Under (Means Almost Over) ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

     U means we're almost to the end of the alphabet.   Almost, I said.  We're not done yet.  I didn't find too many titles for the letter 'U' and I couldn't find anything on my shelves by John Updike.  I guess I could have used Upton Sinclair, but my paperback copy of The Jungle must be hidden away in some dark secret place.  And since I've posted many books so far about the United States (they fit in all sorts of other categories) there doesn't seem much point in setting aside this topic as something separate.

        However, there were still a few 'U' books to be found and they're pretty good ones...

Understanding Fiction edited by Cleanth Brooks & Robert Penn Warren

       In the previous post I was discussing textbooks and I've got another here by name:  Understanding Fiction.   This is a marvelous collection of short stories that includes commentary and discussion questions for each.  This book was edited by two major authors and literary critics who were highly regarded when I was in college in the 1970's.  This was a textbook in my Short Story class conducted by Dr. Robert Drake at the University of Tennessee. Considering the nature of this book I saw no reason to sell it back to the bookstore like I did with most of my textbooks.  I've gone back to this book several times over the past 50 years.

Under the Eye of the Storm by John Hersey

      As I had mentioned in my H post, John Hersey is among my favorite authors.  I have a few books by this great author.  Conveniently, one of them fits into my listings for the letter 'U'.   This one is in my to-read-again stack.  I read it many many years ago.  Time to read it again.

Under the Dome by Stephen King

        During a bout of sickness that kept me in bed for a couple weeks back in 2010, I read this huge book pretty rapidly.  Like other King books it's an easy read.  The story was pretty good though I thought the ending was weak.  I reviewed this book on Tossing It Out after I read it.  You can find the review here. 

       What author would you consider among your favorites?   Do you tend to buy many books by an author you enjoy reading?   Do you find short story compilations with expository notes to help you write better?

Stephen King's UNDER THE DOME: A Review

         A couple weeks ago I was somewhat laid up with an extreme backache problem and a general sense of not feeling so well--highly unusual for me, but it happened.  I'd gotten of copy of Stephen King's UNDER THE DOME at the end of November but just could not set aside the time for this book then.  I mean, at well over one thousand pages this book is huge!  I'm not saying that lifting it caused my back problem, but it just seemed  to be too big to carry with me on my vacation.  Well, as fate would have it, my unfortuitous health circumstance seemed to provide the best opportunity to read King's latest book.

         Believe it or not, I had never read a Stephen King book until this one, even though I have several of them sitting around the house.  I've seen several movies based on his books and have enjoyed nearly all of them.  I knew from his reputation that he must be a passable writer to have gotten as much attention as he has received over the years.  Now that I have read DOME, I will attest the Stephen is the King--at least of this kind of writing. 

          The premise of the story is that a huge impenetrable transparent dome has settled upon the Maine community of Chester's Mill and surrounding area.  People on the outside of the dome can see in and people inside the dome can see out, but otherwise no one can move between the two realms.  The people of Chester's Mill are trapped and physically cut off from the outside world.  The story takes place over a span of about a week or so as we see how the lives of these trapped citizens are affected.

         The setting is well drawn out right down to a map of the town in the front pages of the book.  The cast of characters is extensive.  The characters are drawn believably, though they are stereotypical and shallow.  In fact they are much like the characters of a movie or a TV mini-series--hmm! Should this surprise anyone?   For the most part the characters were people that I did not particularly like, but I was intrigued about their situation and how they dealt with it.

         The story is well paced and interesting.  The chapters are very short.  The dialogue is natural and flows easily.  I am normally a very slow reader, but I was amazed how the book was not only a fast read for me, but also very easy to follow and retain.  I never had to go back to reread anything because every page flowed smoothly to the next.  Every detail was depicted vividly and the reading experience was highly cinematic for me.  I think this is masterful writing and I can easily understand King's popularity among readers and why so many of his books have been made into films.  King is a master of pop-shock-shclock, taking it into the realm of highly readable literature.

          This does not make DOME great literature.  I liked the book and it will stay with me for a long time, but reading it did not really enlighten me or change me in any way.  It was just grippingly good entertainment.  Much of the book is very topical and makes reference to current events and people.  King was right on top of things when it came to writing a book that will feel really fresh for the next few years.  I don't think it will have staying power in decades to come. 

