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Posts tagged ‘Reading’

Oct 25

Thoughts on Reading

I know I’m preaching to the choir here…

We all know the importance, the joy, and benefits of reading. But still there are people who don’t do it. I remember learning (from some source I can’t recall) that most people only read one book a year. My aunt, who is a professor, says that her students don’t read. Not the news, not books, not even magazines.

I guess I am lucky I come from a family of readers. I remember my mom having a tower of books next to her and my father’s bed. My dad was a comic book lover and still has a bunch of Conan comics somewhere in their house. Also, for years my parents were faithful subscribers to the Washington Post. Even now, they will still buy a Sunday paper and read on a lazy afternoon.

My grandmother was also a professor (psychology) and a big reader. After her death, my mother and I combed through her bookshelves taking many of the books she collected over the years. There wasn’t any pattern to her collection, only things she had bought because she liked them. My mom told me my grandmother had a knack for leaving her paperbacks at the bus station after she had read them. She wanted to give books away to anyone who would want them.

During that clean out, I was to lucky recipient of a fabulous gift. My grandmother had gotten Gwendolyn Brooks to sign her chapbook.

My mom: “You should have it.”
Me: “Really?”
My mom: “Yes. You’re the writer. I think it is best that you take it.”

The rest of the family agreed and now it is one of my favorite literature pieces. One day I will have to properly frame it.

Brooks Pic

So you see how weird it is to me that there are some who don’t read.

But I think there is hope. The emergence of cheap (or even free) e-books is a blessing. I don’t buy what those reports say about e-book sales slowing. There are a lot of writers who are putting out books with no ISBN numbers and they don’t get counted. Plus, what about people like me who frequent used bookstores? I don’t buy a lot of new books, preferring instead to read a lot of older books that I missed. I read maybe 5-6 new books a year out of the twenty or so that I read. So far I’ve only read 2 (in the middle of my 3rd right now.)

Plus, I live in a good area for reading. There are lots of indie and chain bookstores, a large literate public who celebrate books, and demand from that community. I’m sure there are other places that aren’t as nice (but they can be).

So cheap books and a good environment do go a long way towards getting more people to read. Sure there are some who will never do it. For them music or movies are what get them excited. I’ve known a few people who see all the indie movies and don’t understand why more people don’t watch those instead of the latest superhero flick. Or that friend who detests the radio and listens to obscure bands with gusto.

But those who are like me, someone who likes movies, TV, and music, but connects best with books, reading will always be important. The stories connects over the decades and the story you love may be a story your kids love too. My aunt (in her sixties) and I love Sanderson and were gushing over Shadow of Self yesterday. These connections are so precious.

I wish more people understood that about reading. It’s not a chore, or punishment to read. Not all books are boring or long winded. Maybe you’ll never love the classics, but hey that latest mystery has got your name all over it.

Here’s my reading pile. I can’t wait to dive in.

Atwood & Galbraith

Aug 30

End of August 2015 – Up for the Challenge

Here we are at the end of August. The second half of the month moved much slower for me. Only two rejections came in, but I have noticed that right at the end of the month/beginning of the new month is when a lot of notices are sent out. So over the next day or so I may hear from a few places.

Numbers for August:

Submissions: 12
Acceptances: 0
Rejections: 23

I think in the last post I counted a story twice, because all my stories are out now, but I still have one less than before. (That’s what I think happened, but not sure.) I don’t really do simultaneous submissions. Most places that I want don’t allow them, and I have gotten out of the habit. Maybe if I wrote more literary fiction I could do that, but the speculative fiction is a no go.

Anyway, there are now twelve unique stories out, and I hope to increase this over the next month. Last year, I did a personal challenge called “Short Story September.” I wanted to write a new story every week. This year, I’m going to bump it up and write one every day. No idea whether this is a good idea or not, but I want to break out of my rut. I’ve been working on this novella, but it is still unfinished. I like finishing stuff. Gives me a sense of accomplishment.

Some days I may write a flash piece and then get back to the novella. Others may be spent just on the new story. Either way, I’m going to get a few more new things written. Even if I don’t get thirty stories done, I’ll take any new stuff. My major clean out showed me a few pieces that I didn’t finish or only wrote the first paragraph. Because of school, I had to put a few things on the back burner and so now is the time to finish them up, while I’m still excited by them and want to finish.

The “wanting to finish” is important. Sometimes if the story is boring me, I know I shouldn’t continue to write it. If the enthusiasm is gone, I’m gone (and probably the reader too). Focus on the other that are still alive for me. Those are the ones I have to bring into the world.

