What Are You Reading?

(This is my "TBR" (To Be Read) pile...)

Write. Rewrite. When not writing or rewriting, read. I know of no shortcuts. – Larry L. King

No matter the topic I choose, I always seem to end up using the blog as a platform to encourage reading. I’m alright with that, as I think reading is an important thing to do. Practically everyone reads as needed, but I wish more people would read arbitrarily too. You may say, “But I don’t like to read, Jenna!” OK, but did you ever think that maybe you just have not found the right book for you? There are so many. Maybe you are thinking, “I’m just not good at sitting down and concentrating on a book.” I say practice makes perfect! Folks sometimes spend hours and hours in front of the television binge watching a show. I’ve even had people tell me, “I really didn’t like that show, but I watched every episode anyways.” Yet when we get bored with a book on page ten, we immediately give up on it. All I’m asking is that people give pleasure reading a fair try!

People often ask me what inspired me to begin writing. Of all the inspiring factors, one that I sometimes fail to mention is: READING. That’s right– reading books, especially ones that I thought were really good, inspired me to write. True, as I was in the process of writing Dunnigan, I struggled to feel that I was ever going to measure up to the quality of my favorites, but as I went along, I realized that it really was not about that. I could not do Erik Larson, Ruta Sepetys, or Donald McCaig, but gradually I fell into my own voice and style. In my opinion, that is the best any writer can do, is to develop their own style. That will most likely be an ongoing process for me and anyone else who might be writing out there.

As I prepare to embark on my next project, I know that I will still be finding the way to my particular style. But until I start writing and rewriting again, I have an enormous TBR (to be read) pile that I should address if I am going to properly follow Larry King’s advice. What are you reading?