A Year in Books 2013.

     You could just go to my Goodreads profile and see what I've read in 2013 by clicking "date read" under My Books, but where would the fun be in that? So here's a list, in order, of what I read in 2013.

The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, #2) by Brandon Sanderson

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4) by George R.R. Martin

Gun Machine by Warren Ellis

The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'Neill

Long Day's Journey Into Night by Eugene O'Neill

Embassytown by China Mieville

Spun & Bite: A Writer's Guide to Bold Contemporary Style by Arthur Plotnik

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle

Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit by Corey Olsen

The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks

Make Good Art by Neil Gaiman

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5) by George R.R. Martin

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler

The Odyssey by Homer

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R Tolkien

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

Aloha from Hell (Sandman Slim #3)

Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic by Henri Bergson

Lysistrata by Aristophanes

Menaechmi by Plautus

Tartuffe by Moliere

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Red Seas Under Red Skies (Gentleman Bastard, #2) by Scott Lynch

The Republic of Thieves (Gentlemen Bastard, #3) by Scott Lynch

The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks

How Not to Write a Novel: 200 Classic Mistakes and How to Avoid Them by Howard Mittlemark

     This list doesn't include the forty-two sources for my senior thesis. The largest disappointing read began in the beginning of the year with The Well of Ascension and The Magicians with both books leaving me hating the main characters by the time I finished them and have yet to pick up the follow ups. The biggest surprise was A Feast for Crows, which is notoriously hated by fans of George R.R. Martin for focusing on new or minor point of view characters but I still felt it was a strong book with events that'll be important for the final two books.

     Easily the best reads I had this year, as far as new books I've read was Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastard series starting with The Lies of Locke Lamora. A lot of modernist plays in my reading list this year, which I find myself loving despite disliking a lot of modernist poetry and novels.My rereads this year, The Lord of the Rings and The Name of the Wind continue to maintain their place as two of my favorite books, while Neil Gaiman's new novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane did not disappoint despite it's short length. 

     Despite my love for Warren Ellis's writing, Gun Machine was your typical detective mystery in stark contrast to his previous novel Crooked Little Vein which I think I will reread this year. Discovering his podcast late last year, I had to pick up The Tolkien Professor, Corey Olsen's book Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit which made me appreciate the children's book a lot more. Embassytown by China Mieville is in my opinion his best book, exploring an alien race and language in a way I haven't read in science fiction yet, though I know he isn't the first to do so. Meanwhile, with the passing of Iain Banks I had to read two of his novels this year. The first one, his second Culture novel The Player of Games has easily become one of my favorite science fiction novels while The Wasp Factory was a disturbing look at rituals that I never would of thought of.

     Of all the writing books I've read this year I thought The Writer's Journey would of come out as the best but with a second half that drags How Not to Write a Novel's brevity as well as it's hilarious way of showing bad writing made it the top writing book for me of 2013. I don't have much to say about the Harry Potter series, I like the books as I read them and they are indeed fun books to read but that's about where it ends for me, and To Kill a Mockingbird I don't really need to comment on that always has been written before. The book and Atticus continue to be amazing. That was my 2013 in books.

     For 2014 in books I hope there books from my favorite authors are announced, to reread J.R.R Tolkien's The Silmarillion, and to read ten more books than I've read in 2013.

Some Resources and Sites for My Writing Friends

   

     
     Writing has completely encompassed my life lately. Writing my thesis, writing essay, writing my novel, writing my NaNoWriMo (that's National Novel Writing Month for those not in the know.

     So I thought I'd share the colleciton of links I have gathered about writing. Some of these are just fun little articles, some are actual resources. I'm pretty much emptying out my Writing bookmark folder here, so enjoy.

Poets&Writers - Literary Magazines - This is a huge database of literary magazines you can submit to. Both paid and unpaid sources. I suggest submitting as much as possible, as that's what I will be doing.

Writing Help - Tumblr - This is just some random writer on tumblr offering a bit of help with a collection of resources written on the subject of writing.

The Pompous Ass Words Site - A site dedicated to the most pompous ass words you should avoid in your writing. I love words of all shades but I'd say avoid these words in your writing like the plague. I'm look at you diaspora.

10 Resources to Help You Write a Great Short Story - Pretty straight forward, a list of resources to help you write a short story. Honestly the whole Write It Sideways site is probably chock full of resources you can use but this is the one in particular I had bookmarked.

'Why I Write Strong Female Characters" by Greg Rucka - Those of you might know Greg Rucka, both a novelist and a popular writer of comic books. He's created some great female characters in both and this is worth a read on why you should too.

The Dark Side Of The Publishing Industry: How To Avoid Scams - There are people out there looking to take advantage of good writers who might not quite know the ins and outs of publishing. This article is a great warning to avoid people trying to scam you out of your hardwork.

Preditors & Editors - This site lists the good and bad side of the industry. Those are who are trying to scam writers are obviously "preditors." Please donate to defend this site if you can.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Pretty simple, it's just as it says it is. I use this a lot because I think the origin of words is a good resource to using words.

Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America - Even if you don't write science fiction or fantasy this is a great resource for articles about writing and about people trying to fleece writers.

Association of Authors' Representatives - If you do get an offer from an agent, it might be a good idea to check if you can find them here.

Nerdist Podcast - George RR Martin - This is an interview with George RR Martin on the Nerdist Podcast. He's the author of A Song of Ice and Fire series and gives some solid advice on writing.

Nerdist Podcast - Neil Gaiman - Halfway through this podcast Neil Gaiman gives what I find to be some of the best advice on writing. It's so great someone made a youtube video of the advice, but I suggest listening to the whole thing.

Nerdist Writers Panel - I highly recommend anyone who uses iTunes to subscribe to this podcast but you can listen to it here as well. If you want to break into screenplay writing I highly recommend this podcast. Ben Blacker interviews people who are working in the industry right now on some of your favorite shows. Breaking Bad, Adventure Time, The Colbert Report, Once Upon a Time, Veronica Mars, and others. They'll tell you how they broke into the industry and how they continued to write in the industry.

Neil Gaiman's Commencement Speech - This is just an overall inspiring speech done by Neil Gaiman on how to make art, and why make art.