I've recently taken parttime work at my local Barnes & Noble. It's one of those small dreams come true, not because my dream is to be a book salesman. I'm already convinced that I don't want to do this the rest of my life. But I have always liked Barnes & Noble. This is the store I would go to in between classes, or when I had a day off, or if I wanted something to read.
It was amusing. My boss is definitely a salesman at heart. His philosophy is that if a customer has left the store without paying money, the store failed that day. I will never say anything to him but my favorite thing about Barnes & Noble was curling up on a chair or floor and read the books right there. I love the atmosphere of the store itself. I love browsing the shelves. And I appreciated how the store allowed me to do this. Complete opposite views from customer to salesman.
Still, I'm happy to be working here. If nothing else, I wanted to see how the bookstore works from this end. That was the main reason this was the first store I applied to for work.
What surprised me most when I was first interviewed was the advice to research the Nook. That was fine; after all, that's their new product.
Nope, it's not just their new product. It's 30% of their business.
That floored me. Nearly one-third of their work is centered on the eReader and boy, they are determined to put Apple and Amazon in their place. Barnes & Noble are wanting to tell the Kindle and iPad to jump off a bridge and have a Nook library in every home or at the touch of your hand.
But that's not what's going through my head. I'm looking at my collection of paperbacks and hardcovers and wondering if they'll go the way of the VHS and the thought saddens me. I mean, one-third! That percentage can only increase. And my bookcases are edging to being useless bits of furniture.
If Barnes & Noble actually succeeds in making the Nook not just the best, but the only, way to read, there is going to be some major remodel and downsizing.
But, print's not dead yet. It's just having a heart attack.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Modernization of Stories
I have to admit to being a fan of Rumiko Takahashi; she tells some of the best stories in the manga genre and in general, I have to admit that her series are some of my favorite romances, period. There's typically a fantasy element in each (time travel for InuYasha and shapeshifting in Ranma 1/2) and it either adds to the danger or comedy in the stories.
This is where Maison Ikkoku totally threw me for a loop. There is no fantasy element at all; there's no martial arts. Indeed, there's no physical danger at all, unless you count the hero, Godai's, bicycle riding. It's a sweet little romance about Godai who has fallen in love with his widowed manager, Kyoko, and how both of them consistently drop the ball. Throw in three drunken meddling tenants, a frustrated boy and a big dog, and you've got a regular sitcom.
It is a grownup comedy, and I say that not because of subject matter (there's nothing worse here than there is in the rest of her stuff; it's almost tame in fact) but because I see a lot of kids getting bored with the story. No action or slapstick; it's about normal people living normal lives; their biggest struggles is unfulfilled longing, embarrassment, misunderstandings, and never enough money.
(Sounds a lot like my life, in fact.)
But what has had the most of my attention, and it's been on my mind the last couple days, is the telephone. There is only one telephone in all the apartments and that is in the manager's room. It becomes a big deal early in the series when they get a pay phone in the front hall. All that could come through my mind was how much this dates the series. You can tell it was written the Eighties.
This just wouldn't happen in this day-and-age, because the cell phone and the internet went and ruined it all. There were some chapters in the manga where I found myself shaking my head and thinking, This story would never exist if it were written today. I mean, the story where Godai and Kyoko end up in two different restaurants for their first date and both constantly run back-and-forth trying to find the other. Today, they could've called each other's cell and gotten the whole mess straightened out in thirty seconds instead of the three hours they actually took here.
It's how much a difference thirty years makes. And it's scary, too. Thirty years and Maison Ikkoku is starting to feel like an historical romance; at the very least, dated. And if that doesn't make you feel old, consider how we'll end up dated in another thirty years. What happens when the internet is no longer cool? The thought chills the blood.
This is where Maison Ikkoku totally threw me for a loop. There is no fantasy element at all; there's no martial arts. Indeed, there's no physical danger at all, unless you count the hero, Godai's, bicycle riding. It's a sweet little romance about Godai who has fallen in love with his widowed manager, Kyoko, and how both of them consistently drop the ball. Throw in three drunken meddling tenants, a frustrated boy and a big dog, and you've got a regular sitcom.
