Complete, Book Addiction

Complete, Book Addiction

By Jacob Malewitz

(Photo Courtesy Stock.Xchng)

There is a book at the beginning and at the end. It could be the Bible, perhaps, or another tome on what it is to Be, just Be and nothing else. That is going down a spiritual track. The book addiction, however, has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with working your way up to the literary noir, or the fantasy fun, or even the science fiction wonderment. Feel the book addiction? I think you do; I always had it. This piece highlights the book addiction.

The book addiction is collecting …

And building a library of good books is, in my opinion, a big thing. You go from the literary noir of Paul Auster, John Updike, and Michael Chabon, to the odd machinations of Isaac Asimov and Dan Simmons (those sci-fi masterpiece). Or maybe you go down the roads of fantasy, where J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Robert Jordan, and many other popular writers of the field go.

But picking names is …

Just picking names. I mentioned a bunch of authors so far, but, truly, the only one I really love so far is Paul Auster, and even he can be bad. Picking out names is, however, part of the book addiction. You go for the big names and the small names, book addict, because that is the way to true reading light.

Reading light has …

Nothing to do with faith and plenty to do with time. I see the reading light as something to be explored by each of us; it has a power which cannot be understated. Opening a book, you smell the pages. Looking at the picture of the author, and you wonder. Reading light becomes something more than building a book library or hoping you can get a discounted copy of “The Lord of the Rings,” “Harry Potter,” or a Stephen King horror. It means adding up all the names together, putting each writer on his/her pedestal, but choosing, choosing which one shows you the true reading light.

Book buying is …

The true path to literary happiness. Maybe I am going too much into theory. Maybe you should just keep it simple, forgetting the light and just picking up that beaten copy of a John Steinbeck masterpiece, or the forgotten dime novel from the 1950s. They say things, these books, and they lead to addiction.

Article by Jacob Malewitz

Author, The Writer Who Smiles, Now Available from Booklocker

http://www.booklocker.com/books/3288.html

Writer A Writer’s Eye, A Reader’s Eye, A Comic Eye, Chasing Heaven, Story And Script

Book Addiction Part 1

Book Addiction Part 1

By Jacob Malewitz

There is a book at the beginning and at the end. It could be the Bible, perhaps, or another tome on what it is to Be, just Be and nothing else. That is going down a spiritual track. The book addiction, however, has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with working your way up to the literary noir, or the fantasy fun, or even the science fiction wonderment. Feel the book addiction? I think you do; I always had it. This piece highlights the book addiction.

The book addiction is collecting …

And building a library of good books is, in my opinion, a big thing. You go from the literary noir of Paul Auster, John Updike, and Michael Chabon, to the odd machinations of Isaac Asimov and Dan Simmons (those sci-fi masterpiece). Or maybe you go down the roads of fantasy, where J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Robert Jordan, and many other popular writers of the field go.

But picking names is …

Just picking names. I mentioned a bunch of authors so far, but, truly, the only one I really love so far is Paul Auster, and even he can be bad. Picking out names is, however, part of the book addiction. You go for the big names and the small names, book addict, because that is the way to true reading light.

Article by Jacob Malewitz

Author, The Writer Who Smiles, Now Available from Booklocker

http://www.booklocker.com/books/3288.html

Writer A Writer’s Eye, A Reader’s Eye, A Comic Eye, Chasing Heaven, Story And Script

Complete, How to Know When a Book is Good

Reading is never a waste. In fact, reading can do much for your mind. Sitting on the couch, digging into your favorite romance can be like watching the sun set. Sitting up, your eyes tensed, and reading a horror novel can make all the hairs on your arm stand up. Or just reading the works of Ernest Hemingway can make you question the way the world works, and our role in it. That is the power of a book. But how do you know when a book is good?

Looking at the Clock

Even good books will make you look at the clock often. However, when you are looking at the clock and page number all the time, maybe this book isn’t up your alley. Maybe this history of medieval times is a bit tame for you. Or the literary novel of a divorce too boring. When you start and stop all the time, giving up on the book, it may be time to open a new one.

