What Are You Reading Now.

Discussion in 'Discussion of Published Works' started by Writing Forums Staff, Feb 22, 2008.

  1. Rzero

    Rzero Reluctant voice of his generation Contributor

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    With ADD, you get pretty used to forgetting about books or series halfway through. Sometimes it's hard to find the focus to read even a good book, and at some point you've gone long enough without reading a page that it just ends up back on the shelf. Two thirds of the books on my shelf have a bookmark in them. Now I mostly listen to audiobooks. My focus and retention are so much higher. I'll finish a book even if I'm not enjoying it very much. I might as well find out where it's going.
     
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  2. dbesim

    dbesim Moderator Staff Supporter Contributor

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    I haven’t read or seen that one. Although I thought Effie Trinket from out of the Hunger Games was an impressive interpretation of her character in the movie adaptation. It was one of those rare instances that I was actually impressed!
     
  3. EFMingo

    EFMingo A Modern Dinosaur Supporter Contributor

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    So I finished a up a few longer things this month.

    First was Novakovitch's The Writer's Workshop. I mentioned earlier the I really disagreed with him on writing, but I think it's the chapters I had read. Some of his chapters are actually a bit of a treat to read and dissect, especially the ones on setting, voice, style, and revision. His analogies in these sections actually line up really well, and he uses fine examples of other author's methods for style and revision that give a pretty clear look into their thinking. He also did an impressive amount of reading to bring all these examples and references together, so I have to commend him for that. But he shot himself in the foot a lot as well, and I think that fell mostly on portions where he would reference his own work for a particular style. In simplistic terms, it was and felt extremely pretentious, and the examples didn't always seem to line up with what he was talking about. I often got the feeling he was referencing what he intended the work to emanate, but i didn't always with me. Otherwise, it's a fairly solid writing workshop guide on the basic points, getting a bit deeper at times as well for more advanced audiences, but not overbearing.

    I also completed most of The Oxford Book of American Short Stories, which took a considerable amount of time due to the density and amount of stories in the collections. Definitely worth the time though. Edited by Joyce Carol Oates, the anthology covers the few hundred year period in a survey of short story writers that canvases quite a range of styles and backgrounds. I think it's a fairly well rounded collection, up until the last fifty years where it lacked a bit multiculturally, but not horrendously. I'll list below a few more of the highlights for me, continuing off the ones I've already mentioned, but certainly not the only reason to check out the stories in the collection.

    1). Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper." Yes, it is well-known and studied at the undergraduate level, but it is still a prominent example on how to work the setting into your narrative in a twisting and cerebral sense. The overall metaphor is also quite powerful. Gilman's story turns more eclectic and varied as the mind of the narrator grows less sane through her days imprisoned in the room. I was engaged and impressed reading it over a decade ago, and I'm even more enamored by it now.

    2). Ray Bradbury "There Will Come Soft Rains." The thing that really gets me with this story is that it keeps theme and a solid, moving narrative while not actually having any characters. Instead the reader is able to attach to the house as it's personified as an ecosystem before its inevitable fall, succumbing to the destruction that has befalling everything else i the surrounding area. Bradbury's story speaks on multiple levels, and is yet another stunning example of how to utilize setting to drive the plot, tone, and themes the author is going for.

    3). T. C. Boyle "Filthy with Things." An odd story of a pair of hoarders being swindled out of their mountains of things while seeking help for their condition. Boyle is a master of cleverly playful description. Through the writing, especially in the beginning, the reader feels choked out by the mountains of things that keep piling into the house, and associates well with the main character as he feels guilty of how much he's let himself and his wife go with the hoarding. The thing that got me most with this story is how uncomfortably real it felt, while also being bizarre. The pushiness of the company and their "agent" to "help" also gives the reader a sense of discomfort all the way through as well. I was constantly left with a sinking feeling, and was impressed how it Boyle managed to control the readers emotions.

    There were many more stories worth noting in the collection, but I'd be here all day on this post, so I'll leave it with three. Definitely worth the read if you're interested in the art of writing the short story, and would like to attempt different styles that have worked out professionally.
     
