At 8:30pm, I realized that I was tapped out on writing for the day (I was in hermit mode and attempting to focus on coming up with a plot today, which was both successful and not-so-successful, but I'll get to that in a moment). And I was all proud of myself when I crawled into bed with a book and the intention of reading for an hour before bed rather than mindlessly scrolling through social media....
...but now it's almost three a.m., and I'm bleary-eyed and dehydrated, but I read the book straight through from cover to cover. I haven't done that in awhile, and while I'll pay for it in the morning, it was worth it. The book was 'The Fifth Season' by NK Jemisin, and I'd bought it in paperback (in an actual bookstore!) the week it came out last year - I've loved everything else I'd read by her, and this promised to be no different. However, between one thing and another (my general malaise and despair last fall, and my mad scramble to write a book this spring/summer), I never got around to reading it. But she won the Hugo for it this weekend, which is scifi/fantasy's top honor, and so I was reminded that I had intended to read it.
And if you like fantasy, you need to read this right now. You should also read her other stuff ('The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms' was amazing, but this was even better). The narrative structure was complex and interesting and sneaky and heartbreaking, and the worldbuilding was fascinating, and it made me cry repeatedly and dream of writing epics instead of trying to pack a whole world into the confines of an English country houseparty.
So yeah, if you like fantasy, read it.
The rest of my day was mild and uninteresting by comparison. I got up this morning determined to write, so I shut off my internet and put away my phone (after making a v. delicious whole30ish approved omelette with avocado), and I daydreamed about the story. I also played in my planner notebook, which is always a good way to procrastinate while feeling productive. Then I called my parents, and inadvertently ended up talking to them for almost four hours - I wasn't able to talk much yesterday because of my hostess duties, and apparently without the natural boundary of either supper or bedtime (as happens on Sunday late afternoon/evenings), we just continue to talk. Then, since I'd already spent four hours on the phone, I called Aunt Becky and checked in with her as well (and gave my regrets since I can't make the party she's hosting in mid-September - I think I'll go home at the end of September instead).
Then I alternated between writing and failing to write for most of the evening, with a break to eat some leftover chicken bouillabaisse (yum). And then I read the book, which turned into many hours of enjoyment which will wreck me in the morning (especially since I fully intend to walk down to Books Inc in the morning and attempt to procure the sequel, which apparently came out last week). I can't binge read it until I get some more plot developments for my own story, but it's going to happen sometime soon (although binge reading it is probably a mistake - this one ended on a cliffhanger, and the next one is the second book in the trilogy - a trilogy she may be behind on finishing, since she skipped the Hugo ceremony for her deadline and someone else had to accept her award for her. So bingeing now and then waiting forever for the next one might be a bad idea, but we'll see.) Goodnight!
...but now it's almost three a.m., and I'm bleary-eyed and dehydrated, but I read the book straight through from cover to cover. I haven't done that in awhile, and while I'll pay for it in the morning, it was worth it. The book was 'The Fifth Season' by NK Jemisin, and I'd bought it in paperback (in an actual bookstore!) the week it came out last year - I've loved everything else I'd read by her, and this promised to be no different. However, between one thing and another (my general malaise and despair last fall, and my mad scramble to write a book this spring/summer), I never got around to reading it. But she won the Hugo for it this weekend, which is scifi/fantasy's top honor, and so I was reminded that I had intended to read it.
And if you like fantasy, you need to read this right now. You should also read her other stuff ('The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms' was amazing, but this was even better). The narrative structure was complex and interesting and sneaky and heartbreaking, and the worldbuilding was fascinating, and it made me cry repeatedly and dream of writing epics instead of trying to pack a whole world into the confines of an English country houseparty.
So yeah, if you like fantasy, read it.
The rest of my day was mild and uninteresting by comparison. I got up this morning determined to write, so I shut off my internet and put away my phone (after making a v. delicious whole30ish approved omelette with avocado), and I daydreamed about the story. I also played in my planner notebook, which is always a good way to procrastinate while feeling productive. Then I called my parents, and inadvertently ended up talking to them for almost four hours - I wasn't able to talk much yesterday because of my hostess duties, and apparently without the natural boundary of either supper or bedtime (as happens on Sunday late afternoon/evenings), we just continue to talk. Then, since I'd already spent four hours on the phone, I called Aunt Becky and checked in with her as well (and gave my regrets since I can't make the party she's hosting in mid-September - I think I'll go home at the end of September instead).
Then I alternated between writing and failing to write for most of the evening, with a break to eat some leftover chicken bouillabaisse (yum). And then I read the book, which turned into many hours of enjoyment which will wreck me in the morning (especially since I fully intend to walk down to Books Inc in the morning and attempt to procure the sequel, which apparently came out last week). I can't binge read it until I get some more plot developments for my own story, but it's going to happen sometime soon (although binge reading it is probably a mistake - this one ended on a cliffhanger, and the next one is the second book in the trilogy - a trilogy she may be behind on finishing, since she skipped the Hugo ceremony for her deadline and someone else had to accept her award for her. So bingeing now and then waiting forever for the next one might be a bad idea, but we'll see.) Goodnight!
No comments:
Post a Comment