Top Ten Books I Plan On Reading This Year

This is just a list more for myself. I always say I'm going to read a "classic" but then I end up purchasing a new novel and forgetting about that other book. Oh yeah, they're not in any particular order.

1) Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. Despite being a huge Palahniuk fan, I have yet to read his most well known work. I'm sure it's fantastic. Though, I don't think anything will top Rant, Diary, or Invisible Monsters. The man is brilliant. 

2) War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I feel as though I wouldn't be much of a writer if I didn't read this.

3)Animal Farm by George Orwell. Since reading 1984 for the first time last year (I know. I suck!), I can't stop thinking about it. So I definitely need to read more Orwell.

4) Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. Want to see if the hype is true.

5)The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury. Maybe it's my current obsession with Fringe, but I really want to read some more science fiction. So, why not start with Bradbury.

6) The Man in High Castle by Philip K. Dick. This obviously goes back to the whole Sci-fi thing. Also, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was the best book I've read in the last year!

7) Everyman by Philip Roth. I've read things about Mr. Roth's work and after reading the plot, this one seems interesting.

8) Any/All short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I'm not a big fan of the short story, but since I'm a huge Fitz fan, I'll definitely have to check them out.

9) For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. Though, I don't think I could love anything more than A Farewell to Arms, I'll still check this out.

10) Patrick Kenzie-Angela Gennaro Series by Dennis Lehane. Another author I recently discovered. I just finished A Drink before the War, the first book in the series. I plan to read each book in the series. It's brilliant, thrilling, and they're all set in Boston!

Editing: Part II

First post in quite a few days. Have been sick just like everybody else, so tonight was the first time I REALLY edited since last week. (Last night I was a bit out of it). Anyway.....

First let me tell you. I'm not sure if there are editing rules. Perhaps, some people like to edit random chapters? Not me. I like to go from Page 1-200/300. I feel it's much easier that way.

Anyway, tonight I did something different. I went over the last twenty or so odd pages, instead of continuing where I left off. Boy, I'm glad I did. It was refreshing. The edits I originally did were so-so, and I tuned them up. If there's one thing I've learned is that rewriting/editing is the most important stage in writing a novel. For example, in the past ten days, I've rewritten the first murder scene roughly ten times, and finally, tonight I think I'm satisfied. Although this (my first) novel is about a serial killer, it's difficult killing off a character (especially when you spend a couple chapters introducing him). It's also a mental thing as well.

One thing I've noticed is that some of my sentences tend to look like they've been written by Yoda himself. Not only is odd, but hilarious when you read it aloud. Maybe, I'll leave just one in there for the final draft. For kixx.

Currently, I'd say I'm roughly 35 % - 40% through the novel itself. I don't want to set a deadline in fears of rushing, but I'm really shooting to be done by the end of May. Sounds feasible enough. As long as I stay healthy, I'm going to tackle some editing this weekend!

Writer/Editors who happen to stumble upon this post: What do you think? Any editing tips?