Welcome to Question Eight of our Read Along of Aristotle for Novelists by Douglas Vigliotti.
Q How important are believable characters to you?
A I think they are absolutely essential. It is the characters that usually first engage me with a book and what keep me reading on.
What do you think?
Welcome to Question Seven of our Read Along of Aristotle for Novelists by Douglas Vigliotti.
Q How do you feel about italicization in stories?
A Personally, I think it plays an important part in helping a reader to differentiate between thought, feeling and narrative.
What do you think?
Welcome to Question Five of our Readalong of Aristotle for Novelists by Douglas Vigliotti.
Q What's more important to you, writing or plot?
A For me, I can't separate the two as both are essential. Beautiful writing without a good plot doesn't work for me, but neither does poor writing with an amazing plot. I need both to keep my interest.
Welcome to Question Four of our Readalong of Aristotle for Novelists by Douglas Vigliotti.
Q Do you like a clear finale or make up your own mind through the subtext?
A Generally, I prefer a book to tie everything up with a neat bow. However, there are times when an open ending is absolutely the right way to end a book. I loved the ending of The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber for that very reason.
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The path to love is strewn with swipes in the wrong direction, unanswered texts, declarations of love followed by silence, and disappointment when someone claims to be 30 and then tuurns up to a date looking like Dumbledore...
***
The Blurb
You're on date #17 since your last relationship ended in flames, and within a nanosecond of meeting Doug at a bar you realise you've made a huge mistake. You head to the bathroom to text your mate Lizzy and complain about how your date says aaaahh after every sip of beer, seems to style himself after Donald Trump, and definitely sniffed your hair. Ten seconds later, you realise you accidentally texted this to Doug. You sit frozen on the loo, wondering if there's a back exit, or if you should fake your own death.
The philosophy of the Stoics can help us all navigate the life cycles of love, whether it's dating someone wearing horns and a kaftan, a relationship where blobs of toothpaste are left smeared in the bathroom sink, or being dumped via text with just one word – enough! Across 45 rules, from dating tips like Do your due diligence to relationship advice like Don't tell your partner to calm down to break-up wisdoms like Resist putting your foot in your mouth, Annie Lawson applies ancient wisdom to the modern world of being in love, out of love, lovesick, love-bombed or just love-tired.
Romance and its rocky pursuit often sucks but, fortunately, not always, and Stoic in Love helps us realise that we can all use a little help getting together, staying together, or moving on.
My Review
This is the perfect little book to read in snippets and is brilliant for dipping in and out of.
It is broken up into three main sections Dating, Relationships and Breaking Up. Most of us will recognise ourselves in some of the elements that the author describes, and many of them caused me to smile or have a little chuckle to myself.
There are 45 individual areas where she discusses the pitfalls of the seeking/doing/finishing of a relationship. The author then provides examples of how the wisdom of the Ancient Greeks can be applied to modern situations such as ghosting and gaslighting. It is a unique presentation of a book on relationships and I enjoyed reading it.
It is full of amusing anecdotes from the authors own experience, along with a good dollop of sound advice.
The illustrations by Oslo Davis are of a cartoonish style and add another layer of amusement to the text.
I would recommend this book.
Book Details:
ISBN: 978 1761500404
Publisher: Murdoch
Formats: e-book and paperback
No. of Pages: 224 (paperback)
About the Author
Annie Lawson is a former journalist who has had a diverse love life, from a first pash as a teenage with braces to several boyfriends including one who alphabetised cereal packets, and finally to marriage, which ended. This all taught her that the key to a good relationship is not only lots of storage, regular holidays at a nice resort and someone who is funny, but finding a partner to do nothing with. She now works on the dark side of the corporate world and is a devoted student of the
Stoics, taking every opportunity to apply their wisdom to life's hard things – from the workplace to matters of the heart.
(book and media courtesy of Random Things Tours)
(all opinions are my own)
It's July and a whole new month of reading ahead.
As I sit writing this the weather is cool for July and I can see black clouds from my window. It looks as thought I won't be retreating to the garden with a book today.
What are your reading plans for this month? Here are a few books which I hope to read.
Butter by Asako Yuzuki
Honeycomb by S. B. Caves
The Missing Family by Tim Weaver
The Faith of Their Fathers by Samuel M. Sargeant
Smelly Peggy by Helen Stephens
Luigi: The Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten by Michelle Knudsen & Kevin Hawkes
Summer at the Santorini Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin
Mist Over Pendle by Robert Neill
Love's Work by Gillian Rose
Dog Stories Ed. by Diana Secker Tesdell
Happy Reading
A dozen poets lounged on divans and cushions around the lawn, dressed in the fine linen robes and turbans of courtiers and scholars, sober browns and maroons brightened by flashes of colour at the cuffs. The men were talking quietly, waiting for the poetry contest to begin...
***
Arriving in Córdoba as a young man in 1088 to learn medicine, Yehuda Halevi is enchanted by a world in which Muslim, Jewish and Christian courtiers share poetry and philosophy in their elegant gardens. Here he falls in love with Deborah, the spirited daughter of his host. In this turbulent world, however, Yehuda also encounters invasions and pirates, book burnings and bandits.Driven by conflict to move from city to city, Yehuda and Deborah are often parted – but always in the hope that they will one day return together to Córdoba. As Yehuda’s fame grows as a poet and as a philosopher, his writings become increasingly mystical but also increasingly restless, for he yearns to travel to the holy city of Jerusalem. In 1140, as an old man, he must finally decide whether to stay with his family or begin the perilous voyage towards Egypt and Crusader Jerusalem…In this beautifully evocative story, Robert L. Stone transports the reader to twelfth-century AndalucÃa as he traces the extraordinary life of a man determined to devote himself – and his exceptional talent – to a greater truth.
***
This excellent book spans parts of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. I have not read many books set during that period so this made for really interesting reading. It is ambitious in scope and relates the oft unstable religious and political environment in existence during this period of history.
Although this is a work of fiction, the author has clearly completed extensive research which gives this novel a scholarly feel whilst also being easy to read. Whilst the backdrop is complex, the characters enable this book to keep the reader engaged and although it is intellectual in feel, it carries the reader along with it very nicely.
The book follows the life of Yehuda Halevi. He was a well written and fully fleshed character who was easy to engage with. I enjoyed accompanying him on each step of his journey, and the author's descriptions made Yehuda's world feel very relevant. I equally enjoyed reading of his wife, Deborah, who Mr. Stone portrays as a strong female character within a very patriarchal society.
Well written, it's excellent narrative and dialogue propels the story forward, making it well worth reading. I learned much about both the time period and the places that Yehudi travelled. There is much attention to detail which enables the reader to feel very close to the story and setting.
What this book demonstrates clearly is that during the time period in which it is set different faiths were able to co-exist harmoniously and indeed learn from one another. It is a book that is very relevant to todays society and is well worth reading.
ISBN: 978 1915036537
Publisher: Stony Mere
Formats: e-book and paperback
No. of Pages: 304 (paperback)
