Lately short stories, action, and good prose. Short stories are an excellent antidote to the glut of long book series; they don’t allow enough space for fluff, so I find they are consistently better reads. Also lower investment, which is nice. And good prose is good prose, like always.
A year or so ago I read some of Ursula K. Le Guin’s short stories, and that was when I really noticed that there were levels to the whole business. I don’t recall the story, but the scene which struck me was walking down a road in the autumn. I now suspect that depicting banal events well is a mark of craft in the same way as drawing a circle or squaring an edge.
Lately short stories, action, and good prose. Short stories are an excellent antidote to the glut of long book series; they don’t allow enough space for fluff, so I find they are consistently better reads. Also lower investment, which is nice. And good prose is good prose, like always.
A year or so ago I read some of Ursula K. Le Guin’s short stories, and that was when I really noticed that there were levels to the whole business. I don’t recall the story, but the scene which struck me was walking down a road in the autumn. I now suspect that depicting banal events well is a mark of craft in the same way as drawing a circle or squaring an edge.