Read a Book or Two, or Twenty

Today I finished reading a book. After finishing a book through to the end I feel like a smarter person, as if a new puzzle piece has been added to my intellect. With each new word, paragraph, or chapter I felt as if I have found something I didn't know I was looking for, like money on the ground the morning after night life has ended. Except in the case of reading, no monetary value can be placed upon the words. It is an accomplished feeling, to read at your leisure, so much so that I would easily deem it as "sweet."

That is why I have a proposal. Book swaps. Let's trade knowledge. I want to know more, and I know you do too. I am always willing and able to lend out copies of any book I have read only in the understanding that I expect something in return. I want a book so full of insight, something that will alter my life and thinking habits. I want to read what you are reading. So throughout this blog I hope to include some of my readings in hope to garnish some interest in trading. I encourage you all to do the same. Let us read! Be free of assignments, and relish the written word.

I just finished reading "The Workshop."

"The Workshop" is anthology of the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop composed and edited by Tom Grimes. For those of you that don't know, the Writers' Workshop in Iowa City is one the first and most nationally recognized creative writing workshop in the nation. Many of the brilliant authors who are featured in the book spent time drudging through the snow-ridden streets of Iowa City, spent late nights typing away in one-room apartments, and have drowned their sorrows in the local saloons.

The authors that really stuck out to me in the text include Flanney O'connor (The Comforts of Home), Walter Tevis (The Hustler), Stuart Dybek (Paper Lanterns), Dennis Johnson (Work), Michael Cunningham (White Angel), Ethan Canin (The Year of Getting to Know Us), Brady Udall (Buckeye the Elder), and many more!

This book is nothing more then a big collection of short stories but also provides insights from both Tom Grimes and the selected authors on the creative writing spirit, passion, and insanity. A must read.

If this sounds interesting to you, or you have a book you would like to highlight, please feel free to post something and perhaps a trade is in order. A quick warning though, usually I don't mind trading books knowing full well that I may never see my original copy ever again, but this is one book that I hope to keep in my library for years to come.

Below is a link to Tom Grimes website with a feature on "The Workshop"

"The Workshop" edited by Tom Grimes website