Saturday, September 02, 2006

Stumbling into greatness...

I began this day by waking up way too early and being prompt for my appointment with Carla.
She cuts my stupid hair.
Right now she is pregnanter than any human I have ever seen!
Holy moly, she could barely reach my actual hair with that preg-belly jutting out in front of her. She's got twins in there, she tells me. Each of them are going to be more than seven pounds! Anyway, the haircut turned out alright. Much better than this other time I reported on a bad experience.
Remember?
Note: -->That was NOT Carla that butchered me that time!
After my haircut, I wandered around downtown, and ended up at The Library.
[I know! Is that rowdy or what?]
Tell you what, though.
I absolutely LOVE The Library.
For one thing, it's so.... so full of BOOKS!
Found myself wandering down the "H" aisle. I had a look at this Ursula Hegi book, called Sacred Time (2003). I fell for the cover of the thing. Love those old cars! It's set in the Bronx, 1950's. I've read one other Hegi book, The Hotel Of The Saints (Short Stories) and really enjoyed it. So I signed this thing out and then spent the afternoon with it.
I AM LOVING IT!
It is just so well-written, honestly, I am marvelling over it. I am drawn into it, do not want to put it down. So, I may just have to stay awake with it tonight.
Thought I would just mention it to all late-night puddlers out there... awake with their own books, perhaps.
My preliminary report on this Hegi book is that it is just amazing. I love good dialogue, and this is some of the best I have ever encountered.
You know what? There are great authors [in every other respect] but.... when their characters talk, I do not hear them.
I hear Hegi's characters.
I have read and re-read and re-read paragraphs. Made copious notes.
At various points in the day [I read in a couple of different coffee shops] the book was so good that I sort of wanted to run out into the street and kick a few random people right in the shins!
[Please don't ask me to explain that?]
Isn't it exhilarating to latch onto a book that resonates with you?
That moves you, makes you shake your head, or look out the nearest window and somehow see the world, and even yourself, in a clearer light?

**********

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cipriano,

Can't wait to read this Hegi. Isn't she a great little stylist?
You mention making "copious notes" on the text. I wonder how many of your readers make notes on what they read or how they sort of...commemorate their reading. Yes. Commemorate. I sort of see note taking on a book that you may or may not be discussing in a class or with someone else as doing that.
How many readers take time to stop at a really great passage and write something? And what kind of passage would make them do that? Where do they write it? Margins? Separate file? On the back of their hand?

This penchant for running out in the road and kicking people in the shins...I wonder about that too. How many of your fans feel the pressing need to perform this act of commemoration?
Comments?

Meanwhile, we need pause for a moment to consider poor Carla. That's 14 pounds of BABY in there! And she's still cutting hair? She needs a blasted MONUMENT built to her to commemorate her courage!

Cipriano said...

Yes, Carla does deserve a monument, she is bigger than two walruses!
Can you imagine when all of that stuff comes flying out of her? If not an actual monument, she at least will deserve some sort of plaque, for Most Valuable Player In The Tournament, or something!
Back to the book though.
It is grand.
I highly recommend it to you.
Where do I write my comments? On my computer, most of the time. Or maybe on a bookmark.
I never write in the actual book.
It would be much easier if I just wrote all over my books.....