Apparently it's a week for people to grab blog post ideas from the conversations raging over at NewLib-L. I might not have ducked back into the fray but for Colleen, who, as always, writes witty and interesting blog posts reminding us that if you behave in an unprofessional manner on a listserv--people will remember. And since we're all human, we'll probably judge you too.
But I have a little lighter fare today, focusing more on whether or not society is falling to pieces because *gasp* popular fiction is what most people are reading. (See NYT Best Seller Lists here for the horror)
I asked the question: "I wonder if there was ever a time that librarians or "the learned" weren't dismayed to find out that patrons/regular people liked to read exciting adventure stories. "
Overall, many of us are amazingly regular reading creatures. We like adventure, a little bit of the fantastic, surprise, romance and the potential of a happy future at the end of the book. The bad guys are captured, the good guys rewarded. And this is, to a great degree, a lot of what happens in popular fiction. A detective finds the missing money, a marriage is proposed, a killer is stopped/discovered, friends are hanging out again, there is hope for the future. I could point to any number of popular authors or syndicated television shows that follow this pattern.
What then becomes "classic literature?" What are the "great books of the ages?" As I mentioned in my post about Dr. Crichton's passing, this is a topic I like to revisit occasionally. What that the lofty among us consider "mere popular fiction" today will ascend to "classic" in one hundred years? What will our great-grandchildren's grandchildren be forced to read that we couldn't get enough of when it first came out?
Personally, I'll still argue for Neal Stephenson and Michael Crichton. The former as being able to blend epic story with more math and science than I ever faced down in the classroom; the latter for heavily researched tales that took on all manner of scientific possibility. I could see Tom Clancy joining the ranks, though more as an example of period literature that could be studied for insight into governmental happenings, international relations, etc rather than perhaps a true classic. And don't make me answer what a true classic is, I'm not really sure. (This after not only an MLS but also a BA in English Literature.)
But I have found that there is nothing like sticking a Newbury or other award winning sticker on a book to sink the circulation rates. Kids don't respond especially well to the implied condescending tone of a group of adults telling them it's a Good Book that they Should Read. And yet, we assume adults are different? Granted, adults are a smidge less likely to let a gold sticker turn them off (and certainly as parents they look for those stickers when choosing for their own children) but the condescension remains. Librarians often get the joy of trying to explain that no, really, just because it's a classic story it's not that dry. I promise the original Three Musketeers is a delightful romp of manly men doing manly things in a time of men being men and women being....spies among other things. I have a harder time with Moby Dick but that's just my inability to get past the first 100 pages...
So I appeal to you--what will become our future classics? What will go by the wayside? Shoot me an email or a comment and I'll post a summary of responses in the coming weeks.
Showing posts with label Neal Stephenson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Neal Stephenson. Show all posts
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Authors for Posterity
I'm listening yet again to Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen/Nadia May) and I'm reminded that Austen's works have held up admirably over a number of generations and are, to many, still as engaging as they were when first published.
And this calls to mind my conversation with My-Friend-the-Lawyer last night. He's the one who dragged me into reading my first Neal Stephenson. I used to own a beautiful hardcover copy of Cryptonomicon which someone absconded while I was in graduate school. But Stephenson, I discovered through serendipitous Amazoning, has a new book out in September and I think we're both planning to pre-order it. (At the very least, it's on my wish list, feel free to order me a copy for a Hedgehog Libra Birthday.)
I have a healthy respect for the literary abilities of Mr. Stephenson which began when I waded through that first book. Sibling-the-Elder has been reading him for longer than I have, but I think I might beat her through the Baroque Cycle if I sit down and put my mind to it. He's earned me street credibility with all kinds of people ("You read Stephenson? Okay, you're allowed to sit with the cool kids."), evoked numerous interesting conversations and--at the very least--he was able to picture the way our video games and technology was going a lot further in advance than I ever could. My first trip into Second Life oozed Snow Crash and the games of the future (360 degrees-full immersion/hologram deck/virtual reality type of things) only bring me more awe about him and his ability to see where we were/are headed.
Stephenson is an author who could be an interesting literary study on the collegiate level. I don't think anyone is teaching his works just yet as an elective but, as MFTL and I were agreeing last night, I'd love to see them taught! And, perhaps more importantly, I think Stephenson's works will stand up to the test of time.
