I don’t try to sell things on my blog unless I actually love/ believe in the product. I’ve looked over the materials she’s developed and it seems like something I would have loved to receive as a kid!

Here’s a blurb from the website about what she’s offering at Pick Your Path Books:

At Pick Your Path Books we customize original novels to feature a child’s name, family, and interests. All you do is fill out a form telling us about the child and his/her family, and you receive a book that is personalized for a specific person! In addition to the extensive customization, our books are written in a “pick your path style”, meaning that it is the child’s decisions throughout the story that determine the ending.

Each book is printed and bound just like the paperbacks you find in the store, with a glossy cover. You won’t be able to tell the difference. Books have been written with children 8-12 years of age in mind.

I’ve taken a look at the first title offering, The Mayan Ruins. The writing is solid, the illustrations are great, and the physical quality of the book is equivalent to anything you could find at Borders or Barnes & Noble. On top of that, the kid will experience an adventure while learning about Mayan culture and architecture. Here’s what The Mayan Ruins is about:

One moment you’re on a plane to a theme park, the next you’re being kidnapped by two distinctly disreputable men. They want you to help them pillage some ancient Mayan ruins. Do you decide to help them? Or do you try to take the treasure for yourself?

This title is set mostly in the tropical locale of Belize. Cursed ruins, a tunnel into the past, and ghosts abound!

So it’s time to ask yourself; do you know a child interested in having a personalized adventure set in the Mayan ruins?

Check out the website for more information: www.PYPBooks.com

In case I don’t get a chance to blog again in the next month, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Posts will be short and sweet for the next few weeks. In the meantime, check out my new review of the post-apocalyptic novel, Plague Year.

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When I started calling myself a writer I realized it became a part of my job description to read as much as possible, especially novels that I enjoyed. I realized that I MUST make time for reading because reading will make me a better writer and good reading always makes me excited to write.

There’s a great phobia that solves any and all problems with finding time to read:

Abibliophobia: having the morbid fear of running out of reading material

Suggested Usage: “Jamie is such an abibliophobe that she NEVER leaves the house without a novel tucked into her purse – otherwise the world may end.”

Suggested Usage: “Jamie is such an abibliophobe she included the word in the ABOUT Jamie Thornton section of the blog.”

Allow me to count the ways in which I am an abibliophobe:

• • • I will choose a purse to take with me based on the size of the book I’m currently reading.
    • The side slots in my car doors contain at least one novel.
    • If I’m going on a roadtrip that number increases to at least five (and that’s five on top of what I’ve managed to pack in my purse and other bags).
    • Some people can’t get away for a weekend without packing 10 pairs of shoes. I’ll decide to wear only the flip-flops on my feet in order to make room for another book in my bag.
    • My To-Be-Read pile is four stacks at least three feet high.
    • I’ve been known to sacrifice water bottle room in my hiking pack to make room for a novel I just might get the urge to read.
    • I’ve been known to bring a book, or two (or three) to family dinners.
    • Going to the movies? Need a book to read before the movie starts.
    • Even if I was willing to purchase The Kindle, I would still carry around a backup novel just in case the batteries ran out, I cracked the screen, or someone set off an EMT.
    • If I absolutely could not fit a novel in whatever purse I was taking, I still print out an article and fold it like crazy until it fits.
    • If folding it like crazy still won’t make it fit, I’ve been known to stuff my husband’s pockets instead.

The above list is what I’ve managed to brainstorm in about five minutes. Thank goodness reading is now a part of my job description.

If you’re interested in feeding your own reading habit, check out my post on:

Do You Library? How to Read 291,000 Books Before You Die

So has Octavia Butler. She wrote an entire sf trilogy that involves spaceships, genetics, aliens trying to take over the world, and interesting ways of generating food (and people). She’s one of my favorite all-time authors. Her novel, Parable of the Sower, made it on my top ten favorite apocalyptic novels.

Cornification

I saw Warner’s artwork on io9.com and felt inspired to share this with all of you. Something about his inventiveness and attention to detail captures my imagination and makes me want to write stories set in strange worlds like the ones he’s created. As I was writing this post though, I realized that while amazing, Warner’s foodscapes are not as novel as I had first thought.

Something about the nightmare idea of food taking over the world just-makes-sense.

Don’t believe me? Check out Shawn Hendriks post on Enslaved by Corn. Or The Ominvore’s Dilemma, or, or… well, maybe Warner’s artwork isn’t meant to be political. I mean, it is an imaginary world of broccoli trees, milk waterfalls, and biscuit mountains, but still, remember what happened to those greedy kids in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Bad things. Bad, bad things.

Thanks goes to io9 for finding Carl Wagner’s collection of foodscapes. Can’t say I’d want a bite out of Warner’s broccoli tree, plus the biscuit mountain looks a little tough to chew, but check out Warner’s full gallery of foodscapes. I wouldn’t mind spending lunchtime in his Tuscan Market.

