Reading, writing, and articles

First, an article I just read made me laugh.

You mean it's strange to be an adult and read teen lit?

I've been reading books that were outside my age group for most of my life.  When I was younger (we're talking elementary school here, folks, so figure almost 25 years) I was reading books that were for kids that were in middle school/junior high.  I got to junior high age and I was reading Anne McCaffrey (Pern, the FT&T telepath books, the Crystal Singer books), Andre Norton, Piers Anthony, Mercedes Lackey, and others like that.  I was reading books that were at a college level by the time I was a freshman in high school.

I still read books like that, but is it so strange that when I'm looking for something to give my mind a rest I turn to YA literature?  The Twilight series, the books by Tamora Pierce (her first 2 series at least), and the Harry Potter books are just a handful of those I've read that are classed as YA.  It's restful and fun, and they're easy reads when I want something light and fluffy (ok, so they're not exactly "light" and "fluffy", but compared to my usual authors of choice they are).

I still prefer Neil Gaiman, Joshua Palmatier, Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey, et al.  Every now and then, however, I want a break from the books that make me think and want something I can read and not have to worry too much about it.

Barnes & Noble is selling out?

I don't think Barnes & Noble closing a few stores that aren't doing as well and putting a little more focus on the Nook is a bad thing - except for those poor people working for B&N's stores that may be closing.  Their stock has dropped.  So have their sales.  But check out book sales over all.  E-books are rising, regular books are falling.  It sucks but people are after convenience and you can carry dozens if not hundreds of books on your Kindle/Nook/iPad while you should only conceivably carry 2-3 books at a time (unless you're like me with 5+ books lingering in your purse/backpack/duffel bag.)

I've been really against e-books since the beginning.  I'm an old fashioned reader.  I like my paper copy books.  The truth is, though, with our increasingly digitalized society, e-readers are going to continue to drive regular book publications out.  Eventually, and my guess is within the next 5-10 years, we're going to see less of a market for mass market paperbacks or trade paperbacks and more of a market for the e-books. What that's going to mean for people like me - who are struggling to get published - I can't say.  But here are some different things I've read about the whole ebook debate.

Short blog post by Dan London
Good point...what about the libraries?

In regards to my writing...

• "Jehnna's Tale" is written, and in need of editing.  I've got a 7500 word limit and I'm sitting at over 11,000 words right now.
• "Project Solange" is in general outline form - as in there's a few short paragraphs about how the story is going to go.  I'm going to start that one relatively soon.
• "Platinum and Shadows" is also in general outline form.  That's another one I'm starting very soon.
• "It's Not Easy Being Green" - my submission for a horror contest - is halfway done.  I expect to have it finished by the end of this month and edited by mid September.
• WIP is...well, a WIP.  I have to rewrite a bunch of Book 1 because I hit a major plot blockage.  When I finally cleared it, I realized it changed way too many things.  *sigh*