Today I am thankful for those brilliant souls known as authors. Sure there's some mediocre ones out there, and others that probably should never have been published (I am not saying a word...), but amidst the duds there are quite a few gems.
My top 6 gems are:
1. Edgar Allan Poe: This guy really had a crappy life, and the opiates didn't make the situation better, but he was a heck of an amazing writer (even if he was zonked half of the time).
2. Abraham Lincoln: I have to give this guy props. Not only was he a pretty ballsy politician, I admire his simplicity. He reminds me of my angel Grandpa E, whose motto always was "If you can say it in simpler words, do it. No one gives a damn about your big words if they can't understand them." Brevity was also a winner in Grandpa's book. Well, good ole' Abe really hit that Gettysburg address out of the park (er, cemetery). The best part was him not even realizing how amazing his little speech really was. History really didn't engrave for all eternity the speech from the first guy who spoke that day; what was it something around two hours in length? Then Abe gets up there and in literally one paragraph and a long sentence, he immortalized his words. Talk about keeping it short and sweet and to the point. Kudos, Abe.
3. Lewis Carroll: I adore Alice in Wonderland. A. d. o. r. e. Point made? I think so. This guy just gets an automatic win and a pat on the back for contributing such an amazing piece of literature to the world. Oh and he also kind of sort of is the reason Alice is on my baby name list.
4. Ray Bradbury: Not only is Bradbury a fantastic author in his own right, he managed to reference Poe without leeching his style. I generally detest on principle rewrites; I'm a stickler for the original. Boy howdy did Bradbury give me an exception. Exhibit A: Usher II of Bradbury's Martian Chronicles. Simply splendid. He recaptured the spirit of Poe's original The Fall of the House of Usher while offering a completely new story ripe with all sorts of great Easter egg references for those Poe fanatics out there (crazy people, I tell you). Best line ever:
5. J.K. Rowling: She brought us Harry Potter, and butter beer (okay, I've never tried the stuff, but it's the principle of the matter), and nitwit, blubber, oddment, and tweak. I really do think this speaks for itself. This woman has pizazz and one heck of a noggin. I simply could not get enough of the HP series that once I read the American edition a good dozen times each, I procured for myself a set of the UK edition. Go ahead and slap that D on my forehead now, I don't care. I have jumpers and moustaches and motorbikes and pyjamas and the Philosopher's Stone, so pfft!
6. John Marsden: Last but not least the man responsible for the fantastic books that comprise the Tomorrow When The War Began series. Simply put, I'm a fan. An avid one at that.
I'm thankful for all the good things in my life and literature just happens to be one of them. I'm thankful for the authors who have honored the world by sharing their minds.
My top 6 gems are:
1. Edgar Allan Poe: This guy really had a crappy life, and the opiates didn't make the situation better, but he was a heck of an amazing writer (even if he was zonked half of the time).
2. Abraham Lincoln: I have to give this guy props. Not only was he a pretty ballsy politician, I admire his simplicity. He reminds me of my angel Grandpa E, whose motto always was "If you can say it in simpler words, do it. No one gives a damn about your big words if they can't understand them." Brevity was also a winner in Grandpa's book. Well, good ole' Abe really hit that Gettysburg address out of the park (er, cemetery). The best part was him not even realizing how amazing his little speech really was. History really didn't engrave for all eternity the speech from the first guy who spoke that day; what was it something around two hours in length? Then Abe gets up there and in literally one paragraph and a long sentence, he immortalized his words. Talk about keeping it short and sweet and to the point. Kudos, Abe.
3. Lewis Carroll: I adore Alice in Wonderland. A. d. o. r. e. Point made? I think so. This guy just gets an automatic win and a pat on the back for contributing such an amazing piece of literature to the world. Oh and he also kind of sort of is the reason Alice is on my baby name list.
4. Ray Bradbury: Not only is Bradbury a fantastic author in his own right, he managed to reference Poe without leeching his style. I generally detest on principle rewrites; I'm a stickler for the original. Boy howdy did Bradbury give me an exception. Exhibit A: Usher II of Bradbury's Martian Chronicles. Simply splendid. He recaptured the spirit of Poe's original The Fall of the House of Usher while offering a completely new story ripe with all sorts of great Easter egg references for those Poe fanatics out there (crazy people, I tell you). Best line ever:
"Garrett," said Stendahl, "do you know why I've done this to you? Because you burned Mr. Poe's books without really reading them. You took other people's advice that they needed burning. Otherwise you'd have realized what I was going to do to you when we came down here a moment ago. Ignorance is fatal, Mr. Garrett."
5. J.K. Rowling: She brought us Harry Potter, and butter beer (okay, I've never tried the stuff, but it's the principle of the matter), and nitwit, blubber, oddment, and tweak. I really do think this speaks for itself. This woman has pizazz and one heck of a noggin. I simply could not get enough of the HP series that once I read the American edition a good dozen times each, I procured for myself a set of the UK edition. Go ahead and slap that D on my forehead now, I don't care. I have jumpers and moustaches and motorbikes and pyjamas and the Philosopher's Stone, so pfft!
6. John Marsden: Last but not least the man responsible for the fantastic books that comprise the Tomorrow When The War Began series. Simply put, I'm a fan. An avid one at that.
I'm thankful for all the good things in my life and literature just happens to be one of them. I'm thankful for the authors who have honored the world by sharing their minds.
2 days to Turkey Day!
Cheers!
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