November Books: An Inferno and One Other Hot Spot

So I headed over to the bookstore the other day in search of a new read. I've been doing the self-help/nonfiction thing for a minute now and wanted to unwind with some fantasy. Note: This sudden desire to buy a new novel coincides with my recent reunion with my short story collection. This is how it usually happens. When I'm on a path to pursuing my own literary passions....other authors start beckoning me to read their work. And, of course, I oblige their requests.

The Inferno of Dante, or Dante's Inferno, was on my list as someone recently presented a possible parallel between its theme and the theme of one of my short stories, "Unspoken Duty"—that of being led into the afterlife. I read some parts of it years ago, but due to my young age, couldn't extract from it what I can today now that life experiences have caused me to ponder who I am and why I'm here.

Midway through our life's journey, I found myself in dark woods, the right road lost.

A captivating introduction, don't you think?


I'd never read a book by author Zane. I knew her erotic novels were very popular, and I was impressed with her success, but never made the move to read her work. After picking up my lengthy translation of Dante's work though, I wanted to wash it down with something more relaxing. OK, I'll be honest, I wanted to read something titillating. And what should I see on a display table as I browsed....the Zane collection. I read the covers of all of them trying to find the one that would best suit my tastes. Love is Never Painless seemed to do. A collection of three novellas that deal with the not-so-loving aspects of relationships. I've read one so far about a faithful, loving man who struggles to maintain his marriage to an increasingly self-destructive drug addict. It was okay. Only because I found myself skipping over some of it to get to the juicy parts.

So, that's what I'll be busy doing for the next few weeks: working; writing; reading; pondering life; updating this blog (hopefully); fantasizing about love and intimacy; dealing with the woes of my home being covered in fall leaves with only one brave rake to tackle them; and living as best I can in whatever free time I have.

Thanks for reading.


Regards,

Jennifer