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romaniassexdungeon · 6 years

Text

Shattered Romanticism of a God - Chapter 7

Summary: Tino hadn't expected a lot of things. He hadn't expected the relatively unknown band he was reviewing to actually be good. He hadn't expected its lead singer to be absolutely gorgeous. And he certainly hadn't expected to spend the next few months falling for such a wonderful man.

Sorry for the unexpected hiatus. Uni hit and I have a lot of other stories to update, but I’d like to keep updates for this more consistent from now on, and not just because this is the fic people actually read. Honestly, I don’t think this fic is gonna be amazingly long. Like, more than twenty chapters, but I doubt I’ll reach thirty. And yes that’s short for me! I’ll get it done, though. Bully me if I don’t. Oh, and I went back and changed Belgium’s name to Isabel because that’s the name I use for her now.

Gunner - Denmark /// Adriaan - Netherlands

Read the full fic on AO3 and FF.net

My ko-fi

“Oh, what a lovely day!”

Tino was perfectly happy to converse with his dog in public, and did so freely as he strode down the street, ignoring the stares and glares for daring to disturb the peace, with pointless rambling to an animal of all things. What did he care? Kukkamuna was a very good listener.

“I hope you have fun today,” he just continued, “but try not to make a mess of uncle Berwald’s house - we want to stay on his good side.”

She yapped in response, and not one of those sarcastic yaps she give before taking a dump on the hall floor the moment they came in from their walkies despite having a whole hour in the park to do so, but a genuine yap like she would actually behave. Maybe she knew what was at stake here?

It was really a lovely day though: the sun shone in its crisp autumn beauty and there was no sweltering heat to leave him sunburnt within five minutes. That was always nice. Unfortunately though, it was a little too early in the year for those nice crunchy fallen leaves to tread on, and Christmas was still four months away. Four whole months and yet there was so little time to prepare. What was he like? Eduard could probably answer that for him. The police also had a file to describe what he was like too.

For some reason, even though Berwald was in his twenties and probably couldn’t afford a house, being the lead singer of an unknown band, Tino was certain the guy lived in one. A neat house with freshly cut grass and white shutters. Detached or semi-detached. With an enormous kitchen, so big it had one of those islands.

He gasped at the concept. They could boink on the island!

Except he didn’t have a house! Berwald had explicitly told him he shared a flat with Gunner, and sometimes Tolli would sleep on the sofa if he wanted to run away but not permanently and was just trying to make a point. The other three band members could also often be found practising or passed out in various rooms. Tino thought the noise and bustle sounded fun, but Berwald had admitted he’d prefer a bit of quiet now and again. And a tidy flat for once.

He’d even mentioned he was a little jealous of Tino living alone; he could keep his flat tidy and sleep in peace.

Oh sweet, innocent Berwald.

He did eventually find the block of flats, still disappointed in how normal it was. Regular flats with little white balconies. Something told him the one dripping with hanging baskets and beer can decorations was where he’d end up, and it really was a shame it wasn’t possible to make a bet with himself because he’d obviously win. And lose.

But if he started arguing with himself he’d just be proving that judge in Copenhagen right, so instead, Tino rang the doorbell.

He waved pleasantly to an old couple as he waited, the two shuffling along, hand-in-hand, smiling at him and each other. It gave him hope, seeing old people happily in love after all that time, after having to live with someone and their habits and farts and smelly socks for so long. Maybe he’d have that one day. With Berwald. Or Tony Kakko. Or any member of Sabaton.

But preferably Berwald.

Speaking of which, he looked beautiful as he answered the door. Maybe Berwald had an endless supply of turtleneck jumpers, because he was wearing one yet again, a deep blue beauty. Tino had never seen him in jog bottoms before, though.

“Hey, Berry,” he greeted, “look, I’m on-time and everything!”

“Didn’t doubt ya,” he gave one of his beautiful smiles. Kukkamuna yapped a hello and jumped up at his leg.

“You’d be surprised how many people do,” he smiled back as he was lead into the hall. ”You know, based on a mountain of evidence.” Berwald didn’t reply, but Tino swore he saw the hint of a smile as he closed the door.

“Sorry I don’t have a pie to give you,” he said as they climbed the stairs, “but the last one I made burnt so it’s probably for the best.”

Berwald definitely smiled at that.

“Then there was the chocolate mousse that was more like chocolate milk,” he continued, since his lack of cooking was so fucking hilarious to most people, “and all those crispy black pizzas. And that soup I burnt.”

“How-”

“I forgot it was on the stove and all the water evaporated out of it. All I was left was this clay-like thing. Like, some gross paste.”

“Y’tasted it?”

“I was a broke student.”

Berwald patted his shoulder, letting him into a flat that had recently - but hurriedly - been cleaned. Clearly. Tino was glad he wasn't the only one trying to make an effort. He could see what touches were Berwald’s and what were Gunner’s, or at least he guessed the shelf of carefully put together lego sets of various landmarks belonged to the Dane. Not to stereotype, but they probably did. There was also a death star model that would’ve made Eduard weak at the knees. The cookbooks probably belonged to Berwald.

“So which one of you collects boats,” he asked, bending down to admire the shelf full of them. He especially liked the little ones in bottles.

“Gunner,” said Berwald, taking his coat, “we both collect things.”

Tino turned to him with a smile. “Oh? And what do you collect?”

He shrugged. “Books. Swords.”

Tino’s eyes widened. “That’s hot. Really hot. And pretty badass.”

Berwald almost smiled at that. “Mm, Gunner ‘n me, we dun have a lot’ve money cause of hobbies. ‘N alcohol.”

Their job was singing in a band with a total of six fans. And Tino thought he was bad at budgeting.

“Have you considered not buying swords?”

Berwald looked absolutely horrified.

“Or CDs,” Tino glanced past him at yet another shelf, “then again, I like a man with a massive CD collection.” Did that sound suggestive? Alluring? Or just weird and creepy? Still, what kind of music did Berwald actually listen to? He knew he was being nosy, but Berwald absolutely fascinated him, and since trying to get the guy to talk about himself was like pulling teeth, he might as well snoop while he could.

“You don’t mind if I have a little peruse, right?” he said with a wink. Berwald shrugged and left him to it, setting about making a pot of coffee.

The first thing Tino noticed was that a sizeable chunk of the CDs had been recently removed, from the top shelf, a band or singer beginning with ‘A’, he suspected, given that Berwald had alphabetised his collection. He could see some odd choices of music just from a glance, so what was particularly embarrassing about this one band, since he’d taken the time to hide it from him?

He had a Sarek CD, for Christ’s sake!

Besides that, there seemed to be every metal band he'd heard, plus a few unfamiliar albums that looked more folk in nature.