It is a grownup comedy, and I say that not because of subject matter (there's nothing worse here than there is in the rest of her stuff; it's almost tame in fact) but because I see a lot of kids getting bored with the story. No action or slapstick; it's about normal people living normal lives; their biggest struggles is unfulfilled longing, embarrassment, misunderstandings, and never enough money.
(Sounds a lot like my life, in fact.)
But what has had the most of my attention, and it's been on my mind the last couple days, is the telephone. There is only one telephone in all the apartments and that is in the manager's room. It becomes a big deal early in the series when they get a pay phone in the front hall. All that could come through my mind was how much this dates the series. You can tell it was written the Eighties.
This just wouldn't happen in this day-and-age, because the cell phone and the internet went and ruined it all. There were some chapters in the manga where I found myself shaking my head and thinking, This story would never exist if it were written today. I mean, the story where Godai and Kyoko end up in two different restaurants for their first date and both constantly run back-and-forth trying to find the other. Today, they could've called each other's cell and gotten the whole mess straightened out in thirty seconds instead of the three hours they actually took here.
It's how much a difference thirty years makes. And it's scary, too. Thirty years and Maison Ikkoku is starting to feel like an historical romance; at the very least, dated. And if that doesn't make you feel old, consider how we'll end up dated in another thirty years. What happens when the internet is no longer cool? The thought chills the blood.
Friday, April 13, 2012
My Updates
I submitted my short story, "Unemployed", to the Intergalactic Medicine Show just yesterday. It's by far one of my most hastily written stories. I barely did a polish on the first draft before I sent it in but whether it gets accepted or not, I really like this story. It's about a recently homeless man with a genie; he uses his last wish for some recognition of his worth and the miserable day that follows it.
I'm still plugging away at my novel: 1000 words per day is my average. I'm also on my final draft of "Raven Eyes the Daymare"; I'm trying to think of a market I could submit this one to. It's a dark fantasy of a blind boy who is given a new pair of eyes by the queen; the catch is that anybody who looks in his eyes see their worst nightmares come to life. I'll have to search around for the right magazine to send it to; though in three months time after IGMS hasreviewed "Unemployed", I might just send it there.
And, of course, I'm still doing this every Tuesday and Friday, plus whenever else I feel like posting stuff.
I'm still plugging away at my novel: 1000 words per day is my average. I'm also on my final draft of "Raven Eyes the Daymare"; I'm trying to think of a market I could submit this one to. It's a dark fantasy of a blind boy who is given a new pair of eyes by the queen; the catch is that anybody who looks in his eyes see their worst nightmares come to life. I'll have to search around for the right magazine to send it to; though in three months time after IGMS hasreviewed "Unemployed", I might just send it there.
And, of course, I'm still doing this every Tuesday and Friday, plus whenever else I feel like posting stuff.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Fashion
This is an odd topic for me. I like good fashion; clothes do say a lot about a person. I appreciate good clothes that make a person look respectable, beautiful, handsome, or even just intriguing. Some clothes are cool just from the mere fact they exist (when I was a kid, those shoes with the blinking lights on your heels that blinked were so awesome), but the best fashions are those that don't exist for themselves but enhance the looks of the person wearing them.
I loathe terrible fashion. There are plenty of bad clothes out there that can make even a good-looking person painful to look at.
There are a few movies where the costumes are the best part for me. Usually, these are older movies where clothes were designed to make you look not only attractive but elegant as well (award shows usually pretend to be elegant but the truth is that the best they ever pull off on the red carpet is cute, whereas the rest are disastrously "creative" or plain slutty.) But there are some semi-recent films that have caught my eye, the best being A Series of Unfortunate Events, which was breathtaking from that dress made out of belts to the outrageous costumes Jim Carrey wore.
But, though I appreciate good fashion, it's not something I'm terribly passionate about either. I don't look through magazines beyond the covers as I'm waiting in line at the grocery store; over half of those are advertising sex rather than fashion anyways.
