The Outsider by Stephen King
I would like to believe in God,” she said, “because I don’t want to believe we just end, even though it balances the equation-since we came from blackness, it seems logical to assume that it’s to blackness we return. But I believe in the stars, and the infinity of the universe. That’s the great Out There. Down here, I believe there are more universes in every fistful of sand, because infinity is a two-way street. I believe there’s another dozen thoughts in my head lined up behind each one I’m aware of."
This was the last Holly Gibney book I hadn't yet read and now I'm bummed that there aren't any more. Not for a while, anyway; King just published Holly, the first novel where she's actually the main character. Before that, aside from the novella If It Bleeds, she's always been like a walk-on in stories where other people are the main characters. King has often remarked on how some characters seem to take on a life of their own and assert themselves, and I strongly suspect that's what happened with this one.
King is a writer I read a lot of when I was growing up, and then sort of drifted away from in the early/mid-1990s. Coming back to him--not as an adult, I was an adult when I quit reading him, but let's say as a mature adult with much more life experience--has been interesting. I mean as a kid, it's just scary stories about monsters. As someone who's almost 50, I can start to see the stuff just below the surface. Like oh, he's really writing about how violent crime ripples out and warps the lives of anyone even tangentially involved. In Holly, he's really writing about how older generations prey on younger ones.
Anyway, now that I am long over my "real grown-ups don't read genre fiction" bullshit, maybe I should consider some of the stuff he wrote in the period where I wasn't reading him. (Except for the Dark Tower series, I read that whole thing in 2012-2013, after he finally finished it. I never wanted to start it until he finished it, because I was always afraid he would die first. Which he almost did, when that guy hit him with a van! A Song of Ice and Fire peeps know what I'm talking about.)
I'm almost done with The Wager on audio and I think I'll listen to In Cold Blood next. I haven't read that in... gosh, probably at least 30 years? I might have still been in high school when I read it. I watched the first couple episodes of Capote vs. The Swans last night, mostly because I love Tom Hollander and wanted to see his take on Capote. It was better than I expected, although I'm not sure what exactly I was expecting. Ryan Murphy, you know, sometimes his stuff is good and sometimes it's just a total mess. Having Gus Van Sant direct the whole series certainly helps.
Maybe I'll read The Two Mrs. Grenvilles again. Dominick Dunne was no Truman Capote, but at least he actually finished his Ann Woodward novel (and tastefully long after she'd died).
~~~~~~~~~~
Next Thursday is Krewe of Muses but I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing. I had planned to watch it with Other Sarah, and Lori and Jeremy if they wanted to come (I'm spending the night at their apartment) at her synagogue. But she texted me yesterday that the renovations are behind schedule--bad contractors? In New Orleans??--so they're not having any guests this year. So I don't know. I'm getting a little old to stand in a mob of shoving drunks for hours. And I mean hours, because Muses is actually preceded by 2 other krewes and the whole thing lasts all night. Sigh. I'm going to text Lori later and see what she wants to do.
I should have expected something like this. I love Other Sarah, but when we get together, if I don't plan every detail myself, something like this usually happens. Obviously this is something she has no control over so I can't get mad at her, but it's like she just has this weird... negative charge to her or something. Something always goes haywire.
Or maybe it's just that I'm a control freak with anxiety who overreacts to changes in plan.
I did 3 other salt evaporation pond watercolors, I really like this one:
I think I'll go back to Mako's No Fail Watercolor and finish it. I have this idea of a burning cane field I want to paint, but I don't feel confident enough of my skill level yet. Although part of me feels like I should just jump in; even as a photographer, I know there's always a disconnect between how you see something in your mind and the reality of the finished product. Besides, it's a painting. I can always make another one. I can paint the same scene 100 times if I want to!
This was the last Holly Gibney book I hadn't yet read and now I'm bummed that there aren't any more. Not for a while, anyway; King just published Holly, the first novel where she's actually the main character. Before that, aside from the novella If It Bleeds, she's always been like a walk-on in stories where other people are the main characters. King has often remarked on how some characters seem to take on a life of their own and assert themselves, and I strongly suspect that's what happened with this one.
King is a writer I read a lot of when I was growing up, and then sort of drifted away from in the early/mid-1990s. Coming back to him--not as an adult, I was an adult when I quit reading him, but let's say as a mature adult with much more life experience--has been interesting. I mean as a kid, it's just scary stories about monsters. As someone who's almost 50, I can start to see the stuff just below the surface. Like oh, he's really writing about how violent crime ripples out and warps the lives of anyone even tangentially involved. In Holly, he's really writing about how older generations prey on younger ones.
Anyway, now that I am long over my "real grown-ups don't read genre fiction" bullshit, maybe I should consider some of the stuff he wrote in the period where I wasn't reading him. (Except for the Dark Tower series, I read that whole thing in 2012-2013, after he finally finished it. I never wanted to start it until he finished it, because I was always afraid he would die first. Which he almost did, when that guy hit him with a van! A Song of Ice and Fire peeps know what I'm talking about.)
I'm almost done with The Wager on audio and I think I'll listen to In Cold Blood next. I haven't read that in... gosh, probably at least 30 years? I might have still been in high school when I read it. I watched the first couple episodes of Capote vs. The Swans last night, mostly because I love Tom Hollander and wanted to see his take on Capote. It was better than I expected, although I'm not sure what exactly I was expecting. Ryan Murphy, you know, sometimes his stuff is good and sometimes it's just a total mess. Having Gus Van Sant direct the whole series certainly helps.
Maybe I'll read The Two Mrs. Grenvilles again. Dominick Dunne was no Truman Capote, but at least he actually finished his Ann Woodward novel (and tastefully long after she'd died).
~~~~~~~~~~
Next Thursday is Krewe of Muses but I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing. I had planned to watch it with Other Sarah, and Lori and Jeremy if they wanted to come (I'm spending the night at their apartment) at her synagogue. But she texted me yesterday that the renovations are behind schedule--bad contractors? In New Orleans??--so they're not having any guests this year. So I don't know. I'm getting a little old to stand in a mob of shoving drunks for hours. And I mean hours, because Muses is actually preceded by 2 other krewes and the whole thing lasts all night. Sigh. I'm going to text Lori later and see what she wants to do.
I should have expected something like this. I love Other Sarah, but when we get together, if I don't plan every detail myself, something like this usually happens. Obviously this is something she has no control over so I can't get mad at her, but it's like she just has this weird... negative charge to her or something. Something always goes haywire.
Or maybe it's just that I'm a control freak with anxiety who overreacts to changes in plan.
I did 3 other salt evaporation pond watercolors, I really like this one:
I think I'll go back to Mako's No Fail Watercolor and finish it. I have this idea of a burning cane field I want to paint, but I don't feel confident enough of my skill level yet. Although part of me feels like I should just jump in; even as a photographer, I know there's always a disconnect between how you see something in your mind and the reality of the finished product. Besides, it's a painting. I can always make another one. I can paint the same scene 100 times if I want to!