Paris in a Box

A coworker who knows I'm really into language and international stuff gave me a cute gift: Paris in a Box. I love it!

This kit comes with mementos to add French ambiance to your space, including a mini Eiffel Tower, a French flag with stand, three Parisian magnets with French sayings, and a 32-page book containing the top twenty-five reasons to love Paris.

Now I just have to go to Paris--I still have never been there, and have read and heard so much about it!

This book delivers

I just read Kathy Griffin's new book, and while it has her typical vulgarity, which I'm not a fan of (and would never tell her because she derides people who think that way), it really delivers. This is why: she gives good info about various people in the entertainment biz, talks about her personal struggles with guys and food, reveals secrets about her family including her criminal brother, and even gives good advice for becoming successful. Well, I think I saw just a couple of cases of direct advice, but through her story you learn about how tenacity and hard work can open doors. And meeting the right people, of course. I also like how she expresses her honest envy of people who achieve fame from barely doing anything. Check out the preview below (many pages of the book are included).

I can see why this book is a bestseller

I spent a weekend tearing through the book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey, who seems to be able to do everything. Seriously--he's a successful comedian, has also made lots of money on TV, and can even do great radio. A lot of people aren't good on the radio, even famous people who've found success elsewhere before trying it out. But just like other things he's done, he's aced it (and has gotten rich from that as well).

His book was so well-written and so informative, I couldn't put it down. But he didn't write it alone--he had a coauthor. Still, you can tell it's his voice--he just probably had help to clarify his thoughts and make them flow nicely.

So I can see why this book is a bestseller. I highly recommend it, though it's written for women who aren't married. But I still found it informative and entertaining.

Photos from Friday's Reading

Reading tonight!

The Down the Block reading is happening tonight: Friday, October 23, from 7 to 8 PM, at Quimby's Bookstore, 1854 W. North Avenue in Chicago. Four people will read their contributions, and the event is free. Hope to see you there!

Save the date!

I've mentioned in other posts and in my profile that I put an anthology together with contributions from bloggers and good writers that I know in Chicago and elsewhere. Well I've organized a reading next month. Here's the info:

When: Friday, October 23 at 7:00 PM
Where: Quimby's Bookstore, 1854 W. North Avenue in Chicago
Cost: FREE

So far, four of the contributors are going to read: John Banas, Sharyn Elman, Hugh Iglash, and Peter Zelchenko. If you want to hear audio of them, listen here. A full preview of the book is below.

Down the Block

Full preview of the book

Here's a full preview of the anthology I put together. You can get a really nice-looking paperpack edition (people say they like the cover and even text fonts) from Amazon or Barnes & Noble (and other booksellers online) or via the ISDN number at any bookstore, or you can get a download for half the price.

And if you want to hear what some of the authors sound like, you can listen to the audio here (each lasts around a minute or two).

Mary Beard did the Foreword, which is pretty cool since she's an established writer and thinker :D

Down the Block

A very long title!

I was looking at info about Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Kidnapped (which you can read online or download for free!), and I noticed the very long title, which seems to be typical of 18th century literature:

KIDNAPPED
BEING MEMOIRS OF THE ADVENTURES OF DAVID BALFOUR IN THE YEAR 1751

HOW HE WAS KIDNAPPED AND CAST AWAY; HIS SUFFERINGS IN A DESERT ISLE; HIS JOURNEY IN THE WILD HIGHLANDS; HIS ACQUAINTANCE WITH ALAN BRECK STEWART AND OTHER NOTORIOUS HIGHLAND JACOBITES; WITH ALL THAT HE SUFFERED AT THE HANDS OF HIS UNCLE, EBENEZER BALFOUR OF SHAWS, FALSELY SO CALLED

Maybe they used long titles because that was the only way for people to know what the book was about, since their press was a lot tinier than what we have today (we probably have the most fractured outlets ever). Plus, language has become more concise in modern times, especially since literacy is more widespread than a few hundred years ago.

Now I'm interested in reading about Stevenson's life. I wouldn't be surprised if end up reading a biography of him (if I can find a juicy one).

I finally read The Tipping Point

I finally read The Tipping Point, which came out almost a decade ago. Yes, it took me that long to find it intriguing enough to read. I guess I avoided it because there was so much hype surrounding it, and so many people in the media talked about it, I figured it probably didn't have much substance, and it seemed like a fad.

