Yesterday, I was reading my lovely deckle-edged version of the Odyssey with its crisp paper and musty "new book" smell thinking that I could have still saved some money and gotten the standard translation for free on my Kindle. I recently realized, however, that I adore actual, physical books. Don't get me wrong, I really like my over-sized kindle. I like that I can download most pre- 1920's books for free and new "hardbacks" for $10, instead of the standard $25. (Let me also add, as a side note, that E-ink is significantly better than the back-lit, migraine-inducing e- readers just for the novelty of color or an animated page turn.) Anyway, I find that my kindle is perfect for the fantasy and sci-fi that I like to read once and forget about. If I want to show off how cool and smart I am with a certain book then I prefer to own a nice looking paperback or hardback.
I have understood, intellectually, that bookstores are threatened by the Kindle, Nook, etc. Mom and Pop booksellers and small chain bookstores were already falling prey to the Book Giants like Borders and Barnes and Noble. I have seen two small used book stores die just from having a Borders in the neighborhood and both of those were actually chains as well. That was already happening five or six years ago. Now with Amazon.com dominating the book world of new books, used books, and e-books, even large chains are taking a hit. I can see why. My beloved Borders charged me $17.00 for the copy of The Odyssey I am reading right now. I looked up the sister volumes of The Iliad and The Aeneid on Amazon and realized I could have purchased all three for $9.00 a piece. Even trying to support bookstores, I can't pay double the price in good conscience. My ultimate fear, however, is that books themselves my eventually become a rarity. As bookstores are devoured by larger stores and those big stores are thinned out (as is happening to borders right this minute) by larger stores and online super-giants, the remaining stores are forced to reduce inventory to items they know will sell. Stores will have less available shelf-space for lower volume sales, and publishers have less money to contribute to either riskier authors (J.K. Rowling of the Harry potter series was considered a risky endeavor) or less money to pay out to new and existing authors in general. Suddenly your brick and mortar stores will become smaller and carry mostly big name sellers like the book isle at Walmart.
Now, with possibly lower pay outs or reduced new-author contracts being available, many new authors will rely on self publishing or may not publish at all. One way this is becoming evident is the concept of P.O.D. (print on demand) where the book is not printed until the order is placed. [Click here: Read this article! ] Why pay out huge contract bonuses when you can pay them by the book?
With E-readers and on-demand books on the horizon, this will definitely change how we shop for books. With less shelf space going to "midlist" books, fewer authors and publishing houses can rely on impulse buys. You will no longer get to flip through a book to see if you like it. In a bookstore, you can tell if a book has a chance in hell of being good just by its presence in a bookstore, some publisher was obviously willing to invest in it. This is not true with Amazon and the Kindle. Even if you can peruse the first few pages for free you may not be able to tell if this is a best seller or an amateur's first book. Amazon does not currently distinguish the two. (This does work in favor if new authors, however!) I love Amazon but I won't buy a book until I have seen it in the bookstore, am already aware of it from the grapevine, or am already familiar with the author. If I go in a bookstore I can see this new book with an interesting looking cover, pick it up, read the intro on the dust jacket and reviews on the back. I can feel how heavy it is and how thick the paper is and how many pages it has. With online shopping, all of this is lost.
Well, as you may have picked up so far, I am currently as guilty as anyone else for the demise of the bookstore, (then again I probably single-handedly keep a few in business too). I own a Kindle and use it, and, due to prices, I will actually go in a book store and look up the books I want then go home and buy it online for much less money. I try to supplement however. I will still buy actual books and I try to buy magazines and coffee to support the store itself. I give away or trade my old books to used bookstores, which keeps the book in circulation, at least, and may help the store turn a profit. (Although, this still affects the publisher on the back end.) Even using the Kindle still helps the publisher. What you need to do as readers is to remember not to take bookstores for granted, they are businesses and still have to make money. So do all of the people they get their books from, on down the line. Ultimately, it is important for everyone to keep reading, that is the biggest help. Secondly, you should try to support new and/or used bookstores in any way you can. If you drink their coffee while polishing off that magazine for free or working on your lap top, buy another magazine you haven't finished, or a discount book, or an overpriced piece of cake even. You are probably helping that store stay in business, more now than ever before.
