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Meanwhile, I'm not inclined to be snobbish about writers such as Robin Cook, Tom Clancy, and John Grisham.
I've had the conversation many a time with many a person concerning the difference between eltism and good taste. People that read crap tend to see it as elitism, and vice versa, so the conversations never go anywhere.
I do feel that books, like food, must be "eaten" in moderation. You can't have Osso Bucco every night. Some times it's good to just hunker down with some Mac and Cheese. Conversely, it's not good to read nothing but James(who I adore), Pynchon, Tosltoy, etc. It's good for the soul to throw in some fluff, but it's good to remember what you're ingesting. Bland tasteless food will always be just that.
...kinda hard to maintain that crappy metaphor for so long...
I've had the conversation many a time with many a person concerning the difference between eltism and good taste. People that read crap tend to see it as elitism, and vice versa, so the conversations never go anywhere.
I do feel that books, like food, must be "eaten" in moderation. You can't have Osso Bucco every night. Some times it's good to just hunker down with some Mac and Cheese. Conversely, it's not good to read nothing but James(who I adore), Pynchon, Tosltoy, etc. It's good for the soul to throw in some fluff, but it's good to remember what you're ingesting. Bland tasteless food will always be just that.
...kinda hard to maintain that crappy metaphor for so long...
Hey, I love the occasional Big Mac, but it's not my everyday diet.
But, gosh darn it, sometimes you're simply not in the mood for Nietzsche, Sartre, or Kierkegaard.
i think a lot about why someone chooses one book, or a certain author over another really varies from person to person. Are you reading for fun, a good story, character development..plot. I like to be entertained and be given something to think about even when i am done with the book. I just think it is good to hear that so many people are reading! we canceled our two daily newspapers and now read online news. this has really added extra book-reading time. it's great.
Well, read Dubliners by Joyce, particularly The Dead. Just a great, great short story. The pinnacle of the form, really. I think Joyce was a great short story writer who churned out unreadable novels. However, the fact that Ulysses was banned in the United States for a while made it fashionable, thereby cementing its undeserving place in the pantheon of "great" novels.
As far as writing a novel is concerned, the best time to start is now. It's really a matter of approach. Think of Aristotle's advice when undertaking a huge task--break it up into a lot of little tasks. Start with the germ of an idea...a single sentence such as "A man who grieves over the death of his wife seeks solace in attending the funerals of others" (That's my current novel by the way, so no stealing it. LOL).
Your next move isn't to start writing Chapter One. Instead, spend several months accumulating notes. Interesting aspects of your characters. Plot ideas. Themes. Deciding what is the Big Story and what is the Little Story. Ancillary characters and their purpose. Snippets of dialog. Write an entire backstory on each of your major characters so you can understand how they're supposed to act in any given situation.
And, for God's sake, figure out how to end the thing before you write. That's where most novels go wrong. The writer has a good idea, but doesn't know where to take it. So what you have is a narrative that meanders around the middle section before the writer finally decides to end the thing and plunge it down an illogical rabbit hole.
Then you write. Set an objective of 500 words a day. Or 1000. Don't write more than that. If you have energy after popping off your 500 or 1000 words, then go back and polish what you've just written. Do all this, and you'll have the first draft of a novel within 9 months of your first germ of an idea without really breaking a sweat.
Thanks for the advice there. I have moments where I just have to write something down, so I already have lots of unrelated snippets. I might try what you suggest though. Interesting point about the ending as well and one I'll remember. That sounds like the hardest part. I wish some film makers would take your advice. We watched the last part of the Pirate of the Caribbean trilogy at the weekend. As well as being hideously bored all the way through, I thought the end was an outrageous cop-out, how lazy of them.
I love your opening line though, it sounds like it has wonderful potential.
Grandma left two at our house when I was a teen, but nobody put a gun to my head and made me read them!
LOL
The first two were great for beach reading, at the time, but the third one you already knew exactly how it would all end and that's when it started to get boring.
How nice to feel validated, on the road. You are SO right in that sometimes I just want a good story, even a trashy romance on occasion (yes, I'll admit it). And like you, I have never walked away from a book without something -- even if it was only fodder for a nice daydream (I am the wench).
