I’m cheating a little today because this running department called “What We’re Reading” is supposed to be a place for us to chat about what’s currently atop our TBR piles. The presumption is that we’re reading somewhere along the paranormal spectrum.
Don’t get me wrong; I read a LOT. But when I’m actively writing, and I’ve been blessed with a very busy year, I deliberately avoid reading, especially in my genres.
So I decided today, in honor of the end of 2013 fast approaching (OMG, where did it go?), I’d share my top nine reads of the year by category. Why nine? I couldn’t come up with a tenth category, of course, silly.
What’s in it for you? The choice of any one of the nine! Yeah, okay, there might be more, but read on….
The Categories and Top Reads (in no order):
1. My Own Books. Yep, we sometimes read our own books. It’s usually painful, but I’m forever looking for an excerpt or re-reading one book to make sure I’m consistent when I write the next in the series. So this year, I read, revised, or wrote, either under my own name or my Susannah Sandlin handle: Omega (Penton 3); Storm Force (Penton spinoff); Jackson Square (Sentinels novella); Elysian Fields (Sentinels 3); Chenoire (standalone novella); Allegiance (Penton 4); and, as of today, about sixty percent of a new series start, Lovely, Dark, and Deep. I can’t name a true favorite; it changes daily. But today, from that list, it’s Allegiance, with Elysian Fields a close second.
2. Research, Sentinels. Even authors of paranormals have to do research (I know, shocking, isn’t it?). So in the category of research for the Sentinels of New Orleans series, I read far, far too many accounts of New Orleans serial killers. I revisited some of the Hurricane Katrina literature. I read five different accounts of the Battle of New Orleans, and particularly about the relationship between unlikely allies Andrew Jackson and the pirate Jean Lafitte. So in this first research category, I’d choose as my favorite read:
* Patriotic Fire: Andrew Jackson and Jean Lafitte at the Battle of New Orleans, by Winston Groom. Beautifully researched and written, Groom offers fascinating insights into these two powerful men who, truth be told, didn’t like each other very much but war does make strange bedfellows, oui?
3. Research, Penton. Set slightly in the future, Penton is not as reality-grounded as the Sentinels stories. I basically took a real community and rebuilt it to my own specifications. So the research for Allegiance honed in on the background of my hero, Cage Reynolds, a psychiatrist who was turned vampire during World War II. As a result, my pick for the year is:
*Unearthing Churchill’s Secret Army: The Official List of SOE Casualties and their Stories, by John Grehan and Martin Mace. A chilling and horrible look at the little-known special forces of the British Army during WW2.
4. Research, Collectors. The Collectors is a new series whose first book, Lovely, Dark, and Deep, comes out on December 30, assuming I finish writing it (of course I will!). In it, I stray far afield from my familiar ground of Louisiana and Alabama. I also stray far from land. Which means this book has had a very, very heavy research component to it. I’ve stared at maps of Nova Scotia till I’m cross-eyed! But the winner is, hands down:
*Treasure Hunter: Diving for Gold on North America’s Death Coast, by Robert MacKinnon. Only the second research book I’ve read in a while (the Winston Groom being the other) that I read straight through without skimming. Good stuff!
5. Books on Craft. I always want to keep learning, improving, finding new ways to tackle problems common to authors. I’m still looking for a way to avoid that thing that happens about halfway through each and every book, where I’m convinced it’s all crap. But I haven’t found the answer to that yet. The winner?
*Practical Emotional Structure, by Jodi Henley. I’m such a plot-centric writer that I struggle with emotion. I took an online workshop with Jodi, and really liked her practical, straightforward way of looking at emotional theory. More good stuff.
6. Pleasure reads: Fiction. Yeah, I did read a few, although it was in single digits. Sigh. I will do better next year (adds to resolution list):
* Wisp of a Thing, by Alex Bledsoe. I’ve been singing the praises of this “rural fantasy” since I devoured it several months ago. Its predecessor, The Hum and the Shiver, wasn’t shabby, either.
7. Pleasure reads: Non-fiction. My day job went crazy on me last January, and it stayed crazy. That, plus a lot of very tight book deadlines, left me seriously stressed and so I turned to…art. Little-known fact: my first love was drawing, not writing. I worked in charcoals and pencil long before I thought about slinging words for a living. So, thanks to reader extraordinaire Roger, I began dabbling in Zentangle, and my winner in this category is:
* One Zentangle a Day: A 6-Week Course in Creative Drawing, by Beckah Krahula.
[Close runner-up: Trawler, by Redmond O’Hanlon. OMG. O’Hanlon writes travel misadventures that make me howl. His book In Trouble Again: A Journey Between Orinoco and the Amazon is on my read-every-few-years list. It’s like me going on a trip into Borneo—a bloody disaster, in other words. This new one is a trip, and I’m only halfway through.]
8. Periodical Reads. This sort of goes with research, because I read a lot of magazines. Well, I buy a lot of magazines that used to stack up enough to qualify me for an episode of “Hoarders.” Now, I subscribe digitally and can keep my stacks to myself. My current favorite is (cue geek music):
*Archaeology, the Magazine of the Archaeological Institute of America. The current issue has articles on How Rome Crushed Carthage, The Blood of Louis XVI, and Neanderthal Smorgasbord. How can you not love that?
9. Wanna Reads. I optimistically keep buying books from my favorite authors, knowing someday I will read them. This year, of all my as-yet-unread adds, the one that gripes me the most is:
*Cold Days (Dresden Files 14), by Jim Butcher. How, oh how, have I fallen behind with my favorite urban fantasy series? It’s a travesty.
