NaNoWriMo 2:Electric Boogaloo

It's NaNoWriMo Eve!

Honestly, it's not even my goal to write a whole novel this year. I just want to spend more time on writing. So here's to some motivation without the pressure.

Adventures in Reading: "The Last Dickens" By Matthew Pearl

I'm not actually going to say a whole lot about this book. It was a fairly light, intriguing historical fiction mystery, similar to the other Pearl book I read. It was entertaining, and I think it cost me less than $5 thanks to Borders going out of business.

If you like historical fiction, you'll probably like this!

Adventures in Reading: "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Lewis Stevenson

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

It's such a well known reference that I really don't even need to expand on what the story is about. And I think that's what fascinates me so much about it.

The story is short and simple, yet it has become a prominent and ubiquitous symbol of the good and evil resident in each of us. I realize that this is not the only story to discuss similar ideas, but it is one of the few that has stuck so soundly to the conscious of our culture that almost anyone would understand the reference if it were mentioned.

Isn't that amazing? 125 year after that story was published, we're still talking about it. It is engrained in our cultural dialogue.

On some level, I think this is what all writers are striving toward: creating something that is enduring and relevant. Finding a way to express something within us that is universal.

Oh...Hello there!

Well hello, blog! Long time no...anything.

Seeing as this is the first post I've made in about four months, you would think I would have a LOT to say about all the reading and writing I've been up to. Well, you would be mistaken.

For several reasons, I haven't actually done much reading or writing during my blog absence. That seems really strange to me, but when I look back at the last few months, life has been FULL! I actually have been reading during this time, but it has all been rereading, so there isn't really much to say about it. As for writing...after I found out that I would not be going to grad school this fall, I just didn't feel much like working on anything. I have been feeling much more inspired to start again, though, so hopefully that will see some fruition in the near future.

I believe the pace of life has begun to slow down a bit again, and with that, my desire to read and write are picking back up.

So, since Borders is going out of business (boo!), I now have a lovely little stack of books to get through (yay!), which means that I should be updating this little online archive a bit more often. Hope to talk with you again, SOON, blog :)

Oh, and about "The Count of Monte Cristo"...my former roommate noticed the strange pattern that every book I had read since moving into my then-new house had something to do with suicide. He thought I needed a break from that, so he recommended his favorite book, which he promised was suicide-free. Unfortunately, the library needed it back before I could get very far into it. Luckily for me, though, I found an inexpensive copy and plan to pick that back up fairly soon.

Another tome...

For reasons I will explain in a later post, my roommate got to pick the next book I would read after "Ethan Frome". So I am currently reading "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas. Since the book is 1,462 pages long, I obviously won't be posting about it for a while.

Hopefully I'll come up with some things to write about in the interim. Otherwise, it's going to be a while...

Adventures in Reading: "Ethan Frome" by Edith Wharton

I really loved "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton. A reference to "Ethan Frome" by my high school English teacher is actually the first I ever heard of Wharton, and for some reason it stuck with me. When I was wandering around the library a week or so ago and came across "Ethan Frome" on the shelf, I knew it was finally time.

Wharton's writing is just perfect. "Ethan Frome" is very short, about one hundred pages, so it could be considered more of a long short story than a novel, I suppose. And in my opinion, those are much more difficult to write. A short story writer must craft a story that is engaging and compelling, while being concise and to-the-point at the same time. Anyway...

"Ethan Frome" is the story of the title character, and how he came to be the broken man he is at the beginning of the story. The bulk of the story is told through a flashback, and recounts the tragic romance between Frome and his wife's cousin Mattie. Wharton's description of the tension and anticipation between all of the characters and the dynamics the contribute to their circumstances is spot on, and makes the entire story move at a steady pace.

Since the story is so short, I don't want to say too much about it as to give anything away, but I would definitely recommend this one. It will only take a couple of hours to read, and it's well worth it.

Adventures in Reading: "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" By Junot Diaz

I've tried to write this post three or four times now. I'm not sure why it's taking me so long. Anyway...

This book won the Pulitzer Prize in 2008. I mean, if that's not a recommendation, I don't know what is. I was also told by several people that I had to read it, and I think I actually boxed out a librarian in order to check it out. And it didn't disappoint. It's vivid and heartbreaking and funny and disturbing. Never boring.

The story of Oscar is told by an unnamed narrator who we eventually learn is a character in the story. The narration is deceptively casual, using slang (a lot of which is in spanish), footnotes and references to science fiction and fantasy literature. However, despite the informal feeling of the narration, the story is tight and rarely dull or dragging.

The book is broken up into several parts which focus on Oscar, his sister or his mother, and how their stories weave together. Their stories are heavily influenced by their Dominican heritage, and their family's belief that they live under a curse. Because of the skipping around between characters, there tend to be gaps in the story, though these are mostly filled in by the end. You have to focus on each individual story as it's told and trust that the narrator will give you the whole story by the end.

There is also quite a bit of Dominican history scattered throughout the story, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Overall, I would recommend this book. It's not always an easy read, both because of content and structure, but it's definitely worth the time and effort.

** I feel like this post is missing something, but I just can't put my finger on it. Maybe that's why it's taken me so long to actually write this post. I probably waited too long between finishing the book and sitting down to type this. If I come up with some sort of epiphany about what else I need to say about it, I'll come back and edit it.