tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54103732902658790192024-03-19T03:22:08.057-04:00THE READING APEthe Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.comBlogger189125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-12311429521092247162013-01-20T21:18:00.003-05:002013-01-20T21:18:50.775-05:00Quick Follow-UpI realized that I forgot to say in the last post that my new personal blog, <a href="http://critical-linking.com/" target="_blank">Critical Linking</a>, has email and RSS subscriptions set up.<br />
<br />
So if you'd like to port yourself on over, here is the link to <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=877634" target="_blank">sign-up for email subscriptions</a>, and <a href="http://critical-linking.com/main?format=rss" target="_blank">here is the RSS feed link</a>.<br />
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So far, I've been posting 2-3 short things a day there and enjoying the new format.<br />
<br />
Thanks again,<br />
Jeff<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com211tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-73794004406760817322013-01-17T22:05:00.002-05:002013-01-17T22:05:53.897-05:00Goodbye, ApeThis blog got me started. And it's time to officially let it go.<br />
<br />
I write about books and reading every day for <a href="http://bookriot.com/" target="_blank">Book Riot</a>. I've long been thinking how to keep The Reading Ape going, but anything I would do here, I can do there. And Book Riot is a significant part of my professional life now.<br />
<br />
But I do want to keep a personal blog, so I've started a new little site: <a href="http://critical-linking.com/" target="_blank">Critical Linking</a>. It'll be about books, reading, publishing, media, and a few other personal interests. Short forms, brief commentary, the occasional longer piece. Stuff that's maybe a little too insidery for the general reader (that stuff will go to Book Riot) and maybe a little more opinionated. Or not.<br />
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If you want to keep up with me, Twitter is the best way...the Ape will live on as I keep the same handle: <a href="https://twitter.com/readingape" target="_blank">@readingape</a>.<br />
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Critical Linking will have its own Twitter feed, which will just be new posts on it: <a href="https://twitter.com/crit_linking" target="_blank">@crit_linking</a>.<br />
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Thanks so much for reading.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-63567146545121008072012-10-22T12:11:00.002-04:002012-10-22T12:11:22.408-04:00Ranking The Best James Bond NovelsA quick, out-of-the blue post to point you to a project I worked on all summer: ranking <a href="http://goo.gl/KXLig" target="_blank">the best James Bond novels</a> written by Ian Fleming. They vary wildly in quality, but the best hold up pretty well. Anyway, check it out if you're interested.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-65753924793061284212012-06-11T20:07:00.001-04:002012-06-12T14:58:03.469-04:00Book Blogger Uncon Debrief<p>8The Book Blogger Uncon took place last week, and it was, on the whole, a success. Many attendees are doing recaps and wrap-ups, and <a href="http://bookbloguncon.wordpress.com/2012/06/10/so-the-uncon-happened/">I'll refer you to them</a> for what we talked about and how it went. I'll briefly give my own thoughts about the event, and what the future of it might be, in a relatively uncollected way.</p>
<p>____________________________</p>
<p>1. Going bare-bones felt great. No sponsors or swag or programs or microphones or non-bloggers. This made it feel intimate, informal, and open. </p>
<p>2. We had 23 people show up, some for part of the day. This turned out to be an in-between number. Too many really for whole group discussion, and few enough that we wanted to stay as a group. From what I have heard already, next year's prospective event is unlikely to be smaller. </p>
<p>3. Our conversations were relatively broad, which I think is fine, especially for an experiment like this. With more attendees and more sessions, I think we could be more specific around certain topics. For example, a small-group peer-critique of blog design could be really useful. </p>
<p>4. I also think that there is no reason to limit the sessions to "book blog" topics. Discussions about publishing, writing, technology, and a range of other topics would be fascinating. </p>
<p>5. The Uncon attendees on the whole were a pretty experienced bunch, and I think some discussion of more advanced/difficult issues could have been/could be beneficial: monetization, using your blog as a stepping stone to a career, collaborative blogging, video/audio, using your blog to champion specific issues, the commodification of bloggers, and others.</p>
<p>6. I wonder also if a "niche" timeslot would be useful--basically a session-time where we break into "YA" and "Literary Fiction" and "Non-Fiction" or what have you. Each has there own range of sub-issues and would perhaps be worth discussing in person.</p>
<p>7. Based on how drained I was on Friday, I can't imagine holding the Uncon after BEA, as some have suggested. Monday is clearly the best slot. Just because the BEA blogger conference is scheduled for Monday, I don't think that should be a consideration. </p>
<p>8. I floated the idea of a registration fee, mainly to pay for an expert outside speaker in web publishing (probably WordPress).It could also cover in the afternoon or some other nominal expenses (nametags, etc).I think this might also firm up registration. I'm thinking 20 bucks. </p>
<p>9. The Center for Fiction was a great location, with one relatively serious drawback: no wi-fi. I'm not sure that this is a deal breaker, but I definitely missed this and think others did as well. </p>
<p>10. Maybe it's because I teach writing and spend a lot of time thinking about writing, but it does seem, for a community that is centered on writing and reading, that discussions of writing don't come up more often. Might a session workshopping each other's review be helpful? Do you think people could take constructive criticism without seeing it as just criticism?</p>
<p>I will soon post something over on the Uncon blog formally asking if we should do an Uncon again next year. That post will also ask for feedback on how to improve things and to brainstorm ideas for the next go-round. </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
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<p> </p>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-56856975865056308772012-05-29T20:19:00.001-04:002012-05-29T20:19:16.214-04:00Book Blogger Uncon Session Idea<p>One last pre-show session idea for the <a href="http://bookbloguncon.wordpress.com/">Book Blogger Uncon</a> for me. I thought it might be both fun and useful to have a "Close Reading" refresher session. Dust off your analytical skills and practice looking at <a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/06/close-read-first-sentence-of-blind.html">words, phrases, and sentences in excruciating detail. </a></p>
<p>I have a bunch of exercise and examples to draw on from my teaching stuff, and I thought I might run this one sort of like a college seminar. I mean, don't we all sorta miss college?</p>
<p>Anyway, let me know if this sounds interesting and see you all really soon!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-68953021945702476712012-04-04T10:44:00.002-04:002012-04-04T10:44:22.158-04:00Book Blogger Unconference: Session IdeasAs planning for the <a href="http://bookbloguncon.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Book Blogger Unconference</a> ramps up: we are asking participants to blog about sessions they might be interested and willing to lead.<br />
<br />
Here are a couple of sessions I have been thinking about:<br />
<br />
<h3>
1. Who Are You Writing For?</h3>
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Often, blogging is tough because you don't really know who is reading your stuff and why they are reading it. I'd like to have a group discussion about how thinking about audience can be helpful. Are you writing for other bloggers? General readers? Avid readers? Are you writing with the industry in mind? Answering some of these questions can not only make writing easier, but clarify your vision of what you want your blog to be.<br />
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<h3>
2. Blogging Hacks</h3>
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This one is about sharing computing tips and tricks. I would start the session (in an A/V equipped room) showing off some of the tools I use in my daily workflow: <a href="http://db.tt/qEI9I3N" target="_blank">DropBox</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fskitch.com%2F&ei=4118T42QEoXk0QGznvjbCw&usg=AFQjCNEgOBhlG-kD2ssXVG4nTdJXoaEWjQ" target="_blank">Skitch</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CD4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsmilesoftware.com%2FTextExpander%2F&ei=-F18T4WeEfKP0QHM2tWADA&usg=AFQjCNG16cT7lySI0P9qucP0kMIFhcyccQ" target="_blank">Text Expander</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.omnigroup.com%2Fproducts%2Fomnifocus%2F&ei=DF58T6iENIqw0AG42J3gCw&usg=AFQjCNHNWFq0Blth9m_RqgSbc8n_dPvF9Q" target="_blank">OmniFocus</a>, and others. Then, anyone else can share the tools they use to make their blogging lives easier. (Note: this is not primarily about publishing platforms (Wordpress, Blogger, etc) or code. Others more expert than I should consider leading a session about any or all of those things).<br />
