e-Reading & Writing

Today I made good on my Mother's Day promise to my mom and took her to see Thor and to the bookstore.  To my surprise, she did not want a Dean Koontz, but wanted a copy of Stephen King's Under the Dome. We were at our favorite used book store, Half-Price Books.  I would have preferred to have bought her the less expensive hard cover, but she wanted the trade back edition because it was lighter and wouldn't cause her hands to go numb. I wondered if she might be better off with an e-reader. She surprised me again by saying she wanted a Kindle.

It got me thinking about the relationship between reading and writing. One of my colleagues, who is an incredible AP English teacher, always says "what you read dictates how you write." I don't disagree with this statement, but my question is whether the format we read matters.   I have found that I very rarely read any paper based books, magazines or even articles.  I have already been an Audible member for a number of years, listening to audio books on commute to work each day. Since, I got my iPad, I read almost all of magazine and scholarly articles on it. I actually think that the iPad has increased my reading because I can now read in bed without worrying about waking my wife.

I do not the think the format of the book matters. Reading is reading. My sister-law would argue with me that listening to audio books is not reading. Perhaps in its purest form it is not, but it is still connected to the ancient tradition of oral histories and storytelling. As long the reader is able to enjoy the story or the article, then the purpose has been met.

As a writer who hopes to have his novel(s) published some day, should I be bothered by the recent numbers published the Association of American Publishers that e-book market growth increased by over 200% and audio books increased by over 30%?  I don't think so. I view that as an opportunity to reach more people.  I know that some have concerns with piracy issues and I will address that further in another post. I know one thing, if my mom who has bookshelves upon bookshelves of books, is ready to transition to an e-reader, those numbers are only the beginning.

The Most Difficult Piece to Write

I actually intend for Wednesday's to be devoted to the art of writing, but I was distracted by the Spring Storms. For now, this will have to do.

I  once read somewhere,  perhaps it was King's On Writing, that the shorter the piece that one is writing, the more difficult it is to successfully complete. The smaller work requires a more tightly written, non-fat approach.  The novella is more difficult than the novel.  The short story even harder and the poem still more so.

I don't know how often this maxim is true, but it does makes sense.  I've reasoned that there is on other type of writing that seems to be more difficult: the thank you note.  Stacey and I have a friend, Sandy, who is the queen of thank you cards. She has mastered this lost art of personally handwriting a brief note expressing her thanks for even the smallest gesture.  Once, she even sent us a thank you for a thank you!

My point is we should return to a more civil age and take the time to hand write (not an email, a post or a tweet) a personal thank you to someone.  I guarantee they will be surprised and you'll make them smile.

Oh, and in the professional world, it could even land you a job.  Stacey once sent a follow up thank you after she was not offered a job.  The person who was hired didn't work out and the hiring partner remembered her thank you note and called her back in.

My 5 Favorite Books On...

Today marks the first (optional) theme related post as part of my participation in this year's Blogathon. We were asked to write about our five favorite books related to writing or the subject of our blog. Since I do not have one set subject for my blog, I have decided to write about the five books that have most influenced my writing and the subject on which I write.

1. The Way, St. Josemaria Escriva:

I can not believe it has been over ten years since I came back to the Catholic Church.   During the time of my reversion I kept stumbling across writings by St. Josemaria, in particular points from The Way.  The book consists of 999 spiritual reflections, like mini-retreats.  Sometimes, when I read a point, it was as if St. Josemaria was speaking directly to me.  I can even hear his castillian accent.  The overall message of the book is that we are called to be holy in precisely the place in life we are or as Mother Theresa said "you are called to bloom where you have been planted."

2. On Writing, Stephen King:

I am not sure there would be many people who would have these first two books together on their list.  I grew up reading all of Stephen King's novels.  I must have been about nine years old when Carrie was published. I remember my mother being a member of a book club and often she would let me read some of her books. I very specifically remembering her finishing Carrie letting me read it. My mother was a huge advocate of reading and never censored our reading.  Anyway, I began writing short stories at about the same age and of course I was drawn to the horror and science fiction genres.  When King wrote this book, I had to have it.  I actually own the book in multiple formats: hardback, paperback, audio and ebook.   Like King in his early years, I am a teacher.  Just maybe...

3. Marvel Comics (The Avengers, Captain America, Spider-Man, et al)

I mentioned above that my mother was an advocate of reading. She never said no to giving me a dime or quarter to buy a comic or two.  I can't tell you the number of times she would catch me reading by the light of a flashlight after it was time to go to bed.  Reading these marvelous Stan Lee creations introduced me to the art of alliteration.  I have always loved used this literary device in all of my writings: fiction, non-fiction even in school essays.  I did not realize until very recently where this came from - Marvel Comics!  I was watching an interview with Stan Lee and heard him talking about the various names of characters when it hit me. BOOM! POW!

4. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John C. Maxwell

I have included this book on the list because I find myself referring to it when writing about educational and non-profit management.  I was first introduced to this book years ago when I was a financial planner. I actually have a personalized, autographed copy.  

Over the years, I have been impressed with how universal these "laws of leadership" really are.  Two of my favorite points include the Law of the Lid and the Law of Influence.  The Law of Lid simply asserts that an organization can only rise to the level of leader's ability.  Law of Influence essentially defines leadership as influence, nothing more, nothing less.  Finally, the funniest observation in Maxwell's book:  if you turn around and no one is following you, you are NOT a leader.

5. What the Dog Saw, Malcolm Gladwell

I could have very easily included any of Gladwell's books.  I chose this one because it most exemplifies the quality that has influenced my writing.  You can not read any of Gladwell's books or his articles in the New Yorker without realizing that he takes great effort in researching his material.  

In addition to his research approach, his writing is engaging.  How many people do you know who can write about the history of ketchup and make it interesting?  He did.

This is my humble list.  I have to admit this assignment was a bit more difficult than it first appeared.