This Week in Book News: 7.21.12

This Week in Book News is a weekly collection of news links about books from around the web with an accompanying commentary by me, which may or may not be completely sarcastic.   

This week, it’s ebook mania! The sale of ebooks is becoming a major source of revenue for publishing companies.  Publishers looking to cash in on some of the success of self-published authors like EL James are buying up companies which cater to self-publishing authors.  and Christian ebooks: are ebooks helping Christian fiction like they helped erotica?  

Plus: A comparison of Harry Potter characters in the books and in the movies, and a picture that brings some of our happiest literary dreams to life.   

The Stupendous Growth of E-Books in 2011; Will It Continue?

While I love the feel, and the smell, and just the general coolness of having an actual book you can hold in your hands, I do think the increasing popularity of ebooks can be a good thing. 

Book publishers hunt online for the new EL James 

Let me tell you something: It is possible to find good, self-published ebooks.  But it’s freaking HARD.  Unless you are really in to crappy erotica, or crappy Christian fiction, you are probably not going to find a self-published author you enjoy as much as the guys from the big-name publishers.  There’s something to be said for the natural filter of publishing houses.  

I’m probably going to avoid a self-published author unless there is a way for me to see a good example of their work, whether it’s through their blog, or an extensive excerpt available on their website.  Otherwise, my time and money is too valuable to me to gamble on something that, when I consider the ratio of good books to bad books that I find in self-published works, I probably will not like. 

Religion, Like Sex, Sells on E-Books  

Speaking of crappy erotica and Christian fiction, it seems your Jesus fetish is about as socially acceptable as orgies.  Which is: quite acceptable, so long as it’s behind closed doors and you don’t mind taking part in something that makes the rest of us scratch our heads and say “do people still do that?” 

Harry Potter- Book Vs Movies Infographic

Basically: Character in the movie = A hot (by Hollywood standards) and less awkward version of the character in the book. 

Book Sculpture: Literary Maze On Display At London 2012 Festival

Is this what Heaven looks like?

Kindred by Octavia E Butler

There are some books which I see descriptions for and think, “wow! I want to read that book right away!” and then I don’t read it for ages. Kindred was one of those books. Why did I ever wait so long?

Kindred is about a black woman, living in California in 1979, who keeps getting pulled back in time to early 19th century Maryland in order to repeatedly save the life of one of her ancestors- a white slave-holder. When his life is in danger, she appears at his side without knowing why or how, and when her life is in danger, she is sent back to 1979. Every time she is sent to the 19th century, she tries to guide him to be kinder and to free the slaves on his plantation, only to find that as he grows older, he continues to be more and more erratic and untrustworthy, and she becomes more and more assimilated to life as a slave.

Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

(Note: This review contains spoilers for Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. It would be difficult to avoid Shanghai Girls spoilers here, as Dreams of Joy is a sequel to that book, but I promise Dreams of Joy will not be spoiled here.)

I have been a fan of Lisa See ever since I first read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan four years ago. I’ve found all of the books by her that I’ve read well-written and engaging, and every time I read something new from Lisa See I find myself raving to my friends- whose eyes quickly glaze over when they realize I’m not going to run out of air anytime soon. I was particularly excited to read Dreams of Joy, as it’s the sequel to Shanghai Girls and I’ve been at the edge of my seat since I finished that book in 2009. I had high expectations, and Dreams of Joy did not disappoint.

48 Hour Book Challenge: Finish Line

So I'm stopping a couple of hours early because I won't be able to read for the next two hours, and I want to make sure I actually make a finish line post this time around. So-

Total reading time- 18 Hours
Number of books read- One and a half (What can I say? I'm not a very fast reader.)

So it was fun, but there just happened to be some personal drama that decided to happen right in the middle of my reading time, and then resolved itself just this morning. Hopefully, next year, I'll have a little more time and a little less drama.

48 Hour Book Challenge: 13 Hours

I just finished Dreams of Joy by Lisa See, and all I can say is... wow. I've been a fan of Lisa See ever since I first read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and her novels have never disappointed even my highest expectations. I definitely recommend this book. I would write a proper review, but I stayed up until 4:00 AM to finish it and I'm sleepy. I'm also anxious to wake up tomorrow and get started on Kindred by Octavia Butler.

48 Hour Book Challenge: 5 Hours and 35 Minutes

After I posted last night I stopped reading, and then I didn't start reading again until 3:00 today. There's enough real-life drama around me at the moment, so I could probably fill an entire book series with the details, so it has cut into my reading time a bit more than I like. Anyway, I am 147 pages into Dreams of Joy. It's been a little easier to keep reading today, especially since a few romances have started brewing in the story, and I'm a sucker for that kind of thing.

48 Hour Book Challenge: 3 Hours

I'm 81 pages into Dreams of Joy by Lisa See. This probably wasn't the best book for the 48HBC, because the subject is a little too exhausting to read non-stop. I don't want to give anything about the story away, but it feels like the characters are in a hopeless situation. I don't mind difficult situations in books, the stories would be boring without them. But when it's the main character against a much larger force or system - in this case, the communist political system - I guess I just tend to feel incredibly tired on the character's behalf. Anyway, I am 3 hours into the 48HBC. Now, back to reading.

48 Hour Book Challenge: Starting Line

So the 48HBC didn't go so well for me last year. I started at the last minute with no preparation (I hadn't even heard of it until that weekend), no sleep (I hadn't slept at all the night before, because, well, just because), and then I had to left town for the entire second day to celebrate my 21st birthday. So, not so good.

