Recently I asked her what she was reading. Her reply: Okay, so I read a lot, and mostly what gets sent to me by my publisher or books I’ve agreed to read for blurbage purposes. I will say though, that no matter why I have the book in my hands, I only read it if I love something about it. I give every book 100 pages to make me fall in love with something—the writing, the character, the setting, etc.—and if I’m not hooked then, I typically don’t finish.Visit Elana Johnson's website and blog.
Here are a few books I’ve devoured this past month or so:
Forget Me Not by Carolee Dean: This is a contemporary YA novel, written in verse. I have recently fallen in love with verse novels, and I’ve read Lisa Schroeder’s work, Audition by Stasia Ward Kehoe,as well as May B by Caroline Rose Starr in the Middle Grade arena.
I love verse novels. They capture the true emotion of the story is so few words. I’ve been reading them and studying them as I prepare to try my hand at writing one.
City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster: This is a YA fantasy that made me wonder what I was trying to do by being an author. It is an amazingly good in every area I look for. Plot, pacing, character, romance. This book has it all! I loved it.
Being Friends with Boys by Terra Elan McVoy: This is a YA contemporary novel that I wish I had written. Boys are so hard to understand for girls, and Terra does a fabulous job in this book laying down the differences between boys and girls and just how complicated their relationships can be.
I love anything that makes me think of my life in a new way, or examine my relationships, or that makes me feel something strongly. Fear, love, anger, sadness. Whatever. I love to read emotional novels.
Writers Read: Elana Johnson (August 2011).
My Book, The Movie: Possession.
--Marshal Zeringue
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