Peg Herring's Blog, page 50
March 3, 2010
All You Book Hoarders Out There
I know who you are. Your TBR pile extends to TBR rooms. You know you've got a certain book, but it may take you a day or two to lay your hands on it. You periodically find that you already had a copy of a book you just bought, but you don't mind. It's always good to have a spare in case the gremlins steal one of them.
Some people love books that much. I love them, too, but in a much different way. As soon as I finish a book, I give it away. I love sharing reading with others, and I don't mind a bit if they pass it on to someone else when they're finished.
Despite my ravenous reading habits, therefore, my home is not filled with books. My head? Now, that's a different story!
Some people love books that much. I love them, too, but in a much different way. As soon as I finish a book, I give it away. I love sharing reading with others, and I don't mind a bit if they pass it on to someone else when they're finished.
Despite my ravenous reading habits, therefore, my home is not filled with books. My head? Now, that's a different story!
March 2, 2010
Writing Real People
It's an ongoing controversy: Is it good/fair/popular/ to include real people in a novel? Those who know my work have no doubt of my opinion. Not only do I think it's good and fair, I love it.
As a fan of history, I have long believed that the novel is a great way to learn it. Not that the reader should accept everything in a novel as truth, but then, we can't accept everything in a nonfiction book as truth, either. It's a matter of the writer's motivation. The past is gone, and we cannot recapture it. What we do as novelists is attempt to recreate the feel of what it might have been like.
In order to make the past feel real, I like to include people who actually lived: Elizabeth Tudor, Macbeth, even Butch Cassidy. I read what is known about them, get a sense of the type of people they were, and then put them into a situation that, while not real, allows the reader to see them in action.
It's a popular trend in writing. I try to be fair. And I work really hard to make it good. If you ask for more than that as a reader, maybe you should stick with the encyclopedia.
As a fan of history, I have long believed that the novel is a great way to learn it. Not that the reader should accept everything in a novel as truth, but then, we can't accept everything in a nonfiction book as truth, either. It's a matter of the writer's motivation. The past is gone, and we cannot recapture it. What we do as novelists is attempt to recreate the feel of what it might have been like.
In order to make the past feel real, I like to include people who actually lived: Elizabeth Tudor, Macbeth, even Butch Cassidy. I read what is known about them, get a sense of the type of people they were, and then put them into a situation that, while not real, allows the reader to see them in action.
It's a popular trend in writing. I try to be fair. And I work really hard to make it good. If you ask for more than that as a reader, maybe you should stick with the encyclopedia.
March 1, 2010
Do We Need an E-book Review Site?
E-books are growing in popularity; we all know that. Romances have led the way (as usual), but mysteries are starting to pop up.
I'm finding there aren't many sites for readers of mystery e-books to find out what's out there. My publisher for GO HOME AND DIE, Red Rose Publishing, has just a few mystery listings, and very few reviewers seem to be offering opinions on e-books in this genre.
Wouldn't it be nice, as a reader, to have a list of recommended titles? And it WOULD be nice, as a writer, to have a place to send my work for review and maybe a little publicity.
I'm finding there aren't many sites for readers of mystery e-books to find out what's out there. My publisher for GO HOME AND DIE, Red Rose Publishing, has just a few mystery listings, and very few reviewers seem to be offering opinions on e-books in this genre.
Wouldn't it be nice, as a reader, to have a list of recommended titles? And it WOULD be nice, as a writer, to have a place to send my work for review and maybe a little publicity.
February 26, 2010
There's Something in Your Teeth
We've all experienced it. Someone has green stuff in her teeth, or someone else has buttoned his sweater wrong, or someone consistenly mispronounces "nuclear". Do you tell the person about it?
Some of us would. Some wouldn't. Some feel it's their duty to help or believe it's a kindness to spare another person further embarrassment. And some just like finding fault.
Authors get things wrong, and readers notice. The question is tough for said reader: does he tell the author, or let her wander along in ignorant bliss?
Good question. I have no answer, but here are a few considerations.
If you happen to be an expert on a particular subject, you probably know things that most readers won't. Does it matter if the murder weapon is wrong for that decade?
How many others have already pointed the mistake out to the author? If you're the twentieth or the fortieth, the author may have trouble being gracious.
