Sunday, April 19, 2009

TSS Week 28


I am still reading After These Things and I am enjoying it, but I do skip around a lot (in terms of books) so today I will talk a bit about the other ones I've started.

1. Twilight


People have been at me to read this series for ages. Everyone raves, regardless of age. I decided to bite the bullet when my colleagues started raving as well. I am sure I will like it because for all my literary pretense, I do enjoy pop lit (e.g. Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code). Only about 25 pages in but it is good. I have seen the movie so no surprises in the book so far.

2. The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers




I was looking for guidance on how to structure my novel and I asked for advice from my local writing group, the Austin WriterGrrls. One person who responded recommended this book, and I just started working on it. It is fabulous! The author, Christopher Vogler, brings together Jungian psychology and the work of Joseph Campbell to isolate a story-telling pattern that has been around since the days of early myth and prevails, even now, in popular novels and films. It has served as a great guide for me and I feel it would resonate with anyone who is a consumer of pop culture. Still in the early stages, though, so we shall see!

3. Les Miserables




I have been reading this novel for a while now, but I recently let it go for a bit because I was frustrated with a lot of sections on French history that were hard to follow. I wonder if Hugo did not envision his novel as being a classic worldwide? Did he expect only his countrymen and women to read it, or was he trying to educate the rest of us? I have come to a point where I skip or skim the parts that are not relevant to the plot, so it is going well once again. Terribly interesting story, from what I can remember of the film.

Please note that I am not complaining about sections on Napoleon or the French Revolution, only the stories about mayors and small-time scandals. It doesn't interest me enough to do the work to look it all up, and from what I can see, it is not essential to the story.

3 comments:

Yvonne said...

I have Twilight and really need to read it. I've heard so many good things about it. I've already seen the movie.

Frances said...

Not a Stephen King fan but his On Writing is a must read I think. Not so much for the structure you are looking for but in general. It was quite a surprise for me. And my Twilight feelings mirror yours. My daughter is on the fourth book and exerting great pressure on me to read. Today I am reading Unaccustomed Earth. Happy reading!

stu said...

Have you tried John Truby's 'The Art of Story'?