“Interesting tastes,” he commented, picking up a Gloryhammer album.

“S’Gunner’s,” Berwald mumbled, shuffling up awkwardly next to him.

“Figured.” He didn’t know if the man was lying, but he could well believe Gunner listened to songs about space wizards and evil unicorns. He and Christopher Bowes gave off the same chaotic energy, now that he thought about it. “I’m guessing he’s also the Alestorm and Ninja Sex Party fan. What a man.”

“Like ‘em too,” Berwald mumbled. Tino raised his eyebrows and turned to him with a wicked smile.

“I never took you for a pirate metal fan.”

Berwald shrugged. “Grew on me.”

Tino would like to grow on him too. He decided not to even wonder what that was supposed to mean. “Where is Gunner anyway?”

“Adriaan’s. Guitar practice.”

“I thought Adriaan played bass.”

“Big guitar.”

Tino smiled.

“Ye can stay for dinner,” Berwald mumbled after an uncomfortable silence. Tino just thanked him, deciding not to mention that had been what they’d already decided over the phone. They fell back into awkward silence.

Tino played with his jumper, glancing around for something - anything - he could talk about. He spied a room just past Berwald’s arm, door shut. “Oh? What’s in there?”

“M’workshop!” Berwald, ever so slightly, puffed out his chest.

“Where you practice singing and… triangle?”

He blushed slightly. “Writing.”

Tino perked up at that, bristling excitedly. “Like, original songs?” Berwald nodded. Right! He forgot the guy wrote the band's songs. “Songs you’ve recorded or are still writing?”

“Both. All stages.” He covered his face with a hand. “Lotta crap.”

“Would it be okay if I was the judge of what counts as crap?” Tino asked sheepishly, “I mean, after all, we’re all our own worst critics. Actually, for me it’s Eduard. And this one Norwegian guy who comes on my blog to pick apart everything I write, just because I think Finnish metal is better.”

“Vidar?”

“You know what? I think it could be.” Tino brushed against his arm ever so lightly. “So, your workshop… if you’re okay with that, of course!”

He nodded, “please…”

Though he was bristling with excitement, he waited for Berwald to actually let him in, rather than barge in. He wrote a lot of angry poetry as a teen, and if his mum or cousins had just barged in and read them, he’d… well, he’d have cried and wrote another angry poem about trust. He was going to respect what looked like Berwald’s private space for private songwriting.

Then, when Berwald tentatively lead him inside, he forgot all that upon spying the name of the first song he saw. And the second.

“‘I want to fuck Thor’?” he picked up a scruffy sheet of paper, raising an eyebrow. “‘Odin is my daddy’?” He was in love.

Berwald was definitely blushing this time, and buried his face in his hands. “S’Gunner’s songs!”

“Oh! Well Gunner is a creative genius!” He scrolled down the lyrics, still clearly in their rough stages, but funny nonetheless. He had to laugh at a few lines. “I love them!”

“I wrote them! Gunner can’t write shi-heck!”

Tino smiled at him. “Look, I’m not gonna judge you for anything! I know you’re a dork; you don’t have to impress me. You think I’d judge you for writing something funny and weird? Look at me.” He paused. “You were writing a funny song right?”

Berwald just. “Jus’ thought it would be a laugh.”

“Mmm, honestly there’s no need for boundaries in metal. Go for it! I mean, what’s the point in writing metal if it doesn’t piss someone off, somewhere?”

Berwald smiled ever so slightly at that. Tino smiled back.

"Wanna show me some of your other songs?"

He nodded, almost shaking with excitement.

“And anyway,” Tino said through a mouthful of potato, “then Érzsebét had to explain to me that Boney M sang the original version of Rasputin, and wasn’t a cover band.”

Berwald raised an eyebrow, looking at him judgmentally. It was the same look Eduard gave him, sometimes. Often.

“I’d just heard Turias’ version first!” he insisted, “I don’t listen to a lot outside metal! I’m not an idiot, I swear!”

“Never said y’were,” Berwald waved a hand. “S’cute.”

“I’m not cute,” Tino mumbled.

“Y’are. Very. It’s cute.”

He pretended to scowl, but couldn’t. He’d just spent an hour or so talking about his various internet fights like some loser, and Berwald thought he was cute? Him? Tino? The guy who corrected people’s grammar online despite English being his third language and him not actually knowing the grammar that well? It was just fun to make people mad when he couldn’t come up with a decent argument.

It hadn’t all been talk of himself though! He wasn’t that vain, and didn’t really like talking about himself and being the centre of attention, it was just that - sometimes - Berwald left him struggling for conversation.

Berwald had talked about his music, and even some of his more serious songs, the more personal ones. It was clear he had a passion for it, and he explained - or tried to anyway - that singing and songwriting let him communicate more easily. That he didn’t have to think as much and could actually say how he felt. Ironically, he was having trouble with the song he was writing about the topic. Tino understood.

“You think I’m cute?” he asked sincerely. Berwald shrugged. “Well I think you’re very cute too. Like a teddy bear.”

Berwald smiled and mumbled something into the collar of his turtleneck. Tino smiled and took his hand, squeezing it gently. They looked into each other’s eyes a little too long, and Berwald quickly looked away.

“S’late,” he mumbled, “why not stay t'night?”

Tino blinked. “Uh, sure, yeah! Grounds sate- er, sounds great!”

“I’d offer you Gunner’s bed but,” Berwald pulled a face, “wouldn’t touch it. Can’t do that t’ya.”

“Wouldn’t he be coming back at some point anyway?”

Berwald shook his head. “Nn. Staying over at Adriaan’s. Got the place t’ ourselves.”

To themselves, huh?

“Me and Kukkamuna would really appreciate it,” he said, “she loves you.” He… okay it was a little early to be seriously calling it love, but he did like the guy. A lot. And he wanted to spend more time with him. But what did Berwald mean by him staying the night? Were they gonna do… stuff? All jokes aside, he found himself thinking it was maybe a little too soon. He wasn’t even sure they were dating, though that would be one hell of a confirmation.

“I- I like you too,” he added. “You’re sweet. And good.”

Berwald smiled behind his hand, wiggling ever so slightly, like a happy worm.

“Got a tent,” he mumbled with a shrug, “could set it up in here. Be fun.”

“Ooh! I like camping! Especially when it’s all cold and rainy outside and you have to snuggle up for warmth, especially if you get snowed in like 'hey, might as well make the best of it!'” People usually looked at him like he was mad when he said that, but he couldn’t help it. Maybe it was some ancient mammal instinct that made him want to burrow somewhere warm and safe, or maybe he liked having an excuse to cling to someone like a lamprey. He wasn’t one for closeness or even being touched, but, on occasion, he liked to snuggle.

