Literature Page

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This page will include thoughts, quotes, links to my pages & links to other web sites. I will try to include stories I have written or am writing.

“The purpose of literature is to show that other people exist.” attributed to Iris Murdoch.

My Writing and Literature Page. 1

Other Writing Pages 3

On Line Book Links 3

Editorial

On general principles, I encourage everyone to keep a daily journal. Put in it every thought you can. Use it to describe what you see in the world and how it affects you. There are many purposes to this journal:

It is an historical record, useful to you when you get old, and to those who come after
It is a way to organize and express your thoughts
It is a release valve for fears and anger
It is a way to express joy and thanks to God for what’s going on in your life
It is a great way to get experience in writing, with no critical assessment from outsiders
It is a record of your progress in writing – you can try styles and themes, you can see progression as your writing improves.

A good book is one that, when you read it, motivates you to abandon your current interests and pursue instead interests expressed in the book.

6/2007: I’ve been studying a lot in the areas of mythology, medieval literature, Irish literature, Arthurian literature, fantasy literature. This includes reading epics like Gilgamesh & Beowulf, as well as learning more about Wilde, Yeats, Joyce, Beckett, MacDonald, Tolkien and more.

Writing Resources

Here is a great book that should be read by anyone who wants to write but is prevented from doing so by some internal fears or external criticisms: If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland. Check it out! It’s a great piece of encouragement and motivation. If you don’t want to buy it on my recommendation, look in the library for free.

I am working on a reading list for Christian kids (fiction). It will include C.S. Lewis, the Redwall series, Little House on the Prairie, etc.

A site of wide-ranging links: http://www.diane.com/readers/tools.html (for writers) and http://www.diane.com/readers/reader.html for readers.

Looking for a Quotation? Start here at the Internet Public Library. The rest of the site is very handy as well!

6/2007: Found a teacher’s page for his students: Mr. Black. From there, I found helpful the page on poetry’s rhythm, meter & scansion.

8/2007: Writing Terms definition from Sandra Miller.

Books I like

Someday I’m going to catalog all the books in our home library. Maybe I’ll have the kids do it as a homeschool project (use an Access database, etc).

I spend a lot of time in the car, so I use it to listen to books on tape, borrowed from my local library. I find this a great way to catch up on reading the classics.

The Art of Loving by Eric Froemm – it’s been a while since I read this, and I may not agree with it anymore, but it was an important book for me to read. It has framed my understanding of what love is.
A Bell for Adano by John Hersey. I just liked the story & the way he told it. Even the minor characters were developed. They may have started as stereotypes, but they didn’t end that way. I really appreciate characterization more than plot. For example, the action thrillers of Clancy et. al. are fun to read, but don’t really fill my appetite.
Chaos by James Gleick. It’s been a while since I read this. I remember it being very good (math & science).
Ecotopia by Arthur Shopenhauer. Again, I may not agree with it anymore, but it was important to read.
Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. This book has set the tone for my on-going relationship with God.
Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas R. Hofstadter. Some serious thoughts going on here! To be honest, I’ve never finished reading it.
Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. !! This is great stuff.
on the note of CS, check out http://personal.bgsu.edu/~edwards/lewisbib.html for a good bibliography.
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. There are extensive end-notes which give further insight into what he was trying to do. Most of it is pretty much beyond me.
Tess of the D’Urbevilles by Thomas Hardy. Not every love story has to have a happy ending; not all good deeds will be rewarded in this lifetime.
Watership Down by Richard Adams. A favorite of my youth. I think this was the first serious book that I ever re-read.
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Writers I like

Thomas Cahill – I like his treatment of scripture & history. He has some great insights into the construction of the bible.
F. Scott Fitzgerald – I like how he describes the time period.
Ernest Hemingway – I just like his style of writing. I especially liked For Whom the Bell Tolls (my favorite) and A Farewell to Arms. I did not like To Have and Have Not. I need to re-read The Sun Also Rises. Note – I really like the movie version of To Have and Have Not (with Humphrey Bogart). But then, Casablanca is one of my favorite movies.
Tony Hillerman – I like his Joe Leaphorn / Jim Chee series of books. They are nice light fiction to break up some of the more serious stuff I read.
C. S. Lewis – both Narnia and the non-fiction. I like the way his mind works; I seem able to follow his arguments.
Anne McCaffrey – more light fiction, set in another world.
Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series – more light fiction. I don’t generally go for mysteries, but these are fun.
Gore Vidal – I like his three historical novels: Burr, 1876 and The Golden Age.
George MacDonald bio & online works; G K Chesterton; Tennyson;
Beowulf (Gummere), Gilgamesh, Volsungs (Morris & Magnusson), Scottish Folklore, the Song of Roland,
James Joyce, WB Yeats, Washington Irving,

Miscellany

Here’s a link to my ‘life list’.

Here are some old/rare/good books we have. This is a crossover from my art page: Charles Vess books & items.

I heard somewhere –

There are no words to rhyme with orange, purple or month.

The longest one-syllable word : screeched.

The longest word with one vowel: strengths

The longest word with no letters repeated: (un)copyrightable

Much more word trivia: http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/wordtriv.htm

Good tongue twister: “The sixth sick Sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick.”

aibohphobia – the fear of palindromes

A site of very good word games: http://www.puzz.com/1001/verbal.htm

To look up origin of words: www.etymonline.com

Current Projects

I am sketching out a book titled ‘Giants of Shawangunk’. The lead character, Peter Bruyn, deals with Shawangunk hiking, local legends, rock climbing, Indian artifact thefts, and genealogy while teaching archeology at SUNY New Paltz. Through all this, he establishes and develops his relationship with God. The ending culminates with a chase through Sam’s Point and the old Indian Caves overlooking Ellenville, NY.

6/12/7 – I wrote a fun poem on Mt. Dew: Ode to Dew

Other Writing Pages

Writing / English rules & explanations: http://www.jimloy.com/language/language.htm

A book on the ‘I before E’ rule: http://www.avko.org/Books/Mastering_I_before_E.htm

Spelling Guidelines from a Physics teacher: http://www.physics.uiuc.edu/People/Staff/Celia/Spelling/tsld001.htm - very good set of slides

A full ‘I before E’ rule with exceptions: http://www.steve.wagar.com/ibeforee.htm - and check out the palindromes at the bottom of the page.

On Line Book Links

http://www.readbookonline.net/authors/

Bee, The Princess of the Dwarfs (by Anatole French) (added 4/2006)

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