The main reason I don't bother learning about fashion is that I don't keep up on the latest styles. I barely keep up with the news anymore and that's something that's relevant to my life; there's no way I'm going to waste my time learning what's new for now when in the next few months, it'll be replaced by something else. And the price of clothes makes me shake my head in disbelief; no matter how many outrageous prices I've heard every year of my life for clothing, it's one thing that never ceases to amaze me.
I'm much more interested in the branch of fashion that has staying power no matter what generation we're in. Trends that last for decades rather than weeks.
What brought this on? I read Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins yesterday. It really only took me a day to get through; great book. I highly recommend it. Collins has an amazing heroine, great supporting cast, a great voice for action, and a killer plot.*
But what caught my attention more than anything else, and I'm not sure how Collins would feel about this, but I thought the fashion she describes in the book was the most inventive part about it. Not just in this book but in the first book, The Hunger Games, as well. Now, here's the truth about clothing in literature: it's not that interesting. Why? Because you can't stinking see it!
Fashion is such a visual medium that describing it in words won't do it justice; just like describing blow-by-blow in literature makes for some lousy action scenes. Sure, you can use your imagination but it's usually not as powerful as seeing it on screen. Imagery is nice in literature but it's much more powerful on screen. And when writing about clothes... ugh. It's never that important to the story so why devote more than one or two sentences to what the person is wearing?
Collins gift is that she made me care. Yes indeed. She doesn't devote any time at all to what the people wear day-by-day; if she does, it's well in the background. But when Katniss and her fellow tributes are put in their costumes, she goes wild. She was so good that I could actually see not only what they were wearing but how it mattered and why it mattered. The clothes are even used as a catalyst to enhance Katniss' relationships, with the audience of Capitol, with Cinna and her prep team, and to a degree, even her relationship with herself.
I honestly didn't know you could do so much with that bit of imagery beyond setting the scene. I am very humbled now.
*As the plot goes, on Easter, before I started reading Catching Fire, I had a conversation with somebody who'd already finished it. We got into a talk about the middle instalments of trilogies and I made a remark that it sounded like another Empire Strikes Back stories. I meant it as a compliment but she vehemently said "It is not!" I just want to say here and now that she is wrong. It is totally Empire Strikes Back. Katniss is a proactive Leia, Gale is Luke Skywalker (determined to destroy the evil empire and a love interest before the next movie made their kiss at the beginning incestuous; Lucas will never live that one down), and Peeta is the unfortunate Han Solo trapped in carbonite.
I loathe terrible fashion. There are plenty of bad clothes out there that can make even a good-looking person painful to look at.
There are a few movies where the costumes are the best part for me. Usually, these are older movies where clothes were designed to make you look not only attractive but elegant as well (award shows usually pretend to be elegant but the truth is that the best they ever pull off on the red carpet is cute, whereas the rest are disastrously "creative" or plain slutty.) But there are some semi-recent films that have caught my eye, the best being A Series of Unfortunate Events, which was breathtaking from that dress made out of belts to the outrageous costumes Jim Carrey wore.
But, though I appreciate good fashion, it's not something I'm terribly passionate about either. I don't look through magazines beyond the covers as I'm waiting in line at the grocery store; over half of those are advertising sex rather than fashion anyways.
The main reason I don't bother learning about fashion is that I don't keep up on the latest styles. I barely keep up with the news anymore and that's something that's relevant to my life; there's no way I'm going to waste my time learning what's new for now when in the next few months, it'll be replaced by something else. And the price of clothes makes me shake my head in disbelief; no matter how many outrageous prices I've heard every year of my life for clothing, it's one thing that never ceases to amaze me.
I'm much more interested in the branch of fashion that has staying power no matter what generation we're in. Trends that last for decades rather than weeks.