         I was also disturbed by some of the crassness and profanity.  There is some pretty disgusting stuff said and portrayed in these pages.  In other words, this one is definitely not for kids--adults only!  In all fairness, the story portrays some pretty disgusting people and the language and actions suit these characters.  Also another thing that perturbed me in this book was how the worst villain was labeled as a Christian and some of the worst activity of the town was related to so-called Christians.  I'm not saying that wacko people who relate themselves to Christianity don't exist in the world, I just thought it was played a little heavy-handed in this book, but King did make it work effectively in the context of the story he created.

       If you are very offended by bad language and immoral behavior, I would recommend that you avoid this book.  However, if you can get past that aspect and enjoy good story telling then you might like UNDER THE DOME.  Hard core science fiction buffs might scoff at the resolution of the story, but overall I think King was pretty meticulous in dealing with many of the scientific problems arising from the circumstances of the dome's presence.  Also, other details of the events in the book seemed to be pretty well researched.  All in all, UNDER THE DOME is worth the money and time if you are merely looking for light entertainment that is well written.

        

Before and After Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day


        Yes, that's what I said.  You might not have expected that from me after my Thursday Debate Day post, but I'm still recognizing the spirit of the day and after all, I don't have to go into debt or spend frivolously to express the sentiment.  And, yes, I know Valentine's Day is tomorrow--I just didn't think it would fit in with my traditional Sunday Bible study.

       Which by the way, I don't think I ever mention my Sunday post.  Often I post something relevent to the Bible study that I lead at the church where I attend.  Other times I may just post something that is on my mind.  If you are interested in Bible studies please join in and feel free to comment.  After all, I'm not a Bible expert by any means and if I need to be corrected that's important.  I also like it when readers add their insights as well.

         Last Monday's first installment of the Persnickety Penman seemed a little low on readership and I'd still like to get some opinions if you would care to go back to it and leave a comment.  I plan to continue with this series on this coming Monday.  And on Tuesday, as I promised last week, I will be reviewing Stephen King's UNDER THE DOME, so if you've read it already please see if you agree with me.

         The rest of the week is up in the air.  After my self revealing post of last Wednesday, some readers commented that they wanted me to expound upon some of my answers, so I may use them for either my upcoming Wednesday or Friday posts for this week and beyond.  If you didn't read yesterday's post, The Chilhowee Grave Robbery , you may enjoy going back and checking it out.  An especially good  anonymous comment came late in the day--it was a rather spooky account and one can understand why the commenter wished to remain anonymous.  

           Don't forget your sweeties tomorrow!  Do you have any special Valentine's Day plans?

       

Bad Moods and Negativity

          This was how I looked this week.  Well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but sometimes ya cudda thunk so.   I've been kind of bothered by a nuisance backache (still) and I think it's been affecting my writing of late.  In fact, I know it has.  I can't sit and type as long as I've  been doing before and I hope to have that resolved really soon.

          I started last Monday with blog conspiracy theories but I guess it's good to be careful but maybe paranoia doesn't start the week off in the best way.  I did get quite a few good comments, but then again Mondays always seem to get more comments than most other days.  This coming Monday I was planning on a piece about writing in general.  I forget what it was at the moment but I'm sure it will come back to me this week-end.

         Then Tuesday I got totally carried away when I was going to write about one thing and then thought about something really negative and got off on a rant.  Well I promise to do better next Tuesday and you can look for my post  "And Now For the Sticky Topic I Meant to Talk about Last Week But Got Carried Away Complaining About Things I Probably Can't Do That Much About.....".  Hopefully readers will find this upcoming post to be fun and informative.

         Even the Wednesday topic about my hot pepper plants, a topic dear to my heart (or should I say dear to my heartburn), was a little more piquant than most.  At least I learned that my pepper plants are piquin peppers.   I knew my readers will come through for me.   This Wednesday is unplanned as of yet.

           My topic last Thursday was probably not something writers, or any creative person for that matter, wants to hear, but this seemed like the week to bring it up--you know, my bad mood and all.  Probably a debate topic about Valentine's Day would be appropriate this week since it will be on a lot of minds.