Sometimes, he just needed a bit of warmth, but it had to be with someone special. His cousins, his mother, or maybe Vidar if either of them were feeling drunk and emotional, and maybe - quite possibly - Berwald. Anyone else, and he’d probably retreat into his own skeleton.

“Sounds cosy,” Berwald agreed. He actually agreed with him on that?

“And you?” he tried - Berwald clearly liked camping, so maybe it would be a topic he actually talked about. Actually, that was unfair. He apparently loved talking about his work, and his favourite bands. And sword collecting. He didn't think he'd ever been more turned on than when Berwald had showed off all the ornate swords hanging in his room. “What’s your favourite part about camping?”

“Pitching a tent by a lake,” he shrugged, “watching the sunrise o’er the water, sitting with a coffee and some pastries.” He smiled wistfully, resting his chin on a hand. “With a special someone. Romantic.”

Tino nodded. “Yeah, romantic…”

Berwald shook himself slightly and stood up, presumably to get the tent. He paused at the window behind Tino and chuckled. When Tino looked around, he saw that it was pouring rain.

“Cosy weather!” said Berwald excitedly.

“Yes! Perfect for staying over,” Tino grinned, “and snuggling up with you.”

He hated the rain, so was pretty glad he and Kukkamuna could stay over. If you were going to have ‘bad’ weather, you might as well make it snow. Snow was fun and crunchy and the perfect temperature to lie in. Rain just got you wet and cancelled plans.

Actually, he did love cancelling plans, a lot of the time. And rain wasn't so bad when he was inside and warm. It did make a comforting sound.

He blushed and dipped into his bedroom, returning with a tent bag and Kukkamuna, now awake from her nap on his pillow. He smiled as the tiny dog ran around him, jumping up excitedly. He’d never seen her take to someone so quickly before. Berwald loved her too, that much was clear; he smiled so freely around Kukkamuna, like it was impossible to hide anything from her, least of all his adoration.

Tino wasn’t in love yet, but he was as close to it as a person could get.

“Want me to help with that?” he asked. Berwald shrugged. So a ‘yes’ then?

Tino jumped up and, after standing around awkwardly awaiting instructions, began feeding poles through their respective holes. He wasn’t that good at teamwork, but they got the thing set up without wanting to kill each other.

“Hey,” he began as Berwald arranged a duvet and pillows inside the little two-man tent, “wanna hear something funny?”

“Mm.”

“About what I said earlier, about only listening to metal bands and thinking all their songs are the original. Around the same time I first started thinking about writing a metal blog, I made an angry post on some forum complaining about Britney Spears ripping off Children of Bodom’s song, ‘Oops I did it again’.”

Berwald’s mouth twitched upwards.

“And you know the internet, they can always let a mistake go,” he had to laugh at himself, “it did teach me to always research before I write, though.”

Berwald was smiling at that, collecting soft blankets from around the room to add to their little nest.

“And don’t even get me started on the time I, in a room full of Swedes, started referring to ABBA as a cover band, doing disco versions of famous metal songs-”

Berwald laughed at that. He actually laughed! The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled, hiding his laugh behind his hand. The sound - so gentle and faint, but there nonetheless - warmed Tino’s heart and left him clutching his chest, and smiling like a mad idiot. It was the most beautiful sound!

Forget everything, Tino might actually be in love.

They sat in the tent and talked for hours, Kukkamuna between them, dozing happily as the two lazily stroked her fur. Berwald talked about the things he and Gunner got up to at university, including starting a band, whilst Tino talked about growing up in Finland, and all the shenanigans he and his cousins got up to. All throughout, he wondered if Berwald was going to make a move, but he didn’t. He wondered if he should make a move himself.

But he didn’t.

Eventually, he fell asleep in Berwald arms, and that was enough for him.

#sufin #aph sweden #aph finland #hetalia #Hetalia Fanfiction #aph fanfiction #hetalia fic #finsu #shattered romanticism of a god

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oliverphisher · 4 years

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Josh Donellan

J.M. DONELLAN is a writer, musician, poet, and teacher. He was almost devoured by a tiger in the jungles of Malaysia, nearly died of a lung collapse in the Nepalese Himalayas and fended off a pack of rabid dogs with a guitar in the mountains of India.

A Beginner's Guide to Dying in India By Josh Donellan

His debut novel A Beginner’s Guide to Dying in India was released in 2009. Josh was a state finalist in the 2012 and 2014 Australian Poetry Slams and a national finalist in 2015. His play, We Are All Ghosts, was performed as part of the Anywhere Theatre Festival in 2014. He also co-wrote the Theory of Everything, which completely sold out its entire season at the 2015 Brisbane Festival. Josh has spoken and performed at numerous festivals around Australia including Sydney Writers’ Festival, TEDxBrisbane (twice), the Wonderland Festival, and various not-entirely-legal warehouse parties in an array of secret locales.

His children’s fantasy novel Zeb and the Great Ruckus was described by one child as ‘the best book ever, but it should have had Dr. Who in it.’ His most recent novel, Killing Adonis has received rave reviews from numerous magazines and newspapers, both here and in the USA, including a Kirkus starred review. His poetry collection Stendhal Syndrome was released in 2016 and will soon be followed by his forthcoming collection of poems for kids entitled 19 ½ Secret Spells Disguised As Poems, which is definitely not a book of spells (unless you are a kid reading this in which case it is definitely a book of spells). In 2018 he collaborated with choreographer Liesel Zink to create the spoken word/dance performance Inter. Josh also writes and directs the podcast fiction series Six Cold Feet. He’s done a bunch of other stuff as well but honestly this bio is long enough already and no one likes a braggart.

What are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?

1. I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy as kid and I have a distinct memory of thinking ‘Well, that’s it for me. I want to be a writer. Why the hell would you do anything else?’

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings: Deluxe Pocket Boxed Set By J.R.R. Tolkien

2. I read Murakami’s Sputnik Sweetheart at university and I loved the way it completely obliterated my previous notions of how a story should work and reinforced the very important idea that a book really can be whatever the hell you want it to be.

Sputnik Sweetheart: A Novel By Haruki Murakami

3. More recently, I read Jennifer Egan’s ‘Look At Me’ and it felt like stepping into another world. I think about that novel at least once a week. It exists on a whole other plain of reality for me.

Look at Me: A Novel By Jennifer Egan

What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)?

I bought one of those armbands to put your phone in while exercising and recently got back into running for the first time in years. I forgot how happy it makes me, for someone who sits on their butt staring at the screen a good chunk of the day exercise is hugely important, not just for the body but for creativity and mental health. I think of depression as a physical nemesis I have to fight to keep at bay, and running feels like wielding a magical sword at the great black dog.

How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?

