I read (or rather, listened to) Edith Warton's short story collection, The Eyes. I see from this why she became popular. These are good stories with 3D characters. This was a good example of what you can do in the short form. There was a hint of the paranormal in her stories. That made them a little more interesting. I think this might be the case where the book she is known for isn't her best book. Old Man and The Sea was a horrid book. The Red Pony wasn't that good. Hemingway and Steinbeck didn't actually win their Nobels for these books; they won them for their body of previous work.
I also finished Peaceable Kingdom. All I can say is DAMN. Jack Ketchum is the best damn writer. He can go the gamut, from spatterpunk to surreal implied horror, and each one is a gem. Talent and commitment to craft, with a perseverance to keep going through the low periods, he defines great writer for me. When people tell me that there aren't any well-written horror stories, or ones that actually scare, I point them first to Ketchum. I really hope he starts getting more notoriety in the general public.
I finally got Erica to pick up the books for my thesis from her school's library. One will help immensely. Gradually, I'm getting enough info on Bearwalking. A passage here and there, an article from some long out of print magazine... Graduate level research can be a pain. I love explaining that to people without degrees. "Why can't you just go to the library, find a book on the subject, and write a report on it." Yes, even with all the books that have published, there are still topics there aren't books written on; even if Lincoln Park didn't have the worst library I have ever seen for research. If there was already a book on the subject, I wouldn't need to write one. Brian Frost already ruined one of my ideas for a non-fiction book. He did a very good job though. I'm actually glad he wrote The Essential Guide to Werewolf Literature. If he hadn't, or had done it poorly, I would have felt the need to write it. And that would have taken time away from my fiction, and forced me to read thousand of horrible werewolf novels. Not that I don't have plenty of non-fiction topics. I love writing non-fiction. When I'm done with my current novel, I would like to publish a good book devoted to the Bearwalk.
having survived graduate school i want to strangle people who tell me they do research when they don't even do a cursory lit review, they just run google, or ask someone they know who claims to know more about the topic. . .
i also want to kill people who think that critical thought means viewing something negatively
or who do not understand that even basic grade school work involves (at the very bottom) hitting primary source material and forming an opinion based on fact.
i know you are busy with school andwork --- if you run into anymore of the go to the libarary and check out a book about it group, send them to me. i'll kill them.
Posted by: kelly at April 1, 2004 03:47 PMI am trying to get all the information that I can for a movie that I am producing that has a bearwalker in it. I want i tot be as accurate as possible, can you please share anything that you might have on uat subject
Posted by: Ken Olsen at April 9, 2006 02:23 AM