Joe
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
February Selection: The Odyssey by Homer
The Odyssey - Homer - Translated By Robert Fagles, Intro and notes by Bernard Knox
ISBN 978-0-14-026886-7
Notes on selection: The Odyssey is an indirect follow up to The Illiad, the only other work attributed to Homer. Because it is, in essence, a sequel, conventional wisdom would dictate that The Iliad be read first. However, I feel that the Odyssey, being more of an adventure tale of sorts, would make Homer's work a little more approachable to any newcomers. The large time gap between stories and minimal references to the Iliad should make this quite accessible to most readers. In addition the Fagles translation makes use of common English while retaining the poetic form and rhythm which carries the best of both worlds. However, if any readers have a more scholarly interest, you may want to investigate multiple translations. If using any alternate translations there will be mild discrepancies in line numberings and possibly huge variations in wordings and length. I have compared two translations myself and found this to be accurate. This would only be a concern if quotes are made in our discussions segment. It is optional, but I highly recommend reading the research notes either before or after the story for more information.
Notes on the Odyssey: The Odyssey is believed to have been composed, in non written form, around 800 b.c. in a Greek speaking area off the coast of what we now call Turkey and attributed to a man the Greeks named Homer. The first confirmed papyrus fragments are dated to 300 b.c. so it is believed to have been passed by oral tradition for centuries prior to being written. Much of this is only theory based on dedicated research because little to nothing is known about the formation of the Iliad and Odyssey or the man who supposedly wrote them. There is much argument among scholars as to whether or not Homer was a real person, whether or not he wrote both books, and whether or not he wrote all of either book. Some believe, controversially, that the Odyssey may have been composed by a woman, or that Homer may have been illiterate. There is some certainty that the "original" Greek Odyssey that our translations come from has existed in several variations and was put to text at different times in different variations and had to be canonized into a standard version.
Things to consider while reading (for discussion):
Does our Hero have a fatal flaw, and what would it be? If so, do you think it would negatively impact the Greek concept of the Heroic tradition?
ISBN 978-0-14-026886-7
Notes on selection: The Odyssey is an indirect follow up to The Illiad, the only other work attributed to Homer. Because it is, in essence, a sequel, conventional wisdom would dictate that The Iliad be read first. However, I feel that the Odyssey, being more of an adventure tale of sorts, would make Homer's work a little more approachable to any newcomers. The large time gap between stories and minimal references to the Iliad should make this quite accessible to most readers. In addition the Fagles translation makes use of common English while retaining the poetic form and rhythm which carries the best of both worlds. However, if any readers have a more scholarly interest, you may want to investigate multiple translations. If using any alternate translations there will be mild discrepancies in line numberings and possibly huge variations in wordings and length. I have compared two translations myself and found this to be accurate. This would only be a concern if quotes are made in our discussions segment. It is optional, but I highly recommend reading the research notes either before or after the story for more information.
Notes on the Odyssey: The Odyssey is believed to have been composed, in non written form, around 800 b.c. in a Greek speaking area off the coast of what we now call Turkey and attributed to a man the Greeks named Homer. The first confirmed papyrus fragments are dated to 300 b.c. so it is believed to have been passed by oral tradition for centuries prior to being written. Much of this is only theory based on dedicated research because little to nothing is known about the formation of the Iliad and Odyssey or the man who supposedly wrote them. There is much argument among scholars as to whether or not Homer was a real person, whether or not he wrote both books, and whether or not he wrote all of either book. Some believe, controversially, that the Odyssey may have been composed by a woman, or that Homer may have been illiterate. There is some certainty that the "original" Greek Odyssey that our translations come from has existed in several variations and was put to text at different times in different variations and had to be canonized into a standard version.
Things to consider while reading (for discussion):
What do you think of the concept of "Zeus of the Strangers" and the Greek concept of Hospitality?
What are some other underlying or recurring themes that are present in the poem?
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Book List for 2011 has been decided (mostly).
Hello everyone! I just wanted to inform you that our book list for this year has been decided. Please keep in mind that I am open to suggestions if there is something on there that you detest or if there is something not on there that you have always wanted to read or even re-read. This especially applies to any new members this first year. The only reason the list stands as it is now is that I am the only member and have to vote on all of the books myself. New readers may join at anytime and should not be shy about asking questions. I am quite willing to make many changes at this point. Because there are no current members (as of this writing), the schedule will be very loose to allow for new readers to jump in and allow me to move at my own pace (which is usually very fast).