  4. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    Yeah, I kind of agree with everyone else about PKD. I've read a few of his books and while they're not bad, they're all kind of forgettable. He's one of those guys whose reputation and influence are greater than the work itself. You always hear about how some new, edgy sci-fi thing is in the spirit of PKD, but when you read his stuff it's kind of meh.

    They're not great. Very derivative and cliche.

    Oof. Better pack a sandwich. I don't think he's going to make it. Better chance of those be completed posthumously, like all those unreleased Jimi Hendrix and Biggie tracks that get remastered and released years later with guest artists filling in the vocal gaps.
     
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  5. EFMingo

    EFMingo A Modern Dinosaur Supporter Contributor

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    Agree in every way. I did Man in the High Castle, and was disappointed with his writing and plot almost entirely. Apparently that was a huge show a year or so ago. I think the film and TV industry has just been milking his stories for some time, and amending them to something better.
     
  6. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    The show and the novel have almost nothing in common I think (though to be honest I don't remember the novel well). Other than the Nazis and Japanese wom WWII and divided the US between them. And the show was much better. In fact, nearly all PKD film adaptations are better than the original novels, which would seem to confirm the flaws we've been discussing.

    That's call that the "Dick Effect."
     
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  7. Rzero

    Rzero Reluctant voice of his generation Contributor

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    I have to disagree by half. A Scanner Darkly, Ubik, Eye in the Sky and Now Wait for Last Year were good books, great, in my opinion. Those books are as good or better than the Simak books I've read. The other seven I've read, including The Man in the High Castle and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep ranged from over-rated to terrible. I disagree that he's all bad. He's hit or miss. I may end up disappointed again, but I'm still looking forward to the VALIS trilogy, which are either his best or worst novels, depending on whom you ask, and the short story collections, which almost everyone seems to agree were his real forte.
     
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  8. Zeppo595

    Zeppo595 Contributor Contributor

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    I am currently reading '9 Stories' by JD Salinger alongside a biography 'Salinger' by David Shields and Salerno. I'm also reading something called '22 out of print Salinger stories' as well.

    It's really enjoyable to read all the context of the writer's work alongside the stories themselves. I know this going against the whole idea that the stories should stand alone. I've always been fascinated by writer's lives as much as their works. I guess that's the 'Reality Hunger' (another interesting Shields book) in me.

    'Perect day for bananafish' and 'Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut' are great stories. They get to you when you read them again. I feel this strong sense of loss in his writing. Loss of innocence. Adults roaming around in the world lost and still hanging on to the humanity they had as children.

    I'm sure someone said great writer's take something personal and make it universal. It's Salinger's loss caused by his war experiences. But we all go through a loss when we develop from adults to children. I think in a psychological sense this is seen as a positive and necessary development. Yet in Salinger's case the adult world is utterly corrupting.

    It actually makes me think about F Scot Fitzgerald as well. He was writing about Gatsby and the American dream, but also encapsulated this completely universal notion that what we want is always out of reach in either the future or past.

    I quite like reading Salinger's pre Catcher pre 9 stories work, since you can see he hasn't quite got it all together yet. It's also interesting that at pretty much the exact same time he was writing stuff like 'bananafish' he was writing not so great stories for slick magazines for cash.

    I think there's a tendency to think you 'become' a great writer. I certainly think that. 'I want to be a good writer.' When really, there's no day you wake up and are a good writer. Good or bad isn't a fixed state. It's something you have to strive towards every time you get to work.
     
  9. Historical Science

    Historical Science Contributor Contributor

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    I finally started digging into The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron. It's a highly regarded book in all creative fields and it's quite interesting so far. It appears to be broken into a 12-week plan. It was recommended to me by my poet/filmmaking friend but it's been sitting on the shelf for about a year. I'm starting my MFA program in a few months so it seemed like a good time to look into it.

    Anyone else read/complete this book?
     
  10. Zeppo595

    Zeppo595 Contributor Contributor

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    Yeah, I read the artist's way. The main 2 ideas in it are to write first thing in the morning whatever comes in your head for 2 pages. Apparently this writing, which is for most people utter self-loathing, can help overcome creative blocks.

