tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post790013409940098304..comments2024-03-08T04:06:53.808-06:00Comments on The New Dork Review of Books: A Writer is a Writer, Whether Fiction or NonGreg Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08122230426442946518noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-24471600897488529552010-01-14T10:31:10.614-06:002010-01-14T10:31:10.614-06:00i am not an avid reader (2 young kids, so bon appe...i am not an avid reader (2 young kids, so bon appetit is my stand-by) but whenever chabon writes something i read it & was excited by this book (manhood) for the simple reason that it was by him...i am 1/3 through it and am so happy that my wife put this in my stocking...it is relevant, and though true and autobiographical, it reads as does his fiction...fluid & descriptive, rich and satisfying...only now, it has the added advantage of being a helpful resource for parenting & living...not to say that i will be following his lead, but it brings things to my attention that i should consider...The Wilderness of Childhood is particularly poignantbryan pagehttp://bryanpagecomposer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-51469950922874803162009-12-07T05:35:53.348-06:002009-12-07T05:35:53.348-06:00Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver w...Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver was an excellent non-fiction book by a writer that I consider to be primarily a novelist. (I know she has published at least one book of essays, but I haven't read it yet).Marissanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-81208213850396944092009-11-13T16:17:34.760-06:002009-11-13T16:17:34.760-06:00Yet another vote for King's "On Writing&q...Yet another vote for King's "On Writing". A very worthy read! Love your meeting with Foer and comparing the event to an 'Nsynch concert. I wonder how many of those women had actually read (and I mean truly read) his books?christinehttp://booktumbling.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-20896016987959760282009-11-13T09:14:29.360-06:002009-11-13T09:14:29.360-06:00@Lisa - Thanks for following! I read it out of she...@Lisa - Thanks for following! I read it out of sheer curiousity, also. The review was fun to write, actually - almost cathartic at some level! ;)Greg Zimmermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08122230426442946518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-52224571087509501642009-11-13T08:54:47.889-06:002009-11-13T08:54:47.889-06:00Hey Greg! I JUST became a follower of your blog, ...Hey Greg! I JUST became a follower of your blog, I found you thru my Diana Gabaldon contest! Thanks for stopping by! I just read your review on "The Lost Symbol" and I just can't read it. I too think Brown is a COMPLETELY hacky writer. Blah. But must admit I am curious about this one. <br /><br />Have a great day!Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05703297010445873719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-23381890836154168092009-11-11T15:21:51.272-06:002009-11-11T15:21:51.272-06:00On Writing is in my TBR queue right now but I am r...On Writing is in my TBR queue right now but I am reading Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing and so far it's great! <br /><br />I don't think any of my other favorite writers have crossed into the nonfiction world but I think if they did, I would give the books a chance for sure. Especially if they were on subjects that I find interesting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-46705268660898678742009-11-10T09:36:27.626-06:002009-11-10T09:36:27.626-06:00@kathmeister and brizmus: Thanks for your thoughtf...@kathmeister and brizmus: Thanks for your thoughtful comments! Of course, you're both right - if the author is good, s/he's good. Good writing is good writing. Good storytelling is good storytelling. And I should work even hard to get over my silly nonfiction-by-fiction-writer hangup!Greg Zimmermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08122230426442946518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-88647072504588689812009-11-10T04:24:54.930-06:002009-11-10T04:24:54.930-06:00I feel like it doesn't really happen all that ...I feel like it doesn't really happen all that often, that fiction authors I love decide to take the jump into non-fiction writing. Although the few times that it has happened, I have been pleasantly surprised. Haruki Murikami is one of my favorite authors, and he has two non-fiction. They're of course different from his fiction, but his writing style is still there; I can still see him in the writing. And as such, I ended up loving them both.<br />I also thoroughly enjoyed Stephen King's "On Writing," as did the others.<br />I've never read Cabon, though the Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is slowly moving it's way to the top of my tbr pile.<br />As for Jonathan Safran Foer, I adore him (N.B. I had never actually seen a picture of him until this post; I guess he is kinda cute), and yet I had NO IDEA that he had taken the plunge into non-fiction. I love memoirs, though, and I'm a vegan, so now that I do know about it, I'm extremely excited.<br /><br />I guess my thoughts on the matter are thus this: if the author is GOOD, and there is a story to tell, then it doesn't really matter what they're writing, be the story fiction, poem, non-fiction, or whatever else.brizmushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18163313230550265190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-10902223511503797062009-11-10T00:08:55.413-06:002009-11-10T00:08:55.413-06:00I'm with Mummazappa, King's "On Writi...I'm with Mummazappa, King's "On Writing" was a really good read, especially for those of us who harbour an aspiration to be a write one of these days. I also loved Eat, Pray, Love as did Mary (hey Mary, have you heard she's releasing a new book next year about marriage? Google "Committed" if you haven't already!)<br /><br />Anyway....<br /><br />I remember getting into a heated debate in one of my lit classes about a version of this topic once. Someone put forward that a poet should stick to poetry and a novelist to fiction - I think writers like Sylvia Plath were being discussed. WHY?! was my main response - why box them in and put boundaries around their creativity? A writer is a writer - someone who puts words down on paper in an interesting way about interesting things. The form seems immaterial to me. <br /><br />Having said that I freely admit it throws me when a well-known author breaks form unexpectedly!<br /><br />Just my 2 cents worth :)Kathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16731173186767835989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-42593986191619011992009-11-09T23:12:40.628-06:002009-11-09T23:12:40.628-06:00@mummazappa - I've heard nothing but great thi...@mummazappa - I've heard nothing but great things about King's 'On Writing' and have been meaning to check it out for years. I also enjoy finding out the backstory on books, and learning about writers' routines. Thanks for the comment!Greg Zimmermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08122230426442946518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-69998857645778250482009-11-09T19:55:40.876-06:002009-11-09T19:55:40.876-06:00stephen king is probably my favourite writer, i...stephen king is probably my favourite writer, i've got nearly all his books on my shelf. its got more to do with a sentimental connection rather than thinking he's a literary genius (salem's lot was the first book i ever bought myself with my own money earned from my first part-time job as a teenager, i think i was 14yrs old) and i really enjoyed his book 'on writing'. i'm a real sucker for wanting to know about the back story to books, what inspired the author etc, and sk is always good for that! <br /><br />ps i loved your side note about froer - just goes to show all geniuses are a tad nuts (at least that's my excuse :-))Danielle Zappavignahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10493099952285137131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-37077082913694575582009-11-09T15:46:10.923-06:002009-11-09T15:46:10.923-06:00I can't remember the last non-fiction book I r...I can't remember the last non-fiction book I read. No wait, it was Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I tend to stay on an all junk food fiction diet. I need to read something a bit more stimulating, but I just haven't been able to persuade myself to do so for quite some time.<br /><br />I will now check out those non-fiction books you recommended from this post. Why not? I haven't anything lose but a little time.MARY IN SCOTLAND https://www.blogger.com/profile/04390613561715464322noreply@blogger.com