tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post1791277809678926135..comments2023-12-09T00:33:24.572-08:00Comments on Novel Matters: Reading as a WriterBonnie Grovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377519561074174038noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-22518048243675281152012-03-30T12:54:30.765-07:002012-03-30T12:54:30.765-07:00I'm a little late to the party, but here goes....I'm a little late to the party, but here goes. As of a couple of years ago I'm trying to read as much as I can of a single author's work. I've read just about everything Annie Dillard has written; she's a peach by the way. I've read everything Jim Harrison has graced the planet with. And I'm currently chipping away at the late great John Updike. Each of these authors writes/wrote in a variety of genres, so I'm learning the nuances of one voice in several different forms - make sense? I'll stick pick up something that catches my eye, no questions asked, but that's the bones of how I'm reading these days. And as for the poetry, good for you, Bonnie of Grove.Johnhttp://thebeautifuldue.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-73334473915807838822012-03-28T19:33:31.632-07:002012-03-28T19:33:31.632-07:00Cynthia, there's just something good about our...Cynthia, there's just something good about our friend Mr. Keillor. :) Thanks for stopping in today!Bonnie Grovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11377519561074174038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-15062866693356637112012-03-28T12:45:39.566-07:002012-03-28T12:45:39.566-07:00Ooh, the Garrison Keillor poetry collections moved...Ooh, the Garrison Keillor poetry collections moved ME, too! Exceptionally rich. I think I'll go dig them out again. Thanks for these insights, Bonnie.Cynthia Ruchtihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08248421834478069263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-80295890478613847002012-03-28T10:56:51.287-07:002012-03-28T10:56:51.287-07:00Julia: YAY!! Thrilling to hear that. Please, do le...Julia: YAY!! Thrilling to hear that. Please, do let me know your thoughts/reactions to this as you go. Comment on the blog, or find me on Facebook.Bonnie Grovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11377519561074174038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-32559306843072689292012-03-28T10:00:06.844-07:002012-03-28T10:00:06.844-07:00You know I haven't read any poetry since colle...You know I haven't read any poetry since college, but I think I need to START doing so again. Same goes for plays. Great post!Julia M. Reffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11979214959063965164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-12062810764086724262012-03-28T09:35:07.189-07:002012-03-28T09:35:07.189-07:00Koala: Let me recommend two books that started me ...Koala: Let me recommend two books that started me back on the poetry path, maybe they will spark with you, too: there are two collections compiled and edited by Garrison Keillor: Good Poems, and Good Poems for Hard Times.<br /><br />Order them from your library and see what you think. Don't overlook reading Garrison's introduction (it will help!). And DO let me know what you think of them, k?Bonnie Grovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11377519561074174038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-91204103206618976292012-03-28T09:32:23.119-07:002012-03-28T09:32:23.119-07:00Wendy: Goodreads is so dangerous, isn't it? So...Wendy: Goodreads is so dangerous, isn't it? So many great recommendations. I love it over there. <br /><br />Marian: I adore those books that cause me to lay the book on my lap and stare out the window, lost in thought about the nugget of truth I've just uncovered. Marilynne Robinson does that to me page after page.<br /><br />Jan: Seriously, poetry is nonnegotiable. Keep rooting around until you find stuff you like. I can't tell you how profoundly poetry has changed me. And I don't mean only as a writer. Poetry is foundational to who we are as a species.Bonnie Grovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11377519561074174038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-66173405173850314252012-03-28T09:27:19.894-07:002012-03-28T09:27:19.894-07:00Eric: So true about learning what used to work (an...Eric: So true about learning what used to work (and how we modern writers might use that knowledge to our advantage!), and be able to puzzle out the changes and why they matter.<br />If you're looking to pick up some dramas, let us know how that goes. I was a student of theatre before I was a writer, and I think those years of script reading has informed my writing in lots of subtle ways. Reading scripts aloud might be useful too.<br /><br />Susie: I only edit as I read if it's my stuff. I am the perfect audience, I suspend disbelief and let the story take me where it will. If I'm editing in my head, I put the book down.