Top Ten Tuesday (2)

I am participating in Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! Each week, there is a specific topic for a top ten list.

This weeks topic is:

Top ten books, I had VERY strong emotions about (cry, laugh, hurl across the room, etc.)

I think I am going to have to make this a top five, because I am struggling with books that I had strong emotions for. There are many that I love, but not so many that can bring out strong emotions in me. I used to never cry or laugh whilst reading a book, but recently, there have been a select few which have caused such reactions from me:

1. Naughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman

This one came to my mind first. And for an appropriate reason - I cries my eyes out at the ending of this book. Utterly heartbreaking, and I was just so upset!
Initially, I was in a bit of a shock. I couldn't really believe what had happened. I was a bit numb. I ended up re-reading the last few pages over, and over, and over again. After the second re-read I was in tears. Then I just kept going over it, because I was still shocked and wishing that what had happened didn't.


2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I cried my little heart out for this one, as well. Another heart wrenching ending to an amazing book. Although this book, as well as Naughts & Crosses made me cry so much, and the endings were so depressing, I loved them. The book is incredible, and the ending brought out such a strong emotional reaction, enforcing my love for it all the more.


3. Divergent by Veronica Roth

My emotions within this book were slightly different. I did cry towards the end, but I wasn't as upset - I didn't have a strong connection to particular characters which caused the upset. I was more emotionally attached to Tris. In my review, I mention how I felt so in tune with Tris' emotions - I felt what she felt as I read the book, whether it be butterflies in my stomach, upset or distraught etc. I also had plenty of laughs whilst reading witty comments by some of the supporting characters.


4. The Hunger Games by Suzanna Collins

I get so completely drawn into the story and the world, that when I finished each book, I was stunned and I didn't know what to do. I had such strong emotional connections with everyone involved and I felt like I was there with Katniss in the arena, experiencing everything alongside her. This was a little different to Divergent where I felt as if I were the protagonist. I was inside Katniss's head, but at the same time I felt like I was accompanying her.


5. Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

As the end of an amazing series, I was a bit emotional when the end came around. I loved Rose's adventures and I will certainly miss her stories.
I also got fairly emotional, by this I mean extremely giddy, when the romantic scenes popped up. I found myself blushing, with butterflies in my stomach.


How about you? What books make you really emotional?

NaNoWriMo: Day #1

Word count: 1,950/50,000
Days left: 29
Hours slept: 7.5
Chocolate bars consumed: 6 (Come on, it was Halloween yesterday! We had a lot left over..)

NaNoWriMo has officially begun! So for my first update, I am just going to give you some kinda.. vague... details about what my story is about. Well is about a girl. And there's a guy involved... That's always fun. It is dystopian. There are some sci-fi elements, but it is very scarce.

As for hours slept, that began from 12:00 am on the 1st November. And hopefully I don't end up completely exhausting myself, but it will be very interesting!

I am off to a reasonable start. I have discovered that I need to do a bit of research as well so I have been doing a little snooping on the interwebs for relevant information.

If you are doing NaNo, tell me how you are progressing so far! I will be back later with more updates and hopefully a video.

NaNoWriMo 2011

Click the badge to check out the official NaNoWriMo website!

Yes, this year I will be participating in the madness that is NaNoWriMo, aka. National Novel Writing Month. For those of you who are unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo, it is where crazy people like me, who love to write, attempt to write a 50,000 word novel throughout the month of November.

I attempted NaNoWriMo last year and got off to a pretty good start, but seeing as I had 2 weeks of exams in the middle of November, I fell off the wagon and abandoned my story. So, I am trying again this year! And thankfully I have no exams during the month.. I just have a couple of important assignments due but hey, NO WORRIES!

As writing 50,000 words in 30 days will most definitely take up a lot of my time, alongside school and work, my posts will be reduced to NaNo updates and rambles (I will try to post some good tips and hints I come across for those of you who are also joining in), and I will have a few memes and reviews posted, hopefully. This is just a heads up.

I will be back tomorrow with a Day #1 update.

Also, if you are participating, please leave me a comment or send a tweet my way. I would love to chat with other NaNo'ers! Or if you want to become buddies, add me: /catrionaaa

I shall be back to normal next month. Maybe. If I am not completely insane by then..

New YA Releases: 1 November, 2011

Here are some upcoming releases this week.


Paperback:

+ Seizure by Kathy Reichs
+ Reckoning by Lili St. Crow


Hardcover:

+ Crossed by Ally Condie
+ Tigers Voyage by Colleen Houck
+ Last Breath by Rachel Caine
+ Dark Eden by Patrick Carman
+ The Outcasts by John Flanagan

Interview with Jason Letts

Jason Letts is the author of The Inevitable Trilogy, The Powerless series and the Spencer Nye Trilogy. He was kind enough to send me an eBook copy of the first book in his Spencer Nye Trilogy, Suspense which I have just reviewed. Jason Letts was also more than willing to answer a few questions about his writing, and Suspense!


What inspired you to become a writer?

I started writing when I was living in Japan, and it was a great way to relieve stress or tension that I was having being in a different culture and with the language barrier and all. I've always been a heavy reader, and then I just started putting together the ideas for a story, and then one word after another I started ending up with books. Now I'm lucky enough to be writing full time.


Do you usually work with an outline, or just write your stories without much more than an idea?

I'm actually a compulsive planner, and for Suspense especially the planning was absolutely crucial. That's not to say a lot of the story isn't discovered along the way, but it's good to have a lot of it down to know what I have to get out in each scene. Crossing fingers and hoping something great will come out probably wouldn't work for me.


Suspense is a very unique story and there is so many interesting elements of the world you have created, like Connect, defying gravity and all of the amazing technologies, let alone the plotline! I did not expect that ending. How did you come up with Spencer's story? What inspired the world and everything in it?

There were a couple of deep interests that came together to form this story. A girl getting a taste of fame. A perfectly secure world where people had complete freedom (to contrast so many books where there are absurdly oppressive regimes begging to be overthrown). A meaningful friendship between two female characters instead of just love interests. And I've also really wanted to up the action and push the envelope a little bit in terms of what YA is. The book was a lot of fun for me to write!


When writing Suspense, did you have any characters write themselves into the story or attempt to take over?

I have had this happen before where I needed a character who hadn't been planned at all. For Suspense, I pretty much had the cast down, but I've been surprised at how big a role Taka has had to play in the whole trilogy. That was completely unexpected, but it should work out great. There's a lot more going on with her than just what we see in Suspense.


What was the hardest scene you had to write?

I hate to give anything away, but there's some body switching that happens in the book, where characters end up switching genders, and it was tough making that work the way I wanted it too. There's a lot in the book that I feel emotionally invested in, but that doesn't stop me from writing.


Is anything you write about based or influenced by your personal experiences? Or are they purely imagination?

I'm sure there are, bits of character here or there, or experiences that I've had with various things. Some jokes I've come up with in real life conversations end up in books too. I came up with them, so why can't I use them, right?


Can you tell us a bit about your upcoming book, Expense (Spencer Nye Trilogy #2)?

Expense is actually set to release in just a few days, and I'm excited to see how readers respond to it because there's plenty that's different while so much is the same. The challenges are different and more difficult, requiring some deep thinking to resolve, and there are revelations that cast events in Suspense in a whole new light. There's a lot more going on than just meets the eye, and I'm hoping that draws in readers and makes this a trilogy that they can really get invested in.


Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions!

I'd like to take a moment to send a big Thank You to Catriona for all of her time and effort. I wish you the best of luck with the Little Book Owl blog and all your future reads. Thank you!

-- Jason