It was the best of times,
it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom,
it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief,
it was the epoch of incredulity,
it was the season of Light,
it was the season of Darkness,
it was the spring of hope,
it was the winter of despair,
we had everything before us,
we had nothing before us, …
— Opening passage of “A Tale of Two Cities”
Charles Dickens’s famous first sentence — “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times … " — described the era of the French Revolution. The sentiment also fits perfectly to America’s holiday season, from Thanksgiving through the first days of the new year.
While most of us are filled with joy and gratitude as we unite with our families and friends, this is also the time when many persons experience dark thoughts, depression, and profound loneliness.
If you need help of any kind, do not hesitate to tell someone: a family member, a friend, or a neighbor. You are loved and cared about far more than you imagine.
If you cannot think of anyone who can help you, you can call your local Suicide Prevention and Crisis hotline. In Ithaca, their web page says: “Are you confused, overwhelmed, upset, or need someone to listen? Call the Crisisline at 607-272-1616 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).” They offer free, confidential crisis counseling available 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
Pay attention to the people around you: your family, friends, students, co-workers. People are skilled at hiding their true feelings. The poem by Paul Lawrence Dunbar, titled “We Wear The Mask”, explains the problem of seeing into other persons.
WE wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!
Watching the 1946 film “It’s A Wonderful Life” always fills me with strange and remarkable ideas. The remainder of this message is for those of us who are reasonably happy and are able to provide help.
I was wondering what might happen during these holidays if each one of us reached out to someone — someone who we suspect may need a friend, or need someone to talk with. Suppose we reach out to someone by saying: “Do you need anything?”; or “How can I help you?”; or “Some time soon, let’s sit down with some coffee and let’s talk.”
Ithaca has been ranked as the USA’s best place to live, largely due to economic factors. Yet what matters — more than the quantifiable and measurable — is the invisible and unmeasurable: the happiness and well-being of each one of us.
Some people will argue that there is not very much that one person can do to improve the happiness of another. It is equally true that we can help others by the simple acts of listening sincerely and by giving them words of encouragement.
And it is a remarkable fact of human existence that “No drop of kindness is ever wasted.”
Michael Pastore
Epublishers Weekly
2010 December 08
Ithaca, New York
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Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Holiday Wisdom: Pay Attention to Your Family, Friends, Students and Co-Workers
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Change The World: Read Books About Utopia
"A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out the one country at which humanity is always landing."
Wikipedia is strangely lacking in its page about Utopian novels
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Utopian_novels
Here is a longer list from the blog, Best Colleges Online.net:
http://www.bestcollegesonline.net/blog/2010/20-essential-works-of-utopian-fiction/
Dozens of other captivating works about Utopia could be added, including The Blythedale Romance (by Nathaniel Hawthorne); Watch the North Wind Rise (by Robert Graves); The Adventures of Mr Marigold (by Michael Tobias); and Thoreau Bound: A Utopian Romance in the Isles of Greece (by Michael Pastore).
We can shape our destinies: we can change our personal lives, we can change the direction of our world. What is the value of these utopian works? ... In addition to being a joy to read, these books expand our imaginations, and give us positive models of societies that are designed so that the first priority is the genuine needs of each individual. A healthy culture supports our lifelong growth and development into creative, caring and compassionate human beings.
Michael Pastore, Editorial Director
Epublishers Weekly
http://www.EpublishersWeekly.com
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Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Just Published: 50 Benefits of Ebooks (2010 Edition)
Learn more or buy the book at the Zorba site:
http://www.zorba.us/?page_id=142
50 Benefits of Ebooks
A Thinking Person’s Guide to The Digital Reading Revolution
Edition: October 2010
by Michael Pastore
Published by Zorba Press, ISBN: 978-0-927379-17-5
Companion blog site: www.EpublishingTimes.com
Paperback, 368 pages, Indexed, $ 20
Ebook versions (PDF, .AZW, and EPUB): $ 3.99
A revised and expanded book about ebooks, published today, is packed with information about how to understand, and enjoy, the digital reading revolution. The book, soon to be released as a 368-page paperback, is first being released in ebook editions — which contain all the same information as the paperback — yet sell for less than four dollars.
50 Benefits of Ebooks is a lively introduction to the brave new worlds of ebooks and electronic publishing. This revised edition (at 66,000 words) is 25% larger than the September 2009 edition, and contains ten new chapters. The ebook is priced at $ 3.99.
