people of the book

just finished People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks and while it annoyed me many times, it is also quite beautiful AND had me on wikipedia. why? to read about the sarajevo haggadah, the history of sarajevo, the history of sephardic jews, and to get some visuals on aboriginal art. so actually, i have to love a book that takes me in all those directions and makes me want to know more!

cool line: "They will build me a temple and I will dwell in them - in them, not in it." it feels like the beginning - or the end - of a poem.

a map of the universe

in a book i just completed, The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet (a novel by Reif Larsen), the main character - a 12 year old boy - suggests that we are born with a map of the universe in our brain. we just have figure out how to access it within all the folds and crevasses and hidden valleys of the brain itself. this is both scientific and fantastical. both at the same time. beautiful.

almost summer

almost summer which means that i will return to writing daily on my blog and i will begin working on the novel that has been dancing around in my head for months. i am teaching a science fiction and fantasy writing class at the beginning of summer and i think it is as much or more for me to get motivated, than for the students.