Sascha Benjamin Cohen's Blog
July 10, 2014
In Praise of Independent Small Bookstores
from the New York Times today, courtesy of Molly Wood:
People here have thought for centuries about what makes a book industry vibrant, and are watching developments in Britain and America as cautionary tales. “We don’t sell potatoes,” says Mr. Moni. “There are also ideas in books. That’s what’s dangerous. Because the day that you have a large seller that sells 80 percent of books, he’s the one who will decide what’s published, or what won’t be published...The contents of a bookcase can define who you are.”Indeed.
July 9, 2014
Post-Independence Day thoughts
Well, a bunch of folks (maybe some of you) grabbed copies of The Un-Realized YOU and By the People, for the People over the holiday weekend -- if you read, I hope you enjoyed! Me, I've been thinking about poetry; in particular that uniquely English-language strain of poetry known as nonsense poetry (although quite often it is nothing of the kind). Two poems keep running through my mind as both marvelous examples of the genre, but also as truly great poems --- for their sense of spirit, their mood, and their overall structural and thematic integrity.
The first is, to my thinking, one of the great English poems of the last 200 years: The Hunting Of The Snark by Lewis Carroll. If you've never read it, you should. And if you can get your hands on The Annotated Snark with the marvelous explanatory commentary by Martin Gardner, do so!
The second poem is more nonsensical, but also more moving in a moody, subconscious way: the Jumblies (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/...) by Edward Lear. This is simple rhymes that verge on a trail to nightmare land, tinged with humor and sorrow. Read it aloud to someone you love. (or for a metatextual cross-referencing experience, go find the Paul Bowles collection which took its name from the poem's refrain, Their Heads are Green and Their Hands are Blue: Scenes from the Non-Christian World by Paul Bowles).
Happy page-turning!
The first is, to my thinking, one of the great English poems of the last 200 years: The Hunting Of The Snark by Lewis Carroll. If you've never read it, you should. And if you can get your hands on The Annotated Snark with the marvelous explanatory commentary by Martin Gardner, do so!
The second poem is more nonsensical, but also more moving in a moody, subconscious way: the Jumblies (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/...) by Edward Lear. This is simple rhymes that verge on a trail to nightmare land, tinged with humor and sorrow. Read it aloud to someone you love. (or for a metatextual cross-referencing experience, go find the Paul Bowles collection which took its name from the poem's refrain, Their Heads are Green and Their Hands are Blue: Scenes from the Non-Christian World by Paul Bowles).
Happy page-turning!
May 6, 2014
I guess we need the eggs
Well, I had no plans to be blogging here (or anywhere right now, for that matter), but I do want to just blurt out for those who haven't noticed: for the stories I release via Amazon Kindle, I will be somewhat regularly having giveaways where you will be able to download these titles from the amazon store for free. That's right: free.
My one request is that if you read something and enjoy it, right a quick review. Nothing fancy, really "Hey, this was alright!" would do just fine. And if you are really inspired, please give a shot at purchasing one of the other titles. They're cheap, and if you liked one there is a good chance you'll like some of the others.
Anyway, that's all. Enjoy!
My one request is that if you read something and enjoy it, right a quick review. Nothing fancy, really "Hey, this was alright!" would do just fine. And if you are really inspired, please give a shot at purchasing one of the other titles. They're cheap, and if you liked one there is a good chance you'll like some of the others.
Anyway, that's all. Enjoy!