I think the first time you really crash on stage is such an important learning experience. Once you’ve lived through that you know what it looks like and you realise that while it’s not fun, it’s also nowhere near as bad as your anxiety was promising it would be. Even better if you have a truly catastrophic public appearance early on, because then all subsequent failures aren’t as bad in comparison.

Are there any quotes you think of often or live your life by?

A long time ago my friend and I went to see a local play where the audience was forcibly pulled on stage and made to feel really uncomfortable. I love immersive theatre, but this was a very unpleasant and unwelcome experience. Afterwards she said to me ‘I don’t think that director loves his audience. You have to love your audience.’ I think about that every time I sit down to write. Bear in mind, love doesn’t always mean doing the easiest or most immediately satisfying thing, it means ultimately doing what you believe is best for someone, even if it’s difficult in the short term.

What is one of the best investment in a writing resource you’ve ever made?

Scrivener. I am weirdly evangelical about that program. I swear I’m not getting paid endorsement money or anything, even if I do occasionally grab a megaphone and run around writers’ festivals yelling “Oi! Are you lot using Scrivener? It’s the BEST!”

What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love?

My favourite animal is the mantis shrimp, the most absurd and beautiful creature to ever walk the earth. It looks like a technicolour hellbeast and it has the most complex eyes of any living organism. It’s weird how much I love that animal.

In the last five years, what new belief, behaviour, or habit has most improved your life?

I used to think that the ultimate form of writing was a novel, and that everything else was just auxiliary formats. These days I’m writing across theatre, podcasts, video games etc. and I’ve really learned to love the nuances and possibilities of each medium. The novel is ideal for exploring a character’s inner world; the podcast is perfect for drawing the listener in with subtle, non-verbal sound cues; theatre has an incredible capacity to tell the same story in a whole new way with each performance. I’ve really enjoyed learning to embrace that.

What advice would you give to a smart, driven aspiring author? What advice should they ignore?

I think the main thing is to realise that figure out what your process is going to be is a good chunk of the job. So many writers make the mistake of trying to study the process of their idols and replicate it verbatim, but it’s really about finding your own path. Maybe that means going on a vision quest, maybe it means drinking six cups of coffee and listening to Mogwai on repeat, maybe it means writing in your underwear while the sweat cascades down your fingers and hoping it doesn’t fry the battery in your laptop (that one might be Queensland specific, it’s very warm here).

What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession often?

There’s a weird idea in the writing community that if you don’t study creative writing at university you’re not taking it seriously, which is not only a heinously privileged perspective but also one that seems anomalous compared to other art forms. So many directors, actors, musicians, painters etc. are self-taught or learn from a mentor or take private courses and I think for many writers this can work as well. If you want to study creative writing at university, that’s fine and it might be great for you,but I definitely don’t think it’s a necessity. In fact, David Foster Wallace (himself a creative writing teacher) once pointed out that some MFA programs churn out students whose writing is impossibly pristine, complex, and elegant, while also being utterly indistinguishable and thoroughly forgettable.

In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to (distractions, invitations, etc.)?

I’m still not great at saying no, in general. I think being a curious person is an important quality for a writer, or any human. However, I have gotten better at saying, “I’m really interested, but maybe give me a month to wrap up this other project I’m working on,” and that’s been a really helpful improvement. Doesn’t always work out though. The other week I went straight from a conference in Melbourne to the launch party for Six Cold Feet season 2 on a Thursday, then the theatre premiere of a dance show I wrote some poetry for the following night. I am now actually dead from exhaustion and it is my ghost writing this.

What marketing tactics should authors avoid?

Branding should apply to two things; products and cattle, but apparently people can now have ‘personal brands’ and corporations can have the same legal rights as a person. You’re a writer, you’re telling stories, not making bespoke booties for chihuahuas. Make art, not book-shaped pre-landfill.

What new realizations and/or approaches have helped you achieve your goals?

I try and have at least two projects going at any one time, I work intensively on one and then when I start to get bored and/or overwhelmed, I flick straight to the other. The grass always looks greener on the other side, and this way I’m jumping from one patch of very green grass to another. Instead of moving between writing and procrastination, I move between two types of writing.

When you feel overwhelmed or have lost your focus temporarily, what do you do?

There’s a little reservoir up in the mountains about fifteen minutes drive from my house. I like to go out there and stare at the water until one of our famously bloodthirsty Australian birds attempts to swoop me and peck out my eyeballs. The transition from serenity to extreme adrenaline is very stimulating.

Any other tips?

Be part of your community. Writing can be a very hermetic practice, which is fine at times, but it’s important to go to people’s readings, buy their books, write reviews, share recommendations, and just be nice to people. I know that it sounds obvious to remind people just be generally friendly and kind to each other, but you’d be surprised how many writers can’t manage this basic benchmark of human interaction and end up burning bridges before they’ve even been built.

________

Enjoyed this Q&A? Want to discuss in more depth? Join Community Writers. You'll get access to 100+ exclusive writing tips. Q&As with successful authors, an exclusive ebook on building an audience and much more. Sign-up for free as a community writer here

source https://www.thecommunitywriter.com/blog/josh-donellan

#Writing WriteMotivation WritingAdvice

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austinpanda · 4 years

Text

Dad Letter 122919

29 December, 2019

Dear Dad--

Hello and Merry (late) Christmas and Happy (early) New Year! I had a very good Christmas. Granted, I judge it to be “very good” based on the amount of stuff I received, but Zach liked his presents, and we had some good food, and had a very good time eating dinner at Josh’s place with his family. His family are a bunch of adorable sweet pot-heads! His dad likes ice fishing, deer hunting, and growing weed! God, I love being in New England. Everything’s covered with snow pretty much all the time, our cars are filthy most of the time, and about half the people here have wonderfully strange yankee accents. Pepperidge fahm Remembahs!

I received nice copies of three different movies made by a somewhat obscure Soviet-era Russian director named Tarkovsky! I also received a 10-pack of little cut crystal ball thingies which I put in my bedroom windows. They fill the bedroom with little rainbows! I’ll include some pictures. I also got a book of the complete collected poetry of Wallace Stevens. I knew he was an old American guy (from birth, he was an old American guy) who was an executive for an insurance company, then BAM he gets the 1955 Pulitzer for poetry. He must have been very smart, because when I read his poems, I have NO idea what they mean. I have to read them, then re-read them, then read articles on the internet explaining them, and eventually I gain a rudimentary understanding of them. But I enjoy the poems throughout the process. He did some really nifty shit with language. Read ‘The Emperor of Ice Cream,’ I remember it was quoted in one of Robert Parker’s Spenser novels.

