RIASS Stuff:
Book Review: The Glamour by Christopher Priest'Rating: 
(look at all those stars!)
Book Review: Empire Day by Diane Armstrong'Rating: 
Guest Post and Excerpt: Heather Gudenkauf, author of One Breath Away
Giveaway: Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper'(open to all)
Other bookish stuff:
Lev Grossman on 20 things characters in fantasy novels should do more often:'F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote that the rich are different from you and me. That may or may not be true. But fantasy characters are definitely different from you and me. They don't seem to have quite the same ' travails as we do. This has always bothered me ' I've always thought they should act more like people in real life. With that in mind, I've made a list of things they should do more often.
My quick, pithy thoughts: Whoever would have thought that a character being just a little bit stupid and indulging the call of nature every now and then would humanise them? I suspect that a list such as this could be quite easily levelled at the romance genre as well. Such a list might include:
1: have an eye colour other than violet
1a: have eyes that do not flash, flare or glint. Those eyes are a fire-hazard, damnit!
2: have a name that is not taken from a midday soap opera
3: have hair of a colour other than red
4: the exclusion of the line her previous lover might have claimed her body, but he never broke her spirit!
I could go on, but I wont. Actually, maybe later I will. But on a similar topic
Every four seconds a romance novel published by Harlequin or its British counterpart, Mills & Boon, is sold somewhere in the world.'A new doco called'Guilty Pleasures explores the popularity of the romance genre (which accounts for something like 40% of all book sales), and the people who read in this genre.
My lovingly romantic thoughts:'I first dipped my toe into the romance genre last year with a good many reservations, but have become a firm supporter of M&B and the like. M&B is an extraordinarily successful publisher, and I admire the way they are always the first to catch on to a new trend or development, and the way in which they know their audience inside and out.
Romance books are often derided for being formulaic, but theres a reason for this formula. It points to the fact that romance publishers know'exactly who their audience is and'exactly what that audience wants. Honestly, how often is it that you see an imprint or publisher who works in any other genre who has such a clear editorial direction as these guys?
And what of those authors, who manage to write a book that hooks their readers even though the ending of every single book in this genre has already been spoiled for the reader before they open it. How many other genres could get by with saying, hey, guess what happens in the end? Let me tell you! right up front?
Romance cops a lot of flack for being the preserve of the old spinster (spinsterhood is not a bad thing, of course) or desperate housewife, but the reality is that the typical M&B reader is an educated professional. M&B books are surprisingly empowering, featuring heroines who are quite content doing their thing on their own, and who are themselves women with goals. Theyre also not shy about achieving those goals, or about embracing their sexuality. Damn straight.
(Why yes, I am, as we speak, reading an historical Viking romance featuring a hero called Wulfgar right now.)
Publishers must adapt or die'What publishers need to be doing is'disrupting their own business before someone else does. That means getting down and dirty with entirely new products, new thinking, new revenue streams, new business models.
My quick thoughts: Quick, dont let my husband read this, or hell rant and rave for hours about business models.
Anyway. A few years ago a certain unnamed book blogger worked for a certain unnamed publishing company. This unnamed person distinctly remembers a bigwig noting that to stop customers from jumping ship, they were moving from per unit or annual subscription models to 3 or 5 year models that meant that those customers had a contractual obligation to say on board.
This sort of thing does not innovation make.'There are, however, a few interesting things popping up in the webosphere. Reverse funding mechanisms such as Unbound Books, for example, the new serialisation efforts being examined by Tor, and Angry Robots go forth and multiply fan fiction missive.
One thing that publishing really needs to fix, however, is the lengthy, lengthy feedback cycle. In industries like programming, feedback is sought and received right away. For a book, its often not until the book is in front of an audience that real feedback starts filtering in. Fortunately in a world of ebooks, the final version doesnt have to be final, but surely there are better ways of sourcing what works and what doesntand what an audience'actually wantswithout waiting until the final product is in front of them?
Crack the crypto in Agrippa, win every William Gibson book ever published.
My quick thoughts:'Go on, youre smarter than I am.
Francine du Plessix Gray loves Oblomov, Bartelby, Jean dEsseintes, Dick Diver, Abbe Carlo Herrara
My quick thoughts: I heard about Oblomov on the ABC Book Show, and have been wanting to read it since then. The first half of the book is about a guy not wanting to get out of bed! Totally up my alley.
Book pirate goes underground after being named by Terry Goodkind
My quick thoughts: Pirate says, arrr, that Goodkind, he be a bad kind! Cory Doctorow presumably agrees.
People are being mean and nasty on Good Reads, and Rachel Vincent responds.
My quick thoughts: I think Ive missed all the stuff that led to this post, but its a reminder to play nice, people. Critical reviews are fine and warranted, but always be fair, and never diss an author in your review.
How to Write an Omniscient Narrator If You're Not Actually Omniscient Yourself'Most of the problems that people have with the omniscient narrator come down to a lack of clarity. Which, really, is the main problem with bad narration in general. Good narration sets the scene, puts you in the moment, and allows you to identify with characters ' or at least understand what feelings theyre projecting. Bad narration leaves you lost, confused, or just disgusted.
My quick thoughts: Personally, Im at peace with my omniscience.
kidding, kidding.
Why Saved By the Bell is all a dream
My quick thoughts: totally not bookish, but I think that Philip K Dick came back from the dead to write this article.
10 Science Fiction Novels You Pretend to Have Read (And Why You Should Actually Read Them)
My quick thoughts: Ive read three of these and own two more. Do not touch the Olaf Stapleton unless youre totally cool reading a book without paragraphs. Or dialogue.
In which people get language wrongity wrong
Gordon Bowker on editing Finnegans Wake
One of the reasons I love Jami from Absurdly Nerdly is that she sends me stuff like this:
Want to work at Hachette Australia? Theyre looking for a publicist to cover maternity leave! '
Im so happy you liked that upcycled art! :D Im also starting to get frustrated with business models where innovation equals trapping someone into something. (I really wish trapation was a word, because then my comment would have sounded pithier.)
Thats the awesome thing about English, Jami: any part of speech can be converted to anything else. Woo! Traptation is now totally a word.
Its something my husband rants and raves about to no end, and Im beginning to agree. Theres definitely a sense of desperation in the air as people are trying to figure out how to keep a readership that seems to have moved on