EMAIL IN PERSPECTIVE

“The only way we will avoid being crushed by the weight of the hundreds or thousands of emails we receive every day is to free ourselves from the need to treat each one like it matters and like it merits a response. The only way we will avoid being emotionally crushed by having other people not respond to our emails is to stop expecting a response. If we can adapt our expectations to fit the realities of this new paradigm, we will all crawl out from under the weight of the curse of email. Email will prove a blessing.”

 - Tim Challies

WHY YOU MIGHT WANT TO MAKE AN AUDIOBOOK

So...I waited until I was reading something blatantly intelligent before before completing this post. There you have it. Doris Lessing's The Golden Notebook, one of the most emotionally taxing, mentally overwhelming, lives-up-to-its-own-legend books I have subjected myself to. Have you ever read a book and thought - "hell, I could've written that." Well, that won't happen here.

That aside, I "read" this on audiobook. Cheating? I don't know. I used to know - I used to have all the answers, but now...I don't know. I've had some truly moving experiences via audiobook, of the same kind that reading a good book will do. That, I have discovered, is not a bad thing. Because the point of a book is to create an experience, and having it read to you, while easier (there is less focus, less concentration involved) will create an authentic experience. It may not be the exact same as hearing that perfect voice in your head, but that doesn't make it any less. 

I started this practice, like most things, under duress. Sometimes the library will have an e-copy, sometimes a physical copy, and sometimes an audio copy, but never all of them and never at the same time. Alas. So to continually feed my appetite for that particular novel, I had to compromise, and considering the state of my morals, it wouldn't be the first time. 

After compromising myself several times over while listening to books in this inferior format, I began to notice a few things:

The voice is everything. If you do not have a good reader, it will bring a good book to its knees; the experience of a book becomes irrevocably tied to this single voice. In the best case scenario, you will have a full professional cast of actors reading each individual character with symphonic interludes (See: The Golden Compass).* In the worst case, you will be subjected to hours in the company of that nasal twat-sicle that sat behind you in History 1B. Between these two extremes, you simply need to be able to read both genders without sounding whiny and high-pitched (men reading as women) or just plain weird (women reading as men). I have noticed that reading, not acting out characters, may also make the listening experience less offensive while enhancing the listener's enjoyment of the language of the book.

Audiobooks may be better or worse for certain genres. Poetry could really benefit from being heard - you can replay them over and over again like songs, until the rhythm of the words really sinks into your head. On the other hand, I'm not sure if I would want to have certain types of books read to me. I suggest you google Gilbert Gottfried and 50 Shades to see what I mean by this.  

Now, here is the crucial question - why would you want to make an audiobook? In my own experience, when I've asked people if they want to take a look at a draft of my book, the answer is almost universally the same - they would love to, but they have no time. This "I have no time" is the most popular rationale that well-meaning people have for not reading anymore. Or for only reading the news, it amounts to the same thing. The book is a monopolizer. You have a carve out a chunk of time to truly experience a novel in the traditional way, and I don't think people will give that kind of time to just anyone. This is where audiobooks come in. 

The experience of an audiobook is different than a book, because suddenly - Look! Free hands! Your hands are not tied to a book! And this allows those same hands to do a variety of other things, like wash the dishes, or drive a car, or surf the internet. Yes, the experience of reading this precious book that it took forever to bleed out from the ashes of your heart is being split between a crying baby and road rage. I try not to think about that part. I try to focus on the other part: this may be how you will reach a broader, busier audience, who would otherwise not grant you their time. It's a tactical maneuver. It's your way in. Let me put this another way, if I could pack the experience of my book into a syringe and inject it into the bloodstream of a reader, I would do it. 

This is all still theoretical on my end, though. I've never tried it - I'm still in the editing phase. But I can provide links to two posts that provide practical advice on how to do this Here and Here.

* The Book Thief by Markus Zusak was also a very good, straightforward listening experience, if you want another example. I could provide negative examples, but that's just being mean. 

G.F. WILKINSON BOOKS

It was one of those days where you back into an alley...only to discover a bookstore.

In the middle of the day, which is the only time I gravitate towards alleyways, I took a random turn and there it was: seemingly built into the wall was a series of three windows. Outside each was a polite cart of books. In each window stood a shelf, and on the shelves were more books. All different kinds. All selected with taste. 

I chatted with the owner, Wilkinson (surprised?), and he handed me his card. The store, he explained, was inspired by his European travels, where he saw people selling books on the roadside by laying their wares out on blankets. You walk by. You browse. You buy. It's the kind of idea that can vary between romantic reminiscence or book prostitution, depending on your inclinations.

I found the idea charming, both in concept and execution. 

FUN LINKS

Websites

The 100 Best, Most Interesting Blogs and Websites of 2014

Books

The Observer's Books of the Year

Every once in a while, I will read a book because it appears on a list. And the only way to know if you should trust a list is to test it out. I don't like the New York Times year end recommendations - I've been burned more than once and it's not happening again. So it may be time to give the Observer a try. Do you agree with this list?

Mind

Mentally Strong People: the 13 Things They Avoid

This article is about cultivating good mental habits - the spoiler is that there is nothing novel about any of the ways of thinking advocated here. I point this out not to be a jerk, although that is a perfectly valid motive, but because I believe that good habits should constantly be reinforced.

Writing

Joan Dideon's Thoughts on Everything

She is the master of the perfectly timed pause - it's in the way she visually distributes her line breaks to gently prod you along. Dideon encapsulates the model of glamour that you usually don't find in writing. I don't know how exactly she managed this. The effortlessness is part of her charm.

Apps

Duolingo

I came across this app recently. It's free. You can learn basic French, English, Italian, Portugese, Spanish, or German. A little owl harasses you everyday to keep moving ahead with your studies. Don't mind if I do!

