Reading and Writing, plus Editing

I have had some busy times with my brother's wedding in Greece, which went wonderfully and was a welcome break from the dull English weather. I continue to edit my book and have recently completed reading A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, Animal Farm by George Orwell, Dune by Frank Herbert and Watership Down by Richard Adams - all books from The BBC Big Read reading list. I highly recommend the list. Out of 60 books I have so far read from the list, I have yet to read one I didn't enjoy.

Back in Action

I have continued in my absence from the blog with my reading and writing. I have the material for book two and have just begun revisions of book one. I read Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina and Alexander Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo – both from my reading list and both excellent, moving books. I also recently completed Donna Tartt’s The Secret History - another great book on my BBC Big Read list.

Here is another excerpt I picked yesterday in The Manual of the Warrior of Light by Paulo Coelho:

The warrior of light studies the two columns on either side of the door he is trying to open.

One is called Fear and the other is called Desire. The warrior looks at the column of Fear and on it is written: ‘You are entering a dangerous, unfamiliar world where everything you have learned up until now will prove useless.’

The warrior looks at the column of Desire and on it is written: ‘You are about to leave a familiar world wherein are stored all the things you ever wanted and for which you struggled so hard.’

The warrior smiles because nothing frightens him and nothing holds him. With the confidence of one who knows what he wants, he opens the door.