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____________________________<br />
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I have more ideas, but those are mine for now. Check out the<a href="http://bookbloguncon.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"> Book Blogger Unconference site</a> for more info. Hope to see you there.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-35692040055091816982012-03-28T20:04:00.002-04:002012-03-28T20:04:34.291-04:00Book Blogger Conference: It's All HappeningThundercats are go.<br />
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The most difficult piece, finding a good, available space for a reasonable price, seems to have been solved. <a href="http://www.centerforfiction.org/">The Center for Fiction</a> has offered their space, for free (so long as we clean up after ourselves) for the day of June 4. It is midtown Manhattan and so it will be easy for folks who want to hit the BEA buzz panel over at the Javits in the late afternoon to get there.<br />
<br />
I am going to check out the space in person and talk with them soon, but I am confident it will be a good fit.<br />
<br />
So now it's time for the next three steps.<br />
<br />
First, the planning and discussion is moving from here to a <a href="http://bookbloguncon.wordpress.com/">dedicated blog</a>.<br />
<br />
Second, the structure of an unconference and our space means that there has to be a registration cap of 100 participants. I have no idea if that many are interested, but that's the maximum this format can really handle.<br />
<br />
Third, registration. Over on the <a href="http://bookbloguncon.wordpress.com/">Book Blog Uncon</a> site, there is a registration form. Please only fill this out if you are very likely to attend. Since there's no charge, there is no binding registration, but an accurate headcount will make planning easier, and it also lets us keep track of a waitlist should demand exceed the registration cap.<br />
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____________________________<br />
<br />
On Friday, I am going to post some information about how an unconference works, what you can expect from the day, and how you can start proposing sessions beforehand.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-46977984768283020662012-03-22T16:08:00.002-04:002012-03-22T16:16:52.756-04:00The Book Blogger Unconference: Day 2Well, this much is clear: there is a lot of interest in a book blogger unconference on June 4.<br />
<br />
I have reached out to a few venues to see what space availability/cost might be. That is the only organizational step I have taken since yesterday. Tomorrow, I am going post about some next steps, but today I think some explanation and clarification might be useful before proceeding. Also, I have been contacted by the BEA Blogger Convention directly and have received permission to reprint that email below to get their take on the matter.<br />
<br />
But first, some uncollected thoughts:<br />
<br />
<b>1. This isn't a revolt or boycott.</b><br />
<br />
Those terms suggest some moral transgression, and that's not what is happening here. Some bloggers just want to think about doing something else.<br />
<br />
<b>2. The main difference is structural.</b><br />
<br />
This isn't about who is speaking or what they are speaking about, it is about focusing on conversation rather than presentation.<br />
<br />
<b>3. There are great reasons to go to the BEA blogger conference.</b><br />
<br />
The BEA bloggers conference might be a really good choice for many, maybe even most bloggers. But it's not right for me at this point and others have expressed the same. For example, if you want to cultivate relationships with publishers, the BEA blogger conference is a much better fit.<br />
<br />
<b>4. If you choose one over the other, you are not uncool. No one here is cool.</b><br />
<br />
Again, what matters most to me is that bloggers get stuff that helps them be happier with their blogging lives. If that means that 99% goes to the BEA bloggers conference because that is the right fit for them, I am totally thrilled.<br />
<br />
____________________________<br />
<br />
Ok, I hope that was helpful. As always, please leave a comment or write on your own blog if you want to add to the above in some way.<br />
<br />
____________________________<br />
<br />
Here is what Joseph Vella of the BEA Bloggers Conference wrote to me yesterday. In fairness to Joe, I am not going to comment on it here, but I think it is important for everyone to see what they have to say before the next steps (if they still happen) are taken:<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><i>Hi Jeff,<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><i>Your recent blog was passed on to me and I wanted to reach out to chat with you directly. The BEA team respects your right to have an opinion but some of the things you have included in your post are not factual based on how we have approached this year's conference. I wanted to share with you so you could at least have all the information going forward.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><i>BEA purchased the conference from Trish and Michele and has worked hand in hand with them every step of the way to gain their insights and direction on how to build this year's conference. They shared what worked and what didn't and have provided invaluable guidance on how to approach the organization and content this year. They vetted the entire program for us-from topics to speakers.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><i>Along with this, we reached out to prior attendees (you probably received our emails) asking for participation in an online survey to share your feedback on the event. We had a wonderful response and gathered even more insights to ensure we were building and event that would be based on what our customers--book bloggers--wanted. Then, we reached out again to prior attendees (you may have also received this email) asking them to participate in an online focus group to help us fine tune what we had been hearing. Once again we gained a solid response and made modifications to our program based on what we heard from book bloggers.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><i>As you can see, we did not create this year's event in a vacuum-BEA and Reed believe in working with our customers and listening to them to create events that will offer value and a memorable experience. This event has been created based on everything we heard directly from Trish, Michele and the many book bloggers who took time to share their thoughts with us.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><i>Regarding the session topics you mentioned in your blog post that you'd like to see--well, many of the topics you mentioned are being covered in this year's program and we are currently recruiting speakers. Here’s a quick review:<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><i>* Writing Negative Reviews will be covered in our session, "Critical Reviews: Fine Tuning Your Craft"<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><i>* Dealing with Publishers will be covered in our session, "Demystifying the Book Blogger & Publisher Relationship"<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><i>* Using Statistics and Monetization will be covered in our session, "So You Want to Make Money?"<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><i>* Collaboration, Podcasting, and Social Media will be covered in our session, "Creating Community & Driving Engagement"<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><i>* Niche topics (YA, Literary Fiction, Romance, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, and so on) will be addressed in our networking luncheon, "Let's Talk Blogs"<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The conference is only a day so there is only so much time for sessions. In addition, there were many other things we heard from past attendees that they wanted to see-such as networking-so we built in two opportunities for that with the Networking Continental Breakfast and the Networking Luncheon. Past attendees also told us they want access to authors so we are inviting them into these networking events. We have a jam packed day with sessions, networking, authors, and two meals! One of the attractions to having the event at BEA is that there is access to BEA which means access to well over 1,000 publishers, 700+ authors, dozens of sessions of all kinds + access to the BlogWorld exhibits and a great discount to the BlogWorld conference as well.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><i>I hope that the information I have shared has helped to shed light on how we've been approaching this year's event and the value of BEA. Our goal is to work together with the book blogger community--and we are trying very hard to do our due diligence and do just that. We know there will be bumps along the way and we know we cannot please everyone, but I hope this will help to add some fresh perspective for you.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><i>We would welcome your feedback to help continue to shape this year's event and the event going forward.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><i>Thank you.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><i>- Joe Vella<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><i>Joseph Vella</i></span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-44995136086077538562012-03-21T16:04:00.001-04:002012-03-21T16:04:16.035-04:00A Book Blogger UnconferenceIf you are a book blogger, I want to pitch you an idea. It's an idea that came out of being unhappy with what someone else is doing and thinking that we, together, can do it better.<br />
