new friends

This blog has been turning up in many places lately, so I've added several sites to the wmtc blogroll. You might enjoy checking them out.

I may have highlighted some of these before, but I'd rather hit one twice than leave anyone out.

Canadian Gourdess, a/k/a Kyahgirl, a Perfumista.

Lucious. Nope. Elin has changed the name to Filoli.

Mel's Diner, a Tennessee grrl in Greece. Check out the cool banner.

Now THAT'S Amateur, written by a former Olympic athlete.

Nicole In London, another expatriate.

Peregrinato, and I'll highlight this post, for ego-stroking reasons.

Rududu on the road, a traveler who pops up here now and again.

'77 Track 7, blog-friend James in his book-reading guise.

The Gazetteer, a lefty from Vancouver.

This Space For Rent, who has changed the name of this blog to past tense.

Urban Chick, a woman after my own heart.

Wrytings, Too, wmtc's own Wrye.

You Are Here, our own Marnie, whose blog is newly unveiled. (Still waiting to see a post about our walk. No pressure or anything.)

Comments

  1. James Redekop14 October 2005 at 15:07

    I'm behind on my posting. Finished a whole buncha books while sick, so I'll try to get posts up this weekend. :)

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  2. laura k14 October 2005 at 15:10

    You must read very quickly. I can if I need to, but more often, I slow down on purpose. I like to savor the language.

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  3. Marnie14 October 2005 at 15:58

    Alas, I fear our walk will remain tragically unblogged (except for what you wrote yourself, of course). There's something about having another actual human being beside me that drives all intelligent thought from my mind. Stay tuned for a new field trip report on Monday, though!

    ReplyDelete
  4. laura k14 October 2005 at 19:26

    Mitch, whoa, that is amazing! I will blog on that very soon. Thanks for thinking of me. :) I wanna be in the guy's next video!

    Marnie, I am disappointed to know my presence interfered with the creative process! (Although I know what you mean.)

    I'll look forward to reading about what you did today. But does this mean that if we hang out on a Friday, there won't be a blog post that week? Uh-oh.

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  5. James Redekop14 October 2005 at 21:06

    You must read very quickly. I can if I need to, but more often, I slow down on purpose. I like to savor the language.

    My natural reading paceis pretty fast, and to be honest, my favourite writing style to read is a clean, minimal style that doesn't get in the way of the subject matter, which helps. Right now most of the books up on '77 Track 7 are science books, which really benefit from a clean, conversational style. I go on fiction or non-fiction binges, so I will often go a dozen science books in a row...

    Lori reads much faster than I do. The Corpse book, which I read over five or six days, she read in two evenings.

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  6. laura k15 October 2005 at 04:59

    science books, which really benefit from a clean, conversational style.

    Absolutely, as does history - though too few authors achieve it, I think.

    I go on fiction or non-fiction binges, so I will often go a dozen science books in a row...

    I do the same thing. I read a lot of non-fiction - usually history or political science, sometimes science - then I crave a good novel, and read a bunch of novels, then back to non-fiction.

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  7. laura k15 October 2005 at 06:11

    I've been wondering if you've read Graham Swift's Waterland.

    I've never heard of it. I'll put in on The List.

    Although I realize you'll have your hands full for a while just getting through the Davies trilogy

    I'm finding these pretty fast reading. But in general, my book list is very long and in no particular order. Books can sit on the list for ten years or six months - I'll read them eventually.

    After I read these Davies books, I'm after some Canadian history, courtesy of Pierre Berton. That's going to be a priority in for the next few years (with novels in between).

    Thanks for the title. I'll have to google Graham Swift.

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  8. James Redekop15 October 2005 at 06:30

    Absolutely, as does history - though too few authors achieve it, I think.

    I grew up on Isaac Asimov's science essays from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, which are amazing examples of how to write about science for a general audience.

    I've got a couple more posts up at '77 Track 7, and someone even commented! Thanks, teflonjedi. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  9. laura k15 October 2005 at 06:36

    Asimov was a great writer, and a great writer can write about anything.

    I often think this when I read great music writing, or food writing, or travel writing, or sports writing. The really best writers transcend the subject matter.

    James, off-topic but while we're chatting here, I meant to tell you - my mom and I stripped the wallpaper off that bedroom wall, using the glue-remover and paper scraper I had bought. It was fun and pretty easy to do. Next step, I'll paint that one wall to match the color of the new accordion shades.

    Now off to rake leaves!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wrye15 October 2005 at 13:03

    My strict "No blogging while at work" policy has kept me busy lately, but Asimov...yeah, that demands a post. Also the new "Infinite Crisis" comic, and its (semi-veiled) commentary on America losing its way (or is it America-bashing?) and the charm of Bad Restaurants. And-oh crap, it's Monday again.

    ReplyDelete
  11. James Redekop15 October 2005 at 19:01

    Asimov was a great writer, and a great writer can write about anything.

    Asimov is one of my personal heroes, but I'm not sure if I'd call him a great writer in an absolute sense. His fiction is very strong on ideas, but weak on more writerly things like characterization. And he was much better in short story form than with novels.

    That said, he was a great generalist writer, who could write clearly and intelligently on anything he put his mind to.

    James, off-topic but while we're chatting here, I meant to tell you - my mom and I stripped the wallpaper off that bedroom wall, using the glue-remover and paper scraper I had bought. It was fun and pretty easy to do.

