My Reading Lately

Good evening, I hope you all are well. I was reading about Alexander Dumas (I really enjoy his story The Count of Monte Cristo), and I thought I would share. What I find interesting about his story is that he didn't have too much education, but read 'everything he could obtain.' Have you read much of him?

Lately I have been mostly reading Bernard Malamud, Tim O'Brien, and Tobias Wolff. These three are great - the latter two being modern. I also recently read the Mowgli portions of The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling, and am reading Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. The last two, as you know, aren't at all the same as the first three authors I mentioned, but I wanted to share what I have been reading lately. I also read half of The Count of Monte Cristo, and I have to say, I really love novels like that or Treasure Island, if I could write a story that like either of those I would be ecstatic.

At any rate, I just wanted to share what I have been reading lately and my thoughts. I have realized that, while I want to learn 'literary fiction' I really just want to write what I want to write, read as much as possible so I know what I don't like and what I do and can incorporate my lessons into my own writing. And I have about eight+ ideas for stories I want to tell, so world beware.

The New York Trilogy

I am taking a writing workshop at The Writer's Center in Bethesda, and after reading Fight Club, my workshop leader recommended I read Paul Auster's The New York Trilogy. Having just finished reading it, I must ask why.

I read the first of the three books that make up the trilogy, and was left wondering 'so what?' This is, in my opinion, a question a reader should never ask. While the author's pacing as great and the book was a page turner, it told no real story. I would argue that about half of the 'literary' authors out there do not know how to tell a real story. They know how to write, and they know how to use fancy words to make themselves sound smart (I counted about ten in this book that I had to look up - sad when someone with a MA does not understand your use of words).

My next step was to scour the internet for reviews to see what I missed. The result was articles talking about Paul Auster as a great example of post-modern with a hint of genre included. Genre, because it had a hint of mystery? I disagree completely with the notion that in any way was this a mystery. Not only did it never make me think 'what is going to happen?' or 'who did it?' but the only time I did get curious, regarding the protagonist finding two men that looked exactly alike, the author never addressed the issue! He makes this big deal out of it, then completely ignores it for the rest of the so called 'story.'

I enjoyed the read, but if you decide to read this book, do it for the sentences within, not the story or technique.