The last of the Star Wars movies (well, kinda) has just come out! When we originally saw Star Wars in 1977, it didn’t say it was episode 4, but just about every copy of Star Wars that you see now has been updated to call it Chapter IV - A New Hope. That was supposed to be the start of a trilogy of episodes 4, 5, and 6. Then, eventually, they’d make episodes 1, 2, and 3. (They did that! It had Jar Jar Binks! It was really, really, really bad.) and now they’ve finally made the last of episodes 7, 8, and 9. I watched this new last movie! It was okay! It will affect me about one millionth as much as the first one did when I was 8 and Star Wars first came out. Now it’s just another headache-inducing amalgam of computer generated imagery. But with good music!

What else is happening here? Yesterday was our sort of “Christmas Correction Day.” One gift I bought Zach didn’t work, and has to be returned by mail. One of the things he got me didn’t work, and that one also has to be exchanged by mail. And one of the belt loops on my new bathrobe came off, so I sewed it back on. I don’t know how to make clothes, but I’m pretty handing mending stuff with a needle and thread.

Today is shaping up nicely! I got a new DVD player that plays DVDs, plus the next generation, the BluRays, and the next generation after that, the 4K discs. Since I now have a nice enough DVD player, I can buy my first movie in 4K and watch it on my TV at home. I am prepared to be amazed. If BluRay was supposed to make DVDs look like shit (and, to an extent, they do) then 4K was meant to make BluRay discs look like shit, which seems impossible. I mean, we’re approaching (and surpassing) the point at which something is so sharply detailed, that making it any MORE high definition would simply not be recognizable to the human eye. We’ve already achieved something that’s as sharply defined as anything you can see with the naked eye. But that doesn’t stop the 4K folks from touting them as a colossal step forward in visual whatever. I’ll let you know if it’s true, since I’m buying my first 4K Movie today.

That’s today’s plan, then. We already did one round of errands, Now I have some house chores to do, then we’ll go to our local used book, music, movie, and video game store, called The Bull Moose, and I’ll get a used 4K copy of...I don’t know what. Something that takes advantage of that 4K, so not Anatomy of a Murder, obviously. Something more like Midway! Suddenly I wish Midway were out on video so I could get a nice high-def copy of it. No worries, though. It’ll be available before long.

I keep watching Midway! I really like the way our codebreakers worked with the military to both (a) be prepared for the attack, and (b) not let the Japanese know that we knew the attack was coming. I also like the famous last words, like, “I lost a lot of friends at Pearl Harbor, so how ‘bout you go fuck ya-selves?” And I really like the fact that, when the Japanese attack on Midway started, we already knew where the Japanese carriers were, and started sending bombers to attack them. The part I find really interesting was that most of the bombing attacks didn’t hit anything, and we lost a lot of planes, but it was still crucial in helping us win, because the Japanese couldn’t launch or land airplanes while they were doing evasive maneuvers to avoid bombs and torpedoes.

In that sense, it didn’t matter that our planes spent so much time NOT hitting the Japanese carriers. All that mattered was that we were eating up what was, to the Japanese, a very crucial chunk of time, early in the battle. Then, when we were able to land a few bombs, we knocked out all four Japanese carriers in fairly short order. Fascinating shit!

I’ll have more to talk about next week! I hope you two are staying warm and staying safe. Lots of love to you at the new year!

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limejuicer1862 · 5 years

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Wombwell Rainbow Interviews

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger.

The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

Michael Prihoda

is a poet and editor, born and living in the Midwest. He has published two chapbooks and eight full-length collections of poetry, with another forthcoming in 2019. He has a blog to share his typewriter poetry. A full list of his creative publications appears here publications

He is the founding/managing editor of After the Pause (an online literary journal of experimental poetry, fiction, and artwork) as well as its small press imprint a…p press. In addition, he runs the After the Pause Review of Books.

He would love to hear from you:

You can find him elsewhere at:

Twitter: @michaelprihoda

Facebook: facebook.com/michaelprihoda

The Interview

1. When and why did you start writing poetry?

I started writing poetry in college but I began writing fiction well before that while I was in high school. I think I began as a means of self-discovery, of gripping and coming-to-terms with who I was and who I wanted to be and how I saw the world. It was therapy and self-discovery. Now, I see poetry as a vehicle of philosophy, an avenue through which to draw back a curtain to show an audience only things language can display and explore. For all that the world sways digital, there’s magic in paper pages, in what remains possible through the agglutination of words and phrases in both physical and metaphysical ways.

2. Who introduced you to poetry?

Literature was baked into my childhood. My earliest memories are of learning to read, specifically the first book I ever read solo: See the Yak Yak. I loved books of all kinds through school, was more of a book locust than just a book worm, and I believe what truly cemented the power of books in me at a young age was being read to by both my parents, not just as a toddler, but probably up until middle school. I would sit on the floor and play with Lego or do a puzzle and my parents would read classics like Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, The Gammage Cup, The Chronicles of Narnia. While my tastes have danced through different genres as I’ve grown up and been exposed to more and had a variety of adult experiences, I’ve remained obsessed with literature and read anything I can get my hands on that sparks that special something inside the literary chunk of my brain.

3. How aware are and were you of the dominating presence of older poets traditional and contemporary?

Aware, but not willing to let that detract from my passion to pursue poetry. I also think that is starting to change. Poetry is being fully embraced by younger generations and I’ve seen poets achieve remarkable levels of success and exposure in their 20s and 30s. Poetry in America isn’t stuffy, archaic, and dying with some last cohort of old white American men who were renowned for their 20th century contributions. Poetry feels incredibly diverse and exciting and I think youth are driving the movement.

4. What is your daily writing routine?

I have honestly never kept a regular routine for the actual writing I do. Writing has always been contained to my spare time as I have a full-time job that is separate from my creative pursuits. I write sporadically, often in bursts, and will sometimes go weeks without writing a thing that is creatively productive. However, I have oriented myself toward the world in such a way as to always be a consumer and processer of information and literature. I see the potentiality for poems and stories everywhere and I make an effort to jot down ideas or phrases that I believe might grow into something more. My writing brain is always on, whether or not I do any actual creative writing in a day.

5. What motivates you to write?

I’m motivated by my experiences. I feel the constant urge to create based on what I see in the world around me and my emotional response to it. Sometimes that’s in the form of very short poetry, sometimes it becomes longer stories but I feel that the connective thread tying all my work together is a disorientation that I feel and see in the world around me between what this life is supposed to be or could be and what this wreckage ends up being for so many of us. There’s a line in one of Jeff Vandermeer’s books that runs through my head almost daily that (apologies to Jeff if this isn’t exact), “We are vessels filled with light. Broken vessels, broken light. But vessels nonetheless.” I’m another broken vessel filled with my own kind of broken light, hoping that I might share that light with people out there for the moments their light feels weak.

