May 14, 2012

Guest Review: The Way of Kings

Cover of "The Way of Kings (The Stormligh...

Thanks to Leyland Rudholm (a fantasy book affectionatto, avid skier, talented sound designer, and my husband-to-be) for being my first-ever guest reviewer! If you are on the lookout for a great fantasy series, take a look at Leyland’s review of The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, below:

I really enjoy reading good fantasy books. Fantasy is killer and everything else is usually filler. Books such as Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind and A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin have become my literary milestones. These are the books that make it hard for me to pick up another big fantasy series, because I fail to see how others could ever satisfy me in the same way they have. But variety is the spice of life, so I picked up The Way of Kings.

The Way of Kings delivers some of the elements that are missing in Goodkind and Martin’s books. Magic is abundant and clever but not overwhelming. Battles are described in detail. The story is mostly built around war, and none of the characters are a chore to read through–though you will certainly have your favorites.

Sanderson writes his chapters using character POVs. However, I think he has refined this technique a little more than Martin. Each of the five parts in the book are limited to three or four characters. This makes the information in each chapter easy to take in and it allows for preemptive mini climaxes before the big one at the end. In general, Sanderson’s writing flows very well, and it is easy to breeze through chapter after chapter. The Way of Kings is simply a page turner that you will not want to put down. (I read the last 350 pages or so in one sitting.)

Quit waiting for the next book in your beloved fantasy series, and pick up The Way of Kings.
- LR

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April 23, 2012

Thriving as a Creative Freelancer

Four years ago, I started taking small freelance writing and editing gigs. They trailed alongside full-time jobs that I liked but didn’t love. I dove into the freelance pool headfirst this year, and I’m glad I did. The teams I’ve worked with so far have been great. I also love being paid to write while wearing fuzzy slippers.

Cover of "My So-Called Freelance Life: Ho...

Cover via Amazon

Recently, I was discussing freelancing with my friend Elly (also a writer), and she recommended My So-Called Freelance Life by Michelle Goodman. I devoured it.

Goodman’s writing style is light, crisp, funny, and informative; and her handy guide is filled with detailed information and amusing anecdotes about common freelance questions and mistakes. Topics include business planning and filing taxes, marketing yourself and keeping clients happy, facing challenging situations and giving yourself an occasional raise (do it!). One bonus for me: Goodman is from Seattle. This means a lot of the regional information she dished out was relevant to my specific freelancing situation.

My So-Called Freelance Life is geared toward creative female professionals, but it has valuable information for anyone who is thinking about making a switch to a freelance career.

Shameless self-promotion! Click here to check out my writing service website.

Posted in Books, Inspirational women, Words, Work | Leave a Comment »

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April 16, 2012

Revenge in the McCarthy Era

Cover of "I Married a Communist"

It very well might be the case that there is nothing more devastating than complete betrayal, nothing more satisfying than exacting the perfect revenge. But it seems like the two games don’t really leave a clear winner. Not really. I’ve spent not just one but two weeks reading — no, chewing on — I Married a Communist by Philip Roth and I’m left with two thoughts:

1. That book left me feeling horrible.
2. That was an amazing book.

Here’s the gist of this tale. We’re thrown into the fray with a strong Jewish man whose appearance and calling in the world are not so unlike Abraham Lincoln, a man who wants nothing more than to make his world better and more fair. This man is Ira “Iron Rinn” Ringold, and, yes, he is (not so) secretly a communist in the McCarthy era.

Ira wants to love and be loved and he wants to have everything he never had. He wants and he wants and he wants, and this desire conflicts with everything he talks about politically. His tragic flaw is desire. Ira, so conflicted, goes from digging ditches to acting for radio. His heart is with the communist party, but it’s also with his gorgeous bourgeois wife, Eve Frame.

Eve is like Ira in that she is also a Jewish radio talent who wants to make her life completely different from how it was when she was a child. For her, this desire manifests itself as a sort of extravagant self-loathing and antisemitism. Their lives tumble through one tragic plunder after another, filled with shame and misunderstanding and betrayal. Such a mess, really, but Roth tells the story well, and he leaves no loose ends.

This piece of literary fiction delves into chaos of reality, politics, love, and human weakness. It shares many themes with the book 1984 by George Orwell. Deception and betrayal, especially. I Married a Communist was less abstract and more specific to real world politics, though. It was also extremely easy to connect with. Like 1984, it is heart breaking.

If you like political struggle, stories about good but flawed people, and tales of tangled romance, I strongly recommend I Married a Communist. Yeah, it’ll make you feel horrible at times, but it’ll make you laugh, too. There are some intensely awkward and hilarious scenes. This is easily the best fiction novel I’ve read so far in 2012.

SIDE NOTE: Where has Philip Roth been all of my life? I now know that he’s been publishing books since the 50s, but I would have liked to read his work a decade ago.

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April 2, 2012

The universe never kisses and tells

Cover of "A Short History of Nearly Every...

At some time in your life, you’ve probably been curious about the history of the universe and the ways we’re taught about it. Maybe you’ve caught yourself thinking or saying things like:

  • What was there before the big bang?
  • What do you mean “nothing?”
  • What’s outside of the universe?
  • What are we made of and how did it get here?
  • What’s at the center of the Earth?
  • Has anyone even been down there?

Some days the list of thoughts is longer than others. Scientists, philosophers, religious thinkers, and historians of all kinds have thought those thoughts, too. They’ve also produced conflicting answers for as long as there have been scientists, philosophers, religious thinkers, and historians to do so. But the question I’m interested in now is this: How the heck do these thinkers come up with their solutions to the riddles of the universe?

In Bill Bryson’s book, A Short History of Nearly Everything, he takes a good-humored stab at giving an answer to this question about questions. He has written an easy-to-understand, insightful, funny account of how we’ve experimented and toiled, guessed and come to know where and when we exist relative to the very, very, very big picture that is our universe.

The story Bryson tells is full of unsung heroes, miserable French men, convoluted experiments, squeaky geniuses, guesswork and complicated math, really unlucky people (mostly French), tedious work, stupid mistakes (those French guys…), political and religious suppression, wondrous delight, astonishing instincts, and a truly unimaginable amount of good fortune. Lovely! If Carl Sagan had been a little sillier and a lot more British, he might’ve thought to write this book instead of working on Cosmos.

Next week, a review of the novel I Married a Communist by Philip Roth.

Posted in Nature, Philosophy, Space | 2 Comments »

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