But that book is very important--I'd say it's going to go down as one of the most important books of this century. I even think that a lot of people have taken it and have either profited from its ideas, or they've used it as a basis to spin their own theories.

On a side note, I'd like to say that Malcolm Gladwell is blessed because he's making a [very good] living from using his brain and having an effect on the culture. He's also probably met a lot of interesting people too, and has gotten to write and speak about his ideas. That's a rare opportunity that probably makes life a lot more fulfilling and interesting :D

New German dictionary

Mad Minerva had a link to an interesting article about a book with new German words:

"New words, such as 'twittern' (a German verbal form meaning 'to send a message via Twitter') or 'Komasaufen' ('saufen' means 'to drink,' 'Koma' means 'coma,' so 'Komasaufen' means 'binge-drinking') reflect new social realities...

"...the real strokes of folk genius occur when a German word is mixed with a foreign word to create something which is totally new, like 'urcool,' which adds German prefix 'ur-,' meaning 'primordial' to the well-known English colloquialism."

I'd also like to note that I like the name of the publisher Duden. "Duden Editor" has a nice ring to it. It's urcool!

I highly recommend this book

Right now I'm reading a few books, one of which is a language book that was sent to me (which I haven't finished yet), but I just finished an excellent book about the rise and fall of the company that produced Veggie Tales, and the creator's personal journey as he discovered that he was in over his head and ended up failing--his company went into bankruptcy and he had to sell the whole thing off to pay off a lawsuit. Just a total nightmare, but he admits that he was to blame for the company's demise.

But in the larger picture, he's not a failure, because he was able to create another company and continue making a living from being creative. But it's really a good lesson on a lot of levels about what it's like to go for something so big, you either can't handle it or your ego gets in the way, or both.

You can read an excerpt at his site, which seems to me like it was originally a blog post that became a book. But the post is long enough to get a pretty good idea of what happened to his company.

I also liked the book because it was well-written and conversational. Honestly, I don't like books that seem self conscious or too rigid. But this one flowed and the information, advice, and insight were worth it.

btw--I only saw one episode of Veggie Tales, and that's only because I was reading this book.

Download the book

Here's a preview of the anthology I put together. Now you can download it for half the price of the print version available at Amazon. It features various writers, including bloggers--check out the preview below to see the writers' bios.

Down the Block

Featured in METRO magazine

Down the Block Anthology featured in Metro Magazine in Minneapolis Minnesota

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Magazines & Newspape magazine metro

The anthology I put together, Down the Block, has been mentioned in METRO magazine in Minneapolis, Minnesota (thanks to Mary O'Regan, who's an editor there).

Subtle mockery in Burma

I've been reading To the Golden Shore, which is a biography of Adoniram Judson, and it's really good, not just because of what he went through, but also because I'm getting an idea of what the early 19th century was like in Asia and the US.

I keep thinking about how they describe Burma back then, and it's helped me to understand why it still has a ton of problems now (military dictatorship, democratically elected leader under house arrest, isolation, etc). Back then there was torture, death, and misery imposed by a despotic leader and very corrupt system. I seriously don't know how people have managed to survive in such countries.

What's also struck me about that country back then was how Michael Symes, the first British emissary there, was treated. I found a good article that mentions his trip in the late 18th century and compares the despotic Burmese royalty back then with the current dictatorship.

In the Judson biography, he mentions Symes' account of his trip, An Account of an Embassy to the Kingdom of Ava (1795) (which you can download for free). At first Judson was impressed, but once he was in India, he found out that

Symes, in his ignorance of Burmese customs, had not realized that, instead of being treated as a distinguished visitor, he had actually been led about with subtle mockery, and dealt a succession of calculated insults in the guise of compliments. The Burmese court had silently rocked with laughter during his whole mission.

I've read that a number of times, and I keep wondering what that "subtle mockery" and "calculated insults" looked like.

A good ESL book matters!

I teach English (ESL) once a week and talked about a great book that I use (English in Action) which will unfortunately be phased out because they want the entire city to use the same one (why fix something that isn't broken?!).

Since I have a crazy work schedule, I really don't want to spend a ton of time thinking of activities for the class, so I really depend on the book to guide the class, and students like it. Last semester, all of the students said in their class evaluation that they thought the "class materials" (which were just the book and workbook) were helpful.

Before this semester started, we had to go to a seminar, and an experienced teacher was giving us all these ideas to use in the classroom. If I were teaching every day, I would use other materials and activities, but for a class that meets once a week, I don't need to. And the important thing is: I don't *want* to.

