Category: Books

The major difference between new and old books is their condition. A used book might have dents, scratches, torn or bent pages, and be faded. Compared to a new book, the content is the same, however. Of course, if a book has been updated, the used book might not have the new material (i.e. foreword, etc.).

In college, I’d purchase used textbooks to save money. Some of the textbooks didn’t even seem that much different compared to the new copy. I’d find a coffee stain and a torn page here and there, dented corners, but that was it. It saved me about 50% or more too.

When there is a used book sale, I’d go to them and search through all the books until I found the ones I wanted. The discount was incredible compared to a new book. The quality might not be as good as a new book, but I didn’t mind it. Truth be told, I’d read the book once and not pick it up again unless it was a favorite book of mine.

I look at used books in the same way as a borrowed or loaner book. The book has been used already, but owning a new copy isn’t the point. The point is to read the book, to experience what it has to offer. It’s similar to checking out a library book, although a library book might change hands so a lot more times by the time we check it out.

Used books are inexpensive, and are a great option for reading a book if the goal is simply to do just that and not own something that is a mint condition.

When you find a great book, you don’t want to put it down. You want to keep reading it, and you don’t want it to end either. The world captivates your mind–makes it dance with imagination. The author’s voice speaks to you personally. It’s as if the author is talking to you directly–as if the book was meant for you.

When you find a great book, you are inspired to read more books by the same author. You want to stockpile their books and pour through every last word until they’ve been read.

And when an author writes a series, you to want read the books from beginning to end. And it all began with a great book.

To find a great book is like a treasure hunt. You’ll pick up lots of books along the way to find it. Maybe they’re all great, but which is great to you?

Sometimes you find a great book, and it takes everything out of you to finish it. It was a marathon-of-a-read–an uphill battle that tugged on your heart, drew on your emotions. Even if you don’t get to author’s other books, you remember this one. It left an impression on your mind that will last forever.

In dystopian fiction, we read about worlds where the new normal is something akin to survival of the fittest, when human interaction is tainted with distrust, when danger lurks around every corner. Some novels that come to mind are The Hunger Games, 1984, Anthem, and Fahrenheit 451. Each novel presents a view of society that is grim and dark, but where there is also hope in the protagonist to stand up against the darkness.

Even though we know those worlds are a far cry from our present reality, they pique our interest because they show us “what ifs”, because we’re curious with what’s unfamiliar to us. Perhaps we’re not too far from such a reality if something were to go terribly and horribly wrong in a nightmarish kind of way. 

Each author in the dystopian genre brings their own vision of such a world, where the perilous conditions can bring the worst or the best out of people. These stories remind us how fragile and delicate humanity is, and how we must choose to hold onto our own humanity as well.

One of the things I struggle with when reading a book is finishing it. When I begin a book, it’s fun, exciting, and new. But if the book is not captivating or if it’s not resonating with me, I’ll start to lose interest (quickly) and won’t even finish it.

Even if I return to the same book after, say, a week, it’s difficult to dive back into that world. The only way I could finish a book that’s not gripping is to read it fast–racing to the finish line.

There is a window of time where such a book can hold my interest, and if I don’t finish it within that time frame, I won’t finish it all. It’s similar to the concept of marginal utility in economics: each time you purchase and consume a product, your satisfaction with it decreases overtime. I find this to be true when reading a book that doesn’t hold my interest.

At first, the book is exciting to read (maybe it’s because of the book’s ideas or it’s because the author is well known), so I’ll read a lot on the first day. On the second day, however, I’ll read 1/2 of what I read on the first day. On the third day, I’ll read 1/2 of what I read on the second day, etc. This will continue until I won’t even pick up the book and read it anymore.

If I’m reading a book that engages me from the start, it will the opposite effect. For example, on the first day, I might read 20 pages, on the second day, 30, on the third day 40, etc. And then there are times when I couldn’t stop reading until I finished the book.

When I examine the reasons for why I finish or don’t finish a book, the first thing I notice is that it has to be a subject matter or genre that I’m interested in. The subject matter/genre is of key importance, since it determines if a reader will even want to pick up the book in the first place. It’s the same with movies, since each person has their genre preference and they wouldn’t want to watch a movie that is in a genre they’re not interested in it. If audiences raving about it and it’s recommended by their friends, that person might give it chance, but that’s the exception, not the rule.

