I'll lead with the confession: I was just kidding about that “proper
review” thing. What is a proper review, anyway? I wouldn't know one
if it left its dentures in my derrière.
I'm tired. I stayed up late last night, writing, and I woke up at 6
this morning to get some writing in before everyone else woke up.
I'm listening to Pink's Funhouse, which means I couldn't think
straight even if I weren't tired, and no, I'm not going to turn it
off, so we'll just have to deal with body distortions, assuming I
ever get to the body of this entry.
Do I really have to write these reviews? I mean, I've already
written entries about both of these books – Ramslund's in “Finding
My Bliss Means...” and Aronie's in my last post, “Bloviation
Encomium”.
Oh, okay, fine. I have now read both books in their entirety, and I
have formed an opinion.
I feel kind of bad about saying this, but Nancy Aronie's book is
better than Katherine Ramslund's book.
Reading Aronie's Writing from the Heart: Tapping the Power of Your
Inner Voice was a more enjoyable experience than reading reading
Katherine Ramlund's Bliss: Writing to Find Your True Self.
Someone else might have a different experience and come to a
different conclusion, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that
I think most people would enjoy Aronie's book more than
Ramslund's book.
Why? Because Aronie is funny, and Ramslund is not.
Don't get me wrong. Katherine Ramslund says a lot of interesting,
insightful things. I underlined some of them. For example: “Just
let go and have faith that, once we're on the track, things will
happen to help us along. We need to believe that our true purpose is
in our best interest.” Or how about, “When consciousness feels
harmonious in the pursuit of some activity, people pursue that
activity for its own sake rather than for some extrinsic reward.”
Good stuff, but a bit fibrous for my taste.
Here, just for some contrast, is something I would have underlined in
Aronie's book, if it weren't a library copy: “Culturally, we
Westerners have a much harder time with change because we are raised
to think everything should stay hunky-dory, and when it doesn't, we
are convinced we are just the one unlucky slob that the fickle finger
of dumpage has found.” Or, wait, how about this: “I would be the wrong
one to diminish the role of ego, since it's been a helluva motivator
for me. It didn't let me sleep until there was applause....I know
myself. And I know it's only when my ego gets lodged between my heart
and my work that it presents a problem. But if I acknowledge that ego
has been the origin, the genesis, the instigator, then I thank the
little maniac and move on.”
The fickle finger of dumpage. I thank the little maniac and move
on. These are memorable lines, because Aronie's got a way of
saying things. She's got a real voice.
No, I don't think you have to be a stand-up comic to have a voice.
But if the subject of your book happens to be something like bliss, I think you
might want to do what you can to help your readers experience a
little bliss while they're finding out what you have to say about finding it.
The real problem I had with Ramslund's book was that it felt like a
slog. It felt heavy. It felt like a lot of work. Maybe I would have
gotten more out of it if I had done all the exercises (which she
insists are CRUCIAL), but I couldn't make myself do more than the
first few, because the vibe I kept getting was color-by-numbers.
Ramslund has very definite ideas about how to do things. She
doesn't just give writing prompts. She gives a detailed set of
instructions, and you get the sense that you'd by-golly better follow
them to the letter. Or number. But get it right, okay? Which makes me want to do just the opposite, of
course. When I completed her “following my bliss means...”
sentence, I didn't exactly follow her instructions, which may be why
I actually got something out of that exercise.
Nancy Aronie also includes writing exercises in her book. They seem
like they'd be great, but I haven't done a single one yet, so what do
I know? I will say, though, that I want to do them – so, in
view of my very limited time (I'm currently deep into Essay #2, and
there are only so many writing hours in the day!), I have chosen five
exercises that seem like they might be of particular benefit to me
right now. I will probably post these as I complete them.
Now, time for another confession: it wasn't much fun writing this
entry, because I really hated doing the whole comparison thing, and
yet for some reason I felt compelled to go there. Yeah, if I had to
choose between the two books, I'd definitely go with Aronie's. But
I'm glad it wasn't about choosing. I'm glad both authors took the
time to write what they wrote. So thank you, ladies – both of you.
It's later now, and I'm even more tired than I was before.
Pink Floyd has succeeded Pink, and wow, The Wall is so NOT
Funhouse, you know? Apples and Oranges, people. Apples are
better for making apple pie. Oranges are better for making
orange-wedge smiles. Bananas are better for going bananas. And that's
just about all the fruitcake wisdom I can dish out for tonight.
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