reading – Page 4 – joshua chamberlain

a pocket companion

When I was inEurope a few years back, I bought copy of Kerouac’s On The Road at Shakespeare and Company in Paris. I carried this book with me across France, through the Netherlands, and then into Italy. It stayed in my pocket on a flight across the Atlantic, back to the Midwest. I read itContinue reading “a pocket companion”

swimming upstream

I’m currently reading Alan Jacobs’ Breaking Bread with the Dead. It’s a tough read, but absolutely worthwhile. In one passage, he advocates for “reading upstream,” which is to say looking to those who influenced your influences: I took a couple of classes in medieval literature but I came to adore the anonymous masterpiece Sir GawainContinue reading “swimming upstream”

doors, not mirrors

Fran Lebowitz makes an excellent point about reading in the final episode of the new Netflix series, Pretend It’s a City: Now people are always saying, “There are no books about people like me, I don’t see myself in the book,” […] A book isn’t supposed to be a mirror, it’s supposed to be aContinue reading “doors, not mirrors”

my problem with YA

A few years ago, I pitched a book to an New York agency. It was a story about the first years after college and navigating the trials of early adulthood. “This will be great for the Young Adult market,” the agents said. I balked. “Isn’t the whole point of YA that it’s about adolescence? ThisContinue reading “my problem with YA”

spending my days

Thought I’d share a few thing I’m using to pass the recent days. Movies: Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943) – The greatest cinematic crossover event in history. Don’t @ me. Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954) Revenge of The Creature (1956) – yikes… Frankenstein (1931) Bride of Frankenstein (1935) The Wolf Man (1941) –Continue reading “spending my days”

paying attention

I was working on an art piece recently and found myself so focused on the finished product, I didn’t pay attention to the details along the way. The result was a piece that didn’t come remotely close to match my intention, all because I was focused on the product and not the process. I wasn’tContinue reading “paying attention”