“Writers are hunter-gatherers by nature and need. I started early and never quit. All fiction is based on research. We need voices that aren’t ours and experiences we never had. In my case, it’s invariably a young person’s voice that jumpstarts my next novel. Happily, it keeps happening.”
—”The Story as Alternative Universe,” by Richard Peck
Is there no purer love than the love a dog has for its person?
This is not Mary Oliver’s Percy but a stand in for all Percys, by the way.
https://pixabay.com/users/danicku-32495990/
For I will consider my dog Percy.
For he was made small but brave of heart.
For if he met another dog he would kiss her in kindness.
For when he slept he snored only a little. For he could be silly and noble in the same moment.
For when he spoke he remembered the trumpet and when he scratched he struck the floor like a drum.
For he ate only the finest food and drank only the purest of water, yet he would nibble of the dead fish also.
For he came to me impaired and therefore certain of short life, yet thoroughly rejoiced in each day. For he took his medicines without argument.
For he played easily with the neighbor’s Bull Mastiff. For when he came upon mud he splashed through it.
For he was an instrument for the children to learn benevolence upon. For he listened to poems as well as love-talk.
For when he sniffed it was as if he were being pleased by every part of the world.
For when he sickened he rallied as many times as he could.
For he was a mixture of gravity and waggery.
For we humans can seek self-destruction in ways he never dreamed of.
For he took actions both cunning and reckless, yet refused always to offer himself to be admonished.
For his sadness though without words was understandable.
For there was nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest.
For there was nothing brisker than his life when in motion.
For he was of the tribe of Wolf.
For when I went away he would watch for me at the window.
For her loved me.
For he suffered before I found him, and never forgot it.
For he loved Anne.
For when he lay down to enter sleep he did not argue about whether or not God made him.
For he could fling himself upside down and laugh a true laugh.
For he loved his friend Ricky.
For he would dig holes in the sand and then let Ricky lie in them.
For I often see his shape in the clouds and this is a continual blessing.
I enjoy reading books about deep friendships, so A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara seems like a natural fit for me.
Despite some lukewarm reviews, like this one from Paste, that suggests its popularity is overblown, A Little Life has hit a chord that resonates with the public.
Brittany Deitch of Paste dislikes the author’s writing style and that the author didn’t fully research mental illness before writing about it. The novel is about four male friends who are chasing the American Dream, one of whom engages in self-harm.
The novel has a lot of dark themes because Jude, the lead character, suffers numerous traumas. Unlike Edward St. Aubyn’s books, though, that have similiar themes, A Life Life is not semi-autobiographical.
She also wonders why the book blew up on Tik Tok. The novel was published in 2015 so its recent upswing in popularity is surprising.
Currently, the two most popular books on Tik Tok are Sarah Maas A Court of Mist and Fury and The Women by Kristin Hannah. Notably, the fourth most popular book as of this writing is Yanagihara’s A Little Life.
An Animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language
Martin Buber, I and Thou
Quirky and off-beat, yet heart-felt, this novel will astound you. At times, its laugh-out-loud funny and other times profoundly moving. At the heart of this idiosyncratic novel are the Rockwells who lives in Ocean City, N.J. They love to tell people they bear no relation to the illustrator, Norman Rockwell.
In fact, nothing about the Rockwells is typical. They come from a long line of profiteers and though they are rich, they are not sociable. They never go to the boardwalk and mingle with others who are not like them. The girls live with their eccentric Mom who claims their absent Dad is a U.S. spy.
Hurricane Sandy, one of the worst storms in history, brings upheaval and upends their world. After the storm badly damages a house, a man arrives at their door with a box of letters reportedly belonging to their absent Dad.
All of Augusta’s secrets start coming to the surface resulting ultimately in the girl confronting the old spy. Though he has been absent, he has critically interfered in their lives which infuriates the girls. The storm brings all the sisters in to confront their Dad on this while also brings past slights and recriminations to the surface.
Liv accused Ru, who is a writer, of stealing her life for the plot of her book. Liv and Esme are at odds. Liv has always considered herself the prettiest Rockwell girl. When Esme brings her own daughter, a wise-cracking, live-tweeting adolescent into the mix, things get further out of hand.
While Nick, the absent Dad, tries to make up for lost years, the girls realize several important truths. This novel about the bonds of sisterhood and the depth of parental love would make for a great book discussion.
An ocean without its unnamed monsters would be like a completely dreamless sleep
The Log From the Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck.
Great advice from Authorspublish.com.
Library Journal listed End of Story as one of the “big books this week” (2/20/24).
A.J. Finn is known for his remarkable The Woman in the Window.
If you love reading about medical breakthroughs, you’ll love this memoir by Steffanie Strathdee. Her husband was the first person in the U.S. to receive phage therapy for his multi-drug resistant infection. None of it would have happened with her grit and determination. A riveting read.
writeonomics 