The Need to Read and Write-Essay

Writers and certainly good writers are dependent on literature and need to read as much as they need to write. Many musicians experience depression when they don't play at least once a day and many writers experience the same down feeling when they don't peck at their computers or pick up a pen; however they also have the need to pick up a book that they did not write themselves.

Orhan Pamuk in his essay, "The Implied Author" ) in the book "Other Colors"(Please see Bibliography)states: "Let me explain what I feel on a day when I've not written well, am unable to lose myself in a book. First, the world changes before my eyes; it becomes unbearable, abominable."

I know when I worked a 40 hour plus job, five days a week job and I had to go to a conference and attend meetings in the evening I felt an overwhelming desire to escape the combination of meeting and party that few people understood. I would wait until people got used to seeing me and after I signed in and I would escape to my room in the hotel where the meetings were being held so I can have some quiet time for myself to do some writing and to read. Often I remember a story that was written while looking out overlooking a valley towards the mountains just on the edge of Los Angeles or one story over looking a runway outside of the San Francisco Airport. I had a tray that had coffee and some half and half and I was sitting in a chair writing a story and feeling relieved to be away from the beer and the loud music that was in the rooms I just left. I never felt happier.

Fred White in his book, "The Daily Writer", (see Bibliography) said: "Successful writers are omnivores--gluttons--when it comes to reading because they are continually fascinated by yet another way of telling a story, of new ways of using language to evoke sensory impressions, to transport us to other times and places." White means that writers read outside your own experiences and read outside the kind of writing that you normally do. Writers often read to continuously re-discover why they write in the first place.

There has been times I have been reading a book where the author's words transported me out of myself and into a new understanding of some concept or some aspect of life itself. I remember my skin prickling and the hair on the back of my neck standing up. It was then I knew I would never be the same again. There were other times I felt a deep sense of sadness and sorrow for something that happened either recently or hundreds of years ago.

Pamuk in the same essay states that he prefers writers who are deceased. I have no such preference. It was with great sadness that I learned that Stieg Larsson who wrote "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" had passed away. At 50 years of age, I expected to enjoy years of his books. The death of Sherlock Holmes' writer Author Conon Doyle has not slowed down the adventures of his fictional character at all.

Sven Birkerts in his book, "Reading Life: Books for the Ages", (please see Bibliography) "Reading is open, in the world, in life, because reading is the most complex and volatile way we've found to merge the experienced and the imagined. Turning the pages of a challenging novel we spark up not just our intellect, but also our emotional and our dreaming selves."

Sometimes, I think the goal of reading and writing is to reach beyond ourselves as human beings and into the realm of creativeity and even into the worlds beyond and into our inner selves.

Bibliography

Birkerts Sven "Reading Life: Books for the Ages" Graywolf: 2007

Pamuk, Orhan trans from the Turkish by Freely, Maureen "Other Colors: Essays and a Story" Knopf: 2007

White, Fred "The Daily Writer: 366 Meditations to Cultivate a Productive and Meanifgful Writing Life" Writer's Digest: 2008

Why I read -Essay-

I did not grow up in a bookish environment although my mother read. She had books in the house, but she never took us to the library although an aunt did when I visited her. Other people that I have known over the years grew up in a family where everyone read, but they could hardly get the energy to pick up a book. It is a personal affliction or love. I have met many people who have have said they don't have the time to read, but I always find the time even when I was raising my children alone and working several jobs. There was no way I could not read anymore than I could not write. Both reading and writing are linked by me and inseparable and necessary as breathing and eating.

There was someone I heard about who read everything. Now that I do not do. I tried Gothic romances and read one, maybe two; but that was just about all I could do. The artwork on a Victoria Holt novel always looked so inviting, but I just could not get through them. I also had a hard time with Stephen King. I have read several of his books, but I don't enjoy them. I have tried William Faulkner and the only thing I could get through was two of his short stories. I just could not get through his novels. However, I have read all of Ernest Hemingway, some of them more than once. I have read all of John Scott Fitzgerald and more than once. I am trying to read the classics. I have read Jane Austin definitely more than once or twice.