What brought this on? I read Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins yesterday. It really only took me a day to get through; great book. I highly recommend it. Collins has an amazing heroine, great supporting cast, a great voice for action, and a killer plot.*
But what caught my attention more than anything else, and I'm not sure how Collins would feel about this, but I thought the fashion she describes in the book was the most inventive part about it. Not just in this book but in the first book, The Hunger Games, as well. Now, here's the truth about clothing in literature: it's not that interesting. Why? Because you can't stinking see it!
Fashion is such a visual medium that describing it in words won't do it justice; just like describing blow-by-blow in literature makes for some lousy action scenes. Sure, you can use your imagination but it's usually not as powerful as seeing it on screen. Imagery is nice in literature but it's much more powerful on screen. And when writing about clothes... ugh. It's never that important to the story so why devote more than one or two sentences to what the person is wearing?
Collins gift is that she made me care. Yes indeed. She doesn't devote any time at all to what the people wear day-by-day; if she does, it's well in the background. But when Katniss and her fellow tributes are put in their costumes, she goes wild. She was so good that I could actually see not only what they were wearing but how it mattered and why it mattered. The clothes are even used as a catalyst to enhance Katniss' relationships, with the audience of Capitol, with Cinna and her prep team, and to a degree, even her relationship with herself.
I honestly didn't know you could do so much with that bit of imagery beyond setting the scene. I am very humbled now.
*As the plot goes, on Easter, before I started reading Catching Fire, I had a conversation with somebody who'd already finished it. We got into a talk about the middle instalments of trilogies and I made a remark that it sounded like another Empire Strikes Back stories. I meant it as a compliment but she vehemently said "It is not!" I just want to say here and now that she is wrong. It is totally Empire Strikes Back. Katniss is a proactive Leia, Gale is Luke Skywalker (determined to destroy the evil empire and a love interest before the next movie made their kiss at the beginning incestuous; Lucas will never live that one down), and Peeta is the unfortunate Han Solo trapped in carbonite.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Happy Easter, All Y'all
The bed sure was comfy and the hour too early
to get up and start a new day.
Then off went my clock waking up the whole block
and they gave me ten seconds to run away.
I quickly grabbed my keys and a thin slice of cheese
as I hastened on my way
to make it to the field before the angry mob could wield
their guns and knives and Terry's trebuchet.
These people sure are grumpy without their morning coffee
but I made it out okay
for in the field there was a bunny who looked so funny
tossing eggs and candy and parfaits
into the trees, on the grass, and e'en beneath the overpass,
singing some nonsense about Easter day.
The mob petered out and forgot the lousy lout
who'd woken them while the sky was still gray.
Their kids are all finding the goods while I'm hiding
in my cottage a hundred miles away.
to get up and start a new day.
Then off went my clock waking up the whole block
and they gave me ten seconds to run away.
I quickly grabbed my keys and a thin slice of cheese
as I hastened on my way
to make it to the field before the angry mob could wield
their guns and knives and Terry's trebuchet.
These people sure are grumpy without their morning coffee
but I made it out okay
for in the field there was a bunny who looked so funny
tossing eggs and candy and parfaits
into the trees, on the grass, and e'en beneath the overpass,
singing some nonsense about Easter day.
The mob petered out and forgot the lousy lout
who'd woken them while the sky was still gray.
Their kids are all finding the goods while I'm hiding
in my cottage a hundred miles away.
Friday, April 6, 2012
My Little Rant
I can't believe that they're doing it again! Just when Naruto: Shippuden was getting to the really good stuff (the war was about to begin), they start the flashbacks all over again. Ugh.
It's the one frustration I have with the anime. Now, I understand the trouble that the anime has. Naruto is still an ongoing manga, with a new issue every week. The anime also comes out once a week but somehow, they always seem to be catching up to the manga's story, so after a certain block of the main story, they have to step back and either tell a couple months' worth of mini-adventures that have nothing to do with the main plot, or we get stuck with a couple months' worth of flashbacks, retreading the same ground we've already gone over before.
<sigh>
It's a good thing I can hop over to Barnes & Noble when the next complete issue of manga comes out so I can continue the main plot.
