(no subject)

I finished How to Be Alone. Interestingly, I suddenly got much more involved in it after my last post. Somehow the cumulative effect of all the essays gave me a very intimate sense of Franzen's personality, and as I neared the end of the book I began to feel closer and closer to him. And I decided that I really like him. I like his thoughtfulness and earnestness and scrupulous honesty, and the way he's willing to expose himself in his writing. For some reason, by the end of the book I was really wishing I could meet him in person. A strange reaction to a book of essays, but there it is.

Also, I managed to take the time to sit down and really think and write seriously about one of the essays, the way I'd been wanting to. The result is rather long, but I would love to discuss these issues, so I will post it here.

( very long )