I was about ten years old (too young) when I read this for the first time. At that age I was accustomed to banal stories about clever grasshoppers and friendly bears. I'm sure my jaw literally dropped when I got to the end-- but I also realized how powerful a story could be. I'll never forget that first time.
literature.cafe chat
NaNoWriMo and AI Clash
Uncle_Abbie
2 weeks ago
•
100%
They're kind of vague on what they mean when they say "AI." Are they asking a chatbot for a synonym, or feeding it a prompt and sitting back while it creates a manuscript from whole cloth?
Either way, it's none of my business. There's no prize to be won, the gains are all personal. For the first in my life, my teacher's words ring true: "You're only cheating yourself."
literature.cafe chat
Why “Lord of the Rings” feels real and “Narnia” doesn’t
Uncle_Abbie
3 weeks ago
•
100%
They are both well written, and when I'm in the middle of either book I'm completely absorbed in its world. In that moment, I'm not thinking about realism at all.
It's only when I put the book down that questions like that come up.
digitalcommons.unl.edu
The full text of *Archy and Mehitabel* by Don Marquis has been made available by the University of Nebraska, [HERE](https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/zeabook/138/).
Uncle_Abbie
3 weeks ago
•
100%
My wife reminded me that The Answer Is… Reflections on My Life by Alex Trebek is really good, too.
www.purewow.com
PureWow.com has a nice list of recommended memoirs online [HERE](https://www.purewow.com/books/best-memoirs). My list would have included pop star Moby's two books, *Porcelain* and *Then It Fell Apart*. The first was better than the second, but they're both well written. Please add your own recommendations in the comments.
I found a nice little freeware app for iOS. All it does is count syllables, but just having it on my phone reminds me that I can take a break and write a little haiku: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/haiku-poems-made-simple/id1227312972 I was wondering what apps and programs you guys use in your creative writing pursuits?
Libraries
Uncle_Abbie
3 weeks ago
•
100%
Typically your work belongs to the person who pays you for it. So it seems to me that if it's paid for by the public, then it's owned by the public.
Classic Books
For public domain classic ebooks, check out standard ebooks for better formatted ebooks for ereaders!
Uncle_Abbie
4 weeks ago
•
100%
I always check there first. I like it that they offer their books in several different formats, some that aren't available at Project Gutenberg.
Uncle_Abbie
4 weeks ago
•
100%
I'd recommend The Bhagavad Gita. You don't have to be of the Hindu faith to get something out of it, it's enough just to see it as a different way to view things.
My favorite translation is by Ranchor Prime, because his version is organized into parables instead of a line-by-line analysis, but there is also a nice public domain version at Project Gutenberg, HERE.
I recently read *Harold* by Steven Wright, and I loved it. I enjoyed reading a book where I honestly could not predict what would happen in the next paragraph, yet it still coalesced into a coherent whole. The only other author I know who could write like that was Richard Brautigan, and I was hoping the community could recommend some other authors to try.