tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020960402708303830.post3672012646398883978..comments2024-03-28T14:53:38.827-04:00Comments on BLCKDGRD: Nothing Must Be Allowed to Interfere with This, Your Willed IndolenceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020960402708303830.post-82367529341761792812010-11-06T14:51:44.215-04:002010-11-06T14:51:44.215-04:00I have friends both virtual and real life whose he...I have friends both virtual and real life whose heads exploded on news Snookie got a contract for a novel she hadn't yet written.<br /><br />I go back and forth and up and down about (a) whether the novel is dying and (b) what the hell that means. I've heard it's dying creatively and I've heard it's dying as a marketable object, I've heard the first is the cause of the second, the second the cause of the first. I've been hearing this seemingly forever, which doesn't mean it might not be true but just a very long lingering death.<br /><br />You should try Dan's blog - Reading Experience, over in the left Because. He thinks about this stuff and writes smartly about it.BDRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06557941385560728052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020960402708303830.post-19379432379708002522010-11-06T14:36:37.263-04:002010-11-06T14:36:37.263-04:00But there is significant truth in the idea that th...But there is significant truth in the idea that the novel is dying. That's been true for a long time, so it's probably not as immediately relevant as it may have been, say, when TVs became a common American household staple and people turned their eyes from books to cathode ray tubes. But it's still true. It is a frustrating fact if you aim to make money off writing creatively, rather than as a mercenary. My experience of having very few friends who read now -- as compared to when I was in my early 20s, for example -- definitely sours me on putting energy into writing fiction. <br /><br />Also -- sometimes indifference is a vector of condescension, eh?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020960402708303830.post-67644395198765768252010-11-06T14:24:33.065-04:002010-11-06T14:24:33.065-04:00It's on my desk, I've thumbed through it. ...It's on my desk, I've thumbed through it. I sent a friend a copy of JR and plan on rereading JR in the next month or two then possibly going after The Recognitions again when I'm in shape, so I've sorta held off on the Green so I don't go into a rereading of Recognitions with the Green in my head.<br /><br />I've read incredibly insightful and considerate recommendations of Irving's novels before his descent into insignificance. A new book by Irving used to be some small event. A new book by Irving now goes unnoticed. This isn't to say that he's not part right in the above quote but to say if he's stung that no one cares any more he's confusing condescension with indifference.BDRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06557941385560728052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3020960402708303830.post-20551576565599737432010-11-06T12:26:21.569-04:002010-11-06T12:26:21.569-04:00I will keep saying this till the day I die: when y...<i>I will keep saying this till the day I die: when you’ve written a number of novels, the process of being reviewed is often an exercise in being condescended to by your inferiors.</i><br /><br />I believe this is true, and agree with Irving on this. BDR, did you ever get your hands on your in-house copy of Fire the Bastards!...?<br /><br />My favorite statement on the subject was an aphorism written by Freddy the Nitch that goes something like this: when book and reader collide and reader finds book lacking, it's usually not the book's fault.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com