My conviction of his durability as an author actually led to a presentation during college: looking at modern literature that we think will survive the ages. With all of the publishing and the thousands of books readily available to us, there are many books that will become irrelevant next week--let alone five or fifty years from now. So what are our Pride and Prejudices? Who do we have that will stand the test of time against Austen and Dickens? At the time I pointed to Crichton. Another attendee, a good friend at the time, considered bringing a then still rather new Rowling to the table. Whether or not she'll be an author handed down to our grandchildren remains to be seen, but certainly we may see her as a study in literary phenomenon (the excessively long and must be a multi-book series type).
So I now ask you: Who do you think will be held up to our great-great grandchildren as "authors of the late 20th, early 21st century"? Who will they say were the authors worth preserving? Who will still be in print? (This, of course, making the assuming that "print" still means something in that day and age.)
P.S. If you haven't read Snow Crash yet, RUN to your nearest library and grab a copy.
And this calls to mind my conversation with My-Friend-the-Lawyer last night. He's the one who dragged me into reading my first Neal Stephenson. I used to own a beautiful hardcover copy of Cryptonomicon which someone absconded while I was in graduate school. But Stephenson, I discovered through serendipitous Amazoning, has a new book out in September and I think we're both planning to pre-order it. (At the very least, it's on my wish list, feel free to order me a copy for a Hedgehog Libra Birthday.)
I have a healthy respect for the literary abilities of Mr. Stephenson which began when I waded through that first book. Sibling-the-Elder has been reading him for longer than I have, but I think I might beat her through the Baroque Cycle if I sit down and put my mind to it. He's earned me street credibility with all kinds of people ("You read Stephenson? Okay, you're allowed to sit with the cool kids."), evoked numerous interesting conversations and--at the very least--he was able to picture the way our video games and technology was going a lot further in advance than I ever could. My first trip into Second Life oozed Snow Crash and the games of the future (360 degrees-full immersion/hologram deck/virtual reality type of things) only bring me more awe about him and his ability to see where we were/are headed.
Stephenson is an author who could be an interesting literary study on the collegiate level. I don't think anyone is teaching his works just yet as an elective but, as MFTL and I were agreeing last night, I'd love to see them taught! And, perhaps more importantly, I think Stephenson's works will stand up to the test of time.
My conviction of his durability as an author actually led to a presentation during college: looking at modern literature that we think will survive the ages. With all of the publishing and the thousands of books readily available to us, there are many books that will become irrelevant next week--let alone five or fifty years from now. So what are our Pride and Prejudices? Who do we have that will stand the test of time against Austen and Dickens? At the time I pointed to Crichton. Another attendee, a good friend at the time, considered bringing a then still rather new Rowling to the table. Whether or not she'll be an author handed down to our grandchildren remains to be seen, but certainly we may see her as a study in literary phenomenon (the excessively long and must be a multi-book series type).
So I now ask you: Who do you think will be held up to our great-great grandchildren as "authors of the late 20th, early 21st century"? Who will they say were the authors worth preserving? Who will still be in print? (This, of course, making the assuming that "print" still means something in that day and age.)
P.S. If you haven't read Snow Crash yet, RUN to your nearest library and grab a copy.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Trying to Make Sense out of the "Kindle"-ing
I'd have had to completely abandon my computer for 48 hours to miss the chaotic conversations swarming around Kindle. What incredible w-o-m advertising!
While there was incredible hype leading up to the release of the I-phone and queuing up to obtain the phones--this seems to have exploded onto the shelves out of nowhere. Last week I'd never heard of a Kindle and couldn't care less-- today I'm wading in stories about it up to my cats-eye glasses.
Brief side note: Thank heavens for the Search function in Google Reader. I was trying to remember which all of the bloggers I read had commented on it and was getting a wee overwhelmed.
I see a lot of pros and cons to this tool and since 26 (what's in my blog list) just can't possibly be enough-- here is my opinion (supplemented with many other people's opinions).
While there was incredible hype leading up to the release of the I-phone and queuing up to obtain the phones--this seems to have exploded onto the shelves out of nowhere. Last week I'd never heard of a Kindle and couldn't care less-- today I'm wading in stories about it up to my cats-eye glasses.
