I’m a creature of habit and there’s a number of books that I reread on a (typically) annual basis. ENDER’S GAME by Orson Scott Card is one of these. For those of you this is The Hunger Games before there was a Hunger Games. From the author’s website:

Andrew "Ender" Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games; he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. The result of genetic experimentation, Ender may be the military genius Earth desperately needs in a war against an alien enemy seeking to destroy all human life. The only way to find out is to throw Ender into ever harsher training, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when it begins. He will grow up fast.

But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway almost as long. Ender's two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. While Peter was too uncontrollably violent, Valentine very nearly lacks the capability for violence altogether. Neither was found suitable for the military's purpose. But they are driven by their jealousy of Ender, and by their inbred drive for power. Peter seeks to control the political process, to become a ruler. Valentine's abilities turn more toward the subtle control of the beliefs of commoner and elite alike, through powerfully convincing essays. Hiding their youth and identities behind the anonymity of the computer networks, these two begin working together to shape the destiny of Earth-an Earth that has no future at all if their brother Ender fails.

It’s a brilliant story with a mastery of world-building, character, and pacing. The timeless part of the book, though, is the emotional resonance. From the moment you meet Ender, then along the fantastic twists, and until the final line, I care so deeply for the boy. It’s amazing that after countless re-reads, I love him just as much. Many people may shy away from ENDER’S GAME because it’s often packaged as hardcore SciFi or (recently) as an Artemis Fowl-ish Middle Grade, but don’t be fooled for this is a classic that transcends the meager.

Note: On the 2013 read-through, I listened to the audio version – which was very well done and almost a light dramatization with a few different readers for different characters. Also, highly recommended. 

Somehow I missed this one last year. 

Just started it and I'm really enjoyed the male POV, and the quick pace.

What are you reading?

He makes good girls...bad.

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple: weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.

Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal-opportunity collector and doesn't want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:

Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within ten days.

Dante doesn't know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect, he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector…and uncover emotions deeply buried.

I had a chance to read this book early- it comes out April 2nd.  It was really fun to read.  Dante starts out as a tough guy, but his layers are revealed as the story unfolds.  I loved that this book was told from the guy's point of view, and the voice is really funny and fresh.  My favorite character was Matt, Dante's colleague in collecting souls, but Dante won me over in the end. This is an entertaining story with lots of heart and swoon-worthy guys. 

As Donna mentioned yesterday, we are blogging about books and what we're reading this week.  I'm currently so immersed in revision that I can hardly remember my own name, much less what I read last week, and most of what I've been consuming has been for research, anyway.  (On This Day in Tudor History by Claire Ridgway is fascinating, by the way).

I've also been reading books on craft.  I've been reading books on craft for years.  BIRD BY BIRD by Anne Lamott, PLOT AND STRUCTURE by James Scott Bell, THE WRITER'S JOURNEY by Christopher Vogler.  I am a careful reader.  I pay attention.  I often take notes.

But when I go back to reread, I always find something new.  It's like eating crackers.  You get most of it in the first time, but when you look again, you find crumbs everywhere.  Valuable crumbs.  Like gold dust.

A few weeks ago, I started reading STORY by Robert McKee again.  It's for screenwriters, but I believe every writer can find something useful in it.  Bret recommended ZEN IN THE ART OF WRITING by Ray Bradbury.

However, I learned recently something that James Scott Bell mentioned in a workshop I attended back in 2011.  He said writing is like playing golf.  You learn the skills.  Practice the swing.  Know how you're supposed to stand, where you're supposed to look, what angle the club should be.  But when you come to hit the ball, you can't think about any of that.  You just have to do it.

I sat down to write Book 3 with notes and outlines and graphs and charts and character questionnaires.  I knew my character's goal and I knew where she ended up.  I knew I needed setting and foreshadowing and an inciting incident and a Save the Cat moment.  But I couldn't write.  I sent a panicked e-mail to my editor.  "Forget all of that," she said.  "Take a walk.  It will come to you."  So I did.  And in the middle of my walk, my narrator spoke a first line to me.  And when I sat back down at the keyboard, another came.  And another.  And I realized that my character knew what her goal was.  And together, we would get her there.  Through the inciting incident and the Act 1 turning point and beyond.

I still have a lot to learn.  I don't think we are ever finished learning craft, my friends.  There is always something that sparks the imagination, turns up the heat, ignites that lightbulb moment.  Right now, I am slowly--and mind-blowingly--working my way through WRITING 21st CENTURY FICTION by Donald Maass.  And I know that what I learn there will show up in my revision.

What craft books are you reading?  Which ones have you found most helpful?  I'm always looking for recommendations!

Welcome to a week of book sharing! 

Feel free to join in to tell us what you've been reading lately.