Let’s talk about books. Please.

You probably think my request is weird. If I wanted to talk about books, why not hit up Goodreads, some other online community, or maybe even one of the many book blogs out there? That is true of course; the Internet has made it so much easier to discuss almost any book under the sun, no matter how obscure. Yet… it does not replace the feeling of gushing over (or even bashing) a book in person.

This is so unbelievably true.
(Source: Fiction and Flowers)

You know what I’m talking about. You and someone else find out you’re reading/you’ve read the same book, and excitement ensues. I don’t care if that other person is a stranger, you will be itching to bound over and talk to them if you find them buried in a book you’ve already read. You will be eager to know what they think of it. You will feel happy if they share your feelings, good or bad, and you most definitely will feel sad if they disagree, yet it will be accompanied with a thrill. Thinking maybe you can show them the book from a different perspective, you will want to try to change their mind. And even if silence falls between the two of you, you (or them) will find a way to puncture it again with an afterthought regarding the book. And you’re probably nodding along to everything I’ve said in this paragraph.

A Writer Who Doesn’t Write.

Of all the things I’ve been neglecting lately and pushing back to the deepest, darkest corner of my mind, I think my writing has collected the most dust. I’m not just referring to blogging – though that has started to  gather some cobwebs – but rather, to what allows me to call myself a writer.

When I first published Puppet Parade in 2012, I was determined to release at least one book a year. More than two years have passed since then and I have yet to make a dent in that resolution. It’s not that I don’t have ideas or works-in-progress, as it happens I have one completed first draft and two novels in the making… and about a dozen ideas for future novels. The problem is that I lack time.

Sweet Snapshot Sunday #2

I was planning on making this thing a regular occurring on this blog, but I’ve been too busy to blog lately! Work has been hectic – but productive – and I’m catching up on books and shows that I’ve been wanting to indulge in. This weekend I got my first guilt-free breather in a long time, and what better way to celebrate than with some dessert?

Carre Chocolate

Plaisir Sucree

Colombian Chocolate and Salted Caramel Macarons

The above treats are all courtesy of Ladurée. The Carre Chocolat and the Plaisir Sucree were indulgent layers of sweet, savory chocolate mousse, cake and the soft macaron meringue base, though the difference between the two is that the first is made with dark chocolate, and the second has crusty praline. Absolutely delightful. I swooned with every bite. The macarons are quite amazing too; of all the Ladurée macarons I’ve tried, salted caramel and Colombian chocolate are definitely my favourite; the flavours are so intense!

I also treated myself to some clothes, and… as always, I couldn’t resist the temptation of buying a new book, so I got The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. Has anyone read it? It looks so interesting!

How’s your weekend going? What are you currently reading? Have you tried Ladurée before? 😀

How to Choose Your Next Read.

It’s finally come to the point where I have more than 200 books in my possession that I’ve got to read – 60 physical books and around 15o eBooks. It is extremely daunting, and I often spend time gazing at my overflowing shelves or scrolling through the long list on my reader and wondering how the heck will I find the time to read them all, especially if I want to find time to write and work. Of course it would help if I would stop buying more books, but I have no self-control whatsoever. I’ve shared some pictures of my shelves a while back, but here’s how they look now:

I have no more room. As beautiful as all these books look, I’m also terrified by them. Did I mention that they’re right above my bed?

With so many books comes a great dilemma, the greatest dilemma of them all – which book should I read next? If you’ve come here hoping I would answer that question for you, you might end up being disappointed, because I’m at a loss myself. I mean, I’ve tried a couple of ideas…

Read an eBook Week!

Smashwords is having a site-wide promotion in celebration of Read an eBook week, an international event in which many authors and publishers participate to spread the joy of reading – and receiving free stuff. 😉

So today is just a quick post to let you know that my book, Puppet Parade, is up for grabs FOR FREE until the 8th of March! Simply click here and use the code RW100 at checkout!

Happy reading!

My cure for a bad week.

I’ve been having a less than stellar week, some bad things happened that culminated with the loss of my tablet, the one I use for reading eBooks. To say I was upset would be understatement; I went to bed and cried into my pillow for a bit after the incident happened. I’m coming to terms with it now, and I’m already looking for a (cheaper) replacement as I’ve completely given up hope on retrieving it.

So today I decided to treat myself, and those who read my blog know that there’s no better way to cheer me up than with books and sweets! Yes, folks, it’s time for one of those posts again. I’m thinking it should be a regular segment on this blog! 😉

I discovered that we have the Magnolia Bakery here in Lebanon (I’m guessing some of my American readers will recognize the name). As is the case with any new discovery, I tend to splurge. My sister and I shared a slice of red velvet cake, a Snickers icebox pie with cream cheese frosting, a mini caramel pecan cheesecake, a mini white chocolate macadamia nut cheesecake and finally, a cheese marbled brownie. I was on a sugar high.

