Not literally of course, but I have to say that I've had zombies on the mind for the last couple weeks.
I can't remember what triggered it, but if I had to take a guess I would say it started when I read The Road. There are no zombies in the book, but it put me in a post-apocalyptic mood. I recently read World War Z, which I enjoyed. I asked my Librarything compatriots for suggestions along those lines and someone said I should read Cell. I hate to say it, but it was the most unsatisfying read I've had in as long as I can remember; psychic, floating, pseudo-zombies "infected" by cell phones? Not exactly what I was looking for.
A book I read shortly after it came out was Everything Is Illuminated (about an entirely different kind of apocalypse). When I met Jonathan Safran Foer he said he'd merely written a book he wanted to read. That's the best advice I've ever heard about writing.
So here's my plan. I'm going to write my own zombie story, in serial form. I'll post it here and to my website as I finish each chapter. I have no timeline and only the vaguest idea of a story. I only know that the infestation has begun and is in full swing and the first-person narrator is a journalist housed inside a concentration camp, not as punishment but for his own protection, along with a number (hundreds? thousands?) of other refugees.
Wrrrrgghh!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
More Cormac
I found this interesting link. Wes Morgan apparently walked around Knoxville taking pictures of settings from Suttree.
If you want to know with what frequency and on what page a particular word occurs, John Sepich has put together a concordance for Suttree.
If yyou're really interested in such things, you can find a concordance for each of McCarthy's novels.
Cool.
If you want to know with what frequency and on what page a particular word occurs, John Sepich has put together a concordance for Suttree.
If yyou're really interested in such things, you can find a concordance for each of McCarthy's novels.
Cool.
At Home Without The Man
It's been said of Cormac McCarthy that he is such a reclusive writer that he's not even famous for it. Well, that's all changed.
Maybe it was the Oprah Effect, or maybe the great mass of people have caught up with the writer, but it seems these days you can't step out of your house without hearing or seeing his name. I guess winning a Pulitzer, having your book picked by Oprah (or is it 'blessed' by her?), and having a recent novel turned into one of the most universally praised films in a decade will get your name out there.
With all the exposure (hell, people even know where he hangs out), there's still a lot about the man most people don't know.
The Knoxville News Sentinel has apparently been trying, unsuccessfully, to get an interview with their hometown hero for a while. Even without his input they decided to run an interesting piece, including some old photos of him and the houses he lived in.
Maybe it was the Oprah Effect, or maybe the great mass of people have caught up with the writer, but it seems these days you can't step out of your house without hearing or seeing his name. I guess winning a Pulitzer, having your book picked by Oprah (or is it 'blessed' by her?), and having a recent novel turned into one of the most universally praised films in a decade will get your name out there.
With all the exposure (hell, people even know where he hangs out), there's still a lot about the man most people don't know.
The Knoxville News Sentinel has apparently been trying, unsuccessfully, to get an interview with their hometown hero for a while. Even without his input they decided to run an interesting piece, including some old photos of him and the houses he lived in.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Top 10 of 2007
Time Magazine has released its list of the top 10 books of 2007. Sadly, I am not on it. Just as sadly I haven't read any of these books. (I'm so embarrassed.)
1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao By Junot Diaz.
2. Then We Came to the End: A Novel By Joshua Ferris.
3. A Thousand Splendid Suns By Khaled Hosseini.
4. Out Stealing Horses: A Novel By Per Petterson.
5. Tree of Smoke: A Novel By Denis Johnson.
6. House of Meetings By Martin Amis.
7. No One Belongs Here More Than You By Miranda July.
8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows By J.K. Rowling.
9. Like You'd Understand, Anyway By Jim Shepard.
10. The Post-Birthday World By Lionel Shriver.
1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao By Junot Diaz.
2. Then We Came to the End: A Novel By Joshua Ferris.
3. A Thousand Splendid Suns By Khaled Hosseini.
4. Out Stealing Horses: A Novel By Per Petterson.
5. Tree of Smoke: A Novel By Denis Johnson.
6. House of Meetings By Martin Amis.
7. No One Belongs Here More Than You By Miranda July.
8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows By J.K. Rowling.
9. Like You'd Understand, Anyway By Jim Shepard.
10. The Post-Birthday World By Lionel Shriver.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
8
Things can get a little, uh, boring at work.
Other than paying my bills (and some measure of social interaction) my job is a humongous waste of time. Sure, I get a lot of reading done during my daily 90 minute commute (which the CTA has kindly extended to two hours on occasion...you know, to allow me more time to read), but other than that, it is essentially a giant pain in my ass.
My biggest decision is usually what time to eat lunch.
But today was productive. Hell, by my usual standard today was a red-letter day. I decided I'm going to change the way I write the number eight.
I've always made my eights as two small circles, one above the other like a tiny, headless snowman. But today I decided that was too sloppy and inefficient. From now on my eights will be made with one stroke of the pen, a small, upright infinity symbol.
Who says a day at work can't be productive?
Other than paying my bills (and some measure of social interaction) my job is a humongous waste of time. Sure, I get a lot of reading done during my daily 90 minute commute (which the CTA has kindly extended to two hours on occasion...you know, to allow me more time to read), but other than that, it is essentially a giant pain in my ass.
My biggest decision is usually what time to eat lunch.
But today was productive. Hell, by my usual standard today was a red-letter day. I decided I'm going to change the way I write the number eight.
I've always made my eights as two small circles, one above the other like a tiny, headless snowman. But today I decided that was too sloppy and inefficient. From now on my eights will be made with one stroke of the pen, a small, upright infinity symbol.
Who says a day at work can't be productive?
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