Books again!

For the next few weeks we are doing another round of theme weeks, each based on something that each of us is interested in. So, as expected, this week it’s that old favourite, BOOKS.

I’ve been meaning to link to my goodreads profile here for a while so I thought I’d link you to my favourite books page and you can see the books that missed out on featuring in this post.

Favourite Books

Now, I know this is such a broad subject but again, this is why I’ve linked to my goodreads page so you can see what missed out. I’ve gone for top 4, but if you look on my goodreads and want me to do a post about a specific book in my favourites list, please let me know in comments.

#1: The Absolutist by John Boyne (published 2011.) This is probably my favourite book at the moment and I’ve only read it once. I really want to re-read it but also feel it may lose something in a repeat reading, though this is a chance I’m willing to take. Set both during and after the First World War, we see Tristan Sadler meeting with the sister of one of his war friends, Will Bancroft to give her some old letters. But it is about so much more that the delivery of old letters and we slowly learn the true nature of the relationship and reasons behind what happened. I love this book so much because John Boyne sent the characters off in a completely different direction to where I was expecting them to go and there’s one line in this book, which is really the absolute breaking point for everyone involved, that I still think about to this day. And I read it in 2011.

#2: Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian (published 1981.) I don’t know what I would do if I met someone who didn’t like Goodnight Mister Tom. I read this at the age of 12 or 13 in a year 9 English class with a teacher we all disliked. I think the book captured everyone in the class though because we’d come into the lesson and people would sit and whisper, “I know what happens next. I’ve read the next chapter already!”. I loved this book so much as a 13 year old that I made my mum buy me my own copy so I could read the rest. I think we also watched the TV adaptation which (while not perfect) is so wonderful, and if they ever, god forbid, remake it they will never get a Tom Oakley as good as John Thaw. My main problem with the TV version is how little they give Zach to do when in the book he is the funniest, brightest and one of the most interesting characters. This was remedied in the stage production though, which I saw with my fellow blogger Jon several years ago in Chichester. I think this was the book that sparked my interest in historical fiction too. More on that later.

#3: The Swallow and the Dark by Andrew Matthews (published 2005.) The only other person I actually know who has read this book is my mum. I couldn’t find a good picture of it so I had to take my own. But it is still such a good books. Very short and sometimes a bit… twee but it does leave me feeling bereft and questioning myself for ages afterwards which is probably why I don’t read it that often. The basic premise is that the main character Sam is diagnosed with a (fictional) terminal illness and he starts imagining himself as a lieutenant in the First World War. The goodreads summary is better than I can explain at the moment, so click here to see that. For a children’s book it throws up a lot of interesting questions.

#4: Journey’s End by R.C. Sherriff (published 1929, first performed 9th Dec. 1928 with Laurence Olivier as Stanhope.) Not strictly a book, but this is my list so I make the rules. I have many favourite theatre productions, but this probably sits high on the list. Journey’s End doesn’t rely on spectacle (There is one set. That’s it.) but instead relies on the truthfulness of real, human interaction to draw you in. And it does. This was another school text, this time read at GCSE level and I think I got to the point where I was annoyed that no one seemed to be taking it that seriously. I actually have the same edition that we used at school because it has discussion points and a list of further reading, though these days I could probably write my own. I’ve probably drawn a lot of inspiration for my novel from this play without realising it. There is also a novelisation written by R.C Sherriff which tells the story before the play as well. I do own a copy but it is very old and falling apart and I’m reluctant to read it in case it does fall apart! This play is probably the sole reason I’ve ended up writing a whole novel about the First World War. Without R.C. Sherriff, who knows what my book would be about?

Favourite books!

I’d love to hear yours, please let us know in comments!

Lil

Late one again this week, sorry.

Next week we are starting a new ‘project’ where each week we will all write about the same thing, each one of us choosing the topic each week. I’m not sure how long this will go on for but if there is anything you, our readers, want us to talk about, let us know in the comments.

So, after last week and finishing the book, I am feeling a tad uninspired. A new idea is sort of bubbling around my head but mainly only vague ideas and a few lines here and there but I don’t really want to start it until I’ve finished some of the other projects I’ve started over the last few years. I keep starting things and not finishing them and its getting rather annoying.