Written for a wide audience — from ebook newcomers to ebook experts — in 36 lively chapters, the book explores five essential aspects of ebook reading, writing and publishing:
A. Benefits of Ebooks and Paper Books
B. Reading Ebooks
C. Ebooks for Authors and Publishers
D. The Value of Reading; and
E. The Education of An Ebooklover (resources)
Ebook newcomers will find all the basics here. And ebook experts can debate and debunk the author’s wild predictions for the rosy and thorny future of ebooks, by reading the essay, “Reading the Future: Ten Tremendous Trends in 2011.” Authors will discover tips, tricks and resources for ebook publishing; and library professionals will enjoy the book’s glossary, index, links to leading-edge ebook sites, and sections about how and why ebooks are good for libraries.
A new chapter included in this edition is Pastore's essay The Depths: How Ebooks Can Fix Your Concentration, Increase Your Intelligence and Renew Your Distracted Brain.
“Ebooks are changing everything,” says author Michael Pastore. “We are now at the dawn of a seismic shift in the way that books are published, distributed, read — and even written. And the epublishing industry is changing so quickly and dramatically, even an updated edition of this book, published yearly, can hardly keep up. ”
One of the most significant benefits of ebooks is ecological: Ebooks are good for our environment. Pastore writes:
“How many trees are used to produce one week’s worth of paper in a Sunday New York Times newspaper? … One weekly issue of the New York Times consumes 75,000 trees. … One year of Sunday papers produced by the New York Times is responsible for the destruction and consumption of more than 3,900,000 trees.”
At the book’s companion website, the author urges: “Don’t buy the paperback. The 368-page paperback edition is $ 20, while the ebook version cost 4 dollars, saves trees, and contains all the same content as the paperback — except the paper!”
The ebook editions will be released in three formats: PDF, AZW and EPUB. The PDF format is primarily designed for reading on desktop and laptop computers. The AZW format is for the Amazon Kindle. The new EPUB format is primarily for iPads, iPhones, iPods, and a number of PDAs and many ereading devices. “The EPUB format is the next big thing,” says Pastore. “It’s quickly becoming the industry standard, capable of being read on more and more software programs and hardware devices.”
Pastore is a strong proponent for the new EPUB standard for ebooks; and an equally strong opponent of DRM (Digital Rights Management), which he claims is a disservice to ebook consumers. He writes: “Ebooks were never meant to be hidden like the lost city of Atlantis, buried like the treasures of Monte Cristo, or guarded like the gold in Fort Knox.”
The author loves paper books, and hopes that they are never completely replaced by their electronic progeny. But Pastore is optimistic about the future of ebooks. He writes: “Every day, ebooks are growing in use, in sales, and in significance. After a dozen false starts over the past ten years, the Digital Reading Revolution is here at last.”
To buy the new book or ebook, readers can visit the the Zorba Press website for the book's web page:
http://www.zorba.us/?page_id=142
Release Schedule:
Available Now: ebook in PDF (from the Publisher's website)
Available Now: ebook in EPUB (from the Publisher's website)
Available Now: ebook in EPUB (for the iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone) from the iTunes iBookStore
October 21: ebook in AZW for the Kindle
November 1: paperback (368 pages; 66,000 words; 6"x9")
About the Author, Michael Pastore
Michael Pastore is the editorial director of Zorba Press. He is the author of more than 20 books: novels and non-fiction works on various themes. His articles and essays have appeared in dozens of publications nationwide. He edits the blogs EpublishersWeekly (.com), and actively supports the causes of reading great books, independent publishing, and Amercia’s transition to a sustainable society. Currently he lives, cycles, reads and writes in Ithaca, New York.
About Zorba Press
A small, independent publisher in Ithaca, New York, Zorba publishes works by Michael Pastore, and a number of other authors including Dorothee Krahn, Rae Foley, Alicia Dattner, Lisette Rimer, Dr. Thanasis Maskaleris, and renowned author and film-maker, Michael Tobias.
For more information, contact Victoria Weise via this email: ebook AT care2.com
#
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Saturday, May 29, 2010
Sell Your Book on the iTunes Store, Read it on the iPad
Sell your book as an ebook, readable on the
Apple iPad.
You set the price (it has to end in 99 cents), and keep
70% of the profit. And your book will look gorgeous on the iPad -- if
you format it correctly.
Sell Your eBook on iTunes
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Saturday, May 08, 2010
BookServer, by Brewster Kahle, Could Transform the Publishing Industry
BookServer, developed by Brewster Kahle, will
put all the world's books at your fingertips. And you will buy the books
directly from the publishers: the cost of books will drop, and
publishers' incomes will rise.
CNET Article about BookServerC
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Sunday, February 07, 2010
Making Time to Read
A very interesting article about the problem of
"not enough time to read."
