Words, Words, Words

Polonius: ...What do you read, my lord? / Hamlet: Words, words, words.  (Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. Act 2, Scene 2)

Words, words, words. My life is filled with words. The question I wrestle with now (which hopefully will not drive me in to Hamlet-esque madness) is which words get priority? After some initial contemplation, I've decided to attempt a three-part-experiment.

Step One: Write More. Rather than "write something every day," which of late has meant, more often than not, composing a blog, I am going to set a more specific writing goal. I have a book project, and I am going to give that my daily-writing attention. I will devote both more time and more focused time to my writing. And maybe, just maybe, with a little bit more focus and discipline, I will finish my first-ever draft of a complete, full-length work of fiction. We'll call it a novel experiment.

Step Two: Blog Less. The blog, I shall limit to once-a-week posts. For now. Hey, better than a total hiatus, right? If something EPIC comes up, be it humorous, heartwarming, or "he did NOT just say that!!!" (hear me now, troublemakers - I will take time to call you out!), there may be extra posts. But the standard for the time being will be a once-weekly-post, which will include updates on step one, and on step three. Which leads me to...

Step Three: Keep My Schedule BOOKed. I am not giving up on 100 books in 2012. Thanks to my dear friend S, I have a loaner-Kindle and am flying through book two of the "Hunger Games" series, with a lovely pile of next-up-books waiting patiently on deck beside my bed. I shall keep posting my comments and running-tally of books read at the end of each blog. Like now:

Since last I updated my book tally, I finished "Stardust" (love). Then, I had to read three full-length scripts that were adaptations of Eudora Welty stories - more on that below. Once my judging duties were completed, I eagerly started and finished "The Hunger Games," and loved it so much that I immediately dove in to "Catching Fire," the second book in the series. Brief thoughts on each of this week's selections, plus my current tally, follow.

STARDUST by Neil Gaiman
The various stories within this story all come together so magically that I think this writer himself has magical powers.

THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins
I almost didn't want to like "The Hunger Games," because they've gotten so much hype. But since I have YA-aspirations of my own, I had to read the series. I found myself, not to make a bad pun, devouring it and savoring every bite. Mmkay, yep, two puns, sorry. Much as I enjoyed the ride of the first book, I'm now almost halfway through the second and enjoying it more.

EUDORA WELTY SCRIPTS (3)
I was asked to serve as a final judge on a playwriting competition, where writers were invited to write a stageplay adapted from one of Ms. Welty's works. Because I want to protect the anonymity of the competition finalists, I will not share the play titles or any identifying information. However, since I had not only to read the scripts but also to write lengthy responses to each before ranking them, I count this toward my reading time without a doubt. And, on a related note, one of the next five books I read will be Eudora Welty's "One Writer's Beginnings."

After I finish the "Hunger Games" series, of course.

CURRENT TALLY: BOOKED!

1. "Bossypants" by Tina Fey
2. "Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman
3. "My Life As An Experiment" by A.J. Jacobs
4. "Southern Gothic Novel" by Frank Blocker
5. "Y: The Last Man" by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, and Jose Marzan, Jr.

6. "Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan

7. "Locke & Key Book 2: Head Games" by Joe Hill & Gabriel Roriguez

8. "Cesar's Way" by Cesar Milan

9, "All My Sons" by Arthur Miller

10. "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
11. "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
12. Eudora Welty Adaptation #1
13. Eudora Welty Adaptation #2
14. Eudora Welty Adaptation #3
15. Now eagerly devouring "Catching Fire," the second book in the Hunger Games series...


P.S. I also ran Week 7, Run 1 of my 5k training program today. Just two weeks to go until I've completed the program, and I'm registered for a 5k taking place that very weekend. (Insert triumphant fist-pumping)