Uncommon Type
Uncommon Type is just a book that I could not get into. I do not know if it is a dilemma I've had with short stories sometimes. I've taken several classes at the Loft Literary Center where I just could not get into the stories that I had to read for classes. I would sit admiring the technical things that the teacher and other students in the class would be saying was amazing. It helped me develop enough distance to admire things that make good writing without necessarily liking it. This turned out to be a trait that would help me a lot with being able to behave respectfully with other writers who were working on things that did not resonate with me. I was committed to giving constructive feedback that would strengthen the piece that they were working on instead of attacking stories that I found boring.
I had to do ALOT of outside reading on my own to find writers whose short stories I actually liked a lot. This is how I discovered how brilliant Stephen King is. I also discovered H.P. Lovecraft when I did this research. I also found that I liked the classics like Hemmingway and Edgar Allan Poe. I did like reading Anne Beattie and Richard Yates quite a bit. I had a subscription to the New Yorker for a long time but I never could get into the short stories and poetry in that publication. However it is supposed to be one of the most prestigious publications for writers to be published in.
It just might be that the genre of short stories don't usually vibe with me. I can't help but wonder if Tom Hanks would be able to get his work published and revered faster than most people do. As someone who has won multiple Academy Awards all his agent has to hear is that he has written a collection of short stories and with a few phone calls he has a publishing deal. With a revered household name like his people will automatically buy the book without asking if it is any good. I once heard that sometimes in order to get published the question is not always if it is any good or not. The question is whether or not it will sell.
Yet this has not stopped me from reading other celebrity authors. I recently read Bonfire by Krysten Ritter. I know that one of the things that inspired her book was her role on Jessica Jones. While I did not like the ending of the book it was still an enjoyable experience to read it. And I also read Gabrielle Union's book and Lena Dunham's books which I have commented about on this blog before. It is just that I enjoyed those other books enough to finish them. However with this book I stopped after the first three stories. Tom Hanks may very well be a name that helps sell a book but buying the book is only the first step. I need to to want to finish reading the book. Instead I found myself putting it in the pile of books that I am willing to sell to Half Priced Books.
I had to do ALOT of outside reading on my own to find writers whose short stories I actually liked a lot. This is how I discovered how brilliant Stephen King is. I also discovered H.P. Lovecraft when I did this research. I also found that I liked the classics like Hemmingway and Edgar Allan Poe. I did like reading Anne Beattie and Richard Yates quite a bit. I had a subscription to the New Yorker for a long time but I never could get into the short stories and poetry in that publication. However it is supposed to be one of the most prestigious publications for writers to be published in.
It just might be that the genre of short stories don't usually vibe with me. I can't help but wonder if Tom Hanks would be able to get his work published and revered faster than most people do. As someone who has won multiple Academy Awards all his agent has to hear is that he has written a collection of short stories and with a few phone calls he has a publishing deal. With a revered household name like his people will automatically buy the book without asking if it is any good. I once heard that sometimes in order to get published the question is not always if it is any good or not. The question is whether or not it will sell.
Yet this has not stopped me from reading other celebrity authors. I recently read Bonfire by Krysten Ritter. I know that one of the things that inspired her book was her role on Jessica Jones. While I did not like the ending of the book it was still an enjoyable experience to read it. And I also read Gabrielle Union's book and Lena Dunham's books which I have commented about on this blog before. It is just that I enjoyed those other books enough to finish them. However with this book I stopped after the first three stories. Tom Hanks may very well be a name that helps sell a book but buying the book is only the first step. I need to to want to finish reading the book. Instead I found myself putting it in the pile of books that I am willing to sell to Half Priced Books.
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