A Couple of Disappointments

Posted on 11/14/2007 by chick

Krondor, the Assassins and Krondor, Tear of the Gods by Raymond E. Feist

Grades: C+ and D, respectively

Assassins was tolerable all the way through and even ended on something of a high note (there’s nothing like a little human sacrifice and demon-raising to perk a book up). It isn’t good enough to recommend, however, and my faith in the author is being sorely tested by each new book of his that I read.

Tear of the Gods came close to being good here and there. Some of the characters were nearly interesting. Some of the situations were almost compelling. Then the author got lazy. He needed some kind of monster and rather than dream up something new and interesting, he resorted to vampires. Ugh!

I kept these books for a long time. I made space for them on my shelves. I carried them with me when I moved. Now I can finally let them go, and it feels good.

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Still Good

Posted on 11/13/2007 by chick

I finished reading Slaughterhouse-Five last night.

Grade: A+

Slaughterhouse-Five hit me differently this time, but it’s still good. In fact, if I were to try something as crazy as making a top 10 book list, Slaughterhouse-Five would almost certainly be on it. It’s odd that a novel about WWII should be a favorite of mine. I don’t generally like war books. Violence upsets me. So why do I like this book?

It’s just that good. Vonnegut somehow makes the most horrific events palatable, and by making them palatable, he makes them all the more horrific. I don’t know how else to describe the conflicting emotions I felt while reading this book.

I consider myself lucky to have been assigned this novel in high school. It’s the kind of book that gets banned. Yet, if my teacher hadn’t introduced me to it then, would I be interested in reading it now? Would I even enjoy reading so much if teachers hadn’t given me this kind of thought-provoking literature to chew on?

These questions are especially important in light of a recent news story. A local high school banned a book after parents complained about it. I haven’t read the book in question, but I will, and if I find that it’s a good book, then the superintendent will get an earful from me.

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Dark Ages

Posted on 11/13/2007 by chick

Today’s news: The governor of Georgia publicly prays for rain on the steps of the state capitol, and flags falling near Hillary Clinton are interpreted as a bad omen.

What? Are we still living in the Dark Ages?

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Beerfest 2007

Posted on 11/12/2007 by chick

On Saturday, we went to Beerfest in Providence. So many types of beer, so little time. I am still recovering.

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Random Images

Posted on 11/11/2007 by chick

A trio of sleeping ducks, each one with its head tucked behind a wing. They are perched on submerged branches. From a distance, they appear to be standing on top of the water.

A girl dances and skips her way down the sidewalk. She carries two grocery bags with her, swinging them wildly as she twirls.

A woman with a overlarge bust in a too-small shirt. She’s probably aiming for sexy, but achieving trampy. Now look at her face. You can tell by the look in her eyes as she talks to the people around her that she feels beautiful. And so she is.

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A Smile for a Stranger

Posted on 11/11/2007 by chick

I was going through the self-checkout at the grocery store this afternoon when a woman got in line behind me. She seemed irritated at having to wait. I made some sort of comment about how the conveyor system didn’t work very well, sort of an apology for not being faster. She didn’t so much as twitch a facial muscle. She just continued to stand there coldly with the same irritated expression on her face.

I spend most of my time at home, so maybe I expect too much from the people that I encounter on the outside, but I do feel that some sort of recognition of my existence was in order. A nod, a smile, a shrug—anything would have been fine. Even “F— you!” would have seemed friendly by comparison.

Why do I care? I don’t know. I guess I believe that each person we meet affects our perceptions of the world and that the world might seem like a nicer place if more people were willing to contribute so small a thing as a smile for a stranger.

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E-Mail Fun

Posted on 11/11/2007 by chick

I got an e-mail from Sue Grafton today!

OK, so did everyone else participating in NaNoWriMo, but it’s still kinda cool.

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Progress

Posted on 11/07/2007 by chick

Though I haven’t changed my Novel 2007 number in days, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing. I have written thousands of words; I’m just not sure yet if any of them belong to my novel.

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The Story, Part VIII (The End)

Posted on 11/04/2007 by chick

I needed to finish the story that I started so that I could focus on my novel. So here it is, a very rough draft, with just enough words to complete the story. For the start of the story and links to other installments, see this post.

No, work was exactly where he needed to be. Supposing even for a second that the list had really predicted a death, he needed to get another look at it. There was a name that he needed to find.

It took him all morning to work out a basic plan and he was sweating heavily in spite of the freezing temperatures in his department. He kept remembering scraps of conversation with Dave, who was now dead under strange circumstances. Things had started to make sense in an eerie sort of way. Continue reading →

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Just Write!

Posted on 11/04/2007 by chick

I don’t know which is harder: Writing without a story idea and hoping one will come to you, or writing with a great idea and worrying that you won’t be able to do it justice.

Well, first things first. I need to settle on a story idea. That’s my plan for this afternoon: Keep writing until I know what my novel’s about.

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