2018’s reading aim is very much about getting back into the habit of reading, and picking books that will help me grow towards my personal goals. I used to post these each quarter, but my reading habits are not consistent or evenly spaced, so I chose this year to post each time I reached a quarter of the goal instead: three books per review.
Part I is here. Part II is here. And Part III.
And here are reviews for books ten, eleven and twelve of 2018:
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October :: The Code of Extraordinary Change – Steve Errey
4 Stars
Far as quick read for motivation, not bad. Designed as a flick through reminder and although there were a few aspects I would have liked another sentence or example of, it was a good start and motivating.
October :: Pulp Speed for Professional Writers – Blaze Ward
4 Stars
I received this book from buying The 2018 NaNoWriMo Writing Tools Bundle.
Really engaging, fun to read, a few sites about myths and truths of writing. A few working mistakes or typos. A good little motivator since I like stats and maths. All a fun way to do say’do the work’. 4. If have loved a few tips about how writers reach flow state, I’ve been there myself but would love to know more about how people manage to get there.
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December :: Divergent – Veronica Roth
5 Stars
Although I write young adult and new adult fantasy, I have not spent much time reading the well-known more modern series. In November, I found myself in a library with 50 minutes to kill and then came home to buy the book for my kindle app. I made it 33% through in a day and then threw myself back into my NaNoWriMo project, returning to this book in December.
The pacing, plot and characterization are all solid in this story, and I had to know what happened next. The plot twists were well-executed, with the “oh, of course!” moments following things I had not seen coming.
The world is large and varied, with the different factions having their clear uniforms, ways of behaving and character quirks. Similarly, the main characters and the things which matter to her mattered to me throughout, which is always a good sign in writing.
Our main character actually makes choices that make sense for how she is described, she moves between two difficult personality traits, which is something I believe a lot of teenagers struggle with. There is a somewhat healthy romantic relationship considering some of the romantic interests and unrealistic love triangles in teen fiction. I may be biased, having been with my husband since I was 16, but I definitely felt some aspects of the romantic interest made sense for the character and the world.
When believing the world as it is set out, the plot did make sense, certainly more-so than some of the other post-apocalyptic books which I’ve struggled to follow the reason for characters actions in. I was reading this under the covers while my husband slept at 1am before work this morning.
Overall, if you like fast-paced reads with fantasy elements and are capable of taking in the world and multiple names, I’d recommend it. I want to know more about the characters and am already planning when I will start the sequel.