Reading vs. Writing

That subject title was actually a little hard for me to type! It's no secret that I love to read, and some of my long-time blog readers will also know that I love to write as well. Both have been central to my life for... well... for as long as I can remember, and I can't imagine living without one or the other or *shudder* both.

I also know that the vast majority of writers are readers as well; after all, reading is one of the best ways to improve writing, and the two hobbies seem to go hand-in-hand. But one thing I've noticed lately is that there are also a lot of people who like to read, but not to write.

I have to admit, this is almost a foreign notion to me. For me, I feel like whatever skill I have in writing is due mostly to the great deal of books I go through. Reading so much from such a young age lends an ear for detecting rhythm and helps provide a natural sense of how to craft a story.

For example, once I read a writing book that dissected the format of a general story, with Act I, Act II, etc., and it introduced the concept of "doorways". Reading about that was intriguing to me because I've always known on some level about this kind of structure simply because I've seen it so much in books, but I never really thought or heard about giving a name to it like that.

So, what about you? Are you a reader, a writer, or both? If you're a writer, how has reading helped you?

Hallowed: Review

Title: Hallowed

Author: Cynthia Hand

Release Date: January 2012

Published By: HarperTeen

Pages: 403

Goodreads Rating: 4.32 stars

Review: In this sequel to UNEARTHLY, Clara is forced to face her complicated emotions about Tucker and Christian, and the role she must play with both. Even worse, she finds herself confronted with the terrifying revelation that someone she loves dearly will die in the next few months. Trapped in bitter turmoil with anguish lurking with every step, all she knows is that the fire was just the beginning.

The plot summary in HALLOWED wasn't kidding when it described this book as emotional. This entire book was one wild rollercoaster of the heart with quite a few unforeseen plot twists that had me flipping pages fast enough to make paper cuts, and though nothing was so intense as to move me to tears, I still sympathized greatly for Clara. The huge stress she was under in this book matured her a lot, and I appreciated being able to see the enormous growth she went through.

There were a few aspects about this novel that bothered me, though. For one, I found myself unable to relate to either of the love interests, Tucker and Christian. Both of them were interesting characters, I suppose, but they never really felt real and three-dimensional enough for me to want to root Clara on. Sometimes Tucker could border on whiny, and Christian was just generally unappealing in places.

In addition, there were several plot points that I just found completely unrealistic. Of course, I won't say them here because of my no-spoiler policy in reviews, but I feel that this was somewhat detrimental to the reading experience. I kept being snapped out of the book at some events that were just too difficult for me to believe, and the worst part was that Clara just seemed so helpless and incapable in response to these parts.

All in all, I enjoyed reading HALLOWED and felt it was even better than UNEARTHLY. The book was plain shot through with emotions and angst - in a good way! - and I loved every delicious second of those parts. What did bother me was the occasionally tiresome love triangle and doubtful plot points, but it wasn't so bad as to completely detract from my enjoyment of the book. I look forward to the next one!

Cover Reveal: Reached

The cover to the third book in Ally Condie's trilogy has been revealed!

I absolutely adore this series so I'm completely pumped to see this cover. I love the way they continued the theme of breaking out of the bubble, and the red is very cool here, but I do wish that the model was facing us instead of turning her back. It would be a more vibrant pose to see her face, I think.

What do you think of this cover?

Between the Sea and the Sky: Review

Title: Between the Sea and the Sky

Author: Jaclyn Dolamore

Release Date: October 2011

Published By: Bloomsbury

Pages: 229

Goodreads Rating: 3.53 stars

Review: Esmerine has always wanted to join her older sister Dosinia as a siren, the highest calling a mermaid can have, but when Dosinia runs away, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her. As she painfully makes her way across land, she runs into a young man she hasn't seen since childhood, Alander. Their search mission bonds them together into something greater, something that can not be stopped by sea, land, or air.

I'm not generally the hugest fan of mermaid or wolf or vampire or zombie or witch selkie ghost books, but I heard BETWEEN THE SEA AND THE SKY was different, so I decided to give it a try. I wasn't entirely bowled over by it, but one aspect I did enjoy was the mythology behind it. The mermaid society had an interesting hierarchy, and I thought the idea of incredible pain accompanying having legs on land to be a fascinating concept.

However, what primarily disappointed me was how little I was able to relate to the characters. Esmerine felt mostly dull and didn't seem to have a particularly well-rounded personality, which made it difficult for me to root for her throughout the novel. It was hard to care about her and most of the time, I wasn't really sympathizing with her situation, especially since the stakes weren't really high.

Because I didn't feel much for Esmerine, I similarly felt very little sparks for the romance between her and Alander. He came across to me as a little cold and also not particularly well-developed, so I wasn't able to swoon for him or hope for them to get together. I did feel like there was a lot of potential for an excellent romance to be kindled, but the concept wasn't as well executed as it could have been.

All in all, BETWEEN THE SEA AND THE SKY had a great deal of potential but didn't ultimately live up to my expectations. The concepts were all very intriguing, from the mythology to the idea of a winged boy falling in love with a mermaid, but the characters weren't that great. Esmerine and Alander both didn't have well-developed personalities, which disappointed me. I would still recommend this book to anyone who loves mermaid novels.