Don't diss the library!

I caught this article today thanks to one of my friends on FB. Terry Deary, author of Horrible Histories series, has publicly denounced the need for libraries in modern times. And his reason is arrogant, demeaning to both the public and his fellow authors, and woefully short-sighted and selfish.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/14/horrible-histories-author-libraries_n_2681265.html

This author seriously needs to recheck his priorities. Not to mention getting a reality check, since he seems to assume everyone knows who he is. I hadn't. Now I do. And he just lost any chance he'd have had for me to pick up his books. I don't intend to support someone who is so money-minded that he will trash the institutions that nurture children's need for books. And not just children, but people of all ages.

Doesn't he understand that libraries are where people discover those books? If you don't know about a book, you can't buy it. There are too many books out there to discover the ones that will connect with you simply by browsing online stores. That's assuming that those people, especially children, even have regular access to the internet and permission to go to those sites, let alone having the time to spend on browsing. And brick-and-mortar bookstores don't have everything, nor are there as many physical stores as there used to be.

More books are published these days than even 20 years ago. So many new authors are out there now competing for our attention. A library is one place to go to find both new and older books. I've discovered so many books that I decided I had to buy for myself that I might never have stumbled across. It's easier to browse outside your usual interests or even for specialties of a current interest at a library. I was already doing crochet, but until I ran across a book on filet crochet a few years ago, I'd never heard of that technique. How could I have searched for something I didn't know existed? I ended up buying my own copy, because even after checking it out twice, I still wanted it on hand.

Even if you find a book at a store, if you have limited means to purchase and then store said book, it is often better to be able to read it first. Then if the book is helpful or gives you enough enjoyment that you want to read it whenever you feel like it, then the money spent on it will be worthwhile. The number of times I bought a book on a risk and then realized it was meh, at least to me, well, I could have better spent that money on the books I already knew I loved. I don't have money to waste on books that I don't love or need even though I'm not a kid anymore, dependent on mom/dad to give me spending money. I still buy books I haven't already read, but at least when it comes to novels, I prefer to read them first unless I know the author or have recommendations from people I trust to have comparable tastes to mine.

There are still books I want that I haven't bought yet. Don't have room for one thing, and I don't have as much money as I'd like for the other. Libraries support me in the meantime. But there is no way I am going to support an author who is so fixated on short term personal financial gain that he will slam the very institutions that might lead children (or adults like me) to buying his books at all. His books might be totally awesome. I don't know. But I will now never read them.

This is the modern age. Reputation on a personal level has much greater weight now. Readers look to see what their favorite authors are like outside their books. The ones who connect with their readers create such loyalty that readers will buy their books even if the books aren't totally amazing on their own. Authors who care more about how much money they are making are going to find that it will hurt their sales. If I was running a library, I'd say, "Well if he dislikes us that much, we don't need to buy his new books anymore and put that money to these books by this other author who doesn't slam us or our readers." And I'd be tempted to pull all current titles out of circulation. I'd certainly inform parents about the author's attitude. I don't know about libraries over there, but around here, libraries have community support, some have had huge support. You just don't diss the library without repercussions.

As for me, I won't be buying his books, and I'll suggest to my local library that they don't either. If he dislikes libraries that much, they can spend their money on cooler and nicer authors instead. I have a list.

Cinder

This week I found another nook in Azuranna's library with more books I haven't read yet. One is a book the mech fairies (and yes, many of my friends, too, hush) have been going on about for awhile now. Now I see why. Cinder by Marissa Meyer was better than it sounded even from the book blurb.

From the B&N website:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

I read the book yesterday in huge gulps. This Cinderella spinoff provides a believable growing romance between Prince Kai and Cinder. They meet only a few pages in when he brings his broken android to her market stall for repair, jokingly saying it was a matter of notional security, though she suspects it might be less of a joke than he wanted to let on. Each time their paths cross after that, either accidentally or on purpose, they become more familiar with each other.

 

Cinder is one the few people the prince can trust as tensions mount across New Beijing and within the palace over concerns with the plague and the possibility of war with the feared Lunars. And Prince Kai not only treats her with respect, he asks her to call him by name without the title, something that flusters her a lot. Good thing she can't blush. Even more disconcerting, he asks her to be his personal guest at the upcoming ball, an offer she turns down.

 

Even if he really does want her there, self-preservation or not, she plans to escape her stepmother's control that night. Then it won't matter that he hasn't yet realized she's part mechanical, something she can't bear to confess and face his disgust over courting a mutant freak. But to save Kai from the evil plans of Lunar Queen Levana, she'll have to go to the ball anyway, even at the cost of the whole truth about herself being revealed for all to see.

The ending is gripping, not the ending I expected, but a cliffhanger, yet it feels right. The final words are perfect. But...ARRRGGGGG! I want the next book already! Gah!!!!!

Guess I'll have to read this one again before I have to take it back to the library.

Filk Friday: Steam Powered Giraffe

One of my friends tripped me onto this really fun video last week, and since I promised some more steampunk, here you go. Steam Powered Giraffe performs their song Brass Goggles. But after you go la da da along with the bouncing pug head, you might also want to check out the website of this musical pantomime group. They've recently released their second album which you buy either off the website or from iTunes. Personally, I think with this group, I want the actual CD with the extra goodies. And the DVD. These guys can not only sing; they can perform. I wouldn't have been surprised if one of them had broken out in a soft-shoe-shuffle. My feet were certainly tapping along.

Enjoy!