I started something for a uni module called Writing the Novel that I want to finish and I want to finish this years nano failure and last years nano follow up. I’m sure there are several other things on my list that need finishing (my failed children’s novel!) but I will get on with that at some point.

I have an ideas notebook that keeps getting ideas put in for novels, plays, TV scripts and sometimes just ideas with no saying which format I want them to take. I want to write in lots of different medias because I think it’s interesting to see how the process works in different formats. As I’ve mentioned before the thing I really want to write is a play but its finding the right idea that works in that format that’s the hard part.

That’s all for this week, hope to be back next week with a bit more substance,

Lil

Currently reading: The Bellwether Revivals, British History for Dummies and The Longest Journey.

Since last time, I have found out that I didn’t get into the master’s degree that I applied for, so that ongoing saga has come to a close. I am looking into other options though, so don’t think this is the last you’ve heard of my education adventures.

Another ongoing saga that has come to a close (for now) is my novel. I stressed about it last week, but last Friday I sat down and finished it. If finishing a book means changing a pivotal plot point right at the last minute, then that’s apparently how I do it. Characters motivations have shifted slightly and I think this is the best version of the book there has been so far. Which is good.

It’s strange to think how much the book has changed since the summer of 2010 when I started it. It’s come a long way. The premise has stayed mostly the same but quite a lot of the characters have either changed in motivation, for example, one who didn’t really have a valid reasons for his actions, or have come stronger in their characterisation. One character was there simply to serve a purpose, which really isn’t good. While every single character does not need extensive backstory and a lot of time to shine, if they are there for a reason (which  they really should be) flesh them out a little.

Reading wise, I am battling through E.M Forster’s The Longest Journey. I say battling because while it is really, really well written it is dragging just a little. Every now and then something so good will crop up though so I’m hoping I can stick with it. I have a pile of books on my bedroom floor that I don’t have shelf space for, even though I got rid of a lot of books to make shelf space. Never mind!

I am also reading British History for Dummies, because while I know a lot about one specific time period, the rest of my history knowledge is not that great. I really enjoyed history at school but as I was never encouraged to carry it on to GCSE (something which makes me angry to this day) I didn’t pick it up again until AS level, which I failed miserably. I sometimes wish I had done it through GCSE and A level and studied it at university, but you never realise these things until you look back on them. There’s still plenty of time for me to brush up though.

That’s all for now,

Lil

Sorry this is so late this week!

Originally I was going to do another photo post of the new books I have bought recently, but the fact I’ve now bought some more and that I haven’t got them off my camera means that will have to wait for another week.

I’m not really sure what to write about this week as I have no structure in my posts (something I may have to remedy.) I’m trying in vain to finish my book, which at the moment has stalled to a stop (again). I’m really annoyed at myself because of this, as when I was writing it for the first time, I was really excited about the story and wanted to write every day and long into the night. Now, I can’t even face opening the word document because I don’t want to see what’s on the other side.

I’ve only got one page of notes to edit and then it should be finished. I say “should” because every time I work on it something else decides it needs editing and usually it’s a problem I hadn’t even noticed before! I find it really irritating because I always think its nearly done and then it hits me that it really isn’t.

I worry about the book, mainly because even after all this time I don’t think it’s that good, or that it’ll never be finished. I can’t face not finishing it because I want to tell this story so badly and I also want to be able to move on and tell other stories. I’ve tried putting it aside and working on other things but I keep telling myself I should be working on the book, on the main project.

I think not having the book finished was one of the reasons I failed so badly at nanowrimo last year. In 2011, we had finished uni and the book was in its “resting” phase (it is apparently a good idea to leave the book a couple of months between drafts, work on something else and come back to it with fresh eyes.) and I managed to finish. Last year I tried to write something I wasn’t really committed to, while knowing I actually should just be finishing the book.

I’m meaning to work on it this week. Lets see how that goes.

Lil

How To Choose What To Read Next

Wow, tricky title.

