10 Books I Wish I Read As A Kid

Being extremely dyslexic growing up I didn’t read a whole lot when I was younger. Almost all of my reading came from either school or someone reading to me. I never really picked up a book myself because it was just so difficult. I really wish that audiobooks were a thing when I was a kid because I would have read a lot more. Today, I’m listing 10 books that I wish people would have read to me that may have sparked a love of reading earlier on for me.

1. Matilda by Roald Dahl

I watched the movie version with Danny Davito many times growing up, and I absolutely loved it. I think I was vaguely aware that it was based on a book, but I never paid any attention to that.
The book really goes into more detail about Matilda and how intelligent she actually is. Maybe seeing a little girl who had superpowers because she read so much would have made me want to read more. I think growing up every kid wants superpowers. It also would have been a very early exposure to a different culture, everything in it having to do with England when the only thing I experienced was Canada. Although, if it was only the book I read, I would have lost out on the infamous chocolate cake scene

2. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

It was early on I got tired of seeing boys in the protagonist’s seat and a girl sidekick character that was little more than either a love interest, a character to be constantly saved, or just a token character. So to see a little girl going on an adventure of her own, on her own terms, making decisions, and meeting people while not being controlled by anyone else would have been very refreshing.
And of course, I’ve watched various movie renditions of this, but there’s something so beautifully charming about the written work.

3. Coraline by Neil Gaimon

Another movie that I watched growing up was based on a book. I loved the movie, it was creepy and disturbing, and wonderful. But they changed so much to make the book less creepy. There was no boy to help her out, the cat was even more aloof, and the other father tried to kill her under the control of the other mother. The creepy song the rats sing! The entire scene of her in the theater with the dogs in the audience.
Thinking about it, it’s probably for the best my parents didn’t read this to me. They would have been terrified, especially my mom. But my sister would have been entirely game for it.
I am glad that I was finally able to enjoy Coraline because it was such a wonderful book that I highly encourage any child to read. I do wish I picked it up earlier because I think I would have loved it even more.

4. Snapdragon by Kat Leyh

Written and illustrated by Kat Leyh, Snapdragon is a beautifully colourful graphic novel about finding out who you are, magic, and family.
I know that this book only came out in 2020, but it was so beautiful and spoke to me on so many levels I really wish it was would sooner so I could have had this on my bookshelf growing up.
Everything from smashing gender norms to discovering magic to realizing that while you may not be ‘typical’ it doesn’t make you any less wonderful. There are so many questions about sexuality and gender expression and what is true love that I can’t begin to describe them.
Really the only thing I can say is, as a little girl who liked more traditionally boy things but never identified as a boy who also loves everything magic related I felt so much for Snap.
It’s so beautifully illustrated too with such rich and wonderful colours. I don’t think I have enough good things to say about this. I wouldn’t just recommend this for children either, but it can be a wonderful and easy read for adults as well.

5. The Graverobber’s Apprentice by Allen Stratton

This is a typical lost heir, a prophecy that has a double meaning, an evil uncle, and a cast of unlikely characters and allies book.
Heir lost as a baby was picked up by an old man who makes his living as a graverobber. Their heir doesn’t like it but it’s the only way of life he knows. Meanwhile, his evil uncle is marrying his way through young heiresses to steal their fortune before killing them. The latest heiress thinks she’s smart because she’s going to fake her death but she gets locked in the tomb and that’s where our unlikely hero meets her and they set out to save both the kingdom and her captured parents. They meet up with a troupe of french circus performers who are a massive family with like 30 kids that serve as the backdrop for their master escape plan. Evil uncle’s prophecies for losing are things like ‘when the eagle blocks out the sun’, ‘when the forest marches on you’, etc. Good guys win at the end, of course.
It was a really fun and fast read. It was also nice to read about a typical lost hero story where the love interest, who is admittedly a spoiled princess, actually takes an initiative to participate and help out and get her hands dirty instead of expecting everyone else to do things for her.