These are currently set up to vary in length, style, complexity, and tone.
The Odyssey - Homer - Robert Fagles Translation
Specific translation preferred but not required.
Frankenstein - Shelley
Beowulf - Anonymous - Seamus Heaney Translation
Specific translation preferred but not required.
War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells
The Tempest - Shakespeare
Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
The Idiot - Fyodor Dostoevsky
1984 - George Orwell
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
As I lay Dying - William Faulkner
(unspecified short story by Poe)
(unspecified story by Edgar Rice Burroughs)
(unspecified poem, novella, or short story)
These are currently set up to vary in length, style, complexity, and tone.
The Odyssey - Homer - Robert Fagles Translation
Specific translation preferred but not required.
Frankenstein - Shelley
Beowulf - Anonymous - Seamus Heaney Translation
Specific translation preferred but not required.
War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells
The Tempest - Shakespeare
Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
The Idiot - Fyodor Dostoevsky
1984 - George Orwell
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
As I lay Dying - William Faulkner
(unspecified short story by Poe)
(unspecified story by Edgar Rice Burroughs)
(unspecified poem, novella, or short story)
Friday, February 18, 2011
News: Borders is closing 30% of its stores
Bad news for the book world may be good news for your wallet. With Borders filing for a limited bankruptcy, 30% of its stores will be closing its its doors some of which may be near you (I will skip the obvious "final chapter" references). They are expected to have sales on all inventory with discounts ranging from 20-40% standard retail pricing. Naturally, this will not be good news for the 6000 employees now without jobs, but hopefully this will allow Borders to recover and become more competitive with its big brother Barnes & Noble.
Beginnings...
Hello again. After some mild research into book-club formalities I have learned that I need to set a schedule for the year as well as chapter sets for each month. In addition, I will prepare questions regarding the book and chapters as well as some biographical info or historical data that may be pertinent to the text.
Now to start, I would just like to say that I am, indeed, not crazy, and am perfectly aware that this book club has no actual followers. I actually find the exercise of a book club without readers slightly entertaining. The real reason I am going through the motions is to see whether I could actually host one in the first place. Another good reason is that whenever living, breathing, interested parties do happen to stumble by, I don't want to appear disorganized.
In regards to the selections I am making, I would like to say that I am going to attempt to tackle more than 12 books this year, even having lost January and the first two weeks of February. This is largely due to the fact that until we have a reasonable group for this club, I don't really have to allot much time for real "discussions." (The other reason is that I read like a fiend and will probably be reading other books in addition to the book-club selections. I will probably reiterate some of this once I get the full list together along with some of the specific details. You can expect a full (but malleable) list by Sunday. Thanks and see you soon!
Now to start, I would just like to say that I am, indeed, not crazy, and am perfectly aware that this book club has no actual followers. I actually find the exercise of a book club without readers slightly entertaining. The real reason I am going through the motions is to see whether I could actually host one in the first place. Another good reason is that whenever living, breathing, interested parties do happen to stumble by, I don't want to appear disorganized.
In regards to the selections I am making, I would like to say that I am going to attempt to tackle more than 12 books this year, even having lost January and the first two weeks of February. This is largely due to the fact that until we have a reasonable group for this club, I don't really have to allot much time for real "discussions." (The other reason is that I read like a fiend and will probably be reading other books in addition to the book-club selections. I will probably reiterate some of this once I get the full list together along with some of the specific details. You can expect a full (but malleable) list by Sunday. Thanks and see you soon!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Hello, and welcome!
Hello, my name is Joe and I have been attracted to Blogger out of some inherent need to read and write, a thing I am just discovering about myself. To be perfectly honest with you, I have not quite formulated exactly what I plan on writing here, or how to arrange it, for that matter. I imagine that I should start at the beginning and hope that rhyme and reason slowly coalesce from the random interstellar dust of my thoughts.
