purple95

As I answered emelee's question about favorite native authors, I made a comment about how my writing style might resemble that of Mr. Waller's. His works include, The Bridges of Madison County, A Thousand Country Roads, The Long Night of Winchell Dear, and others. So here's the question: When you get around to writing your own Great American (or insert proper country here) Novel, upon its completion, what famous author's style will it most resemble? I have read all of Waller's published work (I think) and simply love his style. His character, location, and action descriptions are excellent, at least in my opinion. Thinking back to the short stories I wrote in high school and college, I feel my "style" is very similar to Mr. Waller's. I'm a rather basic, down to earth, WYSIWYG kind of guy and that's how Waller writes. I'd like to think that I do also. How about you? Please Note: Understand, I'm in no way advocating copying the style of another author!!! dan

Favorite American Authors (No particular order) Stephen King What busy91 said. Harry Turtledove Love his alternate history. His science fiction, not so much. Joyce Carol Oates Love her plots, dialogue, and descriptions. John Steinbeck Some of the best characters ever. Ernest Hemingway Great characters, great locations. Robert James Waller The The Bridges of Madison County guy. When I write my Great American Novel, I'll bet it resembles his style. There are lots more. dan

I have to agree with those above who suggested Psycho and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Others from my "Have Read" list: African Queen I enjoyed Forester's book but the movie was a classic. Black Hawk Down Bowden's book was good, but a properly done war movie, complete with lots of blood and guts, can bring home the horror of combat. Breakfast at Tiffany's Another engaging movie. Not so much the book by Capote. The Postman by David Brin. Costner was great in this role, as usual. And of course: All of the original James Bond books by Fleming are good reads to be sure. However, the movies (Sean Connery only please) are some of my guilty pleasures. dan As I proof read my post, I realized that with the exception of Black Hawk Down, all of my suggestions were based, at least in part, on stellar performances by stellar actors. Perhaps such performances are what turn these movies into our favorites. dan

Ben, Nope. The book was a basic introduction to clocks and watches, very much on a beginner's level. I have always had a passing interest in horology and have read quite a bit on the subject through the years. However............Longitude has been on my to be read list for a year or so. Thanks for the reminder. dan

In my quest to read the science fiction classics, I picked up Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney. I was expecting a rather dry read. However, the book moved along quite nicely and kept me turning pages with no problems. Janet, I found your experience here to closely mirror mine with Invasion of the Body Snatchers. "Triffids" is one of my favorite SF classics. Have you read the sequel, "The Night of the Triffids" by Simon Clark. Not exactly a sequel as it is by a different author, but Clark takes up the story where the original ended. dan

As I read the posts in Kell's thread entitled, "The little things you remember...", I likened the subject to a slightly different take I have on the topic. I oftentimes recall what book I was reading at a particular time or in association with a particular event in my life. Examples: During my freshman year in college I was reading Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor when I should have been reading textbooks. Yes, I DID graduate. During my honeymoon, I was reading a book about clocks. The name of the books escapes me, other details of the trip do not. During a trip to a relative's funeral I was reading a book of stories by Poe. This was not planned. I had started the book several days prior to the trip. I have many, many other such memories. I've made no attempt to catalogue or otherwise track these associations, they just pop up from time to time. Anyone else associate a particular book with a special event or time period in your life? dan

I would like to see some serious alternate fiction. I have always enjoyed wondering about what the course of history would have been if, for example: Had Hitler been killed in the attempt on his life. Had Kennedy NOT been killed in the attempt on his life. Had vaccinations or cures for smallpox, polio, or other diseases been impossible. etc, etc, etc Harry Turtledove has proven to the the best at this in my opinion but I think there is room for others in this genre. Serious work and story lines only, not silliness. dan

Maggie, I think the cover looks fine. Purple, as you might imagine, is my favorite color. (Look to the left at the pretty picture.) Pink is almost purple, so it's fine with me. So.......how do I go about getting an autographed copy? dan