There are fictional characters who are more real to me than people I know. One of them is Sherlock Holmes. Another is Hercule Poirot. I have actually fell deeply in love with characters in books such as Dr. Bernard Rieux in Albert Camus' "The Plague" (Fr. La Peste). I still feel those emotions for those characters. Even as a child, I loved reading about Robin Hood and when I saw the film made by Walt Disney staring Richard Todd, I was in love again. Usually, an actor did not take the place of my fictional characters. For instance, the first film that I saw Sherlock Holmes was staring Basil Rathbone. He was good in it but the scripts were terrible. Rathbone did not look like my own Sherlock Holmes. However, Inspector Morse, to me, will always look like the actor John Thaw.

I was very poor growing up. I got my books from the library and during the 1950's and 1960's. Young adult fiction had not advanced to the genre it is today. I read what they had but never took to the Nancy Drew Mysteries. I could not identify with families who had relationships with their kids. I read adult fiction but never cared for suburban plots although I loved science fiction. I think I read more of it then, then now. I also did not want to read about women getting boyfriends and getting married. I did not see marriage being so great since so many of the women I knew including my mother were locked into abusive relationships and empty futures. I wanted something more, but none of the books had a hint that there was something other than marriage for women. Still, reading gave me a world that was better than the one that I was in.

Teachers, parents and everyone else, it seemed, did not encourage me to read. I was encouraged to look good, get slim and get married. I wanted to go to college. I was told even by my high school counselors that I should consider home economic classes and look for a good husband. I did not want that. Reading helped me expand my horizon. It wasn't much of a horizon, but it was something to dream about. Even the movies and television gave little to women in those days to aspire to. It is different now, but there was nothing for women to work for back then. One of the hot television series was 77 Sunset Strip and the only female lead was a singer, Cricket, who had a crush on a parking attendant who parked cars. All of the private detectives who worked at the address were men. Cricket was always begging to be allowed to help the men in their adventures. She was not bright and had no skills except she looked good and could sing. They had the fancy cars and clothes. She didn't.

I never gave up thinking I would find my answers in books. I found bits and pieces. I found some in John Steinbeck. I found others in other writers and just translated the books in my head without thinking about it. If the protagonist was male, I made him a female. If the man drove ambulances in Italy, it was a woman driving ambulances in Italy. In science fiction it was much easier to do that and I did it all of the time. I inserted my stories in between the stories, the chapters, the lines in the books. I did it all of the time and sometimes without even thinking about it. I became the adventurer and the hero. There were women doing this such as Amelia Earhart, but there were not many and they were looked down on. Women had adventures by hooking up with some men, but I could change and rearrange those stories so that I could do them by myself and did.

Now, I don't have to. Women are having those adventures all by themselves. They are flying airplanes, jets, racing cars and space ships. They are crossing the desert by themselves and with others. It is easier to read books nowadays. I remember reading books on how to be a woman. I remember those books for they were lined up on a shelf in the library and they were all written by a man. That would never fly now. There are lots of young adult books for men and women. Some are for the romantic young ladies looking for the prince, but there are many books for women looking for adventure. If women could not find the right books in the young adult section, there are plenty of them in the adult section that will suit them just fine.

What makes some people readers? I don't know. I do know that I have never seen the local bookstores empty or the public library without people. The manager of the Barnes and Noble Bookstore said they have experienced a slow down in sales in today's economy but not like the overall slow down that other stores are experiencing. I think books are far more interesting than they used to be when I was a teen or even when I was in my 20's. Books are being translated into more languages. The Internet is connecting people with books at a greater rate. I think it is a great time to be a reader, now, today and in a country that does not censor.

