Reading & Writing

I have managed to prioritize reading this month.

Reading is an important part of writing (every blog about writing says so) but it’s hard to add it back to my daily routine when I’ve filled up the largest part of each day with writing.

That’s what I said last month, anyway.

Turns out, when I’m not at home I have a lot more time. There are no house projects to fuss over. No neighbors are stopping by. And the only TV in our condo is tuned between the Warriors in the playoffs and baseball.

I picked up several mysteries at Tammie’s Books in Weaverville, CA before I left home.

I loved “Heat Wave,” based on the Castle TV series. The writing was fresh and punchy. In the same series, “Storm Front” was more a spy story than police procedure.

I’m late to the party, but I started the Carol Higgins Clark series with “Popped.” It dealt in multiple POVs which kept the suspense by feeding information to the reader ahead of the character. Next up is “Jinxed.”

I didn’t watch the series Monk, but I will now after reading “Mr. Monk Helps Himself.” His odd way of looking at clues really worked for me.

In a completely different genre, I’m reading a new novel by Antoinette Constable, who I met in an advanced writers workshop in Oakland. “Natalie: In the Shadow of the Swastika.” It’s a young girl’s view of living through WWII.