This is a good one, I swear

I've been a pretty good boy with my writing. I finish my assignments with enough time so that I can go back and redo them when I realize they're garbage, and that's important for anyone.

Reading, I'm still not quite done with Hero with 1000 Faces. I did read an article on the author of 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' this weekend. I gave my brother a copy of this for Christmas a few years back; I'd never read it before, still haven't, but I knew it was supposed to be a strong story on personal philosophy that, unlike so many others in the genre, has survived decades and still is viable. The article told me a lot more about both the author and both his books than I imagined could be in there. In retrospect, I probably should have, as the course of true personal enlightenment ne'er did run smooth, but it still piqued my interest, and I'll probably steal that book from my bro when I see him over the holidays. The article was in the 19 Nov Sunday edition of the Observer.

I'm in the middle of reading Spirits in the Wires right now, by Charles de Lint. I was first clued into his writing by a friend who lent me a volume of short stories he's written. Various characters all set in the fictional town of Newford in modern era, and how these characters deal with their brief encounters with the mystical. As far as structure goes, de Lint is a bit too formulaic. He's found the plot he likes and can produce, and he does it in many different ways. What keeps me interested in the characters he does this with. Many varied backgrounds encoutner each other under somewhat similar circumstances, they have their own reactions, the make their own decisions, you come away feeling like you're getting a real look at a fairly-idealized tucked-away town where a little of everything lives. I haven't looked at the reviews online or the marketing analysis because I haven't finished it just yet and want to form my own opinions before giving it the full write-up treatment, but it is coming.