Swords and shelves

Been a little busy 'round the dragon cave lately. Between cleaning, organizing, and catching up with old friends, I haven't had much time to get back to answering questions about steampunk. Still more to do, but the cave is looking less cluttered. The fairies are brighter, and the gnomes are humming while they work. We need more shelves around here, but I've gotten them better arranged to get things off the floor. Much nicer when we aren't tripping over things, don't you think? And I'll see about elaborating further on steampunk in my next post.

Last Wednesday, a couple of friendly neighborhood knights took me on, raw beginner that I am, to begin teaching me sword and shield. I didn't hurt all that much, but I had almost no energy the next day. I have another lesson this afternoon. We'll see how well how I keep up today. And least the pixies didn't snicker too much, and the knights both said I did well enough for my first time.

I'm off to do some reading and maybe a bit of gratitude baking. The knights are so patient; they deserve a treat of some kind. Maybe some fairie cookies or brownie biscuits. What do you mean, do they have real fairies and brownies in them? Of course not! Azuranna would flambe me. Oh, that was a joke? Ohhhh. Silly me. ;D

My writing goals are going to have to change. I pulled out my one completed story the other day and started working on revising it. So instead of a word count goal, it's going to be by scene. By Sunday, I want to finish the first scene. My other goals can stay the same.

Society of Steam and ROW80 goals

My thanks to Azuranna--the big blue library dragon, for those of you who haven't met her yet--for posting my notice about moving. I think she's been glad to have me around her library cave the past couple years though she says little to me directly. But now I'm back to reading and writing after getting mostly settled in to my new home. So, today I have both a book review and writing goals to share.

While wandering the cave and saying hello again to the resident sprites and fire lizards, I found a newish book on the shelves that I hadn't read yet. It's book 1 of The Society of Steam: The Falling Machine by Andrew P. Mayer. Since I was in the mood for a bit of steampunk, I pulled it out. I am so glad I did, but now I'm banging my head against the shelf because I want book 2 and it's not out yet. I sincerely hope he's working on it.

It's 1880, New York. Young ladies are expected to do what men tell them and make good marriages. They aren't allowed to vote or do heroic deeds. But Sarah Stanton, a young socialite, still hasn't given up her dream of joining the Paragons and helping them fight crime and villainy. The fact that her father is one of the Paragons only makes the restriction against joining more pronounced. As a child, she'd been allowed to roam the halls of the order's building and spend time with inventing genius and leader of the Paragons, Darby Dennis.

But after he's murdered right in front of her, Sarah is barred from the Hall by her father and ordered to have nothing more to do with the order. Now she must work with the mechanical man Darby created known as the Automaton in order to unravel the mystery behind the murder.

What they find along the way is a conspiracy involving one of the order's members, a traitor in their midst. To save the order and uphold her mentor's dying wish for her to help the Automaton, Sarah must become more than what society expects of her and become the hero she's always dreamed of being.

In retrospect, I think I'd call this book omniscient POV, though I didn't really notice while I was reading. There are multiple viewpoint characters, none of which are in deep perspective. There's a distant feel, but it works very well for the style. From what I've noticed about steampunk stories in general, they all tend to be distant, more observational, which is much like stories actually written in the 1800's. I thought it was very done, so if you want an example of how to write this way even if you aren't into steampunk, I recommend this book. And the steampunk elements are mostly restricted to the heroes and villains, so it doesn't play a huge part in society as a whole. Steampunk-lite, I suppose you could say. Whatever you want to call it, I'd say read the book.

ROW80 Goals:
1) Write for a minimum of 1 hour or 200 words (whichever comes second) 5 days a week.
2) Read at least 5 ROW80 blogs each check-in.
3) Write 2-3 blog posts each week.

I think there'd been something else I wanted as a goal, but I'm a bit distracted right now. Too much talking going on in the room. But this is a good start. We'll see how I do by Wed's check-in.

Break for moving

So much for getting back on track with my blog; I'm moving in a week and a half. (Hubby got a new job, taking us back to OH and the majority of our friends.) While we are planning to get internet, I don't know how fast we'll get it set up. Thought I'd let you know in case you miss me. :D I will try to read stuff here and there as time permits, but any thinking beyond packing/loading logistics and lists of moving details tends to fall by the wayside. Hope to be back in the swing of a couple posts a week by the end of July. I'll have a new library to raid for knocking out my TBR pile. Yay! I'll have my laptop, so even before I get hooked back to the internet, I can work on book reviews. Plus libraries often have internet, so when I have time to go, I can schedule all completed posts. Have a great summer!

Fun video Friday: B5 and alien confusion

Babylon 5 is one of my favorite shows. I've got all 5 seasons on DVD plus the pilot episode and In the Beginning (tv movie). I don't have a few of the other movies yet, but they're on the list to pick up.

One of the many reasons I find this show so amazing is in how aliens might get confused when trying to use another race's idioms. Personally, I think I think this particular one is funnier by being wrong than what Londo intended to say. Remember when writing mixed race cultures that you think how races can muddle things up even when they have an excellent grasp of each other's language.

Getting things mixed up allows for moments of humor even in characters who are usually very serious.  You don't have to give these sorts of lines only to the characters intended to be there for comedic relief. Londo himself is more of a tragic character considering his personal arc over the 5-year storyline. That's actually what makes the punchline in the first clip even funnier. He's so serious about it, and neither he nor his aide Vir realize the mistake they've made.




In the second clip, Londo is studying an Earth children's song, trying to make sense of it. Again, he's very serious and frustrated, and no humans are present to make fun of him for it. The only others in the scene are two Minbari: Delenn and Draal, and neither of them know the song either.