Michelangelo is quoted as saying that a work of art is never finished, merely abandoned.
But there are degrees of doneness and the trick is to know when to let go and when to go back and make improvements. And yet, at some point you have to call a project “done.”
Last year I completed my novel, The Smallest Thing. It went through many drafts of full and partial rewrites, including a couple with a story development editor, two rounds of Beta readers, and the sharp and unforgiving eye of a line editor. I was very proud to be able to send the book out into the world.
And yet, already I feel as if I’ve outgrown that project. I’m constantly working on my craft—through seminars, books, and workshops, as well as hours logged “practicing” putting words on a page—and I know I’m a more mature writer now than I was a year ago. It’s so tempting to go back into the book and make improvements.
Writers are our own worst critics and I know I am capable of tinkering with that book for the rest of my life. I know because I’m still tinkering with the first novel I ever wrote, still knowing it can be the book I first envisioned. But this time I’m resisting.
My book is out looking for an agent and I’ll know soon enough what work still needs to be done, because there will always be work that needs to be done. I think the answer to knowing when a book is truly done is this: When you sign off on the final print proof and relinquish your right to keep tinkering with it.
So for now, I’m moving forward with my next project and, for the time being, I’m calling The Smallest Thing finished.
I’m off the San Francisco this week for the 
This book absolutely lives up to the hype. I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the different voices the readers brought to the story. The protagonist, Rachel, could be any woman. She’s had her problems and made poor choices that make her unreliable, both as the narrator of this story and as a witness to the murder she uncovers. Despite her deeply flawed character, I couldn’t help but root for her, and yet she continues to sabotage herself and make progressively worse choices, until I found myself begging her not to screw up again. Yes, perhaps the ending is a little predictable, but it’s also hugely satisfying, and the ride to get there is nail biting.
This was perhaps the most beautiful book I read this year, worthy of its Pulitzer Prize and a second read. Set in World War II France, it follows the stories of Marie-Laure, a young blind girl evacuated to the coast with her father, and Werner, a German orphan recruited to a Hitler Youth academy. Doerr weaves their stories together so deftly, offering glimmers of connection until their paths ultimately intercept. Add in the mystery of the missing jewel, the stunning image of the perfect scale model Marie-Laure’s father builds to help her navigate her new home, and the brutal details of war, and this book is as close to perfect as any I’ve read in a long time.
I fell in love with this book on page one. It’s beautifully written and brilliantly intriguing. Mandel switches effortlessly between the points-of-view of several characters and takes us back and forth in time, weaving together both strange and familiar worlds, so that the book is impossible to categorize. Is it science fiction? Is it a gentle tale of aging and regret? Is it a literary insight into the impact of art on a destroyed society? The answer is yes; it’s all these and more.
I loved this book, but am reluctant to recommend it to many people. To call Moran irreverent is an understatement and she pulls no punches in this tale of her teenage protagonist’s odyssey from Midlands council estate to indie music journalist. It’s a gritty coming-of-age story about a teenage girl so ashamed of who she is that she reinvents herself, adopting not just a new name, but a new edgier, more daring, more dangerous persona. Just as she thinks she’s built the ultimate girl in “Dolly Wilde” it all comes crashing down. The jacket copy reads “Image The Bell Jar written by Rizzo from Grease” and I think that’s the perfect description for this painfully funny read.
Socially inept Don Tillman is a total pain, and yet I fell for him on page one of his project to find a wife. An accomplished geneticist, Don applies science to his quest for love by employing a detailed profiling system for eliminating inappropriate dates. So when Rosie, a bartender on a mission to identify her biological father, stumbles into his office, attraction doesn’t even enter Don’s mind. In fact, he’s the only person who can’t see that they are perfect for one another. I loved Simsion’s humor and wry observations, and I found myself laughing the loudest when I saw myself in Don’s nerdy character.
Atkinson is one of my favorite authors and this book is a devastating companion to her wonderful (and highly recommended) Life After Life. Leaping back and forth in time and between characters, as only Atkinson can, we follow the life of Teddy, World War II bomber pilot, father, grandfather, and reluctant subject of the fictional Tales of Augustus. Atkinson explores family truths and redemption. Her impeccably researched war stories are poignant and harrowing, and her detailed portraits of unforgettable characters are meticulous. I’m anxiously awaiting her next project and may have to go back to Behind the Scenes at the Museum to reread everything while I wait.
I listened to this on audiobook, so I got the benefit of the reader bringing Handful and Sarah to life. It’s the story of a wealthy southern girl and the slave she’s given as a gift on her eleventh birthday. But neither of these young women is prepared to follow the expected rules of their roles. This tale is full of texture and tactile descriptions, as well as being a riveting tale. It’s also based on real events.
I read this book as research for my novel The Smallest Thing and it blew me away. Truth is definitely stranger—and more frightening—than fiction. It’s a great mix of science, history and personal stories. An excellent reminder of the fragile balance of nature and our ecosystems.
I was immediately pulled into this story of Rosemary, a young woman revisiting her childhood and the disappearance of her beloved sister, Fern. But as the book unfolds, it’s revealed that Fern was not a human child, but a chimpanzee, and the sisters and their brother were part of a bizarre experiment by their scientist parents to raise humans and chimps together. Based on true events, this heart-wrenching (I cried) and humorous story explores the meaning of family and the thin line that exists between humans and apes.
Under the category of “Mad dogs and Englishmen” this is the book that got me lacing up my running shoes again and committing to a half marathon. It’s part history of the uniquely British sport of fell-racing (running up and down mountains (fells) at impossible speeds) and the author’s introduction to the sport and his subsequent obsession with completing the illustrious “66 miles in 24 hours” Bob Graham Round. It’s funny, inspiring, and full of colorful, larger-than-life characters, plus it transported me to some of my favorite parts of the British Isles.
I’m not even sure how I stumbled upon this book, but I’m glad I did. It’s sort of a cross between The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry as it follows the title character on her odyssey of self-discovery. After the death of her husband, Harriet’s children want to move her to a care facility, but Harriet is determined to go on the cruise her husband won but never got got to take. As she moves tentatively out her her small world, Harriet sees her whole life from a different angle, and it’s not always pretty. The story jumps in short chapters between 78-year-old Harriet and versions of her younger self. It’s funny, heart-warming, and thought-provoking.
I listened to the audiobook after seeing the movie, so I had the benefit of knowing what happens! And of course, the book trumps the movie, which is no small feat. I loved the humor the author brings to the main character and to the supporting cast. I also geeked out on the science and calculations he used to figure out how to rig his survival. Check out the story of how this book came about and how the author went from publishing chapters on his blog and being persuade by fans to self-publish a book, to catapulting to the top of the bestseller lists and the subsequent blockbuster movie.