What are you reading?

For the past year I've been reading a lot of contemporary drama, I was supposed to complete the course in the past month but it seems I'll stay for few more months. Feeling a bit stuck because I had other plans and because I did a lot of (not enough it seems) writing and reading over the summer. Other than that, I still have 50-60 pages of part I of JT Woody's novel to read, and I'm in the middle of a Paul Auster novel and there's a local theatre festival coming up so I'll probably be going to one or two shows (when I was younger I used to go to a lot of those shows).
 
Writing schools have let me down, and the best way to become a writer is probably to read as less as possible. :D
 
I get annoyed sometimes because if I want to do medicine or law or engeneering, I need to go to school for that. But writing is something available to all. And it should be, all art should (but not craft?) but then I suggest questioning those courses if they're not any kind of reference once I complete them.
 
Pik said:
And it should be, all art should (but not craft?) but then I suggest questioning those courses if they're not any kind of reference once I complete them.
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I'm not sure I understand your hypothesis.

Courses in anything from microbiology to three dimensional art are steps along the way to more finely honed skills and deeper knowledge of a subject. Having absorbed the lessons taught therein, I didn't refer back to 7th grade biology after I became a graduate student, but that first biology class was foundation on which I built a career in science. Why wouldn't the same be true for art and creative writing?
 
Homer Potvin said:
I'm not understanding what you mean by this sentence. Can you elaborate?
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CatrionaGrace said:
I'm not sure I understand your hypothesis.

Courses in anything from microbiology to three dimensional art are steps along the way to more finely honed skills and deeper knowledge of a subject. Having absorbed the lessons taught therein, I didn't refer back to 7th grade biology after I became a graduate student, but that first biology class was foundation on which I built a career in science. Why wouldn't the same be true for art and creative writing?
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There are probably different rules in different parts of the world and depending on if it's undergraduate or graduate studies or phd (I don't even know if there is such a thing as creative writing courses at phd level). From my experience, and the experience of the people around me, diploma in courses like IT is almost a guarantee for career opportunities in that field. With creative writing and arts it's a gamble even after the studies are completed, except for maybe the top 5% of students. In the arts a lot is placed on the skills that can't be taught at school (such as talent). If I want to be a writer or painter or musician, I can skip school and still succeed (if I am talented), but if I want to do engineering or law or medicine, I need to follow the official rules.
 
Okay, you meant reference as in job reference. Got it. I'd say that in the creative arts, music especially, nearly everybody ends up teaching or working some sort of support role, like audio engineering in the music world. The important part there is you're in that particular artistic word where the real artists and art happen. You meet people, find opportunities, and generally be somewhere in the room when things happen. Writing is very similar. Even successfully published writers of modest renown still have a day job somewhere in their field.
 
Yeah I often hear that one of the main advantages of film/art schools is networking. I have student colleagues in my undergrad studies who became very successful in e.g. directing, acting, production (other departments in the same school), some of them in writing too, but it's not something that happens to every student after graduation. And there are different types of success, some of them end up making a lot of money without necessarily becoming famous, and others achieve fame in the academic communities rather than artistic. And from what I know about education in the US and in the West, it's more expensive than in a lot of other countries, and probably why not everyone decides to get a degree before pursuing a career in a particular field.
 
Just finished re-reading (okay, re-listening-to) P.G. Wodehouse's Right-Ho Jeeves. Every time it makes me laugh (something to be greatly desired these days), same old gags but always I find something new and refreshing. And some amazing writing, IMHO.
 
Over the weekend, I returned to Grub Line Rider with “One Last Gun Notch” and “Ride, You Tonto Raiders”. Currently on Ch. III of the latter.

I also picked up the illustrated PS Publishing edition of Ramsey Campbell’s The Inhabitant of the Lake and Other Unwelcome Tenants. A nice, seasonally-appropriate collection so far. Just finished “The Insects from Shaggai” the other night.
 
Finished Red Rising (my phone doesn't seem to want to do italics) which was a very absorbing read and a hell of a wild ride. It's making me want to finish an old WIP of mine that's sorta in the same vein. We'll just see about that.

Since I don't have the next in the series lined up, I raided my shelves for something to read. Got started on Litany of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe. I adore The Book of the New Sun, but somehow never got around to these Long Sun ones. It seems to be hitting the spot right a handful of pages in, so I'm excited to see where this goes.
 
Yesterday I finished Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Treasure Island — enjoyed it. Long John Silver is an especially compelling character with a delightful arc.

I also recently finished Peter Ackroyd’s Foundation, and I’m now underway with Dan Jones’ Henry V.

I ordered the second book — Lords of the Bow — in Conn Iggulden’s Genghis Khan historical fiction series. I’ll start that as soon as it comes in.
 
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