6. Rowan Hood by Nancy Springer

This is the story of Robin Hood’s daughter Rosemary who goes by Rowan after her mother is killed, she disguises herself as a boy to go and find her father because he had no idea she existed. Along the way, she meets a cowardly boy who can enchant the world with his music, a runaway princess, a wild boy, and a loyal wolf companion.
It’s a nice twist on the classic tale of Robin Hood while bringing a little girl to be front and center.
I think this could be a wonderful read for a kid, especially one who already really likes the story of Robin Hood.

7. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Now would be a good time to mention that if you ever decide to play a drinking game when reading my posts, ‘watched as a movie is probably going to be the most used phrase to drink too. Because I watched this movie growing up, but haven’t read the book until the past couple of years.
I’m sure everyone has at least watched the movie if not read the book, but I encourage you to read it if you haven’t yet. Especially if you have a little girl. Sara is entirely correct, every girl is a princess. It doesn’t matter what they look like, what life they came from, how intelligent they are, etc. As long as a girl is special to someone, she is a princess and I think that is the biggest thing to take away. And the best princesses are the kind ones.

8. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede

This is a beautiful four-book fantasy series about all of the typical fairy tale tropes and magic with an interesting and diverse cast of characters. If you aren’t a fan of dragons, I highly suggest skipping this because dragons are a very large part of this series.
It follows a princess who hates the restraints of princess hood and arranged marriages and doesn’t understand why she can’t study magic or learn to bake or learn to throw a proper punch. So, faced with the reality of having to marry a very stuck-up prince she has no desire for, she sets out to find a dragon. Dragons kidnapping princesses is very common, you know. But through a series of being polite to everyone, uncovering a plot with wizards(the enemy of dragons), and friendship she becomes an advisor and the head cook to the King of the dragons.
Eventually, she meets, falls in love with, and marries the king of the enchanted forest, but that’s because they went on amazing adventures and got to know each other first.
It’s full of fantasy cliches, but it’s done in a way that wants you to roll your eyes at it because the cast also thinks these are ridiculous.

9. Nightbooks by J.A. White

This is a great book about being yourself, no matter how weird you are or what others might think. The backdrop is a Hansel and Gretel witch captor brought into the 21st century.
There is apparently a second book in this series. I haven’t read it yet, so I can’t say anything about that yet.
I think this book resonated so strongly with me because I was weird growing up. People thought I was strange. I didn’t have a lot of friends, and a lot of my classmates didn’t want anything to do with me. To find out that those weirdnesses could be a strength and that my interest in weird things or things not ‘normal’ for little girls, is no different than someone being really into sports or video games.
I think for a little kid, especially one with very niche interests, this could be a wonderful window to see themselves as a hero because of their weirdness not in spite of it.

10. Monster Blood Tattoo by D.M. Cornish

Okay, so. One of my all-time favourite book series is The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney, a creepy dark fantasy series full of witches and ghosts and strange terrifying creatures.
When I found this series, I fell in love. Yes, it starts out a little slow because it’s almost time to leave the orphanage and you need to get acquainted with all the characters in the world. But it picks up so fast.
You meet sleazy boat captains, good monsters, people who you think you cant trust but end up being super nice and awesome, celebrities with a heart of gold, and creatures that make your nightmares look like bunnies. Characters keep coming up too, so once someone’s gone, unless they’ve been killed assume they’re going to come back somehow.
It shows how large the world is and how big it can be for people who have only ever experienced their small corner of the world. It starts a discussion of what you want versus what you’ve been told to do. It blurs the lines between what is good and what is evil because despite there being monsters in the world, many of whom feed on or attack humans, humans can be just as if not even eviler.
I love this series. And I highly suggest reading this in the audiobook format because the narrator, Humphrey Bower, is the best person ever! He does voices for every character, he does the sounds, and his monster voices send shivers down your back. I felt like I was a small child being read to sleep the entire time. And yes, I snapped wide awake again when he did the monster’s voice. 10/10 highly recommend.

And there you have it! 10 books I read in recent years that I really wish I read or someone read to me when I was younger. I’m also pretty sure that most if not all of these books have been available as of 2010. And I hope this helps if you have a child in your life who’s maybe not that interested in books or reading, maybe this will give you some ideas.