<br />
Most of you have either attended or heard of the <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookexpoamerica.com%2FConcurrent-Events%2FBEAs-Book-Blogger%2F&ei=lS1qT-RJ6MvRAcGP6fII&usg=AFQjCNEtzXmHDxU_fpaReZTAk4_AFaSKcg">Book Blogger's Convention</a> that has for the last couple of years followed Book Expo America. Started and organized by a group of bloggers, it was a day of panels about book blogging and the publishing industry. I've been twice and loved meeting people I've known and read online, and I was looking forward to going again this year, though mostly to hang out in the hall and talk to folks.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, I don't think it's an event I want to go to anymore. The short story is that the convention was sold to the same company that runs Book Expo America. Since that sale, BEA has made a series of decisions that ultimately has led me to decide not to attend, including asking for blog stats as part of the registration, asking for and accepting money and reservations without providing a list of speakers, and forming panels and sessions that don't speak to me as a book blogger.<br />
<br />
So what I want to do is this: organize a book blogger "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconference">unconference</a>" and hold it they day the BEA Blogger Convention is happening. (I don't mind competing with it, but that's not why I want it to be that day---it's just that bloggers are going to be in NYC that day anyway.)<br />
<br />
When <a href="http://www.book2camp.org/about/">BookCamp</a> happened a while back, I thought "Man, I wish there was something like that for book bloggers." (Here is a <a href="http://www.babettephoto.com/in-this-space/?p=992">wrap-up</a> that gives you an idea of what this could feel like) And now seems like a good time to make it happen.<br />
<br />
I am going to need help, but here's what I have in mind.<br />
<br />
1. Bloggers only. All you need to be eligible is a book blog.<br />
<br />
2. Low-cost. We are not going to pay anyone to speak or ask you to pay for a stale chicken sandwich. The registration fee will go toward the space cost. And that's it. We might consider sponsors. We might not. Worth talking about.<br />
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3. Self-run. No one knows what book bloggers want to talk about more than book bloggers. And you know what, no one is more expert on book blogging than book bloggers. Let's talk to each other rather than be talked at by others.<br />
<br />
4. Small sessions, blogger-generated. Sessions will be informal, seminar-like group discussions. There are a couple of ways of handling this, but the key element is we decide what to talk about and we ourselves talk about it. In each session slot (say 1pm-2pm) a couple of sessions will be happening and you are encouraged to move from one to the other.<br />
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We can talk about sessions later, but I thought some examples might be helpful in imaging what this could look like:<br />
<br />
1. Writing Negative Reviews<br />
2. Dealing with Publishers<br />
3. Commenting and Its Discontents<br />
4. Peer Reviewing Blog Design<br />
5. Using Statistics<br />
6. Monetization<br />
7. Collaboration<br />
8. Getting the Most Out of Social Media<br />
9. Guest Posts and Posting<br />
10. Book Blogging for Beginners<br />
11. Book Blogging for Veterans<br />
12. Podcasting<br />
13. Apps and Ereaders<br />
14. From Blog to Job<br />
15. Niche sessions (YA, Literary Fiction, Romance, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, and so on)<br />
and on and on....<br />
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____________________________<br />
<br />
I teach at <a href="http://www.newschool.edu/">The New School</a> in Greenwich Village in New York City and know the facilities well. I have begun the process of finding out what might be available and at what cost. I have an idea for what space there would be perfect, but this is still in the very early stage.<br />
<br />
That said: here's what I need from you now:<br />
<br />
1. Based only on the above, would you consider attending?<br />
<br />
<br />
2. Would you help? I'm not even sure yet what all we will need doing, but we're going to need to work together?<br />
<br />
<br />
3. What comments or questions do you have?<br />
<br />
<br />
4. Get the word out. We need to get at least 30-40 people to make this worth doing, so please post and Tweet about this post and have people comment here or on your own blog. Even if you can't make it, it would be huge help. And if you think it's not for you but think it might be for someone you know, please let them know as well.<br />
____________________________<br />
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I'm really excited about the possibility here and look forward to hearing what you have to say.<br />
<br />
-Jeff O'Neal, aka The Reading Ape<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com112tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-42864605725233477172012-02-28T09:55:00.000-05:002012-02-28T09:55:04.761-05:00New Site Dedicated to Book TrailersJust a quick note here to say that we launched a new sister site for Book Riot that collects <a href="http://bookriot.tv/">new and notable book trailers: BookRiot.tv</a>.<br />
<br />
Pretty simple: we search out the most interesting book trailers out there and put them in one place. Check it out, wouldya?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-28355935718726761992012-01-19T13:13:00.002-05:002012-01-19T13:13:13.896-05:002012 Tournament of Books PreviewTime again to get ready for the Tournament of Books. I've moved my obsessive coverage over to Book Riot, and you can <a href="http://bookriot.com/2012/01/17/2012-tournament-of-books-shortlist-surprises-and-speculation/">check out my 2012 preview guide there</a>.<br />
<br />
On another note, I've finally decided to do with The Reading Ape. It'll continue with a bit more frequent posting than right now, but with a slightly different focus. Look for a post about that in the next week or so.<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-7699231748827843422011-11-11T08:50:00.001-05:002011-11-11T10:12:49.241-05:00The Dictionary of Fictional Techniques: "Fred Weasleys" and "Gandeaths"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>The Dictionary of Fictional Techniques</b> is a running feature here at the Ape in which I observe, name, and discuss heretofore uncategorized (at least to my knowledge) literary devices. For a list of previous entries, please scroll to the bottom of this post.</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><i>____________________________</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i>This special two-for-one entry in The Dictionary of Fictional Techniques was inspired by a post I wrote for Book Riot: <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/This%20special%20two-for-one%20entry%20in%20The%20Dictionary%20of%20Fictional%20Techniques%20was%20inspired%20by%20a%20post%20I%20wrote%20for%20Book%20Riot:%20Why%20Ron%20Weasley%20Should%20Have%20Died.">Why Ron Weasley Should Have Died</a>. </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ToLRnqUy4Rw/Tr0qDyl1KCI/AAAAAAAAA10/7sfIssj1EuY/s1600/fred+weasley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ToLRnqUy4Rw/Tr0qDyl1KCI/AAAAAAAAA10/7sfIssj1EuY/s200/fred+weasley.jpg" width="143" /></a></div>
<b><span id="goog_1787338276"></span><span id="goog_1787338277"></span>The Fred Weasly</b>:</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">A secondary character who dies to give a story pathos.</span> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Examples</b>:</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Fred Weasley. Boromir. Mr. Tumnus. Star Trek characters in red suits. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Discussion</b>:</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It’s not an overly complicated move: give the story weight by making loss real, but at the same time protecting the main characters. Fred Weasley’s are particularly common in children’s literature (ostensibly to protect kids) and serial works (for purposes of maintaining storylines). </span></span></div>
