Another Year, Another Review

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Another Year, Another Review

Better late than never! (Backdating this so it gets filed under 2013.) Yes! Here it comes! Dragon's Year in Review!

From a writing standpoint, it was a mixed bag. I did not submit enough, but I did win second place in the Tucson Weekly Erotic Fiction Contest and have a flash fiction forthcoming in Cheap Pop. I convinced two agents to look at one of my novels, one of whom passed with little commentary except to say that "the voice did not jibe" with him and there was no accounting for taste; he didn't like The New Yorker's taste in fiction either. The second still hasn't made up her mind. I've spent most of the year working on a monstrous novel, which is closing in on 800 pages and will need to be completely written when I reach the end.

My biggest coup was throwing caution to the wind and giving notice at my lucrative and reasonably reliable copywriting job. The real world was crushing me, and while I may starve, at least I shall starve as an artist. More news on that front is forthcoming.

Of course, I also got married; visited Death Valley, Sedona New York, LA, San Francisco, and Santa Fe, and took my mother-in-law on a 3-day road trip from Manhattan, Kansas to Tucson, Arizona that involved spending the night on a Mennonite farm in Oklahoma, visiting the Very Large Array in New Mexico, drinking margaritas in Albuquerque, and eating Pie in Pie Town; finally bought a beautiful wooden desk where I can work like a grown-up; organized all my nonfiction books by LOC designation, all my fiction books by the author's last name, and all my office supplies in such a way that I know exactly where everything is, but no one else can find it; made a not insignificant amount of art; read some good books, but not as many as I wanted to; and wrote some decent prose, but not as much as I wanted to.

In short, life happened. And now...

Dragon's 2013 Year in Review

Picture Books: 18
YA/Middle Grade Novels: 25
Adult novels: 12
Fairy Tale Collections: 1
Graphic Novels: 20
Nonfiction: 5
Memoir/Biography: 6
Plays: 1
Not Easily Categorized: 2

Total: 90

Could be better; could be worse. The intention for 2014 is to boost my number of reviews, both here and at Best Children's Books. Among other things.

Anyway, you know, keep reading. Happy New Year!

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FAQs

What's in Dragon's Library?

The intention was to create a record of every book that I read. I wish I'd had the idea about twenty-five years ago, but better late than never.

What's the deal with all those Amazon links?

Dragon's Library is a real, live Amazon affiliate site. Go ahead! Click those links. You can buy any book on this site (heck, you can buy any book in the world) directly from a trusted source. [Disclosure: I get 4% of the sales. Please buy a book and help support a struggling artist.]

How do you choose books?

Years of reading to elementary kids has given me a good sense of what kids respond to. I only review children's books if both my students and I enjoyed them. Otherwise, I favor speculative fiction, classic literature, and non-fiction books about science. However, I have been known to read just about anything.

Will you review my book (or a book I like, or a book I am publicizing)?

Yes. Yes, I will. I will review pretty much anything you send me, provided it does not suck. I do not review books I don't enjoy. If I like it well enough to finish it, it will appear on this site. Email me for further details.

Read to Your Dragonet

Studies show that children who regularly hear books read and see adults reading books have an easier time learning to read. If your children do not realize that books are fun and contain interesting ideas, they will be less motivated to learn how to read and write. Children who do not learn to read and write have difficulty succeeding in school and at life.

Even infants can enjoy books. You can check baby board books out of the library. Your baby will enjoy sitting on your lap as you read the words and point to the brightly colored pictures. If your baby wants to chew on the book, that's OK too.

Toddlers and pre-schoolers should understand how to hold a book (right side up) and how to turn the pages (left to right in English). Even if they're not ready to read, you can help your child prepare for school by teaching them how to talk about the stories they've heard. Pre-schoolers should be able to tell you something about character, setting, conflict, and resolution. After reading a story, prompt your child to tell you who the story was about, where it happened, what the problem was, and how it was solved.

If your grade-school child has difficulty learning to read, you can advocate for them. Your public school district is required to provide special help to kids with learning disabilities. If you suspect your child has dyslexia or some other difficulty in recognizing words, you may have to fight for your child's rights. Your child has the right to be tested by the district to determine the level of his or her disability, and your child has the right to a qualified specialist who can understand the best way for your child to learn. Some districts may be reluctant to pay for the extra help your child needs. Don't give up! Make sure your child gets the help he or she deserves. In America, every child has a right to an education.

You can learn more about children's books at the American Library Association website. Your public library is a great place to introduce your children to books. They will have special programs and incentives for kids of all ages to love reading. In most systems children are entitled to their own library cards from the time they are old enough to write their own names. It's a great way to teach responsibility as well as foster a lifelong love of learning and books.

If you can't get to the library, but you have an Internet connection, you can find many full-text books on-line. For adults, Project Gutenberg offers thousands of full-text books you can download for free.

Dragon's Library

Tuesday, December 31, 2013