Do you think maybe we have people (specifically, English teachers or college professors **gulp** ) who k-i-l-l a work or an author for us? I vowed never to be like that, myself, as an English teacher and would encourage students, colleagues, to read any and everything -- including those trashy romances or cereal boxes.
I agree on some of the 'William Blakes' and 'James Joyces' out there! I steered away from them, largely because I didn't understand them myself, or like them, but didn't want to keep someone else from reading them.
Where were you when I needed you? I had some English teachers who were great, but just as many, if not more, who were ghastly. Not professors so much, mostly junior high. Fortunately, I had teachers in other subjects who were extremely encouraging. And in high school, they were all fairly good, as I recall - though to be truthful, I only remember 2 of the 3 Eglish teachers, which must mean the third one was at the least not a thorn in the side. But it amazes and astonishes me today to see and hear about the things that are taught. When I was in junior high, we read all of Shakespeare's plays, in high school the sonnets. We also read Chaucer in the original, and it was a lot of effort but rewarding, too. The high school where I worked in AK had several comic book versions of Hamlet for the college prep class, of all things, and when I asked why, the teacher said the words were 'too difficult' and they wouldn't read it otherwise!
I had some friends who lived in western NY state, reformed Jews. Their children grew up multi-lingual. They spoke English, Yiddish, Hebrew, and French, which they learned from Canadian TV. And probably more languages, I lost touch with them long ago, but both parents were very pro-education and I can't see either one of them letting their children get away with shirking studies, or tolerating indifferent teachers.
How encouraging, karibear, to hear about your multi-lingual friends. I wish more families showed such interests in the children and their educations.
I won't excuse the teacher's using comic versions of Shakespeare's Hamlet, but I understand it. A lot of my colleagues were sometimes intimidated either by the curriculum or students they deemed smarter than what they were. I would hope the teacher would supplement the comics with significant scenes and/or soliloquies, monologues from Hamlet itself, however. Before I began Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet with the 9th graders, I'd bring in Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo deCaprio and Claire Danes, and would play the first 10-15 minutes or so. I'd turn off the TV, and say, "OK, what happened?" You know, they could tell me. And I'd follow with, "don't tell me, then, you can't do Shakespeare." When I sensed they were getting bogged-down with *whatever* I'd tease them with scenes-to-come, and tell them if they were careful readers, they'd pick up on the bawdy language, or the *gulp* sex scenes -- and having taught the play from a number of different student's texts over the years, would even share that some editors thought kids their age too immature/dumb/whatever to include the scenes previously.
Talked like that to the HS SRs, too, when we did things like Wilde, or some of "Shakey-baby's" sonnets, or The Canterbury Tales.
Can you tell I had a lot of fun teaching? I miss it. Where was I when you were in school? Let's see, Coastal NC, in an ISS program for 10 years, in a reading classroom, and in a HS English classroom. Today, I sub in the elementary schools closest to my house (I'm certified K-6, too.)
And I can't take the credit for my approach. I was inspired by a college professor who taught like that, and loved it. I left college thinking, "Man, but if I could turn kids ON to literature like that. . . "
It would take more than a team of wild horses to get me to the "Valley of the Horses"!
Quote:
Originally Posted by RDSLOTS
. . . And I can't take the credit for my approach. I was inspired by a college professor who taught like that, and loved it. I left college thinking, "Man, but if I could turn kids ON to literature like that. . . "
I think that you accomplished that college dream, Rdslots!
May I add a title to the single worst book/author that I've read?
After reading all of the wonderful reviews I managed to forge my way through Clan of the Cave Bears by Jean Auel. It was an interesting concept, but I can't say that I actually liked it. It was readable.
When my husband urged me to try Auel's series again by reading Valley of the Horses. . . I felt that I had been given a cruel and inhumane punishment. I did not finish the book and have not read anything by Jean Auel since.
If there is another point of view of this series out there, I would love to hear it.
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It would take more than a team of wild horses to get me to the "Valley of the Horses"!
I did not finish the book and have not read anything by Jean Auel since.