<br /><br />Patti: You are my reading soul-mate. :)Bonnie Grovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11377519561074174038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-84538106227420111022012-03-28T08:43:59.494-07:002012-03-28T08:43:59.494-07:00I totally agree with you that some classic books s...I totally agree with you that some classic books shouldn't be tackled in our teens... I first read Dickens when I was about 14 or 15 and didn't like him. It took my university English professor to help me fall in love with him. Now I try to read a Dickens a year. (I think I'm behind this year.)<br /><br />As for poetry... I know that I should read it, because I've come to realize that's what my writing is lacking. A sense of language, of the poetical, of words that just go together or create beautiful pictures. But I haven't found much poetry I like. Maybe I should dig out my old English anthology, like you, and reread the ones that I did like. :)Bonnie Way aka the Koala Momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11601183003333359031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-57176194628751348632012-03-28T07:31:13.435-07:002012-03-28T07:31:13.435-07:00Patti, true. True. I was reading a novel a few mon...Patti, true. True. I was reading a novel a few months ago and actually wondered how the editors let so many "no-no's" slip. I'm talking big ones. Grand Canyon plot holes...if you know what I mean!Susie Finkbeinerhttp://www.susiefinkbeiner.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-14071059694217905792012-03-28T06:23:50.422-07:002012-03-28T06:23:50.422-07:00Okay, I'm encouraged about the poetry thing. A...Okay, I'm encouraged about the poetry thing. As a writer I always felt guilty for turning my nose down at it. But I do know it is a valuable genre and I should read more of it!<br />Blessings!<br />JanJan Clinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16617976979678082323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-55347044658548382322012-03-28T06:07:13.632-07:002012-03-28T06:07:13.632-07:00I enjoy reading the classics because they do that ...I enjoy reading the classics because they do that "culturally transcending truth" thing so well. <br />The author plants a "truth" inside the story where I discover it and realize there must be more. It's like uncovering a vein of gold in a nickel mine.Marianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12990101542996298555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-30598929571948264072012-03-28T06:07:05.810-07:002012-03-28T06:07:05.810-07:00I read all over the map. Fiction, nonfiction, lots...I read all over the map. Fiction, nonfiction, lots of memoirs and usually more than a couple books at a time. I get it in when I can. Goodreads has influenced some of my reading habits as well. <br /><br />~ WendyWendy Paine Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15136235074351188350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-39833919235038448532012-03-28T06:03:15.006-07:002012-03-28T06:03:15.006-07:00Susie, if I edit as I read, I put the book down. I...Susie, if I edit as I read, I put the book down. I want to get lost in a story and red-lining tends to make me too self-conscious to enjoy the story.Patti Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07575415697841348226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-21919552174290586392012-03-28T05:36:13.160-07:002012-03-28T05:36:13.160-07:00Ah, books. They truly make me happy. I'm not t...Ah, books. They truly make me happy. I'm not to be trusted in a bookstore. <br /><br />I read all kinds of different literature. I've learned that there are some books that just aren't worth finishing (I'm looking at YOU, sparkly vampire). But I've also learned that some books that don't grab hold of me right away can become books that change who I am...it just takes a little patience. <br /><br />Now, here's a question for all of you: Do any of you find yourselves editing a book as you read? Figuring out how it could have been? Or what you would have done differently? I'm finding that, as a novelist, I read very differently than I did when I was a playwright. Anyone else?<br /><br />And, Bonnie, The Grapes of Wrath is my favorite of all time. I hope you do give it a second chance. :)Susie Finkbeinerhttp://www.susiefinkbeiner.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-42404888192760673312012-03-28T03:13:47.297-07:002012-03-28T03:13:47.297-07:00I do the same thing. I read modern authors and cla...I do the same thing. I read modern authors and classic authors alike. You learn why they are classics, and why they endure.<br /><br />You also learn that many of our no-no habits of today, were perfectly acceptable in the past. Summary scenes come to mind, as do head-skipping and purple prose. Done properly these things still work.<br /><br />Haven't thought of reading plays. I may do that, now. Certainly would sharpen up dialogue to advance the plot!<br /><br /> - EricEric W. Tranthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13842968931062056407noreply@blogger.com