read regularly

• Inviting the Wolf In, Loren Niemi & Elizabeth Ellis
• New Stories from the South 2008, ZZ Packer ed.

• The Lawless Frontier, Randy Denmon

Finally finished James Baldwin’s anthology, Going to Meet the Man. Excellent work. The last story I read, “Come Out the Wilderness,” is intense and lovely, but I have to admit—I’m burned out on Baldwin now.

Next:
*Inviting the Wolf In, Loren Niemi & Elizabeth Ellis
*New Stories from the South 2008, ZZ Packer ed.

Current schedule just does not allow for me to realistically read one book a week. I might zip through an anthology in a week, or barrel through a novel in one night, and that’s all fine and good. But whether or not I accomplish the goal for the week is entirely dependent on what’s going on in life and what I’m reading. There can be no establishment of consistency in that.

Sooo, I’ve decided I’m going to instead endeavor to “read regularly,” which I believe is a much more sensible goal. Not necessarily quantity or quality, but regularity.

That said…only one more short story to go in the James Baldwin anthology of short stories, Going to Meet the Man. I expect to finish this book off tomorrow night. Then, I’ll start on Inviting the Wolf In, by Loren Niemi and Elizabeth Ellis, and concurrently reading New Stories from the South 2008, edited by ZZ Packer.

Beautiful, beautiful prose. Written from the 1st-person perspective of soul lingering “Between” life and the afterlife destination. Set both in the 1920s and present.

Had the honor of hearing the author speak to our Novel Writing class earlier in the year. Admired the intensity of her inspiration: once she put pen to paper, the writing of the book was a straight shot from beginning to end. Initial draft saw few revisions before press. Wow.

Characteristics from many genres/interests: paranormal, romance, social commentary, mystery, speculative, literary, regional…. Pretty heavy on the social issues side, but I was able to allow those elements and my difference of opinion to sink beneath the high quality writing.

Forgive the pun, but the book is “haunting.”

I decided to read the book after Mom gushed over the movie. Asians growing up in the South…I’ve been waiting so long to hear someone’s voice on this. Not exactly what I was expecting, but a wonderful read. Several “aaahhhh” moments. Volatile. Touching. Frustrated/frustrating. Like the year of first love.

I wish the author were still living, because he is indeed a wonderful teacher, despite his hubris and exaggerated pomp. The man knows what he’s talking about, and if one can ignore the snobby tone he seems to keep through the first portion of the book, one will find there is a very strong current of enthusiasm and encouragement for anyone who aspires to write.

Children’s book. Beautifully done. Gorgeous illustrations, too. Sad story of a Vietnamese family torn apart by the war. Brought tears to my eyes.

Very straightforward. Answered the majority of the questions I had, as a writer going in with limited practical knowledge on plotting and structuring.

The good news: I’ve been instinctively applying most of the techniques suggested. Can only attribute that knowledge to a lifetime of reading. But viewing the material in a logical, organized way helps explain the things I’ve simply known but not quite understood. Grasping the concepts.

Good beginning-level introduction to plotting and structuring a work of fiction.

Beautiful. She keeps a singular something.

Favorites:
“Bump d’Bump”
“Still I Rise”
“Phenomenal Woman”
“Country Lover”

Favorites:
“Visits to St. Elizabeth’s” – Elizabeth Bishop
“Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” – Dylan Thomas
“Daddy” – Sylvia Plath