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To my mind, a Fred Weasley is a cop-out, especially in “epic” stories: it makes the rhetoric of danger and doom effectively null. For all of the peril of Sauron, only Boromir from the Fellowship gets it and as he dies in the first book, we don’t ever develop the kind of connection to him that we do to those who make it to the end. (In hindsight, how laughable is it that Merry and Pippin survive not only the battle of Minas Tirith, but also the battle outside the gates of Mordor?)</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-svG062QlMPg/Tr0qkUKVJPI/AAAAAAAAA18/x6Bl1HdMLKg/s1600/gandalf+the+white.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-svG062QlMPg/Tr0qkUKVJPI/AAAAAAAAA18/x6Bl1HdMLKg/s1600/gandalf+the+white.jpeg" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Gandeath</b>:</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> A character death that is reversed through resurrection or reincarnation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>Examples</b></span>:</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Gandalf. Aslan. Optimus Prime. Harry Potter. Obi-Wan.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>Discusssion</b></span>:</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">There are two purposes of a Gandeath. First, it can serve as a variant of the Fred Weasley; you get the pain of loss, but without the finality of it. The second purpose is to imbue a character with a messianic quality. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">(I have to admit that I find this really annoying and manipulative. This probably stems from my frustration with Ob-Wan's full-bodied reappearance in The Empire Strikes Back. I didn't, and still don't, understand why, if he could pop up and hangout like that, he didn't do it all the time. Would have been super-helpful.)</span></span></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">All entries in The Dictionary of Fictional Techniques are original to The Reading Ape, unless otherwise cited. (This means that they aren’t ‘real words,’ so don’t use them in your freshman comp essay)</span></i></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Previous entries in The Dictionary of Fictional Techniques:</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/03/dictionary-of-fictional-techniques.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Telechronance</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/01/dictionary-of-fictional-techniques.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Generalized Categorical</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/02/dictionary-of-fictional-techniques.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Paracatenation</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/07/dictionary-of-literary-techniques.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Dostoevsky Dash</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/08/dictionary-of-fictional-techniques.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Proxy Detailing</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/08/dictionary-of-fictional-techniques_25.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Side-loading</span></a></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Buy books mentioned in this post (or anything else, actually) using the below links, and The Reading Ape gets a small referral fee to defray our nominal operating costs.</span></i></div>
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</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-9775622219772260302011-10-28T12:52:00.001-04:002011-10-28T12:52:46.553-04:00My Biggest Book Nerd-Out<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Over at Book Riot, we're running a book blogger appreciation contest. For all you bloggers, just write about your biggest book nerd moment and you'll be entered. <a href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/25/book-nerd-out-giveaway-enter-to-win-a-100-gift-card/">Full details here</a>. I'm not eligible (naturally), but I wanted to participate. So here's my non-entry entry.</i></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A6Rc4tPrs9M/TqrdyKt7C_I/AAAAAAAAAw4/DT7SMCooB2M/s1600/borders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A6Rc4tPrs9M/TqrdyKt7C_I/AAAAAAAAAw4/DT7SMCooB2M/s200/borders.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">On Christmas eve, 1997, I camped out for Toni Morrison. It was the publication day of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><i>Paradise</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">, her first novel since winning the Nobel Prize in 1993, and the promised final installment in a trilogy beginning with </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><i>Beloved</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><i>Jazz</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">.</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">So it was a major release by a major writer, but it was also a rite of passage for me. About six weeks earlier, I had decided to change majors, from pre-med to English. For me this was more than a change in required courses or even career path, it was an acknowledgement of who I was and who I wanted to be.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I was a book person and wanted to spend my life in books. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">So I went down to my local Borders (now gone like all the rest), and waited for the doors to open at 7am. There was a crowd of holiday shoppers there, but as I zipped to the new hardcover section, no one followed; I was the only there for <i>Paradise</i>. For some reason, I thought there would be others. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I was disappointed. This was no opening weekend of a blockbuster movie or first day of the baseball season. It was just me. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">But then I looked around and saw the frantic, last-minute shopping around me. It wasn’t that these people weren’t interested in books; they were buying them by the armful. But they didn't care about them as I did, didn’t live for them as I did (and still do.) And that made me feel good about me. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I couldn’t start reading <i>Paradise</i> that day; the holiday hustle was in full swing. But the afternoon of Christmas day, familial cheer activities fully discharged, I took my gifts up to my room, piled them in the corner, and shut the door. Then, for the next nine hours, I read. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">And I haven’t stopped.</span></span></div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-26801390086661941042011-10-08T22:30:00.001-04:002011-10-08T22:30:37.387-04:00BOOK RIOT: Week 1<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
Well, Book Riot survived it's first week. For those of you who haven't checked it out yet, can I interest you in a run-down of what we wrote about last week?<br />
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Sometimes, you just need a <a data-mce-href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/07/book-fetish-volume-ii/" href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/07/book-fetish-volume-ii/" target="_blank" title="Book Fetish: Volume II">handbag made out of dictionaries</a>.<br />
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I like <a data-mce-href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/05/how-to-read-for-less-paperback-swap/" href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/05/how-to-read-for-less-paperback-swap/" target="_blank" title="How to Read for Less :: PaperBack Swap">cheap books</a> almost as much as I like <a data-mce-href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/05/the-cursed-dearth-of-literary-sports-novels/" href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/05/the-cursed-dearth-of-literary-sports-novels/" target="_blank" title="The Cursed Dearth of Literary Sports Novels">sports novels</a>.<br />
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I'm a lit snob, so I'm going to <a data-mce-href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/01/beyond-sparkly-vampires-ya-for-lit-snobs/" href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/01/beyond-sparkly-vampires-ya-for-lit-snobs/" target="_blank" title="Beyond Sparkly Vampires: YA For Lit Snobs">try these YA books</a>. Apparently, there's <a data-mce-href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/07/life-lessons-from-anne/" href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/07/life-lessons-from-anne/" target="_blank" title="Life Lessons from Anne">a lot you can learn</a> from that stuff.<br />
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Snooki wrote an embarrassingly bad novel (and has a deal for her next one), but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy <a data-mce-href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/01/drop-it-like-its-haute-the-jersey-shore-booktionary-volume-1/" href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/01/drop-it-like-its-haute-the-jersey-shore-booktionary-volume-1/" target="_blank" title="Drop It Like It’s Haute: The Jersey Shore Booktionary, volume 1">real books and the Jersey Shore </a>at the same time.<br />
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A lot of people <a data-mce-href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/06/books-we-like-uncollected-thoughts-on-facebook-and-reading/" href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/06/books-we-like-uncollected-thoughts-on-facebook-and-reading/" target="_blank" title="Books We “Like”: Uncollected Thoughts on Facebook and Reading">"like" books on Facebook</a>, but some people like books about <a data-mce-href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/03/genre-kryptonite-intrepid-girl-reporters/" href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/03/genre-kryptonite-intrepid-girl-reporters/" target="_blank" title="Genre Kryptonite: Intrepid Girl Reporters">plucky lady journos</a> better.<br />
A book can be <a data-mce-href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/04/tinker-tailor-soldier-tourist/" href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/04/tinker-tailor-soldier-tourist/" target="_blank" title="Tinker Tailor Soldier Tourist">an ideal travel companion</a>, that is unless <a data-mce-href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/03/dnfing-makes-me-feel-dirty/" href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/03/dnfing-makes-me-feel-dirty/" target="_blank" title="DNFing Makes Me Feel Dirty">you can't stand it and chuck it</a>.<br />