Have you read any of the books listed above? If so, which ones? Were there any books on my list that you’ve never heard of? Are you maybe considering picking up one now? What were some books you read later in life that you wish you read as a kid? I would love to know if you would like to share.

I hope you are having a wonderful day. If it isn’t wonderful, I hope it gets better. Stay safe, and I will see you next time.

-T.R. Flynn.

Overwhelmed By Too Many Projects

Hello. I hope you are doing well.

Today I wanted to talk about something that I didn’t realize was such a big deal in my life until recently. And that is the sheer number of WIPs that I have right now. All of them are at various stages of the writing process right now, be it researching, planning, outlining, writing, or editing.

More and more recently, either because of the state of the world or my own tenuous mental health, I’ve found myself jumping back and forth between projects and what I want to work on. Under normal circumstances, I would say that isn’t really a problem and as long as I’m getting work done that’s really all that matters. And while I do agree with that still, I also want to become a published author and make this my full-time job. So an inability to remain on task for extended periods of time can become a bit of nuisance.

I also realize that this probably has more to do with mental health, like ADHD. But that doesn’t mean that I have to like it.

So, with all this being laid out where does that leave me? That is a very good question I don’t have the answer to.

I like being able to jump around from project to project as my mind wanders. Writing one day, slogging through editing another, planning a completely new story the next because I’m bored with everything else. And this has nothing to do with the fact that I don’t like my wolds or characters anymore. I just need something to spice them up. And that’s probably one of the downsides of writing. I don’t have that instant gratification of just finishing, reading it through once to look for spelling errors and publishing it. Pros and cons of coming from fanfiction.

Meanwhile, a novel is crafted lovingly, and sometimes spitefully, over the course of several months or even years. And this unfortunately doesn’t really fit with my spontaneous personality as well as I would like.

And maybe I’m the only one in this boat, though I highly doubt that I am, who feels more bogged down than excited with the prospect of writing a novel sometimes.

The obvious statement of ‘nothing in life is easy! You should try doing XYZ and then you’d really have something to complain about!’. And I would like to say that I understand I don’t have the worst job in the world, in fact, I really enjoy it.

However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t think I’ve overestimated my abilities. At present, I have 10 WIPs. Or at least 10 that are at the point where I have notebooks dedicated to them for planning purposes. And that’s a hell of a lot.

I also don’t know if my trying to juggle all of these is because I’m just that creative and I need this many outlets for my work, or if this could be a trauma response where I feel the need to remain busy all the time. Or, again, this could be me overestimating my abilities. I have found that I can be a very all-or-nothing person a lot of the time.

So, where do I think would be a good place to go from here?

I think scaling back a little bit on my work right now and limiting my workload to 4 WIPs at the moment. I know that’s still a lot, but I also feel like that’s a hell of a lot more manageable than 10. I also know that the 4 I have in mind are the furthest along right now, so I’m really going to try and hold myself to that. We’ll see how that actually goes.

Have you ever tried to take on more projects than you could handle? What are some tools you’ve used to help keep your workload manageable? I’m experimenting with different spreads in my bullet journal right now, and I’m not sure I like any of them just yet. What tools didn’t work for you? I would love to know what you do if you would like to share.

I hope you are having a wonderful day. And if it isn’t wonderful, I hope it gets better. Stay safe and I will see you next time.

-T.R. Flynn.

Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Getting Serious About Writing Part 1

This is a list of things I’ve been working on for a while, just adding to it as things come to mind of realizations, revelations, and discoveries I found on my writing journey that might help some newer writers. This post has been made and added to over the course of the past few months. By no means is this a complete list. I will be adding to it as I go.

But, because of my love of transparency, I’m sharing all my face falls, mistakes, and embarrassing realizations with you. Don’t make my same mistakes.