Perhaps, perhaps mind you, if these insidious gadgets prompt more people to read proper literature, they might serve some greater purpose. I don't really see that happening however. They might serve a useful purpose for textbooks, periodicals, or the like. I recall spending obscene amounts of money for textbooks in college that quickly became obsolete. Something like this might be useful in the schools or industry, for example. However........... The day I find myself reading a novel by Hemmingway or Steinbeck on one of these blasted things is the day I discover that I've died and been condemned to.........well, you know where. dan

Maggie, Interesting thoughts. Thanks, dan

chesilbeach, I enjoyed your post and I did not feel it was too long at all. I agree with everything you said. It certainly must be a tough job for an editor to keep all sorts of authors happy (and productive). As I stated earlier, I really was interested in reading Saramago's book due to the subject. Tell you what..........I'll search it out and give it another go based on your thoughts and opinions. Not that I'm putting any pressure on you, of course. dan p.s. I'm ever so slightly behind you for 2009. My current total is 43.

chesilbeach, Interesting that you should mention Jose Saramago. He is one of the authors I had in mind when I made my post/rant. I tried to read one of his books, the title of which completely escapes me now. It dealt with the ramifications resulting from death taking a holiday. The book was simply too much work despite the interesting subject. I stand by my premise that authors, GOOD authors, should understand and use proper paragraphing techniques in their writing. As I read that book and was making my decision to abort the effort, I examined several of the long paragraphs. I found what I felt were several places that provided excellent places for making a new paragraph. I could see no reason why Saramago (or his editor) did not create a new paragraph. Understand, I'm not picking on your favored author. This book was just a recently encountered and perfect example of my point. Do editors realize the difficulty readers have in dealing with such situations? I suppose it differs from one author to another but I would think they would like to make their work as enjoyable and readable as possible, if for no other reason than to increase income by increasing sales. Well........unless you're Mr. King or someone similar. dan

I posted these thoughts tonight on a thread about evaluating a book and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to create a separate thread and rant a bit. Two characteristics of a book that will often cause me to pass it over are the print size and extremely long paragraphs. As my eyes age it becomes more difficult to read the tiny print sizes often encountered in many books. This seems to be very common in non-fiction works, and in books published long ago. Please, please tell me why publishers insist in printing a book with such small print. Is this just a way to save paper, ink, space, or what? I'm a product of the early part of the war baby generation and have millions of brothers and sisters of the same generation. Why are publishers blind to the needs of one of their biggest audiences? The young whippersnappers are reading Kindles and e-books and even when they encounter a book with tiny print, their young, strong eyes don't mind. I'm not to the point where I require large print books yet, but I'm far more comfortable with medium to larger sized print. Reading and comprehension is so much easier with larger print. It's discrimination, I tell you. Secondly, I HATE reading books by authors who don't grasp the concept of the paragraph. If I am able to understand the rather simple concept of: One general thought to a paragraph. At least two sentences to a paragraph in most instances. why can't those paid to write, and those who are paid to edit not do the same? This is grade school English Composition folks, not rocket science. I see far too many books with an entire page, or even several pages consisting of one, single paragraph. Why? Are there authors who think that writing one paragraph that fills several pages somehow gives their work a certain sophistication above us mere, mortal readers? If so, "balderdash". All it gives their writing is to make is extremely difficult to read and comprehend. Sadly, if one, or heaven forbid, both of these flaws are present in a book, I'll oftentimes return it to the shelf. Have I skipped over some good books because of these factors? Of course. But life is too short......... I'll descend from my soap box now and return you to your regular scheduled programing. dan

There are two important things I check for, among others, as I evaluate a book at the library or a book store. First, what is the font size of the type? My older eyes are much more comfortable reading medium or larger sized type than the extremely small print often found in books published long ago and even today. Some paperbacks also use print that is entirely too small for comfortable reading. I'm far from requiring large print books but unfortunately I struggle with the smaller print. Secondly, I HATE reading books by authors who don't understand the concept of the paragraph. If I see entire pages consisting of the same paragraph, or perhaps just two, I oftentimes skip the book for that reason alone. If I was able to understand the proper use of the paragraph in grade school, why can't people who are paid to write do likewise? (This complaint also applies to some who post on internet forums.) If one, or heaven forbid, both of these defects are present in a book, it has to be something very special for me to take on the task of reading it. If the book happens to be one I'm really interested in reading, I'll attempt to search out another edition. dan