6. How do the writers you read when you were young influence you today?

What always catches my attention most, and what always has since I was very young, is when an author is able to craft a compelling world, one that could only come from that person’s brain. Or if in poetry or realist fiction, I look for a compelling voice, something that sounds and feels unique, lives and breathes on its own terms and is unapologetic about doing things differently or taking risks in the approach and execution. Of course I am influenced by myriad writers who have come before me, as are all authors, but the great ones take their influences and produce some new tonic. I would hardly call myself a great writer, but that is what I try to do with my poetry and my fiction, having attempted to distill and absorb as much as I can from the writers I most admire: bloom something into existence that could not have come from anyone but myself.

6.1. Which older writers “spark that special something inside the literary chunk of (your) brain.”?

Non-exhaustive yet comprehensive of who I think of as particularly special: Don DeLillo, Kurt Vonnegut, David Foster Wallace, Jeff Vandermeer, Lydia Davis, Kelly Link, Rae Armantrout, Claudia Rankine.

6.2. Why are they special?

Each brings something unique to the literary landscape and is wholly an individual stylist. DeLillo is perhaps the most concise writer I’ve ever encountered, not necessarily in brevity of writing, but in the meaningful usage of sentences. Each feels weighty and philosophical. Vonnegut is the original fabulist, speculative before that became a genre. Foster Wallace practically invented a new dictionary to write Infinite Jest and it is some of the most compelling prose I’ve ever seen. Vandermeer is inventive and able to morph his style into myriad genres while never losing his flair for the strange and unfamiliar. Davis is perhaps the best writer of realist short fiction, pared back and brimming with constrained emotion. Link is an incredible modern fabulist, marrying wild concepts with deeply human ambitions and themes. Armantrout’s poetry is so sparse yet packed to exploding with meaning and societal references. And Rankine is a standard-bearer in creating literature that strives to impact the racial conversation our country needs to have.

7. Why do you write, as opposed to doing anything else?

Writing feels like an activity that is necessary for my mind to feel as if I’m living a valuable life and contributing in the ways that I have been equipped to contribute to the world. Similar to spending time with my favorite people or going to work at the education nonprofit where I spend my days, it is a life-giving thing. I’ve done plenty of things in life that ended up not feeling useful or valuable. But I’ve never sat down to write and gotten up again without thinking I had just done something deeply meaningful and valuable, whether or not what I wrote in that instance ever sees the light of day.

8. What would you say to someone who asked you “How do you become a writer?”

I believe becoming a writer begins with becoming a serious, avid reader. You learn so much about the writing craft through reading, and here I don’t just mean serious, classical literature. Anything applies. But I don’t think anyone can call themselves a writer unless they’ve put in the legwork being a reader. Secondly, you have to be okay with failing and here I don’t even mean rejection. Of course that will come. But rejection isn’t even close to the first obstacle writers will face. You have to be okay with writing things that are pure trash, that just aren’t good, that are so deeply flawed it would be embarrassing to show them to anyone else. The quickest way to become a good writer is to practice the art of writing and to become good will require writing a lot of bad along the way. I have an untold number of stories, poems, and novels that are bad and will never be published and will never to be shown to another soul but I had to write them in order to hone my craft, my voice, my style, to understand the intricacies of writing and the process that I would have to use to create something meaningful and valuable and, ultimately, publishable.

9. Tell me about the writing projects you have on at the moment.

The major project I’m working on is a manuscript of poems that has been a result of reading Guantanamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who was unfairly detained for over a decade and never charged with a crime. His diary is gripping and became the inspiration for a series of poems that also owe a debt of gratitude to the books The New Jim Crow and The History of White People. The poems grapple with how white supremacy has infiltrated everything about the United States and the experience of living and working in this country and how our country has abused and continues to abuse its power, especially against minorities. In the case of Mohamedou, the long arm of the United States stretched into Africa to take him from his homeland, away from his family, with no actual basis. As if the way my country persecutes some of its own citizens wasn’t enough. I often find injustice a trigger for my poems and this project has been an experience in attempting to find a foothold on the side of human dignity as I desire and work toward a world of actual equity.

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews: Michael Prihoda Wombwell Rainbow Interviews I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me.

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bisoroblog · 6 years

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How Struggling Readers Benefit When Teachers Receive Quality Coaching

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.

BRONX, N.Y. — The end of third grade is a turning point for young readers; it’s where skilled readers take off, finally able to competently read a variety of texts, and struggling readers teeter off track, often unable to ever catch up. This crucial juncture, and its far-reaching implications for those who don’t meet the mark, is why some educators are focusing their literacy efforts on the school years that come before third grade — hoping through innovation to offset what could be a terrible and lasting deficit in children’s reading skills.

Last year, in tests of the nation’s public school fourth graders, just 23 percent of Hispanic children and 20 percent of African-American children scored ‘proficient’ in reading. Among low-income students in general, just 22 percent of fourth-graders were proficient readers. The repercussions of not learning to read are magnified for poor children: Research shows that low-income children who cannot read at grade level by third grade are six times more likely to become high school dropouts.

Kindergarten teacher Rosy Taveras, pictured left, receives feedback from reading coach, Xiania Foster. (Sarah Gonser for The Hechinger Report)

“In this country, we have the ability to get 90 to 95 percent of kids reading successfully — if only we’d implement scientifically based methods,” said Kate Walsh, president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, a think tank that advocates tougher teacher evaluation. “Yet we routinely only prepare between 60 and 70 percent of kids to be successful readers.” Teacher-prep programs, she added, bear a large part of the responsibility here: Many teachers-in-training receive just one course in how to teach reading — a teaching task which experts agree is extremely complex — before heading into the classroom. “It’s a source of deep frustration for a lot of people, including myself, that we fail to adequately prepare teachers to teach reading,” Walsh said. “It’s simply malpractice.”

Children do not come wired to learn how to read: It is an acquired skill. A teacher must be able to synthesize a deep well of research, master a variety of instructional methods and then be able to deploy this knowledge daily to meet each child at his or her own reading ability level.

At P.S. 218 in the Bronx, a high-poverty public bilingual school where nearly 90 percent of the students are Hispanic and 32 percent are English language learners, early-grade teachers have spent the last three years learning how to do a better job of teaching students to read — and they are seeing results.

On a recent spring day, 16 kindergarteners, some sitting on small chairs, others cross-legged on foam mats on the floor, trained their eyes on a large yellow easel pad. Miss T., known outside the classroom as Rosy Taveras, tapped a hand pointer below each word on the pad as, together, they read aloud:

“My New Pet I wanted a new pet. A pet that could fly. So I got out a net and chased a butterfly.”

Taveras showed flashcards with the words “OUT” and “SO” spelled in large block letters.

“Gimme an O, gimme a U, gimme a T! What’s that spell?” she asked, cheerleader-style.

