Books and madness
This is my reading list from 2009; I managed 29 novels, 5 trade paperback collections of comics and the entire of Strangers in Paradise (I'm not sure how many that counts as, it's about 150 comics all said and told I think!). Not bad going really.
My stand-outs for the year were definitely The Dark Tower series by Stephen King and The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. The first being the kind of archetypal story that haunts you forevermore once you've read it; I see Roland and his quest everywhere these days. And the second being the first novel I've ever read that makes me wish I could write. I don't really know why that is, I've loved a lot of novels over the years but usually I'm most content to admire from afar in a 'that's fantastic but not something I could ever do' way. Whereas reading this book made me wonder if actually maybe I do believe in that old adage that everyone has at least one novel in them. It spoke to my soul in a way which made me wish that I could tell a similar story about my history...
I was pondering this in the shower this morning when the possibility of what such a story might be hit me. Which is crazy because I can'tdon't write fiction. I haven't even attempted it for years, not since a thoroughly ill thought out Imbolc spell when I was writing my thesis resulted in Lottie in my head (yes, I know I'm crazy. There is a good reason why I'm not much of a witch, doing magic when you are not clear about what you want is a recipe for Deity to have a good laugh at your expense!). In that case, it was all relatively harmless because I could get her out from under my skin by playing her in the Adventure! game for 2 years. This demon may not be as easy to exorcise though. I have no clue whatsoever about how you go around starting a novel nevermind finishing one (yes, I know writing something helps!). And I only do characters and atmosphere, that's why I'm firmly a player and not a GM as a roleplayer; I don't do plot! And the last thing I need at the moment is another creative obsession with no hope of paying the bills...
In other book-related news, my copy of An Echo in the Bone (Diana Gabaldon's latest time-travelling historical romance about Claire and Jamie) arrived yesterday and I'm currently reading the first Lucifer Box book as I bought the set for the Boy for xmas and he's already finished all 3. Also on my reading list for the next little while are the 3 trades of Love and Rockets by Jaime Hernandez, which make up the Las Locas storyline about Maggie and Hopey, which the Boy bought for me. Better start my 2010 book list I guess.
My stand-outs for the year were definitely The Dark Tower series by Stephen King and The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. The first being the kind of archetypal story that haunts you forevermore once you've read it; I see Roland and his quest everywhere these days. And the second being the first novel I've ever read that makes me wish I could write. I don't really know why that is, I've loved a lot of novels over the years but usually I'm most content to admire from afar in a 'that's fantastic but not something I could ever do' way. Whereas reading this book made me wonder if actually maybe I do believe in that old adage that everyone has at least one novel in them. It spoke to my soul in a way which made me wish that I could tell a similar story about my history...
I was pondering this in the shower this morning when the possibility of what such a story might be hit me. Which is crazy because I can'tdon't write fiction. I haven't even attempted it for years, not since a thoroughly ill thought out Imbolc spell when I was writing my thesis resulted in Lottie in my head (yes, I know I'm crazy. There is a good reason why I'm not much of a witch, doing magic when you are not clear about what you want is a recipe for Deity to have a good laugh at your expense!). In that case, it was all relatively harmless because I could get her out from under my skin by playing her in the Adventure! game for 2 years. This demon may not be as easy to exorcise though. I have no clue whatsoever about how you go around starting a novel nevermind finishing one (yes, I know writing something helps!). And I only do characters and atmosphere, that's why I'm firmly a player and not a GM as a roleplayer; I don't do plot! And the last thing I need at the moment is another creative obsession with no hope of paying the bills...
In other book-related news, my copy of An Echo in the Bone (Diana Gabaldon's latest time-travelling historical romance about Claire and Jamie) arrived yesterday and I'm currently reading the first Lucifer Box book as I bought the set for the Boy for xmas and he's already finished all 3. Also on my reading list for the next little while are the 3 trades of Love and Rockets by Jaime Hernandez, which make up the Las Locas storyline about Maggie and Hopey, which the Boy bought for me. Better start my 2010 book list I guess.