Oh William! and Writing Short-Thoughtful

I would love to have Strout—or a name like it—as my last name. I’ve found my name—James Buchanan—to be too much like that of a daytime soap opera character or reminiscent of a snooty person.

Though, I like my first name.

Anyway, I think of this as I think of Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout.

First thought: This is quite a good book. Well worth reading. I am not its main audience but am part of the larger audience for this book.

Second thought: The way it is structured and the voice work well and reflect an ongoing trend in literature: Writing in short, thoughtful snippets that tell a larger story. I am a fan of this type of writing because it matches how people read now that we are 30 years into the internet and the change it has wrought. It also by intention or accident forces the writer to keep the reader’s interest by avoiding long expository navel gazing.

Think of it as: I need to fill the next two to three paragraphs with material that moves the story and holds the reader rather than I’m just going to write to the end of the chapter.

At any rate, a good book worth taking a look at.