Burning Through 13 Books

I have been burning through books lately.  

Since I'm not yet up to speed on GoodReads, I'll use this post to share 13 books I've read recently.

I just reached the end of this one earlier this evening so I'll kick things off here:

1. No Shelter (Holly Lin) by Robert Swartwood

Very solid thriller with a well developed female protagonist.  The pacing in Part II was too slow and I felt a bit impatient waiting for more to develop.  Fortunately the chapters are short and read quickly.  Once through her 'daily life' section, there was a bigger payoff.

Over all it was well written and definitely a page-turner.  If you like over-the-top, kick ass female characters, then Holly Lin is for you.
Good for a debut novel.  Recommended.

2. Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk

I like Chuck, but this was like a bad porno script – and not in a funny, ironic way.  
Not recommended.

3. Sloppy Seconds: The Tucker Max Leftovers by Tucker Max

I'm almost embarrassed to admit to reading this, but it was free.  I saw it was from the I Hope They Sell Beer in Hell guy and thought I'd see what all the hoopla was a few years back since I never read that.  This one was mildly entertaining.  Somewhat humorous.  Certainly obnoxious and juvenile.  I think the "fratire" moniker for the genre is dead on.
Not recommended (unless you are a pubescent boy).

4. Kitchen Confidential:  Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain

I like the guy's travel show.  He's full of snark and loves to drink.  Who knew he could write?  This is a great book and very interesting.  This is how to write memoir.
Highly Recommended.

5. The Abysmal Brute by Jack London

Inspiring story about boxing and corruption.
Recommended.

6. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

It won the Pulitzer Prize for a reason.  It's short.  It's great.  Perfect before the trip to Cuba.
Highly Recommended.

7. Coding Isis by Davis Roys

Pretty good techno-thriller.  The story was pretty solid and fast paced, but there were some minor distractions.  Mainly the fact that all of the characters use British colloquialisms, especially since it's set in Washington D.C.  Otherwise, well-written.
Decent debut.  Recommended.

8. The Lion, the Lamb, the Hunted by Andrew E. Kaufman

I loved this book.  It's a psychological thriller.  Patrick, the main character is easy to identify with and very likable – even though the story opens at his mother's funeral and he's basically spitting on her grave.  Hooked.  You've got to read more.

You get two parallel stories with Patrick investigating a toddler's murder and the back story of him being abused by his mother.  It's multi-layered and it works wonderfully.  Great twists and turns that are surprising in the best possible way.

This ranks as the best book I have read so far this year.
Highly, Highly Recommended!

9. Baby Shark by Robert Fate

Decent revenge thriller.  The premise is unique.  A strong female protagonist seeking revenge for the murder of her pool hustler father.  It's set in the 50s, although at times I was having to force myself to suspend disbelief.

Well-written, but only average over all.  Penn of Penn & Teller highly recommends the book, but I'm pretty sure it's mainly because he's friends with the author.
Recommended if you like this genre or strong female MCs.

10. Pandemic by Jesse F. Bone

This is actually a short story, but I like the premise so much I included it here – also I read it on my Kindle, so that counts as an eBook, right?

This SciFi story was written in the 60s so it was a little difficult to read the dated prose.  Also, not terrific writing, but again the premise was really cool.  Read it and see why.
Recommended.

11. The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King

Stephen King doing young adult fantasy.  This was a reread and it reminded me why I liked this story so much.
Highly Recommended.

12. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

I gave up halfway through.  I just couldn't do it.  I know it's supposed to be some sort of classic for fans of fantasy, but it's one of the few books I've given up on.
Don't Bother!

13. Touch by Elmore Leonard

If you're looking for the Elmore Leonard who writes gritty Crime Novels, then you're in the wrong place with this story.  I love those other novels, but Touch is by far my favorite Leonard novel so far.

This young stigmatic seems to perform miracles – or are those simply coincidences?  It doesn't matter.  Lots of people want to exploit him.  And it wouldn't be a Leonard novel without the wacky cast of characters including con men and outlandish priests.
Highly, Highly Recommended!

Any significant book you've read so far this year?

Thanks to Pcorreia on Flickr for the nice photograph!

13 Things About Cuba

One of the gifts I left behind in Cuba.

Last week I was fortunate enough to have traveled to Cuba legally as a U.S. citizen.  So naturally, I thought it would be fitting to share a few things about Cuba and my experience there before everything changes.

