Books That Matter

I came across this meme from Natasha Fondren via Alyson Noel's blog via Magical Musings and thought it'd be a great way to introduce ourselves here on the blog. Can't wait to see your answers!

•What book(s) made you a better writer?
The Writer's Journey is probably the one that had the biggest influence.

•What book(s) made you cry?
The Time Traveler's Wife, Shiver, The Lovely Bones, Twenty Boy Summer, The Last Time They Met, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (actually, I think almost all of them made me cry!)

•What book(s) made you laugh until you were in tears?
The Bridget Jones books are some of the few. I don't really read funny books now that I think about it.

•What book(s) made you feel like you could conquer the world?
Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting, which was The Secret before The Secret came out. Great book. I gave it to a lot of people as gifts.

•What book(s) have you read three times or more?
I know for sure that Are You There God, It's Me Margaret is on that list. I probably read it 10 or 15 times between 4th and 6th grade. I'm sure there are more from around that time but after junior high or so I pretty much stopped re-reading. Maybe Tuck Everlasting. I've read Harry Potter 4-6 twice, and will have read them 3 times once I do a re-read of the whole series at some point. Also, my favorite short story is All Summer In A Day by Ray Bradbury and I've probably read that around 20 times at least.

•What book(s) kept you up all night reading?
I stayed up late to finish The Forest of Hands and Teeth in one sitting, same with Deathly Hallows. Identical. Pet Semetary was the first horror book I read and I stayed up all night when I was home alone reading it because I was too scared to go to bed!

•What book(s) do you want to read again?
All The Pretty Horses - which I loved, The Time Traveler's Wife, The Talisman, Are You There God It's Me Margaret, Shiver, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, The Harry Potter series, Catcher In The Rye, Shutter Island, Paper Towns, A Wrinkle In Time

"Great Rules of Writing"

Do not put statements in the negative form.

And don't start sentences with a conjunction.

If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a
great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.

Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.

Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.

De-accession euphemisms.

If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.

Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.

Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.

~William Safire, "Great Rules of Writing"

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Welcome to The Sisters in Scribe Critique Group's Author Blog! This blog will be shared by all four members of the group. Thank you for checking us out!