Sunday, November 15, 2009

Reading Rainbow

For you folks raised in the 80's (and 90's? not sure about that), do you remember Reading Rainbow on PBS? I loved that show, and my favorite part was at the end when the kids would give book reviews and tell you to go check out their recommendations. I always wanted to read those books. Today, I will be that kid on Reading Rainbow.

In case you don't know me well, I read a lot. Perhaps excessively. I'm not sure where to draw the line of an acceptable amount of time reading and excessive reading, so I'll go with acceptable amounts of reading. Whatever the case may be, I've got lots of words and lots of authors and lots of ideas floating around in my head. I used to be really good for about 8 weeks or so about blogging book reviews (ok, I'll admit it, I was required to do it for a class...), but like most things related to my poor, neglected blog, that fell by the wayside.

Anyway, since I'm a book nerd, sometimes people ask me what is the best book I've read lately. I figured I'd do a Book of the Year award blog series highlighting my top 10 books of 2009. I'm not sure I trust myself with this, however. Like I said, I've got a lot of good intentions with my blog and not a lot of follow through, so I'm gonna go ahead and spoil the two books that (according to me) you ABSOLUTELY MUST go to a bookstore, buy, and begin reading today.

#1. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

**Warning - I'm going to gush.** This is the most beautiful and haunting novel I've ever read. I can't say it's my all-time favorite because of the bleakness of it, but it's definitely top 5 of all time. It's probably crazy to say that a novel can be life changing, but I'm pretty sure this one was. The language used by Cormac McCarthy is astounding, and the images he creates are at the same time scary and gorgeous. The love of The Man for The Boy is transcendent. The innocence of The Boy is heartbreaking. The lasting impression this book left me with is one of deep gratitude for what we've been given. I read this book in the summer when everything was green and bloomed, and every time I would stop reading, I'd look outside and thank God that I live in this version of Earth, rather than the version presented in "The Road." It reminded me that I need to be proactive in preserving my preferred version of the Earth. It also reminded me about the beauty of relationships.

Buy it, read it, and like all books, DON'T go see the movie and think you've read the book. Please. I obviously haven't seen the movie yet (it comes out on Thanksgiving weekend), but I can tell you right now that there's NO WAY the movie can capture the book's heart. Impossible.

also #1. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
I hate to say it twice, but this is a life changing kind of book. It's Foer's first nonfiction book, and it's about an intensive study of the factory farm industry and the impact it has on us, the animals, and the environment. I know what you're thinking right now. "I already know that stuff. It's bad." I thought that too, but I read the book anyway, and I quickly realized that I didn't know even half of the issue. Without being preachy or feather-ruffling or anything, I'll just say that if it doesn't make you SERIOUSLY reconsider your food choices, you didn't fully read the book. It's not necessarily an argument for total vegetarianism, but is an irrefutable, multifaceted argument against industrialized meat, which is 99% of meat sold. If you buy it from the grocery store or eat it in a restaurant, it's industrialized. I wish I could buy it for every person I know and love, but I can't. Even if I did, I know that's no guarantee that you'd read it. If you're thinking that you don't want to read some hippie vegetarian book, at least take a peek at Amazon (watch the video and look at a few reviews) please...pretty please? It's that good... http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Animals-Jonathan-Safran-Foer/dp/0316069906/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

So there we have it! I kind of ruined my book award series by giving away the first two right off the bat, but I wanted to be sure they got out there! I promise this will be my only tie. Unfortunately, I can't promise I'll finish the other awards...I'll try, I'll try!

Happy reading!!

posted by Erin @ 12:15 AM 0 Comments

Monday, November 2, 2009

The post with no title because I've got writer's block...

Hello. Welcome to 11:30 the night before a 15-page short story is due. Here I am, sitting on the couch. I've got my lappy, a blanket, some tea, and a Pandora Radio station playing. All good things to get the writing to flow.

Nothing. NOTHING....

It's driving me insane. What is this phenomenon called writer's block, and why is it so aggravating? I've got three stories started, about a page or two written, then dead silence. I've got nothing else to say. I don't know where I want the story to go. My voice is off-kilter. The character is unbelievable. I don't have a good plot. I have to go to sleep at some point. Why didn't I do this earlier? Seriously, what is wrong with me? (All counter-productive thoughts, I know, but I'm venting, so just bear with me.)

Where do I go when all else fails? Google, that's where. The interwebs will bring me comfort and hope. I typed in "Writer's block quotes" and following are some of my faves:

"Writing is 90 percent procrastination: reading magazines, eating cereal out of the box, watching infomercials. It's a matter of doing everything you can to avoid writing, until it is about four in the morning and you reach the point where you have to write."
(Paul Rudnick)

God bless Paul Rudnick - he really gets me. I actually employed 2 out of 3 procrastination strategies listed in this quote. I read a great article on Wes Anderson in The New Yorker, and I watched a meaningless NFL game. I'm pretty confident that Paul and I would be friends if we ever met. True procrastinators share a bond. The bond of a vicious cycle of stress, self doubt, self loathing, completion, pride.

"I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately I am inspired at 9 o'clock every morning."
(William Faulkner)

BOOOO to Faulkner. We can't all be inspired at 9:00 am. The only thing I'm inspired to do at 9:00 am is to go back to bed. As a result, I'm inspired to drink more coffee at 9:00 am. Actually, booooo to anyone who is inspired to do anything before noon. There. I said it.

"Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer."
(Barbara Kingsolver)

Barbara wins. This is what I needed to hear, because tonight, this is my problem. I don't have someone literally looking over my shoulder, but I'm really trying to figure out what other people (namely, the professor) want to hear from me. He doesn't like quirky and slightly silly writing. Bummer for me - that's what I do. He wants MANLY stuff. War and death and action and guns and sci-fi. In the spirit of Barbara Kingsolver, I say TOO BAD. I'll write the story I want to write.

Let's hope my newfound resolve lasts long enough to get me through the night. Cross your fingers, friends!

posted by Erin @ 11:32 PM 0 Comments