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People can't seem to leave perfectly good books alone. They are either <a data-mce-href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/06/soaping-up-the-classics/" href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/06/soaping-up-the-classics/" target="_blank" title="Soaping up the Classics">needlessly modernizing them</a> or<a data-mce-href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/07/glasgow-snuff-films-where-great-books-go-to-die/" href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/07/glasgow-snuff-films-where-great-books-go-to-die/" target="_blank" title="Glasgow Snuff Films: Where Great Books Go To Die">making terrible movies out of them</a>.<br />
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There are a lot of <a data-mce-href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/06/the-white-male-fck-up-novel-a-guest-post-by-john-warner/" href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/06/the-white-male-fck-up-novel-a-guest-post-by-john-warner/" target="_blank" title="The White Male F*ck-Up Novel: A Guest Post by John Warner">books about hapless white dudes out there</a>. Which is exactly how I would not <a data-mce-href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/03/reading-pathways-toni-morrison/" href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/03/reading-pathways-toni-morrison/" target="_blank" title="Reading Pathways: Toni Morrison">describe Toni Morrison</a>.<br />
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A lot of people <a data-mce-href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/01/betting-the-2011-nobel-prize-for-literature/" href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/01/betting-the-2011-nobel-prize-for-literature/" target="_blank" title="Betting the 2011 Nobel Prize for Literature">put money on who would win the Nobel Prize</a>. Though the announcement day favorite didn't win, there's a good <a data-mce-href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/05/why-bob-dylan-will-win-the-nobel-prize/" href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/05/why-bob-dylan-will-win-the-nobel-prize/" target="_blank" title="Why Bob Dylan Will Win the Nobel Prize">case to be made that Bob Dylan should have</a>.<br />
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And if you want to share any of these posts, you can retweet them <a data-mce-href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/03/feel-free-to-retweet-this-post/" href="http://bookriot.com/2011/10/03/feel-free-to-retweet-this-post/" target="_blank" title="Feel free to "retweet" this post…">without fear of reprisal from the language police.</a><br />
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Thanks to all of you that have taken a look; as for the rest, give us a shot, won't you?<br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-31322235422552371472011-10-03T07:45:00.000-04:002011-10-03T07:45:01.188-04:00Announcing My New Blog Project: Book Riot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.bookriot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WcC2edKKHDo/ToOGgq3ZaVI/AAAAAAAAAqo/OxXuWzPgWUA/s400/In-Line2web.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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You may have noticed that things have slowed down here at The Ape of late. And there's a reason for that: for the past few months I've been hard at work on a new blog project that is launching today: <a href="http://www.bookriot.com/"><i>Book Riot</i></a>.<br />
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Some of you may have seen mention of it floating around (especially on Twitter), but let me tell you a little about it. Book Riot is <span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">a book news and commentary site that slots somewhere between your higher quality book blog and a mass market site like <i>The Huffington Post</i> (but, you know, good). The goal is to write about books in the accessible, entertaining way that bloggers do but with the goal of breaking through the blogosphere bubble by being a little more professional and a little more consistent. Our target audience is someone who likes to read, but wouldn’t read an individual book blog (probably there is someone in your life who does like to read, but isn’t a nut about it like us). </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">As for my role, well, I'm co-founder (along with my friend and business partner Clint) and will be serving as Editor-in-Chief. In short, I'll be doing a bunch of writing (considerably more than I ever did here), recruiting writers and bloggers (more on this below), and working with our writers to do entertaining, educational, and otherwise engaging writing about books and reading. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">So far, we have a stable of thirteen writers, many of whom are bloggers that I've met through doing this humble little blog (Rachel from <a href="http://homebetweenpages.com/">A Home Between Pages</a>, Greg from <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenewdorkreviewofbooks.com%2F&ei=5YaDTrnjAYnb0QGUub2oAQ&usg=AFQjCNELRh6av43wKf9JsV-tC54gzhHPvg">The New Dork Review of Books</a>, Amanda from <a href="http://deadwhiteguyslit.blogspot.com/">Dead White Guys</a> are all writing and all have been regular commenters here).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In the coming weeks, we are going to be looking for more contributors and I hope some of you will consider joining us. I'll post more about that when we are ready for more, but one of <a href="http://www.bookriot.com/"><i>Book Riot</i></a>'s goals is to bring the best of what book bloggers do to a wider audience. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The Reading Ape will still be around, though likely in his current leisurely pace. I do hope you will check out <i>Book Riot</i>---if we do it right, I think it'll become a regular stop on your internet route. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Thanks so much for reading here; my experience writing The Ape led directly to this new venture, and I hope you'll come along as well.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Many thanks,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Jeff O'Neal</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-15667599343918933142011-09-30T09:40:00.000-04:002011-09-30T09:40:01.751-04:00My Guest Spot on BookrageousQuick note to let you all know that The Ape made a special guest appearance on the <a href="http://bookrageous.tumblr.com/post/10804354134/the-bookrageous-podcast-bookrageous-episode-26">Bookrageous podcast</a> this week. <a href="http://bookrageous.tumblr.com/post/10804354134/the-bookrageous-podcast-bookrageous-episode-26">Check it out here</a>.<div>
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For the incurably bookish, this is a bi-weekly must listen. Basically, the three regular hosts, <a href="http://jennirl.com/">Jenn</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbrewsandbooks.com%2F&ei=Z8aFTt_ANLDH0AGMv-XTDw&usg=AFQjCNGOnTCsvjQSjHJ3QacOhfPZMuCNQg">Josh</a>, and <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CCYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthebookladysblog.com%2F&ei=fMaFTvf2B-m80AGj4tz3Dw&usg=AFQjCNEHvB9dgT4Hv6TPVdz_UEQH22Vsag">Rebecca</a> talk about what they're reading in the first section and then take on a broader topic in the second session.</div>
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I talked about John Warner's <i>The Funny Man</i>, Lily Tuck's <i>I Married You For Happiness</i>, Stanley Fish's <i>How to Write a Sentence</i>, and Walter Ong's <i>Orality and Literacy</i>. I also spontaneously invented the "wonk-o-meter."</div>
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The second section of the show was about Banned Books Week, and in vintage Bookrageous fashion, a potentially plodding topic turned out to be damn near spritely.</div>
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I had a great time. Even if you don't listen to my sonorous baritone (heh) in this episode, you should give this podcast space on your precious iOS device.</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-38359182938795455532011-09-22T15:57:00.002-04:002011-09-22T15:57:46.137-04:00The Dictionary of Fictional Techniques: The Discrete Appositive<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>The Dictionary of Fictional Techniques</b> is a running feature here at the Ape in which I observe, name, and discuss heretofore uncategorized (at least to my knowledge) literary devices. For a list of previous entries, please scroll to the bottom of this post.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>____________________________</i></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802119913/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thereaape-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0802119913" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jyAE2eNmiuI/ThMzhkMcaGI/AAAAAAAAAZM/xITSdcn9y0o/s1600/I+married+you+for+happiness.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>The Discrete Appositive</b>:<br />
An appositive that exists as a sentence fragment immediately after its antecedent noun<br />
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<b>Example</b>:<br />
"Fair-haired, solidly built and not tall--not taller than Nina--his eyes are light blue, like a dog's. A husky."<br />
-<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802119913/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thereaape-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0802119913">I Married You For Happiness</a></i> by Lily Tuck<br />
