May 2009
15-Minute Free Write
Theme: "Old Books"
Old Books, Wise Information
by Marshall Oppel
A lot of times, no one wants to read an old book because it isn’t in their comfort zone. They don’t know what they are missing. Usually, an old book has a lot of information that could help us, such as a book written around when every story had a moral, or just information that we didn’t know. Usually an older book has wise information. It is just like our elders. Many kids don’t want to talk to them because they think they are boring, but they have a lot of advice that, if we would just listen, we wouldn’t make the same mistakes. And, usually they have at least two decades more experience than us. Everywhere we look, just because it looks old, we want nothing to do with it. But if we would just try it, it could help our lives. The Bible is the oldest book there is, but without it, this world would be falling apart, literally. The Bible has more information in its covers than all the text books in the world put together. Old books aren’t bad, they help us. If you see an old book, do yourself a favor--try reading it.
OLD BOOKS
by Leslie F. Claunch
A funny thing happened on the way to the gym. I was thinking about Charles Dickens and how I loved his books. Then, when I got to the gym, Betty was there and told me that the free-write prompt was old books, so I contemplated the wealth of knowledge from Dickens' stories.
First of all you gotta love him or hate him for his seemingly endless descriptions. I love him for it. It sets him apart. Reading his descriptions of the social climate at the time should be a supplement to a history book. His observations of mental and physical illnesses were so accurate that those in the medical profession can tell what ailed them. The characters in the books are also intriguing. Just when you think someone is the cream of society, some deep dark secret from their past is revealed. Just when you think someone is scum, they do something so noble that everyone is shocked. The one thing that I find really amazing is his treatment of the "village idiot." Back in his era, they were still locking the mentally impaired away and calling them "child of the devil" along with many other derogatory terms. Dickens refers to them as loveable and long suffering and even though they are among the poor working class they manage to support themselves, albeit meagerly by doing menial tasks.
When I was in high school English class I found it incongruous they would preach to us about not writing run on sentences, then give us A Tale of Two Cities and tell us in passing that the first page of this story was the longest run on sentence on record and tell us what a literary masterpiece the book was. I personally did not care about that long run on sentence. I enjoyed the way the thoughts flowed together so smoothly and watched as the characters revealed all their true colors as the adventure unfolded. For all the times I've read it, and for all the movies of it I've seen, I still can't find a redeeming quality for Madame Le Farge. I guess he couldn't either or he would made her different.
Another writer of literary masterpieces who really observed and explained the times was George Eliot. All the heroines in the books were literate and articulate and sometimes completely unable to find a man that recognized the fact that she could match their intelligence. George also described all the social ills accurately and sometimes scathingly. I contend that all these books were semi autobiographical. George Eliot's real name was Mary Anne Evans. When we read her books today we learn about the history of the times and could supplement British history books with her writings. In those days when it was rare for a woman to even be able to read English, Mary Anne could read Greek and Latin as well. She wrote all these stories about intelligent independent women and had to use a man's name to get them printed.
As Marshall stated, the Bible is the best book. I guess we could all reason that the older the book the better the book. There are so many rules for writing now, and we are under so much pressure to be concise that it is really hard to completely tell a story.
Old Books
by Candy Abbott
Good writing is timeless. When my mom died, I found a treasure trove of old books in a trunk. Among dozens of Golden Books (which Mom bought to entertain me each time she took me grocery shopping), were two very special volumes given to me by my grandmom on my 8th birthday, Grimm's Fairy Tales and Anderson's Fairy Tales. The best part was that there were very few pictures, just words. Oh, how I love words!
As I held the hardback books with their yellowed pages, a wave of memories washed over me. I could see the joy on my grandmother's face as she watched me unwrap my gift and feel her arms around me. "These are stories your mother read when she was your age," she whispered in my ear. I could hear my mom's voice, dramatizing certain scenes as we took turns reading at bedtime.
When the books were new, they smelled of fresh ink, and the pages fitted tightly together. New books are magical, with mysteries yet to unfold tucked between the covers. Old books smell musty, and we have to be careful not to crack the spine. But they are still magical because of the memories trapped between the pages.
Good writing is timeless.