These are the reasons why I haven't posted any artwork in ages, so deal with it. As much as I love drawing, I haven't drawn 'properly' for a few weeks now... instead, I've been getting my nose stuck into a good book, and these four beauties are what I have read in the past few weeks.
A friend lent me this book and I'm so glad he did as it's wonderful. A heart-warmingly, amusing tale of an American Jew who visits Europe in search of a woman who saved his grandfather during WW2. Very funny with a USA-lovin' Ukrainian translator and a sexually frustrated dog named after swing crooner Sammy Davies Jr with some sad bits and sometimes a little confusing, but I think that's just me being dumb (hey I'm allowed to be, I'm blonde now!) There is a movie of this too, directed by LIEV SCHREIBER! Not only is this guy a brilliant actor (I don't think he's actually in the film though) he has the best name ever and I love bellowing it, so imagine me bellowing it...LIIIIEEEEEV SCHREEEIBERRR!!!
I haven't actually finished this book yet as it is a hefty one! I am about half way through and so far I have been enjoying this classic tale of avenging a big white whale, but I find myslef struggling because the text is so prolific. I guess I just need to concebtrate more. This novel does have some wonderful imagery which has been made into exquist visuals time and time again, and I intend to work my making magic to create some drawings that are equally as hefty as Mr. Melville's work of art. Watch this space.
I read Margaret Atwood's 'Surfacing' while at school and absolutly fell in love with it. It's many underlying themes, including nature, women's relationships with just about everything in the 70's and complex main character absolutly fascinated me....and the fact she was an illustrator! I studied this book so friggin' hard and made stupid amounts of notes on it for part of my Alevel English exam, that you would think that I would be totaly put off, but it didn't. It just made me love it even more and nderstand everything Atwood was trying to tell her readers. Please, if you are going to read it, read it slowly and don't take all her sometimes seemingly over-the-top description for granted, as it is beautiful.
A Handmaid's Tale is just as good, but (I found) a whole lot easier to read. An intreqing tale of an alternative realisty (sorta science fiction I guess) about women who are there for one reason only, breeding. Loads of inbetween-the-lines feminist stuff going on. Well actually, a lot of it is blndingly obvious like the fact all of womens rights are taken away!
And finally, Silvia Plaths collection of random short stories and musings. What can I say- tormented writer?! I don't know much about Plath except that she only wrote one 'proper novel,' 'The Bell Jar' which I havent read yet, was married to Ted Hughes and she killed herself in 1963. I guess I should wikipedia her!
Some of these stories I enjoyed and her way of writing is sorta lke a stream of consciousness, nothing really well polished as such, I guess I like this as that's how I write. (to be refined, I have to write, wrtie, re-write, edit, re-write, edit, edit, re-write and then check for spelling mistakes, grammar error and slang, but I like slang, I'd rather keep it in...rad, stoked, super stoked, cool, psyched, innit, sick, dope fuck that, everything else and that's why most of the time I put pictures up and little else).
I rekon if you just want a book you can dip into about nothing specific at all, then you should read this. I'm gonna read the Bell Jar at soem point but I got loads of other newly-ish bought books I need to read first...1984, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Che Diaries, Silence of the Lambs.