A little different tack perhaps: My grandmother gave me a copy of Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary while I was in Junior High School. That dictionary served me well all through school, college, and my professional life. Now, like me, it is mostly retired and sits in a place of honor on the table next to my favorite reading chair. Also, like me, it is somewhat worn and tattered. Even though I use the dictionary built into my iMac and computer spell checkers, there is still something special about looking up a word in that dictionary and reading all the definitions, word origins, and such. Cheers, dan

When I finish a reading session and go to place my bookmark, I make certain the card is placed exactly so with the "front" of my current index card bookmark facing the page where I have to start reading next session. Yes, Mrs. purple95 thinks I'm weird also. Cheers, dan

I use 3x5 index cards as my bookmarks and make notes on them as I read. I record anything that strikes my fancy such as character names, locations, dates, etc. I'll also jot down other books to read, words or people to look up and so on. I like to note at least one or two main points from each book I read and include that in the "notes" field of the data base containing the books I've read. I also record interesting quotes and keep them in a document. It's fun to review these from time to time and it helps me remember the books and characters. Cheers, dan

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I know I'll get flamed for this but with the exception of some cute one-liners here and there, I never got what all the fuss was about. Although a die hard SF fan, I just never bonded with this one. It was not a bad book, but in my opinion, all the hype was a bit misplaced. Cheers, dan

OK, who is going to write a book about....... bookmarks? Cheers, dan

Eddie, Indeed!!! I didn't mentioned that in the earlier post as to not provide a spoiler for anyone not familiar with the play. Just leave it at that I'm very glad I finally decided to struggle through the read. I would have missed out completely. Thanks, dan

I use 3X5 index cards for my bookmarks. I like to buy the packages with mixed colors for a little variety. I'm a "I learn it better if I write it down" type of guy, so I use the index card to record anything I want to remember from the book. Characters, locations, dates, etc. For my non-fiction reading, I use the card to record any facts from the book that I want to remember, particularly if it a is borrowed book from the library. I'll record any other thoughts I deem important about the book, author, or other books to read, etc. Upon finishing the book, I transfer any notes I want to keep to my computer. I've always found it handy to have a piece of paper handy while reading, so this is my system. Cheers, dan

First, thanks to everyone for their suggestions. Second, I decided to cowboy up, be a man, and read the darn play. I enjoyed the story and subject. As I mentioned, I have an interest in the Salem witch hunt story, so that aspect was enjoyable for me. I already knew the ultimate fate of the Proctors, et al, so Miller's take on the story was the only thing of interest for me. I still dislike reading the stage directions, etc., but found if I deliberately REDUCE my reading speed, I am able to keep track of the speakers a little better. Go figure...... I may or may not read many more plays, but at least this was a start. Thanks, dan

landevale, I remember doing this in high school as well. I rather enjoyed it but it would certainly take the RIGHT collection of friends to pull it off now. Mrs. purple95 and her siblings, intellectuals all, would be a good place to start but they all live in the frozen north. As for MY friends, I don't know which of my balding, bespectacled, beer-bellied, buddies I would cast as Abigail. Thanks for the suggestion. Cheers, dan

Although "hate" is a pretty strong word, my emotions approach that when I attempt to read a play. I struggle with reading a script to the point where I usually just give up. I don't like trying to track stage directions, expressions on actor's faces, who is speaking while walking in what direction, etc., etc., etc. For example, in spite of my interest in the New England witch hunts of the late 17th century, I have just abandoned Miller's, The Crucible for the second time. I know the play is an important part of my study on this subject, but I hate reading plays. There, I've said it. I realize I'm isolating myself from a great deal of wonderful literature because of this, but I hate reading plays. There, I've said it again. Does anyone really enjoy reading plays? If so, do you have any suggestions for reading them that I might try? Thanks, dan