Read the article in The Guardian.Read more! ... (or go to this post's PermaLink)
Monday, February 01, 2010
Ten Rules for Writing Fiction (from the Guardian)
Wrote Somerset Maugham: "There are only three
rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, nobody knows what they are."
Read this article from The Guardian.Read more! ... (or go to this post's PermaLink)
Friday, January 08, 2010
Zorba's Guide to Free Ebooks
There is no such thing as a free lunch; there is such a thing as a free ebook. About 2 million ebooks are available free, for you to download and read.
This extraordinary resource is Chapter 3 from my book 50 Benefits of Ebooks: A Thinking Person's Guide to the Digital Reading Revolution. That book is updated twice yearly, in March and September. This page of free ebooks will be updated every January and June.
Zorba's Guide to Free Ebooks
http://www.zorba.us/?page_id=818
Be careful before downloading a free ebook, or before downloading anything: be sure that the ebook comes from a trusted and malware-free source.
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Monday, November 30, 2009
Loneliness (book review)
Loneliness
Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection
by John T. Cacioppo and William Patrick
Paperback 317 pages, $ $ 17.95
August 2009
ISBN: 978-0-393-33528-6
Ashley Montagu, who died in November ten years ago, explained to his students and lecture audiences an insight that has proven to be not only very true, but very wise. Montagu said that the inspirations of creative individuals — poets, authors, artists, philosophers — are eventually confirmed by science. For example, when a poet such as Edmond Rostand makes his hero, Cyrano de Bergerac, shout:
I need to fight whole armies all alone;
I have ten hearts; I have a hundred arms;
I feel too strong to war with mortals —
BRING ME GIANTS!
This extraordinary courage that love inspires is glimpsed by the poet; years later the scientist can tell us that strong emotions, such as love, produce powerful physiological changes in the human body and brain.
That is the first theme of the book Loneliness: loneliness, like sleep shortages, impacts not only our emotions, but our physical health and well-being. More than 60 million Americans suffer seriously from this epidemic condition. In addition to a thorough and well-documented diagnosis, the book provides solutions that are within the reach of almost everyone.
I never imagined that a book about loneliness could be so entertaining: almost like the good cheer of the famous foot-stomping folk song, "The Ship Titanic". These pages contain many bursts of humor, and many memorable passages. It will be a long time before I forget the astounding saga of Phineas Gage; even longer before I forget the book's description about how a female chimp (page 211) ingeniously made peace between two belligerent males.
The book proposes that there are three keys to happiness: Social connections; Household income; and Age. Surprisingly — and this may be the most controversial of the book's claims, — "people get happier as they grow older."
Maximizing genuine relationships, while minimizing conflicts, is a strategy for personal and professional success. What is the cure for loneliness? ... Develop strong social connections.
From the book (page 223):
As I've suggested through dozens of examples, when we feel isolated we also feel embattled, which leads to less robust health, less enjoyment in life, and less of an ability to collaborate to find winning solutions. When we feel satisfied with our social connections, we feel safe. When we feel safe, we can think more creatively. We also anticipate and more often experience positive emotions, which, aside from their long-term physiological benefits, provide immediate and persistent psychological uplift. That boost in mood affects our subsequent behavior toward others, which, in turn, affects how others behave toward us — which, once again, encourages creative collaboration. Cause and effect cycle back and forth, and the positives continue to ripple outward in a widening circle.
This roadmap to a long and healthy life is corroborated in a book about longevity, The Blue Zones; and also in a number of my own books about child maintenance, where I have called this process, the Positive Affirmation Cycle.
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: "Society is poison but solitude is fatal." Loneliness does not address Emerson's concerns, echoed in works by Erich Fromm (Escape from Freedom), and Philip Slater (The Pursuit of Loneliness). What shall we do when the society around us is destructive or "inauthentic", and we are confronted with two unpleasant choices: join the masses in their folly, or remain alone?
Nevertheless, the book Loneliness by Cacioppo and Patrick, is filled with such a superabundance of subtle humor, excellent scholarship, and practical advice, it stands alone as one of the most valuable books in print about its all-important theme.
For more information, visit the book's companion website: Science of Loneliness.
— Michael Pastore
Story Links
On December 1, 2009, many major publications released in-depth articles about the theme of loneliness. Here are more resources about this theme.