Why make things more complicated? If you have a good text book, you don't have to add anything. Plus, it makes the students' purchase worthwhile. I don't like having to buy books for a class, only to find out that it's just a small part of what we'll be doing. That's a lot of money for slight use.

Canadians like this book

I just spent the week working with Austin Hill, who wrote the book White House Confidential, and I asked him how people have responded to it. Especially around this time of year, he's been able to sell a lot of copies, but what's surprising is that Canadians seem to really like it.

He told me that Canadians are fascinated with American history and are curious about our Presidents, and seem to know more about them than we do. I seriously thought that they could care less since they have a really nice country up there, but he's experienced something different.

Maybe I should interview him for this blog--he's been making the media rounds lately.

It's ready!

The book I've been putting together is done! There were several contributors, all of whom are talented writers and interesting people. They all wrote about life in cities throughout the world. See a preview here and purchase it in print or purchase cheap download here.

It will eventually be available at various online booksellers.

Stay tuned!

Between doing radio stuff and working on other people's sites, I've been finishing up the upcoming anthology. It's going to be ready this week--in time for the holidays!

Recommended radio books

Corey Deitz, who started working in radio years before massive consolidation and syndication, has a list of books about radio that he recommends including:

"Cousin Brucie"
"The Pied Pipers of Rock ‘n’ Roll"
"Did You Whittinghill This Morning?"
"Have Mercy!"
"The Rush Limbaugh Story"
"Empire of the Air"

I haven't read any of them but I definitely want to check some out. I already read his book The Cash Cage, which I'm going to read again because now that I've been working in the biz, I'm sure I'll recognize familiar situations.

Free English/Spanish bilingual book and CD

This is what's great about college: students can devote lots of time to creating projects. I found out about Fluenz.org, which is a site with FREE bilingual English and Spanish books and audio that you can download.

The students have given the project a political purpose by saying that "language is a human right," which I guess is a result of the ideology they learn with increased education, but I just see it as a good way to learn English or Spanish, and the practicality is obvious without having to attach some political significance to it.

The book is actually for native Spanish speakers because it has English transliterations, but if you want to learn basic Spanish, it's definitely worth the download.

new Pompeii book

If you want to know more about Pompeii, or if you want to see how other historians have been wrong about it, then check out Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town. It was released in the UK yesterday, and will be released in the US later in the fall.

I haven't read it yet, but I'm mentioning it here because I saw Mary Beard's 10 things you need to know about Pompeii, which is myth-busting and interesting.

She's also a very smart, interesting, nice person, so her book deserves a mention here. She's achieved more than most people, including publishing many books, getting published and interviewed for top publications and other media, being an editor for the Times Literary Supplement, and teaching at Cambridge. I'd say that's the cream of the crop in the intellectual world.

Considering everything she's accomplished, she is not snobby at all, appreciates online writing by non-media folks and academic types, and is friendly--she sent me an email complimenting my blog, and told me about hers (which has thousands of readers). She even met with me when she came to Chicago to lecture at a university.

Believe me, I've met some folks who haven't accomplished as much as her, but because they perceived me as a peon, they barely wanted to talk to me. So when she took the time out of her busy schedule to hang out with me, it meant a lot.

She's also a good writer, so I'm sure her book is good.

Great ESL book

I'm going to a meeting on Friday where we're going to find out what the city-wide ESL books are going to be. Whoever the winning publisher is, they're going to be very happy because thousands of their books will be used throughout Chicago.

So far, I've been using the third level of English in Action, which is perfect for the weekly class I've been teaching. It has different kinds of activities, a practical workbook, and helpful information that's not overwhelming.

I'm just mentioning it here because starting in January, we'll no longer use English in Action, and I want people to know that it's a great book that has made teaching a lot easier and more enjoyable. Even though I've used the same book for over a year, it seems like I'm teaching a different class each term.

So thank you English in Action, and Heinle, its publisher!

Got a blog book

I was in a bookstore looking at the front table with new releases, and saw a book that seemed to be an enjoyable read. As I was checking it out, I kept thinking that the writing style reminded me of well-written blogs, because it was breezy and friendly. So I got the book, and found out that it came from a blog by an anonymous waiter. So I was right: the writer was originally a blogger, and he'd attracted so many readers, the PIC (Publishing Industrial Complex) noticed. And he's probably making a very good living from something that started as a venting vehicle.

