Read a book, jackass

I've chosen a unique headline for several reasons. 1) The title amuses me. hahaha. 2)I've encountered people who mock those who read. I know, it seems archaic as hell, but it happens and it's so disappointing. Now, I'm not saying that all books are meant to teach. Au contraire, I'm saying that there is definitely something to learn from a book. I know my history books were bullshit. Know how I knew? 'Cause I read other books that put me on to the miseducation that the textbook writers were slanging. History writers write history...but anyway, back to the subject.

I started this book when I was in West Africa. I love the story telling ability of Allende in this book. She is so descriptive and adept with her words. As a serious writer, I really admire her usage and form. She is tight and precise and I think that a tight technique is very hard to acquire. They are fantastical and mysterious. I wish I could describe her to many authors but only one precedes her ability to tell a book so cleverly. I read One Hundred Years of Solitude years ago and I reread it overseas and it blew me away. I thought no one could match Marquez's gift of storytelling but I think Allende captured it beautifully. I'm excited to be rereading her book and I can't wait to read some more of hers. I hope to finish this one this week.

I had to leave Saul Bellows alone. I think he writes like a self-adulating asshole who prides himself on his grandiloquence. I think it's bullshit and arrogant. Maybe I got the guy all wrong...