Green, Joey

Joey Green, the guru of weird uses for brand-name products, is the bestselling author of Polish Your Furniture with Panty Hose, Paint Your House with Powdered Milk, Wash Your Hair with Whipped Cream, and Clean Your Clothes with Cheez Whiz. The New York Daily News calls him “a hyperactive, testosterone-charged version of Heloise.” People magazine calls him the “Pantry Professor.” The New York Times says, “His deadpan explanations end in punchlines that would have a stand-up comic’s audience in the aisles.” A former contributing editor to National Lampoon and a former advertising copywriter at J. Walter Thompson, Green is the author of Joey Green’s Fix-It Magic, and more than forty books, including Joey Green’s Amazing Kitchen Cures, Joey Green’s Gardening Magic,The Bubble Wrap Book, The Partridge Family Album, Selling Out, The Warning Label Book, The Zen of Oz, The Official Slinky Book, You Know You’ve Reached Middle Age If . . . , and The Mad Scientist Handbook. He has been on dozens of television programs and hundreds of radio talk shows. He lives in Los Angeles.

Books | Wacky Uses | Mad Scientist | Lunatic Press
Home & Garden Shows | Corporate | Booking Info

Copyright © 2009 Joey Green. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy

Green, Joey "The Zen of Oz: Ten Spiritual Lessons from Over the Rainbow"

Book overview

Does "The Wizard of Oz" touch a spiritual chord in each one of us because it has a certain Zen to it? Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, is clearly a Zen Master. She sets Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road to spiritual enlightenment. When Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion let go of their conscious yearning and free their minds to function spontaneously and inharmony with the cosmos, brains, heart, and courage flow easily and effortlessly. Ultimately, Dorothy attains satori, the Zen experience of "awakening." She finds her true Self, her higher consciousness, her ultimate Oneness with the cosmos--and her home.

Limited preview - 1999 - 144 pages - Literary Criticism

From Google

I had no idea that the same Joey Green that wrote one of my favorite books, "The Zen of Oz: Ten Spiritual Lessons from Over the Rainbow." , is considered "the guru of weird uses for brand-name products". It is a beautiful book full of illustrations by Cathy Pavia and calligraphy by Sumi Nishikawa. The zen is real for the author of the books of "The Wonderful World of Oz" , L.Frank Baum, and the film included much of the zen in it. The book is based on the film made by directed mainly by Victor Fleming starring Judy Garland. There are many things in it that on the surface does not make sense but will once the reader reads this books. For example, why does Dorothy endanger Toto's life by letting her dog run through Miss Gulch's garden? Why does Auntie Em who Dorothy loves with all of her heart not seem to have much time and affection for Dorothy? Why is the film in black and white in Kansas but in color in Oz? If Dorothy is happy with her aunt and uncle why does she sing about a land over the rainbow? For everything in the film, there is a definite reason. That is why the film lives on and on in one generation after another.

King, Laurie R.

Laurie R. King is a third generation Northern Californian who has lived most of her life in the San Francisco Bay area. Her background is as mixed as any writer’s, from degrees in theology and managing a coffee store to raising children, vegetables, and the occasional building.

King’s writing reflects her background—it is no accident that characters in her books spend time in the Bay Area and England (King’s other home) and are interested in theology, architecture, and travel (Her long autobiography goes into this relationship in detail.)

King started writing in 1987 when her second child entered school, and had her first novel published in 1993. Since A Grave Talent, she has averaged a book a year, winning prizes that range from Agatha (a nomination) to Wolfe (Nero, for A Monstrous Regiment of Women.) The characters of A Grave Talent, centering around inspector Kate Martinelli of the San Francisco Police Department, have appeared in five novels to date.

http://www.laurierking.com/?page_id=635

The Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes Series

The first book in the series is "The Beekeeper’s Apprentice" and I have read this book twice. I highly recommend it as it introduces the characters Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes as King sees them. I am a Sherlock Holmes fan and have been for many years. I resisted this series for a long time until someone gave me this book to read. I loved it.

Holmes is living in Sussex as a bee keeper and Mary Russell is a young lady in a nearby residence. Mrs. Hudson is Holmes' housekeeper. Holmes finds Russell a worthy partner in his investigations. He is older now and Dr. Watson lives in London.

