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Y'all have probably wondered why I've been focusing on fanfiction in a book review blog--I should be reviewing books, right? Well, there are 3 reasons that I haven't:

1. There are fanfictions worthy of publication & I want them recognized as such
2. It's very hard for me to write a bad review
3. Sometimes I have to backtrack & that's hard (yeah, I know--whiney whiney me, but it is hard to review a story you read a year ago)

I hate cause-y books. Dean Koontz's Relentless has a very interesting plot, but it's hard to remember that because the narrator blathers on so much about hating the modern era & nihilism. Cross Country by James Patterson would be a fine addition to the author's Alex Cross series if not for the "Save Africa" PSA screaming at you from the pages--the same goes for the Protectors part of his Maximum Ride series. I haven't read the latest, Fang, but The Final Warning & Max have both been so, "LIVE GREEN!" that it's been hard to read them. I know writers write their own beliefs into a book, but that's no excuse for Dean Koontz, who was once able to do this with messages of love and hope seamlessly, to interrupt the story to whine about other people's beliefs; saving Africa & living greener lives are both important, but trying to force them on me while I read is distracting and frustrating.
Sometimes though, I just start a series & either hadn't started the blog yet when I started reading them or they're so good that I forget to review them while I'm reading, especially if there's been a few books published before I start reading. Like House of Night: I'm in the process of reviewing it up to the last book I read as a grouped review, then with the next one, I'll start reviewing them individually. Same with the Blue Bloods series--they're totally review-able, but I started them before I started the blog & so I'd have to backtrack,which would either be 1 big review or a few individual reviews. I'm going to review a book by P. C. Cast, Divine by Mistake, as soon as I get it read & my exams are over.

In summary: I'm going to continue to review fanfictions that deserve recognition and, though I haven't as of recently for various reasons, I'm going to start reviewing published fiction again soon.

A Guide to Fanfiction

I read alot of fanfiction. My roommate says I don't have a life & I tell her I do, I just choose to live a large portion of it online. I have friends that I'm separated from by thousands of miles and entire oceans because of the online part of my life. I write fanfiction too--I have a few one-shots & two multi-chapter stories. I'm no expert on fanfiction, but I figured it wouldn't be too condescending to do a little guide to fanfiction (click the image for a better picture if you can't read it or can't see the whole thing):

Many people start out on canonfic, but my first fanfic was Wide Awake. For awhile, I only read AH because I wanted to separate fanfiction from canon. After awhile, though, I wanted read about vampires again & my first AU fic was Just Let Me Die. It was also the first fanfiction I read with non-canon couples. It's taken my awhile to accept Vamp AU because I was a firm believer in keeping an author's mythology intact, but I'm starting to warm up to the idea. I just started Dusk and Her Embrace--it's new with only one chapter, but I can tell it's going to be good.
There are other worthy stories that I don't mention here, but I only had room on the chart for 3 per category. Check out The Lazy Yet Discerning Ficster for really good recs, especially if you're wary of ficdiving (scrounging through fanfiction sites for fics without them being rec'd first by a trusted source). Another good place to go is FanFicAholics Anon - Where Obsession Never Sleeps! on Facebook and the C2 that contains all the group members' fics. It's a very friendly group & all fanfiction fans are welcome. Most of the recs & member fics are TwiFic, but there's also fanfictions from other fandoms. Everyone is very welcoming and there's almost always someone lurking in the group to chat and help out with any fic-related questions you have. TLYDF also has done a fandom-hopping article or two where they talk about other fandoms they are a part of and rec some of their favorite fics from them.
I hope this guide helped someone sift through the sometimes-confusing world of fanfiction.

TTFN--ta ta for now! I'll be updating this blog more now that I know someone out there is readin it. :)