However, this year, I am much better prepared. I had a good night's sleep, I made no plans for this weekend, and I have a stack of books ready to read. A metaphorical stack I mean. Well, a real stack and a metaphorical one. A stack of real books made of real paper, and a metaphorical "stack" of ebooks on my Nook. So, here I go-

Nookbooks-
Dreams of Joy by Lisa See
Kindred by Octavia Butler

Physical books-
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
The Likeness by Tana French
The Passage by Justin Cronin

Starting Line: 7:00 PM

Veering off the 2YRC path... (The Hunger Games Trilogy)

I don't know if I mentioned this, but I'm a college student. As a college student I don't always find the time to blog. Also, I haven't been reading anything from my 2YRC list. But that doesn't mean I haven't been reading, which is why I've decided that I'm going to use this blog for all the books I read. Or, at least the books I read that I want to blog about. Which brings me to todays topic - The Hunger Games Trilogy

War of the Worlds

I finally finished War of the Worlds.  It wasn't as good as I thought it would be.

Pride and Prejudice

  It seems this is yet another book that sat on my bookshelf, unread, for far too long. 

  It’s strange how much a person’s tastes can change in just a few short years.  When this book was assigned to 16 year old me in my English class, I had actually been looking forward to reading the book.  But then, once I got the book and sat down to read it, I couldn’t get through more than a page before falling asleep.  After a few tries I decided to just watch the movie (the BBC/A&E miniseries) and read the SparkNotes for the book and leave it at that.  I was successful, probably because my teacher underestimated how easy it would be for someone determined to not read the book to still make it seem as if they had.  And so, after getting an A without doing the work, (which, I am simultaneously proud and ashamed to admit, was often the case) Pride and Prejudice was left on the bookshelf to rot for the next five years. 

Fahrenheit 451

  Well, that was quick. 

  So quick, in fact, that I’m a bit disappointed in myself. 

  I got this book five years ago from my sister, for my 16th birthday.  That I let this book sit on the bookshelf for five years makes me feel as guilty as the very people the book talks about.  For five years, I couldn’t be bothered to pick up a book that took barely five hours to read? 

(more after the jump)

I Finally Finished The Iliad

  I finally finished The Iliad just a few moments ago.  I enjoyed reading it, but to be honest, it was like trying to run a marathon after sitting on my ass for a year.  As I said in my introductory 2YRC post, I used to read constantly but I haven’t read very much in the past few years.  Most of the time when I have a choice between reading a book or reading a blog post, the blog post usually wins.  So to take on a book that was not only ridiculously long, but also incredibly repetitive was insane. 

  The problem with ancient literature, (and I discovered this a while back, when I had to read The Epic Of Gilgamesh for my World Literature class), is that it was written before there were editors.  There was no one there to tell the writers to kill their darlings, and so the stories- which are great on their own- suffer.  Is it really necessary to list every single person the subject of the chapter killed before he himself was killed?  Could we please just focus on the more notable or interesting deaths, and not bother with the others? 

  I know, this is probably a blasphemy of sorts to lovers of classic literature everywhere.  I almost feel guilty writing it.  I mean The Iliad has survived longer than most of the books on the bestseller list ever will, and for good reason.  It’s a great story, and a window into the values and beliefs of a culture long dead.  The first few chapters, as well as the last few, were wonderful.  When I was reading those chapters I found the book hard to put down, but I could have done without the middle.  No offense to the poets of the ancient past, but no story about war should ever hit a lull like that. 

  Anyway, that’s it for book one of the 2YRC.  Next up, Fahrenheit 451. 

The Iliad: More blood and gore than an Eli Roth film

 

  Why don’t I just start today’s post with an excerpt from The Iliad.  I’m almost certain it will prove my point for me. 

“With that he hurled and Athena drove the shaft
and it split the archer’s nose between the eyes –
it cracked his glistening teeth, the tough bronze
cut off his tongue at the roots, smashed his jaw
and the point came ripping out beneath his chin.
He pitched from his car, armor clanged against him,
a glimmering blaze of metal dazzling round his back –
the purebreds reared aside, hoofs pawing in the air
and his life and power slipped away on the wind.”
-Homer, The Iliad, Translated by Robert Fagles
Book 5: 321-329

  The Iliad is proving to be bloodier than an Eli Roth film, and that’s saying something.  It brings up a point that I’ve never really considered before. 

2YRC: The First Post, of the First Day.

I am officially declaring this day, October 1st 2010, the first day of the 2 Year Reading Challenge. By October 1st 2012, I'm going to have to have read every book and short story on the list found here.

I've already started, and I'm almost done with book 3 of The Iliad. I have to admit, I did end up skimming the last part of book 2, because long lists of captains and the number of ships they command are not quite my thing.

Other than that, the story is pretty compelling so far. It took me some time to get into it, simply because the format and style is so different from what I'm used to. Now that I've figured out the rhythm of the story, though, it's hard to put down.

Two Year Reading Challenge/ Book List

My writing sucks right now.

I mean it really sucks.

I used to be a lot better at communicating through writing. Now I agonize over every word, wondering, "Am I getting my point across? Does this make any sense at all?"
I look at short stories I wrote when I was 10-14 years old, and I can't help but wonder where my talent went. It came so naturally, like breathing. I've been spending a lot of time trying to figure out where everything went to hell, and I think I've got it.