What’s Up Wednesday: Book of the Month for August Edition
I said last week that I’d do a Book of the Month sometime around the weekend. Well, I decided to combine it with this week’s What’s Up Wednesday. I hope that’s okay with everyone. Thanks! For those who have stumbled onto my blog and are wondering what’s going on, What’s Up Wednesday is a blog meme created by writer-sisters Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help readers and writers keep up with one another. Each week, we respond to four questions and read one another’s answers. That way, we stay in touch, get good book recommendations, and maybe get to know each other a little better. What’s up with me? Let me tell you…
What I’m Reading/Book of the Month for August, 2013
I finished reading THE AGE OF MIRACLES by Karen Thompson Walker, and ended up voting it the best book I read in August. As I mentioned last week, the premise of the book is “what if the Earth’s rotation started slowing down”? The novel explores the effects of this, particularly upon the world of eleven-year-old Julia. Some of the effects are obvious (changes in gravity, longer days, longer nights, etc.), and some perhaps not-so-obvious (climate change due to longer periods of dark/sunlight, birds unable to fly, crop growth hampered by lack of sunlight for extended periods, scheduling nightmares as the number of hours in a day increases, etc.). Indeed, one of the most appealing aspects of the novel is the fact that it takes an abstract, speculative idea, and makes it concrete and tangible. And Karen’s prose is very good, and sucks you right into this world which is familiar, and yet growing more unfamiliar chapter by chapter. The main downside to the book for me was the way Karen handled religion, and her depiction of religious people. I think she could have been a little more even-handed, or not mentioned them at all. I’ve reviewed the book more fully on Goodreads if you’re interested.
I’ve started reading THE LOST WORLD OF GENESIS ONE: ANCIENT COSMOLOGY AND THE ORIGINS DEBATE by John H. Walton. I was intrigued by this having read Dr. Walton’s ANCIENT NEAR-EASTERN THOUGHT AND THE OLD TESTAMENT. Walton is a Christian, and I like his approach to the Old Testament, which both respects the culture in which the texts were written and the Christian conviction that these texts are inspired. I have an inkling of where he’s going to go with regard to Genesis 1, so I’m interested to see what position he takes on this age-old debate, and his reasoning behind it.
What I’m Writing
Revisions to the WIP/first draft. Still making slow progress. Imagine taking a Shakespeare play and going line-by-line, rewriting the text in modern language, or in an odd dialect. That’s a rough analogy to my revision of this WIP, and why it’s taking a long time to do. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer before I’m sending to betas. I love this book, but I’m ready to work on something new.
What Inspires Me Right Now
Nothing specifically. Seeing a page of revisions complete (but not looking at how many pages are still left!), or hearing about 64-year-old Diana Nyad swimming from Cuba to Florida… or even reading a story and having ideas for other stories. So nothing specifically, and everything!
What Else I’ve Been Up To
Nothing strange or startling, as my Mum says. I know it seems boring for me to say “work, church, family” every week, but trust me–none of it is boring. I’m just sure you don’t want to hear all the details. Our homeschool started back this week, as my wife once again faces the challenge of teaching our kids who range from 4th to 12th grade. And my Mum has booked her tickets for a visit in November, which means I won’t be doing NaNoWriMo this year, and I’m perfectly fine with that. Having Mum over for a visit is far more important.
So, what have you been up to this week? See Jaime’s blog to find out how you can join the blog hop, and for a list of participating blogs to visit.
The premise of THE AGE OF MIRACLES sounds fascinating. I’m definitely going to have to check that one out.
Your analogy regarding your editing process made me laugh out loud. I’m a slow editor and I don’t even have to translate mine from Old English (figuratively speaking) 🙂
My coworker is listening to Dancing Queen for the 8th time again this morning. Now this always makes me think of your WIP. (I love the voice in your MS, by the way) It might help if I imagine that said coworker is an alien and that’s why the song is always on repeat. 🙂
Hope you have a fantastic week! Good luck with those edits.
LOL! Thanks, Kris… and I’m glad my Pearl has provided you with a coping mechanism for ABBA-obsessed co-workers. That’s so cool, and she’d be flattered. 🙂
That’s wonderful that your Mum is coming for a visit in November! Definitely worth skipping NaNo for! Has it been a long time since you last saw her? THE AGE OF MIRACLES sounds really interesting. It’s crazy when you stop and think about the premise of the book and all of the crazy complications something like that would cause. It’s not something I’ve thought about before, but whoa! Very interesting. I hope your revision moves along at a good pace. I can definitely see how it would be inspiring to get to the end of a page. Sounds like a lot of hard work! Think how much of a relief it will be once it’s done. Talk about a feeling of accomplishment. Have a great week, Colin!
Thanks, Jaime. It’s been about 3 years, I think, since her last visit, so it will be good to see her again. And it will be an accomplishment just to be through with this revision stage. But this is a significant revision since, as I’ve indicated, I’m really working on the voice. After this, the revisions should be relatively easier, with beta input, I hope! 🙂
Everything and nothing. That sounds like what inspires me some weeks. Lately, though – it has been music. And your week sounds like mine – nothing too exciting, but awesome nonetheless.
