Your friendly neighbourhood e-bookstore

There's an article here about the impact of e-books on author royalties. It bothers me a little that the article focuses mainly on 'literary fiction', but let's set that aside for a moment. The following sentences caught my attention:

Unlike traditional bookstores, where a browsing customer might discover an unknown book set out on a table, e-bookstores generally aren't set up to allow readers to discover unknown authors, agents say. Brand-name authors with big marketing budgets behind them are having the greatest success thus far in the digital marketplace.

Actually, not all 'traditional' bookstores are 'set up to allow readers to discover unknown authors. The bookstores set up for this are usually small (local) independent bookstores. E-bookstores aren't local, and at this early stage most aren't independent. E-books are mostly sold via the websites of well-known, established bookstores. I'd like to see an online equivalent of a local independent bookstore; an e-bookstore which displays little-known titles and has a unique layout. Has anyone seen one? I'd like to hear about it if you have.

Call me optimistic, but I think that in time the book industry will grow into this new phase and we'll see the emergence of such stores online.

Sketches from an incredible imagination

It's no secret that I think Shaun Tan is one of the finest illustrators alive today. Just this week I finally received my copy of his latest release- The Bird King and Other Sketches. It full of gorgeous urban fantasy sketches. It's not yet available for purchase online. Here's an idea- support your local independent bookstore and order it in!

Now I'm counting down the weeks until the end of November- that's when my copy of the AWESOMELY DELUXE BOX OF THE ARRIVAL GOODNESS arrives. It comes with a limited edition print and a 'making of' sketchbook. Check out the details here. Probably a good one to pre-order. Again, support your local independent!

Um... squee?

Allow me to indulge my feminist and geek sensibilities all at once for a moment. Being proud of my geekdom, I am of course familiar with the term 'fanboy'. For those who aren't, here are a couple of definitions:

Wikipedia- Fanboy is a term used to describe a male who is highly devoted and biased in opinion towards a single subject or hobby within a given field. Fanboy-ism is often prevalent in a field of products, brands or universe of characters where very few competitors (or enemies in fiction, such as comics) exist.

 The Urban Dictionary- Fanboy: A passionate fan of various elements of geek culture (e.g. sci-fi, comics, Star Wars, video games, anime, hobbits, Magic: the Gathering, etc.), but who lets his passion override social graces.

I was thinking about the term 'fanboy' the other day, and began to wonder if there was a 'girl' version of the term. Lo and behold, there is. I can't help noticing, however, that the definitions of 'fanboy' and 'fangirl' seem a little uneven. Note, from the very same sources:

Wikipedia- The term fangirl can be used to describe a female member of a fandom community (counterpart to the masculine "fanboy"). Fangirls may be more devoted to emotional and romantic aspects of their fandom, especially (relation-)shipping. However, it is commonly used in a derogatory sense to describe a girl's obsession with something, most commonly a male teen idol or an aspect of Japanese pop culture. Fangirl behavior can vary in intensity. On one end of the scale are those that, while harboring a crush on a particular actor or character, are perfectly capable of understanding that the fulfilment of the crush is never going to happen. On the other end are the girls who are said to be obsessive in their claims on a fictional character, even fighting with other fangirls over who 'owns' the character in question.

The Urban Dictionary- Fangirl: A rabid breed of human female who is obesessed with either a fictional character or an actor.

Uh... rabid? Excuse me, give me my term back! I'm a girl, and I'm a fan of lots of things.

I hereby declare myself a non-rabid, non-hormone-driven, passionate, geeky fangirl of the following:

• Neil Gaiman (including, but not limited to, the Sandman comics)
• The Princess Bride (yeah, that's me in the t-shirt)
• The Obernewtyn Chronicles
• The Lord of the Rings films
• Robin Hobb's fantasy worlds
• Narnia

Don't you dare diss my fangirldom.

Author/Fan

I had an idea back here about the rebirth of the author: I think authors are taking a new place within their fan communities and no longer stand as authoritative figures over them. Thanks to the internet, of course. If you follow your favourite writer online, tell me you haven't noticed that the author/fan boundary seems to be getting blurred.

Author Lynn Flewelling has a book coming out soon inspired by fan artwork. This, I think, is collaboration at its best. There's a blog on the topic here.

I was discussing a related concept with my thesis supervisor last week: sometimes, it seems, the fanbase has more say in 'what goes' in a fictional world than the actual writer does (think Star Trek). This seems to happen most with extraordinarily geeky fanbases. (Actually, on a sidenote, cult TV shows are beginning to cash in on this, enlisting famous author-fans to write episodes, such as Neil Gaiman's upcoming Dr Who episode.) The fanbase's authority does depend, however, on whether the fans worship the story or the writer. Joss Whedon, I think, is an example of the latter. Incidentally, a transcript of his keynote session at the Melbourne Writer's Festival is available here.

