Random House is testing an idea of selling books in pieces, one chapter at a time. “Publishers are convinced that as it becomes easier to download books, and screen technology improves, an ever-larger number of readers will opt to receive digital content,” reports Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg of the Wall Street Journal. Also, HarperCollins is publishing some books for free online access, testing the waters for its ability to increase sales.
Hobbit Movie May Be Delayed
Sometimes the road goes ever ever on; sometimes it runs under a landslide. New Line Cinemas’ plans to produce “The Hobbit” and another “Lord of the Rings” prequel film could have a big road block. The Tolkien estate and HarperCollins are suing the production company for royalities never paid.
On autobiographical fiction
I’m consuming Dean Koontz books like salted peanuts right now. Although I still have reservations about his style, especially in the early books, I’d have to be even more in denial than I am to claim I don’t find his books satisfying on a very elemental level.
I don’t know what other people find in Koontz. I can’t imagine that all his millions of fans have the same reasons I do. Because what I respond to most in Koontz is the recurring themes of protecting abused children, and of adult children of abuse overcoming their personal demons.
It would be interesting to know what elements in the author’s own life led him to tell these kinds of stories. If he himself suffered abuse as a child, then I can only assume he’s made a remarkable recovery. Because it’s hard to write that way unless you’ve unpacked your old baggage.
I’ve got an unfinished manuscript on my laptop, and I’ve been stuck on it for at least a year. I made the mistake of having one of the main characters suffer from Avoidant Personality Disorder, as I do. I think that’s one (but not the only one) of the reasons the story’s stuck. Because stories are about overcoming obstacles and, in my heart, I don’t really believe this guy is going to overcome his.
Last time I talked about my reading here, I was working on Koontz’ Intensity. I said that I was finding it hard because the story involved spending a lot of time with a really vile sociopath. And that was true, as far as it went. But I think another part of the problem was that I really—really—identified with the heroine, a woman named Chyna Shepherd who, because of childhood abuse, has walled herself off from the world. But she is forced by circumstances to go far beyond her personal limits, and to suffer much, to save a child’s life.
Loved it. But it was harrowing.
Then I went on to read Cold Fire, which looked like it would be a lot more fun. It’s about a guy who’s a living superhero. From time to time he gets psychic promptings that tell him to be at such and such a place at such and such a time, and to be prepared with this or that equipment. When he shows up, he finds somebody’s life in danger, and he saves them.
But the story gets darker. A woman reporter who falls in love with him discovers that his “gift” has its roots in terrible events in his childhood, events he has blotted out of his memory. With her help he confronts them and faces the truth.
At which point, of course, I stopped identifying.
Anyway, the moral (I guess) is, if you want to write autobiographical fiction about your own neuroses, it’s best to wait until you’re all better.
Bertrand to Be on the Mars Hill Audio Journal
Ken Myers has interviewed J. Mark Bertrand on worldview, reading, and other fun topics. That should be a great interview. You can subscribe to the MP3 version of the MHA Journal for $30/year. It’s always very interesting.
In fact, you can listen to several recordings in their CD Bonus section. Note these two: “Vol. 66 – Leon Kass, on how new technologies have changed the assumptions many people have about their children” and “Vol. 53 – Dana Gioia talks about the life and work of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and reads a poem inspired by the death of his wife, ‘The Cross of Snow.'”
Write While the Iron is Hot
Anecdotal Evidence is talking about Thoreau’s thoughts on writing. “A feeble writer,” Thoreau says, “and without genius must have what he thinks a great theme, which we are already interested in through the accounts of other, but a genius – a Shakespeare, for instance – would make the history of his parish more interesting than another’s history of the world.”
BWB, Powered by Bloo
Now using Bloo, v. 1.00.
Rally for Ideas and Try to Work to Together
Joe Carter is doing a four parter on saving conservative political discourse and policies in today’s more-hostile-than-yesterday climate. First, stop the bleeding, he says. Next, let’s kill all the lawyers. No, we’ll do that later. Next, start the breathing.
I don’t know that Joe nails in on every point, but he’s close to the mark. It seems to me there are well-defined conservative ideas and there are well-established conservative people who may or may not hold the conservative position on a certain issue. Calling the person a liberal would be unfair, even if you could make a case for his position on the one issue being a liberal position. That is McCain’s problem, as I understand it. It doesn’t matter to may voters and commentators I suppose that the American Conservative Union gives him an 80+% lifetime conservative record. It matters that on the issues McCain has taken leadership, he has led in a liberal direction. You could easily believe he voted with conservatives on their issues out of party loyalty instead of principle, so as president he would be more likely to lead according to his less than conservative principles.
But I’ll vote for him anyway–at least at this point. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.
Lies Like an Oil Spill
I want to be a good steward of my part of the earth. I think I always have. My parents taught me the evils of littering and some of the joys of gardening. I learned other joys on my own. All of my married life we have kept the house warm in the summer and cool in the winter to save energy (and perhaps our air conditioner). We’ve taught our girls not to waste water, especially during the last several months of the drought, and for watering our house plants we have collected rain water. I know I could do more, but it’s a challenge when it seems everything we’re told about saving the environment is hype and lies.
The latest is National Geographic’s upcoming special, “Six Degrees Could Change the World.” Will the ocean rise 80 feet? You can stop it by turning off your TV and recycling it. It’s an energy hog.
The magazine site states, “Obviously, the most straightforward way to stop the frighteningly rapid rate of climate change is to reduce humans’ output of carbon dioxide by 60 to 80 percent.” So do your part by breathing less, please.
I’ll try to heed Mr. McCain’s advice by calming down, but I hope if he is elected president, he won’t make me change my light bulbs. I don’t want the Department of Energy telling me I can’t use incandescent light bulbs when the alternatives, compact florescent bulbs, really aren’t much better. Their light spectrum is different than the one put off by incandescents, and what is this about special recycling? I can’t put them in the trash can? Is that on the packaging?
Sweden is supposed to be leading the way on this front, but apparently the great Swedish recycling success is as shaky as Ivar Kreuger’s wealth. I’m disenchanted. Who do you believe?
Back in November, NASA reported on its study of the Arctic Ocean. “Our study confirms many changes seen in upper Arctic Ocean circulation in the 1990s were mostly decadal in nature, rather than trends caused by global warming,” said the lead scientist from the University of Washington. And yet just last week NPR had a spot on a cruise of Antarctica which tried convince us that the cracking glacial ice was our fragile earth breaking up under our feet. I wonder if they question the cracking sounds in their freezers.
Environmentalists have no credibility with me, which is why I’m frustrated with our government’s refusal to drill for oil in the arctic wasteland and their capitulation on so many other points with people who appear to be striving for American failure, third world poverty, and in some cases the termination of undesirable people. What’s a descent steward of creation to do?
Need I Remind You?
I do have a life, but this cartoon hits too close to home. I’m out.