Dare You To Move

Book: Burn This Book, compiled by Toni Morrison
Genre: Nonfiction (writing)
Length: 112 pp.
Progress (pages): 323/20,000 pp. (2%)
Grade: B+

Amazon Summary: In 11 short essays by some of the world's premier novelists, this volume explores a simple question: why write? Contributor Paul Auster may put the query best: "Surely it is an odd way to spend your life -- sitting alone in a room with a pen in your hand, hour after hour, day after day, year after year, struggling to put words on pieces of paper." In response, Pico Iyer delivers a moving account of a Burmese trishaw driver living under political oppression, who for years composed (by candlelight) letters to the author, many of which were censored. Orhan Pamuk also explores this intense human hunger for stories and creative freedom with an anecdote from his March 1985 tour of Turkey, on which he introduced Arthur Miller and Harold Pinter to Turkish writers who had suffered "repression, cruelty and outright evil" in a military coup. Francine Prose, on the other hand, makes a lively attempt to separate literature from politics (in which she cops to her own political biases in her choice of examples). The disparate voices produce a complex of reasons that drive writers, though all agree that, as observed by Morrison (wearing both editor and contributor caps), it's a "bleak, unlivable, insufferable existence... when we are deprived of artwork."

My Thoughts: I was searching for a book like this -- something light, easy, that I could finish in an evening -- and this book delivered. My weakness in nonfiction is books about writing, and this was a perfect treat for me. I especially like to read compilations from authors, so I can see various authors' perspectives on writing, getting an insight into how they got started. It makes me realize that I am at once completely typical in the writing world and yet I feel pride that I can feel a kinship with these amazing authors.

This compilation puts together the writing of the following eleven authors: Toni Morrison, John Updike, David Grossman, Francine Prose, Pico Iyer, Russell Banks, Paul Auster, Orhan Pamuk, Salman Rushdie, Ed Park, and Nadine Gordimer. I had previously heard of most of these authors, but I have not yet read any of their writings. That is a fact that I am going to have to remedy very shortly, because there were some outstanding essays in this compilation.

While there were some that I did not quite like, as per usual in compilations, I found that some particularly touched me. In particular, I enjoyed Paul Auster's essay, "Talking to Strangers," because it expressed in a mere three pages why I write. It expresses that writers often write because they have to, because they have no choice. Nothing else explains it better than that. I don't know who I would be if I couldn't write, if I didn't want to write. I have a feeling I'd be entirely mediocre, going through life, sliding along without any discernible goal. But writing has given me that drive and ambition to strive to be better, which is precisely why I love losing myself in a story.

I appreciated the vast array of essays in this book. There were the typical "Why I Write" essays, but there was a particularly amusing essay by Ed Park that made me smile, because it was just so different. Toni Morrison's essay was the shortest of the bunch, heading up the collection, but it served as a backbone for the book. I enjoyed the stories Orhan Pamuk and Pico Iyer shared; it shows that the urge to read and write without fear of censorship is a universal desire. And last but not least, Nadine Gordimer's essay was a particularly pointed look at the writer's job to serve as a witness to world events, and brought up issues of race and the Western/Eastern division effectively.

This book would probably not interest anyone who is not a writer, though, and that is why I didn't give it a higher grade. I was hoping it would say more about censorship, but only a couple essays explored that issue in any depth. If you're a writer, I'd recommend this book, because as said, there are some amazing essays, but if you're not? This book wouldn't interest you all that much, unless you were interested in the writing process and what makes certain authors "tick."

Currently Reading: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (and I'm loving it. A vampire novel that goes back to the legends! Who woulda thunk we'd find one of those in the era of Twilight? Not that I hate Twilight, because I actually love it. *hides*)

I know, shocking, but I am actually going to write those book reviews now. They're shorter than they usually are, though, because there are five of them.

58. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (Grade: A)
Reread, for school. I have a feeling this is one of those books that I will just keep going back to. It is one of the first classics I've ever read in my life and, in my first read-through, I adored it. This time, I caught so many more little things that made me love it even more.

Jane Eyre grew throughout this story, I found, and it struck me how much she changed, both in her views of love and how she chooses to act in the face of difficulty. Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester also just had this chemistry that leaped off the page, and I loved how it wasn't too sickly sweet, just sweet enough to make you go aww but not in a saccharine way. Also, there was mystery in this novel, which makes me appreciate how effortlessly Charlotte Bronte (and, indeed, other classic novelists!) can meld numerous layers together.