Time Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1943748,00.html
U.S. News
http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2009/12/01/one-is-the-loneliest-most-contagious-number.html
NY Times
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/why-loneliness-can-be-contagious/
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/30/AR2009113003846.html
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Thursday, November 12, 2009
The Rabbi's Cat 2 and the Renewal of Reading
The Rabbi's Cat 2
Story and drawings by Joann Sfar
Translated by Alexis Siegel
Pantheon Books
Hardcover, 130 pages
ISBN: 978-0-375-42507-3
In the first volume of The Rabbi's Cat, Joann Sfar introduced us to the rabbi, his delightful daughter Zlabya, and a talking cat who loves her. In this second book in the series, we re-encounter the original players (although we see less of Zlabya) and meet exotic new ones. The rabbi's storytelling cousin yearns for everlasting fame. A Russian painter searches for a prejudice-free utopia. The painter falls in love with a voluptuous waitress who accompanies him on the dangerous quest.
The stories, tales within tales, are always interesting; the colorful and expertly-drawn art is enchanting. Yet that could be said of many of the fine graphic novels published in this blossoming genre. What distinguishes this book, and the first volume of The Rabbi's Cat, is the characters — who are many-dimensional — and the dialogue, which is rich with insights and memorable lines.
I was surprised to see this extraordinary book for sale on the bargain websites; and astounded that (unlike the first volume) a paperback edition never came to print.
Because here we have "literature", a modern classic, written for everyone and for all ages, earthy and entertaining and instructive, like the classic novels we so admire, by Dickens and Burnett and Twain. This book, and works like it, could help to renew the art of reading.
What good is all our fancy ebook reading devices, and our advanced technologies, and Frankln's ingenious gift — the public libraries — what good is all this opportunity if we ignore it? ... All the world's radiant wisdom instantaneously at our fingertips, is available to us, free or almost free, as long as we renew our love of reading, and cultivate the ability to discern the genuine novels from the ordinary ones.
— Michael Pastore
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Monday, November 09, 2009
Can We Save the Dying Art of Conversation ?
Essay by Michael Pastore
My first lesson in the embarrassing art of conversation came from my grandfather, when I was ten years old. Noticing that I had less energy than usual — I was not running up and down his living room walls — he guessed the reason and then called me to his armchair.
"Have you talked with her?" he asked.
"No," I said. "I don't know what to say."
Smiling, the kind old man rubbed his white-whiskered chin.
"The secret of schmoozing is very simple. If you want to break the ice and make a great first impression, ask her about three things: family, food, and philosophy."
The next day, in the lunchroom, confident with this foolproof strategy, I amazed my friends as I sat down on the vacant bench beside Helen Goldstein, the prettiest girl in P.S. 123.
"Do you have a brother?" I asked.
"No!" she said.
"Do you like mashed bean sprouts?"
"No!" said Helen, with a disdainful pout.
Things were going well so far; I felt undiscouraged; after a moment's reflection I asked:
"If you had a brother, would you like mashed bean sprouts?"
As a mustardy cheese sandwich ricochetted off my sweatshirt, I sighed with the realization that I had failed, and failed completely. My guy friends greeted my humiliating retreat with a melange of wild laughter, high-fives, and admiration undying.
"Human understanding," wrote Michel de Montaigne, "is marvelously enlightened by daily conversation with men, for we are, otherwise, compressed and heaped up in ourselves, and have our sight limited to the length of our own noses. "
Montaigne, who loved reading, understood the incomparable value of a good talk face to face. But do we men and women of this technologically advanced age understand this as well? ... It seems as if we are spending more and more time in front of screens, sometimes passively watching, other times typing or tapping superficial first impressions clothed in fragmented sentences (or acronyms: ROFLMAO) which express less than the guttural grunts of a Neanderthal.
Why is it so rare to meet persons who are skilled conversationalists? ... A conversation is "a spoken interchange of thoughts and feelings," — and to converse we need not one gift but two: knowing how to speak, which is difficult enough, and the far more subtle skill: knowing how to listen.
How can we master the intricate art of conversation?
If conversation is an art that can be learned, then like any art, the learning of it requires courage, concentration, practice, patience, and making it an ultimate concern. This insight comes from Erich Fromm, who was writing about the art of loving. And it seems to me that one of the first principles of great conversation is not necessarily to love the other person (although that would be the best), but to approach the encounter gemutlichly, with a warm feeling — or at the minimum, with a sincere respectfulness.
The best way to learn is to learn by example, at the side of a brilliant-talking friend. Without that kind of living laboratory, you can turn to some of the better books about this popular theme. In the chattery galaxy of books on this subject — many (unfortunately) classified in the self-help section — two works stand out as guiding stars.
