The struggles of writing with an all-consuming, stressful day job

For those who aren't aware, I do not make my living as an author. I wish I could, but I don't sell nearly as many books as I need to in order to feed myself or keep a roof over my head. Instead, I have a day job that provides me with financial stability. I'm certainly not unique in that respect. Plenty of authors work a day job as their primary means of income.

I've been able to juggle writing and a day job for many years. All of the books I've written so far have been while I was working a full-time job. However, that has changed in the past year. I released my last book, Soulless, in November. I haven't written anything since. At the beginning of the year, I had fully intended to start drafting the next book in the After Z-Day series, but it's now August, and I haven't written a single word. Last fall, my day job ramped up in intensity to the point where I often work evenings and weekend. Even when I do have time when I'm not working, I'm so mentally exhausted that I can't think about telling a story.

What am I to do? To start with, I recognize I'm in a phase of life where writing is difficult for me. Instead of churning out words for the sake of releasing another book, I'm waiting until I can focus on writing a good book. I owe that to my readers. Although I'm not writing a first draft, I do think about the story for my next book every now and then. I have a brief outline, and I add to it or revise it when I can. I hope that when I finally have the time and mental energy to write again, thinking about the story in advance will make drafting easier. Finally, I'm still reading as much as I used to. Reading is easier than writing for me because I don't need to be in the proper state of mind to read. If anything, reading helps me de-stress from my day job. I've read some really good books this year, and I'm learning from the authors I read so that I can be a better author when I start writing again.

I don't know when my day job will let up enough to allow me to write, but I hope it's soon. I'm looking forward to writing the next installment of the After Z-Day series and sharing it with all of you.

Thoughts on NYT's 100 best books of the 21st century

After the New York Times published their list of the 100 best books of the 21st century, I saw quite a bit of commentary on it. There was expected criticism of the books on the list and books people thought should have made the list. Other posts from readers talked about how many of the 100 books they read and what their favorites were. I'm going to take the latter approach.

As I combed through the list, I was surprised to find that I only read 7 of the books. The ones I read (and their ranking on the NYT list in parenthesis) were:

1. The Overstory by Richard Powers (24)
2. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (28)
3. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (36)
4. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison (44)
5. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (46)
6. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (76)
7. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (93)

There were a few more on my TBR that I haven't gotten to yet, but I also hadn't heard of many of the books. You may also find it surprising that I didn't give any of the 7 books I read a 5-star rating since they are supposed to be among this century's best. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Station Eleven were my favorites from the list, and they both received 4-star ratings. They were good books but not great. In retrospect, I should have expected this because my 2020 reading challenge to read New York Times bestsellers did not go well.

As a curated list, I don't place much weight on the NYT best books of the 21st century because I know that my tastes differ from what lands on their bestseller lists. I did find the online discussions about the list to be a positive outcome because people should talk more about books. The list also provided me with some candidates to add to my TBR. Based on past experiences, I may not enjoy them as much as other books, but IMHO you can't go wrong with reading more books.

Update on re-reading five-star books

At the beginning of the year, I decided that my reading goal for this year is to re-read some of my favorite books. Six months into the endeavor, I'd say it's been a success.

These are the books I've re-read so far:

• January - Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
• February - Find Her by Lisa Gardner
• March - The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
• April - When You See Me by Lisa Gardner
• May - Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson
• June - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

If you're thinking, "Half of those books are by Brandon Sanderson," you'd be right. Each month in 2024, I'm planning to alternate between re-reading a Brandon Sanderson book and a book by another author. That I'm willing to spend half of my re-reading allotment on Sanderson is a testament to how much I enjoy his books.

You might have also noticed two books by Lisa Gardner on the list. This was unexpected. I had planned to re-read Find Her all along since it's my favorite Lisa Gardner book and one of my favorite thrillers of all time. However, in reading the book again, I loved it so much that I wanted to read another book in the same series. I don't anticipate re-reading another Lisa Gardner book this year, but she has a new book, Still See You Everywhere, that's on my TBR list.

That highlights what I discovered so far through the six books I've re-read. They are all still 5-star books for me. The passage of time hasn't diminished how much I like each one. Given how well the re-read has gone so far, I wouldn't be surprised to re-read more of my favorite books next year.

The Dandelion Dynasty

I just finished reading The Dandelion Dynasty, and I need to let more people know about it because the series was so good!

There are four books in this silkpunk fantasy series:

1. The Grace of Kings
2. The Wall of Storms
3. The Veiled Throne
4. Speaking Bones

I rated each book 5 stars, which I don't often do even for series I really like. Every book was great on its own, and the end result is one of my favorite epic fantasy series of all time. Among epic fantasy series that are already complete, The Dandelion Dynasty might be my favorite.

There are two aspects of The Dandelion Dynasty that set it apart from other books (not just fantasy books) I've read. No series has taken me on an emotional roller coaster like this one did. Whenever I thought things were going well for the protagonists, Ken Liu would throw a wrench into their plans, and whenever the characters faced seemingly insurmountable odds, a ray of light appeared. It was gut wrenching to read the books, but thankfully, by the time I read Speaking Bones, I was used to the ups and downs, so I could handle what happened and how the various character arcs concluded. But boy, was it stressful, in a good way though.

I have also never saved quotes from a book like I did with these. There were so many nuggets of wisdom littered throughout each book that I found myself wanting to write them all down. This series could serve as philosophy text as easily as an enjoyable fantasy story. I didn't get to take all the notes I wanted to, so I will definitely need to re-read the series and jot down everything that I found noteworthy.

