What Do You Read?

As a writer, I read to write, to learn, to be inspired by other writers.  It is the rare author who can make me laugh or capture my emotions.  Sometimes a year will pass before I find a single book that will move me.  Here are a few of those that that I have read recently (in no particular order):

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

This book is filled with case studies of how individuals brought about change in business and medical environments and schools.  Although it is geared toward the business reader, the principles are applicable to any situation.  The authors describe how to effect change by using the symbols of an Elephant, its Rider, and their Path.  I dislike using symbolism and found it easier to understand if I thought of the Elephant as emotion and intuition, the Rider as intellect and reason, and the Path as the environment.  The authors challenge us to use all three areas to effect change.  I found many of the illustrations helpful in understanding the psychological process, but others were too “big business,” too far outside of my personal framework, to have meaning for me.  I was ready to dismiss this book as simplistic self-help after reading the first two chapters, but as the author’s rational expanded, I found myself intrigued by all the elements that played a part in change.  The case studies were mostly interesting and made the book worth reading simply for the stories of institutional and personal change.  The psychological references were easy to understand even for someone like me who hates psychology.  And by the end, I felt inspired to write which made the book well worth the time I spent reading it.

The Mountain Between Us: A Novel

This book is another that inspired me.  It was one of those I could not put down so I was reading it long after my bedtime.  The end confused me, so I reread it in the morning.  It still confused me in the morning, but ending aside, the book is worth reading.  I don’t want to give the plot away, so this is a very general review. A man and a woman with different backgrounds and desires are stuck in a debilitating and challenging situation.  Charles Martin’s writing is always good, but as excellent as in his first two books (which should have always been one): 

Down Where My Love Lives: The Dead Don't Dance/Maggie (The Awakening Series 2-in-1)

As these two people work through the life and death situation in which they are placed, hope is almost lost but never fully extinguished.  This is a book about hope and I hope that someone out there can explain my problem with the ending!
Next, I am reading two books on the craft of writing:

Letters to a Young Novelist

This is a year-long, chapter-a-month, project for the creative writing workshop I lead.  As the title indicates, it is a book of letters covering aspects of fiction writing such as persuasion, style, narration, time, and reality.  The book challenges us to think deeply about how and why we write.  In the first chapter, the author uses the tapeworm to explain the need to write and he does so in such depth, that I will always associate my need to write with that worm.
The second book:

The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers

This book came from John Gardner’s college and writing conference lectures and covers the aesthetics of writing in the first part and then goes on to cover such practical areas as common errors, technique, and plotting.  At the end are a few pages of exercises.  I rarely exercise based on the suggestions in books, but these look as though they may be helpful.  I am currently reading the first part of the book and have discovered that a thorough background in literature is imperative for complete understanding.  If you haven’t yet read the classics, especially the classics of American literature, you should read those before opening this book.  The author uses of both ancient and modern literature to illustrate his points from Aristotle to Dostoevsky to Sherwood Anderson and both as  simple illustrations and as studies of the point being conveyed.  So read your literature before reading The Art of Fiction.
I may have more to say about both of these books after I finish reading them.
Just to throw in an unusual book for me, here’s a book of poetry.  I rarely read poetry and have never bought a book, but I read one poem online and I was smitten.  Some of the poems disturbed me because they reflect a dark period in the poet’s life.  Several of them inspired me and I cannot stop thinking about the one that motivated me to purchase the book.
Here’s a link to that poem:  Every Riven Thing

Every Riven Thing: Poems

Finally, I am reading a slew of detective stories.  I don’t know why, but this is the year of the detective for me.  Here’s the list.  Some are better than others, but they’re all good for a summer read.

Shoofly Pie & Chop Shop: 2 Bugman Novels in 1

This is a continuing series which the main character is a forensic entomologist who solves crimes based on insect evidence and has trouble relating to the human species.  This series has turned me into an insect observer.  The only book I didn’t like one was one in which the protagonist was forced to choose between two women.  The author wrote two different endings on his website and made the readers choose.  The result was revealed in the next novel.  I’m all for interaction, but let the writer write a complete novel.  I would have gladly accepted that the man could not make a decision at that time and that it would be resolved in a subsequent offering. 

Empire of Lies (Otto Penzler Book)

This is an odd sort of detective story with a protagonist who is confused, at the very least.  I found that it forced me to think about how men think and process information.  However, as an action detective story, it was sorely lacking.  The plot was not believable, the protagonist too introspective, and I was glad when the book ended.  I read one of his other books last year and it was a gritty crime novel; This book has to be an aberration.  Read his other novels, but skip this one.

Bad Things Happen

This is a fast-paced novel where the prime suspect/investigator is a literary editor who once had a different profession.  In fact, everything you think is one way, turns out to be another in this novel.   An easy summer read.

The Hidden Assassins

This is a true detective novel set in Spain.  The chief detective is presented with a body and then a bomb goes off.  How are they related?  Is it a terrorist threat?  Just who is the terrorist.  Wilson explores with workings of the detective department as well as the politics attached to a major investigation.  The book gives us an inside view to the red herrings when turn out to be actual clues to the unlikely and untouchable suspect.  This is a long (464 pages) story which needs every page to cover such an intricate investigation.  I loaned it to a friend and he found the Spanish environment difficult to navigate, but I had no problem with it and am eager to read the other books in the series.
That’s it for now.  There are more books on my pile and I’ll blog about them later.  Meanwhile, why don’t you let me know what you are reading?  I’m always eager to find new books.

