the end so fastly approaches

The end of the month, that is. Where does the time go? I mean, wasn't my birthday practically yesterday?
Well, I'm on track to finish editing my superheroes novel this weekend. That allows a few days to work on the query letter and synopsis, and then it's submission time. I'm excited to get this one out there; it's a stronger piece than the first one I submitted, and I got a good response to that one, so we'll see how it goes this time.
More books:
14) The Drowning City by Amanda Downum. This is the second fantasy novel this year to really draw me in. I love the writing, and I love the world that she created. The characters are gritty and real and make mistakes. The culture of Symir is different, lush, and draws you in. I really enjoyed the religion that Downum built for this series. And Isyllt is a unique character, a force to be reckoned with, a strong woman but a flawed one. I liked this so much that I bought the sequel last week, and will be reading it soon. If you like fantasy, or good writing, check out Amanda Downum's work!
15) Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. This YA novel is a Groundhog Day scenario: The main character, Samantha Kingston, has seven tries to get one particular day right. It's not a bad premise, and a lot of what happens over the course of those seven days is interesting. One day is downright funny. I had a hard time moving past the cliches, though. Wildly popular but secretly insecure girl with shallow friends and a boyfriend she's not happy with even though she liked him for years slowly learns that there is more to life than she knows, that her friends and boyfriend are not who she thought, that the geeky boy in the corner is actually adorable and her soulmate, and that everything we do or don't do affects the world around us. I feel like that's been written any number of times before, which is fine, but I didn't feel that this version stood out from the crowd. I also had a hard time with the overt drinking and smoking throughout the story. Yes, I know that some kids do that. But I had a hard time with the fact that the parents seemed to either not notice or not care about the substance abuse running rampant in their childrens' social circle. Anyway, I enjoyed the read, once it got into the meat of the story, but this is not a keeper for me.
16) Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff. I loved this biography. Schiff approaches Cleopatra carefully, stripping away the mythologizing of the last two thousand years and presenting Cleopatra as a woman with a lot of responsibility on her shoulders, whose life was entwined with that of two famous Roman men: Caesar, and Mark Antony. Schiff presents a factual account of what happened throughout Cleopatra's life, and also discusses what previous people have written about it. I found this to be an engrossing read. It's a great book for anybody interested in history, or Egyptology, or just wants to know what really went on with Cleopatra. Definitely a keeper.
So here's a question for you, readers: What would you like to see more of on this blog? More discussion about writing, in terms of process and ideas and such? More fiction writing? Lengthier book reviews? More dreams? Other things entirely? I'm wide open to suggestion, and want to take my online presence up a notch, so any input in terms of making my blog more interesting/fun is greatly appreciated.
On that note, I'm off. My partner-in-crime has to work all day today, so I'm going to take full advantage of the alone time. Some editing, some exercise, watch a movie, etc.
Happy Saturday!