Revisiting some old friends

16 Mar 2011 2 Comments

by lisacostello in Memory, Reading

I’ve been going back to some old favorite books recently, and it’s been very rewarding.

First, I revisited Roger Zelazny’s Amber series–the first set.  I’ve got them in the old Science Fiction Book Club two-book set, which is how I’ve always read them.

I was pleased to find that the books not only hold up well, but blew me away all over again.  The writing is sometimes a little awkward (and of course now that I’m writing this, I couldn’t give you an example to save my life – there’s a reason I’m not a book reviewer!), but when it works, it’s achingly beautiful, mind-blowing, and instructive to any writer who aspires to write in this lyrical fashion.

I was amazed to find that I’ve read this edition of the books so many times that even after all the years since I last read them, I was anticipating the typos – I knew where the misprints all were.  Weird how the memory works.

Now I’m on to Peter Beagle’s The Last Unicorn.  Talk about lyrical writing!  I’m amazed that I enjoyed this book when I was younger; it’s not a style I remember myself liking.  But the book is just so moving, and beautiful, and funny, and sad, and breathtaking.

Next I might re-read Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea trilogy; or maybe Dune, although I don’t think I still have a copy of it; or maybe The Hobbit.

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