notes from another world
My nephew, who is an international cargo pilot, sent me this amusing link:
"Ps. Here is a cool link that sort of shows a day in the life of an international cargo pilot ;)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?sns=fb&am...
Bunch of other YouTube entries next to it look like they would be interesting to explore, too.
It has often struck me, getting occasional glimpses of the modern air traffic system from the inside, how very SF-nal it all is -- not the usual loner-triumphs action tales, but a whole lot of very dedicated and careful people all working together to get everyone through alive. (Several of the shots that look like people wandering around are actually safety checks.) Life in space would be a lot like this, I feel.
Also, welcome to the 21st Century aka The Future.
Ta, L.
"Ps. Here is a cool link that sort of shows a day in the life of an international cargo pilot ;)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?sns=fb&am...
Bunch of other YouTube entries next to it look like they would be interesting to explore, too.
It has often struck me, getting occasional glimpses of the modern air traffic system from the inside, how very SF-nal it all is -- not the usual loner-triumphs action tales, but a whole lot of very dedicated and careful people all working together to get everyone through alive. (Several of the shots that look like people wandering around are actually safety checks.) Life in space would be a lot like this, I feel.
Also, welcome to the 21st Century aka The Future.
Ta, L.
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Karl wrote: "So do cargo pilots get paid less because they don't have the aggravation of dealing with passengers?LOL"
Well, perhaps plus not having the extra responsibility for all those lives, for which I gather they are grateful, but I imagine pay varies wildly with airline, seniority, and a host of other factors.
Mostly, they like getting to fly those great big planes. A 747 is something very few people could afford as a hobby aircraft. Otherwise, I gather from my nephew, it's a bit like being a glorified bus driver.
One of his anecdotes gave me a new benchmark for success as a writer, however -- he told me his company had to lay on extra flights the week the last Harry Potter book was released, to get all the copies to the stores on time. !!!
Ta, L.
Lois wrote: "One of his anecdotes gave me a new benchmark for success as a writer, however -- he told me his company had to lay on extra flights the week the last Harry Potter book was released, to get all the copies to the stores on time. !!!"*Shakes head*
Is that success as a writer or lack of taste on the part of the readers?
I read two Harry Potter books just to see what the BIG DEAL was about. I would have preferred Conan the Cimmerian as a kid. Still do actually. LOL
I am just not much of a fantasy person.
Those 747 engines just can't run on magic spells.
Is that success as a writer...Yes. I think it's pretty uncontroversial to call selling a massive number of copies "success as a writer" :)
...or lack of taste on the part of the readers?
Look, Harry Potter isn't my favorite series either, but I think "lack of taste" is a little harsh. A lot of people (including me) read them and liked them. That's "people have different preferences", not "people have bad taste".
In this case your tastes differed.
Faith wrote: "Is that success as a writer...Yes. I think it's pretty uncontroversial to call selling a massive number of copies "success as a writer" :)
...or lack of taste on the part of the readers?
Look..."
Yeah, a lot of bestsellers get that kind of flack. I'm afraid economic jealousy and reverse snobbery -- and I'm not immune to either myself -- have all too much to do with it.
Anyway, that sort of criticism is asking the wrong questions. The useful question is, When so many other books seem of equal merit, why did this one take off? What is it doing right? And/or, what is it about the zeitgeist-du-jour that made this one hit it square on? And/or, about the mechanics or feedback loops of publication and promotion? Or is it some perfect-storm combo, so that trying to duplicate any one factor will miss the boat? And so on.
Ta, L.
A few months ago I found a high school teacher in her late 20s with stacks of new Harry Potter books on top of a cabinet. When I asked about them she said she tried to get her class to read them but they weren't interested. She said she was the same age as Harry Potter at the time they came out.If a fad can crash is it good?
I just finished Ready Player One. I had avoided it since it was about a gamer. It is much better than I expected but I could not tell that from the reviews. It has a reader grabbing pace but the socio-economics is as important as the pace. We can see the economics coming with the homeless on the streets. It was not like this in the 60s-70s.
Cryoburn is more relevant than Harry Potter.
Karl wrote: "A few months ago I found a high school teacher in her late 20s with stacks of new Harry Potter books on top of a cabinet. When I asked about them she said she tried to get her class to read them b..."All fads crash. The market gets saturated, the zeitgeist shifts, people who were in it for the novelty need a new novelty, children wish to distance themselves from the tastes of their elders, etc. Really, if HP sales had continued at the same pace as the opening week's "pop", the continent would be a mile deep in HP books by now. (Also note that the first three books of the series only had modest sales, at first. Then the movie/s hit, which always distorts literary comparisons.) The first HP book was, what, 1997? Almost a generation ago, now. Pretty good run.
I expect some reasonable number of new readers will continue to find and enjoy the HP books for a long time to come, but they won't tick any meters, which depend on a high concentration of attention over a short time frame. (Which is why publishers keep trying to game the bestseller lists.)
Slow and steady may not win the race, but it can keep a book, and its author, going for a good long time. That, too, is success, just less visible.
I would also note that such a high concentration of attention as goes with the top bestsellers can eat the writer's life (and work), as they start to become famous for being famous, and a zillion people swarm in trying to tap that attention for themselves. Extroverted writers may thrive on this, but the majority of us introverts cringe. I think it possible that the kinds of pressures and demands this system exerts may select for the writers who can stand up to them, regardless of what they write.
Ta, L.
I like those books - their magic is well done. But the reason Heyer is my favorite regency author is because of the Laugh-Out-Loud moments. While I generally don't care for comedies - funny moments in other books are my favorites. (Compare Heyer with Winston Grahm whose history I believe much more). Humor is the difference.
LOL