Whatcha reading?

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Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Finished Terrortome this morning. Very entertaining, tho I liked the first segment the most, far and away (the closing credits were also amusing). Holness perfectly channels every 17-year-old wannabe horror author who is certain that writing is easy and they're gonna be the next King. Bad writing without being implausibly bad writing.

Next audiobook up:
Image
Richard Aquila, Rock & Roll in Kennedy's America. This is brand new and I'm listening in hopes that I can assign it in my rock course next year. I'm far better versed on post-60s books, so I'm always looking for solid work in rock's early period.

Current tub book:
Image
Alan Parker, Sid Vicious: No One Is Innocent. Even at only 250 pp, this seems longer than a biography about Sid deserves to be. But as light reading it's fine.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Image
Immediately decided to pause the Aquila book. I'm showing my history class Invasion of the Body Snatchers this week, so I decided to listen first to the short novel it's based on. Probably won't get it done by class time, but it's mostly a supplement for my interests anyway.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Silent Majority
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Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Silent Majority »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
27 Nov 2022, 1:20pm
Image
Immediately decided to pause the Aquila book. I'm showing my history class Invasion of the Body Snatchers this week, so I decided to listen first to the short novel it's based on. Probably won't get it done by class time, but it's mostly a supplement for my interests anyway.
I like Finney's writing, haven't read his IotBS as an adult but love the 50s and especially the 70s movie adaptations.
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


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Silent Majority
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Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Silent Majority »

144) The Unfettered Mind: Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword Master - Takuan Sōhō. 1600s. Audiobook. A fine zen treatise which I'd love to read an update of to activities that I do. Writings of the Zen Master to the Couch Master, right?
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


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Flex
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Silent Majority wrote:
29 Nov 2022, 5:24pm
144) The Unfettered Mind: Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword Master - Takuan Sōhō. 1600s. Audiobook. A fine zen treatise which I'd love to read an update of to activities that I do. Writings of the Zen Master to the Couch Master, right?
A flute with no holes is not a flute. A donut with no holes is a danish.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead

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Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Silent Majority wrote:
29 Nov 2022, 5:20pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
27 Nov 2022, 1:20pm
Image
Immediately decided to pause the Aquila book. I'm showing my history class Invasion of the Body Snatchers this week, so I decided to listen first to the short novel it's based on. Probably won't get it done by class time, but it's mostly a supplement for my interests anyway.
I like Finney's writing, haven't read his IotBS as an adult but love the 50s and especially the 70s movie adaptations.
I'm about 90 minutes or so left in the audiobook (should finish tomorrow). The book is fine but suffers because of the better known film. One of the things I like about the movie (and The Manchurian Candidate) is that they both endorse the paranoid view—there really is a sinister conspiracy out there. They aren't actual critiques, they're fuel for the tinfoil crowd.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Silent Majority
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Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Silent Majority »

Flex wrote:
29 Nov 2022, 5:26pm
Silent Majority wrote:
29 Nov 2022, 5:24pm
144) The Unfettered Mind: Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword Master - Takuan Sōhō. 1600s. Audiobook. A fine zen treatise which I'd love to read an update of to activities that I do. Writings of the Zen Master to the Couch Master, right?
A flute with no holes is not a flute. A donut with no holes is a danish.
I will meditate on these statements.
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


www.pexlives.libsyn.com/

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/ ... in-a-month

As someone who has no aptitude for writing fiction—and have evidence to back that statement up—I read this and winced quite knowingly.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Low Down Low
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Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Low Down Low »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 3:40pm
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/ ... in-a-month

As someone who has no aptitude for writing fiction—and have evidence to back that statement up—I read this and winced quite knowingly.
Remember reading that last year. The idea of writing a novel in a month, though I'm sure for a tiny minority of accomplished writers it is feasible - is total anathema to me. I'd be more of a three paragraph a day guy which I'd inevitably discard the next morning anyway after realising how shit they were.

