Saturday, April 28, 2007

Snippet

So this whole Virginia Tech thing inexplicably depressed me. That is, it depressed me moreso than such an incident normally would, for whatever reason. As usual, this took itself out in my writing, and I churned out a whole load of crappy sentences. The whole thing was too fresh in my mind, you see. It needs to work its way further back into my subconcious to become grist I can use to mill something truly worthwhile. Out of that couple days' worth of writing, however, I did like this one little bit:


"We are children of light," said the old man. "And as such, the darkness clusters all around us. We speak of high-minded things, of good versus evil, of slaying dragons within and without. But we forget, sometimes, that our doppelgangers DO exist; we forget that there is truly evil in the world. And when it comes roaring out of the shadows, fangs bared, and tears us and scars us with unspeakable horror, sometimes we lose sight of the good that, in the end, is really the victor.

"And sometimes, lost in Misery, in the dark wood of Despair, there is nothing to do but sing, a song of light in the darkness, and wait for others to answer our call. And soon, oh soon, that song will be ended, and its yearning--fulfilled."


Sunday, April 15, 2007

Book Tag (From Nat, a while ago)

1. One book that changed your life: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain. Mainly because it served as a sort of "gateway drug" for me to read the rest of Twain's works.

2. One book you've read more than once: I don't read many books more than once. I'll say Beroul's The Romance of Tristan.

3. One book you'd want on a desert island: I've heard Dubliners is such a book, since it can be read so many different ways. Unfortunately, all the ways it can be read are depressing. I'll say a copy of the Bible bound with The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy. ;-)

4. One book that made you laugh: The Innocents Abroad (Mark Twain).

5. One book that made you cry: No comment. No comment at all about Ecclesiastes in the Old King James.

6. One book that you wish had been written: The end of The Last Tycoon.

7. One book that you wish had never been written: I'm going to say it. It's Eragon. If for no other reason than that it provided a bunch of middle-aged parents otherwise ignorant of fantasy (and other ignorant people) with a view of fantasy as cliche-ridden, childish, and imbecilic.

8. One book you're currently reading: Magic for Beginners (by Kelly Link). Best fantasy short stories I've read since.... Lord Dunsany. And besides that, some of the best speculative fiction I've read period.

9. One book you've been meaning to read: Elantris (Brandon Sanderson). I meant to start it, but I seem to have misplaced my copy. Grr.

10. Scariest book you've ever read: The Mysterious Stranger, by Mark Twain, was pretty creepy, but it's more of a novella. I'll think of something scary that's actually a book later.

I will tag Aaron, since he needs to post. :P Anyone else who wishes to be tagged, you may run in front of my oustretched hand and consider yourself so.