Still continuing on my reading streak, although I only read four books this month (Gotta get back on track!). Next few months will have a flurry of new books coming out: Rushdie, Franzen, Galbraith (Rowling), Sanderson, Due, my favorite author Atwood, and quite a few more. So, lots to look forward to in the fall.

Jul 31

July 2015 – Refreshed and Writing

We’re 2/3 of the way through summer and this month I feel as if I have really got back on track. Not only have I been working on my novella (I think it is a novella, but that could change.), but I also managed to mail out more submissions!

And I even wrote a new short story.

Yes, I know. In my last post I said I was going to ditch the short stories this summer, but there were a couple of places I wanted to submit to and their deadlines are September 1. So I took a couple of days off and pounded out a new story. There is one more I need to write, but I will do that this weekend. So those will be off and submitted next month and then I can really concentrate on this longer piece. Also, I have two other stories that are ready to be submitted, but the journals don’t open until August 1, so those pieces are not included in this update. Here is my total so far:

Submissions: 8

Acceptances: 0

Rejections: 12

Still woefully low, but hey, if I’m going to fail at this, I’m going to fail. After all, the goal is to get myself submitting, writing, and (hopefully) published.

Also, can I say how wonderful reading is now that I am not in school anymore? One of the downsides to grad school is that I never seemed to have time to read for pleasure during the semester. I was either reading books for class, reading short stories for class, or reading my classmates work. It was only in those brief weeks during break that I could read for fun. This year between January and May (when I graduated) I read 3 books for fun.

However in July, I read 5(!!). FIVE books that have been sitting forever waiting for me to read them. Oh people, it is so nice to get back into the swing of things with my reading. Maybe in December I’ll do an end of the year post on all the books I read. But here are a few more that I’m working my way towards:

Stone Mattress – Margaret Atwood

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms – NK Jemisin

The Corrections – Jonathan Franzen

The Diamond Age – Neal Stephenson

Yep, this was a good month all the way around. I hope your July went well too. See ya in August!

 

Sep 7

What I Got From the Bookstore – Summer 2014

Since we all agree that my goal not to buy books was a silly, dumb goal, I decided to share a few of the books it picked up this summer. Wit the exception of Long Hidden, I bought all of these at second-hand stores. That is my favorite place to go to look for books. Sure it would be easier to just order from Amazon, but the hunt is part of the fun. Plus, most used stores price all of their books the same. So my Neil Gaiman was only $2.

And I didn’t have to pay for shipping.

First up is Stardust, by Neil Gaiman. I have never read this one, so this was a nice find.

Books Summer 2014 006

Next is an anthology, The Norton Book of Science Fiction, edited by Ursula K. Le Guin and Brian Attebery. This anthology has a selection of short stories from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. I feel like this is a textbook I would’ve gotten in a class (if I had a science fiction class). Still it’s a nice shelf book that I can dip into every now and then.

Books Summer 2014 004

The next book As She Climbed Across the Table is from one of my favorite writers — Jonathan Lethem. I remember a friend mentioning this story to me years ago, but I never got around to reading it. So glad I finally found a copy. I’ve read many of his short stories, but I haven’t gotten to his novels. Looking forward to reading this one.

Books Summer 2014 002

This next one, I can’t read right away. Why? Because it is Book 2 of a trilogy. Still, I wanted to get something by David Anthony Durham, since I collect minority scifi. I might have to hit up Amazon for the first one.

Books Summer 2014 001

And finally, this last one, Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History, I had to order from Amazon. It was published earlier this year and when it popped up on my Amazon recommended list, I jumped on it. I remembered the call for submissions, but I didn’t have anything available to submit. I hope there are more in the future.

Books Summer 2014 003

So far this fall is looking quiet. Margaret Atwood has a new book coming out in a week or so. I will be getting that (of course), but nothing else is grabbing me. However, I glanced at Locus magazines forthcoming list and let’s just say February 2015 is very exciting.

Short Story September is going well. Writing like crazy. Also stay tuned because I have some very exciting news coming down the pike.

 

Jan 15

New Goals for 2014

It’s the 15th of January, so technically it is still around the beginning of the year.  I wanted to write some of my goals for 2014 down.  I think that putting them out here publicly will be a good way to hold myself accountable.  Some of these will be easy, but others will take a lot of discipline.

Goal #1 — Finish 12 short stories a year and 1 longer piece.

