Writing Wednesday: What's your Reading #Obsession ?

Happy New Year to All!

After a prolonged holiday break, which included many many guests, dinners, parties, events and the inevitable laundry that follows, I'm back online and trying to get back into the writing groove. 

I'm a firm believer that in order to be a better writer, you need to be an avid reader. Authors need to stay abreast of what's popular in their own genre, as well as reading outside their niche. It makes your own writing flow better if you read widely, and can see and feel both the perfect turns of phrase that others craft, as well as the clunky failures of paragraphs and dialogue interludes that just don't work.

Do you know what I mean?

You can kind of tell when authors are not avid readers, or you know, readers. Or if they "used to read" and their own style is more reminiscent of Charles Dickens than Charlaine Harris. What works for Jane Austen does not necessarily work for modern romance writers.

I'm generally a fast reader and early riser, so I do a lot of my reading in the mornings when I'm between book projects, or at night with wine after my day job of technical writing wipes my brain into a numbed state. I read to soothe my need for fiction and escape, and refill the well of my own writing creativity and spark.

However.

Sometimes I get utterly obsessed with an author, and drop everything to read their new book, whether it's a new mass-market release by Julie James, or an ARC or beta by one of my favorite small press authors, like  J.C. McKenzie or Karilyn Bentley or Peggy Jaeger. Even if I'm writing at the time (okay, unless I'm on deadline) I Will. Drop. Everything.

Over the holiday break, I discovered a new Must-Read author like this, and I'm totally obsessed. Penny Reid. The first book of hers I read a while ago, and liked but didn't trigger obsession. Then I downloaded her "Truth or Beard" which was a free BookBub offering... and I reviewed here Monday... and promptly read through the entire series to date. Now I'm waiting semi-anxiously for the next release in the series which isn't until July. JULY!

So the discussion topic for today is, Do you Read? What do you Read? Do you - like me - get Obsessed?

Do you agree with my premise that Writers need to be avid Readers in order to master their craft?

And more importantly, who or what is your latest Reading Obsession?

Happy Writing - and Reading - to All!