Page 261 of 524

TLC Book Tour – Zig-Zagging by Tom Wilson


zig-zagCartoonist Tom Wilson is the current animator of the Ziggy character originally penned by his father, Tom Wilson, Sr. His inspirational memoir  Zig-Zagging is about his journey as an artist and person and how the death of his young wife followed by his father’s chronic illness helped shape both.

In his book he attempts to tell the reader through inspirational musings and the sharing of his personal trials and dark times that the detours in life are the real teachers of life and the builders of character.

I would have enjoyed – if that’s okay to say about a book that centers on loss – it more without the inspirational message. I have never cared much for other people telling me what I should learn from my own tragedy. However, that said, I think Wilson is spot on with many of his conclusions.

The book works best when Wilson is willing to write about the adversity he’s faced. When he describes the struggles dealing with years of his wife’s cancer, her death and its impact on him and their children, the writing is at its best.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t stay  there, but I understand why. It’s hard to offer up the most painful experiences of your life and hope that those reading understand how those events shaped you or led you to the actions that brought you to where you are. Wilson wanders away when he gets too close into greeting card sound bites that pile up like clichéd cord wood which is too bad because his story didn’t need the shiny gloss coat to still make his point that we learn the most from the unexpected and the roads we’d never have taken if the universe gave us a choice in the matter. How we weather loss and struggle, and navigate the dark, is the true test of who we are.

I think people who love Ziggy, inspirational memoirs and/or are struggling with adversity will find this book most helpful and even comforting.

I read “widow” books anymore to discover how people have rebuilt their lives. What motivated them to get back up and try again? That’s what I want to know because there is no real formula or “how to” guide for a person whose spouse has died young. Wilson’s journey, the steps and mis-steps, was interesting to me because I could identify with some of it and it was in these parts of the book that the writing rings most true.

It could have been a more honest book, in my opinion. I am not really sure where the tendency to find deep meaning or pretty up rough patches with platitudes comes from, but there is more here than I care for. Perhaps though because I am looking for the real deal in terms of enlightenment where it comes to loss and coping and moving on.

It’s a good book. I am just not its target audience. 

Wilson is a good writer. He is a devout man. He makes a good case for bothering to learn from things you would prefer not to experience at all.

zigg-book-contestClick here for details.

Read more about Zig-Zagging:

Wednesday, March 4th: Traveling Through Time and Space

Thursday, March 5th: Anniegirl1138

Monday, March 9th: Bookfoolery and Babble

Tuesday, March 10th: Widows Quest

Wednesday, March 11th: Not Quite What I Had Planned

Thursday, March 12th: Reading, Writing, and Retirement

Monday, March 16th: Learning to Live

Tuesday, March 17th: Book Addiction

Wednesday, March 18th: Confessions of a Book-a-Holic

Thursday, March 19th: Peeking Between the Pages

Friday, March 20th: Beth Fish Reads

Monday, March 23rd: Literary Menagerie

Tuesday, March 24th:  Joyfully Retired

Wednesday, March 25th: Madeleine’s Book Blog

Thursday, March 26th: Texas Red Books

Friday, March 27th: Bermuda Onion

Monday, March 30th:  Should Be Reading

A Little Accuracy with My Historical Pornography – Please


I know I have mentioned before that I like my historical fiction – regardless of the medium – to be fairly accurate. It’s more than having been a former teacher and believing that there are things to be learned from the interpretation of history. I don’t believe that blatant inaccuracies make something more interesting or “artistic”. Instead it simply presumes the ignorance of the audience and inserts pointless fiction where it would have been just as easy – and interesting – to relay fact. Inaccuracy is just laziness on the part of a writer or filmmaker. If one cannot make real history live and breathe, then one is either not as gifted as one thinks one is, or the subject matter isn’t worthy of retelling. Often the latter is the case.

Not so the Tudor Dynasty of England. The real history is fascinating enough that most people have a vague idea or better of who Henry the VIII was at least, but if you have watched any of the Showtime series based on his life, you have been treated to an historical misrepresentation that would make former Vice-President Cheney proud.

Knowing English history, as I do, every re-interpretation of fact and character jars me out of my suspension of disbelief, and this shouldn’t happen with good story-telling. The reality being built should never stray so far that the audience consciously realizes it.

Granted, many people don’t know much about history and I guess that is the sadder fact. Most of the folks who watch this series haven’t a clue that much of what they are seeing is basically an excuse to legitimize soft-porn by calling it “historical”.

Four episodes in and I have decided to amuse myself by ferreting out the examples of  the Hollywoodization of Henry and enjoying the discussion that Rob and I have during the cheesy moments and afterward – aided by Wikipedia searches to verify our arguments.

And yes, that is a very geeky thing to do. But we roll like that.

My Influences


I wasn’t allowed to see Close Encounters of the Third Kind when it was first out. I was going on 14 and had cleverly bypassed my Dad’s edict against sci-fi and fantasy movies for me with Star Wars the summer before by getting my cousin to take me while we were visiting. I had no such foil for Spielberg’s first alien movie. The first time I saw the whole thing, however, I was struck by the feeling I had seen it before. Chris Carter is so lucky that Spielberg didn’t sue his arse.

The reason I was forbidden to go to movies like this was because my parents felt I had an unhealthy interest in all things they considered to be weird and likely to make it hard for me to ever meet someone who might consider marrying me (they didn’t have to add -” because you are already unattractive so try not to be odd too” but it was there).

I loved Dr. Who.

Believed in ESP and ET’s. Read everything I could about both subjects.

Watched every lame sci-fi television show that made it to the airwaves back in the 70’s like Planet of the Apes, Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Six Million Dollar Man, Logan’s Run, The Tomorrow People, Kochak: The Night Stalker, Night Gallery.

Remember V? Awesome. Simply awesome idea though the movies themselves are beyond awful when viewed retrospectively.

Or Aeon Flux?

I devoured Frank Herbert and Tolkien.  Anne McCaffery’s Pern books line my shelves along with Stephen King and David Eddings.

I don’t know why the real world doesn’t interest me more. Perhaps it is too real? Or more likely I am a person who prefers being outside of the bounds that most people are most comfortable focusing on.