Anthea Carson's Blog, page 8
June 30, 2012
The Dark Lake
In case you are one of the many who have listed this psychological suspense as "to read" it's FREE TODAY.
April 6, 2012
Reading Faulkner
Sometimes I just find myself thinking about things that have never happened to me as if they were my own memories. Usually when I do this, I'm thinking about something that happened in one of Faulkner's books. In Yoknapatawpha county. Sometimes I think I'm from there. I get the books mixed up. I'm not sure where I met this particular character first or that one. I know I ran into the Compson family in one of the books about the Snopes. I remember seeing Mrs. Compson walk by while eavesdropping on what that fella that sold is daughter off practically to Flem Snopes, what was that feller's name again? You remember him? He was so ridiculous. He was so afraid of Flem Snopes being a barn burner that he went ahead and hired him and then practically sold off his daughter to him in marriage. What a mind trip he played on himself. And his daughter? She was somethin' else wasn't she. What was her name again? I'm going to have to go back and pick up one o' them Faulkner books and find out.
March 31, 2012
Reading Henry Fielding (with an iphone)
I would have never thought I would have enjoyed reading Henry Fielding so much but I really do.
First of all, it was unlikely that I was going to read this book. No one had recommended it to me, it wasn't required reading for a class or a book club. I had never heard it mentioned other than maybe occasionally on a list of great books. But the name never stood out to me as something I would want to read.
But I do love reading the classics, and am almost never disappointed when I read a book from those great book lists. And I love Jane Austen. So what gave me the idea to read Tom Jones was watching the movie "Becoming Jane" (an excellent movie).
In the movie, Jane's friend Thomas tells her that she will never be a real author till she experiences the world and breaks out of the restrictive role that social expectations has placed her in. Then he hands her the book "Tom Jones."
So I decided to give it a try.
I almost gave up upon reading the first paragraph. I could barely understand a word. Plus I kept thinking what a ridiculous author he was because he kept philosophizing. These old fashioned writers didn't know what they were doing, they weren't sophisticated like we are today, I thought to my self.
Boy was I wrong.
I hung in there and plodded through (I'm still plodding through it and I started it at Christmas), looking up words when I absolutely had to, checking the footnotes etc. Using my trusty google button on my iphone--able to not only to look up words but odd names of places that were key to the story, contemporary news that Fielding would refer to, local politician's scandals, and the like all would have made for a difficult read without my iphone.
Fielding would refer to some famously ugly woman to compare one of his characters to. Without my iphone that would have been difficult to say the least. But with it, I could google it and see an instant image of the poor woman.
I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed reading this fabulously witty, intensely talented and thought provoking writer.
I love his dialogue. I thought I wrote good dialogue, used to be pretty impressed with myself. Then I read him! I love the raw realness, the gritty mudslinging brutality that the characters show each other, I love how the claws come out, and all decorum is thrown out the window in their passionate outbursts.
I love the characters. So true to life! Some trying to control another, some who think they know it all and are so off-base you want to step in there and set them straight. Step all the way back to 1740.
It really shows you, in so many ways things haven't changed. And if we thought for one moment that we in the 21st century were sophisticated authors we should really stop before we embarrass ourselves, and check out the truly greats.
First of all, it was unlikely that I was going to read this book. No one had recommended it to me, it wasn't required reading for a class or a book club. I had never heard it mentioned other than maybe occasionally on a list of great books. But the name never stood out to me as something I would want to read.
But I do love reading the classics, and am almost never disappointed when I read a book from those great book lists. And I love Jane Austen. So what gave me the idea to read Tom Jones was watching the movie "Becoming Jane" (an excellent movie).
In the movie, Jane's friend Thomas tells her that she will never be a real author till she experiences the world and breaks out of the restrictive role that social expectations has placed her in. Then he hands her the book "Tom Jones."
So I decided to give it a try.
I almost gave up upon reading the first paragraph. I could barely understand a word. Plus I kept thinking what a ridiculous author he was because he kept philosophizing. These old fashioned writers didn't know what they were doing, they weren't sophisticated like we are today, I thought to my self.
Boy was I wrong.
