It’s back to school time here in my neck of the woods. As a Mom, that means remembering things like keeping Goldfish crackers stocked (oops!), locating lost water bottles, homework (ugh) and basically a whole different routine from our laid-back summer days.

Both myself and the kiddos read a ton this Summer, not only because of the Summer Reading Challenge we did through the local library, but just because we love it. As a writer, reading different genres like kid’s books, mysteries, and period pieces, helps to stretch the ‘ol noodle too. Here we go!

Kid Books

“UGH. Well at least that’s done.” That’s what I said when my daughter and I finally finished the last book in The Land of Stories series.

Now as an Indie Author, part of me doesn’t want to put bad book karma out there in the literary universe, but I also have to be honest. Dude. Daughter and I both hated this book.

We’ve been trying to finish this series, but we’ve been so bored. The first couple of books were ok, but felt like reading fan fiction of the TV show “Once Upon A Time” (which I really love, but yikes). There were times when we’d be reading and I’d pause and say, hmm, haven’t I seen that somewhere before…

Like the previous book An Author’s Odyssey, which introduced somewhere around 30 new characters, on top of 100 (ish) others, this book became so convoluted. Tropes and ridiculous characters added for no reason.

0 stars if I could. Sorry. That may seem harsh. But it’s honest, and even my 8-year-old agreed. You can read my whole review and see my author page (if this hasn’t messed up my book karma) on Goodreads.  

For my Son and I, we’re really getting into Where the Red Fern Grows. The time period of the Great Depression has made for some interesting discussions with my 7 year-old-boy (“Why would he want to hunt raccoons?” “Why’s the kid not wearing shoes out in the forest?”). More to come.

Marathon of Reading

I must be getting faster at reading because I have finished three books since my last reading update, and have two in my current read list that I’m bouncing back and forth with.

Like I mentioned in July, The Book of Gothel was amazing. The characters were deep and interesting. I loved the retelling of Rapunzel from the “witch’s” point of view. Without saying too much, then ending left me satisfied. A great read.

I also read a fun steampunk novel by indie author Jessica Piro called Thieving Shadows. This one was darker. I did love the mix of mystery with the fantasy. There is great worldbuilding in this one too. The author has called this a standalone novel, but I would totally read another book set in Rookfall. Pick this one up if you enjoy steampunk books.

And another one! Just finished the other day a novella by Emma Donovan called These Lying Dreams, a twist on Sleeping Beauty set in the 1920’s in England. I really enjoyed Donovan’s book The Victory Party, so reading this book was an easy choice. And I would have read more, but it was a novella. I’ll be keeping a look out for any more of her works!

What’s next?

Other than my TBR which you can check out on my Author page of Goodreads, I recently purchased an issue of the quarterly magazine Alta. For those outside CA, “Alta” refers to Alta California, the opposite of Baja California, or the Golden State as we are called. ☀️ There’s so much to unpack in this magazine. It’s not quick reading. Alta includes longer articles, literary criticism, investigations, art, culture, etc. And as a proud Californian (Don’t Poke the Bear), I’m really loving this magazine.

Next on the writing front: still hammering away on my short story related to The Mark of the Artist. I let my Daughter take a sneak peek and she gave it a thumbs up 👍🏼! More coming on this story!

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Well, good luck to all the other parents out there as school gets underway. Hopefully we all can keep our sanity while figuring out where the lunchboxes went!