In My Mailbox / What I Brought Home / Hopelessly Plagiarized Attempts At Recounting Books Taken

The Story Siren has had to cut back reviews over at www.thestorysiren.com to take care of her puppy. My heart goes out to her-- we have a puppy who just needs a birth certificate to be a legal member of the family, and if he ever got seriously ill... yeah. So, in honor of her and because I have found some new books lately, here is a version of In My Mailbox/What I Have Now/Books That Found My Address.
Lord of Misrule by Rachel Caine was sent to me by Penguin (thank you!) and I started this one on the flight over. So far, not in love, but I've got 200 pages to go.

In Too Deep by Jennifer Banash, also sent by Penguin. This I was prepared to hate, and read subsequently in about an hour. It's so addictive. Review to come soon.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart is one of the 4 books on my Best Books of 2008 list. I was given quite a lot of cash for B&N, so I promptly picked up this, my favorite book of the year. I ordered online (new and exciting!) and hopefully will have it soon...

Dramarama by E. Lockhart is the only E. Lockhart YA I have not read. It's in paperback and impossible to find in school, so on to the virtual shopping cart it went. (Weird. You buy books... without touching them. Strange.)

The Conde Nast Traveler Book of Unforgettable Journeys: Great Writers on Great Places. How could I resist? The cover alone is delicious.

Now, I'm planning on picking up Cracked Up to Be tomorrow and I still have about $9-10 leftover. The question is, what YA paperback written by a fairly new author would you recommend? I'll buy it if it looks good. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles comes to mind, but please recommend things!

(Ooh. I also received The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen and Graceling ... I am a spoiled brat. I have books. Goodness.)

How to Use a Writing Book

I'm currently digging through Travel Writing by L. Peat Neil, a fabulous explanation of how to get into the exotic field of, well, travel writing. Here are some tips I have for getting the most out of your writing books.

1. Take lots of notes. Underline passages that you like, and rewrite the main points in a notebook. Don't forget to mark inspirational passages as well as technical how-tos.

2. Write down your ideas. As I read writing books, I usually think of new articles I could sell or techniques to try. Write these down! Don't hesitate to stop reading for 10 or 15 minutes to flesh out the next big idea.

3. Review the book. If you have a book reviewing blog, review the writing textbook. It's nice to formalize your opinion of a wri-book, it will boost your site hits and you can help the author out by spreading the word. (Yet, if it's a crappy book, say so.)