Recommend best Young Adults novels

The competition is over, all you have is to submit your selections for this NPR competition.

In a world with so many books published permanently, it is very important when you can make a right selection. Even though the tastes may differ from a person to another, it is very important that we write and talk about our choices and preferences. 

ELLE competition for creative writers

As a writer-in-process or experienced, any occasion when you can put your words on trial is very important. Thus, when I stumbled upon this ELLE Competition, I knew that I should participate. So you should give you a chance at least to get more experience, especially taking into account that it is a free of charge competition. 

Following, the content of the announcement:

"Calling all ELLE readers who are also writers: You could be published in ELLE’s October 2012 Personal Style issue! We’re looking for essays of 500–750 words in length about a treasured piece from your wardrobe. It’s about more than just a favorite item of clothing, because a cherished dress is never really just a dress: It’s a reflection of where you’ve been, what you’ve accomplished, how you see the world—a reminder of definitive moments in your life.

So here it is: your chance to write a humorous, poignant, heartbreaking, or shocking ode to the clothes that made you who you are today. To enter, simply e-mail your submissions to ElleEssays@hearst.com by June 25, 2012. (Please paste your text in the message window rather than sending an attached document.)".

Good luck everyone! Fashion is not such a trivial topic, after all!

Tales about Widows and widowhood

Apparently, being a widow or a widower is a good subject for the writer. Yesterday, while searching some more information about The Widow's Tale by Mick Jackson I discovered more than 5 books with the same title. Moreover, there are as well successful books about widowers and their stories. 

A lady in her 60s lost her husband in a car accident. The book is an account of her wanderings outside London, looking for herself and recounting the memories of her life. Do not expect a sweet story about stories from the past that make you cry. The tone of the story is very alert, with schizoid alternations between pure humour and unexpected craziness. You can feel the ups and downs the lack of regret for the treason and the late courage of finding what was hidden in the secret closet. What I found very attractive to this story was the good and strong beginning, when you are driving in the race by running far away from home. The action is authentic and you will realize that it is about to stop only a couple of minutes and pages later. Even though the language is interesting, I felt sometimes that it was maybe too pretentious. Otherwise, the words are well chosen and can create an accurate image of the anthropological diary of the woman, step-by-step. 

The book is pleasant to read and do not present a high level of difficulty. You can easily read the book when  travelling or late on a Saturday afternoon. Do not expect drama or nostalgia, but a very honest account of a normal life. 

As for the cover, I find it rather boring, it could be the cover of any book about loneliness.

Always judge a book for its cover

In the majority of cases the decision to buy a book is determined by my immediate various interests. Especially in the last year or so, since I have my Kindle, I prefer to order the books immediately and to read them the next second after my order was processed. 

On the other hand, I also buy books from the bookstores and, besides the books that I need or I've heard about, for the love at the first sight, I need something more than a standard description according to which the book was a New York Times Bestseller in the year 200x. And this magic ingredient is called the cover: I always judge the book by its cover and I will continue to do so. 

When I've found today this list of the 50s coolest covers, I felt as my choices were not only a fancy and fashionista habit, but something that is widely appreciated. My top 3 favorites? The Stranger, The Great Gatsby and Jurassic Park.

Murakami for the week?

I must confess that I am not a great fan of Murakami and I did not grasp easily many of his books. For instance, I did not like at all the Norwegian Wood. But, anyway, I am not at all a fan of the Beatles and thus, it is easy to understand how it was possible to do not come along with the style and inspiration. I am sure that I will need to re-read soon Dance, Dance, Dance and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, but also A Wild Sheep Chase and South of the Border, West of the Sun.

On the other hand, I loved the normal fragility of being from After Dark and the well documented journey through the Japanese psyche from Underground. 

Maybe my mistake is to consider him too much a Japanese writer and to try to select and dislike the influences he brought from the 'Western' culture. 

I still have a couple of books by Murakami to read and a lot of occasions to reconsider my opinion on him. And after I watched this morning this image published in the New York Times I realized even more that if I want to understand his books, I should go beyond the literary and wordy-focused understanding of literature and to try to challenge my mind with visual interpretations of words. A Murakami book is waiting for me on the shelf for a couple of months already.

Writing mathematics

Very often, when I am faced with various manifestations of writer's block, I prefer to take a big break and read something completely different from the subject I am addressing for the moment. Indeed, in the majority of cases, it is like breathing a different kind of air. My mind is getting relaxed, the tension is decreasing and I am finally able to take the right distance from my former ideas.

One of my favourite topics, by far, is the scientific books and articles. When I was preparing my PhD dissertation, I used to read a lot of complicated chemistry articles or geology studies. Due to my technical high school background, I was also able to understand the majority of the articles. Such bibliography has helped me a lot in organizing and finding my academic style: I prefer to write in a simple way, without too many fluffy and complicated words, looking for clarity and concision. 

Today, as part of my busy schedule, I stumbled upon this interesting article including an interview and some reviews of books about mathematics, by Dana Mackenzie. I agree that it is a lot of fun and challenge in a book about mathematics, regardless of your basic background. And I made a mental evaluation of my current library and of the scientific books that I would like to read and review very soon. Apparently, my blogging activity is changing for good many priorities from my daily reading list. 

A good day for the writer

Working with words it is not a simple job. Some days are full of joy and nice sentences. Other days are cold and for a simple paragraph of a relatively simple writing I should wait more than an hour until I find a certain coherence and fluidity of my ideas translated into words.

Today, for the first time in months, everything went more than perfect: I woke up early, finished all the administrative correspondence within 30 minutes and spent the next 4-5 hours writing my daily articles and marketing plans. During the 10 minute breaks, while sipping my coffee, I added a little blogging article here, updated another status there...Now, after almost 6 hours of intensive and successful writing, I am ready to start my 'other' work: writing reviews, finishing some books, more blog posts and fishing for ideas for a healthy re-launch of my blogging life. 

It depends on my to continue in this new yet old writing pace. Most probably, with a little bit of courage, I will be able to finish my three very important writing projects till September and get ready for a new writing start. Working as a part-time or a full-time writer is never easy, mostly when your inspiration is the main source of profit and financial support for your other projects. 

Writing in process...I hope, it will be good writing...