Oh, My! (Final Thought)

Warner’s art looks like what might happen if the Smurfs had a threesome with the Twilight Zone and Charlie & the Chocolate factory. Come to think of it, UNICEF already imagined what that threesome might look like:

Your Turn

So what do you think? The Vegetable Apocalypse: a disturbingly accurate prophecy of our not-to-distant future, or does it make you want to keep a bowl of ranch dressing handy?

“Writer’s block is a phenomenon involving temporary loss of ability to begin or continue writing, usually due to lack of inspiration or creativity.”

Is a blank piece of paper driving you crazy?

There are writerly ways of overcoming the blank page, or you can Hack Your Way out of Writer’s Block.

But if you had only one sheet of paper, you could…

…Do Something Like This:

or this

or this

Or this

Each image is made from a single sheet of paper and an amazing imagination (in this case, Peter Callesen’s).

For more beautiful single sheet art visit: A Single Sheet of Paper and Peter Callesen’s selected works.

Just Write

No matter how you try to overcome that blank page, keep in mind Steve Martin’s famous quote:

“I think I did pretty well, considering I started out with nothing but a bunch of blank paper.”

Now please excuse me. I’ve figured out how to fix my first novel and I need to find a pair of scissors.

I’m not guaranteeing you’ll read 291,000 books before you die (by the way, that’s the number of separate titles published per year in 2006), but this post does contain a few resources and strategies to find those books worth reading, versus those worth tossing against a wall – without spending too much money or time.

You don’t even need to have the same reading tastes as me to try it.

The Ideal

I wish every book recommended to me, every novel I came across, every non-fiction resource I purchased, was the BEST thing I’ve ever read.

I wish every book made me think, “Oh boy was I lucky to buy it in the trade paperback version for $15 because I would have paid the publishing company $100 to read and own that book – those suckers. What a steal!”

The Reality

There are only so many books one person can buy and read before he or she goes bankrupt, or dies. Over 40,000 separate titles of fiction books were published in 2006 alone:

A lot of those books suck.

Maybe you can afford to buy books without worrying about price or quality, but I’m poor.

The $15 to $25 price tag per book makes me want to cry when I look at a stack of 5 books that I must immediately possess.

Even used book store prices become extravagant when I’ve gathered a stack of 12 books and I’m afraid to put any of them back. What if I don’t remember the title? What if I just re-shelved the BEST book ever to save 4 dollars?

But what if I buy that stack of books and then end up hating one, or two, or eight of them? I’ve spent good money on books I can’t return, and now feel obligated to slog through horrible stories.

Did I mention I’m an abibliophobic bookworm?

If you share a similar affliction, here are some tips on how to feed the addiction without wasting anymore time and money on a bad book.

DO YOU LIBRARY?

Local public libraries receive a bad rap for a variety of reasons (no funding, few open hours, not enough books), but I’m impressed with Sacramento’s system. I can search through the online catalog and access books located in both California and Nevada. After I request it, the book is shipped to the library of my choice. In my case, a library less than 2 miles from my house. And it’s all free. And I can request up to 50 titles at a time.

With access to more than 9 million books, they fulfill more than 80% of my searches. Usually every book except for the ones published in the current year.

Did I say this was a FREE online service the library provides? See if your public library offers something similar (watch out for late fees).

Super Fast Library Lookup

With John Udell’s Library Lookup you can surf almost any website and use a bookmark to check if a book is available to reserve at your library of choice, without leaving the page. One window, one bookmark, one click of the mouse.

When I’m surfing Amazon and see a book that makes me want to hit that “Buy Now” button, I hit my customized bookmark and check it out from the library instead.

Make sure to check out John Udell’s Library Lookup. It’s revolutionary! (Ok, well, maybe not revolutionary, but it is a great time saver). Make sure to visit Blogging Basics 101 for helpful instructions on how to create this bookmark in both Internet Explorer and Firefox.

WorldCat.org

If your public library isn’t as cool as mine, try out WorldCat.org. It’s kind of like a database of library databases. Enter in your zip code to locate the book in the library nearest you.

I once searched for a specific out of print book on trophy hunting (research for writing Rhinoceros Summer). I couldn’t find it anywhere even though I knew it existed. I tried WorldCat and discovered one library in Tanzania was the only location known to keep that title on its shelves. This Tanzanian library does not offer an inter-library loan program with Sacramento, but I was still awestruck that WorldCat found that one copy.

Lists, Stacks and Databases, oh my!

I may reserve 50 books at time, but I rarely read them from cover to cover. Instead, I lay them out in stacks on the coffee table and begin my system of sifting, skimming and judging. I separate the books into two piles (“buy!” and “Stop! Don’t do it!”).