I would start with Theodore Zeldin and his book Conversation: How Talk Can Change Our Lives. The book is less of a how-to guide, and more of a brilliant appreciation of the art. As in his other works, Zeldin grapples with the most complex questions and themes. This book's chapters include:
1) How every new era changes the subject of conversation
2) Why the conversation of love is moving in a new direction
3) What saves family conversation from being boring
4) Conversation in the workplace: why specialists are having to find a new way of talking
5) What technology can do to conversation
6) How conversation encourages the meeting of the minds
and a coda of stimulating questions, titled: Thirty-six topics of conversation.
Zeldin writes:
"Conversation is a meeting of minds with different memories and habits. When minds meet, they don't just exchange facts: they transform them, reshape them, draw different implications from them, engage in new trains of thought. Conversation doesn't just reshuffle the cards: it creates new cards."
Anyone who finishes this book, and is not inspired to renew their conversations with new energy, originality, and genuineness, should take a vow of silence.
Zeldin's commitment to saving conversation from extinction goes well beyond the book, and beyond even Zeldin's Facebook fan club. Zeldin's foundation, The Oxford Muse, describes itself as "a foundation to stimulate courage and invention in personal, professional and cultural life."
Erich Fromm, at the end of one his important books, asked readers to write letters to him and tell him their ideas about how to save and to renew our culture. The Oxford Muse Foundation has similar goals about renewal; thanks to the Internet, this kind of project has a far greater chance of success.
Like Montaigne and Zeldin, Catherine Blyth (pictured at the top of this essay) believes in the timeless value of good conversation. At the end of The Art of Conversation: A Guided Tour of A Neglected Pleasure, Blyth writes:
"Conversation's finer points may be lost without our world tottering. Still, as communication, it is unimprovable. Of all arts the oldest and most captivating, it is also the easiest, free to all. As prices soar and time shrinks, and space compacts, it is one luxury that costs nothing. Protect it, prioritize it, and reap the wealth of a companionable, convivial life.
Let conversation bring you the world."
Blyth's book is filled with humorous anecdotes, historical snippets, wise musings, and practical advice. Advice about many topics including how to begin a conversation, what to talk about, humor, how to tell (detect) a lie; the language of love; flattery; ending the chat. In explaining how not to be bore, Blyth offers the "Shut-up Test":Imagine you're a soft-boiling a modest egg,
Have you talked more than three minutes?
This better be a great dinosaur egg of a fascinating topic.
Stick to the point. If they want more, they'll ask.
Written with charming style, and always entertaining, Blyth's book artfully blends the theory and the practice about how to effectively and enjoyably converse.
After reading these excellent books, you will be well on your way to enlivening your conversations. But one question looms like the eavesdropping monster of Frankenstein: At that next party, how can we escape from boreus interminus — the mind-bending, mood-murdering, time-wasting total bore — the lonely and/or egomaniacal one who grips you like a swamp leech and won't let go?
Being European, both Zeldin and Blyth are too polite to employ a technique invented, practiced and perfected by us barbarians across the sea. It has been called by many names, one of which is "the Human Sacrifice." (It is mentioned in a book titled "The Art of Mingling", although I cannot recall if it originated there.) Something remotely similar to this method was used by Herakles, to pass the weighty sky back to the shoulders of the punished Titan, Atlas.
Here's how it works. When a bore hooks you and won't let go, you smile patiently, all the while waiting for the next person who will to come to pass. When this unsuspecting victim (the person to be sacrificed) passes near you, you touch his coat sleeve and then say: "Charlie, there is a fascinating person I want you to meet: this is [ fill in the name of the bore ]."
Grinning angelically, in one swift ballet-like motion, you take Charlie by the arm, move him in front of El Boro, and then walk slowly and steadily toward the cheese table, leaving the flabbergasted Charlie to manage the unflappable bore.
This technique, the human sacrifice, is heartless, machiavellian, uncivilized — and it works every time.
— Michael Pastore
Books Mentioned
Conversation
How Talk Can Change Our Lives
by Theodore Zeldin
Hidden Spring, May 2000
Hardcover, 112 pages, $ 12
The Art of Conversation
A Guided Tour of a Neglected Pleasure
by Catherine Blyth
Gotham Books
Paperback, 304 pages, $ 15
Available December 29, 2009
(hardcover and ebook editions available now)
Story Links
The Oxford Muse Foundation
http://www.oxfordmuse.com/index.htm
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Monday, September 14, 2009
50 Benefits of Ebooks is Published in a Revised and Expanded Edition (September 2009)
!A new edition of our popular book about ebooks is now available.