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<b>Discussion</b>:<br />
The discrete appositive here is "a husky." I'm interested in how authors represent thought (especially in close third-person narration). Here Tuck uses this little device to mimic a slight cognitive pause. The result is that we can feel the character thinking, trying to remember the particular canine eyes.<br />
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<i>All entries in The Dictionary of Fictional Techniques are original to The Reading Ape, unless otherwise cited. (This means that they aren’t ‘real words,’ so don’t use them in your freshman comp essay)</i></div>
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<b>Previous entries in The Dictionary of Fictional Techniques:</b></div>
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<a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/03/dictionary-of-fictional-techniques.html">Telechronance</a></div>
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<a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/01/dictionary-of-fictional-techniques.html">The Generalized Categorical</a></div>
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<a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/02/dictionary-of-fictional-techniques.html">Paracatenation</a></div>
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<a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/07/dictionary-of-literary-techniques.html">The Dostoevsky Dash</a></div>
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<a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/08/dictionary-of-fictional-techniques.html">Proxy Detailing</a><br />
<a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/08/dictionary-of-fictional-techniques_25.html">Side-loading</a></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Buy books mentioned in this post (or anything else, actually) using the below links, and The Reading Ape gets a small referral fee to defray our nominal operating costs.</span></i></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2F%3Fie%3DUTF8%26ref_%3Dgno_logo%23&tag=thereaape-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957"><b>Amazon</b></a> | <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%27http://www.powells.com/partner/34972/?p_hp_tx%27%20title=%27%27%20rel=%27powells%27%3E%3C/a%3E"><b>Powell's Books</b></a> | <b><a href="http://www.indiebound.org/?aff=ReadingApe">Shop Independent Bookstores</a></b></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-73286369304599462062011-09-14T08:13:00.002-04:002011-09-14T08:13:42.330-04:00"Please, for the love of books, learn from us."Today, I'm guest posting for Book Blogger Appreciation week with a piece called <a href="http://goo.gl/ErjP4">"What Professional Critics Can Learn from Book Bloggers."</a> Check it out.
Cheers,
-TRA<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-89024247755235186372011-09-09T10:30:00.002-04:002011-09-09T10:30:33.021-04:00Friday Forum: Lovably Bad Books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/030788743X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thereaape-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=030788743X" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V48lTbIzu6o/Tmoivep4WGI/AAAAAAAAApM/RIUICn8kiP8/s1600/ready+player+one+cover.jpeg" /></a></div>
Last week, I tore through Ernest Cline's futurist 1980s nostalgia romp, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/030788743X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thereaape-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=030788743X">Ready Player One</a></i>. I knew from the first page that a) it wasn't a great book and b) that I was going to absolutely love it.<br />
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The experienced reader/critic part of my brain saw the flaws: wooden dialogue, unbelievable coincidence, narrative cliche, and a variety of other narrative black-eyes.<br />
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But then another part of my brain took over: the remnant of my adolescent, Mario Brothers-playing, Darth Vader-loving, coin-op obsessing, X-Men reading, Middle Earth-daydreaming self took over. My hard-won critical eye was completely helpless.<br />
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And this has happened before (Harry Potter and the early Tom Clancy novels come to mind): for some reason, certain kinds of novels have the ability to short-circuit the taste and discernment I have been cultivating for the last couple of decades. And it feel sooooooo good.<br />
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Has this ever happened to you? With what books? And what was it that caught you?
__________________
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=httpFriday444444www.amazon.com444444ie?UTF8?ef_?gno_logo&tag=thereaape-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957"><b>Amazon</b></a> | <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/?a?ref=?ttp://www.powells.com/partner/34972/?p_hp_tx?itle=?el=AMowells??/a?"><b>Powell's Books</b></a> | <b><a href="http://www.indiebound.org/?aff=ReadingApe">Shop Independent Bookstores</a></b></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-72828368108943043572011-08-25T20:48:00.002-04:002011-08-25T20:48:53.062-04:00The Dictionary of Fictional Techniques: Sideloading<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>The Dictionary of Fictional Techniques</b> is a running feature here at the Ape in which I observe, name, and discuss heretofore uncategorized (at least to my knowledge) literary devices. For a list of previous entries, please scroll to the bottom of this post.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>____________________________</i></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385343833/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thereaape-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0385343833" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zp8_xr3S3BQ/Tho-hWxAsoI/AAAAAAAAAic/T7xJLq9mKkY/s1600/the+tiger%2527s+wife.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>Sideloading</b>:<br />
Relaying crucial plot information indirectly.<br />
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<b>Example</b>:<br />
"I was furious with her for not having told me that my grandfather had left home. He had told her and my mother that he was worried about my goodwill mission, about the inoculations at the Brejevina orphanage, and that he was coming down to help."<br />
-from <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385343833/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thereaape-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0385343833">The Tiger's Wife</a></i> by Téa Obreht<br />
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<b>Discussion</b>:<br />
This one's a little tricky to see in a brief quotation because really it is about the lack of information that precedes it. To this point, we know nothing of the protagonist's location or activity. This passage is ostensibly about her quarrel with her grandmother, but the most important readerly information is embedded in a list.<br />
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I can't chart a historical line, but it seems that this kind of exposition is relatively modern. My sense is that it born of two trends in contemporary fiction: the elliptical, elusive opening and the evergreen exhortation to "show" rather than "tell." To serve both of these directives often means that it can take quite a while for a reader to have any sense of the salient narrative details until the novel or short story is well underway (here, we are ten pages in before being told where the protagonist is and what she is doing there).<br />
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Side-loading isn't then an intentional technique exactly, but the by-product of other writing decisions. And while it is not the most elegant way of providing necessary exposition, it allows for deferred information to be conveyed with seeming heavy-handed. I wouldn't be surprised, however, if many readers miss needed plot information because of its intentional understatement.<br />
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<i>All entries in The Dictionary of Fictional Techniques are original to The Reading Ape, unless otherwise cited. (This means that they aren’t ‘real words,’ so don’t use them in your freshman comp essay)</i></div>
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<b>Previous entries in The Dictionary of Fictional Techniques:</b></div>
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<a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/03/dictionary-of-fictional-techniques.html">Telechronance</a></div>
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<a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/01/dictionary-of-fictional-techniques.html">The Generalized Categorical</a></div>
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<a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/02/dictionary-of-fictional-techniques.html">Paracatenation</a></div>
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<a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/07/dictionary-of-literary-techniques.html">The Dostoevsky Dash</a></div>
