Addicted to story [361]
Greetings from the library...
‘For first you write a sentence,
And then you chop it small;
Then mix the bits, and sort them out
Just as they chance to fall:
The order of the phrases makes
No difference at all.’
~ Lewis Carroll, Poeta fit, Non Nascitur
Sat on the desk, wrapped in a kindle is my copy of On Writing by Stephen King. I also have the audio version on my phone and a paperback copy on the way.
It’s the first book in this image illustrating a selection I plan to read. Books recommended by you lovely dispatch readers. There are a lot of male authors. But I guess that’s what you must be into. Or you figured might help me on my way.
[I hypocritically urge you to click and buy from all these Amazon affiliate links so that I may then afford these books from more ethical book shops.]
King said “If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”
Having neglected my long form reading, I’m back with a vengeance. Reading for fun is very different to reading with writing in mind. And Stephen King’s book is a treat for whatever part of my brain needs coercing into a writers mindset. It’s focused on writing fiction, but I’m extracting a lot of good stuff for my practise.
I have also dipped into Bruce Chatwin’s ‘In Patagonia’ and ‘Fire Season’ by Philip Connors. I started reading all three to see which path I would head down. But King pulled me right in.
Also above are My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith, The Island Within by Richard Nelson, (much cheaper on eBay) and Draft No. 4 by John McPhee.
Other recommendations from you were…
Across the top. A Writer’s World by Jan Morris, The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Gerard, (currently 85p on Kindle) and Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle by Dervla Murphy. I read ‘The Ukimwi Road’ also from Dervla, while I was in Africa. A great read. Looking forward to revisiting more work from her.
On the second row we have Waterlog from Roger Deakin, A Single Swallow by Horatio Clare and Coasting by Jonathan Raban.
And finally…
I have already read ‘A Time of Gifts’ by Patrick Leigh Fermor. I read that and ‘Between the woods and the Water’ many years ago while hitchhiking Europe.
Next to that is The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron and the international best seller
Wild: From lost to found by Cheryl Strayed.
The last three images are The Animal Dialogues by Craig Childs, Indian Creek Chronicles from Pete Fromm and Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey.
There were other recommendations I already have or had read. Things like The Wild Places and The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane. To my shame, those two have been waiting on a shelf for years.
“Read, read, read. Read everything -- trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it.
Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window.”~ William Faulkner
Alongside the book recommendations sent me were a couple of physical books from friend, fellow Hells Nerd and President of Southern New Hampshire University Paul LeBlanc. I’ve no idea how someone spinning as many plates as Paul can find the time to write two books in as many years. That itself is an inspiration.
Should I want to try writing something relating to my usual work these will come in handy. Here is a link to more info on his latest book ‘Broken’. At time of writing it is pre-order only.
These two books above were a kind gift, others I will have to buy. I’ll be using money that supporting subscribers kindly send me every month.
“No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting.”
~ Mary Wortley Montagu
Today I write my 361st dispatch, my 6147th journal entry on an unbroken 4000 day streak and the 15,000 word on my book writing project.
As a thank you to those that pay the equivalent of a cup of coffee a month, I’ll be reading an extract from my typed up notes. Look out for that subscriber only email later in the week.
If there is a book you really think I should read, that might assist me in my project, let me know. The current book pile will take a lot of work getting through, but it’ll be an enjoyable journey.
“Every year, more than 120,000 new books are published in Britain, creating millions of volumes that will never be opened, let alone read. Many of these unread books are shredded into tiny fibre pellets called bitumen modifier, which can be used to make roads, holding the blacktop in place and doubling up as a sound absorber. A mile of motorway consumes about 50,000 books. The M6 Toll Road used up two-and-a-half million old Mills and Boon novels, romantic dreams crushed daily by juggernauts...Having your unread books vanish into the author-less anonymity of a road feels pleasingly melancholic, like having your ashes scattered in a vast ocean.” ~ Joe Moran
I’ve updated the check box writing sheet I linked last time to include a wordcount.
I’m now looking forward to reading something.
Thank you for reading this.
Christian.