I usually loathe all things Buzzfeed, but I was totally suckered into their Which Beat Generation Writer Are You? quiz. Perfect for a Friday distraction. Which writer did you get? My result is: Charles Bukowski.
mental health break
Distractions : Dead or Alive, Characters in Literature
I’m really trying to get a bunch of writerly work done today, but before I do, it’s time for a little Dead or Alive? Can you name the status of each character at the end of the literary work? Time for a little distraction…
I did abysmally; only about 50%. How did you do??
Distractions : Match the Author’s Pen Name
I am completely inundated with books to read and review, novels to write, Kahlua iced coffee to drink, but I have taken an afternoon pause. Shouldn’t you, too? I just finished playing “Can you match the pen names with the authors’ real names?” I got one wrong! And that one is nagging me. But, I hope you can enjoy a quick literary break.
It’s been a few months since I last posted a Distraction. If today’s doesn’t suit your taste, try the archives.
Distractions : Vintage Librarians
Even while running around all week trying to tie up loose ends in anticipation of my super sunny vacation, I paused to go through the Flavorwire 25 Vintage Photos of Librarians Being Awesome.
Favorite? #2 for obvious reasons. Enjoy!
Distractions : The Cheever Letters
I once had a roommate whose mother didn’t find Seinfeld funny at all. Needless to say–and for various other reasons–I did not like this roommate’s mother. She couldn’t even explain herself! (she also didn’t like New York City and thought Los Angeles was the greatest place). What a loon!
I love the references to New York City-specific things but also, they have great literary references every now and then. Enjoy.
Distractions : Philip K. Dick, Gogol, and the thrifty library
As a poor writer of no importance, I must keep my spending in check. Of course, I wish I would have an endless supply of cash money and one of those fancy home libraries that really only exists in the movies. So, to help with my compulsion, I check out the cheap books that the sellers on the New York streets offer, utilize the public library, and hit up those wonderful organizations like my favorite Project Gutenberg, et al.
I have been stuck in ¡total distraction! perusing the many free titles on Amazon’s Kindle store. When I think of free books, I generally think of books in the public domain–classics, mythology, etc. Yet, yesterday, I came across a ton of stories by Philip K. Dick that are being offered for free. If you’re like me, the summer is time for some plotty fun. Perfect!
Also, not for free but for $0.99, are The Works of Nikolai Gogol, which includes the short story, “Viy,” which was made in to a fantastic film in Russia in 1967.
Distractions : New Year’s Edition
I’m not recommending an all out bender like Faulkner or downing some strange absinthe-gin-concoction that Hemingway was so fond of, but The Atlantic has offered up 12 Hangover Cures From Famous Heavy Drinkers. This list includes both authors and entertainers who boozed like real professionals. I’m amazed that they lived as long as they did if you take a gander at what each of them consumed on a regular basis.
So, if you wake up on New Year’s Day with a pounding headache, you can always try one of W.C. Fields’s remedies and dine on Hungarian Goulash and a coconut custard pie.
Distractions : Pseudonymous Authors
In celebration of everyone’s 30 Day Winter Break Reading Marathon, today’s post will be a Distraction. I submitted my last book review of 2011 to my editor this morning and she said to just let her know in January when I would like my next. Phew! It’s nice to know one thing is knocked off the list. All that is remaining is for me to type up some of my recently translated pages and send them off to the German writer.
So back to the celebration. Maybe in between pages 72 and 73 of your current read, take a break and try out Pseudonymous Authors. Enjoy!
Distractions : I Write Like…
While procrastinating yesterday afternoon, I ran across a published author’s blog who was mortified that his writing had been compared to Stephenie Meyer (the Twilight series). Granted the comparison was made by the un-empirical I Write Like analyzer and the author knew that it was just for fun, but I think I would also be taken aback if this comparison was made between my own work and that of the new queen of vampire books. I mean, remember when Stephen King wrote that “Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good.”
But sparkly teenage vampires aside, I copy-and-pasted the first page of a short story I wrote a few years. I don’t know how the I Write Like analyzer comes to its conclusions, but fittingly for the holiday season, it has designated me,
Distractions : Word Kingdom
It’s a gloomy and rainy day in New York City and I should be writing a book review for Publishers Weekly. I wrote one sentence before I became incredibly distracted both by people watching outside of my window and by playing Word Kingdom. It’s a total nerd alert but incredibly good at keeping me from my review.
Build your kingdom by arranging letters to form words. Correctly spelled words can be converted into resources to feed your warriors, fortify your fortress and dominate WordLand.
You even pick the name for your kingdom! Come on, how can this be a bad distraction?
Acid Free Pulp 