I was on one of the blogs I like to visit,
A Fondness for Reading, and I saw that Robin had a book on her "What I'm Reading Now" list that's on my night table. It's Francine Prose's book,
Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them. I'm not that far in, but I love it already. I love all that Prose says about close reading. Her stories about becoming a book lover in childhood are just like my childhood memories of reading. She says:
"Not long ago, a friend told me that her students had complained that reading masterpieces made them feel stupid. But I've always found that the better the book I'm reading, the smarter I feel, or, at least, the more able I am to imagine that I might, someday,
become smarter."
I just love her voice.
Also on
A Fondness for Reading was a lovely photo of spring flowers, which inspired me to take one in my backyard, of my crazy wisteria. Here it is.
Posts
3 comments:
Gentle Reader, I'm delighted that you enjoy my blog and honored that you mentioned it as you talk about the book we are both reading! Francine Prose has some wonderful ideas and suggestions, and I'm really enjoying her book. Also, your wisteria is beautiful!
Thank you, Robin! I love your blog, and I'm really enjoying Francine Prose, too. I also enjoyed your grandmother's poem on your post! And by the way, my wisteria is out of control!!
It was a pleasure to read this book. Francine Prose examines dozens of works by authors ranging from Chekhov to Jane Austen to Elmore Leonard. Organized into sections on Words, Sentences, Paragraphs, Narration, Character, Dialogue, Details and Gesture, she gives us the tools so we can look under the hood at art and discover what makes great literature great.
Post a Comment