Do our blog writing skills improve? And some KingKiller Chronicles segues

There's a long winded built-up to this question, so bear with me.
I was describing to my colleague at work how I spent most of this weekend sleepless due to a) Baby and b) Reading Patrick Rothfuss.

Now, I've read both of Patrick Rothfuss' books before (The Name of the Wind & The Wise Man's Fear). I've written about The Wise Man's Fear . 
If you are new to these names, they are books 1 and 2 of the KingKiller Chronicles. These books cover Day One and Day Two of the narrative, and Day three (or Book 3: The Doors of Stone) ought to be released in the next couple of years.*


(Aside) This wait for the third book is quite exciting, actually! There is quite an enthusiastic set of  Tor readers over at Jo Walton's re-read on Tor.com. Lots of theories being discussed!

* We dare not name a date, for Rothfuss is infamous for missing publishing deadlines. Current Goodreads site for Day Three in the Chronicles shows nothing, and it was reporting 2020 at one point to throw cold water on us eager readers.
P.S. Mr. Rothfuss' hilarious take on the goodreads readers who like to "review" books before they are out - http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/327213074

Yet I really can't do the book justice. Trying to make a summary of the plot or storyline is an exercise in futility, as I realized when explaining to my colleague why he should read Rothfuss. It also seems like I've had this problem before - When I last wrote about The Wise Man's Fear , I actually didn't do a full review! Just trying to goad people into reading does count though, right?

This brings me to my point - do our blogging skills improve over the months and years we blog? I know we all HOPE they do, but without critical assessments, does pure practice result in improved writing skills?

Review: From Here to Absurdity

From Here to Absurdity: Pink Flamingos, Vibrators, and other Comical Events by David Hunter

Pages: 307

Genre: Non-Fiction/bio. 

Grade: A

Why I picked it up: The Galley was sent to me for review by the publisher, and I enjoyed the short blurb that was sent as a teaser.

Even though I RARELY read non-fiction, these stories were funny, thought-provoking and completely held my attention.

The Story: Written in a series of short stories, each based around a facet of the author's life.

His military basic training sojourn was described realistically, and thoroughly entertained.

Then I saw he took Ben Franklin and examined his human side, his foibles, his indulgences, and described a well-researched idea.

Some excellent historical research is a hallmark of this book, and made me think. Assumptions I'd had around Thomas Edison, the Pope, and legends that surround some people were questioned and firmly thrown out. The author talks about the Church, red states, the thin line walked by cops, tidbits from his experience as an officer and cop, surgery, love/hate campaigns, and the secret of writing!

This is no cookie-cutter "It" book - there is completely original writing, and great reading material to be had!

I'd recommend this to: Readers bored of run-of-the-mill books and want something fresh and thought-provoking.
Meet the author at:  "David Hunter in his Own Write"  http://radicalorthodox.blogspot.com/

Bryan Cohen Blog Tour and Giveaway!

Bryan Cohen is giving away:
To the winner:

100 personalized writing prompts to one giveaway entrant chosen at random during the blog tour. 

To Each participant:
He is giving away free digital copies of his book The Writing Sampler to everybody who enters, which includes excerpts from each of his four books on writing.

Bonus:
In addition, for each of Cohen’s books that reach the Top 500 on Amazon during his blog tour, he will add a $50 Amazon gift card to the drawing (up to six $50 cards in total)!

He is HERE at E-Volving Books on May 19th, so be sure to pop back in to win!

P.S: What is a personalized writing prompt, you ask?
Personalized prompts are story starters that cater specifically to a writer’s subject matter, strengths/weaknesses, etc. Cohen will create the prompts to cater exclusively to the winner- Wow.

Bryan's Blog Tour - this month!

The very talented Bryan Cohen's blog tour is this month, and will be coming to e-Volving books on the 19th of May!

Bryan is the Author of 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts: Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories and More

Bryan wears several different hats - author, playwright, producer and more!
We'll get to see a guest post by Bryan, AND Win some books, and personalized writing prompts!
More details next week.

