Fatigue
This year began well as far as my blogging experiment is concerned. I wrote consistently for about ten days in a row. Most of my writing is pedestrian with only a few lines really worthy of reading or feeling proud of. Do I really have any depth about anything at all? Can I write on a regular basis on a variety of subjects? Well, I did try but the writing seems a bit convoluted and deliberate. Any kind of self-expression has to flow without any impediments or accouterments. The effort is showing.
So rather than forcing myself to pound the keyboard daily, I have decided to focus on any topic that currently interests me and then write about it after doing research. My understanding of most subjects is rudimentary so I do not expect any kind of depth in my ruminations.
I am reading Jeffrey Archer's "The Fourth Estate" at the moment. This is perhaps Archer's weakest effort. But somehow I find myself curled up everyday with this book. I find the stories of Townsend and Armstrong far fetched even by Archer's standards. There are the usual tropes of migrants, jews, Germans, second world war, profiteering, greed, lust and all other story elements which figure in Archer's writing. Kane and Abel was a bit self indulgent and implausible but the story managed to keep the reader hooked. Clifton Chronicles spans a huge time span and again has his usual angles of poverty, subjugation, fairness, daring etc. The novels lose their grip by the time you reach the sixth and seventh installment. In my opinion Archer is in top form in Shall We Tell the President, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less and almost ALL his short stories. He is truly a master of the shorter format. Archer has handled such a wide variety of subjects and has cleverly mixed instances from his prison days, real life incidents, anecdotes shared by friends. It is really compelling reading.
So why am I still reading The Fourth Estate? I don't know. Perhaps for want of anything better at the moment. I was too much into Bill Bryson for the past few months. I read his A Brief History of Nearly Everything, The Body and am reading At Home. This is one remarkable writer with such a fascinating breadth and depth in his penmanship. He is wry, economical with words and is able to convey the most complex of scientific facts in a reader friendly manner. He is surely one of my favourite authors. But I think fatigue eventually sets in. I am these days unequal to the task of reading Ayn Rand. I must have read Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged multiple times, shared essays (Francisco's Money) with friends, recommended Rand to others but I simply cannot read her these days. So is the case with most writing of Alistair MacClean. I tried to read Guns of Navarone yet again but put the book aside after leafing through 4 pages. Fatigue.
So I guess it is necessary to keep feeding your brain with newer stuff. Better still, keep reading and then keep thinking and writing about what you have just read. This has to be implemented in the future. I will soon decide upon a book or some blog of fs.blog and attempt to write a 1000 word synopsis (this is merely 573 words, I checked) on it as soon as I am able.
I hope I am able to make some improvement.
So rather than forcing myself to pound the keyboard daily, I have decided to focus on any topic that currently interests me and then write about it after doing research. My understanding of most subjects is rudimentary so I do not expect any kind of depth in my ruminations.
I am reading Jeffrey Archer's "The Fourth Estate" at the moment. This is perhaps Archer's weakest effort. But somehow I find myself curled up everyday with this book. I find the stories of Townsend and Armstrong far fetched even by Archer's standards. There are the usual tropes of migrants, jews, Germans, second world war, profiteering, greed, lust and all other story elements which figure in Archer's writing. Kane and Abel was a bit self indulgent and implausible but the story managed to keep the reader hooked. Clifton Chronicles spans a huge time span and again has his usual angles of poverty, subjugation, fairness, daring etc. The novels lose their grip by the time you reach the sixth and seventh installment. In my opinion Archer is in top form in Shall We Tell the President, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less and almost ALL his short stories. He is truly a master of the shorter format. Archer has handled such a wide variety of subjects and has cleverly mixed instances from his prison days, real life incidents, anecdotes shared by friends. It is really compelling reading.
So why am I still reading The Fourth Estate? I don't know. Perhaps for want of anything better at the moment. I was too much into Bill Bryson for the past few months. I read his A Brief History of Nearly Everything, The Body and am reading At Home. This is one remarkable writer with such a fascinating breadth and depth in his penmanship. He is wry, economical with words and is able to convey the most complex of scientific facts in a reader friendly manner. He is surely one of my favourite authors. But I think fatigue eventually sets in. I am these days unequal to the task of reading Ayn Rand. I must have read Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged multiple times, shared essays (Francisco's Money) with friends, recommended Rand to others but I simply cannot read her these days. So is the case with most writing of Alistair MacClean. I tried to read Guns of Navarone yet again but put the book aside after leafing through 4 pages. Fatigue.
So I guess it is necessary to keep feeding your brain with newer stuff. Better still, keep reading and then keep thinking and writing about what you have just read. This has to be implemented in the future. I will soon decide upon a book or some blog of fs.blog and attempt to write a 1000 word synopsis (this is merely 573 words, I checked) on it as soon as I am able.
I hope I am able to make some improvement.
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