July Books and New Year's Resolution Update!

I can't believe it's August!!!!!!

The Cheetah's been flying for seven, whole months, and I've met some of the most amazing writer-friends (that's you!). I'm so grateful for your time. I know there are a ton of great blogs out there, and stopping by mine...well, you make me happy!

The NYR's haven't been dropped yet. Yay! I'm still exercising, still watching what I eat (though the weekends are a struggle), and I'm still reading and writing. I see no reason why August won't be even better than the seven months before it. :)  

On to the reviews!

My July reading was sparse, SORRY, but I did polish my manuscript and send it to some amazing crit partners. They'll be ripping it to shreds very, very soon. hehe.

1. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Such a heartbreaker. Dickens has a dry humor in much of the book, especially when focusing on the bodyguard Jerry Cruncher or dear Lucie's 'nanny,' Miss Pross. But the heart and soul of this book lies with a waste of space named Sydney Carton, who can't say one good thing about himself until the last page. He's a tragic doppleganger of the well-to-do Charles Darnay, who I find myself disliking for no other reason than he seems bland and goody-goody. Though it's tough to get through the language, especially when I'm used to YA novels written in strict first person, it's worth the journey. LOVE this story.

2. Timothy and the Dragon's Gate by Adrienne Kress
I met Adrienne at BackSpace in May, and what a doll! Though Dragon's Gate is solidly MG, it has a quick quirkiness to it that, once it started moving, refused to let me go. Timothy is too smart for his own good, and somehow finds himself the keeper of a key that controls a dragon. And when I say dragon, I mean an elderly Chinese man named Mr. Shen. Mr Shen's a hoot, by the way! This book has dragons, pirates, ninjas, monks, gamblers, 'ghosts,' and Peter Pan. Now, please tell me it doesn't sound awesome!

3. Writing the Breakout Novel: The Workbook by Donald Maass
This is the companion workbook to Writing the Breakout Novel (that I read in June), so I won't go into details except to say Buy It, Buy It NOW! Write your novel, read the book, go through the workbook, and prepare to rewrite. It's an amazing tool and sits firmly on my desk between Strunk and White's Elements of Style and King's On Writing. Wonderful!

No, I didn't get through The Princess Bride. Not Original Sin either. I was bad, I know, but sometimes the MS takes center stage. So, I read it twice in July. Does that count? ;)

Plans for August:
Well, The Princess Bride and Original Sin are high on my list, and I have a handful of books on my Kindle that've never been touched. Shame on me! I'll also have the pleasure of critting a couple manuscripts (Lynne, Tonya, Eliza!) when they're ready. We'll have to play things by ear.

What are your goals for August? Books? Writing? Movies? Travel? Sharing is caring, you know!

-Marie