I've been keeping track for years now of quotes that really hit me from books I've read. I loved the book The Old Man by Thomas Perry, which has been on my mind lately since FX has put out a series based on the book. Here's what stuck with me from the book:
“What many people seemed not to remember was that a human being who got up under his own power on even one morning and saw the sun and had food to eat was a very lucky animal. Knowing that each day was a life in itself had led him to make a thousand good decisions.”
First, I recommend "Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic" by Alison Bechdel. I just re-read it for the second time, and it's not only a brilliant memoir, but also a literary delight. And here's a quote from it: “My research was stimulating but solitary” which is something I think a lot of writers can relate to.
I absolutely think happiness is a side effect! I came upon the idea early on when I started therapy. I had resolved some things and felt good but didn’t know why. Nothing had happened. I realized that the good things compounded and brought me through the bad. The new ways I’d learned to cope had helped me make better choices that didn’t leave me feeling I’d given away too much.
I finished it but would recommend “We Were Witches” by Ariel Gore. She has a lot to say about femininity, shame, and the confusion of youth and young motherhood. I listened to it so I don’t have a direct quote but she spoke about plot diagrams and wanted the reader to imagine “the shape of experience”. Not everything fit into rising or falling action. Experience could be a wave or a human heart. Very good read.
Thank you for this, Chevanne. I'm interested in what Gore might mean by focusing on the "shape of human experience" which can never really be fit into a plot line that easily. Carol Shields talks about that a bit in an essay in the book "Startle and Illuminate" by her daughter Ann Giardini. She argues that fiction could be more interesting if it took on more of that natural shape of human experience.
‘IN THE BEGINNING - A book must start somewhere. One brave letter must volunteer to go first, laying itself on the line in an act of faith, from which a word takes heart and follows, drawing a sentence into its wake. From there, a paragraph amasses, and soon a page, and the book is on its way, finding a voice, calling itself into being. A book must start somewhere, and this one starts here’. - Riuth Ozeki - The Book of Form and Emptiness. I have the book on order from the local library. I watched a interview she gave about the book and other topics at the 2021 Cheltenham Book Festival. She chose to read from the book’s opening page. It has to be one of the best opening paragraphs. Robert
I've been keeping track for years now of quotes that really hit me from books I've read. I loved the book The Old Man by Thomas Perry, which has been on my mind lately since FX has put out a series based on the book. Here's what stuck with me from the book:
“What many people seemed not to remember was that a human being who got up under his own power on even one morning and saw the sun and had food to eat was a very lucky animal. Knowing that each day was a life in itself had led him to make a thousand good decisions.”
What a wonderful quote and thought. I am going to keep this one close by. Thank you for sharing it and the books.
First, I recommend "Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic" by Alison Bechdel. I just re-read it for the second time, and it's not only a brilliant memoir, but also a literary delight. And here's a quote from it: “My research was stimulating but solitary” which is something I think a lot of writers can relate to.
Yes, you are right, a lot of writers can relate to that idea about research. Thanks, Sandra, and thanks for the book recommendation!
When I say this is a kindred Substack... 😫
I absolutely think happiness is a side effect! I came upon the idea early on when I started therapy. I had resolved some things and felt good but didn’t know why. Nothing had happened. I realized that the good things compounded and brought me through the bad. The new ways I’d learned to cope had helped me make better choices that didn’t leave me feeling I’d given away too much.
I finished it but would recommend “We Were Witches” by Ariel Gore. She has a lot to say about femininity, shame, and the confusion of youth and young motherhood. I listened to it so I don’t have a direct quote but she spoke about plot diagrams and wanted the reader to imagine “the shape of experience”. Not everything fit into rising or falling action. Experience could be a wave or a human heart. Very good read.
Thank you for this, Chevanne. I'm interested in what Gore might mean by focusing on the "shape of human experience" which can never really be fit into a plot line that easily. Carol Shields talks about that a bit in an essay in the book "Startle and Illuminate" by her daughter Ann Giardini. She argues that fiction could be more interesting if it took on more of that natural shape of human experience.
Oooo... that’s very interesting. Thanks for the recommendation.
‘IN THE BEGINNING - A book must start somewhere. One brave letter must volunteer to go first, laying itself on the line in an act of faith, from which a word takes heart and follows, drawing a sentence into its wake. From there, a paragraph amasses, and soon a page, and the book is on its way, finding a voice, calling itself into being. A book must start somewhere, and this one starts here’. - Riuth Ozeki - The Book of Form and Emptiness. I have the book on order from the local library. I watched a interview she gave about the book and other topics at the 2021 Cheltenham Book Festival. She chose to read from the book’s opening page. It has to be one of the best opening paragraphs. Robert
Yes indeed! This is a wonderful opening . Thank you!