tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post2989341557112029242..comments2024-03-22T00:35:19.082-07:00Comments on Casual Kitchen: A 30 Day Voracious Reading TrialDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02388302796031288076noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-73856382444996757782013-09-23T13:53:48.253-07:002013-09-23T13:53:48.253-07:00The writing style of the Victorians is not my favo...The writing style of the Victorians is not my favorite (much prefer the Edwardians), and moralistic fiction is my least favorite genre. <br /><br />Generally speaking, I appreciate the 19th-century writers for their place in literary history (and value their study in that context) but I sure don't pick them up to read for entertainment.chacha1http://www.ombailamos.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-28420988686418275562013-09-19T10:13:55.014-07:002013-09-19T10:13:55.014-07:00Hardy is really interesting to me (aside from his ...Hardy is really interesting to me (aside from his beautiful writing) because if you think about it his subject matter is social injustice. Most of his novels involve people ground down by the machine of English society. In many ways he did as much or more for social and economic justice as Dickens did. <br /><br />And yeah, I had the same HATEHATEHATE reaction when I read Jude the Obscure. It had the same kind of theme as Tess and I can see how either novel could leave a reader feeling defeated or even hopeless. But it takes a highly skilled author to be able to transmit those powerful kinds of feelings to a reader via a story about made-up people. <br /><br />If you read, say The Mayor of Casterbridge or Return of the Native (both of which I liked even better than "Tess"), let me know. But yeah, at the end of the day Hardy is an acquired taste for plenty of readers. <br /><br />DKDanielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02388302796031288076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-82558787259235261342013-09-19T09:26:21.321-07:002013-09-19T09:26:21.321-07:00I take no credit for my reading speed, it's a ...I take no credit for my reading speed, it's a freak of nature. ;-)<br /><br />p.s. I hated, *hated,* HATED "Tess of the D'Urbervilles." To me it was nothing but an even-crueler, 19th-c version of Richardson's "Pamela." Physical, economic, and spiritual rape do not a good story make, IMO.chacha1http://www.ombailamos.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-2992622575744744582013-09-18T12:48:06.649-07:002013-09-18T12:48:06.649-07:00Chacha, I'd love to be able to *mow* down book...Chacha, I'd love to be able to *mow* down books at your reading rate. Fiction OR non-fiction. :)<br /><br />DKDanielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02388302796031288076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-74213766515721805902013-09-18T12:47:18.824-07:002013-09-18T12:47:18.824-07:00Melissa, regarding being "ready" for a b...Melissa, regarding being "ready" for a book: It's funny, for one thing, I really didn't know how else to phrase it. But it happens to me periodically. <br /><br />And then, usually, if a book bothers me on some emotional level, that means there's something "there" there--there's probably some significant insights in there that I'm blocking or resisting somehow. Those books are almost always worth another try. <br /><br />Thanks as always for your thoughts and good vibes!<br /><br />DKDanielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02388302796031288076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-44439059818321510622013-09-17T09:55:14.131-07:002013-09-17T09:55:14.131-07:00Aw Dan, your almost-all-nonfiction reading diet ma...Aw Dan, your almost-all-nonfiction reading diet makes me feel like an underachiever. :-)<br /><br />I am averaging about 15 books a month this year. Pretty close to an even split between dead-tree books and Kindle.<br /><br />My purchasing decisions these days - whether I buy "paper" books or ebooks - are based on whether I think I'll want to pass the book on to my mom or sister, or if it's an entry in a long-running series I collect (like the Mary Russell novels by Laurie R. King), in which case I get the paper version.<br /><br />I can be equally engaged with the Kindle or a paper book. The Kindle is a lifesaver for reading outside the house.chacha1http://www.ombailamos.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-9009785161168960202013-09-17T09:08:19.921-07:002013-09-17T09:08:19.921-07:00Somehow I feel moved to mention a couple of Faulkn...Somehow I feel moved to mention a couple of Faulkner quotes (or at least they have been attributed to him)and one add-lib.<br /><br />“Read, read, read. Read everything -- trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it.<br />Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window.”<br /> <br />"My own experience has been that the tools I need for my trade are paper, tobacco, food, and a little whisky."<br />--William Faulkner<br /><br />... and later, when things were going none too well, Faulkner discovered that he also needed a pencil. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-2302515069944165912013-09-17T08:30:32.486-07:002013-09-17T08:30:32.486-07:00This is fascinating, Dan, and an interesting exerc...This is fascinating, Dan, and an interesting exercise in discipline of a different kind. I look forward to seeing what articles and insights come out of this into this blog space. I also need to read more, for much the same reason - to combat the atrophy of my attention span. Kudos to you for doing it.<br /><br />Couple of things:<br /><br />"I swear, the best part of the day by far is between 5am and 7am."<br /><br />Um, yeah. ;)<br /><br />And:<br /><br />I find it interesting you used the word "ready" when talking about the Wayne Dyer book. I felt the same way about The Alchemist and also A New Earth. Running with the Mind of Meditation also proved to be a difficult read, but in that same good way. Point being, some books you have to be "ready" to read. Love that you said it that way.<br />Melissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12439733116558336290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-33107987021736283002013-09-17T06:52:32.766-07:002013-09-17T06:52:32.766-07:00Calico Cat, this is a great question and insight. ...Calico Cat, this is a great question and insight. I read almost exclusively physical books, although I do have a Kindle, and I think it does matter, at least for me. <br /><br />I think reading on a screen--any kind of screen--gets me into "short attention span mode" and reading a physical book lends itself to longer attention span activity. <br /><br />Once again, I'm speaking only for myself of course. Really curious to see if others feel the same. <br /><br />DKDanielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02388302796031288076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37886248.post-78223034847609399192013-09-17T06:22:57.932-07:002013-09-17T06:22:57.932-07:00Did you read "paper" books of kindle (or...Did you read "paper" books of kindle (or similar non-paper) books? Do you think it matters? why/why not? (I think that reading actual paper books matters - at a neurological level. The physical act of holding a book & turning pages...)The Calico Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06319271181930512880noreply@blogger.com