Saturday, May 17, 2008

Reading, read, red

Just this week finished reading and it made my week more interesting and made me laugh out loud in the bath and at the breakfast table as I carried it dog eared with me around the house reading, and now I want to recomend it to everyone:
Fear of Flying - Erica Jong

Read all in a flurry on my week in Adelaide when I needed 'reading in bed' material and 'reading in the hotel bath' material and leant to me by my mum:
T is for something arother - a Kinsey Millhone mystery by Sue Grafton

Finished a while ago but don't want to really give back to the library because I really like some of pictures:
Put the Book back on the Shelf - a belle and Sebastian Anthology (graphic novel), and
A book of textile art from the early 1900's which designs that make me sigh and gasp with wonder

Kind of read one chapter of this good classic sustainability text and took it all the way to Adelaide and back in my suitcase and really think I would like to read it if only it wasn't competing with rollicking stories and good picture books:
Believing Cassandra - being an optimist in a pessimists world - Alan AtKisson

They are sitting on my desk unread from yet another library and making a little paper fortress which is stoping another pile of paper from avalanching across and spilling dramatically on the floor:
Assortment of social research text books and teribly earnest sciencey-engineering books about cleaning up soil

They have been lent to me and are waiting if I should need them for light relief but so far not started:
A Phryne Fisher Mystery and a Evanovich mystery

They have been redistribuited this week to other people who cook and eat meat:
Some old recipe books that have lovely recipes that I will never make

They are sitting on a large trestle table and being fossicked through by kids and people with small dogs:
A kazillion second hand books at the book fair outside my local library

Thursday, May 15, 2008

how to not have a regular job...

Watched "Jennifer Byrne Presents" recently, and she interviewed Peter Carey, Paul Auster, and Ian McEwan. Transcript is via this link.

What struck me is that, on top of feeling compelled to write and being good at it, they became writers to avoid being employed by someone else, and so they could control when they work and not have to work 9 to 5!

They talk about how long it took to get their first novels published, and how they view other authors.