Merry Christmas my imaginary readers! And Happy New Year.

how bad does procrastination suck huh? The thing that makes it even worse is that I’ve got all these new books i’ve read and should be writing about. Not only that but I’ve got all these ideas of my own I should be writing about. I’ve even got a book I should be finishing up. I just can’t seem to make myself stop reading to write. Well… at least its the most pleasant procrastination I can think of.

Something… with this page. Sorry to all my dedicated readers… oh wait, there aren’t any lol. Anyway, note to… well, Self, I suppose: Do something with this. Slacker.

So I obviously, honestly didn’t mean to start this and leave it but I’ve been (sort of) buisy.

The lists of my previously read books, all available for you to choose from, is very slowly starting to take form. There are a few series that I could think of off the top of my head. I haven’t actually gone through my bookshelves yet and catalogued them all, but hopefully I’ll do it within the next couple of days.

Taking the suggestion posted yesterday, I plan to post a list of books that I either own, all of which I’ve read as a point of pride, and any other books which I’ve read over the years.

You’ll be able to find the link here: http://previouslyread.wordpress.com However its obviously not completed yet. when it is though I hope that there will be a book or  five you might want to know about. Keep checking back, and keep the suggestions coming!

I’ve read a lot of books,I mean a LOT of books, I am, however always looking for new books to read.

So, if you have a book that you’ve heard of and are curious about, but aren’t sure if it would be worth the trip to the library, or the cost at the bookstore, or just want to have someone to discuss it with, send me a suggestion and I’ll be more than happy to find the book, read it, and give you my honest, un-biased (well, as un-biased as a human can be) opinion.

So, please send me your suggestions, whether it be fiction, self-help, romance, mystery, non-fiction, or even if your not really sure and I’ll try to review it here.

Write is a Verb  by Bill O’Hanlon

(www.amazon.com/writeisaverb around $16.49)

Its also a great book. I’d highly recommend it if you’re a writer who can’t seem to find the motivation or inspiration to write. If you’re not a writer… well it probably would still be of  some use to you if you need to find inspiration to finish a project, such as a report, painting, other art project, and to a lesser degree, home improvement and so on.

I finished it yesterday, and completed all of the exercises in in (20) and it did help me get my thoughts in order, especially on how to fill out my rough outlines, and there is even a section on selling your book.

While the book doesn’t make a distinction per say as to what genre it leans towards, people tend to write what they know, and Bill O’Hanlon, a psychotherapist who’s been featured on Oprah with his best selling Do One Thing Different and has 28 books and counting published, knows how to write non-fiction.  It was still helpful however to get me to sit down and start writing, even though I really have no interest in that particular genre (as far as writing goes).

There’s even a section in the book that covers how to get published, bringing to light the key differences between having a good book, and having a good book that gets published. I won’t go into detail here, but if your curious as to how its done, its in Chapter 9: Clueless in Publishing Land. Overall I’d say this is a highly informative book, and worth the read if writing is your field. While I did find myself reading the book, instead of writing (which, ironically is what the book is trying to prevent,) once I was done I had a new understanding and appreciation for my craft, and a bit of a in the kick in the pants to finish my work.

I don’t have grading system necessarily, especially since this is my first foray into critiquing ( at least publicly) but I’m going to give it a shot.

    ( + )     The book conveyed the message it was trying for, i believe, and for a Non-Fiction book it was incredibly easy to read, not boring, and most importantly, easy to understand and put into practice. 

     ( – )     The only reasons Write is a Verb loses points is because it tends to neglect the fiction writers out there, and because it contradicts itself by sending the message to stop procrastinating and write, but at the same time saying, ”Wait, before you write, read this.”

Overall,  I’d give it 8.5 out of 10. 

Obviously there’s not much on here yet, but hopefully soon this page will be filled with word upon word. This is just a little “Hello” note. I’m not sure how well i’ll keep up with this thing, but I hope you’ll forgive me. Until later