Tapping on Things Literature, Literacy, and Learning

Speaking of learning, I may as well start off with important matters first. I finished reading The Black Russian, and of course the book was phenomenal. This one is an absolute must read! Already posted my thoughts on Goodreads, Amazon, and (soon) my review blog.

Moving forward, at least until the end of the year, I will only consider reviewing books that are either satirical or humorous in nature. This still leaves the playing field open as satire and humor can fall under many genres; however memoirs, chic-lit romance, and literature (either historical stories, or biographies) are my preferences.

Currently there are five books I look forward to getting into, and through, hopefully by the end of the month. I'll be updating my Goodreads site to reflect which books they are, approximately how far I am into each, and my thoughts for the moment.

That aside, look at what I caught (below) gaily flouncing around online, on literary social sites. My answers, based on my experiences, might provide additional light into my reading, writing, and reviewing preferences.

What Was the First Book That Made You Love Books? (on Publishers Weekly)

I've never been too entranced about sharing exactly what was at the core of my reading habits, which is really a shame given the power behind books like The Boston Strangler having the perspicuity to turn a reluctant reader, as in my case, into an avid reader. I mean, not even Langston Hughes' poetry, which reading poetry was my fondest, earliest recall reading for pleasure, held the kind of magnetic power over me like that one eye-arresting book. This book not only drove my desire to read, but it led me to ransacking libraries, wanting to ultimately read any book that would open. It as well persuaded me to humor myself appreciating Shakespeare… taught me technical mechanics of writing… and yes, it even taught me the Dewey-decimal system, a learning-lesson I considered a blessing for navigating libraries 15-minutes before closing, trying to quickly grab something I wanted to read.

Good Writing vs. Good Stories? (on LinkedIn)

This is a question I brooded over a little piece back. I'm sure I even hammered away at this one right here on my blog as well… writing vs. storytelling.

Whether reading or writing creative fiction, I prefer storytelling… natural, raw stories drawn (and told) from the writer's own intuits. Remember, stories tell… movies show—storytelling dressed in its finest. (Winking here... as of course the best storytellers can write as well!)

Serious non-fiction reads better when the material is heavily fact-checked, cross-referenced, indexed, footnoted, collaborated on, professionally edited, proofread, re-proofread, and preferably worded plainly, along with anything else I may have left out. From my now fuzzing up memory, those old-school True Crime books, and for the most part textbooks, handled this well.

Basic non-fiction, such as biographies, and especially memoirs, work well when there is a mixture of both storytelling and writing involved. I expect biographies to lean closer to the writing realm however, and memoirs are fine dipping in and out of storytelling—writing in all of its glory!

What's more important, making a profit or making a difference? (on LinkedIn)

I see neither/nor, or both, in the sense that making a difference from my visage is the profit. Raising readers through thought-provoking content that not only inspires me, thus increasing my productivity, but inspires others, as well as increasing readers' productivity kind of works like the gift that keeps on giving.