13 Things About Cuba

1. If I'm going to talk about Cuba, I have to begin with the Malecón in Havana.  For our trip, we stayed at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba right on the Malecón.  All I can say is, what famous American from the early- to mid-1900s did not stay there?  Frank Sinatra, check.  Ernest Hemingway, check.  Ava Gardner - who eventually ended up swimming naked in Ernest Hemingway's pool - check.

Now, back to the Malecón, the boardwalk and break wall along the sea coast.  Not surprising, the first thing you notice are the cars.  These are not the shiny, classic American cars kept under tarps in your uncle's garage only to be rolled off of a flatbed trailer into a Cracker Barrel parking lot car show.  No, these cars are driven.  And just like everything else in Havana, the cars can be seen in various states of repair.  Being enveloped in black clouds of exhaust, you'll realize just how old some of these cars really are.

The Malecón is a boardwalk.  But much more interesting than the one in Venice Beach or Myrtle Beach.  I ran along the Malecón at different times of the day and always encountered the same thing: people.  People fish, walk, and hang out on the break wall.  In the evenings and weekends, vendors and artists set up stands.  While I ran on the old, pockmarked surface, I could only think of coral.  The Malecón teamed with schools of colorful people.  Beautiful.

2. Workers in the famous Cuban Cigar factories are allowed to have three cigars each day.  These are not the high quality items reserved for sale.  Inexperienced apprentices generally hand-roll these cigars using lower quality leaves with tears or imperfections.  Hand-rolling cigars takes practice, and practice makes perfect.  So why waste an otherwise good thing?

Although their three cigars may be rejects by Cuban quality standards, not all tourists know that.  While on the factory tour, a worker on a bathroom break peeked from around a corner and waved his three cigars at me.  It was clear he wanted me to make him a deal.

3. Many of the beautiful buildings in Havana are in dire need of renovation - and much has already begun.  The facades can be dull and colorless old concrete.  But like a flower pushing through the sidewalk, the vibrancy of the Cuba shines through.  From the pastel colored classic cars, to the lively clothing styles, to the bright artwork, Cuba will capture your heart - even on a cloudy day.

4. According to recent new articles, President John F. Kennedy ordered one thousand Cuban cigars before he signed the U.S. trade embargo into law.

5. During our visit to an elementary school in Havana, somebody asked about the graduation rate of school children.  The administrators were a bit perplexed because they claim that all students graduate.  

Prior to the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the literacy rate was about 60-70%.  Today, according to UNICEF, it is 100%.

6. Through a combination of the Embargo and the collapse of the Soviet Union, organic farming is the only method of farming possible.  The lack of chemicals and farming machinery forced Cuban to innovate.  Necessity is the mother of invention.  (Since Cuba has been so successful with organic farming, it makes you wonder why produce at Whole Foods is so expensive.)

7. After Castro nationalized businesses and private property, most people argue that the best Cuban chefs fled to the United States.  If you want great Cuban food, stay in the United States.

But this wasn't necessarily my experience.  If you avoid the tourist restaurants in Havana - where these chefs try to cater to a warped interpretation of Western tastes - you will find wonderful food.  Make sure you eat in at least one paladar, a small restaurant set up in a private residence.

8. Many of the old American and Russian cars in Cuba have a yellow Ferrari emblem displayed on the sides.  Cubans are resourceful and creative.  They are proud of their cars but authenticity does not always factor in when it comes to maintaining their cars.

9. An American, William Alexander Morgan, fought alongside Che Guevara in the Cuban Revolution against Cuban dictator Batista.  Morgan held the rank of Comandante.  He was later executed by Castro.

10. In 2009, an open air peace concert was held in Havana's Revolutionary Square.  Our guide said 1.2 Million people attended and even the police enjoyed the free Latin Music concert.

11. Expect to tip a lot of people while visiting.  Local guides and hotel employees all work for tips.  Cubans in Havana are generally very friendly toward Americans.  But just like any tourist area in the world, beware of hustlers.  Everyone wants your money.

12. Ernest Hemingway is Cuba and Cuba is Ernest Hemingway.  In the village of Cojimar, the setting for The Old Man and The Sea, a bust is on display that was created from the boat propellers of local fishermen.  Cubans loved, and still do love, their Papa Hemingway.

13. As shown in the picture above, these Cuban children really appreciated gifts.  Baseball hats and baseballs are great gifts to give in exchange for a family's hospitality.  I wanted to give something unique and memorable.  Hopefully the few Rubik's Cubes I gave away won't frustrate too many Cuban children.

What comes to mind when you think about Cuba?