Interviews posted

One of the reasons I've sometimes lapsed in posting here (other than having an odd work schedule) is because I've been working on the anthology I'm putting together (which will be released later this month), and now there's been a new development: interviews with some of the authors! I've posted the audio at my site--check it out, and enjoy :D

Got rejected but got a book

This is different: I applied for a scholarship to a seminar (to attend the seminar for free instead of paying the big bucks), but I got rejected. I was sort of bummed, but I figured LIF (Life Isn't Fair) and moved on, even though I thought it was ironic that they wanted bloggers, and since I've had this blog for a while, they'd see I was legit. But I guess I'm not business-y enough for them.

Then yesterday, I received a book that was about the topic they were going to discuss, and basically they said thanks for applying, here's a book, feel free to review it on Amazon. So I started reading it and it's not bad, but I think I'm going to review it elsewhere online because it's easier to do that.

That was the first time that happened: getting rejected from something but getting a freebie for at least trying. So now I'm thinking that maybe life isn't so unfair after all :D

Jane Austen bio online

I just watched Miss Austen Regrets which was really good, and I was searching for more info for her online, I found A Memoir of the Life of Jane Austen, which you can read for free! So get it now before some jerk shuts it down. It's the first one, and was written by her nephew. It also gave her the fame that she wanted, though it was too late, because she'd already died quite young.

He's made it big time

Here's everyone's dream (at least those who write as a hobby): you set up a blog, it gets passed around, and you end up getting millions of hits and a book deal good enough to let you quit your day job. And you didn't do any marketing to get to that point, didn't query anyone, just posted stuff that people liked, and the PIC (Publishing Industrial Complex) noticed.

That's what happened with the guy who created Stuff White People Like. He has really made it, and he did it with a unique idea that has entertained a lot of people.

Too many books

I went to the Printers Row Book Fair today, which unfortunately was initially rained out, and by the time it cleared up, many of the exhibitors had taken off. But as I walked around, I saw a ton of books, but far fewer people were buying them. Which is usually the case, and that's my point.

I talked to a guy from an indie press who was cleaning off the rain from his table, and there seemed to be a number of interesting titles there, but there were too many to all sell decently, and he told me that they just throw spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. One place was even giving away books. But the bottom line is that there were too many there and there are too many everywhere, and the buyers are scarce.

One guy who really took the time to talk to me and answer my numerous questions was David Gecic from Puddin'head Press. He was friendly and told me what it's like to have an independent press (he publishes mostly poetry). He's been at it for like 20 years, and he's managed to break even and do even better, while connecting with cool people around the city. At least he's accomplishing something.

I gave in

At first, I could care less about Barbara Walters or her memoir, but after reading an article about it in the New Yorker, I became interested, so I've started reading it. I borrowed it from someone, which means I have to read it asap so that they can finish it. So far, it's quite good and chock-full of juicy info, though I feel a bit cheap "looking in".

UPDATE: I can't take it anymore--her writing has a lot of subject-verb constructions, and seems like TV. And her voice is so arrogant and smug--too annoying to continue on. So I've stopped reading it. I don't care about her, and now I don't care about her writing about her.

I think I saw a VNR

I'm almost done with Fighting for Air, and it is really good. If you work in the media, if you want to work in the media, or if you care about the media, I highly recommend this book.

One of the things I've learned about is VNR's, which are video news releases. Basically, they are created by PR agencies, businesses, governments, and anyone else who wants their story to be covered by TV news organizations. They're sent to media companies and are either broadcast in their entirety as a "news" story, or they are edited down, or interspersed with a local reporter's voice and even image, as if they're "interviewing" someone from the story. The book has a lot more to say about VNR's, and so do plenty of websites.

I think I saw a VNR tonight: I was watching the news and saw a health story with dramatic music that seemed to have a slick production quality, and even though the local health reporter's voice was in the story, it still seemed too smooth, especially because they were saying that a particular pharmaceutical drug was helpful for the ailment.

I emailed the news station to ask them if that story was a VNR, or if it was researched and produced by the local reporter. I'll see if they respond :D

Time to read

Now that my schedule is normal again, I actually have time to read books. During the past few months I read a lot of stuff online because I was spending a lot of time working online, but I couldn't get a big enough chunk of time to seek out books and read them.

So now I'm reading two books about the media: Bernard Goldberg's Arrogance and Fighting for Air by Eric Klinenberg.

I read Goldberg's first book Bias in one night--it was that good and well-written. I'd love to meet that guy one day and hear what he has to say.