On the other hand, most authors want to know what's wrong with their work. Not that it can be changed, but future errors can be avoided once we're aware of them. No one is a 100 percent expert on everything, and it's easy to slide into error with a casual reference, example, or idiom.
So when you notice that "something" on my teeth or in my book, consider whether it's to my benefit to point it out. If you're being helpful, I'll be thankful. If you're being picky, I'd prefer you pick on someon else.
Some of us would. Some wouldn't. Some feel it's their duty to help or believe it's a kindness to spare another person further embarrassment. And some just like finding fault.
Authors get things wrong, and readers notice. The question is tough for said reader: does he tell the author, or let her wander along in ignorant bliss?
Good question. I have no answer, but here are a few considerations.
If you happen to be an expert on a particular subject, you probably know things that most readers won't. Does it matter if the murder weapon is wrong for that decade?
How many others have already pointed the mistake out to the author? If you're the twentieth or the fortieth, the author may have trouble being gracious.
On the other hand, most authors want to know what's wrong with their work. Not that it can be changed, but future errors can be avoided once we're aware of them. No one is a 100 percent expert on everything, and it's easy to slide into error with a casual reference, example, or idiom.
So when you notice that "something" on my teeth or in my book, consider whether it's to my benefit to point it out. If you're being helpful, I'll be thankful. If you're being picky, I'd prefer you pick on someon else.
February 25, 2010
Reading in Fits and Starts
I never have time to read long stretches anymore. Once upon a time, I read whole novels in a day, but now I'm lucky to find fifteen minutes when my brain isn't insisting I should be doing something else. I thought maturity (oldness) meant your life slowed a bit, but it hasn't been the case, and although I want to read, want to see what other writers can do, I find it only makes me want to get at my own work, to improve something or finish something or create something.
So many ideas, so little time.
So many ideas, so little time.
February 24, 2010
What Is Funny?
Whatever "funny" is, it's highly personal, possibly generational, and undefinable, for the most part.
You may think the Three Stooges are funny while your friend thinks they're just dumb. You may howl at Adam Sandler's antics while your spouse cringes. And you may rent "The Hangover" and end up watching it by yourself, receiving some arch looks that signal, "What were you thinking?"
My spouse and I are lucky in that we share the same sense of humor in most cases. Still, I find Gilbert and Sullivan hilarious, and he encourages me to find someone else to share that particular experience with. In an audience in London, where I saw "Pirates of Penzance" for the umpteenth time, a woman behind me told her husband when it was over, "Well, that was just silly."
If it isn't funny, then it's silly. I find many of the so-called hilarious mystery novels of today silly.
What's the difference between the antics of Keystone Kops and some feather-headed fashion plate solving crimes by accident? I don't know. It's just my sense of humor. Funny, isn't it.
You may think the Three Stooges are funny while your friend thinks they're just dumb. You may howl at Adam Sandler's antics while your spouse cringes. And you may rent "The Hangover" and end up watching it by yourself, receiving some arch looks that signal, "What were you thinking?"
My spouse and I are lucky in that we share the same sense of humor in most cases. Still, I find Gilbert and Sullivan hilarious, and he encourages me to find someone else to share that particular experience with. In an audience in London, where I saw "Pirates of Penzance" for the umpteenth time, a woman behind me told her husband when it was over, "Well, that was just silly."
If it isn't funny, then it's silly. I find many of the so-called hilarious mystery novels of today silly.
What's the difference between the antics of Keystone Kops and some feather-headed fashion plate solving crimes by accident? I don't know. It's just my sense of humor. Funny, isn't it.
February 23, 2010
Topic: Mystery
I spoke last evening to a group of mystery lovers, some of whom might have exchanged places with me and done a fine job. It's scary to face an audience of experts, and the depth of knowledge some readers have in specific sub-genres or about specific authors often amazes me.
For most of my life I was a grazer of mysteries, reading whatever was available and paying little attention to who wrote what. I knew I liked certain authors, of course, but didn't give much thought to why. When I became a writer, I started actually meeting some of the people whose work I admire, along with a host of writers I'd never heard of. Or had I? Often I found that once an author spoke a bit about his/her protagonist, I'd think, "Oh, right. I read a few of those books." I just hadn't bothered to commit anything to memory. Reading is entertainment, and there are no quizzes later.
