Newsletter Update
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Hey everyone! Andrew here.
Well… my last newsletter really kicked off a great conversation. My eye condition had me thinking about how much better (for me personally) the e-reader experience is from a vision perspective but also how much I lose (the feeling of the pages under my fingertips, the sound of the paper when I turn a page, the smell — particularly of old books… I love that smell). But the ability to be able to turn on night mode and make the text larger… I cannot pass on that. It seems we all share this love of physical books and that really resonated with everyone. I have never had such a flood of correspondence before. I gotta tell you, I loved it!
For those who asked for an update: I had an eye checkup last night and the ophthalmologist (ornery bastard though he may be) gave me a green light. The eye is on the mend but still needs more time to clear up. Also, it looks like I should get glasses, so there’s that. The only issue is that I hate wearing glasses with the passion of several super dwarf stars combined, but having those extra lenses really made a difference and I think I need to bite the bullet. So that’s the plan for this long weekend here. It’s off to transform into my nerdier form (yeah, I hear you, as a writer could I be any more nerdy? No. The answer is no…).
The Lost Art of Getting Lost in a Story
Several of you mentioned reading since childhood, devouring books since you were seven or eight years old (and I was the same). It got me thinking about the experience of reading and how that has changed for me.
When I was a kid, I could pick up a book and just… disappear. Hours would pass. I used to read in the car and my parents would tell me not to get carsick. If I had a book, I never did. I read the Belgariad (actually read everything David Eddings produced back then and Anne McCaffrey as well. I should do a whole newsletter topic on Anne.
Slight rant here, so please forgive my digression, but I keep bumping into this narrative that science fiction is male-dominated and I think, well that might be true in terms of sheer numbers, but the writers who really impacted me were Ursula Le Guin, Anne McCaffrey, Ann Leckie, Lois McMaster Bujold, C.J. Cherryh, and Octavia Butler.
Le Guin taught me that science fiction could be a vehicle for philosophy and that alien societies could reflect the best and worst of human nature. The Left Hand of Darkness completely rewired my brain when I first read it.
McCaffrey’s Pern series was a masterpiece that was pretty much a bait and switch. Oh, you think you’re reading fantasy? Well, let me show you something! Pern’s dragons weren’t just fantasy creatures (spoiler alert?). They were genetically engineered solutions to a planetary problem. That’s brilliant worldbuilding. I still love that series and her writing holds up so well.
And Bujold… Miles Vorkosigan is one of the most fully realized characters in all of science fiction, disabled protagonist navigating a militaristic society through sheer brilliance and stubborn determination.
When people say sci-fi is male-dominated, I don’t disagree with the observation. But it doesn’t reflect my experience with the genre. Frankly, some of the most innovative, thoughtful, beautifully written science fiction I’ve ever read, and the science fiction that shaped the way I write, came from the brilliant minds of women authors.
End of rant. Thanks for bearing with me on that one… personal bugbear.
Back to reading and the reading experience… where was I? Oh yeah, these days I don’t get sucked into stories as much and when it does happen, it feels almost miraculous.
Part of it is life. We have jobs, responsibilities, phones buzzing etc. Our attention is constantly being torn away from whatever we are focusing on.
But my issue is that I’ve become a critical reader. My editing brain kicks in whether I want it to or not. I notice the grammar. I spot the plot holes. I mentally rewrite sentences that don’t quite work. OMG, I do that ALL the time. IIt’s murder on the reading experience. Wish I could turn it off. I need a button. Someone please invent that.
There are still books that carry me away so completely that the critical voice shuts up. Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi did that for me. I finished it in one sitting and when I looked up, I felt disoriented, like I’d actually been somewhere else. Ursula K. Le Guin’s writing has always had that effect on me too.
So what is it about those books? What lets them slip past our defenses?
But I also wonder if it’s partly on us as readers. Maybe we need to give ourselves permission to get lost again? Turn off the phone. To sit in a comfortable chair (hopefully one next to a bed of gorgeous flowers! I’m looking at you, Kathy!) with good light and just… read. I have a long weekend this weekend and I am definitely going to write, but I’m also going to give the reading a real shot too.
So here’s what I’m curious about: Do you still get that feeling of being completely lost in a story? If you’ve lost it, when did it go away? And if you’ve kept it or gotten it back, how?