59. All the Windwracked Stars by Elizabeth Bear (Grade: A)
My first Elizabeth Bear novel, which I enjoyed immensely. Even though I know nothing about Norse myths, I find it interesting how she incorporated those elements into the story. This was one of those books that I couldn't put down. The action was just enough to add to the story, the characters often did things I didn't expect while remaining true to themselves, and the entire thing was just different than I thought it would be, but I enjoyed it. I am looking forward to the next book, although it probably wouldn't come out for a looong time.

60. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (Grade: B)
As soon as I finished The Handmaid's Tale, I knew that I had to pick this book up. Apparently it is one of Atwood's best books, according to opinions I have heard, and I have to say that I wasn't disappointed. The writing was marvelous, and the novel within a novel aspect of the book just drew me in, as that is one of those techniques that pretty much make me guaranteed to LOVE a book. The characters were also well-drawn.  I found myself finishing this book quickly and then yearning for the chance to read Oryx and Crake. Which I'll probably do in February sometime.

61. Red: Teenage Girls in America Write On What Fires Up Their Lives Today, edited by Amy Goldwasser (Grade: A+)
I finished this book in one day, and found it uplifting, well-written, and a book that just completely blew me away. One minute, I would be laughing aloud at something someone was communicating, and the next, I would almost be in tears at the beautiful aspects of the writing and the complete empathy I share with the author. A terrific, terrific book, and one that I foresee going back to many times.

62. The Portable Atheist, selected and with an introduction by Christopher Hitchens (Grade: A)
I am not an atheist by any possible stretch of the imagination, but I found this book very informative. I have gotten most of my information about atheism from Christian apologetic books, so it was nice to get it from the "lips" of actual atheists. Of course, that doesn't change my views in the slightest. I found many atheists use numerous generalizations, and this book really confirmed that to me.

However, I found it interesting, mostly as a history of atheism throughout the years. I also didn't know that Ian McEwan was an atheist, or that there were so many quotes pertaining to Albert Einstein's beliefs regarding a God. (That section was probably one of my favorites, actually!)

Currently Reading:
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. Am enjoying it so far, and it makes me realize one thing: that if kiwiria likes it, odds are I will too, as our tastes in books are eerily similar. :)

It's been so long since I've done a book review (twenty-four days), and I've only finished four books since then. That is kind of pathetic. Hopefully my reading speed will pick up after NaNo (or at least after I get my 50K, which will be in the next week for sure), and I'll keep up better.

Until then, though, these will be rather few and far between. In fact, these ones will probably be the last for a while, although I could be wrong.

Oh, and these'll be short. I don't feel like writing long ones at the moment, unfortunately. But anyway. Enough rambling.

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Book #52 -- Chris Baty, No Plot, No Problem!, 176 pp.
Grade: A

If I wasn't already psyched up for NaNo, this book would have been perfect in succeeding in getting me that way. Chris Baty is perhaps the most enthusiastic person about NaNo I have ever seen (for good reason), and that enthusiasm just leaps off the page. Although the advice in this book was nothing new, and I didn't particularly need it, it was an entertaining read. I'd recommend it to anyone NaNoer.

Book #53 -- Christopher Paolini, Brisingr, 784 pp.
Grade: C+

The last fifty pages of this book blew me away. The female characters were stronger than they are in most other fantasy novels. Eragon and Roran grew during the story. Other than those good things, the rest of the book dragged on and on and on and on and on... you get the picture. It could have been cut in half and I would have enjoyed it so much more. Unfortunately, it was just blah, although the last fifty pages redeemed it in my eyes.

Book #54 -- Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones, 224 pp.
Grade: A

What an unique way to look at writing! The masterful way she combined her love for writing and Zen Buddhism was truly inspiring. Her "writing noteboook" idea was so good, in fact, that I snabbed it. I now have a red writing notebook to write in daily—as soon as NaNo ends, that is. A wonderful book; recommended to any lover of writing.

Book #55 -- Elie Wiesel, Night, 108 pp.
Grade: A

For school. This book was a touching, heartbreaking tale of what went on during the Holocaust. It nearly made me cry, and made me wonder how anyone could ever deny such a great horror ever happened. I can't believe the horrors other human beings can inflict on others. It's just unbelievable, and this book reveals the worst of humanity. I can't say I "enjoyed" this book, but it was incredibly well-written. Definitely recommended.

Currently Reading: God's Politics by Jim Wallis