This should translate into one short story a month.  In a year, I will be starting my thesis class.  I want a nice body of work ready to go before I set foot in the classroom.  Starting a year early should put me in a nice position for 2015.  By “longer piece” I mean something 10k words or more.

Goal #2 — Sell one short story.

This was my main goal for 2013.  I submitted a lot of work, but got a lot of rejections.  I’ve been trying off and on since 2004 to get published, but I stopped once I started grad school.  Last year I decided to resume my publishing quest.  Some rejections were very kind.  Some sucked.  I realize I just have to keep moving forward.  I’m never going to get published if I don’t keep writing and mailing my work out.

Goal #3 — Read at least 25 books this year.

This may seem like a small goal, but this past year I barely read 20 books.  Some books I started and just couldn’t finish.  Plus I tend to read a lot of short fiction on line.  Still, I need to read more.  So far this year I am off to a good start.  I just finished Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn and am now reading Warbreaker.  Next up will be The Well of Ascension.

Goal #4 — Buy no new books, unless I get some gift cards.

During the holiday, I realized I had an insane amount of books waiting in my “to be read” pile.  I’m going on a year long hiatus of book buying to trim down the pile.  The only way I’m getting any more books is if someone gives me a gift card that I can’t spend anywhere else.

Goal #5 — Get my credit card bill down.

Grad school is expensive.  Root canals are expensive.  For the first time in two years I got a modest raise at my day job.  I need to start making a dent in my debt.

Those are the big ones.  There a few small ones like hang some pictures, exercise more, etc.  Honestly, I’m not too worried about those.  I’m in a regular routine for exercising and others are just chores I need to take care of.  These main goals are the big ones.  These are the ones I need to focus on.  I’ll return to these goals periodically over the year to record my progress.  For now, it feels good to have them out here in cyber space.  This gives me a real solid ideas to strive for.  Let’s see how 2014 goes.

Jun 4

The Bradbury Effect

In my last post, I wrote how much I wished I could be as productive as Ray Bradbury.  For some reason, I just didn’t think that I could work like that, churning out a story every week. This past May proved me wrong.

I decided I would try and so far I have finished a piece every week.  I start on Monday and by Sunday, I try and finish something, whether it is a short story, flash fiction, blog post, or the end of a longer piece.  The sense of accomplishment feels very good.  I feel productive.  It spurs me on to get to the next story.  I still have a ton to rewrite and a million other writing ideas to get down into cohesive stories, but for now I am happy to be stacking up the work.  After all, the more you write the better you get.  Not all of these stories are going to be good, but some of them have the potential to be good.  I’m a believer of this idea now.

Good thing too, because I signed up for a summer session at JHU.  Spring classes ended around the first week of May and
now, four short weeks later, I am gearing up for another workshop class.  That means, more writing and critiquing
are in my future.  Last semester was a good group of writers.  I learned a lot about myself (my confusing pronoun usage, my tendency for groups of three, needing deeper character development, etc.).  I’m sure this next class will help me along too.

In other news, I got into a car accident last week.  The insult was that it happened five minutes from my house! Thank God no one was hurt.  The accident was very minor and the only thing damaged were the cars.  For the past few days, while my car is being repaired I’ve been driving a rental.  A 2013 Altima.  It has a push start, something I have never driven.  It’s not my style of car, but I’m marveling at all the bells and whistles.  There is even a feature on the dash that tells you what song you are listening to on the radio.  Modern technology!  I’m used to my older car where you have to work for everything. LOL!

I also came across another gem of a book.  A signed copy of The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen.  The best part?  I bought it from the thrift store when they had a 50% Memorial Day sale.  I love the spring/summer season.  People give away the best stuff now.  Along with the Franzen book, I got a copy of If on a winter’s night a traveler by Italo Calvino and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace.  I’ll get to them soon, but right now I’m reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.  Interesting so far.  It’s one of those Big books many people read, and since I never read it, I thought I should join the club.

And yes, I did get around to reading 50 Shades of Grey.

All I will say about that book, is that I didn’t like it, don’t understand the people who do, and will go back to reading Harold Robbins the next time I feel the urge to read something trashy.  Now that man could tell a story and write some great sex scenes!

I did like Karen Russell, though.  Her stories were inventive, sometimes fun, sometimes heartbreaking, original, and ambitious.  I have Swamplandia! on my “to be read shelf” too.

There are so many great stories to be read.  So many yet to be written (hopefully one or two by yours truly).  I haven’t forgotten my New Year’s resolution.  You know the one where I wanted to be published.  So along with writing, I’ve got to start submitting again.

I just have to start one story at a time.

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