Because I think this might be one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves as readers. If we’re not occasionally getting lost in stories, transported somewhere else entirely, then what are we doing this for?
All the best,
Andrew (ZZ)
P.S
A little heads-up! In next week’s newsletter, I’ll be giving away a ZZ book for free. Make sure you don’t miss it!
Sneak peek! Free Book Next Week! Splice: A Military Sci-fi Action Adventure (Zero-Point Awakening Book 1)
Unite, Fight, Survive: A High-Stakes Mission to Rescue Loved Ones, Stop an Alien Invasion and Take Down an Evil Corporation
The character development and world building are very believable in an alternate universe, near-future setting. The writing is very good, and the story is, as stated above, excellent! I’m definitely looking forward to the next book.
– Amazon 5 Star Review
Zero-Point Awakening – The Complete Series Books 1-8
It is somewhat surprising how a series of this length can continue to maintain its pace and the readers interest. Recommended read.
– Amazon 5 Star Review
Read this Box Set Promos
Check out these bargain and discounted reads from our fellow speculative fiction authors!
A New HopePunk Anthology from Other Worlds Ink
14 Sci-Fi Writers Spin Tales to Change the Planet
It’s meant to be a day of celebration—Hannah Khalili’s birthday—but instead she discovers she may be sleeping next to the enemy. By mid-morning, whispers reach her about the Eden Project, a daring mission to find life in distant star systems. Tempting, yes. Possible? Hardly.
A decrepit ship, a misfit crew, an impossible job, the perfect plan. What can go wrong?
Orinthia Anton once hunted cybernetically enhanced space pirates. Now she’s on the run with a crew of her own.
Check this out window.survey_rules = window.survey_rules || {};window.survey_rules['42'] = [];window.language_direction = "ltr"; How do you recapture that childhood feeling of getting lost in a story?
Revisit old classics that shaped me
Disconnect from screens and just read
Read with (or to) someone
That spark never left!
Create time when you won’t be disturbed by anyone
Other (Tell us your deep cut!)
Survey Result
And now, let’s take a look at last week’s poll results. We asked, “Do you still read physical books?”
Here are the results:
A mix of both → 62%Mostly, yes → 21%No, I’ve fully gone digital → 10%Only if someone lends me or gifts me one→ 6%Andrew:
Wow. We’re not purists refusing to embrace technology, but we’re not ready to let go of paper entirely either. We’re a very adaptive group!
The 21% who are “mostly yes” on physical books are the die-hards, and I respect that enormously.
What blew me away was the sheer volume and thoughtfulness of all of your responses. I want to call out some specific people and I am sure I am leaving someone out here, so please forgive me if I have.
Thank you, Derrick, Mike, Karen, Wayne, Daniel, Eleanor, Paul, Chuck, Tim, Lily, Keith, Kris, Donald, David, John, Ruth, Kathy, Janet, and Kay. Your emails were incredible.
Jan in Israel made me laugh with the observation that ebooks and physical books both multiply if you leave them alone in the dark. Also, the point about autographs is spot on. You can’t autograph an ebook. Electronic signatures just aren’t the same. That’s a dimension of physical books I hadn’t even considered.
Ruth, your emails always touch me. Thank you! Your description of having walls of books, multiple freezers, and a gas stove you can light during power outages made me smile. “It’s not hoarding if it’s books or food!” is now officially my favorite mantra and maybe I need that on a t-shirt. And yes, I’m working on The Master’s Munificence (solo project, not with Michael LaVoice, but he sounds like good people if you’re friends with him!).
John in Ontario, thank you for sharing your passion for books. I thought I had a passion, but mine pales in comparison. I will strive to be worthy!
Wayne, thank you for the screen reader recommendations. I hope I never need them, but it’s good to know they exist. And hearing that you’ve been legally blind since age eight but still reading puts my temporary eye issue in perspective. Thank you for sharing.
Kathy, I’m so sorry about your son throwing out your book collection. I’m so mad about that. That’s just wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I no longer have all my old books and I miss some of them dearly. I had a Harlan Ellison compilation that I really loved. I wonder what happened to it?
One thing I want to say is that Damian and I deliberately chose not to put DRM on our ebooks. So if Amazon is doing that, it is not with our permission. If you find that there is DRM on them, please let me know and we can look into it.
Thanks again for sharing your stories with me. This was the best possible response to that newsletter, and I’m grateful for every single message.