So, how does one go about choosing what to read next? Sometimes it’s an impulsive grab from the shelf, others its a long, drawn out consideration.

This year I made a list of the books I wanted to read in 2013, which I posted several weeks ago. This list was always allowed for deviation, the books were always just guidance, mostly things I have been putting off (such as the last book in the Young Bond series), or books I have owned for a long time, or things I have started and put to one side (mostly non-fiction).

I have made some progress and ticked Isherwood’s The Memorial and Alan Bennett’s The Uncommon Reader off the list. I also made progress on the Narnia series by reading Prince Caspian. I have started Scott’s Journals, but only made it 13 pages in. Something tells me that trying to read this book, which requires a lot of concentration, in bed was not my smartest idea.

When going to choose the book I was going to read next, I picked up a couple and weighed them up, did I want to read a book I’d bought recently, or something I’d been sitting on for some time, did I want to read something off ‘the list’.

No, apparently not. While browsing the disappointingly small Christopher Isherwood section of my bookshelf, I noticed the even considerably smaller E.M Forster section next to it (it consist of two books, one I have read, one I have not.) and decided to look at The Longest Journey. I skimmed the first page and then took it to read in the bath and so, the book was chosen!

Yesterday, I bought a book based mainly on the cover (it reminded me of the design of The Strangers Child by Alan Hollinghurst) and by the top blurb on the book (the synopsis I later realised was inside the front cover) which mentioned ‘privileged Cambridge students’ and ‘echoes of Brideshead’. I fear I am becoming a little predictable. The book in question is The Bellwether Revivals by Benjamin Wood. I hope I actually get round to reading it this year. I am actually quite glad that I don’t really record what I bought and when otherwise I would feel terribly guilty about not reading something until years after I bought it.

Better get reading,

Lil

THE FUTURE!

Here we are again!

So, last week I was struggling with being an artist. No progress has been made there, but its still early days. I’ll keep working on that.

This week we talk: THE FUTURE.

The future is a terrifying place, but I think with a few carefully laid plans (and back up plans, and back up back up plans) its not all that scary.

At the moment, my life looks something like this: hopefully get a full time job, get into uni for my masters degree, finish my novel.

If any of those things do not pan out (which in the case of the job and the degree are highly likely) I’m looking into going abroad to work at one of the Guiding Centres. I may still even do this one day, lets wait and see.

In other news, I had a little reading slump which, luckily, I got out of by reading children’s books. I read an Enid Blyton book and Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis both in the space of a weekend. Admittedly they were both quite short, but at least I’ve read something. I’m now reading Alan Bennett’s The Uncommon Reader, which is again, very short but really good so far.

I bought a lot of books this week as well (by a lot I mean 6, but still…) and they were 3 Enid Blyton’s (2 from The Naughtiest Girl series and one compilation), Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan, Michael Morpurgo’s The Sleeping Sword, Ellis Peters’ A Rare Benedictine (part of the Cadfael series) and Stone’s Fall by Iain Pears.

Needless to say, these will take up some of my time!

See you next week,
Lil

Confessions of an amateur artist.

This week, I’m going off topic a bit to tell you about the career(s) I had in mind before I decided “Hey, I want to write books!”

When I was in secondary school, I knew a lot of artistic people. Like, really, really artistic people. My best friend at the time had a very artistic family and they always seemed to be working on things (her brother always had comic strips he was working). At the time I was also really into anime and have a lifelong love of both Tintin and Disney. I honestly don’t remember a time in my life when I hadn’t got either of those things in my life.

Naturally, with a bunch of artist friends and all this great artwork around me, I wanted a piece of the action. I did get better as several years passed but I am not the most talented of artists. I’ve worked on the same pose for about 10 years and have only improved a little bit. Recently, when clearing out my desk, I found a lot of art materials that I’d obviously bought all those years ago and never used. I kept them and here’s another 2013 goals: start drawing and painting again.

I used to spend hours drawing and perfecting and at one point was a bit obsessed with Painter Classic and my Wacom tablet on my desktop computer. I think digital art is going to be hard to get back into as my tablet, computer and copy of Painter Classic are so out of date I don’t think any of them actually work any more and I don’t really have the time or money to invest in a new version of any of these! Paper and pencils though, I have in stacks. I have so many empty sketchbooks that need filling!

