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What I'm Reading Every writer reads. If you enjoy creating strings of words, you enjoy seeing what others do with the same 26 letters you have at your disposal. Lately, I've been discharging a lot of pent-up writing energy, but reading good books is what clears my head after a day of reading iffy Spanish prose (from my students) and raw English prose (from my own keyboard). So, what is keeping me sane now is: The Complete Father Brown G.K. Chesterton Jorge Luis Borges's admiration of Chesterton got me started on this spectacular writer when I was in college, but it was only a couple of years ago that I purchased an omnibus edition of the Father Brown stories. Now, when my head is full of dialogue after an evening of writing, I pull out Father Brown and let Chesterton soothe my brain. I read until I relax, and each time I reach the end of the book, I start over. Father Brown is not boring, but he is gentle, and few works could interest me and lull me to sleep at the same time. ISBN 0-14-009766-X The Door into Summer Robert A. Heinlein I just read for the twentieth time the most ingenious time-travel story possible, one blessed with endearing characters and a clear but not cloying sense of right and wrong. I came across the book on a paperback rack in my high-school library. From page one I was hooked, so much so that I left the book on the rack so I could linger over it during lunch hour each day instead of devouring it in one night. I bought a copy for myself at O'Hare on the way to Germany in 1978, and I just bought a second copy to share with friends. For info about the book, read an excellent Amazon customer review. ISBN 0-345-33012-9 Ficciones/Fictions Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Luis Borges's best book is the perfect balance to Chesterton. Mind-expanding without being psychedelic, the stories in this collection pull you through mazes of space and time, examine dualities and philosophies in practical ways that no one else seems to have thought of. I rarely think it works to read a translation of a book, but Borges did a lot of his thinking in English, so the translations of these texts do him justice. Still, you should consider learning Spanish. My one regret about Borges is that, when I met him, I didn't tell him that this book made me decide to study Spanish literature in depth. ISBN-13: 978-9500426008 (Spanish) ISBN-13: 978-0802130303 (English) L'Étranger Albert Camus Here's another book I read frequently. Since the day my French teacher told me it was time for me to start reading novels (about the time I discovered The Door into Summer), the first sentence ("Aujourd'hui Maman est morte.") has been part of my consciousness. The simplicity of the prose shows what a writer can accomplish by choosing words wisely instead of spraying them all over the wall. You need to learn French for this one, but until then, use the English version as motivation to learn the language Camus dominated so well. ISBN-13: 978-2070393718 How the Irish Saved Civilization Thomas Cahill As does almost every text that discusses history, this book takes a point of view and runs with it. I've yet to read an unbiased history, and this book makes a better case for its bias than most books I've read. I like the idea that Irish monks preserved a good number of classical texts that might have perished otherwise, and Cahill's prose is engaging beyond any other history I've read. ISBN-13: 978-0340637876 I, Claudius Robert Graves I discovered this book when someone I trust said my writing reminded her of Graves, and another friend bought me the book so I could check out the claim. I am humbled by the comparison, but I take it more seriously than the egregious flattery of others who said I sound like Steinbeck or W. Somerset Maugham, which is silliness. This book does have a voice I'd love to echo, but the genealogy alone is so complex (like Cien años de soledad) that it's not good bedtime reading, at least for me. But put me in a coffee shop with this one, and you'd better plan to collect me at closing time. ISBN-13: 978-0679724773 Angela's Ashes/'Tis/Teacher Man Frank McCourt Thank goodness for NPR. An interview with Mr McCourt set me on his trail, and his is another set of writings I read continually. Lessons learned: 1) If your childhood was difficult, Angela's Ashes will grow you up. 2) If your childhood was difficult and you can write, Angela's Ashes will inspire your art. ISBN varies. Lost Lives David McKittrick, et al. Just writing the title of this book brings tears to my eyes. All this book does is recount, in chronological order, a brief biography of each victim of the Troubles in Northern Ireland and how that person met death. Everyone is included: the Republicans, the Loyalists, the British soldiers, the civilians. As senseless as almost all wars are, this list of 3,638 lost lives shows that there is no glory at all in the thirty years of war that devastated the North. I read it when I can, and when I can, I read just one entry per day. Then I think. ISBN-13: 978-1840185041 |
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