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<a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/08/dictionary-of-fictional-techniques.html">Proxy Detailing</a></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Buy books mentioned in this post (or anything else, actually) using the below links, and The Reading Ape gets a small referral fee to defray our nominal operating costs.</span></i></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-66140394603251234152011-08-12T10:16:00.002-04:002011-08-12T10:16:43.238-04:00Friday Forum: Advertising, Attention, and Book BlogsThis week's forum topic was inspired by a couple of recent comments here at The Ape about advertising, attention, and literary writing.<br />
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First, <a href="http://i%20urge%20you%20in%20the%20strongest%20possible%20terms%20to%20eliminiate%20advertising%20from%20your%20very%20fine%20blog.%20it%27s%20unnecessary%2C%20unless%20you%27re%20living%20paycheck%20to%20paycheck%2C%20and%20they%20distract%20from%20your%20content./">Kevin</a>, a longtime reader of this site and dedicated literary blogger in his own right, politely requested that I take advertising off The Reading Ape:<br />
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<i>I urge you in the strongest possible terms to eliminiate advertising from your very fine blog. It's unnecessary, unless you're living paycheck to paycheck, and they distract from your content.</i></blockquote>
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Second, in a comment to my <a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/08/reviewing-book-review.html">post on the future of book reviewing</a>, Tom Lutz expressed some discomfort in relying on advertising to support arts journalism:<br />
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<i>I continue to believe that people should get paid for their intellectual labor, and I am particularly interested in paying people who aren't otherwise "economically viable" -- that is people who are saying things that won't immediately help someone sell fast food, and therefore won't immediately attract commercial funding.</i></blockquote>
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I'm not sure that I can link these two comments directly, but I think they both spring from a deep distrust of advertising. Kevin (and he can correct me if I am misreading him) suggests that advertising somehow damages the experience of the content and that unless I am in uttermost need, I should forgo whatever income advertising generates.<br />
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Lutz's concern is about cause and effect; if advertising is your only means of support, then you are at the mercy of advertisers' (sometimes unsavory) desires. Actually, this is where the two comments connect: both are worried about advertising compromising content, at both the level of creation and that of consumption.<br />
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Rather than write my own response, I will let the fact that I have advertising on this site (and am more than comfortable with it) speak for me.<br />
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My questions to you:<br />
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<b>What do you think about advertising on book blogs? What are the potential problems? Do you think the increasing amount of ads on book blogs is a positive or negative?</b><br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-17185085783881701622011-08-10T16:19:00.002-04:002011-08-11T16:18:01.388-04:00Reviewing the Book ReviewIt hasn't been a good summer for mainstream book reviewing. First, the <i>LA Times</i> cut back its book coverage. Then, <i>The Washington Post</i> consolidated its arts coverage by splitting up its book coverage and moving the remaining pieces to other section, including moving the fiction coverage to "Style."<br />
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For book lovers, these are not welcome moves.<br />
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Tom Lutz, editor-in-chief of the inchoate <i>LA Review of Books</i>, took the occasion of the <i>LA Times</i> reduction to <a href="http://lareviewofbooks.org/post/8551066881/future-tense">write about the goals of the new publication</a> (and to announce that they had brought onboard two columnists recently <i>The Times</i> recently laid off). In short the <i>LA Review of Books</i> aims to maintain a space for the kind of serious book reviewing that has been in decline over the last couple of decades.<br />
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This, I think, is an admirable goal, and I would certainly like the site to succeed. Still, two questions remain unanswered it Lutz's essay.<br />
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<b>1. Why will the <i>LA Review of Books</i> succeed where mainstream reviewing has failed?</b><br />
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<b>2. Will the writing and reviewing in the <i>LA Review of Books</i> mirror mainstream reviewing or will it do something else?</b><br />
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While the first of the questions is about money and the second about content, they are deeply linked. The unknown here is the market for literary journalism.<br />
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The <i>LA Review of Books</i>, Lutz says, will employ a hybrid model to generate revenue, which will include advertising, merchandise, subscriptions, affiliate incomes, fundraising, and grants. This already is acknowledgment that, as a commercial enterprise, literary journalism is untenable; you do not need grant money and non-profit money if there are buyers for your product.<br />
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That is, unless your product is really different than what has already failed. From what I can tell, the style of the first 100 posts in the LA Review of Books does feel considerably more modern than, say, coverage in the NY Times. The topics are more diverse, the writing more personal and freeform, and the general spirit more experimental. Unfortunately, I doubt that it is any more viable as a commercial product.<br />
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What I think Lutz doesn't really see (and that Edward Champion pointed out in his response to Lutz's essay) is the problem is not that there isn't cultural space for book reviewing and journalism, it's that it is happening everywhere---from book blogs, to Amazon, to GoodReads, to #fridayreads.<br />
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One of the reasons that book reviewing had a home in newspapers in the early 20th Century is that there was no where else to turn. Now, reviewing is everywhere.<br />
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My sense is that the kind of writing that the <i>LA Review of Books</i> wants to preserve needs preservation for a reason--it is no longer able to survive in the main of American cultural life. And that's not saying it isn't valuable, only that it needs propping up by extra-commercial forces for it to survive.<br />
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What I would like to see, and I readily admit that I don't know what this would look like, is writing about books that engages with readers to the point that those readers (and the advertising dollars their attention brings) can support it directly (one possible example is <a href="http://the%20truth%20about%20the%20civil%20rights%20era%20by%20martha%20southgate%20%7C%20ew.com/">Martha Southgate's essay</a> about <i>The Help</i> in <i>Entertainment Weekly</i>). This would not only mean a future for professional literary journalists, but also that what they write can be culturally current and accessible.<br />
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The long and short of it is that people still read. What they want to read about what they read is still very much a mystery and the crux of the problem for contemporary book reviewing.<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-66472809654843212422011-08-08T11:17:00.000-04:002011-08-08T11:17:06.199-04:00Two Additions to Notable Release CalendarA little while ago, I <a href="http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/2011/07/calendar-of-notable-book-releases.html">created a shareable calendar</a> for The Millions' list of notable forthcoming releases and a modified version of it with a few personal additions.<br />
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Today, I'm adding a couple of new titles to the list: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547576722/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thereaape-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0547576722"><i>We the Animals</i></a> by Justin Torres and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1565126297/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thereaape-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1565126297"><i>When She Woke</i></a> by Hillary Jordan.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547576722/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thereaape-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0547576722" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_7myWC6hBd4/Tj_8zEF71HI/AAAAAAAAAmc/Cv6oPu_x_9I/s200/41Oweil5vyL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" width="122" /></a></div>
Significant Twitter chatter spurred me to find out a little about <i>We The Animals</i>. After a little follow-up, this debut novel about a working-class, mixed race family not only sounds compelling from the synopsis, but glowing blurbs from Marilynne Robinson, Paul Harding, Dorothy Allison, Michael Cunningham and others raised my eyebrow. There are a few authors who can get me to read a book by blurbing it and Marilynne Robinson is one of them. The last book I read on the strength of blurb from her was Paul Harding's <i>Tinker</i>, which went on the win the Pulitzer Prize.<br />