Lena Dunham

Lena Dunham interview from Slate

I am oddly fascinated by Girls' writer, director, and Star Lena Dunham. I can't stand to see pictures of myself, and yet there she is: hanging around naked, awkwardly trying to seduce her boss, talking during sex. In every way possible, she throws herself out there, and then gets ripped for it. The she goes and does it again. It's fascinating.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy new year! I hope 2014 is good to you! 

For some, a new year is a time for new resolutions. For me, it simply means change. Neither good nor bad, just different, with a little bit of hope. So I'm going to mix things up a bit and attach some pics from my instagram account, because I forgot my actual camera and decided to see how the world would look from my phone. If you can't tell, I really really want to go snorkeling off the great barrier reef in New Zealand. It probably didn't help that I saw the second Hobbit movie, and every time I see dwarves being chased across a grassy knoll into a haunted forest (you know that scene, right?), it makes me want to go to New Zealand. 

What would you like to do this year? 

DESCENT INTO SLOTH

The Friendship Between a Girl and Her Cat

It's that time of year, and I feel I've done a great deal, so I'm going to relax and post content that earlier...let's say that earlier in the year, I was trying for higher standards, intellectual wit and whatnot, and right now...my brain just feels like looking at cats. You can click on the link for more pics. Go ahead, I dare you. I will now go read some Nabokov.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Via Showhome.nl

Merry Christmas!  As I have no tree and I live in an small apartment, this is realistically my best alternative. If you click on the link, there are also many other creative ideas as well.

I hope you have a lovely holiday! 

10 FAVORITE POSTS OF 2013

I went ahead and pulled a few posts that I liked: both to share, and because I'm glad I was able to commit, to give myself a virtual pat on the back.  Here they are, in no particular order. 

1. The Art of Sarcasm

2. My Cultural Attache

3. Writing Update and Tips

4. A Little Hiking, A Little Vocab

5. Thanks, Jerk

6. Notes on Peru

7. Sexual Harassment

8. San Francisco in the Summer and E-Dumping

9. Jared Leto and Hamlet

10. Listening and Quiet

ON CRITICISM

“To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.” 

- Aristotle

TUMBLR or BLOGGER or PINTEREST or INSTAGRAM?

There are many social applications out there, and for some inexplicable reason, I use them all in different ways. Each of them seems naturally inclined towards a different function and/or audience. Here's what I've noticed, correct me if I'm wrong:

Tumblr:   

Seems to attract young people. Really young - underage young. How do I know this? All lot of people put their age in their profile. (I'm 17!) It's also incredibly easy to get content from other users. Not so easy to upload your own content, but to reblog from another user? Easy peesy. I say this because it takes two clicks to reblog, and a whole process to post an image you first have to save onto your computer. Tumblr functions best as a self-contained universe. Not so many people put on original content. Most reblog - it's easier, but then you can end up in a virtual loop, seeing the same images over and over again. 

What I post: visually intriguing photography, calming interiors, epic landscapes, clever sayings, all while citing sources (Note: this is unusual, a lot of the time, you have no idea of an image's original source. I see this as a bad thing). I basically use this as my virtual inspiration wall and actively look for original content. I try to keep it highbrow (no porn). I do not write anything on Tumblr, because it feels wrong. And it looks ugly, like words aren't meant to go there.

Blogger: 

Well, here I am. I write here. Other people's pictures go on Tumblr, but my actual words, my own photographs and my thoughts make their home here. I think it's because I can better control the formatting and like the overall look of it, and I can dig a little bit deeper into a topic. However, blogging is isolated. Blogging is an island. People may find you, but only if they're looking. People on Tumblr are actively looking - even if it's to reblog your photographs to show their followers, at least they're out and about. You can amass followers relatively easily on Tumblr, depending on your interests. Blogger not so much.

Twitter: 

Ideally, I see this as an open market information exchange: I upload content I find useful and interesting, along with links to this blog, along with my own photographs. It's a good place to interact with other writers as well, and to gain useful information. Eventually, I hope to promote my own book. But with restraint, of course. 

In reality, it's a lot of digging around, like searching through a virtual flea market to see if there are substantive gems to be found. There's a lot of auto-tweets and auto retweets. Hashtags sometimes make communication incomprehensible. But I've found some gems alongside the rough. So that keeps it interesting.

Facebook: 

Honestly, I have an account, but I don't ever go on it. I can't even be bothered to complain about it, because I've already complained enough times that I bore myself. If I do something "official" I will probably have to open a Facebook page and start pimping it out to everyone I know to "like" it. I feel sorry for my future self. 

Instagram:

I don't use this very often. Some people find Instagram to be the most personal account because it shows pictures from people's daily lives, like little personal vignettes. I know the contents of my daily life. It's boring. Here is what theoretical pictures from my Instagram account would be: an office cubicle (multiple angles), tupperware (not restaurant food), a cheap gym (where I would look bad), and possibly some screenshots from my laptop, where I spend an inordinate amount of time.

Pinterest:

I haven't associated my Pinterest account with this blog, because...to be perfectly honest...this is where I lose all self restraint and am an unabashed consumer whore and virtual chef. It has to go somewhere. On this blog, I made an intentional choice not to talk too often about shopping or fashion or makeup, because I think that adds to consumerism and unhappiness by promoting unrealistic ideals. Well, those choices get thrown into the garbage on Pinterest. It is just too easy to pin things that you want to buy, or pretty things you like to look at, cats - things that range between shallow and embarrassing. I have a recipe for homemade twix on Pinterest, and that's one of the better ones, because twix at least is a food group. Right. We all need a virtual outlet, and although ideally it would be exercise, in reality it is Pinterest.