Kettles, Bookshelves, and Addictive Literature
How cool is this kettle? I drink about ten cups of tea a day, so this is one of my most treasured Christmas gifts. The past couple days have constisted of reading, writing, editing, and researching literary agents. Since I’ve come down with the first cold I’ve had in years, all of these activities work well while tucked in bed or lounging on the couch.
I’m also thankful to finally have a bookshelf in our living room! We’re packing it with our favorite books and have been on somewhat of a book-buying spree. On Friday we visited Ukazoo Books and took advantage of their “Buy 3 Used Books, Get One Free!” I also picked up a new copy of Cherie Priest’s Boneshaker. Steve found a copy of Margaret Atwood’s book, Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing. This is yet another example of how well he knows me. Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale was a huge influence on my novel, so her writing advice is like a goldmine.
On Saturday, we stopped at Atomic Books, since I couldn’t go another day without Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, book 2 of The Hunger Games trilogy. I’ve learned a lot from Collins. Especially: Set the stakes HIGH. The stakes could not be higher for Katniss Everdeen and that’s why I can’t stop reading it. Plus, it seems like there’s no way out of her predicament, so I’m desperate to find out how she manages to survive her conundrum. I’m sure not everyone likes to read stories like this, but I can’t get enough. At least at the moment, if it’s not life or death, I probably won’t get through the book.
What are you reading?
