lisaquigley

[lisaquigley]

What I mean to say is, the more you remember, the more you’ve lost.

Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven (via wordsnquotes)

[lisaquigley]

Adulthood’s full of ghosts.

Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven (via sir-orfeo)

[lisaquigley]

hello

I feel like writing for me again. No agenda, no schedule. Just a space where I can pop in and say hello once in a while. 

I finished reading Station Eleven and it made me fantasize about the apocalypse. 

I also just finished My Best Friend’s Exorcism and the ending was so good it hurt. I might write a review of it because it makes me want need to say so much.

I’m reading a lot this year. Writing, too. I’ve found a good groove. I’ve remembered that it is play.

[lisaquigley]

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theladiesofhistory said to quoted-books: Oh, I’d love some recommendations too! I’m a huge Neil Gaiman fan and usually avoid YA. Anything with a female lead is 👌🏻

I do love Neil Gaiman! I love listening to American Gods especially his intro- I think he would be a fascinating author to have a conversation with! Here are some books that I think would be worth you looking into to see if they interest you or if you have read them before!

I hope you don’t mind- I’m going to split this one up over two days as I’ve never done a readalike for Neil Gaiman! So today shall be books that are related to loving him and tomorrow I’ll post some strong female leads that may interest you as well! :)

1. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke - Gaiman, himself, wrote an article about why he loves it so much. You can find that here if you are interested!

2. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett -This is a bit of a cheat, but I think Pratchett has some quirky tendencies in his own books much like Gaiman…this is a good one to start with to see if you like Pratchett’s style as they wrote it together! I love it!

3. The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

4. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

5. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

6. The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton - one of Gaiman’s inspirations

Thanks for the question! I love getting them! Happy reading!

Lauren

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Tonal Series: Blue (Part 4/4)

Part 1 2 3 4

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Some good books, here

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(not picture is me pressing my cheek against the roof for this photo)

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......this moment. #thefeels #eddie #aaronpaul #thepath

[lisaquigley]

I have enjoyed a lot of books. All kinds of authors, all kinds of genres. But there are a few authors whose books awaken that beast within me, that thing clawing to get out, that thing that demands I feed it, or else. There are a few authors whose books make my insides say, not only YES!, but also: I NEED TO DO THIS, TOO.

Joe Hill (@joehillsthrills) is one of those authors. And Thursday night, at a reading at Mysterious Galaxy bookstore, he said, "I wrote four novels that never made it. Four novels before I ever published one. I think people who want to be writers hear that and wilt a little inside. But those novels weren't wasted effort. I learned something from all of them."

I didn't say everything I wanted to say that night. I didn't tell him what his books have meant to me or how they have ignited my inner flame, because the words seemed so big and silly when I tried to grasp them and pull them from my heart into my lungs and turn them into sound. Instead, I handed him my pile of books to sign. Some are still littered with tabs from my time in grad school, which he asked me about! And I told him, grinning like an idiot: "I got an MFA, I'm a writer, I used your books a lot...." Which wasn't quite EVERYTHING I wanted to say or how I meant to say it, but hopefully he got the gist, as I stood there, grinning, watching him draw doodles in the pages of my well-worn books. "I love a well-loved book," he said, smiling, flipping through one of them to see what notes I had written in the margins.

And then I went home. I crawled into bed and went to sleep, still the same person I was before. The same person, but also reminded. Reminded of who I am, and why I'm doing this. And I'm not doing this because I have dreams of book signings with lines of people stretching out the door. (I mean, okay, that would be cool: but it's not WHY.) I'm doing this because this is me. This is what I do. And I will keep doing it, even if it means there are novels that never see the light of day. I will keep doing it until it's right. I will keep doing it even when it's hard. I will keep doing it because there is something that is AWAKE and ALIVE inside me, and it demands to be heard. 

[lisaquigley]

What's the best piece of writing advice you ever received? What's the worst?

The worst piece of advice I ever had was when a pal told me not to be a writer, because I’d never get out of my Dad’s shadow. I’m glad I didn’t pay attention - I would’ve missed out on doing the thing that makes me happiest. Besides: Everyone who writes horror works in my Dad’s shadow. Everyone who writes fantasy works in J.R.R. Tolkien’s shadow; everyone who writes SF works in Orwell’s; and on and on. Everyone has to contend with their literary father/mother, regardless of whether that person is their actual father or mother. Looked at from that point of view, my situation is not at all unique.

Best advice? That’s tougher. I’ve had a lot of excellent advice over the years and a lot of amazing teachers. But I think I learn more from good examples than from good advice. Most of what I know about writing I learned from reading and rereading and rereading again: my dad, my mom, my brother, and also Bernard Malamud, Kelly Link, Neil Gaiman, David Mitchell, Kate Atkinson, Elmore Leonard, J.K. Rowling. I think if you want to write in a serious, passionate, every-day kind of way, you have to read in a serious, passionate, every-day kind of way.

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“There will come a day,” she said, “when you won’t be able to stand the thought of another fucking chaturanga. And that’s when yoga really happens.” I didn't believe her.

My second piece published on Recovering Yogi today! #yoga #writing #lifestyle #wellness #health #life #amwriting #summer

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New post on my blog :) 

***

I wake up this morning, an hour too early. The dawn lays like a whisper over the day, the grey of early morning hugs us with a gentle hush before the shout of sunshine.

I am still shrouded in the fog of nighttime. My body is heavy, my limbs are relaxed. I want to go back to sleep, want to drift back for one more hour of sweet darkness before getting up to start my day. I close my eyes, try to find the place in my consciousness where I can slip away, unnoticed by my self.

But it is in this moment that I am struck into awareness, into awake-ness, because it is in this quiet moment, when everyone else and the world is still asleep, that I can feel my reality. The simplicity of it. The sweetness of it. The comfort of his steady breath, the gentle sway of blanket as his chest rises and then falls. I want to go to sleep, but I don’t. I can’t, because I might miss it. In a rush of clarity, I suddenly understand the words that once sounded cliché and overplayed. Don’t wanna fall asleep ’cause I’d miss you baby. And I don’t want to miss it, this moment when the pleasure of this warmth, the bliss of this reality is too much for me to bear, too intense for me to sleep it all away. And so I lay, awake, my eyes closed, breathing in, breathing out. My lungs swell, my heart squeezes in my chest, salty-sweet tears well up in my eyes and I am here. I am here and I am awake and he is here and he is sleeping and it is so right.

One of these mornings I will sleep again. My reality will settle like a down duvet and I will rest in the comfort and the ease of it.

But today. Today I am awake so I can feel it.

Today I am a girl in love.

[lisaquigley]

Abstract Cities | Cvetelina Todorova

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Some of these look great! I just want to read-read-read this summer!

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LOVE this moment. Love Dexter. I really love the way the show had so much philosophical inquiry laced into it. So good.