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Low Down Low wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 6:22pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 3:40pm
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/ ... in-a-month

As someone who has no aptitude for writing fiction—and have evidence to back that statement up—I read this and winced quite knowingly.
Remember reading that last year. The idea of writing a novel in a month, though I'm sure for a tiny minority of accomplished writers it is feasible - is total anathema to me. I'd be more of a three paragraph a day guy which I'd inevitably discard the next morning anyway after realising how shit they were.
I've mentioned before the horrendous experience of writing a novel with a friend. He's a skilled and published writer and did it as a fun thing between "real writing" and something to do with me. His stuff flowed and, while flabby, made sense. He just knew what he was doing and it showed even while being lazy. Me, I fucking sweated my chunks every time and it showed. There was always, like, one decent line in there, but it was just painfully forced and proof that I didn't know what I was doing. Scholarly stuff, I know what I'm doing, but fiction is way beyond my ken.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Low Down Low
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Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Low Down Low »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 6:42pm
Low Down Low wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 6:22pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 3:40pm
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/ ... in-a-month

As someone who has no aptitude for writing fiction—and have evidence to back that statement up—I read this and winced quite knowingly.
Remember reading that last year. The idea of writing a novel in a month, though I'm sure for a tiny minority of accomplished writers it is feasible - is total anathema to me. I'd be more of a three paragraph a day guy which I'd inevitably discard the next morning anyway after realising how shit they were.
I've mentioned before the horrendous experience of writing a novel with a friend. He's a skilled and published writer and did it as a fun thing between "real writing" and something to do with me. His stuff flowed and, while flabby, made sense. He just knew what he was doing and it showed even while being lazy. Me, I fucking sweated my chunks every time and it showed. There was always, like, one decent line in there, but it was just painfully forced and proof that I didn't know what I was doing. Scholarly stuff, I know what I'm doing, but fiction is way beyond my ken.
The writing process is truly fascinating. I read a fair bit of fiction and, honestly, a fair chunk of it seems so determinedly ordinary that I'm often moved to think, heck I could do as good as that myself. But the patience and rigour, the sheer bloody-minded determination to stick at it day after day after interminable day? Nah, forget about it. I remember a Jonathan Franzen interview in which he talked about his office, somewhere in NYC i think, windowless and wifi-less, just a desk and chair and nothing to do but write and write and write. Me? I'd need a proper view and a boosted wifi signal as well as a good nearby cafe for regular coffee and danish trips, like nearly every hour sort of thing.

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Low Down Low wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 6:58pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 6:42pm
Low Down Low wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 6:22pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 3:40pm
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/ ... in-a-month

As someone who has no aptitude for writing fiction—and have evidence to back that statement up—I read this and winced quite knowingly.
Remember reading that last year. The idea of writing a novel in a month, though I'm sure for a tiny minority of accomplished writers it is feasible - is total anathema to me. I'd be more of a three paragraph a day guy which I'd inevitably discard the next morning anyway after realising how shit they were.
I've mentioned before the horrendous experience of writing a novel with a friend. He's a skilled and published writer and did it as a fun thing between "real writing" and something to do with me. His stuff flowed and, while flabby, made sense. He just knew what he was doing and it showed even while being lazy. Me, I fucking sweated my chunks every time and it showed. There was always, like, one decent line in there, but it was just painfully forced and proof that I didn't know what I was doing. Scholarly stuff, I know what I'm doing, but fiction is way beyond my ken.
The writing process is truly fascinating. I read a fair bit of fiction and, honestly, a fair chunk of it seems so determinedly ordinary that I'm often moved to think, heck I could do as good as that myself. But the patience and rigour, the sheer bloody-minded determination to stick at it day after day after interminable day? Nah, forget about it. I remember a Jonathan Franzen interview in which he talked about his office, somewhere in NYC i think, windowless and wifi-less, just a desk and chair and nothing to do but write and write and write. Me? I'd need a proper view and a boosted wifi signal as well as a good nearby cafe for regular coffee and danish trips, like nearly every hour sort of thing.
One of my regular lines to students is that there's a reason why writers are miserable people—it's really tough work. All these great ideas zipping around our brains get mangled and lost on the way to the paper. It's all about discipline—gutting thru—and faith that you can fix things later. And, most importantly, being able to read your own stuff like an outside reader and seeing things that don't make sense if you aren't privy to the writer's inner thoughts and knowledge. That kind of dual personality is so vital for being constructively hard on yourself and the hardest thing to get across to students.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Low Down Low
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Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Low Down Low »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 7:12pm
Low Down Low wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 6:58pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 6:42pm
Low Down Low wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 6:22pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 3:40pm
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/ ... in-a-month

