Back to Reading

I've been doing a lot of writing, which is great, but it cuts into my reading time. What to do, what to do?

It's hard to balance the two, since both are so important. You have to be careful about reading when you're writing. You can't read too much, and you can't read stuff that's going to derail your own writing or influence your voice. But if you write in a vacuum, you get stale. I've found that this time around I'm reading stuff that's completely unlike what I'm writing, like mysteries and thrillers.

I also just read Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty, which is historical Young Adult. This is a cool concept - Victorian teens. Who would think they're interesting? What did teenagers do before they were called "teenagers" and just went straight from child to adult? The mindset didn't exist, but all the hormones and doubts sure did. That's what this book is about.

And damn, it's dead good. This book is all about young women growing up, finding themselves, experimenting, making mistakes, forming friendships and enmities, but it's all set on the backdrop of the repressive Victorian era. Well, you know I love my Victorians, but I'm picky about my Victorian books. They have to be just right. Beauty is just right.

The language in this one walks a fine balance. It's got an overlay of historically-correct vocabulary and idiom, but you can't go too far or you'll turn your teenage reader off. It's essentially written in a language teens can understand, and if the odd modern phrase slips in there ("give the boot") it's no big deal.

The only thing I wonder is if any actual teenagers will read it. Adults will love this book by droves, but I'm actually not sure about teenagers. Maybe just the brainy ones will read it. Then again, only the brainy ones read at all.

It's the first of a trilogy, too. I'm off to find the next one.

Abby