Jokes, Elmore, fruit

1. Thank you to God and all who help me get through a day
2. Thank you for jokes that I think are funny and interesting books about writing
3. Thank you for birthday baskets with fruit

Sacha sent me this link to jokes about Communism

http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2008/06/great-item-on-t.html

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Amazed little boy: Daddy! Daddy! Why are we still
telling jokes about communism twenty years after it
ended?

Daddy: Just in case anyone would ever be tempted to
think there was any validity in Marx’s analysis of
Capitalism’s abject failure, as the dominant economic
system of the last 500 years, to feed and clothe the world.

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Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing by Elmore Leonard (Hardcover - November 1, 2007), illustrated by Joe Ciardiello, William Morrow (publisher), 85 pages, $14.95 on Amazon.

This book recently appeared at Mayfield Public Library on the shelf with new publications. I checked out the book, wondering what could be in a recently published book on writing.

At first the book reminded me of the Illustrated Elements of Style, which I enjoyed very much. Unfortunately, the Leonard book did not work as well. While I found the ideas interesting and worthwhile, the presentation was over the top.

When looking on Amazon, I saw that the book did not work for many readers. Of the 23 reviews, 6 reviewers gave the book the highest rating, while 8 reviewers gave it the lowest rating. Fans of Elmore Leonard tended to love the book. But, one fan who said that Leonard is her favorite writer actually found this book disappointing, noting that the book says no more than does the original New York Times article which contains the same text. The rich packaging and illustrations she found excessive and not adding enough to the ideas.

I'm a fan of white space, but in this case there is way too much white space on thick sheets of cardboard-like paper. The illustrations, on the other hand, do add a dimension to make the reader stop and think. The illustrations go nicely with the advice which often centers on how the individuals in a story should tell the story. The writer should be in the background. The illustrations focus on individuals, such as Hemingway, who provide examples of of writing that emphasizes the characters and their dialog and does not focus on the writer.

Who is Elmore Leonard? The wikipedia entry describes Leonard as a novelist and screenwriter with this one non-fiction book. What is some more of his advice on writing? He says to rewrite if it sounds like writing. He also says that if breaking the rules of grammar improves the delivery, that is what you should do. That is good advice, worthy of contemplation. I am happy to have read the book to get the advice and see the presentation, but wished for a more understated delivery. Instead of 10 rules in 84 pages, the same rules on half that number of pages without the cardboard would have been more effective.

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Some ideas for a fruit basket.

grapefruit - nectarines - apricots - blueberries - mangos