Humming Right Along

I'm on my last read of the first book I finished writing before I ask another friend to read it. I'm still trying to cut the length, but it's hard. It's like slowly cutting the fingertips off of my child before moving on to the knuckles. In other words, it's a long, slow, painful process.

The good news is that I'm not finding a lot of mistakes or things that need to be changed. The bad news is that it's still hard to make substantial cuts. The other good news is that I still like the story. I still love my characters and the key scenes. Of course, that's what makes it so hard to find things to cut. Oh, well.

I haven't been able to do a lot of reading during the past week, because work's been busy, so I haven't read at lunch, and it's been hot, which makes me tired and unwilling to do a lot of things, including sitting and reading. But now it's the weekend, so maybe I can make progress on "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell for my book club, which meets in two weeks, or "Anthropology of an American Girl" by Hilary Thayer Hamann, which I'm reading for fun.

I bought "Anthropology," because the title was intriguing and the story borders on my two favorite genres -- women's literature and young adult fiction. Mostly, I bought it because of the blurbs written by reviewers and other writers. One reviewer said it was literary crack. And I'm an addict, so crack's going in my shopping bag.

So far, I'm not in love with the main character, Eveline, but I'm getting there. I'm still intrigued by her story. I want to see where she goes next. And that's what's important, right?

A Little Vacation

You'd think that a vacation would give me time to stop by my blog and write for a few minutes, wouldn't you? Well, you would be wrong.

First, there was the preparation for the vacation -- cleaning and shopping to get ready for a visit from my in-laws. Then there was the actual vacation, which included a trip to the zoo, barbecue, a movie, two days at Disneyland, and a day at the beach. After that, there was the recovery from the vacation, including two days in the office before the three-day weekend. Now, the July 4th weekend is here and I have a cold. Ugh!

So, since I can't sit upright for long without sinus pressure driving me mad, I haven't been able to sit at the computer for long enough to write or edit anything. Argh!

However, I did finish reading "Jane and the Damned" by Janet Mullany. When I read the title and the blurb on the back, I couldn't resist it at Barnes & Noble. It sounded like too much fun to pass up. And it was. Thoroughly entertaining and enthralling. It's about Jane Austen and her brief time as a vampire. How could I not bring it home? Now, I'm going to loan it to a friend who I think will love it. It's not great literature or anything, just pure fun. A nice break from the depressing books I've been reading lately.

Now, what to read next? I'm reading Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers" for my book club, but that's best as a lunchtime-at-work book. I think next I'll read "Anthropology of An American Girl" by Hilary Thayer Hamann. Trying to add some good adult novels in between the young adult books I've read lately.

On that note, I highly recommend "The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)" by Kody Keplinger. Couldn't. Put. It. Down. It was written by an 18-year-old whose book definitely puts my YA novel to shame. And she has a second novel coming out later this year. Oh, to be young(er) and have time on my hands again ...