2013 [in books]
As previously documented, I’ve got a love of reading. And while I’m no good at reading more than one book at a time, I’m always reading one book at a time. Usually, I have a horrible time deciding which book I’ll pick up; my habit of buying strolling secondhand bookstores means my shelves are stacked with To Read tomes I never quite seem to put a dent in. And once I do sort out what I’d like to pick up next, it’s the time to read that I have to scrounge up somewhere. But then, moving across the country with only what you can fit in your car, traveling to…
Watch This: internet video edition
Please, please – watch this video. You can wash dishes or fold the laundry while you do – he just stands at the podium the whole time. But it’s not the visuals we’re here for, folks. I land somewhere on the voracious end of the “How Much Do You Love Reading?” scale, at least in intention if not always execution (what can I say? I get busy. With movies.) And all due credit goes to my mom, who did exactly what Gaiman describes in that video there: she read to us aloud, my big brother and I tucked into our bunk-beds listening to the adventure of the kids at Wayside…
Studying Screenwriting: Book 2
So, I’ve been working through the second of the handful of books on screenwriting I picked up once I decided this creative endeavor was something I wanted to pursue. This one is, quite appropriately, Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting and it’s amazing. It’s approachable and informative. It’s repetitive enough to ensure the concepts stick (Remember, all drama is conflict. Without conflict there is no story. Without story there is no screenplay.) I’m not even done with the book, but I already feel like I know more about the craft of screenwriting – its nuances and specificities – than I ever learned in college. Obviously I’ve got a long way to…
Anticipated Books
February to August marked a boon in reading for me that I hadn’t indulged in for years. Between time off, travel and newfound subway commutes that allow for a few minutes in a book, I’ve been able to sail through a memoir or two, more than a few novels, and even your interesting non-fiction tomes. All that, and I still have a to-read list that’s a mile high, older books I still want to get around to and a new stack of screenwriting books I’m devouring as fast as I can. None of this, however, stops me from anticipating books that haven’t even released yet, books that’ll be my excuse…