I actually got to meet Klinenberg briefly, and all I kept thinking was, "dang, this guy is blessed." He's an associate professor at NYU, but I didn't know that--all I heard him say was how the school was paying for part of his housing, which is why he's able to live in Manhattan with a wife and kid (difficult to do, especially because it's an extremely expensive city).

Then I asked him a seemingly stupid question: was he lecturer, adjunct, or what, and when he told me "professor" I was shocked because I rarely meet actual professors (especially young ones) or people who even have a chance at becoming one, even though they've managed to get a PhD. Sure, there are professors at universities, but in many cases when professors have retired, they've replaced them with adjuncts because they're cheaper.

Klinenberg has also published books that both the media and public like, ie, he doesn't just write scholarly, narrow books. Another way he's blessed. And he's been published in various magazines.

So far, his book is good, and I am probably going to finish it pretty quickly because I have the time and the interest to get through it. But I doubt I'll get the chance to meet him again, so I guess I'll just have to email him my thoughts :D

Davy Crockett's autobiography

I was looking for information on a small Tennessee town, and saw that Davy Crockett lived around there. So I did a search, and found his autobiography, A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, of the State of Tennessee. which you can read for free!

I don't have time now to read the whole thing, but I might attempt it, even though it's written in sort of annoying, stilted, cumbersome 19th century English with sentence structures that we don't use today.

Another thing: why did everyone back then use periods in titles? Note that I remained true to his book's title by including the period after "Tennessee." Another period occurs after that below the main title: "Written by himself."

Nowadays, book titles, even subtitles, don't use periods. I wonder when people stopped doing that.

good American culture book

A few years ago, I created an American Culture class and used different sources, including the book American Ways, which I've recently started using again to tutor someone. The author has a lot of experience working with non-Americans and writes clearly about different aspects of our behavior and culture. When I first read it, I didn't find myself thinking, "this isn't true" or getting annoyed with his descriptions because he seems to give information that isn't biased. If he does make generalizations, he qualifies what he's saying. Of course, I can see people, such as the whiners who I've met in education, voicing complaints that he doesn't talk about *all* segments of society, but he admits to that. Which is why the book is informative and fair.

Great tagline

I saw a book published by IVP that had a great tagline on the back cover: "Think deep. Live smart."

Quite true.

Before Baldwin died

This is weird: I was looking for biographical information about James Baldwin, and found a short one that was written before he died. He died in 1987, but the website folks haven't put anything in past tense.

First of all, the title just says "James Baldwin 1924 – ". Note that there is no end date; there is nothing after the dash.

And in the last paragraph, it's the present perfect tense that implies he's still alive (was still alive) when it was written:

Since his return to the United States Baldwin has accepted this role with some reluctance, stating that he can speak only for himself. Yet he has participated in two published conversations loosely conducted about the topic of race...

Hotel ESL books

I'm looking for some good books for teaching English in hotels, and came upon these. I have no idea if they're good, but it seems like the company that produces them is quite successful, so they're probably decent.

If anyone out there knows of any good workplace ESL books, let me know.

Sad story

I just finished reading So You Wanna Be a Rock and Roll Star, and I highly recommend it if you want a good inside view of the music biz. But it was sort of sad because of all the stuff the musicians have to put up with, and I got the impression that the author, Jacob Slichter, who was the drummer for Semisonic, was sort of on his own--he seemed to be sort of isolated.

I was surprised when in the acknowledgements section, he said, "If I have written it well, readers of this book will know that I owe Dan and John a lifetime of thanks, for the only thing more fun than rocking on the drums and traveling the world is doing it with such wonderful friends."

I seriously did not get the impression that he was good friends with his bandmates. Towards the beginning, it seemed as if they were friends because that's how they formed their band, but when he went on to describe his life on the road, recording albums, doing interviews, etc., it seemed as if they hardly talked or even spent much time hanging out. He hardly said anything about them and didn't really mention any conversations they had either. So I'm wondering if he was pretty much alone, if not physically then mentally.

The book was for sure well-written, but it didn't have the kind of self-depracating tone or mixture of seriousness and levity that Toby Young's books have. I'm just comparing the two because Young wrote about his insider's view of (and failure in) the publishing and celebrity scene in New York and LA, and it's not hard to identify with him as he struggles to make something of himself. But I didn't identify with Slichter at all, just appreciated reading about his experiences.

