll be saved for another book, but it was distracting. The entire plot was far-fetched.

On the whole, a rather disappointing read.

Though the author did include little nods to the actual stories, they were few and far apart.



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Review: Beginnings, Middles & Ends

Beginnings, Middles & Ends by Nancy Kress

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This book gives clear, helpful tips on writing beginnings, middles, and ends. The section on beginnings was very thought provoking, and the section on middles delivered some useful advice for anyone who's ever been stuck in the middle of a story (or, in my case, in the middle of multiple stories). I'll definitely be putting the advice in this book to practical use.

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Review: The Elements of Mystery Fiction: Writing a Modern Whodunit

The Elements of Mystery Fiction: Writing a Modern Whodunit by William G. Tapply

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



A fairly good introduction to writing basic mystery fiction. My only two problems with it were the repeated (and annoying) use of the pronoun "she" to refer to the sleuth and "he" to refer to the villain (is the author saying women can't be villains?) and a few spots with bad language (mostly in the excerpts from published mystery books).

The section on collaborations was especially interesting.

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