Didn’t receive books over the holidays? Take a look at the following favorite
book lists, one from NPR and one from The New York Times
No time to read? Download books to Audibles, pick up the CDs
of another at the library and listen as you drive. During my frequent drives to Portland, I have been listening to
a long and engaging book called The
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. As I listen, I am pulled from the
present dull reality of driving on Route 1, back to 12th century England and the
power and intrigue surrounding the building of a Gothic cathedral. And as I
react to the tale, I am reminded of the simple principle of good story telling:
keep your hero in jeopardy. Let him emerge for a moment; let the listener
breathe a sigh of relief and POW! Hit him with something unexpected. Sometimes
I can’t stand the tension and, without thinking, reach out and turn off the CD,
my heart pounding, full of rage at the antagonist. The power of a well-told
tale!
Sampling books is a good way to stay up to date without
feeling overwhelmed by the numbers. Open a book and read a chapter. You can do
so in a bookstore or in a library, or online at Amazon.
Other thoughts and suggestions. Read Hilary Mantel, an
award-winning author of historical fiction. At this moment, I’m reading Wolf Hall about England under Henry the
VIII. It’s riveting.
And for a great book about the craft of writing, being an
artist, or living like an artist, get a copy of Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon.
Are you making resolutions? Check into this website http://www.brainpickings.org
and read the resolutions of renowned artists, including Marilyn Monroe. On the
same web site, you can read about the routines of renowned writers. It’s always
bracing to read these. Here is E.B. White:
I never listen to
music when I’m working. I haven’t that kind of attentiveness, and I wouldn’t
like it at all. On the other hand, I’m able to work fairly well among ordinary
distractions. My house has a living room that is at the core of everything that
goes on: it is a passageway to the cellar, to the kitchen, to the closet where
the phone lives. There’s a lot of traffic. But it’s a bright, cheerful room,
and I often use it as a room to write in, despite the carnival that is going on
all around me. A girl pushing a carpet sweeper under my typewriter table has
never annoyed me particularly, nor has it taken my mind off my work, unless the
girl was unusually pretty or unusually clumsy. My wife, thank God, has never
been protective of me, as, I am told, the wives of some writers are. In
consequence, the members of my household never pay the slightest attention to
my being a writing man — they make all the noise and fuss they want to. If I
get sick of it, I have places I can go. A
writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without
putting a word on paper. (My emphasis)
Happy New Year!
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