One funny and telling detail Slichter gives us is of Cher:

Her facial-expression control unit was switched to the "off" position. Don't even think of saying hello to Cher when her face is turned off...We sat down, careful not to block Cher's view of the screen. I peeked to see if she had switched her face on. No, not until Drew Barrymore rushed in and gave her a big hug.

What does Cher's face turned off look like? That would be an interesting picture.

Excellent Orwell site

Even though I read a meaty Orwell biography, I wanted to know more about him, especially his son, and came upon an excellent Orwell site. There's a lot I can pull out of there including articles, books, commentaries, links, and lots of other stuff that I doubt I'll get through in this lifetime. But check it out--it's worth a bookmark, for sure.

Finally done!

I have been reading Inside George Orwell for at least a few months, and I have FINALLY finished it! It was quite long and complex, as I've said before, and it really took me through a lot. Basically, he was very productive and lived a short life--he died in his 40's. What a tragedy. He was a complex, intelligent, talented man, who was unfortunately a womanizer--actually, he had an unhealthy view of women. His first wife, who also died in her 40's, had to endure his affairs, egotism, etc.--a marriage I would never want to have.

But Orwell was definitely an impressive person, and he died too young. I wonder what he would've thought of the Iron Curtain and other societal nightmares--people who lived in such oppressive regimes said that it seemed as if he'd lived there too.

Great book

I just finished George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London. What a great book--I highly recommend it. The writing is excellent, detailed, high quality, and readable though I didn't make my way quickly through it. I think it's because he has such detail about his life as a tramp that I had to take the time to savor it.

Well, it got me interested in his life, so I looked for a biography. I settled on Inside George Orwell because it's the most psychological one I found. Other bios are either literary, which really wouldn't give me much insight into how he thought and lived, or just too academic. I want to know about the man who wrote the books I've read so far: Burmese Days, Down and Out in Paris and London, Animal Farm, and 1984.

Actually, when I was in Romania in the mid-90's traveling around, I met a Romanian who read 1984 when it was banned back during communism--someone from a British governmental entity "smuggled" it in. She said that 1984 described Romania at the time. Which would help explain why they'd want to ban it--in addition to the government's contempt of freedom, culture, and thinking.

Get the book

I just got a copy of Air in the Paragraph Line #11, edited (and some written) by the talented Jon Konrath. The theme is work, and the writing is really good. It's not puffed-up literary preciousness, but real writing, where communication matters more than self-importance.

I got something published in there too: how teaching can be degrading, something which I've wanted to write about for a while.

Get the book and see for yourself.

Great lecture

I went to an excellent lecture by David Cannadine about his latest book, Mellon: An American Life. I ended up buying the huge book--it's hundreds of pages. If he is coming to your area, I highly recommend seeing him--he's very knowledgeable and his lecture is very interesting.

He also answered the audience's questions--they were quite good. Whenever I am in a non-academic setting surrounded by intellectually curious people, I'm quite impressed because once people are out of school, they really don't "have" to be interested in different stuff--they can just turn off their brains outside of work and veg.

Another thing that was noticeable was how Cannadine was self-effacing. Even though he's a highly educated, accomplished academic and author (and whatever else that's applicable), he downplayed all the work he did and people's positive reactions to the book. He would say something that sort of was humorously apologetic, but then he'd launch into all this incredible information and how he was qualified to make certain conclusions. He's British, so maybe that self-effacement is typically British--I've heard that some Brits tend to be like that.

Cool book

Someone sent me a very cool book called Mixtionary, which is a kind of dictionary of words that are mixed together. What they do is take a couple of words and combine them to create a new word.

For instance, they have created a word "Corpensation," which is a combination of "corporate" and "compensation", and the definition is: "Massive renumeration within corporations for high-ranking executives, while those doing the actual work are forced to produce more with far less."

It's fresh with great illustrations--the artist is a professional with tons of experience. It's just a cute book (it's also small) with interesting new words--no need to be a linguist to appreciate it. If you're into words and visuals, then you'll like it.

the Metamorphosis is depressing

Last week, I decided to read The Metamorphosis because I was thinking about how isolating modern society is, and wanted to see what Kafka had to say about it, since for some reason I was under the impression that he wrote about such a theme in that book (which I first read a long time ago).

So when I read it (you can get it for free online at the link above), I was expecting to be somehow comforted by the fact that he was from a very different time and culture, but was dealing with the same types of things we deal with in the technology-saturated 21st century.

