Whenever I don't know what to blog about (like today) I just open up 'Several Short Sentences about Writing' to a random page, and then I have a blog topic. Today, I read this: Anything you think you need in order to write--or be 'inspired' to write or 'get in the mood' to write--becomes a …
Plot or not?
I'm losing interest in plot, as a reader. I care less and less about a protagonist and a villain and a mystery and a battle, and more about character and prose and interesting thoughts. Will I ever read genre fiction again? I don't know... Also, I sense this is going to rub off on my …
Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders
Love, death, ghosts, and history. What a sad, funny, interesting and heart-squeezing novel. From Wikipedia: Many years ago, during a visit to Washington DC, my wife's cousin pointed out to us a crypt on a hill and mentioned that, in 1862, while Abraham Lincoln was president, his beloved son, Willie, died, and was temporarily interred …
Mystery on the side
I'm listening to another Nabokov novel, and no surprise, it's great. This one is about a struggling businessman who also seems a bit mentally unstable, running across a vagrant who happens to look exactly like him. The instant he sees this face, a plan sparks in his mind. You can tell, but, you don't know …
Pale Fire, by Vladimir Nabokov
This is the epitome of genius. Nabokov must have some kind of freak literary gene that makes him so good with words. This is one of the few books I've wanted to start reading again the moment I reached the end. (I think Lolita was another...) On the surface, Pale fire is a 999 line …
Jonas David 