Have a great week! And good luck with those revisions! Just remember – slow and steady wins the race. 🙂
Slow and steady is how I need to approach most things, especially since my inclination is to rush to completion. This revision is, by nature, a slow revision, and it needs to be for it to be done correctly. Thanks for the words of encouragement, Alison. 🙂
I really love the sound of this book. Which is also a bad thing because I’ve already added a few more books to my ridiculous giant pile of TBRs and I really shouldn’t get hooked into more. But I can’t resist…
How well I know that feeling! I almost dread reading book reviews because I know there’ll be a book that sounds too awesome to pass by. In fact, I found out about THE AGE OF MIRACLES because someone recommended it. An overgrown TBR is a nice problem to have, though. 🙂
I heard about The Age of Miracles while at a Random House Open House event last year, and had totally forgotten about it until reading your post. Thank you for the reminder. The premise sounds kind of heartbreaking, but fascinating.
Good luck with your revision. The line-by-line method is incredibly thorough, but hopefully it proves rewarding.
You’re very welcome, Rebekah! I don’t want to give too much away, but when you say “heartbreaking”… as I said in my Goodreads review, if you usually get emotionally invested in a story, be sure to have a box of tissues handy when you read. 🙂
Thanks for the well-wishes. Line-by-line does seem very thorough, but with this novel, it’s a necessity. I drafted without paying a great deal of attention to voice, and the novel is written in the first person, and the narrator has a very distinctive voice. This means I now have to go through and make sure the story is told in that voice. Since hers is the most prominent voice, this requires a line-by-line approach, making sure the things she says are things she would say. After this, I think it’ll be a while before I tackle writing as a teenage female alien again. 🙂
I read THE AGE OF MIRACLES a few months ago and really enjoyed it. Such a unique concept, and I thought the writing was lovely. I just read the comment you left on my blog, and I have to say: You should most definitely give A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS a go, Colin. That book shredded me like no other has since. I love it so much, and I learned tons about Afghanistan’s culture and history from it, so… double win. 🙂
Best of luck with your revisions. Slow progress is still progress!
Hmmm… looks like my September reading schedule is shaping up already! Thanks for the reading and writing encouragement, Katy. I shall move A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS to the TBR desk, where all the books for immediate attention go. 🙂
I love your analogy of revising. I know there’s one long-hiatused book of mine that’ll need a similar treatment when I finally get around to reconstructing and radically revising it.
Thanks, Carrie-Anne. I don’t expect I’ll always have to be this attentive to voice with future projects, but this novel especially needs this kind of care. Hopefully, in the future, my main characters will at least be of Earthly origin… of course, with my imagination, you never can tell… 🙂
That book has such an interesting concept but I must resist adding to my TBR pile. I MUST!!!!
Yeah, as much as you might love a book, it’s always nice to get to work on a new idea. Hope you can soon!
I hope your mum will take lots of tea with her 😉
Have a great week, Colin!
It is an interesting concept, and Karen works it out throughout the novel in a very believable way. Not that I’m trying to tempt you to add it to you TBR, Cole… 🙂
Mum says she’s bringing a bigger suitcase. I asked her if it was for all the tea she’s bringing with her. 😉
You have a good week too!
Good luck with the coming school year. It’s nice that you can look forward to your mom coming to visit. I understand what you mean about having a life that sounds boring and isn’t. That’s sort of what I like best about life though, that the little things can be the best.
Thanks, Kate! When my kids moan about being bored, I tell them I haven’t been bored in over 20 years. And it’s true. Life’s full of interesting things to do! 🙂
I loved The Age of Miracles. I wasn’t sure if I would going into it, but it really got me thinking about life and how that situation could happen.
Yes, a good premise doesn’t always guarantee a good execution. In this case, though, it was as good as I hoped. 🙂
Your WIP sounds really challenging! Keep going–slow and steady wins the race. 🙂
Thanks, Valerie! 😀
Okay, I’m adding THE AGE OF MIRACLES to my TBR list! It sounds fascinating. And good luck with those revisions to your WIP. It’s so hard to keep plugging away when you’re antsy to move on to something new! Fight the good fight. 🙂
Thank you, Kitty–I will plug away at the revisions. As much as I want to move on, I also very much want this novel to be revised, beta-read, and ready to query. 🙂
Setting aside new ideas to keep working on the same ms is definitely a challenge at times, especially when you’re in the middle of the nitpicky stuff. Hope it goes by quickly so you can get your story off to betas.
We started up with homeschooling again this week too, and the shift in gears is making writing difficult. I think I managed a total of about three sentences yesterday because my head was still in school mode. It definitely takes a little time to settle back into the routine!
Have a great week!
Wow–you have a lot on your plate, Erin, juggling writing with homeschooling. I wish you all the best with that. I understand the challenge, and hope you manage to settle into a good routine that allows you more time to write. 🙂
I think I will like The Age of Miracles, thanks for the review 🙂 And it sounds like your life is the opposite of boring!! I would definitely skip nanowrimo for some quality family time!!
Oh, I have plenty going on in my life. Not everything is of great interest to everyone, however, so sometimes the “stuff” answer has to suffice. 🙂
I’m pretty sure I already have The Age of Miracles on my TBR, and if it isn’t already, I’m going to add it because the premise sounds fascinating.
Good luck finishing your revision! I know how great it feels knowing the end is in sight 🙂
Thanks, Stephanie. I’m making progress, so I know the end will come eventually. 😀