“OUT!” yelled her students.

“Take a look at these cards,” Taveras said. “Now turn to your neighbor and ask: ‘How did you know it was ‘HOW’ or ‘SO’?’”

The students mumbled to each other for several seconds.

“Now I need a friend to find ‘SO’ and ‘OUT’ in the poem,” Taveras said. Small hands shot up. “Ephraim, you’re up.”

Children do not come wired to learn how to read; it is an acquired skill. (Sarah Gonser for The Hechinger Report )

This is shared reading, a finely-tuned teaching practice that offers Taveras the opportunity to model fluent and expressive reading while her students join in. If the practice is done well, kids will feel like successful readers, and be eager to learn more. Although Taveras is the teacher in charge, she is closely monitored by reading coach Xiania Foster, who provides feedback after each chunk of the daily reading lesson.

Taveras has been a teacher for four years, all of them at P.S. 218. “When I went to college [to study teaching], they tell you: ‘Here, this is the lesson plan for reading, for math, etc.,’ but once you get to the classroom, you realize there’s no way this is going to cover everything,” she said. “You can’t just go black and white. You have to differentiate for each student, and always keep in your mind: what movement can I do for the students who don’t know the language, what visuals can I bring so they have a better understanding of the lesson? These are not things they teach you in college.”

Foster, Taveras’ instructional coach, has been coming to P.S. 218 for three years, part of a partnership between the school and Early Reading Matters (ERM), a teacher-training program. ERM focuses on showing public school teachers who work in New York City’s high-poverty schools how to skillfully get students in the early grades to read at grade level. The program is currently working in 32 schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan, with plans to expand to 62 schools by 2021. So far, results are promising. Averaged across 15 schools during the 2016-17 school year, the nonprofit reports an approximately 11 percent boost in the number of students reading at grade level — from 33 percent reading at grade level in the fall, to 44 percent by the beginning of summer. The figures do not include students who missed more than 28 days of class each year.

Rosy Taveras, a kindergarten teacher at P.S. 218 in the Bronx, models fluent and expressive reading. (Sarah Gonser for The Hechinger Report )

The program is research-based, said Lynette Guastaferro, chief executive officer of ERM’s parent company, Teaching Matters. If teachers hope to create eager readers, especially among kids who struggle to learn the skill, their chances of success will be far greater if key principals of balanced literacy become second nature, an essential part of their teaching practice. These techniques include how to create strong, guided reading instruction, how to select and appropriately use high-quality texts and how to assess each child’s reading level to better target guided and independent reading.

When Sergio Cáceres became principal of P.S. 218 four years ago, he decided to focus on the school’s youngest students. “If you want to have an impact in the later grades, you need to start with K to 2,” he said. “That’s the foundation of learning.”

After an initial assessment, he determined that early reading instruction was one of the school’s glaring weaknesses. “We have very good teachers but they did not know how to teach reading,” Cáceres said.

In 2014, Cáceres’ first year at the school, just 19 percent of the students tested as proficient on the statewide English Language Arts (ELA) test, compared to 31 percent statewide. “Early literacy is difficult to teach well, especially when it comes to teaching students who are struggling readers, and unfortunately, it’s a skill teachers don’t come prepared with,” said the principal. “Especially so for kindergarten through second grade.”

Without high-quality and targeted support, research shows, many teachers decide to quit. The rate at which teachers leave the profession — generally about 8 percent nationwide — is 50 percent higher at high-poverty schools and 70 percent higher in schools serving primarily students of color. At P.S. 218, almost 40 percent of teachers have less than three years’ teaching experience.

After an initial assessment four years ago, P.S. 218 principal Sergio Cáceres, pictured in the school’s new leveled-books collection, determined that early reading instruction was one of the school’s glaring weaknesses. (Sarah Gonser for The Hechinger Report)

When the district superintendent asked P.S. 218 to consider implementing the ERM teaching model, Cáceres didn’t hesitate, even though it would clearly mean extra hours and effort for Cáceres and his already overworked teachers. He appreciated ERM’s research-based approach to teaching reading and he was also swayed by the financials: Normally, hiring a reading coach would cost approximately $1,250 per day, but ERM training and three years of in-school coaching won’t cost the school a penny; it is all funded by grants. In addition to the ERM training, the school received a Universal Literacy Coach, part of New York City’s Universal Literacy Initiative, a citywide effort to get 100 percent of all second-graders reading at grade level by 2026. “So we worked to align Early Reading Matters with the U.Lit coach and, wow, what a powerful combination,” said Cáceres. “It was very rigorous.”

Back in Taveras’ classroom, Foster, the reading coach, checked in with the teacher. “Your timing: It’s getting much better,” Foster said quietly. Taveras nodded, her eyes scanning the room. Her students were split into small groups, each working at prepared stations where they reinforced their reading skills by playing with objects like play dough to shape out letters, multicolored Unifix cubes to form short words, and a word-based memory game on the rug. “We talked about shortening your lesson to 15 minutes and you nailed it,” said Foster.

Taveras headed to her desk where five children were waiting to do small group work. “Pull out your flashcards with the words ‘IS’ and ‘MY’,” she instructed the group. Foster pulled up a chair to observe. The extra attention helps children deepen their grasp of specific letters and sounds.

As one of ERM’s 10 coaches, Foster works in five schools, each at a different stage in its three-year relationship with the program. After an intensive multi-day training session for teachers and principals at ERM’s headquarters, schools receive 30 days of coaching over the first two years. That number decreases to 15 days in the third year. (P.S. 218 purchased another 15 days this year to provide reading instruction training for new hires and to continue strengthening the skills of existing teachers.)

Foster works individually with teachers to develop targeted teaching strategies, help create reading lessons, and train teachers and administrators to assess and monitor growth, of both students and teachers. She often starts with a school’s lead teachers — frequently modeling teaching skills and techniques in the classroom — who then share lessons learned with other teachers in the grade. “Probably the hardest part of my job is changing mindset, because the kids can do a lot, but sometimes teachers and administrators aren’t aware of how much kids — even struggling students — can accomplish.” said Foster, “So part of my work is encouraging teachers to say, okay, I’m going to read this text, even though it’s hard, and the kids can grapple with it.”

Because reading proficiency has such a huge impact on later learning, the challenging task of teaching young children to read must be “job one for elementary teachers,” according to a 2016 report by the National Council on Teacher Quality. Yet just 39 percent of the nation’s 820 teacher-prep programs cover the essential components of effective early reading instruction. “Poor teacher prep for reading has been going on a long time,” said Cáceres, the principal at P.S. 218. “Yet I haven’t met a teacher who can’t master it. But the schools that perform well, they all have high-level coaches. After that, success depends on two things: the quality of the coaching and how open a teacher is to receiving professional input.”

