Inspiration = a good book

Every now and again I need to remind myself what it is that I really value in books (as opposed to writing). Nothing tells me that more clearly than the books themselves. I love them for their own sake, for what they teach me, and because they inspire me to try to create something of value that will also give someone pleasure and inspiration. Granted, this will be yet another book in a burgeoning living reef of books. Still, within the limitations of my abilities, it will be the best I can write.

I suppose I tend to choose to read books either on the basis of their being of value to me at this particular time in my life, or more frequently it seems that the choice is serendipitous. So although it concerns me sometimes that I have so much admiration for the books that I have reviewed on this blog, because it might seem that the net is spread a little too wide, in fact I have so much admiration for these books because they are (in my opinion) very, very good and seem to have pulled off what must be to any writer who has tried to do likewise, an act verging on magic - the completion of stories (already something to be admired)  that feel real, effortless in their execution, sophisticated in their expression, and emotionally intelligent and courageous in their exploration of character and circumstance. I find that lately I am falling in love (or at least falling in like) with each new book that I read.

I am currently in the middle of reading Joyce Carol Oates incredible (no, really incredible!) book published in 2012 - Mudwoman.  (OMG!!!) If you are looking for a book that incorporates depth of character, political perspicacity, form as function, just plain writing skill at the elite athlete level, then this is a book to read and study. I certainly intend to do so. (For me) it is reminiscent of Susan Johnson's The Broken Book as it disorients the reader along with the disorientation of the protagonist, but in the same way that the poetry of e.e. cummings might do. You have to give in to it, swim with it, if you are to discover the wonders of the underwater world that it reveals. Whether we are to take this as the world of the collective unconscious, the dream world, the imagined life after life world, or more prosaically (possibly) the world of writerly metaphor, it's worth diving in.

Apologies for the purple prose, but I am in the purple prose mood this morning. Hope you find time to get hold of a copy of this remarkable book and read it. Would love to know what you think of it.