alisarae's Reviews (1.65k)

Lying Cat is my favorite.

Things are getting so goood.

If you are a person who says, "That would literally never happen in real life," a lot while you read, this book is probably not for you. But if you enjoy illicit period piece teenage romances, then this might be your thing.

I didn't read this book in grade school like everyone else in my generation, and gosh, this is deep, heavy stuff. It's the kind of heavy that kids can understand and also imbues them with responsibility. I say that because that is how I felt after reading it: that I need to recognize gifts and be grateful for my world, to help others who are powerless or knowledgeless, to take bold risks for justice. What a great book.

I would like to have a physical copy of this book. I love everything Beattie writes.

LOVED this ending! Loved all the characters, even the bad guys.

A solid yet brief overview of the literary translation process for newbies.

Good quotes:
As Palestinian poet and journalist Mahmoud Darwish puts it in the preface to Poésie: La terre nous est étroite: ‘The translator is not a ferryman for the meaning of the words but the author of their web of new relations. And he is not the painter of the light part of the meaning, but the watcher of the shadow, and what it suggests.’

Martin Riker believes that making a book that evokes the spirit and particular energy of the original has to take precedence over making a book faithful to the original. He says that translators sometimes worry that steering away from a literal word-for-word translation will ‘corrupt’ the original text but says the fact is that a work in translation has already been corrupted by the act of translation itself. The new work, the translated work, is already an interpretation of the original, and unavoidably so.

The translation should not preserve literal words and phrases for preservation’s sake. To treat a translated book in this way is to treat it more as a museum piece than as a vibrant literary work, says Martin. He urges translators to use their own creative writing skills to adapt the original.

‘If references are not obscure or difficult for the original audience, they should not be obscure or difficult for the new audience.' (Martin Riker)

This book was a delight to read. King's premise is that a bad writer cannot become a good writer, and it's nearly impossible for a good writer to become a great writer, but a decent writer can become a good writer with guidence and practice. This book is aimed at decent writers who are curious about how to improve. I would consider some of King's work to be in the decent category and some to be in the good category, so I think he knows what he's talking about. Also, don't forget that he used to be an English teacher. And that he is one of the wealthiest novelists in history (in the sense that he made his millions by selling stories).

This book is as entertaining as it is brief. About half of it is his personal biography with a focus on his writing caeer's highlights and low points. The other half are solid tips: write every day, have a routine, shut your door when you write, don't use adverbs, don't use the passive voice, etc. One of the most helpful parts is near the end when he compares changes in a first draft and second draft. It is very enlightening.

Quick warning: If you are intending to read some of King's pre-2001 books and don't want spoilers, read those before this book. There are a lot of spoilers.

I really enjoyed this book and found it to be very helpful. If you normally shy away from "Your best life now!" kinds of books, then don't be turned off by the title and give this book a shot. Morin is a therapist, and this book is totally coming from that point of view. She repeatedly says that being overly optimistic is just as detrimental as being unnecessarily pessimistic, and always stresses rational thinking above all. She also cautions that making lasting changes is hard work, and you should set yourself up for success by carefully planning a pathway to your goals.

Each chapter focuses on a different weakness--all of them are common, but probably you only have a few of them. Each chapter follows a pretty set formula: Morin tells a short story about a client who had a problem, how they worked together to figure out the problem, self-evaluation questions to see if you might have that problem too, the problems with having this problem (and what the root cause of it is), what will change in your life if you don't have this problem anymore, and some hands-on practical ideas to help you get stronger in this area.

The self-evaluation questions were really helpful because at first glance I thought, "I don't have this problem," but after listening to the questions I decided that it was an area I could work on.

It was also helpful to see the root causes of an issue, because it gave me more empathy for people that I recognized that have that problem. For example, feeling sorry for yourself comes from a lack of confidence in your ability to handle problems. So that shift in perspective can help me think, "That person isn't whining over nothing, they are expressing that they lack confidence."

The 13 chapters are:
- They don't waste time feeling sorry for themselves.
- They don't give away their power.
- They don't shy away from change.
- They don't focus on what they cant control.
- They don't fear taking calculated risks.
- They don't dwell in the past.
- They don't make the same mistakes over and over.
- They don't resent other people's success.
- They don't give up after the first failure.
- They don't fear alone time.
- They don't expect the world to owe them anything.
- They don't expect immediate results.