My favorite book so far is "The Locked Room" when Russell and Holmes are married and they investigate the deaths of Russell's family. I have like the other Russell and Holmes' books but this one is by far my favorite as it uses Freudian psychology to reconstruct the memories of Russell of what happened to her family when she was a young girl.

My least favorite book is the last one, "The Language of Bees", because it is an incomplete one n which other books are promised and the villain has gotten away at the end. I was not expecting it and felt cheated. Holmes is acquainted with his son from an much older relationship and finds he has a grand daughter. I guess if I could put up with Professor Moriarty, I can put up with this villain. Again, I did not like this book and had paid full price for it. Even King's official web site did not list this book as yet.

I have tried other series with this author and just did not care for them even when she uses Sherlock Holmes as a subject such as the Kate Martinelli Novels.

Larsson, Stieg

Stieg Larsson (1954-2004) was a Swedish writer and journalist.

Prior to his sudden death of a heart attack in November 2004 he finished three detective novels in his trilogy "The Millenium-series" which were published posthumously; "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest". Altogether, his trilogy has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide (summer of 2009), and he was the second bestselling author in the world 2008.

STIEG LARSSON, 1954-2004

Before his career as a writer, Stieg Larsson was mostly known for his struggle against racism and right-wing extremism. Starting in the late 1970's, he combined his work as a graphic designer with holding lectures on right-wing extremism for the Scotland Yard. During the following years he became an expert on the subject and has held many lectures as well as written many novels on the subject. In 1995, when 8 persons were killed by neo-Nazis I Sweden, he was the main force behind the founding of the Expo-foundation, a group intended on exposing neo-Nazi activity in Sweden. From 1999 and on, he was appointed chief editor of the magazine Expo.

During the last 15 years of his life, he and his life companion Eva Gabrielsson lived under constant threat from right-wing violence.

http://www.stieglarsson.com/

"The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo" The hardest thing to do with this book is not read the end. The first 50 pages or so is slow, but it soon picks up and then it really takes off. The girl of the title of this book is Lisbeth Salander and she with the crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist lately of the magazine, Millennium go to work for a likable scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest familes of a disappearance of his niece. Salander is a pierced and tattooed punk prodigy who has mysterious past and Blomkvist has been recently convicted of libel and faces a prison term. It is a wild ride that reaches a very satisfying ending for this book. I can't wait for the second installment, "The Girl Who Played with Fire".

Murakami, Haruki

Haruki Murakami was born in Kyoto in 1949 and has lived both in Japan and the United States. His work as been translated into 42 languages. I have read several of his novels and one memoir.

Genres: Fiction, surrealist, postmodern
You can reach the author's official web site through Random House

"What I talk About When I Talk About Running: A Memoir" (Translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel) Knopf: 2008 This is a thin book that I never did see go into paperback although it might have. I really enjoyed it. I found Murakami's novels to be very interesting and unlike other books that I have read by other authors. This book is about running but it is not. It is about his life but more. It is about a lot of things such as growing old, his family, jazz, and of course running. It is about how the body changes over the years and how people change towards us as we age. It is about the Japanese and the Americans. It is about cultures and how alike they are and how unlike they are. It is about our bodies and how they obey you and how they don't. Sometimes they just surprise you. This author will surprise you.

Miller, Alice

Alice Miller (born January 12, 1923) is a psychologist and author, noted for her work on child abuse in its many forms, including physical abuse, emotional abuse and child sexual abuse. Miller studied and wrote about the effects of poisonous pedagogy upon children and lasting into adulthood, and the resulting effects on society as a whole.^[1] Miller was born in Poland and in 1946 migrated to Switzerland. She gained her doctorate in philosophy, psychology and sociology in 1953 in Basel. She studied and practiced psychoanalysis for the next 20 years. After 1973, she developed her own ideas about child development and psychology. She published her first three books in the late 1970s. In 1979, she stopped practicing as a psychoanalyst. She has continued to write and lecture on psychological issues. In 1986 she was awarded the Janusz Korczak Literary Award by the Anti-Defamation League. Her most recent book, Bilder meines Lebens ("Pictures of My Life"), was published in 2006; an informal autobiography in which the writer explores her emotional process from painful childhood, through the development of her theories and later insights, told via the display and discussion of 66 of her original paintings, painted in the years 1973 to 2005.^[2][3]

