Give This Bookworm a Hand, Won't You?

I need a good book. Now, come on readers, I've recommended a few for you. Return the favor, won't you? My oldest son is heading to high school in less than two weeks (I'm quite sure I'll blog on this very soon as I can't quite believe it). Over the summer he was charged with reading three novels for his forthcoming Honors English class. The books were (in no particular order)...

The Illustrated Man (Bradbury)

All Quiet on the Western Front (Remarque)

Frankenstein (Shelly)

With just 12 days to go, and having finished the first two, he is currently about 1/4 of the way through Frankenstein (and by the look on his face, it's no Ender's Game).

I thought it would be a good idea to read these three as well, so that, ya know, we could talk about them. And seeing as I have that whole B.A. in English going for me, I figured I could probably help him understand the stories. Give him an intelligent thought or two, right?

I did read All Quiet... (I know, I know, I can't believe I've never read it before either!), and enjoyed it. However, I don't agree wholeheartedly that it is the "greatest book on war ever written." Hang on, maybe it was the greatest book on war ever written at that time. That I can believe. It was a touching, honest story. Although my favorite is still The Things They Carried. Tim O'Brien is fantastic.

I did not read The Illustrated Man. The agony on Connor's face the whole way through that book was enough to scare me away from it.

I did start Frankenstein, but hell, I saw the movie more than once. That counts, right? I was slogging through when, thank God, Connor finished book #2 and was ready for it. Who am I to stand in the way of my son's continuing education?

So I've read some lazy, summer books. All fine and good. But I dare say that I'm ready for some substance! So, please, if you wouldn't mind recommending a few for me, that'd be swell. As a reminder, these are the ones I recommended to you back in February.

Thanks!

Happy Friday, from Metal-Mouth

I am officially a metal-mouth. The braces don’t look quite as bad as I thought they would, but they feel worse.

Last night I took my oldest son to his High School Curriculum Night. I was a complete contradiction walking in the front doors... I felt OLD knowing my son would be entering highschool next fall. Yet there I stood in glasses and braces. Ha!

But I digress. It hurts to talk, which I’ve been known to do. But, as a writer, I prefer to put my words down on paper anyway. I love words. The craft of putting the right ones together, just so, amazes me. Some writers do it better than others, and we all have our favorites. I’ve written before about those perfectly constructed sentences that just leap out at you in the middle of a page. You know the ones; they just stop you in your tracks, make you think Yes, that’s it exactly!

These are a few lines that did it for me:

“They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained, the instinct to run or freeze or hide, and in many respects this was the heaviest burden of all, for it could never be put down, it required perfect balance and perfect posture.”

(from The Things they Carried, Tim O’Brien)

“Words, Caravaggio. They have a power.” (from The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje)

And my absolute favorite line (I swear I sigh audibly every single time I read or speak it):

“She was the hiss of steam, the clink of a cup. She was a certain hour of the night, and the promise of rest.” (from The Quiet American, Graham Greene)

There are actually many lines from many books. Short stories by Raymond Carver and Andre Dubus, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, and Jennifer Niven’s Velva Jean Learns to Drive, that hooked me from the very first line and carried me, cheering, through the last.

And, maybe not entirely apropos to this post, but good words nevertheless, a few lines from a favorite song (as well as a shout out to an old friend):

I will remember you,

Will you remember me?

Don’t let your life pass you by,

Weep not for the memories.

(Sarah McLachlan)

Hope all is okay in your world. Call me when you’re free…have a question for you.

But, I Digress (again)...It’s Friday! And you know what that means! So, raise your glass with me…Here’s to the craft of writing. May all our pens, pencils, and keyboards keep just a little bit of that magic alive.

Have a great weekend!