I have plowed through a couple of books, and as you can see by my "Current Kindling," have moved on to the Hitchhiker's Guide. I've read it before, and there's nothing better for a good time had in book form. A man can learn a thing or two about writing funny things by paying attention to that tome. Unfortunately, no matter how many times you read it, shouting "write funny things!" at your hand still doesn't work. You can probably furrow your brow all collegiately and insinuate several layers of deep meaning to The Hitchhiker's Guide, but frankly, I wouldn't recommend it. You'll miss the point.
Alas, in order to make my point, I owe you a couple of reviews, it would seem.
Delillo done. "White Noise" in the past. At least the book version. And I liked it. There was a desperation that he was building which was becoming very alluring, and I wish he would have given it a little more of a throttling. Desperation is always lurking there, waiting for you to slip up, and the easiest way to do that is to be distracted. Delillo's novel is a symphony of distraction, and his poor characters can't settle down because of it. There's a sense that they are all just trembling and sweating with the effort of trying to extract some meaning from an aspirin commercial. There were moments that had such momentum towards hopelessness, but didn't quite take the plunge, and that may have made it seem all the more hopeless. Good books do things to you, as you all know, and this one was making me uncomfortable. I was glad for it.
Also, I tend to read from a "Christ-I-wish-I-could-write-won't-someone-show-me-how" perspective, and this one hits the mark. Simple and direct, which keeps it all very honest and genuine feeling. But the master of direct and honest comes next:
Kurt Vonnegut. "Bluebeard." I've read a bunch of Vonnegut works, and I wish there were more. Reviewers seem to think that in "Bluebeard" he is taking pot shots at modern art, specifically the abstract expressionists, but I'm not sure that's the case. Who cares? It's the writing, stupid. To say it seems effortless or natural is one whopper of a cliche, but what's a guy to do? Read more, that's what.
On with my life - my grip on this job is tenuous enough as it is.
4 comments:
Where did you get your "Now Reading" widget? I looked ALL over the danged innertubes and couldn't find one. Well, one like your's, and it's YOUR'S I want. Srsly.
I think Good Writing is a gift, and you have it. My seven or eight years in the technical writing biz bred whatever creativity I USED to have right out of me. But I've learned to live with that.
I like Vonnegut, too. "Slaughterhouse-Five" was the first of his work I read and I was hooked from then on.
Takes some doing - I had to sign up for an Amazon Associates account, which is free, easy, and carries no obligations. At that point they let you set up links to amazon pages, and if people use them to click through and buy something, you get a cut. I'd send you a link to set you up, but just go to amazon.com and find something that says amazon associates (probably at the bottom somewhere), and teh rest is clicking on buttons.
Thanks for that, Andy. I'll pass, tho. I don't wanna be anybody's associate... unless it's that blond barfly with the big... uh, never mind.
Lovely post at Jaded Haven, Andy. And you do have the gift, don't underestimate yourself. Daphne wouldn't ask you to write there if you didn't have what she likes.
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