“But reading is active, an act of attention, of absorbed alertness—not all that different from hunting, in fact, or from gathering. In its silence, a “But reading is active, an act of attention, of absorbed alertness—not all that different from hunting, in fact, or from gathering. In its silence, a book is a challenge: it can't lull you with surging music or deafen you with screeching laugh tracks or fire gunshots in your living room; you have to listen to it in your head. A book won't move your eyes for you the way images on a screen do. It won't move your mind unless you give it your mind, or your heart unless you put your heart in it. It won't do the work for you. To read a story well is to follow it, to act it, to feel it, to become it—everything short of writing it, in fact. Reading is not "interactive" with a set of rules or options, as games are: reading is actual collaborating with the writer's mind. No wonder not everybody is up to it.” ...more
Heartfelt and profound this was a special book, amusing but less "jokey" than Mary Roach's *Stiff* — recommend!
Death might appear to destroy the meaniHeartfelt and profound this was a special book, amusing but less "jokey" than Mary Roach's *Stiff* — recommend!
Death might appear to destroy the meaning in our lives, but in fact it is the very source of our creativity. As Kafka said, "The meaning of life is that it ends." Death is the engine that keeps us running, giving us the motivation to achieve, learn, love, and create....more
Loved this book and will definitely read again — recommend for those interested in the craft of writing.
“So often fictions So much snap, crackle, pop!
Loved this book and will definitely read again — recommend for those interested in the craft of writing.
“So often fictions that experiment formally do so at the expense of feeling. They toy on surfaces or are purely cerebral affairs, don’t explore human complexities. But the mostly unconventional narratives I’ve been discussing have dealt powerfully with core human matters. … And they have found patterns other than the wave to do this, or worked in a doubled, moiré relation with the wave, one pattern upon another. I believe they’ve done this organically: a meander or net or explosion was simply the pattern the material needed.”...more
Disorganized and kind of all over the place, Aronowitz gets raw and real in this memoir meets social history of sexual freedom. I appreciated her honeDisorganized and kind of all over the place, Aronowitz gets raw and real in this memoir meets social history of sexual freedom. I appreciated her honesty and vulnerability talking about a difficult subject and insights from her own relationships. She also assesses the triumphs and flaws of contemporary feminism while exploring universal questions of desire.
Somewhat unsatisfactory like any disappointing romp, it is at times a frustrating mix of hyper personal confessions and cultural criticism.
I still enjoyed it overall — 3.5 stars rounded up....more
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