Understanding the Power of a Book

When a book is good, though, it can make the time go by faster as you turn the page. There is a certain power to a good book: it can have the beat of poetry, the conflicts of an old western, maybe even enough action to out do even Hollywood. When you start looking at all the pieces of a book, and your reaction to them, you come to understand the basic reason you like it—this book has power.

Picking the Same Author Again

The next stage of all this is when you start grabbing the same author off the bookshelf more and more. Maybe you have a collection of Ray Bradbury novels; you started with one and could never stop. Maybe the histories by Civil War historian Shelby Foote are just too good not to buy. And when you start buying these authors on impulse, you will know the books are good.

Experiencing the Scenes

Another useful step good writers do is allow their readers to see the scenes. For a writer to write a scene, often he or she has to see it. It’s the author’s job to make you see it too. It’s more than about just horror, scares, or sex scenes. Any scene can have a power provided it lets you see what’s going on.

Waiting for the End

This is a two sided coin: sometimes you will be waiting for the ending and it will be good; other times you will be waiting for the ending so you can begin the next book. A good book takes you along a journey to the end, and maybe surprises you. A dull book just goes from scene to scene with no real purpose, and has a weak ending.

Building a Library of Favorites

Lastly, a book that reaches your bookshelf, your favorite book shelf, not all the dusty hard covers, will often tell you the book did something to you.

Tip

Don’t just a book by an interesting cover. Judge it by the content of the words. Read a few of the pages to get a feel for the story.

A good book will be passed around to friends, each with his or her own comments on how good it was. Develop your own opinion to share.

Warning

Reviews tell you what to like. But can anyone know exactly what you like? Consider reviews important, but not the final say on whether a book is good.

Article by Jacob Malewitz

Author, The Writer Who Smiles, Now Available from Booklocker

http://www.booklocker.com/books/3288.html

Writer A Writer’s Eye, A Reader’s Eye, A Comic Eye, Chasing Heaven, Story And Script

How to Know When a Book is Good Part 2

Picking the Same Author Again

The next stage of all this is when you start grabbing the same author off the bookshelf more and more. Maybe you have a collection of Ray Bradbury novels; you started with one and could never stop. Maybe the histories by Civil War historian Shelby Foote are just too good not to buy. And when you start buying these authors on impulse, you will know the books are good.

Experiencing the Scenes

Another useful step good writers do is allow their readers to see the scenes. For a writer to write a scene, often he or she has to see it. It’s the author’s job to make you see it too. It’s more than about just horror, scares, or sex scenes. Any scene can have a power provided it lets you see what’s going on.

Waiting for the End

This is a two sided coin: sometimes you will be waiting for the ending and it will be good; other times you will be waiting for the ending so you can begin the next book. A good book takes you along a journey to the end, and maybe surprises you. A dull book just goes from scene to scene with no real purpose, and has a weak ending.

Building a Library of Favorites

Lastly, a book that reaches your bookshelf, your favorite book shelf, not all the dusty hard covers, will often tell you the book did something to you.

Tip

Don’t just a book by an interesting cover. Judge it by the content of the words. Read a few of the pages to get a feel for the story.

A good book will be passed around to friends, each with his or her own comments on how good it was. Develop your own opinion to share.

Warning

Reviews tell you what to like. But can anyone know exactly what you like? Consider reviews important, but not the final say on whether a book is good.

Article by Jacob Malewitz

Author, The Writer Who Smiles, Now Available from Booklocker

http://www.booklocker.com/books/3288.html

Writer A Writer’s Eye, A Reader’s Eye, A Comic Eye, Chasing Heaven, Story And Script

Reader Read: Session 1, Part 1

Readers Read Part 1

by Jacob Malewitz

The power is in your hands, young reader, old scholar. You can sit in front of the TV all day and play video games, wasting away, or you can play the thinking game.

The power is in your hands, young reader, for you can pick up a classic, get bored to tears, pick up a genre novel, say “This ain’t so bad,” and just start reading. Readers read. It’s a fun, joyous experience. They sit in coffee shops and book storees because they like reading so much, so very much, nothing is better in the world. So what are you waiting for?

