5th Week-Reading Response

First off, the essays that we read, I enjoyed and think that I was able to discern some things that could help my writing. With my own writing, it seems like a lot of times, I fill it with superfluous detail and I often try, willingly or perhaps not so much, to emulate the progression of thoughts in my mind through my writing style. This sometimes creates really long sentences and makes it easier to confuse the reader. I felt that the essays managed to show a few characteristics that have helped my writing such as my lack of reliance on dialogue while also containing information that could be useful to improving my writing and moving from a “telling rather than letting the reader see it” kind of mentality in my writing.
I was not much of a fan of “First Family of Astoria”, as many people seem to concur. I never really felt like I gained any entrance into the scenes described or felt any affinity for the characters. From what I know of Astoria from New York Magazine or the Times, it is a really fascinating place and at the cross-section of Manhattan and Brooklyn and I felt this quality could perhaps have been exploited more. Trillin seemed to be putting the family in contrast to the neighborhood but I was never really sure if I got the whole thing?