The Three Rules of Writing

I’m not fond of rules and regulations but they are there for a purpose. These three basic rules will help you write with confidence.

1. Be Honest.  Bare yourself on the paper.  No, don’t give me all the intimate dirty details of your past or present.  What I want is your feelings, your emotions,  presented as actions, in a way that makes me feel them, too.  Like Eliza Doolittle, in the musical “My Fair Lady,” I say, “show me.”  Let your characters experience pain and heartbreak, because I want to see how they deal with it.  Let them grow on the page so I can grow along with them.
2. Be a Duck.  Ducks sit in the stream or pond and groom or feed or sit no matter what the weather: storm or sun.  Whatever you write will offend someone, if it is well written.  You need to be able to sit in the stream of your work and let the shouts of acclimation and disdain roll off your back as you continue writing.  I recently read two book reviews written by two different authors with very different perspectives.  The book they reviewed was David Mamet’s new book based on his “conversion” from screenwriter and playwright with leftist politics, to one aligned with the political right.  The first review by Christopher Hitchens leaves the reader with no doubt that the book is worthless.  The second review by Andrew Klavan, is personal, thoughtful, and makes me want to read at least parts of the book.  You can expect both reactions from your writing and a duck-like attitude will take you far.      
3. Revise.  No one’s first written effort is good.  No matter how good it looks to you, it isn’t.  Check spelling, grammar, sentence structure, transitions.  If you pick a simile or metaphor that works, make sure the others you use are consistent with your character and his environment.  Are you deliberately using non-standard structure, non-standard grammar, non-standard spelling?  Why?  In a few cases, there is good reason to break the rules.  But, only if your readers can follow your line of thought.  For most purposes, use correct spelling and grammar, concise sentences, and logical transitions. When you have read it over 20 or 30 times, let someone else read and edit it.  I can guarantee you that they will find mistakes. 

Now that you know the three rules, what happens if you violate them?  Violate Rule 1 and no one will care about your writing.  Your characters will be cardboard cut-outs, two dimensional representations, shadows of reality.  If you violate Rule 2, you will soon stop writing because you can’t stand up to the hurtful comments or you will be so enamored with the positive reviews, that you will never grow as a writer.  Finally, if you violate Rule Number 3, no one will read your writing. If it requires too much effort to follow your inconsistent usage of grammar, sentence structure, spelling, it will not be worth the reader’s time.  So be honest, act like a duck, and revise, revise, revise and you will soon have writing that is worth reading.

Luna Moth

This Luna moth surprised me outside the door of my cabin yesterday afternoon.  I left the porch light on and it must have been attracted to the relative brightness on that sunny day.  Luna moths lay their eggs in leaf litter under trees (a reason not to rake leaves) or on the underside of low growing leaves.  They emerge from their cocoon and wait a couple of hours for their leaves to harden before flying off.  Their usual life span is seven days, during which they must emerge, harden their wings, mate and lay eggs for future caterpillars.  They are in the same family as the silk moths and, while their cocoon is silky, there are so few Luna caterpillars that it is both impractical and unwise to harvest their cocoons for silk. 
I am thankful for the variety of trees and plants around the cabin which give me the opportunity to see beautiful creatures that cities have cast out.

Remembering and Forgetting

I’m reading a very good book that I picked up a couple of years ago but just couldn’t read at the time.  I’ll post a link to it later.  But here’s a quote that caught me.  It describing why we forget and how beneficial it is.  The first was written by Karl Barth;the second by Volf:

And we are enabled [by God] to [forget].  If it were otherwise, we should be in a terrible plight.  We should never be able to bear the sight of our own being in time.

If we were to remember the wrongs we have committed, we may not be able to live with ourselves, especially if we remembered them not as perceived by our own vision occluded by self-exculpations but with the clarity of divine sight.

Review: Paul: A Musical Journey

Last night, at the Palace Theatre, I saw Paul: A Musical Journey. It was much better than I expected. True to history in it's general plot, with a musical story line that kept me interested. There was humor and some pathos. You can read more about this musical here . Musically, It was a very good mix of the various types of instrumental music: light jazz, gospel, and R&B. The musicians were strong, and there was good interplay between the instruments and the excellent vocals. The plot moved fluidly from one scene to another with the help of an able narrator. There were a few technical glitches: men's voices tended to overdrive the mics, a couple of lighting problems, and one scene I would have cut because it added nothing (the scene with John Mark and his mother encourging him.) Some of the dramatic effects unintentionally created laughter which was fine because there was light humor throughout. For a humorous look at the Apostle Paul with excellent music and vocals, give this a try. I don't know what it takes to schedule something like this, but but just a quarter page ad in the late fall is not sufficient for something performed in late January. There was a little mention the Thursday prior but nothing on radio stations, TV, billboards, or any place else in the newspaper. So many people missed a worthy performance. If it comes back I will encourage friends to see it.