The Procrastinator's Gift Guide: YA books edition

- All of the following recommendations will be YA books because that is mostly what I've read this year (when I had the time to do a bit of personal reading), and I wanted to make sure that I knew the books that I was recommending! That being said, people of any age can read and enjoy these books, as you shall see if you continue reading! Also, this list will be kind of short because I honestly haven't been very good about reading this year, but each and every book on this list is fantastic and deserves to be loved by someone this holiday season. 

Have a writer/book-lover friend you still need to buy a present for? There's still time to run to your local bookstore. For your convenience, I'll be listing books that have either been released this year (which increases the likelihood that it is in stock and on the shelves) or have had pretty good sales (which also means that the store still will stock).

So let's start with...

1. The person who likes to read everything but YA. This person might think YA is watered down, unsophisticated, etc. etc. (insert falsity of choice). This person would probably enjoy:

THE WINNER'S CURSE (series) by Marie Rutkoski

Gorgeously crafted writing? Check. A narrative and story structure with many layers, worthy of rereading once, twice, three+ times, with each reread revealing more nuggets of awesome? Check. Achingly real, flawed characters with relationships that will gouge out your heart because said relationships are just too perfect and imperfect? Check. If you're nice, you'll tell this friend of yours to hold off from reading book 2 until closer to the release date of book 3...

2. The person who wants to like reading, but is quite reluctant about it. This person might have a short attention span and finds it difficult to get into books. The only time they read is right before bed, when they need something to tire them out and put them to sleep. This person would probably enjoy:

AN EMBER IN THE ASHES by Sabaa Tahir

Here's a true story: I gave this book to the high schoolers I was tutoring (for the SATs) this summer. For them, English is their second language. A lot of them expressed interest in reading, but found it tedious to get into books (I can imagine! I don't think I can even start to waddle my way through my Mandarin set of THE HUNGER GAMES). I tried to think of the most fast paced, gripping, action packed book I knew of to recommend to them, and lone and behold it was this one! I do believe I read this over studying for one of my finals last year ;)

3. The person who loves reading and loves writing and just wants to find a book with characters who also love reading and writing, who fangirl over awesome books and maybe even delve into fanfiction...? This one should be obvious:

FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell

This book was not released this year, but it's been so popular that I'm pretty sure you can find SPECIAL EDITION versions of them in your bookstore. It's a great winter read because it gives you all the warm and fuzzy feelings (that being said, it's not all rainbows and butterflies. It's just written in a wonderfully real style and narrated by a protagonist who is shy, awkward, and completely relatable). 

4. For the person who likes books, but likes movies more. Especially if this person's favorite movies are the high-stakes, intricately plotted types, you know they'll love a sweeping story with a movie-worthy cast to boot:

I mean, this was comped to Ocean's Eleven, and it's written by one of the queens of fantasy. The person you you give this to is a good hands. 

5. For the person who's witty and slightly cynical and a pain to buy for because they either tell you they don't want anything or you just a difficult time reading them. This person is probably an enigma, and you wonder what philosophical musings they're constantly entertaining in their heads:

WE ALL LOOKED UP by Tommy Wallach

This is a very honest and clever book. It takes many common tropes and stereotypes and subverts them (the genre itself--contemporary--is given a little twist from the dash of pre-apocalytptic). From characters to feels, it has a bit of everything. It's gripping yet savoring-worthy. It's maddening yet oddly zen. The feeling that you get after coming way from the last page is difficult to describe, just like the theme, but that's because everything is working together so organically. (Can you tell I'm having a hard time putting this book into words?)

6. And lastly, for the person who either 1. enjoys a good historical fiction with tea or 2. is very sentimental and doesn't mind a good cry. Because this book is sad. And this book came out ages (ok, not really, but comparatively) ago, but it's probably still stocked in bookstores. If it's not, I will be personally offended:

BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY by Ruta Sepetys

And I have no words for this book.

The Procrastinator's Gift Guide (Writer's Edition)

Even though I've titled this "Writer's Edition", you can get these gifts for anyone, not just the person in your life who's probably ODing on coffee while querying. Just substitute "writer" with someone else whose gift-buying you've put off for far too long. 

If you have a CP or a writing friend, or just a friend, for whom you've been putting off buying a gift because they're a hermit you honestly don't know what to get them, I'm here to save you!

Sort of.

I'm going to list a few types of writers (and remember, you can substitute "writer" with "friend" or "coworker" or "mom", etc.) I've encountered over the years, and what types of last minute gifts they might appreciate. This is not an exhaustive list (and it definitely does not cover all types of writers, just broad categories), so feel free to use it only for inspiration.