50 Benefits of Ebooks is a lively introduction to the brave new worlds of ebooks and electronic publishing. This revised September 2009 edition (now 51,000 words) is 25% larger than the March edition, contains new chapters, and features an inspiring Afterword by Michael S. Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg.
A PDF version and an EPUB version are available for sale right now.
The paperback book (374 pages) will be released on October 14.
The price is $ 2 — one-tenth of the paperback price.
There is a special discount for senior citizens and for buyers of the March edition: $ 1.
Michael S. Hart, who has been called 'the inventor of ebooks', says about the book: "This book is pretty much a 'must read' and a 'ready reference' for anyone considering eBooks."
In addition to the essay by Mr. Hart, new chapters have been added, and other chapters have been expanded and updated, including the chapter about How and Where to Find Free Ebooks. An article "The Google Book Search Settlement Demystified", offers a clear and simple explanation of this boggling issue.
For more information, please visit the book's companion blog-site, at
http://www.EpublishersWeekly.net
To buy the ebook for $ 2, visit the book's page on our Lulu storefront:
PDF format: http://www.lulu.com/content/multimedia/7657277
EPUB format: http://www.lulu.com/content/multimedia/7716765
More About the book:
Written for a wide audience — from ebook newcomers to experts — in 28 chapters, the book explores 5 essential aspects of ebook reading, writing and publishing: A. Benefits of Ebooks and Paper Books; B. Reading Ebooks; C. Ebooks for Authors & Publishers; D. The Value of Reading; and E. The Education of An Ebooklover. Ebook newcomers will find all the basics here. Ebook experts can debate and debunk the author’s wild predictions for the rosy and thorny future of ebooks, by reading the essay, “Publishing Ebooks: Ten Tremendous Trends in 2009.” Authors will discover tips and resources for ebook publishing. Library professionals will enjoy the book’s glossary, Index, and links to leading ebook sites.
For more information, visit the book's companion blog-site:
EpublishersWeekly.net
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Thursday, April 23, 2009
April 23 is World Book and Copyright Day
April 23 is World Book and Copyright Day. The event is sponsored and organized by UNESCO. Each year focuses on different themes:
"For the 2009 edition of the Day, UNESCO suggests to explore the topic of the paramount function of books for the development of quality education, as well as the link between publishing and human rights."
For more information about this day, visit:
World Book and Copyright Day (2009) page at UNESCO
April 23 is also a notable day for lovers of literature and poetry.
Literary births on April 23 include William Shakespeare in 1564 (day not certain); William Caslon in 1693 (English typeface maker); and Vladimir Naboklov (1899).
Literary deaths on April 23 include William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes (both in the year 1616); William Wordsworth; Henry Vaughan and Rupert Brooke. Ian MacMillian, in an article in the Guardian, wryly comments on these many poetic deaths, but inaccurately states that Shakespeare died in 1606. (But MacMillian's article is still worth reading.)
Last week, the Chronicle of Higher Education featured an article that stated The Elements of Style was published in 1919. But the book itself says "1918". And this week the Guardian can't find an editor who knows the year of Shakespeare's death.
Might mistakes in name-brand periodicals be blamed on budget cuts, or the lack of knowledge and concentration that results from too much Twitter tweeting? ... The Twuddite Maureen Dowd writes skeptically about twitterers, in her recent column To Tweet or Not to Tweet. Dowd begins the essay by referring to Alfred Hitchhock's horror movie, "The Birds", and ends by stating:
"I would rather be tied up to stakes in the Kalahari Desert, have honey poured over me and red ants eat out my eyes than open a Twitter account."
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Saturday, February 28, 2009
Ebook Humor: Why the Ex-Perts Call Them E-books
Email is now officially spelled with or without the hyphen: why not ebooks?
The ebook world has plenty of technology; we can use a bit of humor and a dash of art. Here is a poetic parody that gripes about the ludricrous hyphen in the word "e-book". Written by a man who is unafraid to put his name at the bottom of a beautiful heap of nonsense.
Why the Ex-Perts Call Them E-Books
“You say e-books, and I say ebooks! Let's call the hyphen off.”
— George and Ira Gershwin
A travesty against our race!
Of every creed and sex —
The adding of the hyphen
By the pompous scholar ex-
Perts, for no other reason
Than to obfuscate the poor
And humble e-book
Which requires nothing more.
“But why not?” ask the ex-
Perts as they while away the hours
Sipping fresh-frapped Capp-
Uccinos in the slippery ivory towers.
“All these lexographic capers
Add a dash of cold romance,
Makes for more grad-student papers,
And more fedly-funded grants.”