Does One Size Fit You?

You may wonder whether your literary piece would best be presented as a poem, an epic novel, or something in between.


Every format is unique, but there are some surprising similarities.  Depending on what you plan to convey to the reader, one format may appeal to you more than another.


Let's take a look at the literary spectrum and define each:

• POEM:  Poems are often the most compact pieces in fiction.  First and foremost, the focus is on the language, its rhythm and the emotion it evokes.  Poetry is not usually about character development and plot; it's about the words.  Words that rhyme or sound a certain way can dramatically change the overall effect of a poem.
• FLASH:  Yeah, I know what you're thinking...get your mind out of the gutter!  Flash Fiction, (or sometimes called a Short Short Story), is a story format composed in less than 1500 words.  It can be impossibly short.  Hemingway is often credited with his six word story conjured up for a wager.  "For sale:  Baby shoes, never worn."
• SHORT STORY:  A Short Story is generally comprised of 1500-25,000 words.  Usually this type of story is centered upon one major event, few characters, and has no room for subplots.  I particularly enjoy reading short stories because they can be read in their entirely in a single sitting.  The prolific writer, Ray Bradbury offered advice to write a short story in a single sitting.  That way, even as a draft, it would have a common "skin" around it.
• NOVELLA:  Novellas are usually between 25,000-50,000 words.  They are the Goldilocks of the literary world.  Between the length and complexity of a short story and a novel.  To some readers, they are "just right".  Novellas are popular in some genres, like Young Adult.  When I was in fifth grade, I loved The Great Brain novellas by John Dennis Fitzgerald.  Another example of a novella would be George Orwell's Animal Farm.
• NOVEL:  Novels can be between 50,000-150,000 words in length.  A novel is a long narrative story.  Novels allow for minor characters, subplots, and backstories to be explored, sometimes for chapters at a time.  Reading a novel takes time and is an investment for the reader.  It's all about the experience.
• EPIC:  An Epic Novel is longer than 150,000 words in length.  Its plot can span many years or require telling the stories of many, many different characters.  In some genres, such as science fiction, a novel may simply have more words because of the required "world building" in sci-fi and thus becomes an Epic Novel.  However, an epic novel is typically more complex than a novel.  Notable examples of epic novels are Moby Dick, War and Peace, and Stephen King's The Stand.

So, what do all these have in common?  Obviously, they all require words.  And the shorter the piece, the more carefully selected the words are.  But there's something else...every literary form also has a structure to it.  This is something that is as fundamental as the eight corners are to every puzzle in the picture above.

A poem has structure determined either, by lines and stanzas, or visually as it is laid out on the page.  The structure of the other literary formats tends to require the ingredients of a "story".  Where does your story fit along the spectrum above?  A story...any story, should be just long enough to convey the story...no shorter, no longer.

Okay, that's a pretty vague answer, but what do you wish to convey to the reader?  More emotion, or more of an immersive experience?  Knowing that should help you to decide how long your piece should be and which format to use. 

Of course, it's not always cut and dry.  J.R.R. Tolkien originally wrote The Lord of the Rings as an Epic Novel, but his publisher decided to break it up into smaller chunks due to paper shortages during World War II.

The great thing about writing fiction is that similar techniques can be used and adapted for the different formats.  Look at the picture above again.  Cube enthusiasts will tell you that each of these puzzles offers a unique set of challenges, but they also share a common thread...a common approach.  You can solve the larger cubes by simplifying them until they look like a scrambled Rubik's Cube and then solve it the same way as a 3x3.  And you can do that with fiction, too.  A story is a story.  There will tend to be a protagonist, he will struggle with some type of obstacle, and the story will be resolved in some way.

A popular misconception is that "shorter" means easier and that authors "progress" from shorter to longer pieces.  One format is not superior to another.  It can tend to take more time to write a novel versus a short story, but it is not necessarily any more challenging than the shorter forms.

In fact, Blaise Pascal's quote, (translated from French,) sums it up perfectly,

"I have only made this letter rather long because I have not had time to make it shorter."

Authors may decide to write in any part of the spectrum for a variety of reasons.  There are certainly notable examples of writers that have stayed strictly within one narrow category, and there is nothing wrong with that.  But there can also be joy in loving the uniqueness of every form.  If you learn about the structure and techniques typically applied to the different literary formats it may even help you become "unstuck" with a particular piece you might be struggling with.  But, ultimately, it's up to you to decide where you want your piece to fit.

So does one size fit you?  Or will you try them all out?