I hung in there and plodded through (I'm still plodding through it and I started it at Christmas), looking up words when I absolutely had to, checking the footnotes etc. Using my trusty google button on my iphone--able to not only to look up words but odd names of places that were key to the story, contemporary news that Fielding would refer to, local politician's scandals, and the like all would have made for a difficult read without my iphone.
Fielding would refer to some famously ugly woman to compare one of his characters to. Without my iphone that would have been difficult to say the least. But with it, I could google it and see an instant image of the poor woman.
I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed reading this fabulously witty, intensely talented and thought provoking writer.
I love his dialogue. I thought I wrote good dialogue, used to be pretty impressed with myself. Then I read him! I love the raw realness, the gritty mudslinging brutality that the characters show each other, I love how the claws come out, and all decorum is thrown out the window in their passionate outbursts.
I love the characters. So true to life! Some trying to control another, some who think they know it all and are so off-base you want to step in there and set them straight. Step all the way back to 1740.
It really shows you, in so many ways things haven't changed. And if we thought for one moment that we in the 21st century were sophisticated authors we should really stop before we embarrass ourselves, and check out the truly greats.
March 28, 2012
Indie Authors
I am making a commitment that for a while I will make an effort to read mostly indie authors.
Being an indie author myself I feel it is important to support them. I do not believe that the only books I should invest my time and money in are those that are published by the big publishers.
I have not found it to be true from my experience that books by big publishers are better than those that are either self-published or published by small publishers.
I have enjoyed the indie books I have read immensely. There is no guarantee that a book will be good simply because a large corporate firm put it's stamp of approval on it.
Sometimes those books are very good, certainly, and you're not likely to find as many editing errors. But often the books are terrible and I can't even finish reading them, even though they are published by Random House or some such name, and even have won awards, sometimes even several awards.
I also feel that the books published by indie authors are unique finds. Sometimes I feel like I'm discovering beautiful, colorful sea shells on the beach--discovering them for myself--and not having them spoon-fed and presorted for me by "those who know best." I like that feeling, and I like to judge for myself. Either I like it or I don't.
I am truly loving the new freedom that the internet, Amazon KDP and other independent publishing sites have given readers and authors.
I also like not paying a great deal to try out a book. I do not believe that only high priced ebooks are good. That's no guarantee either. But actually, and many don't know this, you can return an ebook if you don't like it. So you really aren't taking much of a risk at all.
If you are an indie author yourself, I definitely recommend reading other indie authors, and even if you're not, I think you might be surprised by the quality that's out there. Not always perfect, but then neither are those that are given the coveted stamp of big publisher approval.
Sometimes you have to look past a few flaws in a book as well. Consider them unpolished gems, worth appreciating for their own sake and not for some imagined status that reading them or approving of them might have.
Ah the freedom!
Being an indie author myself I feel it is important to support them. I do not believe that the only books I should invest my time and money in are those that are published by the big publishers.
I have not found it to be true from my experience that books by big publishers are better than those that are either self-published or published by small publishers.
I have enjoyed the indie books I have read immensely. There is no guarantee that a book will be good simply because a large corporate firm put it's stamp of approval on it.
Sometimes those books are very good, certainly, and you're not likely to find as many editing errors. But often the books are terrible and I can't even finish reading them, even though they are published by Random House or some such name, and even have won awards, sometimes even several awards.
I also feel that the books published by indie authors are unique finds. Sometimes I feel like I'm discovering beautiful, colorful sea shells on the beach--discovering them for myself--and not having them spoon-fed and presorted for me by "those who know best." I like that feeling, and I like to judge for myself. Either I like it or I don't.
I am truly loving the new freedom that the internet, Amazon KDP and other independent publishing sites have given readers and authors.
I also like not paying a great deal to try out a book. I do not believe that only high priced ebooks are good. That's no guarantee either. But actually, and many don't know this, you can return an ebook if you don't like it. So you really aren't taking much of a risk at all.
If you are an indie author yourself, I definitely recommend reading other indie authors, and even if you're not, I think you might be surprised by the quality that's out there. Not always perfect, but then neither are those that are given the coveted stamp of big publisher approval.
Sometimes you have to look past a few flaws in a book as well. Consider them unpolished gems, worth appreciating for their own sake and not for some imagined status that reading them or approving of them might have.
Ah the freedom!
