[laughs interminably at own pun]
Currently in my life I'M REDRAFTING! I am very very excited about this (I've never done it before). It's pretty weird, though, returning to those early chapters. It's summer, and Corrie's not met Jacinthe or Mel or Jem or Freddie ... she is young and innocent. She does not know the pain that I will dole upon her as the book goes on. ~evil author laughter~
I'd love to tell you that this -- editing -- is why I've been absent for a whole eight days; that I've been writing such a feverishly beautiful second draft I've not had time to blog. Sadly, the real reason is that school has been horribly hectic.
I need to make my uni application by October 1st. That is very, very soon.
Yikes.
On another note, my hundred followers giveaways are now closed! Congratulations to my two lovely winners, Megan and Joanna.
This is the last haul post you'll see in a while. At the end of August I went to the Edinburgh Fringe and stopped by Waterstones, and as I handed over £35 for Demon Road and the two Carol Ann Duffy books, I was just like ... this has got to stop. So no more books*, clothes, or any other unnecessary purchases until Christmas!**
*I know that books are necessary purchases, but if you saw the amount of unread ones on my shelves you'd understand. I need to just buckle down and read the books I own.
**I may reward myself with a fandom T-shirt at that point. For good behaviour.
Next St. Andrews purchase: Ptolemy's Gate! That is the trilogy complete, as seen here, and after reading The Amulet of Sarmakand in July (review here) I am very much looking forward to continuing these books. |
I've had so many recommendations for Murakami ... this lovely hardback specimen was also bought in St. Andrews. Have you read it or another of his works? What did you think? |
Final St. Andrews buy. (We went there on a day trip during camp. I should probably have explained that sooner.) If you're very observant you'll see this isn't my photo -- that's because my sister took the book and now it is somewhere in the dark vortex we call her bedroom. I looked for it earlier, but to no avail. ~stares into the distance~ That room is a scary place. Anyway, I love The Shadow of the Wind so I'm super excited to read this! |
OK BUT THESE ARE WHAT I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT! As I mentioned, at the end of August I went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. My day started not very well -- the train was cancelled, so I missed my performance of Othello, and got very very lost, as I was alone and am terrible at finding my way -- but in the afternoon I went to see Carol Ann Duffy! (She is the British Poet Laureate, if you don't know.) Her recital was amazing. There were some wonderful poems. I'm going to link you to Mrs Faust, which comes from the The World's Wife, a collection wherein she imagines the lives of the women behind famous men. (Faust, for context, is a guy who sold his soul to the devil in return for limitless power.) When she finished it was announced that she'd be doing a signing in Waterstones. I had a train ticket only valid till 4.30pm and it was 3.45, and in my pathetic little brain I was like "ooh I guess I'd better go home now" but when I was halfway down the street I had a sudden flash of light! "SHE'S THE POET LAUREATE!" I screamed to myself, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE?!" I accosted a passerby with a cry of "WHERE'S WATERSTONES?!" and followed his direction up the street. "May a fair wind carry you!" he cried after me, waving a white handkerchief.* I burst into Waterstones and with beating heart purchased The World's Wife and Rapture. I waited in the queue, clutching them, as the lady herself entered the shop. After thanking her, copiously, for the recital, I jumped in there with the question I'd been preparing: I told her I was a writer, and asked her about her editing process. She laughed, told me that editing is an art that takes many years, and encouraged me to read as much poetry as I could, and to treat my drafts as if I'd never read them before. I think this is great advice, and I'm thrilled to have met her. The books are by my bed, and I still rejoice to open them and see her messily signed name. And I still got the 4.30 train. Which just goes to show, you should always seize the day. *That not be entirely true. Dramatic effect, yeah? |
*emily is feeling a lot calmer after making headway with her university application* < *shoots daggers at you* DO NOT MENTION UNIVERSITY APPLICATIONS TO ME OTHERWISE I WILL THROW A BOK AT YOUR HEAD.
ReplyDeleteALSO.
CROWN OF MIDNIGHT *cackles* the pain has not even begun.
LOOK I'M SORRY OK but don't worry, in a few months we'll have offers and this time will be a bad memory!
DeleteTHANKS HAWWA THAT REALLY MAKES ME FEEL BETTER! D: D:
AHH! SUCH AN AMAZING HAUL EMILY! ♥ I absolutely adore all of Rick Riordan's books, so I hope you end up loving them as much as I did. And Crown of Midnight is absolutely amazing - can't wait to see what you think about it. Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous post! ♥
ReplyDelete~ Zoe @ Stories on Stage
(Also, congrats on making headway with your university applications! I know how stressful that must be!)
I'm sure I will! I mean, I already do! I'M SO EXCITED TO READ MORE OF THEM! :D
DeleteI LOVED IT! Such a good book ... and Chaolaena ... aaahhhh ...
Thanks for stopping by, Zoe! :)
PS Haha, thank you ... it is stressful, but I'm getting there!
OH THERE ARE SO MANY BOOKS FROM YOUR HAUL THAT I WANT. I'm making an effort to not hoard books since school started and I have less time to read, so this list is very tempting.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your university applications!! Being a high school student, I have yet to get there but maybe a post with some advice?
I knooow! I have so many unread books ... hence my current buying ban. It's only been a month but it's so hard D: I need to just read the books I own, though, seriously. And I have heaps of reading for school, too >.<
DeleteThank you! I don't know how useful a post would be from a Brit to a Yank but I'll bear it in mind! If I get an interview at Oxford (my #1 choice) I may well post about it :)
woah WoAh WOAH WOAHHH!! SO MANY AWESOME AND BEAUTIFUL BOOKS!! I fully intend to read the Throne of Glass series....at some point..... XD And those George Eliot books are truly beautiful. :O
ReplyDeleteThrone of Glass is really good! (I mean, the first book wasn't INSANELY AMAZING, in my opinion, but Crown of Midnight ... wooooow!) My George books are lovely. They have a special place in my heart. (I just need to actually, like, read them. I've read two out of those six ... oops.)
DeleteThat is sooo cool that you got to meet an author!! Eep! That's too exciting. And got your book signed. I've never been to a book signing.
ReplyDeleteStroud's books looks so beautiful!
I've never read any of these books. But I've heard a lot about Derek Landy. I might have to give him a try.
Good luck with editing! I love editing. But I'm not at that stage yet. :(
Also, new bookshelves are the bestest!
I'm reading Frankenstein right now, and I'm forever misspelling the name. It's really interesting. I'm not normally a fan of long description of scenery, but it's actually really lovely. There's something cozy yet chilling about it all at the same time.
I knoooow! I love her! It was my first ever, so exciting!
DeleteThey are, actually.
YOU MUST GIVE HIM A TRY! I LOVE HIM! SKULDUGGERY! MY ONE TRUE LOVE!
Ugghhh it's HARD! Although I'm really not editing right now, I'm redrafting. My early chapters, which I wrote aged fourteen, have basically no usable material so I'm completely rewriting them, so it's just like first draft again only now I feel more pressured >.<
I know! :D ^_^
Huh. I've heard good things about Frankenstein -- I should read it, I think!