Year: 2009

What’s on the Bookshelf? Vol. 12

What's On the Bookshelf?

Yes and no, I’m on a reading spree. More correctly, I’m on a reviewing/responding spree, as I read constantly.

I finished the superb Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors a couple of days ago.

I was a little apprehensive about reading this one, as it labels itself as A Love Story, but I enjoyed it immensely (far more than The Road). This is about the building of the Taj Mahal, and the destruction of the Royal Family after its completion.

The book is a compelling read; for those not interested in a love story there’s political intrigue, treachery and murder. It’s a real page turner in the truest sense of the word. I went from page fifty to one-fifty without realizing time had passed.

Shors uses a very good vocabulary. His characters ring true and Jahanara, the princess who narrates the story, actually reads like a woman.

I look forward to reading Shors’ next book (whenever it is released).

What’s On the Bookshelf? Vol. 11

What's On the Bookshelf?

Earlier this week, I finished reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I’m glad that I waited a couple of days before reviewing.

The Road is the story of a father and son trying to walk to the coast several years after Earth dies.

CC//jcalyst

CC//jcalyst

My immediate thought upon finishing the book was that it was good and that the ending fit well (though I thought it was predictable).

I enjoyed reading it after getting over the initial difficulties with odd punctuation choices (wasnt versus wasn’t, no quotation marks or markers of who said what); after finishing, I thought, wow, this was a very good book.

Fast forward three days.

I concede that it was a good book, stripped of the “very” for one important reason.

There was no “how” or “why.”

The reader never finds out why Earth died. As a logically driven reader (and writer), this completely baffles me. I found myself caring more as to finding out why the human race is dying and why everything is dead than as to what happened to the main characters.

I’m not saying that my reasons are better than McCarthy’s (hell, he won a Pulitzer for this book). Reasons are an intrinsic part as to why things happen. But what point is there in caring if you don’t learn why you should care?

What’s on the Bookshelf? Vol. 10

What's On the Bookshelf?

A week ago I downed the mammoth Dune by Frank Herbert. Despite being a lover of the sci-fi genre, I’d never read Dune. I’d heard of it, been recommended it by several people, but a still from the movie with Sting scarred me.

I decided to face my fears and just read it.

I flew through Dune. The storyline captivated me; the book is the story of Paul Atreides, a noble born teen who moves with his parents to the desert planet Arrakis. There was intrigue, backstabbing and double-crossing. My one complaint is that the reader sees all points of view; we see inside the minds of the bad guys as well as the good guys. The betrayals are not shocking enough.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hamed/ / CC BY 2.0
CC//Hamed Sabert

CC//Hamed Sabert

Herbert does a fantastic job bringing Arrakis to life. His attention to detail is astounding; the way the different groups of people survive in the desert is varied and rings true.

All in all, Dune was an enjoyable read, but not one for the faint of heart. Those who don’t care much for sci fi should just stay away.

Slowly destroying the rainforests, one notebook at a time.

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

I finished the journal I was writing/planning in last night.

A new one is waiting for me, and another after that. This one’s special. My parents gave it to me for Christmas; it comes from Florence, Italy.

I’m almost afraid to write in it; this hasn’t happened to me before. There is so much potential in those empty pages. The book itself is so beautiful; I hope my words can do it justice.

I’ll take a photo at some point.

Libraries: What wonderful way to jumpstart the imagination!

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

I love libraries. Books spread as far as the eye can see, the quiet, the hiding amongst the stacks while perusing through an art book…ah! What joy!
To the library I went today, grabbing some fiction (Alexander McCall Smith, of course, along with some classic sci fi) and stumbled through the reference section.
Countless scores of topics live in the reference section, and from them millions of ideas conceived.
Research for The Continent commenced. I picked up a book on The Resistance during WWII, which I’ll attempt to read in the near future.

Recycling: Not just good for the environment

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

In my attempts to jump start short story writing after a long drought, I find myself going back to stories I’ve written before. Not just for inspiration, but for structure. In one case, I rewrote the story with different characters, setting and outcome, but kept the structure (and some key points) the same.

I wonder if this is a “bad thing.” It got me thinking about plotting short stories again. Heck, it got me to write the first draft of a story. But by taking the plot of a story and throwing in new characters, is this self plagerism?