With this summer weather reading seems to have displaced writing as my main activity.
As my last post Its a Man's World by Polly Courtney, The years of Rice and Salt by K S Robinson and the recent prize winning tome The Luminaries , despite its size, by Eleanor Catton the New Zealand writer still await in my large reading pile having read a few pages ...
On non fiction Wings on my Sleeve and a book about the Miles M52 by the same author and a beautiful book about the Comet airliner have all been started.
Martha Gellhorn Travels with Myself has been started ... a feisty read me thinks.
I have also continued reading several books about how to write ... and can confirm some good ... some not so good ... some pretty awful!
Having enjoyed many of his pointed blog posts I have read several e books by the best selling e book writer Russell Blake, including his parody advice about how to write and make money from writing.
As my last post Its a Man's World by Polly Courtney, The years of Rice and Salt by K S Robinson and the recent prize winning tome The Luminaries , despite its size, by Eleanor Catton the New Zealand writer still await in my large reading pile having read a few pages ...
On non fiction Wings on my Sleeve and a book about the Miles M52 by the same author and a beautiful book about the Comet airliner have all been started.
Martha Gellhorn Travels with Myself has been started ... a feisty read me thinks.
I have also continued reading several books about how to write ... and can confirm some good ... some not so good ... some pretty awful!
Having enjoyed many of his pointed blog posts I have read several e books by the best selling e book writer Russell Blake, including his parody advice about how to write and make money from writing.
The highlight of the last few weeks has been finding books by J K Rowling I can read to completion. Cookoo's Calling and Silkworm both enjoyable with much great narrative. These two books have raised me to reading heights and writing lows because how can I write so well. Of course from the book reviews many do not share this view ... but most do. Some even agree with me about the Casual Vacancy.
As I said last time ... with all this reading where am I going to find time to write? The answer is the writing is suffering.
Two weeks in France at the end of June allowed me to read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. An unusual book. Not perhaps a book to be read by men interested in marriage.
Gary Smailes quoted a statistic about only 40% of fiction books being read to completion. His view is readers stop reading from boredom mainly because of too much 'tell rather than show'. I have now started so many fiction books in my pile and stopped so my average is sinking from over 60% completed ... perhaps because I have picked up too many best sellers and recommended books without detailed consideration of whether they suit me or not.
As I said last time ... with all this reading where am I going to find time to write? The answer is the writing is suffering.
Two weeks in France at the end of June allowed me to read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. An unusual book. Not perhaps a book to be read by men interested in marriage.
Gary Smailes quoted a statistic about only 40% of fiction books being read to completion. His view is readers stop reading from boredom mainly because of too much 'tell rather than show'. I have now started so many fiction books in my pile and stopped so my average is sinking from over 60% completed ... perhaps because I have picked up too many best sellers and recommended books without detailed consideration of whether they suit me or not.
Continued good reading and writing with a good summer .... some nice warmth even as today's weather forecast says - unusually sunny and warm!
Douglas
