Disappointment Is The Word

The Essential Writer's Notebook:
A step-By-Step Guide to Better Writing
Natalie Goldberg
Publisher: Peter Pauper Press (July 2001)
Spiral-bound: 160 pages
Rating: 1 star of 5 possible

Much of the content of this book is merely blank lined pages that would best serve my purposes if those blank pages were not interrupted by so much art and having the writing prompts appear scattered throughout, in what I am certain are going to turn out to be the wrong places much of the time. As with the writing prompts, the author's paintings are scattered throughout the book, inhibiting the usefulness of the volume.

As an educational tool, this book is lacking much due to the content being so scattered; as a writer's journal or writing exercise book, it is only so-so for the same reason. Since there is no way to predict how much a writer will put out based on one prompt, I would rather have seen a section at the front devoted to the prompts, and a second section (maybe at the back) devoted to the paintings, making them easier both to find and to use as prompts. Another point concerning the paintings... well, they can best be described as eclectic, and though they might serve as prompts to some writers, to me they are so much wasted paper. This writer's painting style just does not fit my taste in art.

Since the book is wire-bound inside a cover that hides the wires (nice looking, I'll admit), I can't even take the darned thing apart to reorganize the paintings as I would prefer to have them. If I had seen this at a traditional bookstore, where I could have examined the book prior to purchasing it, I probably would not have made the purchase. This book is very much not recommended to anyone, with the possible exception of rabid fans of the author who MUST have every book with her name on the cover and who happen to also like the author's painting style.

The Promise is Not Fulfilled

The Once and Future King
T.H. White
Publisher: Ace (July 15, 1987)
Paperback: 639 pages
Rating: 3 stars of 5 possible

Cliffs Notes on White's The Once and Future King
Publisher: Wiley Publishing
Paperback: 104 pages
Rating: 1 star of 5 possible

The Once and Future King is an omnibus edition of the first four installments of the epic story of King Arthur and the knights of the round table. The first two parts were published separately in the late 1930's and the third part followed in 1940, just before World War II intervened, cancelling separate publication of the fourth part of the story and delaying the omnibus edition until 1958, when the first four parts were published together. A fifth part to the saga was published much later and is reviewed separately. That part is titled The Book of Merlyn.

In The Once and Future King, White liberally borrows from (and credits) Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte De Arthur as being the source of much information regarding the story of King Arthur and his knights of the round table. Though Malory also wrote of the quest for the holy grail, White barely mentions that quest, referring us to Malory if we wish to read more extensively of it. Fans of the Arthurian saga will want to read The Once and Future King for White's original view of the classic saga... those most deeply into the fantasy will probably also wish to explore Sir Thomas Malory's contributions as well.

Daniel Moran's Cliffs Notes on The Once and Future King is not as comprehensive as one could wish. Though the guide is helpful in studying the symbolism and satire present in first part of the story (The Sword in The Stone), only vague and unhelpful references to the second, third and fourth parts of the epic are present in this Cliffs Notes volume. This would be better titled Cliffs Notes on White's The Sword in The Stone. I recommend this Cliffs Notes only if one wishes to study The Sword In The Stone; it's practically useless for the rest of the saga.

Recommendations:
For young and old alike: read The Sword in the Stone - either with or without studying it in depth. That part of the saga is pure fun.
For die-hard fans of the Arthurian saga: - finish reading The Once and Future King, either with or without including The Book of Merlyn. The saga almost seems complete without that last chapter.
Optional for those studying The Sword in the Stone: Buy or (better yet), borrow Cliffs Notes on White's The Once and Future King. Just don't buy the Cliffs Notes expecting it to cover much of the later volumes in the saga. It doesn't give them much coverage and isn't any help with studying them in depth.