July 24, 2008
Knowing when to lie, and when not to.
Israel Lee knows when to do both. Or does she? The brilliance of writing a memoir in which you discuss your history of lying (in this case, forgery) is that the very subject of the memoir and the discussion of the veracity of your claims reinforces the interest in the memoir. The fact that she got away impersonating writers like Noel Coward (see image above*) makes me think she can really write, too. James Frey gets caught lying and it undermines his writing and underscored its weakness (whether or not that impacts his sales is not my concern); Israel Lee says "I'm a liar" and it will simply keep the engine of speculation and interest alive for this memoir (though at only 18,000 words I wonder if it really qualifies as a book).
Rewarding liars with book deals should be considered unethical, but I'm currently 200 pages into my latest truthful lie (my novel which hopefully is nearing the final push to the end) and I can't say I'd be disappointed with a book deal for my lies.
*NOTE: the picture above is of Noel Coward... or is it???
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July 23, 2008
The death of book reviewing.
Will it be brought about by shrinking newspaper coverage of books, by the death of newspapers themselves, or by a lack of concern for books in an era where faster, cheaper entertainment is always around the corner?
No, the death of book reviewing will be brought about by reviews like this:
Entertainment Weekly's review of Adam Nimoy's "My Incredibly Wonderful, Miserable Life" (in its entirety):
Yes, this ''anti-memoir'' is written by the son of Spock, but My Incredibly Wonderful, Miserable Life isn't your standard juicy child-of-a-celebrity tell-all, or even a behind-the-ears Star Trek geek-out. Although a stare-down between actor Leonard Nimoy and Charles Bronson is pretty fun, the sci-fi icon is ultimately as ''distant and lonely'' a presence in the book as he apparently was in his son's life. But with surprising charm and candor, the younger Nimoy recounts his own fatherhood, relating how his divorce (and corresponding end to a 30-year pot addiction) changed him and challenged his relationship with his two barely teenage kids. B
Yes, that's the entire review. Three sentences. Three not very well constructed sentences.
Sigh.
At least the review does do one thing worthwhile. It creates comedy gold in the comments section. A sampling:
"That's the worst review I've ever read in my life.""Let's take bets and see if the adam v responding is the real mccoy...we needed a book like this like a Klingon on Uranus. Someone get that boy an editor!!"
"What?"
"Ah, I see now that Cliff Notes offers reviews of their notes."
"Yes, this is horrible, this review."
"Horrible book review, absolutely miserable."
"Mr. Vary, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
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July 18, 2008
Watchmen
It was reading graphic novels like "Watchmen" that made me want to be a writer. This movie looks ferociously good.
Posted by sferrell at 1:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
July 17, 2008
Yahoo! News: "How Mars and Alaska Are Alike. "
This Yahoo! News story ("How Mars and Alaska Are Alike") is kind of interesting, but it leaves out any number of details of how Mars and Alaska are alike. For instance all of these statements could be stated about either Mars or Alaska:
I'm not located there at present.Despite any popular book titles, I'm not from either one (I'm, of course, referring to the ever popular "Men are from Alaska, Women are from Saskatchewan." Groundbreaking stuff.).
It does not have an inherently large elephant population.
Chocolate can be imported there.
Unprotected sex there is *not* advised.
The phone was not invented there.
When it gets dark there it's difficult to see.
Barbara Walters throws up violently when she thinks about what she did there in the 1960s.
I could go on and on and on.
Posted by sferrell at 7:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Twitter.
So I've joined the Twitter revolution and am twitting it around left and right. If you want to find me look for me here: TWEET.
Posted by sferrell at 7:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
July 16, 2008
Clarity of Night contest
I've entered Jason Evans' most recent "Clarity of Night" contest. You can read my entry here.
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