Wednesday, September 7, 2011

So Good It Makes You Sad

Have you ever read an amazingly great book and felt totally depressed when you finished? Not because one of your favorite characters died, or even that the book ended and you had to say goodbye. No, I mean depression because the book was so freaking incredible and you KNOW you will never write like that author, so why not just give up now!


As you may know, this has been a few weeks of incredible reading for me. You didn't know? Well, you do now. Since the beginning of August, when I decided to work through several of the paperbacks and Kindle books collecting various forms of dust and cobwebs around me, I've been plowing through the pile. To date, I have read: 
  • Cinders by Michelle Davidson Argyle (fantasy)
  • Blockbuster by Sven Michael Davison (contemporary)
  • Khan: Empire of Silver by Conn Iggulden (historical)
  • The Swords of Faith by Richard Warren Field (historical) - I needed to get back to this from a while ago - very glad I did
  • Sandworms of Dune by Brian Herbert (sci-fi) - again, didn't plan to, but I'm a huge Dune fan!
  • The Forever Queen by Helen Hollick (historical)
  • Cartier's Ring by Pearson Moore (historical)
  • The Borgia Betrayal by Sarah Poole (historical)
  • Kismet's Kiss by Cate Rowan (romance)
  • The Black God's War by Moses Siregar III (fantasy)
  • To Touch the Knight by Lindsay Townsend (romance)
In case it occurs to you, yeah, that's a hell of a lot of reading. What can I say? I went on vacation and I'm not working on my own books now. That will change very shortly. Next on the list is Michael Hicks' In Her Name: Empire, which I'm looking forward to, as I've heard nothing but good about it.


Reading all these great books has not only gave me a better appreciation for how hard these authors have worked, but honestly, the quality of some of them made me depressed. I'm not exaggerating. I'm one of those writers who has to work hard at a story, yet there are others who seem to be master storytellers. I know, I've read some of them this summer. These writers can effortlessly sweep a reader away into their cleverly crafted worlds. Kudos to everyone I've read so far for keeping me entertained. But, dammit, sometimes I wish your stories weren't so good!

9 comments:

Sophie Perinot said...

I can COMPLETELY identify. Completely.

Sophie Perinot said...

I COMPLETELY identify. In the past few months I've had a couple of encounters with books that just blew me away.

Johanna Garth said...

Lisa, you are a reading machine! that's amazing. I'm inspired!

Unknown said...

Oh, yes, I can identify. It's why we love series, yet I don't want to WRITE a series.

Lisa J Yarde said...

Thanks for stopping by ladies. I'm nose-deep in Hicks' In Her Name. Let the marathon of reading continue.

Consuelo Saah Baehr said...

Lisa I have the opposite reaction. When I read an author whose writing I admire, It makes me want to write. I think, "OMG, when writing is good, there's nothing better, let me go and write." I agree with Johanna - "you are a reading machine."

N. Gemini Sasson said...

All the time. Which is why when I'm just beginning to write a new book, I hardly read at all. Safer that way. Preserves the self-confidence. What there is of it.

Michelle D. Argyle said...

Yay for Cinders on your list! And some other really great looking titles I'll have to check out. I still have your book on my very long list. I'm sure I will adore it when I get to it. :)

Michele Drier said...

Have you read any of Jeri Westerson's Crispin Guest series? They're medieval noir The most recent one is Troubled Bones. RT Reviews has given her books 4.5 star reviews.

Time flies when you're having fun, or writing novels.

It's been a tremendous twelve months. A new job and health issues have impacted my writing time, but I'm still at it, trying to wrap...