Secondly, the writing has to be clear and engaging (even humorous). If it’s witty and clever or paints the world with ease, then the writing will pull us into the story almost effortlessly. On the contrary, if the descriptions are overly long or the vocabulary/wording is confusing and unclear, I’ll disengage quickly.

Thirdly, the story should move at an even pace and it should have good character development. On the contrary, if the characters just move from one situation to the next without anything eventful happening, the story won’t feel worthwhile to read.

To determine if I might finish a book, all I need to do is read the first few pages of it. Within those pages, I can determine by the writing style if the story is gripping/captivating or not. Does it invoke mystery or wonder, or does it meander and go nowhere?

After I finish a book that I enjoy, I’ll seek out other books by that author. Why you might ask? Because I want to experience the enjoyment of reading that author’s prose again.

If the book wasn’t rewarding by the end (i.e. if it had a disappointing ending), I won’t look any further. In fact, the experience by the end of the book will be one of relief (or a long sigh), not joy or elation.

One of the most interesting things I experienced after finishing a book is when I discovered that that book was the only one the author had written (or maybe they only wrote two). And if it’s an amazing book, it makes me wonder what happened or why the author didn’t write more books?

One book in particular that I recall where this was the case was A Canticle for Leibowitz. It was a book that won the Hugo Award for science fiction in 1961. After I read it, I discovered that the author (Walter Miller Jr.) had only written one other book, and it was published years after A Canticle for Leibowitz.

For me, this shows how strong and powerful writing can be when it really resonates with the reader. We want seek out more prose like it, and it can inspire us to write as well.

The Beast Soldiers And Other Stories is now available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback. It’s a collection of 5 stories, one of which is a novella (The Beast Soldiers), and includes 4 short stories: Walkthrough, What Do You Wish?, Finders Keepers, and The Mage.

The Beast Soldiers is an action-packed science fiction story about humans that are genetically enhanced with special abilities. When they escape a transport, an agent (Lara Bergman) and Captain Reynolds track them down while they hide in Arlington, Virginia. Each chapter explores an encounter with the genetically enhanced humans through the eyes of unsuspecting characters. The last chapter is an exciting showdown with the most powerful of the genetically enhanced humans.

The other 4 stories are in the vein of The Twilight Zone with odd and inexplicable things occurring. I had a lot of fun writing these stories, as they are like vignettes–a world in themselves. In each story, the characters are faced with unusual circumstances and choices that turn their world upside down.

I hope you enjoy the collection of stories. 🙂

In the past year, most of my reading has been done on e-reader devices. For many years, physical books have been my preferred choice given what was available to me, the ability to write notes in the margins, and the tactility of the experience. But since I’ve been writing more, I’ve gotten used to reading on the computer (given all the editing I’ve been doing for my books).

The switch from physical books to e-reader devices has been a long transition for me. For years, I’ve enjoyed having a library of books on my shelf. To see all the books that I’ve read gave me a feeling of accomplishment. But overtime, I found that I rarely returned to those books, and those books became more of a reminder of what I’ve read rather than what I would reread. 

I have had an affinity for physical books as far back as I can remember. For one, reading on paper is easier on my eyes, and reaching the end of a book after leafing through all the pages is a reward in itself. Also, in a book that has pictures/illustrations, the images appear much more vivid on paper (at least to my eyes). 

As I’ve transitioned to e-reader devices, however, I find them to be a more practical choice. The biggest adjustment was getting used to reading on a screen. At first, I could only read for so long until my eyes got tired or sore. But as I wrote more on the computer, I got used to reading on the screen. 

The great thing about ebooks is how inexpensive they are compared to physical books. Also, it’s great when you don’t have to wait for a book to be delivered or to pick it up from a store/library when you can just download it. Another great thing is that if you don’t know what the definition of a word is, you’re just a couple clicks away from finding out.

For me, this is a huge plus since I used to read with a dictionary on hand. The downside was that this delayed the flow of the reading experience, and after taking the time to look up the definition, I would have to double back in the book to recall what I was reading. 

Overall, the ease and versatility of ebooks makes them an economical and efficient choice. I will still read physical books from time to time, but it’s great when I can access so many books (as well as the chapters within them) with just a mouse click away.

I’ve been working on a new collection of short stories that will be released soon. It’ll have 5 stories altogether: 1 is a novella, and the other 4 are short stories.

