December 2011
67 posts
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So I straight up lied when I said I didn't get any...
I did get a book/journal from CourtinColorado sent me The True and the Questions: A Journal by Sabrina Ward Harrison. And I do and I do not count it as a “book” because it is equal parts journal and writing. Sabrina Ward Harrison created the book with the intention of people using it as their own journal, but she has included her own scraps of writing, much of which I am finding...
“That perfect tranquillity of life, which is nowhere to be found but in retreat,...”
– Aphra Behn (via bibliophibious)
“Life is either a great adventure or nothing.”
– Helen Keller (via girlwithoutwings)
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The Writer's Dilemma
I, very recently, wrote a short piece heavily based on something a woman I was friends with in school, but haven’t seen or spoken to in years, has gone through recently. I quite like the piece I wrote and am going to change many details in edits so for people-who-know-me (-and-her) won’t necessarily know it’s her as inspiration. And I think I quite like it enough to submit it.
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“Of all man’s instruments, the most wondrous, no doubt, is the book. The other...”
– Jorge Luis Borges (via bookoasis)
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I didn't get a single book for Christmas. I find...
Maybe I’ve met some sort of book quota in my life? Maybe it’s because I haven’t read all the books I’ve gotten for past Christmases? I don’t know, but it’s the first Christmas in a long fucking time that I haven’t gotten any books at all.
I gave my Sister B The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenies and her and her son and husband a slim volume of...
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Merry Christmas, friends. And happy reading! Xx...
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“It was chilly and there was a frisky little breeze making breathy sounds in the...”
– Kinsey Millhone, B is for Burglar by Sue Grafton
This is one of those weird describing lines that are just… odd. There’s really no reason in this scene to conjure up sexy/pornographic images, and yet, she does. I don’t understand. I do, but I don’t.
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Notes Taken While Reading "B is for Burglar" by...
Chapter 18. It’s weird how Jonah has just become a part of Kinsey’s life. As if she doesn’t have any other friends she could be confiding in or talking to.
I first learned about Jonah Robb after Kinsey’s relationship with him has fizzled out and he’s back with Camilla or whatever happens there, and he’s been mentioned many times as someone who’s company...
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“There’s no place in a P.I.’s life for impatience, faintheartedness,...”
– Kinsey Millhone, B is for Burglar by Sue Grafton
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From "The Drawing of the Three" by Stephen King
Eddie Dean: ... if you kill what you love, you're damned.
Roland: I'm damned already. But perhaps even the damned may be saved.
Eddie Dean: Are you going to get her killed?
Roland: We all die in time. It's not just the world that moves on. But we will be magnificent. There's more than a world to win, Eddie. I would not risk you and her -- I would not have allowed the boy to die -- if that was all there was.
Eddie Dean: What are you talking about?
Roland: Everything there is. We are going to go, Eddie. We are going to fight. We are going to be hurt. And in the end we will stand.
Eddie Dean: ....
Roland: Even the damned love.
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Side Note From Bex-the-Writer
Doing research for a story you are working on can, both awesomely and irritatingly, take over the actual writing (which is, I suppose the reason research is a part of the “writing process”). I enjoy how much of the research has very little to do with the writer as a person. And often the research searches have very little to do with one another. Just today I researched London-based...
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“If you have given up your heart for the Tower, Roland, you have already lost. A...”
– The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King
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“…the kind of thing you expect to see hippies carrying as they made their...”
– The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King
I read this right after a Lead Teacher asked my PC why there were so many crunchy hippies on our staff this year. Her criteria for “crunchy hippie” seemed to be that most of the men on staff had hair past their ears. No comment on us ladies,...
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From "The Drawing of the Three" by Stephen King
“The sea was enormous, meeting the horizon at a misty blue point that was impossible to determine. For a long moment the gunslinger forgot his agony in its comtemplation. He had never seen such a body of water. Had heard of it in children’s stories, of course, had even been assured by his teachers - some, at least - that it existed - but to actually see it, this immensity, this...
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Before I'm Called a Hypocrite...
In the spirit of full disclosure, only moments before I wrote my response to Farhad Manjoo’s article Don’t Support Your Local Bookseller on Slate, I purchased a novel via Amazon.com. It is a Christmas present for one of my siblings. I am very excited for her to read it and let me know what she thinks. I’ve heard excellent things about this book from actual friends of mine whom...
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Don’t Support Your Local Bookseller →
bibliofeminista:
Compared with online retailers, bookstores present a frustrating consumer experience. A physical store—whether it’s your favorite indie or the humongous Barnes & Noble at the mall offers a relatively paltry selection, no customer reviews, no reliable way to find what you’re looking for, and a dubious recommendations engine. Amazon suggests books based on others you’ve...
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10 Distinctive Traits of A Writer Who Speaks From... →
the-write-idea:
By Miranda Jane
They are aware of the world around them—the sounds, faces, colors, and smells.
They take joy in simplicity. A hot cup of tea, a sunny morning, or a smile from a stranger.
They remember that when they feel “blocked” in life or writing that this really is an opportunity to pause and think.
They know love is the point of it all. If you aren’t doing it for love,...
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“To write is human, to edit is divine.”
– Stephen King in On Writing (via jaylane)
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Flavorpill's cast for Les Miserables →
Don’t necessarily agree with Rihanna as Eponine, but I’m still intrigued.
Adele as Fantine? Yes, but also Adele as Eponine? Yes as well.
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5 Lies They Tell You About Writing →
wordpainting:
Excellent short list. Well worth reading.
“Perhaps that explains why so many writers use brand names in place of original description. Let’s call this for what it is: mere product placement, for which the authors didn’t even get paid. (At least, I hope they didn’t.) Look, I don’t mind the occasional “Scotch tape”, or even...
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“I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.”
– Mary Wollstonecraft (via a-vindication)
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“There are moments in novels which are absolutely true–and those are the kinds of...”
– Jeffrey Eugenides (via theparisreview)
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“I suspect that the growth of the Internet has actually been something of a boon...”
– Stephen King (via toloveamodernleper)
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Artsy Fartsy →
Not only do I read and write, but I also “do art”. And, since I shamelessly promote Literary Bex everywhere else (other Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter) I figured I might as well shamelessly promote Artsy Fartsy here.
So far, most of it isn’t my art, but there’s going to be a lot more of my own actual stuff coming up pretty soon.
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“An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs. You should never see an...”
– Mitch Hedberg (via thoughtsdetained)