See the superfluous hyphen
As it separates the “e” —
From the book’s beloved wife an’
Paper-viewing family.
As we who love this brave new place,
Cannot but stop and think:
O, what a waste of precious space!
O what a waste of ink!
Somewhere in the thankless cold,
A poet longs to e-
At night when all his tales are told
To deaf posterity.
With every lovely line I write —
From heart, and hope, and mind,
The “e” stands all alone at right —
The book is left behind.
—- Michael Pastore
Copyright (c) 2009. From the paperback book and ebook:
50 Benefits of Ebooks:
A Thinking Person's Introduction to the Digital Reading Revolution
Where Ebooks are Low-Cost or Free.
Forthcoming, on March 8, 2009.
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Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Walt the Plumber, or: Is Writing Books For Famous Writers Only?
"The monstrosity of her pretensions touches the highest point of the ludicrous."
Those words are from George Gissing, describing one of the comic characters created by Charles Dickens. Gissing's barb defines the essence of today's publishing crisis: anybody and everybody believes that they can — without skill, practice, concentration, devotion, sacrifice and years of sustained efforts — write a worthwhile book.
Those of us who work at the writer's trade do not commit the opposite folly of believing that we could pick up a violin, for the first time, and play it with the unabashed virtuosity of Perlman, Paganini and Sarasate.
This problem is wittily discussed in a recent New York Times essay by Timothy Egan. (Here is the link to the essay: it is free to read, however you will need to register with the NY Times before you are permitted to read it: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/opinion/07egan.html).
Egan's essay (called =Typing Without A Clue=) begins this way:
The unlicensed pipe fitter known as Joe the Plumber is out with a book this month, just as the last seconds on his 15 minutes are slipping away. I have a question for Joe: Do you want me to fix your leaky toilet?
I didn’t think so. And I don’t want you writing books. Not when too many good novelists remain unpublished. Not when too many extraordinary histories remain unread. Not when too many riveting memoirs are kicked back at authors after 10 years of toil. Not when voices in Iran, North Korea or China struggle to get past a censor’s gate.
Joe, a k a Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, was no good as a citizen, having failed to pay his full share of taxes, no good as a plumber, not being fully credentialed, and not even any good as a faux American icon. Who could forget poor John McCain at his most befuddled, calling out for his working-class surrogate on a day when Joe stiffed him.
With a résumé full of failure, he now thinks he can join the profession of Mark Twain, George Orwell and Joan Didion.
Point well made. And the remainder of the essay sweetly captures the frustrations of every genuine author struggling to survive.
There is, however, another side of the argument, perhaps best summarized by Karl Popper, who wrote:
"If you want a democracy, you need to put up with some of the chaos."
Many of us cannot imagine how Plumber Joe can have a significant story to tell, or tell it in a captivating manner. At the same time, we do not want to bolt the door to every unknown and unpublished literary voice.
Consider the plight of some women and men, initially ignored or scorned, and now recognized among our finest writers:
- In 1855, Walt Whitman set type at his friend's printing company, then paid for the printing of the first edition of his unappreciated masterpiece Leaves of Grass.
- With the help of his wife,William Blake — considered by his contemporaries to be a madman, and now regarded as one of the world's great poets — handcrafted all his books in his own workshop at home.
- Some other once-ignored now-famous writers who have self-published include Benjamin Franklin; Henry David Thoreau; Mark Twain (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn); Carl Sandburg; Rudyard Kipling; William Strunk, Jr. (The Elements of Style); D.H. Lawrence; Gertrude Stein; Beatrix Potter; the Bronte Sisters; John Galsworthy; Edgar Allan Poe; Robert Browning; George Bernard Shaw; Samuel Butler; William E.B. Du Bois; James Joyce (Ulysses); Anais Nin; and Virginia Woolf.
Fortunately, there are a number of contemporary publishers who have stayed true to their calling and professional integrity. But many — and the cynic might say "most" — have not.
In theory, there is a system in place to separate the wheat from the chaff, the writers from the plumbers. The great gates to literary stardom are guarded by a hardhearted breed of businesspersons known as "literary agents." Admirably, a group of these agents have joined together, and formed an organization called the AAR (The Association of Authors Representatives) to protect authors from exploitation from members of their species who have lower ethical standards.
Years ago, inflated with youthful hopes and nearsighted optimism, I mailed a letter describing my novel to an agent in the publishing capital of the world. To my shock, within 6 months I received a reply from this agent. The reply — which of course had been mailed to me in my Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope — was nothing more than a glossy flyer promoting his new book. Though I laugh at this incident now, at the time I was mad as hell. It is petty to mention names, however I must say that I was very gratified this week to discover that the very book which had once been so nefariously promoted, is now available for free online, via Google Books.