Brief side note: Thank heavens for the Search function in Google Reader. I was trying to remember which all of the bloggers I read had commented on it and was getting a wee overwhelmed.
I see a lot of pros and cons to this tool and since 26 (what's in my blog list) just can't possibly be enough-- here is my opinion (supplemented with many other people's opinions).
Pros
1) Large print usage. I see a lot of potential if the print is big enough and many more titles (especially best sellers) being available to older readers. With the aging of our eyes, what a great advantage to have.
2) Smaller than packing Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon for all of those wonderful spontaneous vacations where I can only pack one bag (and that bag must include evening wear).
3) Useful for a constant traveler-- the Brunette worked as a flight steward and now is in a job where he travels a TON. He also doesn't collect books the way I do. I could see this on his Christmas list.
4) Saves trees!
5) Built in dictionary and wikipedia.
6) I don’t need a computer—as I would with Ebooks. (Unless I want to upload stuff to it—like Audible’s audiobooks)
7) “Library” on Amazon.com in case I buy more than 200 books.
8) Could be very useful for textbooks. I’d much rather carry this to school every day rather than the heavy texts—and it would mean I wouldn’t be looking at someone’s scribbles and highlights.
9) Battery life of up to 30 hours. Lots longer than my laptop!
Cons
1) I have a reasonably healthy fear that I'll break it. I don't do things with touch screens (e.g. large Ipod, Iphone) for the plain and simple reason that I'm very hard on my toys. I have a Sansa that I do enjoy using on occasion but I've already scratched up the screen. And my cell phone has had to stand trials of being dropped in puddles, being accidentally sent skittering across parking lots (and subway platforms) when it falls out of my pocket, being intentionally sent flying across the room when I get royally irritated and launch it at the bed. Both of those items are compact and have stood up to the test of being chucked under my laptop and three hardcover books in my carry-on bag. Could the Kindle do that?
2) Cost prohibitive. We're working towards a $100 web-enabled laptop (currently available at $400--where you get one and you send one to a child in a developing company)--explain to me the reasoning behind a $400 reader. Also-- $10 per book. I don't know about you-- but I'm a BIG shopper at used book stores. I can get a lot more for $10 bucks than one bestseller.
3) Forced RSS Feeds-- what do you mean they get to pick my feeds? Do you think I'm going to survive without my daily dose of Yarn Harlot?
4) I'm a tactile person... I love old books.
5) Needs recharging. My pocket sized copy of Pride and Prejudice never needs to reload.
6) I can't share with a friend. I'm a healthy consumer of Regency Romances--I get them from used book stores, charge through them and then (currently) toss them in an envelope and send them to the Opera Singer (not to be confused with the Blonde). I was taking them to her about once every two weeks in a small shopping bag but since the move--we've had to make some changes. Too—I borrow and loan books to family and friends all the time.
7) Charging to send files you own to your Kindle unless you connect to a computer and issues with copying various formats. Now doesn't that sound like a sneaky way to charge you more money. What if I send something to you to read--and I send it to your Kindle. Now you're paying for everything that I send you? I see potential for spam that costs me money.
8) Can you download from a plane? Or would wireless transfer be useless when you're in air?
10) "No monthly wireless bills, service plans, or commitments" --just the content bill every time you download something.
11) Not available outside the US and currently only works with a US credit card-- Hmmmm. Taking a cue from Apple, much?
12) Slightly big brotherish in that they hold on to information about everything you’ve read and bookmarked… yeah the circ desk is chuckling because I put every Regency romance in the consortium on hold but at least once I return the books no one is keeping a record of what I’ve read (except me…) What if a government asks for the reading records?
13) It's just not sexy. Why did they make it white? One does NOT carry white accessories after Labor Day people!!
14) No backlight. Which renders it useless for reading in the car on long night rides, reading in bed, reading it anywhere that there isn’t enough light. Mp3 Player screens light up for a reason…
15) They say that they have their own wireless delivery system. And that covers where exactly? Even cell phones have “out of range.” I should know—I’m currently hanging out on the Verizon Extended Network.
A nice comparison of book vs. Kindle is here.
Interestingly, it does show that we are still reading—or at least the hipsters with money are. And I will get a chance to play with one-- my director put in a purchase order.
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