Fun ride and not what I expected. I couldn't put it down. Curious to read more of Ruth Ware's books. A hen party (bachelorette party) gone awry.

Loved the not too distant future feel and how realistic the scenarios were that he described about a death app. What if you got a call you were going to die in the next twenty-four hours? This book explores that question.

Absolutely loved this book! Such beautiful prose using colors to describe emotions throughout. Fabulist elements interweaved in a fascinating way. Such vivid imagery and creativity.

A teenage girl believes her mother turned into a bird after she died.

I wrote a blog post digging into the genre here:

https://susanshiney.com/what-genre-is-the-astonishing-color-of-after-by-emily-x-...

This was extremely creative with lyrical language. The audiobook had a good narrator but it is hard for me to focus with fantasy. I need to read the physical book too.

#audiobook #youngadult

The best production value I have ever heard on an audiobook! Well-acted and immersive. The chapters go back and forth in two povs. One with a podcast and the other a young woman with a stutter. The story hooked me right away and I loved the ride it took me on!

#audiobooks #youngadult

This book was great! Super creative use of a virtual reality game that used African-American history as deck cards and explored race relations as well. Loved the audiobook narrator's performance too.

Loved this audiobook read by the author. It is a memoir-in-verse with heart-wrenching intensity. It is written for young adults so the poetry was easy to absorb for me, which isn't always the case.

Loved this, my second book from Elizabeth Acevedo. It delivered just as much as the Poet X. A great audiobook experience listening to her clear poetry. I want to explore novels in verse more. Such a creative way to go back and forth between two perspectives. So inspiring!

#youngadultfiction #audiobooks #novelsinverse

I enjoyed this whole series and liked the way it wrapped up. She has a novella and I think another extension book coming out and I am all in and will check those out as well. Also, interested in YA Dark Fantasy in general. Any other books like this that you can recommend? ☺🧚‍♀️

I have seen this on a lot of best young adult book lists. It did not disappoint. Great voice and character arc. The narrator of the audiobook did a nice performance as well.

Enjoyed the style of this book that discussed a lot of philosophies and concepts I had heard of before, but with a different spin. I actually got a lot out of it. 😊

Great discussion about intersectionality and making her experience clear. I liked the information at the end about the steps people can take to make changes.

I can see how influential this book was in 1999, it exploded the YA genre. Great narration and a bunch to unpack. Had a book chat with my husband and it helped me to appreciate it even more. Looking forward to checking out the movie adaptation.

Listened to this book a second time. The first was about five years ago. I learn so much about myself each time I listen to it. It was especially poignant with the pandemic and all of this quiet alone time.

Loved this! My first novel in verse. So creative to have each chapter be a poem and how they work together. I am looking forward to reading more by her. The author, Elizabeth Acevedo, has a bunch of great spoken words on youtube that I recommend as well.

A great starting point or springboard into my anti-racism journey. I am inspired to keep growing, learning, and reflecting. Ready for the discomfort she discusses.

Love the way this book breaks down story structure. I think it lives up to all of the hype. I am such a story structure nerd!

This month's guest blog is written by YA author Lynne Stringer. She describes her exploration of Cosplay! 🥀💃

#writingcommunity #cosplay #yabooks

https://susanshiney.com/rising-to-the-cosplay-challenge-by-lynne-stringer/

Great sequel to the Cruel Prince. I especially loved the bits in the underwater world. Already have the third one checked out from the library! 🧚‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♀️🧚‍♀️

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black was such a fun ride! Dark fantasy YA set in a fairy world. I have seen this book everywhere and I get why it is so popular. It is a real page turner. She sets up vivid settings with just a few sentences. Just checked out the sequel from my library! 🧚‍♀️🧚‍♂️🧝‍♀️🦋

I am interested in reading his other book Emotional Intelligence now. I liked this one, especially the second half of the book where he discusses meditation, mindfulness, and positivity and their impacts on our brains and decisions.

I first read this book about 5 years ago and it had a huge impact on the way I approach habits. Rereading it I still got a bunch out of it the second time around.

This was my first Joan Didion book. I definitely want to check out some of her other works. It was a short and fast listen, not light though. She discusses the death of her daughter.

#audiobook #overdriveapp

Loved this book, I need to read more of her stuff!

I was expecting more about her rock star life and it was mostly about her love life...There were some great reflections about beauty and being a woman in the industry. I am glad she narrated the audiobook.

This week's blogpost is about my thoughts on The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World by Lewis Hyde. 📚💚

#writingcommunity #creativity

https://susanshiney.com/10-takeaways-from-the-gift-by-lewis-hyde/

Finished it! Fascinating hearing the perspective of a scientist and I loved her poetic descriptions of plants.

Still reading this book bit by bit. It is heavy but thought-provoking.

Happy to announce this week's blog is written by Author Mary E. Martin! She discusses her novels and how Magic Realism is used in her writing. 🦋✨⭐

#writingcommunity #magicrealism

https://susanshiney.com/magic-realism

This week's blog is all about Gothic Fiction! I use A Christmas Carol as an example to break down the genre and a couple of examples from The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. 👻🧛‍♂️🧟‍♀️💙📚

What do you think of gothic fiction?

#writingcommunity

https://susanshiney.com/5-reasons-why-i-love-gothic-fiction/

Several nice gems from this book! :)

Listening to the audiobook and I love it!

First book finished in 2020. Loved it! So honest and soul-searching reflections. Wow. Audiobook was read by the author.

"Just as treating nature's bounty as a gift ensures the fertility of nature, so to treat the products of the imagination as gifts ensures the fertility of the imagination."

Hi. I wrote a blog post about why I love magical realism and used Love in the Time of Cholera to illustrate my points.
https://susanshiney.com/5-reasons-why-i-love-magical-realism/

#magicalrealism #readingblog #writingblog #gabrielgarciamarquez

Great job breaking down the revision process and what issues to look for and how to solve them. I highly recommend it!

Simple but inspiring to find more coziness in my life!

Loved this book! Such beautiful writing all of the way through.

Couldn't stop listening to this book of essays. I have so many bookmarks of sentences I love. Highly recommend it!

Loved this book! Such a great synthesis of research and economy of words. I wish I could learn about all history in this format.

A lot of reflections in this book about perfectionism and the life of a creative person.

I zipped through this one, a great listen. I am surprised I haven't heard of it before.

Quick and fun listen. She was honest about her experience in Hollywood.

Episode 1 of Behind the Keyboard with Nicolle and Cynthia featured Eileen Cook talking about her book and her approach to writing in general. Great webinar and she read a scene from the beginning. I really want to read it! #ya #podcast #authorwebinar Here is the video: https://youtu.be/J0FLCTFuYUI

I liked it overall. Loved experiencing Ethiopia, being a twin, and a new perspective on surgery and medicine. The ending saved it for me. A lot of gut-wrenching intense moments. It didn't have a strong narrative drive to keep me reading. It felt long, a bookclub deadline helped me finish it. But...good...

So inspirational! Loved hearing how creative he was and he shows you step by step how he made his movie and the thinking behind his decisions.

Must read on the craft of writing! I loved the way he organized each chapter into sections. I couldn't put down the chapter: Preparation, Planning, Production.

Loved this book about the making of Thelma and Louise and its discussion of women in the film industry. So glad my library had this one, I hadn't heard of it before. I was interested and entertained the whole time.

Super creative retelling. Great audiobook performer/narrator.