I was wrong: the story was so depressing--the guy turned into an insect-type of creature, and nothing ever turned around from there. There were just details of his condition and the hardship the family endured. Then the guy/insect died, and his family was relieved and went on with their lives. How cynical and dark. I could go ahead and read a bunch of commentary about it, but why should I? I shouldn't have to read analyses on what the symbols and subtexts mean, I should just be able to walk away with something meaningful. That's why I like some sci-fi: we can extract meaning from it without going to a bunch of nerds to help us figure it out.

I don't know why I thought that Kafka wrote about societal isolation. I'm sure the story is about that in a way, but it left me cold--it even made me feel isolated from the story itself, in even a repulsive way. So if it was his intention to express isolation by isolating the reader, he succeeded.

Rick's new book

Rick Kogan's new book, A Chicago Tavern: a Goat, a Curse, and the American Dream is finally out, and there's going to be a book release party this Friday and Saturday at the Billy Goat.

I'm mentioning his book here because he gave me a chance, and it's because of him that I was able to get into radio (which I'm still working in part time). If (or when) I reach my goal, my gratitude will be even greater, though there's really no way to help him out because he seems to have an incredible life already.

He is also one of the few people who practices what he preaches: he has said that people shouldn't have to go to certain schools or get certain training to enter journalism--talent matters, no matter what someone's background is. When I first heard him say that, I thought, "Yeah, whatever--another successful dude doling out the usual trite advice" but I've seen him give people a shot, including me--when I met him, he didn't even ask me what I did for a living or where I was from or where I lived or anything--and then he had me on his show a few times just to offer comments about stuff. The only reason why he knows what I do or where I'm from, etc. is because I've told him--without being asked. And I still don't think he really cares. To him, what seems to matter is someone's character and their abilities (including potential).

There is another person I've met in the biz who's similar, who's given me opportunities and has been encouraging, without requiring me to prove myself or jump through hoops, and if he ever has a book or show or whatever to promote, I'll be sure to help him out too.

European history

Even though I haven't had a lot of time lately, I still feel like I have to make the time to catch up on European history because it will provide a context for analyzing current societal trends. It's not like I have a job that requires me to understand society better, but I just want to broaden my intellectual horizons and not readily accept others' viewpoints until I can formulate my own. So even if I agree with someone, I want it to be an informed decision, based on what I've learned.

A while ago, someone gave me the textbook Civilization in the West, which I think was written for college students for a survey course or maybe high level high school students. It seems too large and dense for a high school book, though. So far, I've read about ancient Rome and the family in 16th century Europe, and some smatterings of other info in sections that seem to be articles, which in a way are easier to read because a lot of the book is just straightforward facts, which are hard to take in a lump sum.

Even though I sometimes choose to watch TV or space out, I still feel like I have to read a lot of this book before I'll feel satisfied enough with my knowledge of European history. The problem is, it's so huge, I can't carry it around easily, but I'll continue to try to tackle it.

Toby's done it again

I just finished reading Toby Young's latest book, The Sound of No Hands Clapping, and I highly recommend it. I really hope he writes more books like this.

I read his first book, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, and the new book was just as good as his first, but I think the latest one is more tightly written. But neither of them are sloppy--I really didn't want them to end--how many books can you say that about?

Even though he's an upper class British dude who's successful and well-connected, I can relate to his struggles. I really don't have much in common with him, except procrastinating writing pursuits, wanting to creatively express myself, self-loathing, and trying to achieve my goals.

He's definitely one of the few famous people I want to meet.

Chrenkoff published

I decided to check out Arthur Chrenkoff's blog, just in case he'd posted something (even though he had to give it up last year because of work), and he had an announcement about his upcoming novel!

A couple of years ago, he checked out the Metrofiction site, and asked me about it. Even though it's a Chicago-based group, I invited him to be an honorary guest because he was a huge blogger and seemed like a nice guy. Plus, he had some Chicago connections via his relatives, so I considered him an "honorary" Chicagoan, even though he's an Aussie.

I remember him "telling" me (via email) that he'd tried many times to get his novel published, but couldn't. Meanwhile, his blog was read by thousands of people every day. So at least he'd found an audience for his writing that way. He was really successful.

Meanwhile, he emailed me the first part of his novel, and it seemed interesting, but I had no power to help him except through the site. So I posted an excerpt, and let it sit there all this time.

And now he's getting it published! The same story I saw! He totally deserves it!