My one problem, and I find this with writing too, is that every piece of art that I see is so much better than anything I could do (I am, of course, excluding babies drawings from this…), which is a bit annoying but then I think there’s always someone better than you at something no matter what you do.

There are so many things I’d love to do or be better at, so I think started at drawing a bit more is quite easy to achieve. Perhaps I’ll share some one day.

Also, before I mentioned career(s) that I have thought about through time, so here’s a list: journalist (I wanted to be like Tintin, this one lasted a VERY long time), animator/artist/puppeteer/stopmotion-er(my arty phase), writer (now).

Let’s see how I do with the writer thing.

Lil

Pretty books!

So, this post is going to be about books that I find aesthetically pleasing. There are a lot of them.

Click on the pictures to make them larger! Keep going!

Films, plays and thoughts.

So, we reach the second week of 2013 blogging and I’m leaving it a bit late!

How is 2013 going? Good? Lovely.

Today I submitted my master’s degree application and now have to wait until mid-March to hear anything from them. The next two months of the blog will probably be me freaking out about it. I really want to get onto the course, mainly because I feel I have so much more to learn. The course I have applied for doesn’t just focus on fiction, but on screenwriting, playwriting and poetry as well. I have always wanted to write a play (I’m sure I mentioned it on here a long time ago) but have no idea how to go about it. The formatting is probably much the same as a film but the technique is very different.

I may have talked about this before but for me the main difference between film and plays, is perhaps obviously, the camera. When acting on stage you have to make up to 1000 people (in the biggest of theatres) believe every word that you’ve said, even if they can’t really see your face, whereas in cinema, every single emotion is captured as closely as possible. My favourite example of this (and I’m sorry I can’t supply a link, but you’ll have to take my word on this one.) is Samuel Barnett from The History Boys saying that when he played Posner at the National Theatre he had to exaggerate every emotion and over play it a little so that the 890 people seated in the Lyttleton auditorium could see it (in sense), when it came to making the film, he had to concentrate the character right down because otherwise the character would seem far too over the top.

Writing and directing these things is probably much the same as you have to write the characters slightly differently. On stage a character may have to shout, cry or wave their arms around to show emotion but on screen, with the right actor, a close up (or any focus on character) can show the same thing. Focus on the eyes can relay any number of emotions that can’t be captured on stage in quite the same way.

It would be interesting to write the same story as a play and then as a film, or probably more challenging if done the other way around. I actually have the film and play scripts of The History Boys, which is and always will be my favourite example in this situation, so I may have to compare them one day.

Right, that’s enough from me,

Lil

Currently reading: The Memorial by Christopher Isherwood
Captain Scott’s Journals.

2013!

Here we are again for another year of fun! Early this week I made a list of books I want to either read or finish this year, so I thought I would share that with you today!

I will try and keep you all updated on my progress!

Books in 2013.

By Royal Command by Charlie Higson
Finish A War of Nerves by Ben Shepherd
At least one book by P. G. Wodehouse
The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard
The Last Expedition by Captain Robert Falcon Scott
Start Christopher Isherwood’s diaries
For The Sake of Example by Anthony Babington
At least one book by Evelyn Waugh
Re-read – if possible – Brideshead Revisited and/or The Absolutist
Finish C. S. Lewis’ Narnia series
Finish The Great War and Modern Memory by Paul Fussell
Finish T.H White’s The Once and Future King (or Sword in the Stone at least)
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
One James Bond book by Ian Fleming
The Memorial by Christopher Isherwood

This list looks a lot more intimidating when written out as a list than it did as bullet points on my phone!

I’m also aiming to read 50 books this year as I managed 40 last year, and ten more isn’t really that many more. Is it?

And I know this is really, really old news but I might actually finish my book this year. My fellow writers on this blog know how long I’ve been working on it, so they probably aren’t surprised that I’m still working on it!

See you all next week!

Lil

Currently reading: Captain Scott’s Diaries.