attempting obscurity
I mess around with writing, but deep down I'm pretty sure I'll never actually get published because I treat it like a hobby and not a passion -- I write when I have time, instead of making time to write.
When I read, I prefer YA sci-fi/ fantasy as my go-to fiction reads. I tend toward this genre because I read fiction as an escape from the daily drudge of life. YA sci/fi-fantasy usually has more upbeat/ hopeful endings, while adult fiction of any genre (except romance) tends to have more depressingly realistic endings. Sometimes I read romance novels, but I really prefer the type with plot/ character development between sex scenes, and I don't like having to hunt for them.
In non-fiction, I prefer history, biographies, psychology, gender studies, social/applied sciences, and law/ public policy.
Currently reading
Destined (Wings)
I liked it well enough. It was an interesting take on the biology and history of faeries. I will admit that I almost did not read it because it's recommended by Stephanie Meyers, and that I still have a bit of a sour taste in the back of my mind knowing she recommends it. Guilt by association type thing or something. I don't know.However, the writing was well done. Light and lyrical, not shabby and overwritten like Meyers. The characters were interesting and I wanted to know more about them. My main complaint is that it felt a little as though the adventure portion of the book was rushed -- as though she spent a lot of time developing the characters and the discovery of the protagonists heritage, and then bunched in the mystery/adventure/what-have-you at the very end. I mean, she hinted at it here and there in the first couple chapters, but it really felt like the book took a left turn from coming-of-age self-discovery to fantasy action-adventure, and while not entirely unexpected, the shift in tone was a little irritating.I'm noticing this trend more and more in YA -- it was present in Twilight and it's popping up in other books. I don't mind mixing coming of age and fantasy-action adventure, I just wish authors did it more smoothly -- it seems as though a lot of them are writing a coming of age and then tacking an adventure on at the end because they feel they have to, and it feels awkward and messy.
