Random thoughts...

[Ben Staad]

Someone found for me the discussion and shared it. Thanks!

I miss the days when I knew nothing much about an author. Social media has kind of ruined my appreciation for a number of authors.

[c marvel]

Have the winners of the Chasing the Boogeyman contest from late last week been announced?


Cap

[RonClinton]

I miss the days when I knew nothing much about an author. Social media has kind of ruined my appreciation for a number of authors.

I know what you mean. I’m ordinarily able to separate the art from the artist, but when they’re ceaselessly barraging their Twitter account with hyperbolic and/or snarky sociopolitical posts, it makes them come off as small and intractably intolerant of opposing perspectives. I don’t see how one can write with any keen understanding of human motivation and emotion when one seemingly lacks the ability to envision multiple truths and empathize…it increasingly makes their work feel false and artificial.

[Ben Staad]

That is one reason I essentially disengaged from social media. I had so many author "friends" voicing their opinions that it just ruined my day and in some cases changed my outlook on supporting their work. Heck I even left a book collecting forum because I couldn't get away from political/societal stuff.

So now I am only on FB with no friends and only subscribe to a few book collecting groups. My feed is mostly drama free.

I know what you mean. I’m ordinarily able to separate the art from the artist, but when they’re ceaselessly barraging their Twitter account with hyperbolic and/or snarky sociopolitical posts, it makes them come off as small and intractably intolerant of opposing perspectives. I don’t see how one can write with any keen understanding of human motivation and emotion when one seemingly lacks the ability to envision multiple truths and empathize…it increasingly makes their work feel false and artificial.

[Sock Monkey]

Well put. I am familiar with Nathan Ballingrud -- his own work is quite good, and I've had the pleasure of communicating with him a few times on Twitter -- but agree that with the sentiment here that his contemporary critical assessment on a decades-old book and subsequent suggestions for improvement though a progressive perspective is, I think, both inappropriate and way off-base. An introduction should be either (or both) a celebration of the work and/or a way to put the characters and themes in a larger context, but a context that is framed by the author's intended perspective and the time in which he wrote the work.

A novel is not written in a vacuum, but neither should it be judged on what it lacks according to the time in which it was wrote or the time in which it was set. In the case of BLACKWATER, it was written in 1983 and is set in 1919, so a plot that puts black characters in a secondary role is not a puzzling authorial decision...and it was the author who decided what characters he chose to write about and the events and themes in which these characters were involved, and an introduction should respect those decision and address the book as it is, not in the way the introducer feels it should be, especially when using a modern perspective to find fault, to find something lacking. Any book is a snapshot in time, and it should be allowed to portray that snapshot in the fashion that the author originally intended.

R.e. that last point...like Sholloman, I had some passing interest in the S/L of THOSE ACROSS THE RIVER, but after reading about the changes to the book, I decided to pass. I understand that unlike the BLACKWATER instance, it was the author himself who decided to make the changes, but his reasoning behind it was, to my mind, a concession to woke sensitivity and the start of a slippery slope that I just can't support.

I don't think I could have put this better myself. I agree with every point made.

[RonClinton]

Martin , thought you might find this of interest…coming in a couple weeks, THE WORLD PLAYED CHESS:

Bestselling author Robert Dugoni returns with an emotionally arresting follow-up to The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell.

In 1979, Vincent Bianco has just graduated high school. His only desire: collect a little beer money and enjoy his final summer before college. So he lands a job as a laborer on a construction crew. Working alongside two Vietnam vets, one suffering from PTSD, Vincent gets the education of a lifetime. Now forty years later, with his own son leaving for college, the lessons of that summer—Vincent’s last taste of innocence and first taste of real life—dramatically unfold in a novel about breaking away, shaping a life, and seeking one’s own destiny.

[mulleins]

That is one reason I essentially disengaged from social media. I had so many author "friends" voicing their opinions that it just ruined my day and in some cases changed my outlook on supporting their work. Heck I even left a book collecting forum because I couldn't get away from political/societal stuff.

So now I am only on FB with no friends and only subscribe to a few book collecting groups. My feed is mostly drama free.

Amen! I did the same.

[Martin]

Martin , thought you might find this of interest…coming in a couple weeks, THE WORLD PLAYED CHESS:

Bestselling author Robert Dugoni returns with an emotionally arresting follow-up to The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell.

In 1979, Vincent Bianco has just graduated high school. His only desire: collect a little beer money and enjoy his final summer before college. So he lands a job as a laborer on a construction crew. Working alongside two Vietnam vets, one suffering from PTSD, Vincent gets the education of a lifetime. Now forty years later, with his own son leaving for college, the lessons of that summer—Vincent’s last taste of innocence and first taste of real life—dramatically unfold in a novel about breaking away, shaping a life, and seeking one’s own destiny.

Thank you! I have been waiting on his next Robert Jenkins book but it isn't out until next year. Somehow I completely missed this one.

[RonClinton]

Thank you! I have been waiting on his next Robert Jenkins book but it isn't out until next year. Somehow I completely missed this one.

I have to admit, this one sounds less compelling than SAM HELL, but he built up a good amount of goodwill and trust with me on that one, so I’ll give it a shot.

[Martin]

I have to admit, this one sounds less compelling than SAM HELL, but he built up a good amount of goodwill and trust with me on that one, so I’ll give it a shot.

I completely agree with your thoughts on that. I will say that calling it a follow-up to SAM HELL sets the bar very high and may backfire on them.

[RonClinton]

I completely agree with your thoughts on that. I will say that calling it a follow-up to SAM HELL sets the bar very high and may backfire on them.

I thought precisely the same thing. Pairing them up like that sets high expectations for the second (non-genre) book to meet, and from the plot description I’m afraid it may fall short… which in a vacuum may still result in a satisfying read, but if SAM HELL is the bar then it has farther to reach and harder to fall.

[Ben Staad]

Luckily we were not in the direct path of hurricane IDA but last night and this morning we are getting some very nasty weather associated with this storm. Good gusts of wind and heavy rain for extended periods of time. Typically, with this type of weather, we will see some downed trees in the area before long.

Everyone here okay?

[TacomaDiver]

Luckily we were not in the direct path of hurricane IDA but last night and this morning we are getting some very nasty weather associated with this storm. Good gusts of wind and heavy rain for extended periods of time. Typically, with this type of weather, we will see some downed trees in the area before long.

Everyone here okay?

Glad to hear you weren't in the direct path - these storms just get worse from year to year.

[TacomaDiver]

I have a phone screening call with another organization in about 10 minutes.

I wasn't looking for a new job, but two opportunities came calling so I figured what the heck. Have to look out for yourself you know?

[Ben Staad]

You are very correct. I learned that lesson the hard way during the last recession. Always have been a company man but now look at things a little differently these days. Good luck to you.

I have a phone screening call with another organization in about 10 minutes.

I wasn't looking for a new job, but two opportunities came calling so I figured what the heck. Have to look out for yourself you know?