Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Light Books Deserve Love, Too (or Un-Scaring Yourself Through Books)

Tip of the Day: Don't forget the sunscreen!

For some reason my TBR pile has been full of dark books lately. Don't get me wrong -- they've been good but man, they don't make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, and there's not a laugh to be had:

MADAPPLE (death, poison, craziness)
THE HOST (loss of human existence)
STREAMS OF BABEL (terrorists, death, poison, illness)
SHIFT (missing persons, evil father)
BAD GIRLS CLUB (abuse, violence, depression)

Thank goodness I had CONFESSIONS OF A TRIPLE SHOT BETTY in there!

But as I pack for a mini vacation this weekend, I MUST get away from the melancholy books that I am in the midst of. I need something FUN to read by the pool.

And this, my friends, is why the lighter books, the less literary, the FUN books of the teen world are necessary. DIVERSITY, PEOPLE! We preach it in America for everything all the time EXCEPT in what we do for entertainment it seems. Certain books are seen as meritless because there aren't "lessons" and the prose isn't at perfect pitch and length.

But sometimes all a reader NEEDS is something light, fun, transportive, and uplifting. Doom and gloom only goes so far -- and if you really need that much of it, you can keep CNN on 24 hours a day.

So I've picked up HOW TO SALSA IN A SARI and plan to grab some other fun titles.

The book I just revised for an interested editor is much more light than many other books I've written -- and I love it! The ed and my agent like the high concept of it. And let me tell you, it was no easier to revise than any of the more serious books I've written. If anything, it was harder bc I had to make the character more likable while still having her fun attitude.

What are some of your favorite LIGHT, FUN YA novels? Meg Cabot, Lauren Barnholdt, and Jennifer Lynn Barnes are some authors who do it for me.

Deena, Miss Recently Repped

P.S. Em, did you know a sequel to BAD KITTY is coming out? YAY!

4 comments:

Lisa Schroeder said...

Light and fun? I don't even know if I can remember the last time I read a light and fun book. But I'm feeling ready too. I just finished BEFORE I DIE, and oh my gosh, I had to grab the WHOLE box of tissues for the last pages.

DeenaML said...

Lisa, I started BEFORE I DIE, and uh, yeah, I made it through 3 chaps before I said, "I can't do it!" It is SO well written that I KNEW I'd be all consumed by its sadness.

Kristina Springer said...

You know I'm all about light and fun! That's what I like to write and that's what I like to read. I'll read maybe three light books in a row, then a heavier one, then a light one. So I just did Lauren Myracle, Meg Cabot, and I'm on Alyson Noel. I'll go get BEFORE I DIE next I guess since you guys mentioned it. :-)

Emily Marshall said...

I'm pretty much about the light and fun book all the time as well. It's what I love. I read pretty much for fun only. Occasionally, I want a deeper book. But those times come less often as I get older.