RTW: Best Book of January

Road Trip Wednesday is a 'Blog Carnival' where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing or reading related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hope from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic :)

This week's question is talking about the best book of January.

To be honest with you, it's a hard one to answer! I've read some really fabulous books lately. I read On the Jellicoe Road, which is an old one by Melina Marchetta which although I found it a bit hard to get into I ended up really loving it. I finally read The Book Thief which despite being hugely depressing was a great book, and of course Please Ignore Vera Dietz which was very well done. 

The best book though? Well I have a tie. My absolute favourite was The Fault in our Stars. I have since told everyone to read this book. My FH, my mum, both my sisters, my auntie and a number of my friends have all gotten stuck into this book and loved it just as much.

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It's written by John Green and is narrated by Hazel Lancaster, a sixteen-year-old cancer patient who's life changes dramatically when she meets fellow cancer sufferer Augustus "Gus" Waters. The story follows Hazel, as she fights with cancer and her parents while navigating this mysterious new relationship with Gus.

The story is beautifully and honestly told, it's funny, it's heartbreaking and it's most certainly a memorable read. I'd highly recommend this one.

The second book that I would recommend is JK Rowling's new book, The Casual Vacancy.

Now, this book has been subject to huge debate. It's not Harry Potter. Absolutely not. There is no ounce of a magical world within these pages at all. So if you see JK Rowling and expect Harry Potter, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. 

It is true this book does take a long time to set the scene. It's a little slow and very busy body, but I feel all of this is quite interesting. Seeing the different characters, the different voices of the novels and really getting inside their heads - the meek, the power hungry, the nasty, the manipulative, the scared... they're all there. I remember mentioning to my FH while I read this that it was interesting getting inside each characters head because you could quite clearly relate those characters to people in your own life.

The book is very well written. The climax near the end comes out of no where and is so completely surprising and heart breaking. I really found the book very real and relatable.

It is a black comedy, and some of it is pretty dark. It's not YA, I should mention that, but the other thing is that it's very British. The humour is British and that is perhaps why some have disliked it so much. It's certainly not for everyone but I do urge people to give it a try. I was very hesitant to read it after seeing a number of negative reviews but my friend pushed me into it and I'm so glad she did. It was worth it. 

If you've read either of these books I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on them? Otherwise, what was your best January book? 

RTW: A Dramatic Roadtrip

Road Trip Wednesday is a 'Blog Carnival' where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

This weeks topic:  In celebration of the release of Kristin Halbrook's NOBODY BUT US (hooray!!) we're asking: Zoe and Will set off on the road to seek a better life and encounter loads of drama on the way. What's the most dramatic road trip you've ever been on?

It's been a long time since I last participated in RTW and it's almost fitting that this is the topic in which I make my return. 

The reason I have been away (and I have talked a little about this in the last few months) is that I was on a nine week road trip with my significant other across the USA. While I have done a lot of other road trips, I have to say this most recent one was easily the most dramatic.

It wasn't dramatic in that we had issues a long the road, we didn't miss flights, get food poisoning, get mugged or anything like that, but it was dramatic in that we had limited funds, a tight schedule and so much to remember - where we were staying, where we were going next, what time our bus or flight was, and that it was a nine week road trip!

Before we left I wrote out a 65 page guide. Each location we were visiting had a section which included maps of the transit systems, directions from the airport or bus stop to our accommodation, the details of our accommodation, supermarkets close by and restaurants that can deal with my gluten and onion allergy, a list of attractions for each destination complete with the price, address, directions and opening hours and then finally details of our departure.

It was crazy organised and that's the only reason the road trip went so smoothly!

It was an amazing experience though, and we were able to see so much of the amazing USA!

So that's my crazy dramatic last few months! Here's some pictures :D

With Jessica Khoury, the author of Origin

RTW: NaNoWriMo ... Oh how I wish!

Another hump day which means another Road Trip Wednesday - one of my weekly highlights!

Road Trip Wednesday is a blog hop hosted by YA Highway! The lovely ladies at YA Highway post a topic and everyone writes their answers to the questions on their blog before hopping all over the place to check out all the other answers. It's fun!

This week's question.... Are you doing NaNoWriMo, or have you ever? Does having a deadline inspire you?

The short answer is no. To be honest I only recently found out about this. I'm sorry, I've been living in a cave and should really hold my head in shame.

The longer answer.... I really, really want to do it. It would be such a great experience and would be so much fun! Unfortunately my American work visa expires in November and I'm then taking off with my significant other on a two month road trip across America! (I'm bound for St Louis, Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta, Montgomery, New Orleans, Houston, San Antonio, Denver, Vegas, San Francisco, Vancouver, Seattle, Long Beach, Anaheim, San Diego, Los Angeles!) So I'm going to be on the road without a computer for a good part of November, December and January. I'll be in full on tourist mode and will be beyond exhausted.... so unfortunately the prospect of entering NaNoWriMo isn't even a possibility this year. I will be spending countless hours on buses and a few airplanes here and there so will be getting plenty of reading done!

Next year however, I will hopefully have finished my WIP (which has been in the planning phases for the last six months but I'm holding off writing it until I'm back in New Zealand in January and can give my full devotion to the book), and I'll have plenty of peaceful me time that can be devoted to NaNoWriMo. I'm looking forward to it already! I must confess, I have spent a lot of time pouring through the website wishing I could sign up, but I must be patient! Patience, they say, is a virtue.

Just to give you something pretty to look at, this is the view from the balcony of my little piece of paradise, my writing retreat in New Zealand. If I'm lucky and work doesn't get in the way too much, I'll spend my NaNo month up there next year, pumping out a story!

As for the part about the deadline - I love deadlines. I find it hard if I don't have an initial idea, but a deadline really puts my a into g and gets things moving. I often set deadlines for myself, which is why I haven't started writing my WIP yet beyond doing full on plot, setting and character breakdowns. One I start writing I'll be able to put a deadline on myself and work towards that. Without a deadline I'm known to flounder a bit like a fish out of water.

What about you... are you doing NaNo? Have you done it before? I want to hear all about your NaNo experiences! What do you think about deadlines? Do they help you or hinder your creative process?