My favourite authors are varied: Eco, Rushdie, Steinbeck, McCarthy, Hemingway, Calvino, Murakami, Carver, Chandler. But I'm also really digging Janette Turner Hospital's short stories at the moment.
I really enjoyed The Mouth--such an earthy, almost primordial feel to it. Very good! I'll take a look at the serial too. I admire that you're using Substack for fiction. Not many seem to be, but I am hoping to see more of it.
My favorite authors are Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, David James Duncan, Cormac McCarthy, Marilynne Robinson, Dostoevsky...Lewis and Tolkien as well of course, ha! My favorite short story collection is the collected short stories of Breece D'J Pancake--an Appalachian writer writing in the 70s. Influenced me a lot.
"Most of the Bible is narrative and poetry. It’s riddled with declarative statements about God’s character and how we should conduct ourselves, but they are couched within the story."
Love this! This was such an incredible reminder to KEEP READING and not get lost in the Substack algorithm. So good, thank you.
This came at the perfect moment for me! Just finished uni and I want to continue reading academic and theological books (plus I recently dove into essay reading here on Substack), but I want to rediscover my passion for fiction as well. And what better way to do that than to finally finish LOTR?
I love literature and novels as opposed to reading think pieces of the same. It's better to get to the meat of a novel to discover it's premise and to decide if the writer met it or not. This way I get to criticize the work and not be prompted by the author of the think piece to assume some of his/hers opinion. I think as a reader, that is more rewarding.
Quite interesting thoughts that may explain why I enjoy Chesterton's essays and "how to" manuals. In the Bible, however, I spend more time with history and lived experiences over sermons. Hmmm.
Is the union of “actual fiction” and “excellent nonfiction about writing” a book club? Perhaps a well run literature seminar or solo-reading a great novel with a companion guide?
I ask because there’s something thrilling and enlivening about wading into the deep with good company.
It’s what is meta vs lived experience. Today, because so much of our life is “online” we prioritize the former level of thinking over the latter unclear, but rich presence. Story melds the worlds between lived and described/conceptual.
“There may be no subtitle to a story. We don’t know exactly what we’re getting into. The author vanishes into a constructed world, inviting you to wade in.”
Great work Peter and fully agree! What's your favourite story that you've written? I'd love to read it.
Thank you so much! This one is up there for me, from my new collection: https://peterbiles.substack.com/p/last-november-or-blind-man
Just read it straight through - very good stuff!
Thank you for reading. I’d like to read more of your fiction as well and hear about some of your favorite authors.
Thanks man, that's kind of you. You might enjoy this older piece which I'm fond of: https://waymarkers.substack.com/p/the-mouth
And I really enjoyed writing this recent serial: https://waymarkers.substack.com/p/golden-hour-part-1-the-meeting
My favourite authors are varied: Eco, Rushdie, Steinbeck, McCarthy, Hemingway, Calvino, Murakami, Carver, Chandler. But I'm also really digging Janette Turner Hospital's short stories at the moment.
How about you?
I really enjoyed The Mouth--such an earthy, almost primordial feel to it. Very good! I'll take a look at the serial too. I admire that you're using Substack for fiction. Not many seem to be, but I am hoping to see more of it.
My favorite authors are Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, David James Duncan, Cormac McCarthy, Marilynne Robinson, Dostoevsky...Lewis and Tolkien as well of course, ha! My favorite short story collection is the collected short stories of Breece D'J Pancake--an Appalachian writer writing in the 70s. Influenced me a lot.
Ah yes forgot Robinson and Dostoevsky (Lewis and Tolkien go without saying)! I don't know Duncan, I'll check him out. Same with Breece D'J Pancake!
Feeling deliciously guilty reading this... Time to go (finally) finish The Brothers K
Ha, yes!! The novel that has inspired many a think piece...great book that we should talk about soon.
"Most of the Bible is narrative and poetry. It’s riddled with declarative statements about God’s character and how we should conduct ourselves, but they are couched within the story."
Love this! This was such an incredible reminder to KEEP READING and not get lost in the Substack algorithm. So good, thank you.
A refreshing end encouraging read!
This was encouraging!
This came at the perfect moment for me! Just finished uni and I want to continue reading academic and theological books (plus I recently dove into essay reading here on Substack), but I want to rediscover my passion for fiction as well. And what better way to do that than to finally finish LOTR?
I love literature and novels as opposed to reading think pieces of the same. It's better to get to the meat of a novel to discover it's premise and to decide if the writer met it or not. This way I get to criticize the work and not be prompted by the author of the think piece to assume some of his/hers opinion. I think as a reader, that is more rewarding.
Quite interesting thoughts that may explain why I enjoy Chesterton's essays and "how to" manuals. In the Bible, however, I spend more time with history and lived experiences over sermons. Hmmm.
Well said!
Is the union of “actual fiction” and “excellent nonfiction about writing” a book club? Perhaps a well run literature seminar or solo-reading a great novel with a companion guide?
I ask because there’s something thrilling and enlivening about wading into the deep with good company.
It’s what is meta vs lived experience. Today, because so much of our life is “online” we prioritize the former level of thinking over the latter unclear, but rich presence. Story melds the worlds between lived and described/conceptual.
“There may be no subtitle to a story. We don’t know exactly what we’re getting into. The author vanishes into a constructed world, inviting you to wade in.”