BookMarks: What (and HOW!) Our Writers are Reading

Like Fiction Flurry contributor Colleen Scott says, “One of the best parts of being a writer is that you get to read!” Absolutely true! In order to improve your craft and also just for the sheer joy of it, all writers should be readers, too. That is why every couple of weeks we like to TALK BOOKS. We like to share what we are reading – from the inane to the profound – and hear what you are reading. I have found many of my favorite books simply by word of mouth from friends and colleagues. (And the flip side to that is plenty of the titles I haven’t enjoyed quite so well have been lifted straight from “best of” lists.)

When I sent out my “what are you reading” email to everyone this week, I got a very interesting reply from Rachel. She wrote she would have to get back to me, as she was in the process of reading three books simultaneously: one in the traditional written form; one as an audio book; and one on her Nook! It’s not that unusual to be reading more than one item at a time, but her answer really resonated with me, and how different our industry is today than even a scant ten years ago. (Rachel even blogged a little about it, and you can read that post here.)

So in addition to sharing what we are reading with you, I’d like to pose this question to everyone: how do you read? Do have an e-reader? Do you “read” in your car using audio books? Are you not ready (or willing) to put down your ink and paper copy quite yet? Let us know your thoughts! In the meantime, here are some books you might want to consider (no matter how you choose to read them):

Michele Downey: Eight Days To Live by Iris Johansen

Why I choose this book: I have read a few Iris Johansen books in the past - she used to write straight romance, then veered into romantic suspense - this book is straight mystery, part of a series about a forensic sculptor who reminds me of the character from Bones. It wasn't what I was expecting, but it is a good read.

Rachel Dilley: I'm currently reading Crafting The Personal Essay: A Guide for Writing and Publishing Creative Non-Fiction by Dinty W. Moore. Besides the fact that the author's name reminds me of canned stew, I chose this book for pretty obvious reasons -- I want to learn to write better essays. My only publishing success thus far has been in the personal essay market, so I'm going with what works!

Annie McElfresh:   The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller:  Haven Moore can’t control her visions of a past with a boy called Ethan, and a life in New York that ended in fiery tragedy. In our present, she designs beautiful dresses for her classmates with her best friend Beau. Dressmaking keeps her sane, since she lives with her widowed and heartbroken mother in her tyrannical grandmother’s house in Snope City, a tiny town in Tennessee. Then an impossible group of coincidences conspire to force her to flee to New York, to discover who she is, and who she was.