Miller has two adult children. Since 2005, she answers some readers' letters and publishes articles, flyers and interviews on her website.^[4][5]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Book: "Paths of Life: Seven Scenarios" Vintage: 1998 By Alice Miller

The first book that I read of Alice Miller is "The Drama of the Gifted Child" which was a library book. I loved it. It was full of kind and warm regard for the trauma that adults go through as children. I had a very dysfunctional childhood and developed post traumatic stress disorder because of it. I am always looking for books to help me find ways of dealing with these memories and I have found Alice Miller to be very helpful.

The book I am writing about today is "Paths of Life: Seven Scenarios" Vintage: 1998. The book was translated by Andrew Jenkins. In the book are seven life stories that explore how important our childhood events form and train us into the adults we are today. There are also two essays by Miller that explores these questions focusing on birth, motherhood, partnerships and many others. In order to free us from the forces that molded us so that we don't repeat our parents or caretakers' mistakes we need to know where we came from. This is an important book to understand these events and issues.

Alice Miller states: "Studying child abuse confronts us with the astonishing fact that parents will inflict the same punishment or neglect on their children as they experienced themselves in their early lives." Miller also states that as adults we often do not have recollections of this abuse. It is important that we examine this early period of this time so that we do not repeat it with our own children.

The seven stories that Miller tells are easy to read and are interesting in themselves. Many of the stories come from Europe since Miller is Swiss but some are about Americans. Miller gives excellent insight how many people are trapped into certain situations so that the reader can also achieve the insight necessary to see the truth in similar situation in their own lives. For instance, Miller explains: "An adult, on the other hand, has all kinds of opportunities for finding the right listener. It has long been proven that a shock is best overcome not be trying to forget it, the way we used to be told, but by talking about it and feeling what it meant to us until the shock starts losing its significance. Silence is the worst enemy of people who have been harmed in that way. "(p.92) This was regarding how children were wronged by being told to be quiet about what was done to them and as adults when in a situation as this patient was and taken advantage of by a therapist who wanted to use the patient's problems as a way to advance the therapist's career. The patient was told to just forget it and go on with their lives and not show their rage.

The one thing that I really appreciated was Miller's caring and understanding of the patient, the adult that was taken advantage as a child. There was no attempt to excuse the medical establishment at anytime. She is squarely on the side of the patients. She explains about how this same establishment re-victimizes the patient: "As you know, the minds of the patients are subjected to such massive manipulation that in the end they no longer have the courage to trust their own perceptions, and finally come to actively fear them." (p.93) You can imagine how unpopular she was at the beginning of her practice although she is greatly honored now.

Thursday, September 10, 2009 Welcome

When I was young, I lived in a very dysfunctional family. My father had bipolar disease or was manic depressive. I never knew whether he was going to be very happy or very sad or just sit and not communicate at all. My brother and I were close and we just talked about this along with dealing with a very angry mother. My defense was to read. Luckily, I lived in California and was able to get to a library. I also visited an aunt who would take me to the library on a regular basis.

One time when things were especially bad, I got a very strong message from what I understood was my spiritual guides that I would always have three things that I could find refuge in. One was literature or books including poetry. Second, was music and the third was art. I am now on the verge of turning 65 years of age and that message was true and I have turn to them over and over again.

My parents are now gone and I have been living on my own for some time. I have a house full of books and an office. Life has been good to me. I now work here at home reading and writing. Unfortunately, there are few people I can talk about books with. Maybe it is karma that this is the case. I have several people that I talk with but they are very far away. I thought I would try this blog.