An extreme sugar high.

Magnolia Bakery description: made red with cocoa, vanilla and a little southern mystery, with its own special whipped vanilla icing. This one was waaay too sweet. I love red velvet, but the buttercream frosting was overwhelming!

Classic, moist brownie with a cheesy twist! Very very good.

Let it be known that I am absolutely biased when it comes to Macadamia. It’s one of my absolute favourite nuts. I really loved this one too!

This was exquisite. Buttery, smooth and absolutely delicious. I melted upon the first bite.

Description from Magnolia Bakery menu: chocolate wafer crust layered with peanut butter and cream cheese and whipped cream filling, topped with Snickers bar pieces. This was incredible. The cream cheese topping was an excellent touch!

Purging my to-read list.

Every once in a while, I go to my Goodreads account and take a look at my ever growing to-read list… and I raid it. Very much like raiding a closet filled with old clothes and shirts that used to fit you six years ago but you couldn’t part with them because you’ll lose enough weight to wear them again (yeah right).

It’s a rather interesting experience; more than just deleting books that don’t grab your attention anymore, it’s involves some reflection – why is this book in my to-read list? Why did I ever think this was interesting? Another thriller? Why did I ever think I could tolerate reading a novel written entirely in tweets?! Oh my god I must’ve been half-asleep when I added this! … aaaand so on. Of course there are some positive thoughts too, mostly, “This book seems really cool, why do I not own it yet?” Okay, so it’s positive depending on how you look at it, since it involves spending a lot of money!

2013 in Reading

I wanted to get this post out around the 1st of January, but unfortunately – owing to the fact that my I spent most of the first few days of 2014 suffering from a reoccurring bout of blindness and a break from all readable words – I couldn’t. Anyway, 2013 was quite productive reading-wise, but I’m ashamed to admit that I did not stick to all the reader’s resolutions I set for myself.

Resolutions checked: 

1. I did read 40 books! But it was a very close call. I almost did not make it!
2. I read one classic – Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I’d always read the abridged version and only got around to the full one now. 

Blind.

Blindness has always been a great fear of mine. So much in my life depends on my eye sight that I feel I would be completely lost without it – writing, reading, translating, staying in touch with my overseas friends, even watching TV and going to the movies… or just simply going about my normal life unassisted. I know these might sound like mundane things in the grand scheme of things, and I know there are probably alternatives, but these mundane things are an essential to me, and losing any of them would send me spiraling down a bottomless pit of depression.

Before I say anything else… no, don’t worry – I’m not going blind. However, during this past week, I’ve been forced to live like a blind person for a couple of days. It wasn’t some sort of dare or social experiment… but rather a result of my severe clumsiness syndrome; basically, I accidentally scratched my cornea with a pen.

Yes, it is as painful as it sounds.

Slap my wrist and call me busy!

One of the perks of being a game writer is that I actually look forward to going to the office in the morning, as compared to my old job where I practically had to forcibly roll myself out of bed. It feels more like a fun activity than an actual job, which I really like; I don’t feel stifled or suffocated by the tasks assigned to me, and I’m having so much fun writing up characters and histories and story lines. Plus, for the first time ever, I was finally able to see one of my characters brought to life by the hand of an artist – I cannot tell you how loudly I squealed when I received the first sketches, haha.

However, the one downside is now I find myself behind on quite a few things, including reading, social media, blogging, writing and editing. I actually deactivated my Facebook because it was proving such a huge distraction, and I all but completely forgot about my Twitter. It’s been ages since I sat before my reader and checked out the posts on my feed (and I feel so guilty about that and promise I will try my best to catch up!). Any writing goes to the game instead of my actual novels, and the editing of The Muse Bunny is currently on hold.

I actually don’t remember the last time I was this busy, and yet at the same time I don’t mind because it’s the kind of busy that is fun and productive and involves really friendly people who I enjoy working with. Pretty soon I will able to reveal more about the game; I’m actually excited to let you all in on the details! =D I’m just so proud of how it’s all coming along so nicely.

So… basically this is a post to let you know that I’m alive and haven’t forgotten about this blog or the blogs I follow. 😉 Hopefully I can work out some sort of schedule eventually that allows me to juggle everything without any trouble. That said… how are you all doing? Have you been caught up in any projects of your own too?  =]