THE GUIDE

• For the one who is constantly stressed (on deadline? querying? on submission? desperately in need of sleep?):
• A giftcard to a spa OR, if you really want to give them the most painful yet most rewarding gift, try to find a sports massage place. The people there will really attack those knots in their shoulders that they've developed from long hours hunching over their laptops.
• A pamper kit. Throw together some lotions, scrubs, bath bombs (Bath & Body, Lush, even you local CVS can supply you) into a basket, wrap in cellophane, and it's going to look great.
• Fuzzy socks/bathrobe/blanket. You can't go wrong with anything fuzzy. 
• The comfiest set of pajamas you can find. You care for them, right? You want to drop subliminal hints that they should be getting more than three hours of a sleep a night, right?
• THE SPLURGE ITEM: If this person is really special to you and/or you have a bit of money to splurge, consider getting them an essential oils diffuser. If you don't know what that is (I didn't before), google it--it's sort of like a humidifier that's primary purpose is to diffuse essential oils. This *might* seem like a superfluous or luxury item only found in yoga centers, but diffusing lavender essential oil in the bedroom can really help that stressed writer/friend unwind. 

• For the one who is constantly working (and a BOSS at it, so they aren't necessarily that stressed at all, even though you think they should be):
• A giftcard to their favorite writing nook - this can be a coffee shop that you know they like to frequent so that they can get an insane amount of writing/work done, or a bookstore. 
• N.B. You should avoid encouraging the super stressed writer from adding additional caffeine to their diets because they are probably drinking more than their daily limit.
• Notebooks. That might seem super ordinary, but you can up your notebook game by going for something with a nice tooth to it (makes the writing flow much better). Moleskins are a good option, and there are many others at your local bookstore. Remember, those writers who are pretty on top of things ALWAYS have a need for a notebook.
•  You can also go for a planner.
• A laptop case OR, if you're a more ambitious, a laptop messenger bag. Either will come in handy when they are trekking in the early hours of the morning to their writing nook. 
• THE SPLURGE ITEM: You might want to consider bleeding a little on nice headphones. Not the earbuds that I'm currently wearing as I'm writing this post, but actual headphones that block out all other noise and allow these masters of work to sync to their best working tunes. These will be a very nice gift if you know this writer loves listening to a playlist while they write. Frends are a stylish option, but there are also others.

Hope this list gives you some ideas and prompts your gift brainstorming if you haven't started already! I didn't mention any books because tomorrow I'll be writing a post specifically about some books I think would make great gifts. Keep your eyes peeled for that :)

"new" WIP - THE FINAL BRILLIANCY

I was on my novels tab today and realized that I don't have a description of the current novel I'm working on up.

Whoops.

Basically, if you've been tagging along for the ride, or if I've had to read some earlier scenes, or if I've asked you for book recs, you might remember that my latest WIP was called AN ORDER OF CARDINALS. The short description is on my novel tab. It's thriller with some light scifi elements about computer hacking and people hacking (or, in much less nice terms, torture) and alternate universes (sort of). It's probably my most commercial idea ever. 

But I couldn't really figure out my characters, as one of my CP's so astutely noted, and after about 10k, I put it aside, wanting to understand the voice and motivations of my MC better before I proceeded. 

Well, during that time another idea struck me. I've always wanted to write about prodigiously smart characters who are a little weird and a lot of awkward, who aren't just the "nerd" sidekicks of a story but rather the main characters. And I wanted to try my hand at a story with a more central romance arc, because while I love reading achingly beautiful romances (like the one between Kestrel and Arin in THE WINNER'S CURSE), romance hasn't had a main role in any of my novels so far.

So cue in the star-crossed chess* prodigies. Here's the real title, and a quote, and the slimmest peek at part one (literally the slimmest):

And now I'm about 30something k in, so I thought I'd share it with you!

That's a super short twitter pitch (which doesn't mention that it's YA, but now you know). The story is set in an ante-apocalypse time period and is probably considered light scifi, but in the fashion of WE ALL LOOKED UP (completely different genre, I know), the focus is never really on the nitty gritty of the world ending but rather how situational and psychological forces catalyze change, discovery, propel people towards each other--and away. That's why it's only light scifi.

But that doesn't mean I'm skimping on the strategy games and the chess, because I think chess is such an intense game and it's sort of depressing when you realize it's so male dominated and not really featured in YA fiction. Seriously, scifi about chess should be no less valued that scifi about space or hacking etc.

*but chess is extremely hard to write about (while keeping it accurate AND exciting). Luckily, I've recruited the help of the bf, who is very skilled at the game and helps me think through some of the game scenes.

so tldr: My current WIP is about chess. And about people--who can play the pawn--being used as pawns themselves. And about brilliant characters who sometimes don't know what to say to each other (and who don't even talk to me sometimes since I'm way below them), but who speak so much through games and strategy. 

Here's to hoping that I survive finals and get to write during my winter break.

If you're currently brainstorming or writing a WIP, I'd love to hear about it!