This story about early reading instruction is part of a series about innovative practices in the core subjects in the early grades. Read about math, science and social studies. It was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.

How Struggling Readers Benefit When Teachers Receive Quality Coaching published first on https://dlbusinessnow.tumblr.com/

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perfectzablog · 6 years

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How Struggling Readers Benefit When Teachers Receive Quality Coaching

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.

Kindergarten teacher Rosy Taveras, pictured left, receives feedback from reading coach, Xiania Foster. (Sarah Gonser for The Hechinger Report)

“My New Pet I wanted a new pet. A pet that could fly. So I got out a net and chased a butterfly.”

Taveras showed flashcards with the words “OUT” and “SO” spelled in large block letters.

“Gimme an O, gimme a U, gimme a T! What’s that spell?” she asked, cheerleader-style.

“OUT!” yelled her students.

“Take a look at these cards,” Taveras said. “Now turn to your neighbor and ask: ‘How did you know it was ‘HOW’ or ‘SO’?’”

The students mumbled to each other for several seconds.

“Now I need a friend to find ‘SO’ and ‘OUT’ in the poem,” Taveras said. Small hands shot up. “Ephraim, you’re up.”

Children do not come wired to learn how to read; it is an acquired skill. (Sarah Gonser for The Hechinger Report )

Rosy Taveras, a kindergarten teacher at P.S. 218 in the Bronx, models fluent and expressive reading. (Sarah Gonser for The Hechinger Report )

How Struggling Readers Benefit When Teachers Receive Quality Coaching published first on https://greatpricecourse.tumblr.com/

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blamingtim · 6 years

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The 2017 Reading list

2017 marked my first year back into reading regularly. It’s been quite a while since I’ve had time to read but now that I’m commuting 2 hours a day on the train that’s definitely changed.

So without further ado, here’s the books I read this year with a short synopsis.

Principica Discordia * or * How I found Goddess And What I did To Her When I Found Her by Malaclypse The Younger

- Finished May 11th

An interesting collection of short letters, instructions, and dissertations that construct a manual on how to be part of a very disconnected religion of sorts. Heavily 60’s influenced and lots of nerdy jokes and plays on words. Has some interesting philosophical views, but nothing worth putting too much thought into.

Theogony, Works and Days by Hesiod

- Finished May 24th

Translation and academic notes about Hesiod, one of the oldest known greek poets and two of his poems. Theogony details creation and gives us the parental structure of the gods. Works and Days is basically a Greek self-help poem about the best way to raise crops, fish, and be a good husband.

On Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins

- Finished June 14th

Jeff Hawkins created the Palm PDA and wrote a fascinating book about how the brain works and what intelligence actually is. There is a great amount of detail in how the cortex uses the sensory regions to recognize small patterns and pass those patterns as chunks higher up, so on and so forth. Apparently the Hippocampus sits atop the structure. It gets a little repetitive, but a great way to understand how a brain thinks and what intelligence and creativity is.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

- Finished August 25th

Ayn Rand writes an epic tale involving dozens of characters and multiple industries. The book is tightly written around her economic principle of objectivism which she portrays in multiple ways attempting to show it in many different uses and lights. Unfortunately this makes the story pretty tedious as many characters will rail for pages and pages without pause in a preachy and awful manner. There’s quite a lot of good thought provoking ideas in objectivism, but by the end I was routing for all her champions to die. This book also does a good job of showing how awful society can be, especially when the least qualified gain the most control.

Ubik by Phillip K. Dick

- Finished October 29th

Philip K. Dick has an amazing ability to describe strange and difficult to comprehend worlds. In Ubik, which takes place in the way distant future of 1992 (making me feel old) the world is completely different. Death isn’t the end as people can be put into ‘half-life’ and can still commune with the living via a radio / telephone like device. The story is built around the idea of two competing companies, which are more than willing to kill the employees of each other as they deal in espionage / counter-espionage… but this is really just a back drop. The main characters almost immediately are put into a perilous situation that has you guessing if what they are experiencing is real, or if they all died and are in this ‘half-life’ state described immediately in the book. Once I finished the book, which ends with a head-scratcher ending, I diagramed and outlined the story proving that the book has too many contradictions for the reader to come up with a full understanding of what they just read. Enjoyable book, but useless due to the contradictions.

Utopia By Sir Thomas More

- Finished November 5th

Sir Thomas More outlines a society undiscovered by the Europeans, told from the point of view from a scholarly traveller named Raphael whom More meets as the story opens. From what I can gather, this was a common story telling device in the 1400s and was not meant to be deceptive. The Utopian society is described in exacting detail, from how they worship their religions to their rituals for war, death, education, and agriculture. It’s a very communal society with all of its cities built using the exact same template. Housing and education are paid for by the state, and everyone changes houses every 10 years. Gold is despised and worn by the slaves as punishment. It’s very strange and while entertaining, there is no way a society could run as described. I read this book because after finishing Atlas Shrugged I needed a point of view in direct contrast.

Daemon by Daniel Suarez

- Finished December 25th

My friend Marty gave me this book and its sequel a couple of years ago. I felt that I needed to read it to honor that gift. Daemon was written in the early 2000s and is a technological thriller, so that made reading it in 2017 feel somewhat dated, but still enjoyable. It’s fiction that would be in line with NCIS or some other television program for older Americans. Daemon begins with the death of a genius game developer who died in old age from cancer. A series of computer programs living on the internet have been scraping headlines for news of his death and sets in motion a series of killings, recruitments, and other extraordinary events to carry out the chaotic wishes of the dead game developer. Multiple government agencies and a few choices characters get wrapped up in trying to outwit and destroy the daemon. It crosses from science fiction to science fantasy about half way through, but it is still a fun read. Of course it’s a cliffhanger, so the sequel is next on my list.

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So there we go. Only 7 books this year, but seeing that I started in April I think that’s pretty ok. Not to mention a couple of those books were over a thousand pages and I only get to read when I’m on the train.

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oliverphisher · 4 years

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Josh Donellan

What are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?

1. I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy as kid and I have a distinct memory of thinking ‘Well, that’s it for me. I want to be a writer. Why the hell would you do anything else?’

What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)?

How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?

Are there any quotes you think of often or live your life by?

What is one of the best investment in a writing resource you’ve ever made?

What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love?

In the last five years, what new belief, behaviour, or habit has most improved your life?

What advice would you give to a smart, driven aspiring author? What advice should they ignore?

What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession often?

In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to (distractions, invitations, etc.)?

What marketing tactics should authors avoid?

What new realizations and/or approaches have helped you achieve your goals?

When you feel overwhelmed or have lost your focus temporarily, what do you do?

Any other tips?

________

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