    The other thing is to go on an artist's date with yourself. An artist's date means something new and fun that breaks you out of your routine. But it must be done alone. It could be going to a movie or trying on crazy clothes or baking. Something different. Obviously, it can't JUST be watching a movie on netflix alone every day.

    I thought it was decent. I didn't keep doing the things she suggests, so I can't speak for how well it works.
     
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  11. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard. Sorry.
     
  12. Historical Science

    Historical Science Contributor Contributor

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    You've never hit the town by yourself? I've always found it to spark imagination and ideas.
     
  13. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    Sure, all the time. Never called it an "artist's date with myself," though. I think it's just the phraseology that's bugging me. Not trying to be a dick.
     
  14. dbesim

    dbesim Moderator Staff Supporter Contributor

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    Audiobooks are great! I didn’t appreciate the value of them until very recently. But if that’s what it takes to get you reading a book then why not??
     
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  15. EFMingo

    EFMingo A Modern Dinosaur Supporter Contributor

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    That's honestly how I have to get through some of the classics. I have long drives for work, sometimes 6 to 8 hours, and when I'm sick of singing radio songs, I put on the audiobooks and burn through what I can of something I usually wouldn't have the patience to read. Can get a lot "read" in that period of time. The only problem I have with them is sometimes I will drift off into different thought, then I have no idea what I missed over the last fifteen minutes. Most of the time however, considering how slow some of the old literature describes things, I didn't miss much of anything at all.
     
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2020
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  16. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

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    But Ms. Smythe had 4£, 8d and thruppence from her maiden aunt, making her the most desirable woman in the village despite her rather close-set eyes and weakness for tea-cakes!

    4£, 8d and thruppence I tell you!!!!

    With no other references to how much or what that might buy... Ever.
     
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  17. EFMingo

    EFMingo A Modern Dinosaur Supporter Contributor

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    But I missed that in the story, and you know what that had to do with the next scene? Not a fucking thing.

    Some classic literature is just lined with an unbelievable amount of fat. I suppose a lot of new literature too, but I'm listening to old stuff right now and it can get painful quickly.
     
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  18. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

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    Dumas was paid by the word for The Count of Monte Cristo and the story was serialized, so it was in his best interest to stretch things out as long as possible. Or so I've heard.
     
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  19. EFMingo

    EFMingo A Modern Dinosaur Supporter Contributor

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    Precisely the reason I haven't taken that one on yet, even though I still want to.
     
  20. LoaDyron

    LoaDyron Contributor Contributor

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    Finished the Song of Achilles and the Witcher: The Last Wish. Now I'm reading Assassin's Apprentice from Robin Hoob.
     
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  21. Krispee

    Krispee Contributor Contributor

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    I think you might mean Robin Hobb. Read AA quite a long time ago now, I think I found it good back then, if memory serves.
     
  22. Krispee

    Krispee Contributor Contributor

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    Have to agree with this, some of his work is great, other stories fade quickly. I'm currently reading The Collected Stories of PKD. The problem with PKD, Asimov, and others of that era, is that it's hard to bring their stories into the modern world. Because of the rate at which technology advances these days Sci-Fi stories tend to date rather easily. I've been reading William Gibson's Burning Chrome and his stories are much later in comparison with PKD and even some of his shorts feel a little musty and familiar: perhaps it's just the settings in which they are written. TMITHC series was excellent; I tried reading the short but that was one I didn't get on with.
     
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  23. LoaDyron

    LoaDyron Contributor Contributor

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    Yeah I mean that XD.
     
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  24. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

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    Rereading for the umpteenth time The Razor's Edge.

    Bill Murray made a movie when I was a young teen that had him in a helmet. My buddy and I thought it would be like Stripes.

    As much as anything that afternoon at the theater put me where I am today, expatriated for nearly twenty years. I'll never see that mountain hut, but that's where I learned it was possible to set outwards.
     
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  25. Night Herald

    Night Herald The Fool Contributor

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    Blackwing (Raven's Mark, #1) by Ed McDonald.

    Four and a half hours into the audiobook, liking it a lot so far. Starts with a bang, plenty of intrigue and mystery. Well-written Dark Fantasy.
     
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