Also from the Literary Saloon comes this review of a German crime novel, The Murder Farm.
Are the New Just Like the Old?
The Literary Saloon points to an article out of England titled, “Can intelligent literature survive in the digital age?” The answer to that is probably mixed, but the Saloon quotes a small bit that claims the new crop of British writers have never heard of Twitter and are embarrassed by blogging. When will most literary folk have a good perspective on technology? Maybe after another 40 years in the desert when the older ones have died off, we’ll get around to understanding where and what the Internet is good for.
But I don’t blame them much. “Now, many serious writers complain, challenging fiction doesn’t appeal; ‘difficult’ novels don’t sell.” That’s got to bite, and online writing or other new media are good whipping boys for that pain.
But there’s more too. Literary agent Clare Alexander is quoted saying:
There’s also the other side of the digital revolution – that original ideas filter through to print from the internet. Yes, occasionally a blog becomes a book – about sex, usually – and the really original ideas percolate through, but most stuff online is crap!
I don’t believe the publishing industry will have an ‘iPod moment’. People say that the new generation isn’t interested in reading books, but they forget that this is the generation that grew up reading Harry Potter.
They won’t have an iPod moment because they appear to need whole bottle of Wodehouse’s Buck U-Uppo. A breath of fresh air is what can stay outside the door as far as publishers are concerned. Still I doubt all is lost. In several years, no doubt, a bunch of homeschoolers will take over the industry.
Reasons For and Against Prayer
Jimmy Davis gives six excuses for not praying, and as if that wasn’t good enough, he follows it with 17 reasons to pray.
Boltz: “God made me this way”
I heard from Jared (through Facebook) that singer/songwriter Ray Boltz has publicly announced his homosexuality. I guess he doesn’t perform much music anymore, but it’s still a disappointing revelation.
“This is what it really comes down to,” he says. “If this is the way God made me, then this is the way I’m going to live. It’s not like God made me this way and he’ll send me to hell if I am who he created me to be … I really feel closer to God because I no longer hate myself.”
I think I can understand that feeling, but it doesn’t make him right. God did not make him homosexual, and the Bible has strong words against homosexual acts.
But I wonder if the grace of salvation cannot overcome bad theology like this. That’s probably a fruitless debate. The larger point is that Boltz, like all of us, needs to repent of what God’s law clearly condemns (1 Timothy 1:8-14). I’m disappointed he didn’t get the sound Bible teaching he should have received all these years.
I’ll try to say this very delicately
It would be wrong and insensitive to make a joke about this story:
A British woman who was scratched several times by a rat she was trying to set free from her bird feeder died six days later from the wound, The Daily Mail reported Friday.
It would appear from this account that her love for animals led her to attempt to set the animal free rather than call somebody to kill it.
When Jesus told us not to throw pearls before swine, he was affirming certain sensible kinds of discrimination. Discrimination in itself is not bad. You’ve got to determine whether it’s discrimination based on a relevant or an irrelevant difference.
In other words, you’ve got to discriminate between different kinds of discrimination.
The differences between people and animals, or the differences between kittens and rats, are not irrelevant ones.
Score!
I love when this happens, though it’s never happened to me. A Wisconsin man pays $1 for an 1848 printing of The Life of George Washington by John Marshall. It’s apparently worth several thousand dollars. Wow.
Self-Serve Libraries in Wales
The library system in Cardiff, Wales, is going self-service. I take that to mean visitors will be able take a book off the shelves, scan it, get a receipt with due date, and walk out with the book without having to interact with a nasty librarian who will sniff at their selection. (I’m kidding about the librarian–really. I know many delightful librarians, cute little women who help me check out Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb every time I go. I couldn’t do without them.)
Anyway, the Cardiff library system plans to put those librarians to better use than checking out books. Of course, not everyone believes this is a good idea. An engineer is quoted saying he doesn’t see the point. “It’s not as if the library is ever so busy that you have to queue to take books out.” [via Rare Book News]
She’s a Witch! Burn Her!
Should you want to tear down a conservative woman at the next cocktail party, here are the steps. The first step is to argue that the woman does not believe what she claims; she’s just a “submissive little doll of the White Male Hierarchy. . . .” That’s classy.
Esquire Use E-Ink on Anniversary Issue Cover
Gearlog takes the cover apart and hacks it onto another cover.
Put Down the Pen, Step Away from the Keyboard
The site, 101 Reasons to Stop Writing, has not be updated in months, but it still has some good demotivators ala Despair, Inc. Here’s an excellent new example. [via Books, Inq.]