What I'm reading this week (Oct.26)
Quote de jour
"I took a speed reading course and read War and peace in twenty minutes. It involves Russia."
~Woody Allen
Someone asked me why I read so many magazines every week. The usual answer involves spotting trends and ideas for stories. While that's true, it's only a small part of my obsession. It's too soon to speculate but I suspect t documenting the covers of what I'm reading will reap another type of reward. I'm as interesting in visuals as I am about words. The current colors, graphics and ad copy speak to the consumer but they also mirror society, the world that you and I live in, or aspire to live in.
Most of the magazines I read are a Rorschach test of culture. I flip through quickly, scanning, speed reading, absorbing the Gestalt, the essence but rarely read an entire magazine from cover to cover. The more photos the better. Sometimes, like this month there are exceptions. Vanity Fair with an iconic cover photo of Marilyn Monroe left me hanging on almost every word of every article. Bravo, Graydon Carter.
The headlines pander to our shrinking bank accounts and expanding waistlines. Catch words include: simple, easiest, dollar stretching, deals, comfort food, safe.
No new books this week. I'm still plowing through last week's selections with mixed results. The Flavors of Coffee novel didn't grab me from the first page. I ended up skimming and enjoying the final few pages though. At a hefty 544 pages, it would have benefited from a machete approach to editing.
My other novel, The Attachment is faring better, barely. It starts off with an intriguing premise. A wife finds a letter from her husbands lover but then over writing takes over. Where are the editors? I find myself skimming and dreaming of a novel that engulfs me and won't let me go to sleep. This is author Isabel Fonseca's first novel. She wrote a best selling history of gypsies and is married to writer, Martin Amis. Ironically, the last book I read of his,
Yellow Dog was a unreadable dog's breakfast. Anyone know of any good books I must read?
"I took a speed reading course and read War and peace in twenty minutes. It involves Russia."
~Woody Allen
Someone asked me why I read so many magazines every week. The usual answer involves spotting trends and ideas for stories. While that's true, it's only a small part of my obsession. It's too soon to speculate but I suspect t documenting the covers of what I'm reading will reap another type of reward. I'm as interesting in visuals as I am about words. The current colors, graphics and ad copy speak to the consumer but they also mirror society, the world that you and I live in, or aspire to live in.
Most of the magazines I read are a Rorschach test of culture. I flip through quickly, scanning, speed reading, absorbing the Gestalt, the essence but rarely read an entire magazine from cover to cover. The more photos the better. Sometimes, like this month there are exceptions. Vanity Fair with an iconic cover photo of Marilyn Monroe left me hanging on almost every word of every article. Bravo, Graydon Carter.
The headlines pander to our shrinking bank accounts and expanding waistlines. Catch words include: simple, easiest, dollar stretching, deals, comfort food, safe.
No new books this week. I'm still plowing through last week's selections with mixed results. The Flavors of Coffee novel didn't grab me from the first page. I ended up skimming and enjoying the final few pages though. At a hefty 544 pages, it would have benefited from a machete approach to editing.
My other novel, The Attachment is faring better, barely. It starts off with an intriguing premise. A wife finds a letter from her husbands lover but then over writing takes over. Where are the editors? I find myself skimming and dreaming of a novel that engulfs me and won't let me go to sleep. This is author Isabel Fonseca's first novel. She wrote a best selling history of gypsies and is married to writer, Martin Amis. Ironically, the last book I read of his,
Yellow Dog was a unreadable dog's breakfast. Anyone know of any good books I must read?
That is an amazing amount of reading, there, girl!
Reply to this
Try War and Peace...
If you're really ambitious, DAS KAPITAL, by Karl Marx, might prove an interesting, albeit soporific read.
Reply to this