[Apologies to Patricia Briggs, JR Ward, and Simon R Green, whose wonderful series I have also neglected this year.]
And there you have it. See anything you want to read? Tell me which one. And when you win, if you only picked one of these titles to be polite, you can instead have a $10 Amazon gift card (or Book Depo if you’re outside the U.S.).
Paranormal Unbound 
Hi Suzanne. I’d like to read Chenoire.
Thanks, Sandy! Tomorrow is release day 🙂
You certainly have an interesting mix of books listed. Looking forward to Lovely, Dark and Deep as well as Chenoire!
Thanks, Liz! LOL, yes, it’s a pretty eclectic mix! I’m doing the cover reveal for LDD today on my Preternatura blog. I think it’s one of my favorites!
Hi Suzanne^^ i’m still interested in discovering teh dresden series so i wouldn’t mind the first book ( better to start in order^^) but i’m also behind on some favourite authors ( i do havze the category: recommended by book lovers friends and it got a little more attention that the rest lately ( with good surprise and some that went from recomended to teh favourite pile)
Hi Miki–That’s a good category. I had quite a few recommendations this year too. I’d probably put George RR Martin’s Fire and Ice series at the top of that list. It’s on my virtual bookshelf, taunting me 🙂 [And you do need to read the Dresden series!]
Doing Zentangle’s isaddictive and relaxing. I average two new ones a day. I started with the book One Zentangle a Day. Another book I liked is Joy of Zentangle. My drawings are best described as organized doodling. Looking forward to the new Chenoire and Lovely, Dark, and Deep.
Thanks for introducing me to it, Roger! It is definitely addictive and definitely relaxing. I’m trying to do one a day but, as usual, I’m putting the cart before the horse and trying big pieces before I’ve mastered the basic patterns. I’ll have to check into Joy of Zentangle!
Good Morning Suzanne and thank you for bringing these books to our attention! For me, I’d love to have your book Elysian Fields (is that allowed as a choice?)!! I’ve also got George RR Martin’s books staring at me from my Kindle and hope to get to it soon! The Dresden files are a fave of mine as well, but alas, I am far behind in that series as well. 😉 Have a great day!
Thanks, Phyllis! I wonder how many of us have old George on our TBR piles? Those books are ginormous! (And you absolutely can request Elysian Fields!)
Nice post Suzanne, and you sure do a lot of research. I am glad you enjoy doing that. For me, I just keep glued to my fiction books. I do have some Jim Butcher books on my shelves, but still have to start reading them. Although I once read a short story in an anthology. You sure made me fall in love with the Faith Hunter books, so I will listen to you in regards to Jim Butcher as well. If I win, the Jim Butcher book please.
I probably do too much research–I’m always convinced that one crucial piece of information is just over the horizon. It also makes a great procrastination tool :-). You should give the Dresden series a try, definitely! The first book is probably the weakest. Then it just gets better and better. I can’t believe I’ve let myself fall behind with it!
I’d love to read Omega or Cold Days. I’ve only read Storm Front by Jim Butcher, so I’d love to try another.
I think it was the second or third book when I really fell in love with the Dresden series, Karin. I think for most books (mine included), the first book in the series is usually the weakest because of all the worldbuilding that has to get done!
Chenoire and Lovely, Dark & Deep are books I’d love to read. The others i already have or i’m not interested in them. I know…. the Dresden books seem to be really good, but they just don’t call out to me..
LOL–no, Dresden isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. It’s pure urban fantasy, but the world is great and Harry keeps growing, both emotionally and in terms of his skills and self-confidence. Chenoire and LDD are coming up soon!
I’m also behind on the Dresden Files. I really need to catch up on those!
I’m also behind on the Dresden series. I really need to catch up! I’d love to read your Penton series too!
Thanks–hope you get a chance to check out the Penton books. I really need to get caught up with Dresden and the Black Dagger Brotherhood. It’s shameful that I’ve let both of those fall behind!
What a great collection of books! It is always very interesting to learn about an author’s favorite books. I enjoy Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files and would love to win a copy of Cold Days. Even though I don’t read a lot of nonfiction, I am fascinated by Jean Lafitte in your Sentinels series and would be interested in reading Patriotic Fire.
Isn’t Jean Lafitte awesome? I’ve become obsessed, I tell you! I’ve even been scheming about a spinoff book with Jean as the main character. I don’t know when I’d find time to do such a thing, but never say never!
Would love a spin off book with Jean LaFitte as the main character! It would be a blast! Hope you find the time to do it!
I’d like to read Cold Days
Good choice–I love Dresden!
I always get a chuckle when the non-believers say – oh paranormal – such crap. And yet you and everyone else has to do a ton of research to ensure that their fiction has “some” basis in reality. Best book I read in last couple of weeks the dark and Hollow places by Carrie Ryan. I picked it up on sale at Chapters and when I looked at it later realised it was third in a trilogy. I read it anyway because it is so well written
Seriously! I do tend to research things to death, but it has to be done. I’ve heard great things about Carrie Ryan’s books but haven’t read any yet. Another author to add to my list!
Great group of books, Elysian Fields is one of my favorite reads of the year. You do so much research and it truly shows in your writing. You have an amazing ability to weave words that make you feel like your in the story.
I would like to read Cold Days, I love the Dresden Files but I am a little behind on the series.
Patriotic Fire looks really interesting.
Great list, Suzanne. Thx!