Poll: Shorter Posts vs. Longer

The recent reviews I've seen online tend to be really long, and I know I tend to go that way and write longer reviews sometimes.
Some of the best replies and most read posts I have up are quite short:
One idea, one quick review, one thought.
Do reviews always have to be long? 
Should I add on to my post schedule, one short review a week and one short idea-post every other week?
But what do you prefer to read: Long posts, long reviews or shorter ones?

Friday Hop #17 - Jan14-16

This is a weekly PARTY hosted by Jen at Crazy For Books. It's a chance to discover new blogs and to garner new readers for your blog as well.

Thanks for visiting! Remember, Follow me and get a Follow back!

"Why do I read my genre- Fantasy and Science Fiction?"

I know exactly why I love Fantasy - especially high fantasy: epic, world-creating, awe-inspiring sagas. This is a style of writing which is unencumbered by the realities of the world around us. A writer can take any number of liberties with the world around us, and create with truly no constraints.
While we all probably read some books outside our favorite genres, I usually read urban fantasy, space opera, crime thrillers and graphic novels - all some form of escapist literature!

What's your story? 

 If you want to hang around for a bit - read these:

• Karen @ The Slowest Bookworm featured this Wednesday on my Blogger Spotlight
• Review: Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
• The Most Beautiful Public Libraries in the US
• Oddest Title of the Year?
• Are you an ebook fan, or do you read paper books?

Review: Carousel Tides by Sharon Lee

Carousel Tides by Sharon Lee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Grade: A

Why I read it:

Carousel Tides piqued my interest when I read the first 10 chapters for free at www.Baen.com.

I have read nearly all the Sharon Lee and Miller books before, and enjoyed them immensely. Being eager for any more Liaden stories, I explored Webscriptions on Baen (this lets you buy the ebooks and packaged bundles of stories directly from Baen) - and signed up for an account.

Plus: I loved the heroine, Kate, and her changing attitude to her obligations at home. She is a magical powerhouse, but has elected to actively resign from her powers and position, instead attempting a normal life. We don't hear much about this, but her search for her missing grandma brings her back home.

The shield between the many worlds is wearing thin, and Kate is needed to stand Gaurdian for our world.

Characters: A very interesting, likeable character for Kate, I wanted more of this novel!

There were plenty of twists in the tale, adventures were had, and folks were rescued!

Minus: Not too many here - perhaps, a minor crib would be the story needed more depth to the secondary characters.

I would Recommend it to: Liaden fans (naturally), Urban Fantasy readers, Nora Roberts readers and my girlfriends who read romantic suspense. Also, folks who like strong female heroines.

View all my reviews

Teaser Tuesday #21 - Foucault's Pendulum by Eco

The most mind-whirling book I've read this year - Foucault's pendulum by Umberto Eco beats Da Vinci code for the sheer depth of mystery and tension around the Templars.

From Pg 75 of the old library edition I'm reading:

"The Crusaders were terrible screwups. They marched off without any idea of where they were going or what they would find when they got there."'

Really having trouble understanding this book fully.

I can't help but walk around bewildered - is that I am the wrong audience for the book, is there some pre-knowledge required to be able to grasp its concept, is it only for academics and high-brow folks?? - please help me out!

I'm keeping at it, but it is a heavy read. I'm averaging 40 pages every morning on my commute to work.

Meanwhile, do check out my most popular latest posts:
The Most Beautiful Public Libraries in the US
Why I love the internet today

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Review: Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

Haruki Murakami - What I talk about when I talk about Running

Haruki Murakami writes so simply, yet manages to evoke a real sense of wonder. His clear and concise sentences, beautiful prose just make it easy to read this book.
I would recommend this book, or perhaps other books by the same author, for someone who is not much of a reader. It is a short book, you can read it for a couple of chapters, put it down and pick it up whenever you have time again.

The second category of people who MUST read this book are aspiring writers. The author talks about his inspiration for writing, and peppers the book with tips for writers. He talks about pacing oneself - my one takeaway here is that one should stop writing while still enthusiastic/interested at the end of a day. If you write until you are tired,  you find it harder to start the next day.

Lots of insights here! I dont feel qualified to rate this book, so if you read this book after seeing this review, drop a note and tell me what you think.