Lit Bits & A Bit About Rome

• Am I the only one who sees a connection between Jennifer Egan's The Keep & Scott Smith's The Ruins?  I have searched and cross-searched and double-dog dare searched to find a review, a blog post, a technorati random mention, something that I feel certain I've read comparing these two. If it exists, please light the way. If not, I think I'll have to write my own. While it is no secret that I found The Ruins to be lacking in so many ways, I am firm in my belief that Egan is a better writer and handles a similar (esque?) tale with much more nuance, insight and texture.  Yet. Yet.  There was a passage in The Keep that stopped me in my reading tracks, so similar in tone and content to a passage I am certain exists in The Ruins. Unfortunately, my copy of The Ruins has been returned to my Little Tokyo library which means I can't spend countless hours poring over the text to find the exact passage I'm certain (am I though?) exists in both books.  Maybe I just don't dig this type of story in the first place and should let sleeping castle vines lie?  If nothing else, Amazon seems to see the similarities, as a search for either The Ruins or The Keep suggests that others who bought one bought the other.  I hesitate to let Amazon provide guidance in this regard, but I'm at a loss without finding either another copy of The Ruins or that blog post I know I've read that will render my need to write about it obsolete.
• Two excellent posts about writing characters that resonate with readers -- Justine Musk (Via) & Eric Rosenfeld (Via.)
• Rome. Yes, that's right. Rome. Have you seen it? Do you love it? Can you even handle it? Can you possibly sit still until the next season begins on Jan 14th?  Let me put it to you this way: I hate historical fiction. I loathe historical films. I'm not interested in period drama, period. I don't care what form it takes. Why? Because you know how its going to end, where's the suspense in that?  But Rome, blessed Rome.  Never have I been so wrapped up in a period drama -- never did I expect to wonder aloud "Who will kill Caesar? When will it happen?" I became such a part of the magical world they've created that I forgot I already knew the answers to these questions. I'm so excited for Season 2 to begin so I can find out what happens.  Pure silliness, really, given that I already know what course history took. But oh to see it acted out in all its brutal glory. I simply cannot wait for January 14th, 9pm, PST. Yet here's the rub: I don't have television. Have been off the juice for over a year.  I had to wait a full year for the Season 1 DVD to come out (which I've clearly just gorged myself on, hence the excitement) & I simply cannot wait that long for the Season 2 DVD. I can't. I won't. Yet -- Rome isn't even available for a season pass on iTunes.  So. I'm hatching a plan to seek out a neighbor or other unwitting soul with HBO and free Sunday evenings that just might be willing to bargain.  Ahhhh...I feel the weight of the Roman empire and it's thicket of political manoeuvrings creeping its way through my veins as I type.