Author quotes: Writing fiction.

Ernest Hemingway once said, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” Here’s two more quotes from one of the greats of literature:

“You know that fiction, prose rather, is possibly the roughest trade of all in writing. You do not have the reference, the old important reference. You have the sheet of blank paper, the pencil, and the obligation to invent truer than things can be true. You have to take what is not palpable and make it completely palpable and also have it seem normal and so that it can become a part of experience of the person who reads it.”

-from a letter to Bernard Berenson on Sept. 24, 1954, published in Ernest Hemingway: Selected Letters 1917-1961 edited by Carlos Baker

and

 “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”

-from The New York Journal-American, July 11, 1961

from here.

Elsewhere on the internet:

Do Hemingway’s works still pack a literary punch?

The Hemingway Collection at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum.

Hemingway the war correspondent reported from Omaha Beach on D-Day.

The five words Hemingway said that gave Marlene Dietrich a whole philosophy for her life: “Never confuse movement with action.”

The full text of Hemingway’s acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize for Literature, 1954.

The annual Hemingway look alike contest.

Rejection letters received by bestselling authors, including Ernest Hemingway.

Has the author’s death eclipsed his work?

And coming soon…

Clive Owen as Hemingway and Nicole Kidman as Martha Gellhorn, the journalist and novelist who went on to become Hemingway’s third wife, in Hemingway & Gellhorn, a movie directed by Philip Kaufman and will be appearing on HBO in May.

At the library we have quite a few books both by Hemingway and about his life and work. Come and check them out.

New and Featured Books for 01/27/2012:

It’s a brand new year! So come and check out these and some of the other new books and materials (or at least new to us) added to our library collection…

FICTION:

Chew, vol. 1: Taster’s Choice by John Layman and illustrated by Rob Guillory

Machine Man by Max Barry

Hark! A Vagrant, writen and illustrated by Kate Beaton

If I had only one word to describe this book it would be simply: “Brilliant.” If you allowed me a second word I’d also add: “Fun!” Kate Beaton’s webcomic is one of my favorite spots to check out on the internet and this collection of some of her strips was easily one of my own personal most highly anticipated books of last year. I would highly recommend that you check out this gloriously fun spin of history and literature. For example:

The Hunter by John T. Lescroart

American Fantastic Tales: Terror And The Uncanny From Poe To The Pulps, edited by Peter Straub

and

American Fantastic Tales: Terror And The Uncanny From The 1940s To Now, edited by Peter Straub

This is a very exciting looking two volume set featuring amazing short fiction from authors like Kate Chopin, H. P. Lovecraft, August Derleth, Willa Cather, Truman Capote, Harlan Ellison, Richard Matheson, Stephen King, Michael Chabon, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Ray Bradbury, Vladimir Nabokov, and Edith Wharton, amongst many others. Perfect for the dark and stormy night that any lover of American fiction craves.

The Jaguar by T. Jefferson Parker

Love In A Nutshell by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly

Believing The Lie by Elizabeth George

Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell

NON-FICTION:

Marriage Confidential: The Post-Romantic Age Of Workhorse Wives, Royal Children, Undersexed Spouses & Rebel Couples Who Are Rewriting The Rules by Pamela Haag

I Know Who You Are And I Saw What You Did: Social Networks And The Death Of Privacy by Lori Andrews

Your personal information is violated constantly and the law can’t seem to keep up with the changing demands and capabilities of new technology, all of which makes this a fascinating read about the way our “IRL” selves and our digital selves can be harmed by one another, and usually without us knowing it.

The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View Of The Search For God by Carl Sagan

The Roots Of Modern Conservatism: Dewey, Taft, And The Battle For The Soul Of The Republican Party by Michael Bowen

Ponzi’s Scheme: The True Story Of A Financial Legend by Mitchell Zuckoff

Bottom Of The 33rd: Hope, Redemption, And Baseball’s Longest Game by Dan Barry

The Amazing Story Of Quantum Mechanics: A Math-Free Exploration Of The Science That Made Our World by James Kakalios

A book about something so awesome that’s written for the rest of us. How could you pass this up? Definitely worth a look if the subject interests you but you could do without all that intimidating math nonsense. Plus, it’s got the word “Amazing” in the title and a really cool cover, right?

Kennedy v. Nixon: The Presidential Election Of 1960 by Edmund F. Kallina Jr.

Our Fathers, Ourselves: Daughters, Fathers, And The Changing American Family by Peggy Drexler

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Please note that books could be checked out between the time they end up on the blog and when you come to check them out. If you don’t see the items you’re looking for then please come up to the front desk and we’ll put your name on the reserve list for when the item returns.

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Previous New/Featured books:

12/27/11.

12/23/11.

12/19/11.

12/17/11.

12/16/11.

12/15/11.