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I don't remember where I first heard about <i>When She Woke</i>, but a dystopic retelling of <i>The Scarlet Letter</i> warrants at least a sample download. Haven't heard much early buzz, but I will give this a wide berth to be interesting.<br />
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If you have other books you are looking forward to that are not on the calendar already, I'd like to hear about them. Can't have too many in the dugout is what I say.<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-43447569609178957742011-08-05T14:38:00.000-04:002011-08-05T14:38:23.532-04:00Friday Forum: The Reader-Centered ReviewThe most interesting blog post I read this week was<a href="http://www.thenewdorkreviewofbooks.com/2011/08/bloggernovelist-relationship-with-alex.html"> Greg's interview with an author he reviewed</a> at The New Dork Review of Books. The author responded not because Greg wrote a negative one, but because he wrote that the book was mediocre. (Is there a book out there about mediocrity? I would read this. I am not sure I am happy with what this says about me).<br />
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The interview touched on what a fair review is, what an author wants from a review, and the delicate balance between being honest and being respectful. It's a good read for book bloggers, reviewers, authors, and really anyone that's interested in reviews of any kind.<br />
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What struck me as being left out of the conversation is audience. Reviews aren't primarily for the author nor are they primarily for the reviewer; they are for potential readers. One thing the author Greg interviewed couldn't see from the perspective of a guy with a book to sell is that calling a book mediocre is a great service to readers, who have to martial their time, money, and attention.<br />
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I have to admit I often forget that most people who read my reviews haven't, nor probably will they ever, read the books I am writing about. This frames the task quite a bit differently than how I normally approach it, which is to babble incoherently about stuff I noticed. The first and perhaps most important realization is that virtually everyone who reads my review is not me. This might seems obvious, but for many reviewers, your humble ape included, the expression of personal reaction is foremost in our their minds.<br />
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This led me to the idea of the "reader-centered" review, a review that exists primarily to serve readers. It seems to me that this way of thinking affect many aspects of writing a review, but my theorization here is still in a larval state.<br />
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So I put it to you: what do you thinking of this idea of "reader-centered" reviewing? Does it seems interesting? What about a review serves a reader? What kinds of reviews do not serve the reader?<br />
__________________<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thereaape-20&o=1&p=26&l=ur1&category=books&banner=0RCQ1NEMQDJP2TWJBJG2&f=ifr" width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border:none;" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>the Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-29006495237653877122011-08-04T17:27:00.001-04:002011-08-05T15:03:10.648-04:00Review: THE CURFEW by Jesse Ball<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307739856/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thereaape-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0307739856" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zDTiXkv85tY/Tho_McMp14I/AAAAAAAAAi8/c6ogEL_O4sc/s400/the+curfew.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
I’ve read some quite beautiful prose this year (Patchett and Obreht come to mind), but I’ve read only one truly great novel—and that is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307739856/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thereaape-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0307739856"><i>The Curfew</i></a> by Jesse Ball.<br />
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One of the difficult things about writing a rave is that it sometimes devolves into writing a list of adjectives about certain elements of the novel; with a pan, it is easier to be both specific and entertaining. The passionate reviewer/recommender will, in their efforts to blow the trumpet as loudly as they can, sometimes focus on decibel and not on articulation. I think there is a good reason for this: in our age of ubiquitous recommendation, volume is the only means of getting attention.And there is plenty of reason to wield hyperbole when writing about <i>The Curfew</i>.<br />
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My temptation is to stop at a pat, blurbable hybridization along the lines of “<i>The Curfew</i> is like a combination of Kafka and Calvino, drawing on the former’s dread but tempering it with the latter’s fancy.” And I believe that, to an extent, but it falls prey to over-praise trap. What have I really even just said about it? To say that it is a cross between Calvino and Kafka is really to say it is like neither, since it’s difficult to imagine Calvino writing the futility of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805209999/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thereaape-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0805209999">The Trial</a></i> or Kafka to let his imagination rip as Calvino does in <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0156453800/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thereaape-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0156453800">Invisible Cities</a></i>.<br />
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Here is where I can start to say something about what I am trying to say: the great achievement of <i>The Curfew</i> is that it is both weighty and fanciful. And not only that, but the issue of “heavy lightness” or “light heaviness” (it’s not clear to me which formulation is more accurate) is itself a subject in the novel. So here’s one thing I can say: one of the pleasures of reading The Curfew is that it takes on an idea even as it uses that idea to take it on.<br />
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Some examples. The protagonist of <i>The Curfew</i> is William Drysdale, a widowed “epigraphist” raising his daughter in police state. His signal professional virtue is being able to write, in the space of a headstone, a few perfect words for the families of the recently deceased. This task lies at the cross-roads of two paradoxical needs: the permanence of writing about someone’s life in stone and the ethereal, virtually inexpressible feelings that those left behind had about that person’s life. William’s ability to synthesize those forces in the space of a half-dozen or so words becomes an allegory for the artist’s mission, which is to take the whirling mess of human life and transcribe it, through language, music, paint, or dance, into a fixed, observable, and enduring work. That this happens in Williams’s job over dead bodies is not inconsequential either and evokes Kafka’s essential insight about the life’s frustration and futility.<br />
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But even to be the world best eulogist is pretty thin gruel on which to live, and Ball knows better than to leave us here. The other half of William’s life revolves around his daughter, who is precocious, precious, and deaf. In the midst of an oppressive, faceless regime that has outlawed music and the arts, father and daughter construct a world of surprise, devising puzzles, treasure hunts, and games that re-enchant their otherwise terrifyingly real world.<br />
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William’s epitaphs and his fabulations with his daughter mask the loss at the heart of <i>The Curfew</i>: the government’s abduction and presumed execution of his wife. Eventually, though, the mask is insufficient, and he steps outside of his carefully sheltered domestic life to find out exactly what happened to her. While he is away, he entrusts his daughter to neighbors, an old puppeteer and his wife. Through the following night, the puppeteer and the daughter construct an impossibly elaborate re-telling of her parents’ childhood, education, courtship, and eventual separation. Imbued by art with the weight of emotion, the puppets, beings of virtual weightlessness, give a performance that challenges the real world’s monopoly on meaning.<br />
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One definition of elegance is to do difficult things with apparent ease. Elegance is essentially ironical; it is the appearance of one quality when we know the other quality to be the case. To be both comedic and tragic is elegant. To write a slight novel that shoves out the rest of the year’s novels is elegant. To make us feel both the joy and pain of life is elegant. To make us believe that something is real when we know it to be a fabrication is elegant. And, in the case of <i>The Curfew</i>, to have elegance of art as a subject and still achieve elegance, is to surpass elegance and have a brush with timelessness. <br />
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__________________<br />
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