I record everything on two lists. I input the “to buy” books into my Amazon wishlist. I enter the others into a searchable Excel sheet so I don’t forget they were duds.

This helps me avoid the impulse purchase. It also calms my fears about being haunted by the-novel-that-got-away.

Bookworm Survivor

I have a finite number of years to read all the books worth reading. The above are just a few strategies I use to determine whether a book is worth skimming, tossing across the room, or buying to relish every word until the end – all without breaking the bank.

My one wish is for the library to allow more than 50 requests at a time. *sigh*

Note: I think it is important to purchase new books. The library is a great “first line of defense” to find those books and authors worth supporting.

What are your strategies? Any tips of your own to share?

]]> http://www.jamiethornton.com/2008/02/05/how-to-read-291000-books-before-you-die/feed/ 0 http://www.jamiethornton.com/2008/01/28/disguises-for-everyday-escape/ http://www.jamiethornton.com/2008/01/28/disguises-for-everyday-escape/#comments Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:07:45 +0000 admin http://jamiethornton.wordpress.com/?p=69 I was reading my daily dose of blog posts when Paperback Writer turned me on to the Morphases Editor. It’s a supercool real-time “face manipulation generator”. Paperback Writer used it to better imagine what a character in one of her novels looks like.

For Research’s Sake

I search through magazines, TV promo shots, movie images, and more to find visuals of key character features, clothing, attitude, setting, etc. Some writers may think that’s cheating(scroll thru the comments to find differing opinions), but I think of it as collecting resources for inspiration.

I usually select a special music playlist, as well as a ‘bucket’ of images that help remind me of the tone and look that I want for one of my novels. I don’t always find what I’m looking for, but now I have one more resource for my list. Alert! This online editor may take up hours of your time. There are so many different tweaks and combinations to choose from. The images blend well together. And it’s free! You’ve been warned…

If you check out the Morphases Editor, let me know what you think!

Go One Step Further?

After acknowledging how helpful the generator might be in imagining characters for my novels, my next thought was of all the personal disguise possibilities. The main website (www.Morphases.com) allows you to submit your own photo for manipulation. What might you look like with a longer forehead? A different nose?

Think of the possibilities!

Maybe you’ll like the new manipulated you enough to hand the picture over to a plastic surgeon, and then you could become an international spy, or at least trick your mother… Ok, ok. For disguises that do not involve pain and permanent damage, check out this fun WikiHow article on How to Disguise Yourself.

(No, this is not me in disguise. I wish. This is going into my character bucket for a future novel.)

Sometimes, there’s nothing a person can do to stop breakfast from burning, being late for work, dealing with horrible clients, fighting with a friend, getting in a fender bender, finding your dog ate a new pair of $50 shoes.

Invariably this will all happen on a Monday.

Mondays are awful, awful days.

I could whip out a top ten favorites list for almost any genre of fiction, but my most effective remedy to combat the end of the weekend is to search for an apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic gem where the world ends, or is ending, and the-fate-of-human-existence hangs-in-the-balance… It puts my life in perspective.

I decide my day wasn’t too bad after all: I do not have thousands of flesh-eating zombies surrounding my house, I am not the last woman on earth, I do not have a brain cloud.

This all serves to remind me that I have a pretty good life. A damn good life.

So here is my current list of all-time favorite apocalyptic novels (all titles subject to change as soon as I read something better):

Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood

Blindness by Jose Saramago

1984 by George Orwell

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

The Stand by Stephen King

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

Have you read any of these?
These novels are exceptional on three levels: strength of ideas, strength of story, and strength of language. The only possible exception on this list is Stephen King’s The Stand: the Expanded Edition, because it did read a little loose to me, but the scope of the story more than made up for a few sloppy paragraphs.

Do you disagree with any of my choices? Do you have any favorites you’re surprised didn’t make my list?

Kindred Apocalypticists
Many apocalyptic novels follow the survival of a small group of people who would never have spent time together in normal life.

These characters often form a new eclectic family to better survive – and make the reader nervous about who the author might kill off by the end.

I believe a special relationship exists among people who both read and love the same books. I could get all Jungian and discuss subconscious archetypes and the like, but basically, I figure if you love one or more of these books as much I do, we probably have other things in common.

While there are lots of good people I know who have not read the same books as me, I hold a special place in my heart for those people who know exactly what I’m talking about when I say the world Jose Saramago creates in Blindness just plain scared the shit out of me.

So if one or more of these books has been on your ‘to buy’ list for awhile, don’t hesitate any longer.

Feel free to leave a comment letting me know what you think.

If I can help you better survive the end of the world, err … weekend … I’ve done my job.

One caveat regarding Blindness – it was a hard book to sink into. Jose Saramago writes with only periods and commas. No quotes surround dialogue. I almost always hate books where the author experiments with language to the detriment of everything else. Not the case with Blindness.