I started reading The City & The City, by China Mieville and my disappointment at it being in first person was quickly quashed by the great writing and non-annoying character. Too many times, first person narratives have the same arrogant, 'quirky,' snide, sarcastic character that everyone around them seems to love, but I want to …
Odd people
I've been listening to Odd John recently, and the character is so 'high above' regular humans that he sees them as friendly animals. Hi arrogance is abbrasive, but his overwhelming curiosity and passion for knowledge makes up for it and makes him a likable character. How to write terribly smart characters without being terribly smart …
Word Peevs: we all have them!
Often times:  Why don't you just say 'often'? Begs the question: 95% of the time you mean 'raises the question.' Familiar pronounced as Fur-miliar: Unless you are talking about your cat... The problem is, is...: The thing is, is this is really annoying for me. The question is, is this annoying to anyone else? Don't get …
Crime and Punishment
An exciting psychological thriller? A philosophical thinkpiece on morality? A tragedy? Mystery? All of these? I quite enjoyed Crime and Punishment if you can't tell. Some of the conversations were very intense, and ambiguous too--I was so intent on Rodion's interactions with Porfiry, I could not decide whether he knew or not! It was so …
Old music
Been listening to some old songs I haven't heard in a while and it's strange how much music draws you back into the past. What you were doing when listening to the music the first time, with supreme clarity sometimes, can come flooding right back with just a few notes...
Jonas David 