    Your the first peson I've met who's described removing wallpaper as "fun".

    ReplyDelete
  12. teflonjedi15 October 2005 at 20:34

    You're quite welcome! :)

    And I miss Asimov...a great philosophical influence on my life.

    ReplyDelete
  13. laura k16 October 2005 at 05:23

    Asimov is one of my personal heroes, but I'm not sure if I'd call him a great writer in an absolute sense.

    You know, I haven't read him since I'm a teenager, so for all I know I wouldn't consider him great now, either. This --

    His fiction is very strong on ideas, but weak on more writerly things like characterization.

    -- is something I don't like. I admire writers who are able to weave the ideas seamlessly into the story - no small trick.

    Your the first peson I've met who's described removing wallpaper as "fun".

    LOL. It really was.

    While I was giving my mom The Tour, I mentioned that I wanted to strip that wall - she said, if it rains one day, let's do that. She loves stuff like that.

    We had a good time! She was only disappointed that we hadn't thought ahead and bought paint, so we could have finished it completely. It was Thanksgiving day, so all the places where we could have run out for paint would have been closed.

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  14. James Redekop16 October 2005 at 06:47

    I admire writers who are able to weave the ideas seamlessly into the story - no small trick.

    I agree completely! But Asimov's not someone I'd recommend to a reader who's interested in deep characterization or psychological introspection. Only a handful of Asimov's characters stand out from the rest of them: Susan Calvin and R. Daneel Olivaw are the only ones that come to mind at the moment. He's definitely an ideas writer (which is one of the reasons he works better in short stories than novels). But that's no surprise, when you remember that he learned his trade in the pulp magazines of the 1930s.

    Asimov himself was very aware of where his strengths and weaknesses were, and generally structured his writing to use the former and avoid the latter. In one of his F&SF essays, he says (paraphrased): "some writers can create great, complex stained-glass windows with their language, beautiful to see. My writing is like a plate-glass window: you can't actually see the window, but you have a clear view of what it opens out onto."

    I value that a lot in Asimov, and any non-fiction writer. Fiction writers can get away with a little more stained glass and still read as clear. :)

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  15. laura k16 October 2005 at 06:56

    But Asimov's not someone I'd recommend to a reader who's interested in deep characterization or psychological introspection.

    Right. By this description, I would probably stay away. Although it would be interesting (to me) to see if I liked Asimov now, after thinking he was a great writer when I was much younger.

    "Idea writers" usually don't work for me. DeLillo is an example of an important writer who I simply cannot read. Just cannot. His work feels to me like a writing exercise instead of a novel.

    Whereas Saul Bellow (for example) is very much writing about ideas, but the characters are memorable, and deep, and he plumbs the depth of human motivation. DeLillo doesn't have characters as far as I can tell.

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  16. laura k16 October 2005 at 06:57

    "My writing is like a plate-glass window: you can't actually see the window, but you have a clear view of what it opens out onto."

    This describes great non-fiction writing in general. The more transparent, the better.

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  17. James Redekop16 October 2005 at 07:11

    Would you mind if I lifted this Asimov discussion over to '77 Track 7? It's perfect material for over there. :)

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  18. laura k16 October 2005 at 07:14

    Lift away! I was just thinking, hmm, we should be writing this over at James's book blog...

    ReplyDelete
  19. James Redekop16 October 2005 at 08:04

    I'm off to see Wallace & Grommit first, but then I'll transcribe it all this afternoon, and we can pick up from there.

    ReplyDelete
  20. laura k16 October 2005 at 08:10

    I love Wallace & Grommit - big fan of Nick Park. We saw his work early on (Wrong Trousers, Grand Day Out) and were so happy when he became more widely known. Have fun!

    ReplyDelete
  21. James Redekop16 October 2005 at 08:48

    I love Wallace & Grommit - big fan of Nick Park. We saw his work early on (Wrong Trousers, Grand Day Out) and were so happy when he became more widely known.

    Yeah, us too. Saw Creature Comforts even before Wallace & Grommit showed up, too.

    I got the post up before the movie, so help yourself! We're off to the movie now.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Urban Chick16 October 2005 at 11:44

    thank you so much for the plug, L-girl!

    i am hoping to spend some more time in the bloggosphere in the coming weeks having been in semi-hibernation looking after snotty chicklets and then on holiday with (expensive) dial-up for a few weeks...

    just one question, though: may i ask in what way i am a woman after your own heart?!

    UC

    ReplyDelete
  23. laura k16 October 2005 at 15:22

    i am hoping to spend some more time in the bloggosphere in the coming weeks having been in semi-hibernation

    In all honesty, I don't cruise the blogosphere much these days. I've had to cut some stuff out, time-wise, and reading blogs got the axe. I miss it, but I had to be ruthless. At least for now.

    just one question, though: may i ask in what way i am a woman after your own heart?!

    Hee hee. Well, first of all, you are an (the) Urban Chick. And although I have somehow landed in the suburbs, I am an urban grrl through and through. But also, when I read your blog - and your comments on Crabletta's blog - you remind me of myself. I can't completely define it... it's just a feeling I get.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Amateur17 October 2005 at 05:58

    Thanks for the link, l-girl.

    ReplyDelete

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