           My Dream Day topic of yesterday didn't get many comments, but maybe everybody was speechless. But I did get a few really nice comments on my song lyrics, but I was hoping for more critiques.  I can usually count on good ol' Stephen T McCarthy to be thoroughly analytical and he didn't fail me this time either.  And then a real poet, Yvonne, from welcome to my world of poetry , had such nice things to say and asked if I had any more verse hidden away.  Yes I do.  I will have to think about that one. 

        Just for fun you might want to start checking L. Diane Wolf's Spunk on a Stick blog before or after you check mine.  Seems like we've been having some synchronous lines of blog thought some days.  I'm sure there's just been coincidence involved but who knows?   They say that great minds think alike and it would be cool for me to be included in the category of great minds.

        This week I finished Stephen King's UNDER THE DOME.  This is probably the fastest read I've ever accomplished.  On Tuesday February 16 I will be offering up my review and thoughts on this book.  Hmm--maybe my reading this book partly contributed to my dark mood last week.  Hey--it's Stephen King!  What do you expect!

         Have you read UNDER THE DOME yet?  How's your week been going anyway?  Do you think I should offer up any more poetry, verse, or song lyrics?  If I do, will you read and comment?  And if you don't like it, it's okay to say so, but try to tell me what you don't like about it.  Hey, you blog friends are great!

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Writers

        Today is Science Fiction Day.  Wait!--you may say, I thought Thursday was Debate Day!  Okay, yes it is, except today I'm going to get a little science fictionized so perhaps today might be better termed Speculation Day.  Either way I'm going to toss out  something for you to dwell on and you can toss your thoughts back to me.

Do you think writers could ever become obsolete?
       
         Now I don't know exactly what got me to thinking about this, but I was reading Stephen King's UNDER THE DOME and I just started thinking about formulaic writing.  This is not a bad thing really.  We all have certain writing formulas and by its very nature language must be formulaic in order to be understood. Therefore for a written work to be comprehensible I think we can all agree that there must be logical progression  or at least a certain logic to any illogic.  In other words any widely acceptable writing is more than just words on paper (or a screen or what have you), but it must also be something that can be understood by an intended audience of readers.

         Does it necessarily take a human writer to do this?  I am quite certain that with current technology a fairly passable novel could be constructed using a decently written software program and a average computer.  I believe I have read where this has actually been done already.  We have our "word" and "spell check" programs that do a pretty good job of correcting errors and there are editing programs that reconstruct improper writing with accuracy.  There is software available for developing novels and screenplays.  As long as the computer is fed data,  i.e. writing styles, character traits, geography, history, or whatever is needed, the writing can be produced by artificial intelligence.

          As more books are scanned by the mega-digital-storage banks and more encyclopedic factual data, more observation on human behavior studies,  and more data of all types is assimilated by the digital brains the more they know and the more control they have.  Can the age of Big Brother be far behind?  I don't read a whole lot of science fiction, but I'm sure this has been explored often.  Computers are so darn convenient and we as a society have come to depend on them.  Are we starting to depend on them too much?

          I hope it never happens, but it would be so much cheaper for computers to crank out Stephen King style work than it would be to pay Stephen King to do it.  It would even be cheaper than having me, Arlee Bird writing it.  Automation has taken away many of our jobs as it is,  so why should the creative minds be exempt from obsolescence.  And writers aren't the only ones at risk--this could also be said of visual artists, composers, and musicians.  Even actors may be replaced by digital images.  A future world run by machines may become a reality and we may not be so lucky as the fat pampered humans served by machines as we saw depicted in the animated film Wall-e.  Shades of Terminator Rise of the Machines and Hal the supercomputer from 2001: Space Odyssey--the machines may be our undoing. 

          The scenario may not be unrealistic.  I shudder to think that we humans could ever let something like this happen, but look at some of the things that have happened already.  Are you ready to become obsolete as a creative individual?   Do you think this scenario is absolutely absurd and if so, why?  What do you see in the future for writers?  For other creative individuals?   For humankind in general?

           In the next couple weeks I plan to review Stephen King's UNDER THE DOME, that is, if the powers that be allow me to keep creating.   You never really know for sure what can happen in the future.