Abandoned books

Shelfari tells me I've read 32 books this year, and that I'm currently reading another 7. This is exactly the kind of thing I use Shelfari for. There are lots of book-related social networking sites. Too many, in fact, because there isn't yet a standard- the site that 'everyone' uses. (Monopolies aren't nice, but for social networking they're kind of necessary. Who wants to use a social networking site unless their friends are using it too?) I joined Shelfari for two reasons: it's an easy way to keep track of what I've read and am reading, and it allows me to put a lovely bookshelf on my blog.

The fact that I've read 32 books this year is good. I have a vague goal this year to read an average of a book a week, so 32 means I'm on track. (I'm slightly behind if you count the number of weeks exactly, but don't forget I have a thesis due at the end of October and will have lots of time for reading in November and December!)

The fact that I'm 'currently reading' 7 books is not so good. I've never been the kind of reader who worries about abandoning a book halfway through. If it's not interesting enough to keep me reading, then I'm quite happy to move on to something else and forget I ever started it. What's concerning is that these 7 books don't fit that description. They're all good books, and I intended to finish them.

Here they are:

• Magician by Raymond Feist- I. will. read. this. I've been meaning to get round to it for years. I've only just started, so there's hope yet.
• Would You Eat Your Cat by Jeremy Stangroom- a great intro to philosophy ethics. This one I'm reading section by section.
• 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction by Rebecca Goldstein- an engaging novel involving the world of academia I hope to get myself into. It just doesn't have the "What happens next??" factor.
• The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud- I loved the first book in the series, The Amulet of Samarkand, but I should have taken the hint when it took me over a year to get onto the second book. I'm just not interested enough.
• Politically Correct Bedtime Stories by James Finn Garner- I adore this book! Why on Earth haven't I finished it!?
• Do Travel Writers Go To Hell? by Thomas B. Khonstamm- the premise of the book is engaging, but the prose is about as sparkling as you might expect from a travel writer (i.e. not at all), so I may give up on this one.
• The History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell- This book is brilliant! I will get on to 20th Century philosophy one day, I swear!

So, the boiled-down analysis of what makes me stop reading a book? Either it's divided into sections, in which case I've read whole sections and simply failed to read others, or the plot simply hasn't captured enough interest. I just don't feel the need to discover what is on the next page.

On writing a thesis

At the risk of sounding like an (albeit extremely intermittent) broken record, I still don’t have internet. It is on its way though, so for blogging purposes, I’M BACK.

I’ll be honest with you. I haven’t read much in the last few months. A copy of Raymond Feist’s Magician has moved about in my home (bedside table, coffee table, desk) for the past two months, trying desperately to get my attention, and so far I’ve only read ten pages or so. I have read enough to appreciate Feist’s language and to know I’ll enjoy the book once I finally find the time to read it.

The reason I haven’t been reading is that I’ve been busy writing a minor thesis. The topic is truth in fiction. Which is not as grandiose as it sounds. The question is this: how do we know what is true within the world of a story? I’ve been focusing on two wonderful texts- William Goldman’s The Princess Bride and Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber.

I wrote about The Princess Bride here. I once promised to tell you about The Bloody Chamber, so I suppose it’s time to make good on that promise. The Bloody Chamber is a collection of short stories, most of which are re-imaginings of fairytales. Reading it takes a bit of effort. The language is incredibly rich- you won’t find any light-hearted entertainment here. What you will find instead: gothic themes, breathtaking imagery, magic, strong women, violence, sex, otherworldliness. Every story has a different pace and tone. It’s a beautiful book, and Carter’s storytelling is masterful.

Writing the thesis has been a lot of work, but I can’t help feeling I’m incredibly lucky. I get to write about the nature of fiction and Inigo Montoya and fairytales full-time. I love it, I truly do. This is how it came about: roughly a year ago, I walked into the office of an academic at my university and ventured my ideas for an Honours thesis. She asked if I had any texts in mind and I cautiously- very cautiously- said: “Well, I’m thinking I’d like to use The Princess Bride.” She actually took me seriously, and here I am.

This week, the same academic wrote on her blog:

‘I love working with fairy tales. So even on days when I'm tired and grouchy because I've been ploughing through marking and paperwork, there is a little voice in the back of my head, saying over and over again: "You have a career where you spend your time thinking about cats in boots, glass slippers, magic blue boxes, prince charming and falling stars."’

Those outside academia rarely think of academics as people who live and breathe their passion, who do what they do because they love it. Yet these are the traits I observe in the academics I see every day. And these are exactly the reasons I’ve decided to continue with philosophy. I adore it so much I couldn’t possibly give it up.

So, in summary, I’m sorry I don’t have any book reviews for you, I’ve been too busy revelling in my full-time occupation.

There really is joy in pursuing what one loves.