Not only did I think The Dandelion Dynasty was a wonderful series, but I also don't feel like it's gotten the recognition and popularity it deserves. I hardly hear anyone talk about it, so I want to promote it as much as I can. If you're a fan of the fantasy genre or just want to try books that are thought-provoking with brilliant world-building and character development, give The Dandelion Dynasty a read!

Large print books

 

As I get older and my eyes lose the sharpness of youth, I appreciate large print books more and more. It's hard to believe that until about five years ago, I didn't know about large print books, and it hasn't been until 2022 that I started reading them. Before the pandemic, I'd noticed that there's a large print books section at my local public library, but the selection was limited, so I didn't browse there. It was only after a book I wanted was only available in large print that I checked one out, and what a game changer that has become.

Most of the books I read are still the regular variety rather than large print because it's easier to buy books in regular print, but when I go to the library nowadays, I head for the large print section first. There still isn't much of a selection, but I've been pleasantly surprised to find new releases in large print that aren't available in regular print. Perhaps most patrons aren't aware of large print books yet, and I'm happy for their ignorance to continue.

When I read a large print book at home, I can do so without my reading glasses, which is a welcomed blessing during early mornings or late nights when I don't want to wear my glasses. It's always jarring when I switch from a large print book to a regular print book because the font size of regular print books looks so small in comparison. The transition also reminds me that I need to put on my reading glasses. 

I would read large print books primarily if there was a wider selection of them. I also wish there were special editions in large print. I've been buying more editions of books with special covers, stenciled edges, or other extra treatments, but I haven't seen any in large print. Hopefully, with the growing popularity of special edition books for book subscription services, someone will cater to the large print market too. When that happens, large print books will likely become my default book format.

Long books that would be 5 stars if they were shorter

I just finished reading two long books, each over 800 pages in length. Both books are good but would have been better if they were shorter. The stories were great, I liked the characters, and I liked the writing. It just felt like a chore sometimes to wade through all the pages.

I have nothing against long books. Some of my favorite books ever are over 500 pages long, but they were books that managed to hold my attention throughout. The challenge with long books is that there are bound to be sections that are less engaging than others, and in some cases, those parts of the book drag me out of the story.

Curious about which books would have been 5 stars if not for their length, I looked at the 4-star books I read in the past three years to see if length was the main reason any of them didn't receive a 5-star rating. For purposes of this post, I define a long book as one greater than 500 pages in length. That's an arbitrary number since some people consider anything longer than 300 pages to be long, and others devour 500-page novels without blinking.

I've rated 128 books as 4 stars since the beginning of 2021, and here are the ones that could have been 5 stars if they were shorter:

• Gilded by Marissa Meyer - The description on the book jacket was interesting, and I wanted to read about the premise, but it took a long time for me to become invested in the protagonists.
• Seasparrow by Kristin Cashore - I found it interesting that the first two books in the Graceling Realm series were under 500 pages long, and I rated them 5 stars, while the last three books were over 500 pages, and I rated them 4 stars. Correlation? Causation? You be the judge.
• Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra - the first 100 pages or so of this book were great, but by about page 200, it felt repetitive. If the book ended at less than 300 pages, I would have likely given it 5 stars. 
• Gunmetal Gray by Mark Greaney - I started reading the Gray Man series after the first book (which was less than 500 pages long) got me hooked. Gunmetal Gray is an example of an entry in the series that was still good but felt repetitive after a while.
• The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan - I've read the first three books in the Wheel of Time series, and I feel like they're all too long, but I'm choosing The Dragon Reborn because this could have been 5 stars if it were shorter.
• The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon - This is the book that got me thinking about the topic. Whenever I sat down to read it, I would be engrossed for a while, and then it felt like a chore to continue reading. It took me longer than normal to finish this book, but I'm glad I did.

Obviously, length is not the primary concern when I rate a book, but this exercise reminds me that a book of any length needs to capture and maintain a reader's attention throughout, no matter how many pages it is. It's just a lot harder to do so when a book is long.

 

Forget romantasy, what about romantorror?

Romantasy, or romantic fantasy, is huge nowadays. The bookish part of the internet is flooded by posts showcasing books by Sarah J. Maas, Rebecca Yarros, and others. Last year, Romantasy even became a category in the Goodreads Choice Awards. (The winner, not surprisingly, was Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.)

The popularity of this genre that mixes romance with fantasy made me wonder if I've been missing the boat on other genres that are combined with romance? What about romance and horror (romantorror?) Romance and science fiction?

To learn about other Romance+ genres, I searched for Goodreads lists that contain books with romance and another genre. Some other Romance+ genres I found include:

• Romance Horror (yes, Romantorror!) - https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/romance-horror
• Romance Science Fiction - https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/15867.Best_Adult_Science_Fiction_Romance_Science_Fiction_with_Romance
• Romance Mystery - https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/romance-mystery
• Romance Thriller - https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/romance-thriller

Judging by the small sample size provided by these lists, other Romance+ genres exist, but they aren't nearly as popular as romantasy. For example, I've only read two books from the Romance Horror list, two from the Romance Science Fiction list, four from Romance Mystery, and three from Romance Thriller. Perhaps Romantasy's popularity will result in greater interest in these other genres, or maybe romance+fantasy is unique to itself. It's hard to say, but I think I'll try out more romantorror.