So late on posting. Because of the 12 Days of Reading challenge, I’m only featuring the two books I read after that. But it’s interesting because they’re two books about books.

Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore

What I Learned: Voice is Everything

Robin Sloan makes his main character, Clay, so related through very pointed details that really make him a full person. I felt like I really got to know him and his predicaments. The character was very approachable, but imperfect. He had a slight air of arrogance and aloofness that went away as the book went on. His enthusiasm for his childhood favorite novel was infectious and definitely a relationship with some of my childhood favorite novels (Faerie Wars and any of the Circle of Magic books). There’s a way to make characters relatable and infectious curiosity is one way to do that.

The Princess Bride

What I Learned: A How-to on the Power of Adaptation

So many people’s favorite movie is also added to one of my favorite books. I appreciated the movie so much more and it’s hilarious. The movie is an abridging of an abridging. The choices made to keep the story focused and tight made sense. For example, Inigo Montoya’s relationship with his father takes several pages and ends with a rather graphic description of the man’s demise. In the movie, it’s truncated to a few lines. Definitely a great learning experience for people who have a long way of editing to go.

Depending on classes and editing, I want to make February NetGalley month, but there are too many books coming out that I am excited for. I really need to get some discipline with class time and reading time. But there’s only so many hours in a day.

Happy reading,
Jo