There are many "beginnings" that have brought me here so I imagine I should mention when and why I began writing. Like most former students, I have blundered through the trials and tribulations of book reports and term papers and the like with nary a thought to anything other than a good grade. Ages ago, in high school, I would hope that my ill-prepared shallow ramblings might be perceived as mature thinking, while later, in college, I would hope even more strongly that my thoughtful, meticulously planned essays would not be mistaken for juvenile garbage. This however, I do not count as a beginning. What I would count as my discovery of the fact that I enjoy slapping sentences together would be in 2009 when I took a love of obscure films and built a review site out of it. Although I had a few hundred readers at the end, my site and perhaps even my reviews themselves, would doubtfully win any awards. Only a small portions of the population, it seems, cares about french vampire films. I would say, however, that my site was a beautiful shining diamond amongst a sea of coal and some days I still miss it. The site itself, unfortunately, was a bear to maintain and terrifically time consuming ( as well as poorly, poorly hosted...A pox on the house of Godaddy.com!) and so I have recently allowed it perish. So, each pour some of your coffee or juice-box or 40-oz malt liquor onto the closest thing resembling soil and lets move on. What I discovered from this experience was that I enjoyed assembling my thoughts and I liked to imagine that other people were reading them, regardless of whether or not they actually were. Strangely enough, this never really translated into a love of Facebook or twitter. I think it has to do with the lack of content. I don't want to criticize those who have found meaning, enjoyment, or social experience out of these networking sites but a posting of what you had for breakfast and six others approving of your comment does not provide a fulfilling experience for me. Then again, to be fair, my "musings" are really just a pretentious version of the same thing. That is why I have decided to turn this into a virtual book club of sorts.
I have a deep seated desire to read the classics, or really, to have read and understood the classics. I make this distinction because my *intention* is often overpowered my *attention* (or lack thereof). In other words, finishing a book that is not modern fantasy, sci fi, or horror is a big challenge to me. I can read a book a week if its sci fi but getting through the Illiad is a challenge even though I really want to read it. Intellectually speaking, I wish I could plug my brain into the Matrix and upload it so I don't actually have to read it. But, I am not the Neo of literature. I have to earn my scholarly chops the hard way. More to come about my virtual book club. Thanks for reading and check back soon.
There are many "beginnings" that have brought me here so I imagine I should mention when and why I began writing. Like most former students, I have blundered through the trials and tribulations of book reports and term papers and the like with nary a thought to anything other than a good grade. Ages ago, in high school, I would hope that my ill-prepared shallow ramblings might be perceived as mature thinking, while later, in college, I would hope even more strongly that my thoughtful, meticulously planned essays would not be mistaken for juvenile garbage. This however, I do not count as a beginning. What I would count as my discovery of the fact that I enjoy slapping sentences together would be in 2009 when I took a love of obscure films and built a review site out of it. Although I had a few hundred readers at the end, my site and perhaps even my reviews themselves, would doubtfully win any awards. Only a small portions of the population, it seems, cares about french vampire films. I would say, however, that my site was a beautiful shining diamond amongst a sea of coal and some days I still miss it. The site itself, unfortunately, was a bear to maintain and terrifically time consuming ( as well as poorly, poorly hosted...A pox on the house of Godaddy.com!) and so I have recently allowed it perish. So, each pour some of your coffee or juice-box or 40-oz malt liquor onto the closest thing resembling soil and lets move on. What I discovered from this experience was that I enjoyed assembling my thoughts and I liked to imagine that other people were reading them, regardless of whether or not they actually were. Strangely enough, this never really translated into a love of Facebook or twitter. I think it has to do with the lack of content. I don't want to criticize those who have found meaning, enjoyment, or social experience out of these networking sites but a posting of what you had for breakfast and six others approving of your comment does not provide a fulfilling experience for me. Then again, to be fair, my "musings" are really just a pretentious version of the same thing. That is why I have decided to turn this into a virtual book club of sorts.
I have a deep seated desire to read the classics, or really, to have read and understood the classics. I make this distinction because my *intention* is often overpowered my *attention* (or lack thereof). In other words, finishing a book that is not modern fantasy, sci fi, or horror is a big challenge to me. I can read a book a week if its sci fi but getting through the Illiad is a challenge even though I really want to read it. Intellectually speaking, I wish I could plug my brain into the Matrix and upload it so I don't actually have to read it. But, I am not the Neo of literature. I have to earn my scholarly chops the hard way. More to come about my virtual book club. Thanks for reading and check back soon.
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