August 31—I went into readathon mode and finished four books. Two of the books I read in August were Maggie Nelson’s Bluets and Joy Williams’ 99 Stories of God. These books have been on my TBR list for years now and I did not know what possessed me that day, but I decided to grab these two to read.
After reading these two, I found amusing similarities:
- Collections: stories, thoughts, facts, news, anecdotes, memories, musings, retelling, anecdotes, precepts.
- Numeric format. In Bluets the entries are numbered. In 99 Stories of God, well, we have 99 stories.
- Short. In Bluets, each entry is about a paragraph long. In 99 Stories of God, each story is about one to two pages long. Some even only a sentence or two.
- Style.
What amused me the most from these two were the writing style and book composition, which were entirely new to me. I did not know this style worked. Of course, there is the advantage that both writers are already reputable so that they can probably get away with this kind of writing style and composition, but that’s not the point.
These short pieces of random entries are written with elegance, clarity, authority, and grace. Their prose were standouts. The facts, news, and tidbits of information were concise.
It proved to me that it is never the length that matters, not even the cohesion of the collections. It was the tying together of thoughts and facts, the blending of words that though short, were deep and astounding, and never shy of prodding the reader to think, reread, and understand.
Both of these books are now special to me because of the opportunities and ideas they inspired. There’s no such thing as coincidences, so I’d like to think these two chose to inspire me at the right time.
Bluets by Maggie Nelson
Goodreads Book Review:
Bluets by Maggie Nelson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Apparently, there are plenty of ways you can write about the color blue; that is, if you are as creative as Maggie Nelson. Two hundred forty pieces of bluish thoughts and blue-related facts–lyrical, humorous, and beautifully written–from a life that is blue-marked and blue-inspired.
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99 Stories of God by Joy Williams
Goodreads Book Review:
99 Stories of God by Joy Williams
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Ninety-nine stories that are not all about God. What we have is a surprise box of anecdotes, news, allusions, satire, precepts, retellings, and stories with The Lord as a modern-day present and random figure. Some are direct and are easy to comprehend. Most require more time and attention to get to the point, but still, not quite yet. Overall, I think this collection is meant to be a dazzling puzzle, a curious collection that is open to interpretation for all.
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