Learning From Louis L'Amour

Our book club choice this month is Education of a Wandering Man by Louis l'Amour, writer of 84 novels  Many of his  novels have been transformed to the big screen.  Lots of lessons to be learned from this writer.

He believes in historical accuracy. He says we should not have to second guess history because the facts are fantastic enough.  Because he believes in historical accuracy,  he read books about other cultures and traveled to the places he wrote about.  He wrote without using any obscenities and without spicing it up with sex scenes.

He describes himself, in this book, as a writer of the frontier, not a western writer, and  says his stories are about passing through or settling wild country.  He obviously admired the western pioneers because they chose to leave everything behind, break  the mold and start afresh in a new country with new problems. They did what L'Amour did,  moved from home and faced one challenge after another.  Man, he says. seeks a means to exist and is always striving to improve his situation. At the time of writing this memoir, he had an interest in the frontiers of outer space. His novel Walking Drum, he says, was about the frontiers of knowledge. 

I like this quote on page 156, "Education is everywhere, prompting one to think, to consider, to remember."  Interestingly, L'Amour felt he had acquired a lot of knowledge about Indonesia, Malaysia and China  and wanted a job in Naval Intelligence, unfortunately, he was turned down because he had no college degree.

Japanese writer: Keigo Higashino

I stayed up all night to read the Japanese novel, Naoko by  Keigo Higashino.  It was quite fascinating; held my interest from beginning to end. I came across this writer because his other book, Devotion of Suspect X  was our book club pick last month.   This novel touched on the supernatural.  The protagonist's wife, Naoko, and daughter, Monami, were involved in a bus crash.  Heisuke thought he had lost his wife but found out that her spirit was occupying his daughter's body.  He then realized that in fact he had lost his only daughter.  Yes, a little confusing and a very creepy situation.  Interestingly, there is a name for  a situation like this  metempsychosis.  The whole story was about Naoko and Heisuke maneuvering through life; elementary school, puberty, junior high and high school; while keeping this huge secret.  There was a very unusual twist to the plot towards the end.  I have watched movies about people switching bodies but this concept of  occupying a dead person's body was different.  I understand there is actually a movie based on this book.

I did not like the reaction of Heisuke in the end. It was too similar to the reaction of one of the protagonist's at the end of Devotion to Suspect X.   I also didn't like that there was no resolution for Heisuke after so many years of living life with this secret.

Happening at the Jacksonville Public Library

Here is what's happening at the Jacksonville Public Library:  Budget cuts.  I am sure you are not surprised by this move by Mayor Alvin Brown to save money.  True, budget cuts are happening all over but here is what you can do to show support for the library.  Also, check out the library advocacy blog.  Every little bit helps.

August Book Club Selection - Education of a Wandering Man

I have only read one Louis l'Amour novel, The Last of the Breed, and it is one of my favorite reads.  It was not the usual western and I read it years ago because it was our book club selection.   For August, our book club pick is Education of a Wandering Man, a memoir by Louis L'Amour, and I am loving it.  At least one other person in the book club got bored with it; not enough action. 

Pages 84 to 87 express the essence of this memoir.  On these pages Louis L'Amour, a high school drop-out, explains how he educated himself through travel, adventure, and reading and became a well known writer.  This book was published in 1989 and on page 84 L'Amour says the present approach to education is all wrong; it is pedestrian. He says we educate children to have opinions but we should be educating them to think.  He explains his love for reading throughout the book, and on page 86 he tells us why he loves to read diaries and memoirs. It is because he wants to know how people were living, what they were thinking and how they expressed themselves.  Throughout the memoir he recommends several books; fiction, non-fiction and poetry.  

His path to becoming a writer started with reading, listening to people's stories then writing.  He wrote and sold two line jokes, jingles, poetry, nature pieces.  I am loving his story.

Want to be a Storyteller?

I like this link to a cheat sheet for storytelling.  Also, if you want to write a book, check this link out 7 Steps to writing a book.

Page Turners

I found a link to 6 page turners for summer reading on Oprah's website.       The blurb on the 6th book, Drowned by Therese Bohman, reminded me of the book that kept me up until 2:00 this morning. The Boy in the Suitcase by Danish writers,  Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis, was a really exciting thriller set in Denmark and Lithuania.  The kidnapping of a three year old boy turns his mom into a mama grizzly and she sets off from Lithuania to Denmark to track down her boy.   Her path crosses with Nina, a Danish nurse, who lives to rescue young women and children.  So dear readers that's the seventh book I would add to this summer reading list.

Mish Mash from Brain Pickings

My post today is not just about books.  Today I share a mish mash of links.  I think you will enjoy these three interesting ones I found on Brain Pickings :

1. A graphic novel about the life of physicist Richard Feynman 

2. A crowdsourced  Complaints Choir putting into song all the daily grievances of the world in Finnish with English subtitles.

3. A documentary on the life of one of the greatest jazz musicians of all times ... Louis Armstrong.

Reading the Hunger Games

I just finished the second book in the Hunger Games Trilogy, Catching Fire, and started the third book, Mockingjay.  As anticipated, there is a spirit of rebellion in the Divisions because of Katniss' act of defiance at the Hunger Games that took place in book 1.  Even though there are unexpected twists and turns in books 2 and 3, they did not hold my interest as much as book 1.  Without giving away too much, I am going to just say that I did not like that the writer took us back into the arena for yet another Hunger Games in book 2.  In book 3, the Capitol strikes back at the revolutionaries and there is outright rebellion with Katniss as the symbolic Mockingjay.   The story is not exciting but I am sticking to it because of the love triangle: Gale, Katniss and Peeta.  Who will Katniss choose? Also, it is clear that Katniss is not comfortable with the leadership of the rebellion.  Will she have to defy the Capitol and the rebel government in Division 13?

A list of Personal Finance Books

This is a really cool list of personal finance books to add to your personal collection or for those of us who plan to get rich slowly. Get Rich Slowly is actually the attention grabbing title of this website. 

What are you reading?

I am sharing two links with you dear readers. First, I read a very shocking book over the week-end. It was a story about a southern family, about lust and about fighting big industry, in this case the cotton mill industry. What was shocking was that the book, with its sexual overtones and religious undertones, was first published in the 1930s. The story had the innocent title of God's Little Acre by southern writer, Erskine Caldwell.  By checking Amazon, I found out that there is a movie version for this book.

I found this second link in my Inbox.  It's a link to books that will guide you if you are seeking a life of positivity.  Take advantage of the opportunity to buy any book from the list before June 29th  and you could get a free positivity plan by Jon Gordon

What Am I Reading Next?

What do I read next? My good friend has suggested these thrillers, "The Boy in the Suitcase" by Lene Kaaberbol and also "Snowman" and "Nemisis" by Jo Nesbo.   However The Devotion of Suspect X, by a Japanese writer, is July's Book club selection so that is on my list of books to read.   Tomorrow I will be traveling and I will be taking An Unexpected Guest by Anne Korkeakivi with me to read in the long wait times.