Unlike THE INVAS10N, these stories aren’t connected. They’re more like Twilight Zone type stories with odd/inexplicable stuff happening. The novella will start off the book, and it’s a sci-fi story about humans with enhanced powers.

I’ve been reading more short stories by Shirley Jackson, and am about 60% through the book Just An Ordinary Day. The last story I read was a fun and lighthearted read. Entitled About Two Nice People, it has a surprising twist at the end which made the overall story a comedy though I thought it might’ve gone in a darker direction given the stories in part 1 of the book.

It’s about two tenants who live on the same floor and begin to have a feud. It begins with phone calls that Ellen receives which are intended for Walter, her neighbor. When she tries to get him to answer it, the person hangs up.

Later, Walter receives a parcel for her at his doorstep, and when he shows up at her door to drop it off, she believes he’s come to apologize about the phone calls, but that’s not the case.

The misunderstandings escalate to the point where they sneak into each other’s apartments to cause mischief (she leaves rotten eggs in his slippers, and he leaves rotten smelly cheese in her apartment). Then the landlady intervenes, thinking that the feud was actually about Ellen wanting to court Walter, who is her nephew.

The story is humorous, and takes a turn I didn’t see coming. Like many of her short stories, they end with a twist or a bit of irony that leave you surprised and quite amused.

The stories in part 2 of the collection have mostly been comedies so far. Another story I’ll mention is The Wishing Dime, which is about a man who finds a dime on the street and gives it to two girls, telling them that it is a wishing dime. Throughout their day, the girls carefully decide who they should ask to make wishes. In each case, the wishes come true, but in very unexpected and comedic ways.

I’ve been writing some short stories since I published THE INVAS10N. They’re not all connected stories like THE INVAS10N, but some of the stories are. I took a different approach to writing them where I waited until after I finished all the stories before editing them. Usually, I edit a story right away when the ideas are still fresh in my mind. But I had so many ideas stirring in my mind that I wanted to get them out first.

I’ve been reading Shirley Jackson’s Just an Ordinary Day, a collection of her unpublished and published short stories. Many of the short stories are like vignettes: a story of a scene or what happens in a day or so. I’m halfway through the book, having finished her unpublished stories (the first section of the book). They’re a mix of dark psychological tales with comedic ones.

In the short story Come to the Fair, a woman is invited to a fair and is unwittingly asked to partake as a fortune teller at one of the stands. Since she knows the people in the community, she actually pulls it off with surprising success. In The Story We Used to Tell, a woman disappears, and later, her friend finds out that she had been pulled inside the world of a painting.

In the introduction of the book, Shirley’s children write how they landed upon their mother’s unpublished short stories, which Shirley had filed away. Many of her other stories were found in the archives of the San Fransisco Public Library. She was a voluminous writer and it’s great that her body of work is seeing the light of day since she last published.

Reading the short stories in the collection, I’m inspired by the creativity and imagination that went into them. I had read her other stories years back, but it’s great to read her unpublished works and see the range and scope of her work.

My new sci-fi book, THE INVAS10N: THE RED PLANT CHRONICLES, is available on Amazon. It’s a story told in 10 tales that describes an alien invasion.

The Horse and His Boy, by C.S. Lewis, is the third book of the Chronicles of Narnia series. The story takes place in the world of Narnia and is about a boy named Shasta, who runs away with a horse named Bree (since Shasta was about to be sold). He meets a girl named Aravis, and her talking horse, Hwin, and they set off to Tashbaan, where Shasta bears a striking resemblance to the prince there (Prince Corin).

Shasta leaves Tashbaan before he is caught, and Aravis overhears the plan of a prince named Rabadash, who wants to invade Narnia and take Queen Susan to be his wife. From here on, Aravis and Shasta ride on horseback to Narnia to warn the Kingdom of the coming invasion.

Whereas the first two books of the series were full of mystery and wonder, (establishing the world of Narnia), this story is more like an adventure in the world of Narnia. Like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, there is an epic battle at the end between the armies of Rabadash and Narnia.

The story has humorous parts to it, especially at the end with what befalls Rabadash. I did like the twist at the end with Shasta, and enjoyed the second half of the book more than the first half. The first half of the book focused primarily on exposition, establishing what was going on and who the characters were, as well as Rabadash’s plot to invade Narnia. The second half was more action packed, and it was great to see Aslan (the lion) make an appearance as well.