PC-free

A while ago, when I was doing research about Incas to write something for a textbook, I decided to look at a 1969 Compton's Encyclopedia I have. Of course, I had to use newer sources to do the project, but I was curious to find out what they said about Incas more than 30 years ago to see how they described history back then. I read some good information, and then came upon this:

By the time the Spaniards arrived, however, the empire had been weakened by civil war. Its fall to Pizarro and his handful of men is one of the tragedies of history.

"How awful," I thought, so I read on:

After a few disastrous rebellions, the spirit of the people was broken, and they declined into the submissive apathy which marks the Peruvian Indians of today.

I re-read it to make sure that it really said that: "declined into the submissive apathy which marks the Peruvian Indians of today." Yes, it said it. And that's just one example of how political correctness was absent from encyclopedias back then. I can only imagine how many people would be absolutely livid to read that today. There's other stuff I've found in those old encyclopedias which I'd like to post here sometime as well.

Unfortunately, I can't provide a link to that Inca text, but I swear it's really in there. If you have one of those old Compton's, see for yourself.

Idiot

I said before that I was reading Jane Fonda's memoir. The first part, which was about her early life, was interesting but screwed up. I kept an open mind when I got to her political section because she seemed reflective about her early life and the mistakes she made. So I assumed she would be similar as she talked about her trip to North Vietnam. Through her description of her trip there, I saw that she was totally used. After all, she was a rich American celebrity who was telling the US military via the radio to not fight, and she only visited the Soviet-backed north. They must have been salivating at all the media opportunities they'd have with her to help them spread their message. And she fell for it, and she still does! She even said that the POW's she met with were healthy and were really speaking from their hearts when they were talking against their own country.

There's so much more I read that pissed me off, that I can't write about it without losing my cool. So all I'll say is: what an idiot!

I knew it

They waited for the right time.

"Judith Regan, President and Publisher of ReganBooks, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, announced today that a deal has been signed with Amber Frey for a very personal and chilling memoir about her relationship with Scott Peterson, who was tried and convicted for the murders of his pregnant wife and unborn child."

James Patterson Inc.

A couple of years ago, Fortune magazine had an article about novelists, dead and alive, who use ghostwriters and/or cowriters. James Patterson was featured in that article, and, according to the article, "Patterson--arguably the author of the megabrand phenomenon--is not the sole author of his books."

His publisher doesn't care who writes. "'The crux is, when I receive a manuscript, it's delivered to me by James Patterson,' says Michael Pietsch, his publisher at Little, Brown. 'And whatever the byline is, the quality is the same'." Publishers have, after all, "become addicted to megabrand names...'There's a degree of predictability with brand-name publishing,' says Peter Lampack, Clive Cussler's agent. 'Publishers are banking on this'."

"His piece of the revenue is $50 million. You need that kind of money to grease the machinery that churns out three bestsellers a year and keeps as many as seven books and three movie scripts in production at the same time." Even if you just look at the list of his books, do you think he can churn all of that out by himself?

"How many of his 23 books had handmaidens? Ask people in the publishing business and they say, plenty." However, "Patterson doesn't like discussing the subject." So I wanted to ask him for myself when he was at Borders this past weekend, since he wasn't forthcoming with the Fortune magazine writer. Instead of asking him if it was true, I asked him how he did it, so that I could get more than a "yes" or "no" answer (which I was assuming would be "no").

He didn't let me finish my question, and seemed to be defensive, including sarcastically offering me a job. But I did get an answer: he has "collaborators." Then he talked about how television shows and movies do it, and complained that Americans expect there to be a "lone writer."

The last time I saw a book that said it was written by James Patterson, I assumed it was written by James Patterson. When I see the credits of a television show, there is a list of writers. Note the plural: writers, not writer. I don't assume one writer has written a television show, unless there is only one listed.

Agents don't care. "'If you're stuck thinking of authors as 'writers,' you're never going to [understand branding],' says [Robert] Gottlieb, some of whose clients work with up to six people, including writers, book packagers and a business manager...'TV is a format, film is a format and books are a format'."

I understand branding, Mr. Gottlieb, and I'm sure a lot of other readers do, too. If novels are written by a group, then state it, just like those other fiction formats do. Of course, there are non-fiction books written by co-authors and ghost writers, but it seems a little weird when fiction is produced in the same way.

I don't have a problem with Patterson using co-authors or ghostwriters. But publishers should state that his books are penned by "James Patterson Inc." instead of just "James Patterson."