Reading, For Writers

Half Price Books

I grew up reading books that had been well-loved long before they reached my hands.

Stained books with dog-eared pages and cracked spines cost an awful lot less than crisp, modern books. The stories inside didn’t care what the pages looked like. They were magical even in duct-taped bindings.

Ask me my favorite authors and the authors that influenced me the most and I can give you a list that goes on forever … and which includes very, very few contemporary authors.

Half Price Books fostered my love of stories, but I’m going to have to put in a bit more effort in order to be a successful writer.

Writing

As a writer, you should (at least in theory) love the genre you’re writing in.

I can profess my undying adoration for high fantasy all I want, but if I’ve never read or Mistborn, I’m swimming in the wrong pool. If I want to write for today’s fantasy fans, I should probably know the books they’re reading. I may not be required to LOVE those authors … but if I can’t even enjoy them, then I probably don’t need to dip my toes in today’s Epic Fantasy genre.

Same goes for any genre or subgenre, really.

Urban Fantasy writers out there who’ve never read Andrews or Butcher might as well be writing with one hand tied behind their back.

YA Fantasy? Ever read Graceling or Divergent or Kagawa?

(Not sure which of the words I mention above are titles and which are authors? This is also a problem.)

Hard to Find

It’s a strange sort of effort that I’m learning. In the past, I’ve simply allowed books to happen to me. I rarely sought one out. Why buy a pedigreed pet when the shelter is full of lovely, amazing animals in need of a home?

The answer is simple: if I want to write a Best in Show winner, I need to study pedigrees.

I’ve used a few tools to hunt down great books written in the past year or two. Not just because it’s good writing sense … but also because I really and truly love reading these kinds of stories. Why not find try the things people are raving about?

Goodreads Choice Awards are a GREAT resource. They show the fan-favorite winners in many different genres, and I plan on familiarizing myself with as many as sound interesting to me from all the fantasy genres I enjoy.

The Book Smugglers is another fantastic site, focusing mainly on fantasy and sci-fi. They do in-depth reviews and rate books. I’ve scrolled through their recent review lists and added more than a few to my library lists.

Related posts:

An Open Discussion on Reading
2012 Reading List (as of April)
Writers Owing Readers : A Comment