I pay much better attention now, but all those past books huddle dimly in my memory. I may recognize the sleuth, I may hear a title and know I read that book once upon a time. But I was a bit of a glutton, feeding on a book and then moving on, often retaining little of it. Now I make an effort to categorize and examine, comparing each book to others in the genre, and of course, to my own.
When the topic is mystery, I can hold my own in most discussions, but I still consider reading to be entertainment. I'm aware that there are many who are better than I am at recalling all the details, to whom mystery is a Serious Thing. When they show up in my audiences, I'm always glad to let them educate me.
For most of my life I was a grazer of mysteries, reading whatever was available and paying little attention to who wrote what. I knew I liked certain authors, of course, but didn't give much thought to why. When I became a writer, I started actually meeting some of the people whose work I admire, along with a host of writers I'd never heard of. Or had I? Often I found that once an author spoke a bit about his/her protagonist, I'd think, "Oh, right. I read a few of those books." I just hadn't bothered to commit anything to memory. Reading is entertainment, and there are no quizzes later.
I pay much better attention now, but all those past books huddle dimly in my memory. I may recognize the sleuth, I may hear a title and know I read that book once upon a time. But I was a bit of a glutton, feeding on a book and then moving on, often retaining little of it. Now I make an effort to categorize and examine, comparing each book to others in the genre, and of course, to my own.
When the topic is mystery, I can hold my own in most discussions, but I still consider reading to be entertainment. I'm aware that there are many who are better than I am at recalling all the details, to whom mystery is a Serious Thing. When they show up in my audiences, I'm always glad to let them educate me.
February 22, 2010
If Seven Maids with Seven Mops...
Looking out over the Gulf of Mexico from the eighth floor during a thunderstorm. Impressive.
I'm reading a book (run-of-the-mill thriller) that uses quantam theory for a plot basis, and it brought back all the other things I've read on QT, starting with THE DANCING WU LI MASTERS. It's a little above my head (maybe a lot), but the idea seems to be that...well, everything seems to be.
Atoms are not the little nuggets we thought of in high school. They are really nothing. They only ACT like something, and if we accept that, then they ARE something. It may be, in fact, that they actually BECOME something because we believe in them.
So to return to Lewis Carroll and "The Walrus and the Carpenter": If seven maids with seven mops swept it (the beach) for half a year, there is no doubt they could get it clear. In quantam theory, it's all about believing in possibility. In religion, they call that faith. We're fast learning that they may be one and the same.
I'm reading a book (run-of-the-mill thriller) that uses quantam theory for a plot basis, and it brought back all the other things I've read on QT, starting with THE DANCING WU LI MASTERS. It's a little above my head (maybe a lot), but the idea seems to be that...well, everything seems to be.
Atoms are not the little nuggets we thought of in high school. They are really nothing. They only ACT like something, and if we accept that, then they ARE something. It may be, in fact, that they actually BECOME something because we believe in them.
So to return to Lewis Carroll and "The Walrus and the Carpenter": If seven maids with seven mops swept it (the beach) for half a year, there is no doubt they could get it clear. In quantam theory, it's all about believing in possibility. In religion, they call that faith. We're fast learning that they may be one and the same.
February 19, 2010
A Friday Question
Where do the crazy people come from?
Subquestions: are we all crazy, just in different ways? Do we all do things that endanger our lives and the lives of others without having a clue?
Questions like these arise whenever I drive long distances and observe other drivers. Scary. Very
scary.
Subquestions: are we all crazy, just in different ways? Do we all do things that endanger our lives and the lives of others without having a clue?
Questions like these arise whenever I drive long distances and observe other drivers. Scary. Very
scary.
February 18, 2010
An Answer and A Reader's Question
On the baby crying question: according to doctors, their
nervous system is learning to operate the body separate
from the mother. Something in the crying is necessary for
it to kick in and control the body systems. Wow.
Today's question for readers: While you're busy reading,
what else are you likely to be doing?
Me, I'm trying to break the habit of eating M&Ms while I
read!
nervous system is learning to operate the body separate
from the mother. Something in the crying is necessary for
it to kick in and control the body systems. Wow.
Today's question for readers: While you're busy reading,
what else are you likely to be doing?
Me, I'm trying to break the habit of eating M&Ms while I
read!
