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matilda36I have always been a voracious reader.
The only constant, the only unshakable Faith in my life are books. I do believe books can cure most everything and that the answer to all the important questions in life is hidden somewhere in The Library of Babel : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Library_of_Babel
That's probably one of the reasons why I am addicted to Self help books.
It has happened to me at various times in my life to open a book to find a mirror of myself in the words.
The first time it happened it was with Simone De Beauvoir Memoirs of a dutiful daughter (and while looking for an English translation I just discovered an interesting detail for all the Jack Aubrey fans...Patrick O'Brien was De Beauvoir most important English translator. Interesting. I would so like to hear Jack Aubrey opinions on French Feminism.)
Other books who have had the same mirror effect on me have been:
Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoires d'Hadrien with her too wise, too weary Emperor and his obsessive, unshakable faith in beauty,
William Burroughs whose Wild Boys still bring flames to my veins.
Joseph Conrad description of Lord Jim chilled my blood, because I thought he was talking about me. Now I do realise he was talking about my father.
Nowadays I mostly read essays and I am developing an obsession with grammar and linguistics surely appropriate to an English Teacher, and surely consistent with my absolute Faith in the power of words, but all the same a bit scary.
The other thing i read is fanfic. I read a lot of it. Sometimes i even dare to write it. I do have to admit that I have become a bit cynical in my reading, moving from a fic to the next forgetting what I loved about those novels and stories that kept my faith alive in the past. Forgetting about how deep a well written story can go inside you and nourish your soul, replenish your faith in humanity.
Well written stories do not need to be happy or angsty or smutty. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't, just like the souls they mirror: the souls of their writers, of their readers and of their characters.
Recently I have found two writers who made me remember why I am a Reader and I want to thank them for awakening my faith from the ashes of cynicism:
Rebecca: http://rebecca.compromisingpositions.net/index.htm Her Geometry series gives us believable insights into both original and canon characters and her Applied Psychology made the blood in my veins burn.
tigertrapped http://tigertrapped.livejournal.com/17468.html had me stopping while reading a particular chapter of Groundbait and thinking: that is me... It had been years since i found myself looking at me through the eyes of a literary character and rediscovering this sensation has been an enlightening breath of fresh air.
That's probably one of the reasons why I am addicted to Self help books.
It has happened to me at various times in my life to open a book to find a mirror of myself in the words.
The first time it happened it was with Simone De Beauvoir Memoirs of a dutiful daughter (and while looking for an English translation I just discovered an interesting detail for all the Jack Aubrey fans...Patrick O'Brien was De Beauvoir most important English translator. Interesting. I would so like to hear Jack Aubrey opinions on French Feminism.)
Other books who have had the same mirror effect on me have been:
Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoires d'Hadrien with her too wise, too weary Emperor and his obsessive, unshakable faith in beauty,
William Burroughs whose Wild Boys still bring flames to my veins.
Joseph Conrad description of Lord Jim chilled my blood, because I thought he was talking about me. Now I do realise he was talking about my father.
Nowadays I mostly read essays and I am developing an obsession with grammar and linguistics surely appropriate to an English Teacher, and surely consistent with my absolute Faith in the power of words, but all the same a bit scary.
The other thing i read is fanfic. I read a lot of it. Sometimes i even dare to write it. I do have to admit that I have become a bit cynical in my reading, moving from a fic to the next forgetting what I loved about those novels and stories that kept my faith alive in the past. Forgetting about how deep a well written story can go inside you and nourish your soul, replenish your faith in humanity.
Well written stories do not need to be happy or angsty or smutty. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't, just like the souls they mirror: the souls of their writers, of their readers and of their characters.
Recently I have found two writers who made me remember why I am a Reader and I want to thank them for awakening my faith from the ashes of cynicism:
Rebecca: http://rebecca.compromisingpositions.net/index.htm Her Geometry series gives us believable insights into both original and canon characters and her Applied Psychology made the blood in my veins burn.
tigertrapped http://tigertrapped.livejournal.com/17468.html had me stopping while reading a particular chapter of Groundbait and thinking: that is me... It had been years since i found myself looking at me through the eyes of a literary character and rediscovering this sensation has been an enlightening breath of fresh air.
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no subject
Date: 2007-04-30 05:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-30 06:45 pm (UTC)should I tell? What should I tell?
Mmmmh... It's not Adam and it's not Harry.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 05:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 08:04 am (UTC)No need to be scared. I am no psychopath. Or is Jools more of a sociopath?
He knows what people darkest desires are so he is able to feel... he just do not care for social interactions unless it suits him.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 09:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 01:00 pm (UTC)I am already hooked and reading my way through Max adventures. I am halfway through Reprise at the moment and enjoying it.
Lots of things to comment about. Love Max, I am very intrigued by the Tom/Adam/Max dynamic in these early parts.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 05:53 pm (UTC)