But let us return to our original dilemma. Given the choice between two universes, one realm that published big-name authors only, and another world that published a wide variety of authors — great, awful, good, bad, and everything in between — I will choose the second world every time. That world of equal opportunity — where everyone has the chance to be published — is vastly more chaotic, more enlightening, and more fun.
— Michael Pastore
Thanks for the ping, to one of favorite blogs, Arts Journal:
http://www.artsjournal.com/artsjournal1/2008/12/so_why_shouldnt.shtml
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Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Mongol — The New Film by Sergei Bodrov
Mongol, the new film by Sergei Bodrov, is strangely appealing. Despite the length (120 minutes), the distracting subtitles, and the never-ending bloody battles, the interest never dims. The hero is always in danger, his wife is lovely, the scenery in stunning, and the music perfectly captures the spirit of the age. Yet to grasp the secret of of this film, one must -- as the director must have done -- view the earlier version, made in 1956, called The Conqueror.
Both films tell the story of Genghis Khan during his first 40 or so years. The Conqueror stars John Wayne as a cowboy rendition of Genghis, and Susan Hayward as his wayward wife. The highlight of this film is Susan Hayward's "Dance of the Single Veil"; and the lowlight is the first meeting between Genghis and his future bride, where the macho Wayne introduces himself to Hayward by ripping off her dress and exposing her breasts (not shown to the audience, of course). The Genghis Khan depicted in The Conqueror is a barbarian, hardly different from any of the killing, burning, ravishing hordes of other tribes and tribal leaders. But late in the film, Genghis's blood brother explains why the fighters follow the great Khan:
"He has a quality of spirit that commands love, and makes men greater than themselves. "
The earlier film talks about this quality of spirit, yet the film's hero never shows it, not in his treatment of his enemies or friends. The Khan in The Conqueror is a bully, who says of his wife "There is no limit to her perfidy," and then kicks a slave to the ground so that his wife can use this human being as a step to descend from her palanquin.
In the new film by Bodrov, we do see this rare great quality of spirit. The hero is not merely a bloodthirsty warrior who dominates by force, he is a true leader who unites the barbaric world by bringing laws to these lawless tribes. Bodrov's Genghis Khan is a family man who believes in justice, who cares about the common tribesman, who respect women and children, and desires peace far more than war.
By election-time in November, let us hope that American voters can understand this all-important difference.
== Story Links ==
Watch The Conqueror on Filmschatten:
http://filmschatten.blogspot.com/2008/06/conqueror.html
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Friday, February 08, 2008
The Zorba Anthology of Love Stories
Many Greek philosophers looked forward to old age, because &mdash they haplessly argued &mdash old age freed them from the slavery of love.
Euripides disagreed. More than 2,000 years ago he explained the great secret:
"When love is temperate it is the sweetest thing,
but save me from the other kind."
Happy Valentine's Day from EPW and Zorba Press.
And take a look at the Zorba Anthology of Love Stories.
Here, dear Reader, you will find a treasure of 31 stories (and passages from novels) all about the wild joys, the heartbreaking sorrows, the wonderful comedy, and the delightful mysteries of Love. Romantic love is the main theme of these tales, but other varieties of Love are explored: erotic love, motherly love, brotherly love, spiritual love, and friendship.
This book contains 28 selections by great storytellers from many lands, including Chekhov, Mansfield, Balzac, Dostoyevsky, Mary Shelley, Tolstoy, Hesse, Yezierska, E. M. Forster, Selma Lagerlöf, Marguerite Audoux, Maupassant, Hawthorne, Melville, Casanova, and many more. Also included are an Introduction by the editor, and 3 original pieces by Charles Elliott, Michael Pastore, and the novelist O. Thoreau.
But why read about love, when you watch a film? ... One of the great comic love films of all time is Smiles Of A Summer Night, by Ingmar Bergman. A comedy, yes, but a drama as well, and filled with pointed insights about human relationships. This is one of the last films that Bergman made before his work -- still good, but very different -- plunged through a glass darkly, filled with shrieking women, weak-hearted men, and sexistential angst.
Thanks to the website Filmschatten, you can now see Bergman's film free: a broadband internet connection (cable or DSL) is needed.
Filmschatten website: http://filmschatten.blogspot.com/
Smiles of a Summer Night (part 1 of 7)
And did we mention, for the perfect gift for Valentine's Day, the Zorba Anthology of Love Stories ?
Read more! ... (or go to this post's PermaLink)
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