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Dana (24 KP) rated Ron Carlson Writes a Story in Books

Mar 23, 2018

In Ron Carlson’s very insightful book Ron Carlson Writes a Story, writers are able to glean information on how Carlson wrote his short story “The Governor’s Ball.” This helps give both readers and writers a better insight on how the process of writing a short story works for some writers. Though not all writers use this kind of format for all of their stories, the basic ideas can be transferred from story to story. There are always the important features such as detail, setting, and dialogue that are necessary to a story. While these are all very important to the story, there are other aspects that make the story even more compelling. However, there are also important features such as the characters, the inner story, and the outer story. The characters must be realistic, but can also have a few surprises in what they do. The inner story and the outer stories are connected to each other. The inner story relies on the outer story to exist. The outer story helps the inner story take flight. The vast amount of craft that goes into writing a story, especially a short story, is made evident in Ron Carlson’s book.

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Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Night Circus in Books

Sep 18, 2018

The Night Circus

Erin Morgenstern | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry

8.1

(106 Ratings)

Book Rating

Beautifully written

I read this a few years ago and really enjoyed it, and have read it again this week as I'm going to a charity ball themed around the book at the weekend and felt the need to refresh my memory.

This book is even better than I remembered. The description and detail that have gone into the writing are superb. The circus itself is the main character in this and the depth of writing is truly wonderful and magical, it really makes you feel like you're in a circus and definitely makes you wish you could visit a similar one in real life! Whilst the characters themselves take a back seat to the actual circus, they're still well written and aside from a few, are all endearing characters. The plot itself is not quite what you'd expect and I feel like the only issues with this book are the slightly lacklustre ending and the constant jump in time periods that can get a little confusing. Aside from this though, I could not put this book down. It's hugely enjoyable and entertaining, and definitely worth a read.

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Marylegs (44 KP) rated Call Me By Your Name in Books

Aug 14, 2019

Call Me By Your Name

André Aciman | 2007 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+

6.6

(8 Ratings)

Book Rating

So I heard lots of good things about this book. It was being (has been) made into a film. So I thought I'll give this a go. And after the effort it was to read this book, all I can say is, meh.

The were elements I really enjoyed, where I started to go "Ooo its starting to get good" and then I would be dragged back into really abstract ways to describe the scene. I honestly don't mind a bit of well done descriptions of visuals of feeling etc. But this just felt pointless. I think its a very, arty, type of writing and honestly its just not my cup of tea.

The story as a whole, is interesting and would normally be my cup of tea. Over a beautiful hot summer in Italy a young professor finishing off his philosophy book and the son of the people housing him in Italy begin a romantic affair in secret. The concept of the story brilliant and refreshingly new. The execution... honestly, not my style and the writing style really stopped me following the story easily. I just like a bit more instant gratification from my books.

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Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo in Books

Dec 3, 2019

Better than a biography

Until seeing Trainwreck, I didn't really rate Amy Schumer as she's made some other pretty poor films. But Trainwreck was great and I'm pleased to say her book is along the same lines.

This is an autobiography but not. Amy tells us humorous anecdotes and sometimes serious and emotional stories about different aspects of her life. Each chapter has a subject or topic of interest, but it is in no way a linear life story. Instead they're rather jumbled but it all makes sense. Amy has a rather laid back conversation style, which for the most part works as it fits in with the stories she's telling although there are times when it gets too conversational - there are just some things that dont come across as well in writing as they would do on stage. Theres a lot of good heartwarming messages in this book, but of course with a decent amount of humour too. I enjoyed reading this a lot more than I expected and it was nice to find out more about a comedian I knew little about. It womt win any writing awards, but it's definitely entertaining.