Famous Authors Were Children Once, Too

I came across this link to a flavorwire piece and thought some of you might be interested, too. It shows the childhood homes of 20 famous authors. My mind, of course, immediately begins to wonder what if any influence living in these homes had on the authors.

While you're there, check out the photographs of twin sisters in the forest. Stephen King anyone?

20 Homes of Famous Authors

Reading Lull

Lately, I can't seem to find a book that I really want to finish. I get a third to half-way through and think "meh" -- just not interested. I don't know if it's the weather, or me or what. My daughter recommended "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline. So I read about half of it -- it's pretty video-game centric for my taste. I'll probably finish it eventually, but I decided to move on for now.  Next I tried "The Buddha in the Attic" by Julie Otsuka. This one's well written, but doesn't actually have really identifiable characters; it basically covers a whole immigrant population with hints about specific persons. It's hard to explain, so here's an example:

"They gave themselves new names we had not chosen for them and could barely pronounce. One called herself Doris. One called herself Peggy. Many called themselves George. Saburo was called Chinky by all the others because he looked just like a Chinaman. Toshitachi was called Harlem because his skin was so dark. Etsuko was given the name Esther by her teacher, Mr. Slater, on her first day of school. "It's his mother's name," she explained. To which we replied, "So is yours." Sumire called herself Violet. Shizuko was Sugar. Makoto was just Mac. Shigeharu Takagi joined the Baptist church at the age of nine and changed his name to Paul. Edison Kobayashi was born lazy but had a photographic memory and could tell you the name of every person he'd ever met..."

The technique is interesting, but as a reader who craves well-developed characters, it just doesn't satisfy me. One reason I love authors as diverse as Jane Austen, Tony Hillerman, and Terry Pratchett is because they create three-dimensional characters. Anyone who has read "Pride and Prejudice" quickly learns just what to expect from Elizabeth's silly mother and younger sisters. Hillerman's Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee are so well drawn that after I finish the book I miss them as if they were friends who have moved away. Then there are the wacky Pratchett characters - Sam Vimes, City Watch Commander; Lord Vetinari; and, of course, Granny Weatherwax. What's not to love?

What to do? Reread a favorite? That's something I seldom do. Keep trying to find something I can really crawl into and disappear for awhile? I like that idea but I'm feeling gun-shy. Ah well -- I guess I'll just go clean the house and think about it some more.

Kindle Konfusion

I wrote in a previous post about Kindle fails -- book samples I download but find I don't like. But sometimes I'm not sure whether I will like a book or not after I've read the sample. Consequently, I build up a multi-page list of book samples that I might or might not decide to purchase. Yesterday, I decided to purge my Kindle of some of those titles. I'm not sure what inspired me -- maybe the fact that I've been having trouble finding a book that really draws me in.

After looking through all nine(!) pages of samples, books, and various other downloads, I came up with a list of samples I have downloaded and either never read or hadn't decided to buy immediately. I find that, often, if I don't buy the book right after reading the sample, when I go back and look at the title I don't recall what the book was about. Solution: I went through my list title by title, looking up each one online and, if I was somewhat interested, I downloaded the Publishers Weekly write-up about the book.

Once I had refreshed my memory about each book, I then color coded them (I know, I'm crazy). If I knew I would never read them, I highlighted them in red. Those that I might consider reading got a yellow highlight, and those that I definitely want to read got green. This wasn't actually just busy work; I really needed to jog my memory about why I had at one time thought these books might interest me. Plus, the way my memory has been performing lately, I might even download the same sample again and not recognize that I've already read it. This way, before making that mistake, I can check it against my list (an ongoing project) and see if I've already sampled the book.

Final count:

I will definitely read five of the books.

I might read forty-one.

I definitely will not read seventeen.

Two that I will definitely read are: The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey, which sounds like a modern-day Jane Eyre. Gemma is orphaned when her father drowns and she has to leave her native Iceland to go live in Scotland with a kindly uncle and his family. The uncle, of course, also dies and she's sent to live in a strict private school. She ultimately winds up the au pair to an 8-year-old on the Orkney islands. Sounds like fun to me.

Lapsing Into a Comma: A Curmudgeon's Guide to the Many Things That Can Go Wrong In Print -- and How to Avoid Them by Bill Walsh. This one's pretty self-explanatory, but the sample was funny and I want to read more.

A Reader's Confession

I have a confession to make -- I can't seem to finish a non-fiction book. On occasion, I race to the end of a well-written memoir...probably because it tells a story, and I'm all about the story. I also like well-drawn characters, and in the right hands that's just what a memoir presents. But other non-fiction books just don't seem to hold my attention for some reason.

Right now, I'm trying to finish Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom by Rick Hanson. The subject interests me and the book is well-written. But each time I have a chance to do some reading, I reach for a novel instead. I will finish this book because I'm anxious to learn what it has to say, which is that breakthroughs in modern neuroscience coupled with the wisdom of thousands of years of contemplative practice, make it possible for people to shape their thoughts to achieve greater happiness, love, compassion, and wisdom

Two n-f books I did finish were: Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen and The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson. Both of these books fascinated me from start to finish. I'm not sure what that says about me.

Some memoirs I really enjoyed were:

The Liars' Club by Mary Karr

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen

American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot by Craig Ferguson

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

What about you? Do you read non-fiction and fiction? Do you prefer one over the other?