Another Rather Boring and Hastily Posted Entry about What I've Been Reading
Another what-I'm-reading update:
The Motorcycle Diaries - Che Guevara: Still on the bookshelf feeling neglected.
After the Gold Rush - Lewis Buzbee: Made it's way into my bookbag. Read another short story--Hairpin--on the bus. Might be my favorite Buzbee story, although that could be because I know him, and have visited many of the places he describes.
Pulp Fiction - Quentin Tarantino: I'm making an effort to understand story structure, and have therefore added some screenplays and plays. Unfortunately, I've been reading this in an unstructured way--picking it up and absent-mindedly reading a sequence while I'm at work--so I haven't learned anything.
Dinner with Friends: Philip Marguiles: Another play. A friend suggested I read this in my effort to get a better grasp on story structure. I read it fast, caught up in the storyline and completely oblivious to it's structure. A nice psychological treatise on the effects of a couple's divorce on their friends.
Absurdistan - Gary Shteyngart: My wife picked this up off my bookstand and said it was overrated. I probably won't read it. My wife loves books, and rarely comes to these sort of conclusions.
Wonder Boys - Michael Chabon: I found the much ballyhooed Kavalier & Clay to be too wordy, and so I hesitated to pick up another Chabon book, which a co-worker recommended. Loved it! Although, I confess to finding it hard to read, not because it was wordy, but rather because it's about a burned-out middle-aged man who has written a 2,600 page opus that he is unable to finish. (I'm having my own issues with wandering opuses (word?) that I am unable to finish...)
The Power and the Glory - Graham Greene: Something tells me I've tried to read this classic before--we'll see how it goes this time. Another novel about a preacher that I felt I needed to be aware of while writing VMP.
The Best People in the World - Justin Tussing: A fellow Oregonian's debut novel.
Only Revolutions - Mark Z. Danielewski: Something tells me I'll give up on this labyrinth fast...
The Motorcycle Diaries - Che Guevara: Still on the bookshelf feeling neglected.
After the Gold Rush - Lewis Buzbee: Made it's way into my bookbag. Read another short story--Hairpin--on the bus. Might be my favorite Buzbee story, although that could be because I know him, and have visited many of the places he describes.
Pulp Fiction - Quentin Tarantino: I'm making an effort to understand story structure, and have therefore added some screenplays and plays. Unfortunately, I've been reading this in an unstructured way--picking it up and absent-mindedly reading a sequence while I'm at work--so I haven't learned anything.
Dinner with Friends: Philip Marguiles: Another play. A friend suggested I read this in my effort to get a better grasp on story structure. I read it fast, caught up in the storyline and completely oblivious to it's structure. A nice psychological treatise on the effects of a couple's divorce on their friends.
Absurdistan - Gary Shteyngart: My wife picked this up off my bookstand and said it was overrated. I probably won't read it. My wife loves books, and rarely comes to these sort of conclusions.
Wonder Boys - Michael Chabon: I found the much ballyhooed Kavalier & Clay to be too wordy, and so I hesitated to pick up another Chabon book, which a co-worker recommended. Loved it! Although, I confess to finding it hard to read, not because it was wordy, but rather because it's about a burned-out middle-aged man who has written a 2,600 page opus that he is unable to finish. (I'm having my own issues with wandering opuses (word?) that I am unable to finish...)
The Power and the Glory - Graham Greene: Something tells me I've tried to read this classic before--we'll see how it goes this time. Another novel about a preacher that I felt I needed to be aware of while writing VMP.
The Best People in the World - Justin Tussing: A fellow Oregonian's debut novel.
Only Revolutions - Mark Z. Danielewski: Something tells me I'll give up on this labyrinth fast...
Labels: Book Lovers
posted by bigdumbjim at 10:58
6 Comments:
I'm always happy to be of no help ;-). Seriously, though -- "Dinner with Friends" is beautifully structured, with the "beats" strategically placed, esp. if you compare it to a more "classic" drama such as, for example, "A Doll's House," where the structure is very obvious. I thought "Power/Glory" was an awesome book, but Greene does suck the life out of some readers. Did I also recommend "All the King's Men" as a study of a "movement" gone wrong? If I didn't, I am now.
I have Only Revolutions on my to-read pile too, right beside House of Leaves.
And if you and your wife plan on permanently giving up on Absurdistan, feel free to mail it to me. I'm a huge fan of Gogol so I'd be interested in seeing how Shteyngart writes.
Bookman -- What's the connection between Gogol and Shteyngart? (Other than the Russian (or is it Ukrainian?) connection.)
David -- As much as I try, I seem incapable of being able to translate any work of art into a visual schema. I feel this is a skill I need to acquire, as I want to be able to outline my new novel in such a way that I'm not constantly writing material that ends up in the scrap heap, but I can't seem to do it.
I envy your ability to play out different ways a scene could go, and to negate the bad choices before writing them. I seem to need to write them, and only figure out they're wrong months down the line...
BTW -- the plural of "opus" is "opera." Use that one correctly, and the world will fall dead at your feet with impressed astonishment.
You could watch the schlocky film of "Wonder Boys" if you want to make yourself sick.
I'm afraid if I had used opera correctly the world would merely imagine a very winded orchestra...
Jim - Isn't Shteyngart Gogol's grandson or great grandson? I swear, I wasn't misinterpreting a clever blurb about Shteyngart being the bastard love child of Gogol...
I think.
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