But, the thing is, I actually like the anime better. I am not a purist by any means. Sometimes, good literature is actually better on screen. Sometimes, it's the collaboration, from the artists to the actors to the writers to the directors; a lot of work goes into television by a lot of people and when that team really comes together and cooperate, you'll have some very fine artwork.
The fan in me just wishes the anime would stop teasing me like this.
It's the one frustration I have with the anime. Now, I understand the trouble that the anime has. Naruto is still an ongoing manga, with a new issue every week. The anime also comes out once a week but somehow, they always seem to be catching up to the manga's story, so after a certain block of the main story, they have to step back and either tell a couple months' worth of mini-adventures that have nothing to do with the main plot, or we get stuck with a couple months' worth of flashbacks, retreading the same ground we've already gone over before.
<sigh>
It's a good thing I can hop over to Barnes & Noble when the next complete issue of manga comes out so I can continue the main plot.
But, the thing is, I actually like the anime better. I am not a purist by any means. Sometimes, good literature is actually better on screen. Sometimes, it's the collaboration, from the artists to the actors to the writers to the directors; a lot of work goes into television by a lot of people and when that team really comes together and cooperate, you'll have some very fine artwork.
The fan in me just wishes the anime would stop teasing me like this.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Hulu is the Devil
So, the recent podcast of Writing Excuses was ridiculous. If you want to listen, go to www.writingexcuses.com and see the Season 7:14 episode; this week, they discuss all the excuses writers make to not write. This was the one episode that I'm not sure made me want to write all that much by the time I got to the end of it.
I must admit, though, that one hour later, I realized one of the excuses I was using. Eveningtime is the best time for me to write currently, and I do manage a thousand words a day. This might take me an hour but usually less. Then the next four hours are devoted to movies and television and before I know it, it's after midnight and I'm getting as little sleep as I did the night before.
That Hulu is how I'm getting my TV fix is irrelevant. It's free, sure, but before I went to that site, I watched regular TV programming. Both are free in the sense that after I purchased my TV or laptop, there's no financial obligation to watch these programs.
Except they're not free. It costs me huge chunks of time in which nothing significant happens. To make myself feel better, I'll share with others these great shows and get my friends hooked but it's a fake sense of accomplishment. The truth is, I haven't made their lives any better. I've just dragged them down to my level.
I guess that makes me the devil. Crap.
I must admit, though, that one hour later, I realized one of the excuses I was using. Eveningtime is the best time for me to write currently, and I do manage a thousand words a day. This might take me an hour but usually less. Then the next four hours are devoted to movies and television and before I know it, it's after midnight and I'm getting as little sleep as I did the night before.
That Hulu is how I'm getting my TV fix is irrelevant. It's free, sure, but before I went to that site, I watched regular TV programming. Both are free in the sense that after I purchased my TV or laptop, there's no financial obligation to watch these programs.
Except they're not free. It costs me huge chunks of time in which nothing significant happens. To make myself feel better, I'll share with others these great shows and get my friends hooked but it's a fake sense of accomplishment. The truth is, I haven't made their lives any better. I've just dragged them down to my level.
I guess that makes me the devil. Crap.
March 2012 Reading
This is how I spent my last month:
Novels: Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal; Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Children's Books: Looking Into My Body by Nigel Nelson and Simone Abel (illustrator); Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak; The Laughing Dragon by Kenneth Mahood; Gun Control by Nigel Hawkes
Graphic Novels: Naruto: Vol 55 by Masashi Kishimoto; Black Orchid by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean (illustrator)
Webcomics: Sluggy Freelance by Pete Abrams; Two Kinds by Tom Fischbach; False Positive by Mike Wallace
Novels: Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal; Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Children's Books: Looking Into My Body by Nigel Nelson and Simone Abel (illustrator); Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak; The Laughing Dragon by Kenneth Mahood; Gun Control by Nigel Hawkes
Graphic Novels: Naruto: Vol 55 by Masashi Kishimoto; Black Orchid by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean (illustrator)
Webcomics: Sluggy Freelance by Pete Abrams; Two Kinds by Tom Fischbach; False Positive by Mike Wallace
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