1. If you’re going to have people read over your piece, be it a beta reader, or critique partner, or what have you; put that into a google doc, not just a regular old document. I didn’t know about this at the time, because I always used word applications that were on my computers, I preferred this because at times my internet would be wonky and I didn’t want to lose unsaved work. But if you’re going to share your work, for the love of all things pleasant, but it in a google doc. You will save so many people so many headaches.
2. You don’t have to do all of it on your own. There are going to be people on Twitter, Tumblr, countless other platforms that want to support up and coming authors and creators. Sometimes they might be a bit tricky to find, but if you start following some of the larger users they might hold a thing for follow backs. Or, follow people who they follow, and who follow them. A lot of the newer/less popular users will probably follow you back if they like your bio. Or maybe just because you follow them. Don’t be afraid to reach out to more communities on different platforms, it can make the world of difference.
3. If you like what someone does, sign up for a newsletter, or ask to be put on their tag list. It can be scary and daunting, but, not only are people happy to do it, it shows that you really like their work and want to support them. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
4. You’re going to question why you have anxiety over certain things. I just put out a post asking for beta readers and while I know I wasn’t going to get a bunch of people responding right away to me(would have been amazing I did, but I need to be realistic) I have anxiety that no one is going to see is and I won’t get any response on it. I may not have that huge of a following, and I think that might be part of it, but I know for a fact there will be a couple of people who see it and are interested in it. Plus, I actually used tags this time, so there’s that.
5. At no point will you know what you’re doing in this career path. Especially at the beginning. That’s okay. You will learn, and you will learn a lot.
6. If you end up doing something wrong or there’s a better way than what you’re doing, someone will probably, or most definitely if you’re a part of a good community, someone will tell you and/or make a suggestion to help you out. If you’re part of a good writing community the people will be polite about it and are just trying to make your lives easier. Don’t worry about it.
7. Editing programs like Grammarly and Hemingway Editor can be lifesavers. They are free, easy to use, and can help make you a better writer. You’ll sooner be able to identify where your weaknesses are and be able to edit them yourselves.
8. If you’re running a blog and you are on literally any other social media platform, link them all together. That way when you post something on your blog, people on your Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc. will see and you’ll more than likely be able to get a lot more traffic there. And this way everyone can see what other platforms you’re on, and you can gain a larger following there as well.
9. An author platform is your most important tool. It’s where people get to know you, get updates on your works, and how you communicate with fans of your work, other writers, and how publishers/agents/editors/etc. can get a hold of you and talk to you. It doesn’t have to be big, but at the very least you should have a blog and at least one other social media like Twitter, or Instagram.
10. You go through a cycle of creativity. At some point, you aren’t going to be able to put out any words if you haven’t watched a movie, or read a book, or gone to a play or museum or anything like that in a while. If you’re in a constant high state of creative output, you also need to be in a constant high state of creative input. Don’t force yourself if it’s been a month since you last had fun.

That’s is for part one. I hope you are having a great day, and if it’s not great I hope it gets better. Thanks for stopping by.

-T.R. Flynn.

Day 22: 10 Facts About Me

Now that I think about this, I should have planned to have this on the 10th just for OCD-ness.

I think this is a tag, but I’m not sure. Basically, from what I know you just list off 10 random things about you that are true. If this is a tag, someone please let me know so I can cite the actual source of this.

But, without further ado, 10 facts about me.

1. I’m a Ravenclaw.
2. I’m an Aries.
3. I’m an Introvert
4. I am a middle child, I have an older sister and a younger brother.
5. My favourite holiday is Halloween(though it’s much more a season to me then it is a holiday)
6. I will only drink coffee if it’s flavoured or has a flavoured creamer in it and lots of sugar.
7. My favourite pokemon is Eevee.
8. I’m dyslexic.
9. I attended culinary school for a semester before dropping out. I found it wasn’t for me, and afterward began the pursuit of my literary career.
10. After a bad encounter I had with a cat when I was a kid, I’m now kind of scared of/anxious about cats. Especially when their claws are out.

And there we have it. If this is a tag game then I tag all you guys reading who would like to do this. And if not, and you still want to, do it. I encourage it.

Thank you so much for joining me for day 22 of my Blogtober challenge, which is where I post a fall or Halloween themed post every day for the month of October. Again, this isn’t so much either of those, but what you gonna do? If you like this come back tomorrow and see what I have for you then. Or, if it’s after the 31st then all of these are up for you to look at if you would like.

I hope you are having a great day/afternoon/evening/night, and I will see you next time.

-T.R. Flynn.