You’d think, okay, I think we’re past that now, F. P., considering I’m reading your blog….
But, are you–really?
Sure, there’s pleasure reading, but that’s precisely what I’m not gonna talk about. No, I’m talking about more intellectual reading. How to read like you mean it. How to gain some valuable in-depth insight into what you’re eyeballin and apply it to the world around you.
But I got crib notes. Yeah. I read this guy’s blog, see, he’s a college instructor, and I like what he has to say. Though it’s oriented toward the college student, it’s quite germane to the serious reader. It struck a chord in me, because it’s how I write. My writing attempts to get behind the scenes in life, and not only do I attempt to entertain, I attempt to entice. To mentally engage readers on a Zen level. Get you to think about what may be going on just outside your peripheral vision, behind your back, in that dark and oh-so-hidden “back room” ever somewhere. And as I read this guy’s blog, I realized, I was excited there are still people out there instructing on the art of reading–even if it’s for a literature or a college course of study. Pleasure reading is fine and has its place (and I certainly enjoy it when I find something called “free time” [unintelligible utterance]…), but even in my fiction, I always strive for a little more. Layer in some nuances and what I like to call “whatnot.”
I love to get people to think.
To imagine.
Cause, if you–we–don’t…we don’t go anywhere. Advance. Reach for just a little more. We settle for less…remain in the horrendous status quo. And though I’ve just applied this to writing and reading, it most aptly applies to living.
Yeah, most of my musings do.
So, peeps, I introduce you to Marc Schuster, and his blog Abominations. Marc teaches writing and literature at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and is published in a couple places (check the link), but his second novel, The Grievers, is due out in 2012, and I’m hoping to get an ARC for review (love the cover!).
So, enjoy Marc’s posts, be entertained, gain insight, think about your world and the words that flash before your bright and engaging eyeballs to illuminate your mental interior…
And read like you mean it!
It’s that tricky line between saying something important enough to change the reader and preaching. Frank, take thine gloves from my eyes. I like context when I’m learning. Nice post.
Each and every book out there has a “Weltanshauung” behind it. Every one. Yet not every book is called “preachy.” :-] Transparency, that’s what I aim for! Taking on stories from a different point of view….
You speak the truth. Marc is a literary muffin of stud, and writers should be required by law to read his blog.
High praise, indeed (well, he does write quite well on his Abominations posts)! Thanks for stopping by!