As someone who has no aptitude for writing fiction—and have evidence to back that statement up—I read this and winced quite knowingly.
Remember reading that last year. The idea of writing a novel in a month, though I'm sure for a tiny minority of accomplished writers it is feasible - is total anathema to me. I'd be more of a three paragraph a day guy which I'd inevitably discard the next morning anyway after realising how shit they were.
I've mentioned before the horrendous experience of writing a novel with a friend. He's a skilled and published writer and did it as a fun thing between "real writing" and something to do with me. His stuff flowed and, while flabby, made sense. He just knew what he was doing and it showed even while being lazy. Me, I fucking sweated my chunks every time and it showed. There was always, like, one decent line in there, but it was just painfully forced and proof that I didn't know what I was doing. Scholarly stuff, I know what I'm doing, but fiction is way beyond my ken.
The writing process is truly fascinating. I read a fair bit of fiction and, honestly, a fair chunk of it seems so determinedly ordinary that I'm often moved to think, heck I could do as good as that myself. But the patience and rigour, the sheer bloody-minded determination to stick at it day after day after interminable day? Nah, forget about it. I remember a Jonathan Franzen interview in which he talked about his office, somewhere in NYC i think, windowless and wifi-less, just a desk and chair and nothing to do but write and write and write. Me? I'd need a proper view and a boosted wifi signal as well as a good nearby cafe for regular coffee and danish trips, like nearly every hour sort of thing.
One of my regular lines to students is that there's a reason why writers are miserable people—it's really tough work. All these great ideas zipping around our brains get mangled and lost on the way to the paper. It's all about discipline—gutting thru—and faith that you can fix things later. And, most importantly, being able to read your own stuff like an outside reader and seeing things that don't make sense if you aren't privy to the writer's inner thoughts and knowledge. That kind of dual personality is so vital for being constructively hard on yourself and the hardest thing to get across to students.
It's an extreme example but I always think of Joyce, labouring over every sentence, every dot and comma in Ulysses for 10 years, to the point of near total blindness. Like I said, i understand authors can be prolific, but whenever I hear one say, oh this book came very easily to me or I wrote it in 6 weeks or 6 months or whatever, I'm already instantly suspicious. I prefer the idea of toil and suffering, Yeats's "we must labour to be beautiful." It's there in Nabokov too, I think.

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Low Down Low wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 7:44pm
It's an extreme example but I always think of Joyce, labouring over every sentence, every dot and comma in Ulysses for 10 years, to the point of near total blindness. Like I said, i understand authors can be prolific, but whenever I hear one say, oh this book came very easily to me or I wrote it in 6 weeks or 6 months or whatever, I'm already instantly suspicious. I prefer the idea of toil and suffering, Yeats's "we must labour to be beautiful." It's there in Nabokov too, I think.
I don't buy the idea that an artist *must* suffer, but it is hard work. If it isn't hard, it likely isn't very good. And it should be treated as work, not waiting for inspiration. Stephen King famously said that he wrote every day except the Fourth of July, Christmas, and his birthday, but then admitted that he actually writes on those days, too. He said of those writers who take years between books that there's a lot of jerkin' off going on. When I was writing my dissertation, I took that to heart and made sure I wrote at least 1000 words every day, except for when I was in rewrite mode. Plenty of shitty days in there, but if there was half a page of decent stuff there, that was half a page more than I had the previous day. God but those were miserable times.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Flex
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Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Flex »

I buy the that AN artist must suffer. Specifically, Kory.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead

Pex Lives!

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