Oh, I know exactly what your waiting for. The right time to read. You don’t want to think about all this and that, why he should pick her instead of the other one, why she started a small detective agency, why this young fella named Frodo has to go up all the mountains to another place. Yes, movies and TV shows have their place in the world. No, they are not wastes. They can tell readers different kind of stories with moving images. But the power is in your hands, as it always has been. Fun. Isn’t it? To pick up a brand new book in a small bookstore that is selling it for a steal. Fun, isn’t it, to pick up an old copy of a Hemingway in a garage sale and wonder why it costs a quarter. Who knows, maybe none of this will happen.

When you read Stephen King and Clive Barker, finding the horror each writer provides, what do you see? I see Stephen King as a man on the edge—read The Shining and find out. I see Clive Barker as a stealthy little writer who pens these little, but big, horrors with such a power its hard to put them down. Don’t you see it too?

Complete, Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick

A powerful book hard to put down, “Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick” is one of the best modern biographies of any science fiction author. It humanizes the madness and joy of a science fiction writer who always stood at the edge of the world, trying to ask why it kept spinning.

Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick

By Jacob Malewitz

Originally published in 1989, and written by author Lawrence Sutin, “Divine Invasions” stands as the preminent work on Philip K. Dick, a story within a story of madness and joy, creativity and despair. Few will ever look at Philip K. Dick in the same light after reading this work.

Dick is now far more famous dead than he was alive, typical of artists, generally not typical of speculative fiction authors. With top movies being based upon Dick’s work—“Blade Runner,” “Minority Report,” and “A Scanner Darkly”—the writer has experienced a revival every few years. “Divine Invasions” goes from birth to death, as biographer Sutin tries to grasp what made Philip K. Dick tick, what made him write such cool worlds.

Sutin proposes that Dick was so successful because he mastered the “What If” in his science fiction works. Philip K. Dicka perfect example of a man who subverts reality in irrational but thought provoking science fiction tales.The early thesis seems to be that Philip K. Dick wrote what he wanted, not what he should have. He molded his own vision of science fiction.

“Divine Invasions” points out the flaw in many writer’s careers—they never reach mainstream success, or if they do, are not satisfied. Considered the best work of Philip K. Dick, “The Man in the High Castle” was supposed to make it different for Dick. It didn’t. He stayed a cult figure. But for all his career, Dick wrote what he wanted to write.

Sutin treats Dick like a modern writer, a figure ahead of his time, writing novels with meaning and purpose. He does well to treat Dcik as he always thought of himself as: A philosopher. As a tale of a survivor, it is always hard to pull away from the facts. He may have been a philosopher, a cult writer, but now Philip K. Dick is far from that.

Like good fiction, Sutin humanizes the people of Dick’s life, more so with Dick. He builds the drama in a perfect way setting the reader on an exciting tour of the developing mind of an artist.

“Divine Invasions” is a a vast array of what it was to be Philip K. Dick, not to know him, but to be and understand him through all this thoughts and stories, mad or otherwise. A book like this was needed when it first came out, and may be more needed now. Lawrence Sutin examines all of Dick’s life, comparing it to his writing, a necessary trick. Overall, it’s a masterful look at the master of science fiction.

Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick Part 2

Part 2, a biography of Philip K. Dick
by Jacob Malewitz

“Divine Invasions” points out the flaw in many writer’s careers—they never reach mainstream success, or if they do, are not satisfied. Considered the best work of Philip K. Dick, “The Man in the High Castle” was supposed to make it different for Dick. It didn’t. He stayed a cult figure. But for all his career, Dick wrote what he wanted to write.

Sutin treats Dick like a modern writer, a figure ahead of his time, writing novels with meaning and purpose. He does well to treat Dcik as he always thought of himself as: A philosopher. As a tale of a survivor, it is always hard to pull away from the facts. He may have been a philosopher, a cult writer, but now Philip K. Dick is far from that.

Like good fiction, Sutin humanizes the people of Dick’s life, more so with Dick. He builds the drama in a perfect way setting the reader on an exciting tour of the developing mind of an artist.

“Divine Invasions” is a a vast array of what it was to be Philip K. Dick, not to know him, but to be and understand him through all this thoughts and stories, mad or otherwise. A book like this was needed when it first came out, and may be more needed now. Lawrence Sutin examines all of Dick’s life, comparing it to his writing, a necessary trick. Overall, it’s a masterful look at the master of science fiction.

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