RTW: Favourite book = toughest question in the world

Well, I have to admit, I haven't done that much reading this month. I bought 5 books and visited Portland, OR for the COLOSSAL bookstore called the City of Books. (I think everyone should make a pilgrimage there!) More details a few posts below...

I don't remember when August started or ended (today???) so I'll just list all the good stuff I've read recently here:

1. THE HUNGER GAMES by SUZANNE COLLINS

I know, I know, I know...I'm late into this trend! But I didn't read Hunger Games until I saw how popular it was on the Internet! Big mistake. So I got in that giant freak of a bookstore in Portland and now I'm hooked. It kept up last night. I think that says all...

2. THE PASSAGE by JUSTIN CRONIN

Ok, this one ain't YA, but it is an AMAZING book. Ok, so it's like 700+ pages long and takes me almost 60 seconds to flip a page because it's so dang loooong and the print is way too small (I'm only on p.200-something). But writing is excellent, heartfelt, and brimming with talent. It's long and descriptive, yet not boring, which is miraculous. There's an equal dose of action, thrill, and reflection on the frailty of humanity. Hard to come across a book like this these days.

3. THE COMPLETE HANDBOOK ON NOVEL WRITING by WRITER'S DIGEST

A very very very helpful book! Haha. Bought this in Portland too. It's written by a variety of successful authors which makes it trustworthy (James Patterson, Margaret Atwood, Stephen King etc.). It has everything you'll need for your dream career: how to write the story, how to revise the story, how to survive the genres, how to publish, how to promote...it's all there!

(Sorry it's the only picture I could find! You can't look inside..)

I'd also like to say a word about a fantastic writing community called Inkpop. I joined in the middle of August, scared already as how to navigate through the thousands or millions of users, but it's actually a very, very friendly community that ACTUALLY READS YOUR STUFF. AND LEAVE QUALITY COMMENTS. Of course I read their stuff too, but I've been very impressed so far. It's 90% teenagers, most of whom are younger than me, but I've been wowed almost every day by the quality of writing there! This site is definitely worth the visit!

By the way, before summer ends, I recommend you ALL go outside and breathe in the summer air. As I said in the last post, being outdoors is a great place to be for writers!

Now, what have YOU been reading lately?