Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 195

Are E-books Going to Kill Libraries or Refashion Them?

I’m referencing two stories today, both concerning New York, the world’s second largest city—one about the New York Public Library and one about The New York Times e-book bestseller list. I often do a search on this blog after I’ve discovered another site’s story to see if I’ve written past posts that are relatable. When [...]

“It Was A Dark And Stormy Night…” ~ Writers’ Weather

Whether or not you write, you’ve experienced “Writers’ Weather”—the bright dawning of a day’s enlightenment from reading a positive plot resolution—the dark clouds of a character’s emotional upheaval—the desert-dry angst of yet another impossible challenge in the pages of a story… My favorite author, C. J. Cherryh, has said: “Stories aren’t escape. They’re the living [...]

Free Resources for Writers

In the spirit of my previous post, Free Software for Writers…, and with a thanks to Danielle Warchol from Personal Finance Advice, I’m going to list a few free resources writers might find useful… Purdue OWL “The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as [...]

Are These The Most Difficult Books to Read?

It appears Paulo Coelho has said (according to The Guardian) that James Joyce’s Ulysses has no content worth reading—“One of the books that caused great harm was…Ulysses, which is pure style. There is nothing there. Stripped down, Ulysses is a twit.” Some folks would also rank Ulysses as a difficult book to read. Two folks [...]

World-Wide Publishing ~ Bringing Us Closer . . .

I live in the U.S.A. My best friend, also an author, lives in Australia. My “employer”, a former publisher, lives in the U.K. Six days a week I interact with writers and readers from all over this beautiful planet. Part of world-wide publishing obviously includes the individual initiative of those who don’t write books—the adventurous [...]

Is Internet Access A Human Right?

Since my novel’s theme revolves around Global Peace and since I facilitate a group in the virtual world Second Life called Global Peace Chat and since, as a writer, I’d love to see more fiction aimed at helping our World, a story on Global Voices caught my attention. Guatemala: Indigenous Village Declares Internet Access a [...]

Should Writers Even Consider They Can Help Cure Social Problems?

Many can be found who would scoff at a writer considering their fiction could be of aid in any attempt to address social issues, let alone curing any ills of our culture. In the previous post, Do Creative Writers Have Social“Responsibilities”?, I asked these questions: “What are the ‘moral’ or ‘ethical’ opportunities in a creative [...]

More on E-Books & Libraries . . .

Short post today. But, it could lead you on a long journey… First, you may want to check out our past posts on e-books in libraries. One of them featured an initiative that achieved its goal: http://ebooksforlibraries.com—the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library [in the USA], partnered with Library Renewal, in petitioning for wider access [...]

Do People Still Burn Books?

We’ve done 15 posts on libraries here in the last year and a half and I know we’ll have more. Well, there’s a library in Troy, Michigan, USA that was facing a funding crunch and thought it might have to close its doors. The Troy Public Library posted an article with the details of their [...]

What Are The Best Books for Writers?

I can hear a few readers answering that post title: “Depends on the writer…”. True enough. What if one is just starting out in a writing career? What if a writer feels worn-out, deprived of what they thought they knew? What if your best friend, from Australia, who absolutely loves the periodical Poets & Writers, [...]