tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post115867808922699652..comments2024-03-14T16:57:29.045-04:00Comments on Whisky Prajer: It's the end of fiction as we know it (and I feel fine)!dpreimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905531259256800022noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-1159830660516956912006-10-02T19:11:00.000-04:002006-10-02T19:11:00.000-04:00If my nephews (17, 19) are any indication, Fight C...If my nephews (17, 19) are any indication, <I>Fight Club</I> is *still* big. The book obviously speaks to young lads. I love the book (it remains Pahlaniuk's best, I think), but it pays to open discussion when you see kids of a certain age picking it up!Whisky Prajerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14076228013022881173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-1158758843813039982006-09-20T09:27:00.000-04:002006-09-20T09:27:00.000-04:00The new Generation X? Easy.Bridget Jones' Diary s...The new <I>Generation X</I>? Easy.<BR/><BR/><I>Bridget Jones' Diary</I> spoke to a generation!<BR/><BR/>A stupid generation!<BR/><BR/>All kidding aside, yikes, this one nicked me a bit, Darrell, as virtually everything I read these days is non-fiction -- <I>philistine, c'est moi</I>!<BR/><BR/>I have, though, finally cracked open my copy of Michael Chabon's <I>The Mysteries of Pittsburgh</I> -- I've read his books in reverse order, it seems -- and I'm rediscovering the way a novel can both pull you out of your own world and into the author's, while pushing you deeper into your own memories and feelings.<BR/><BR/>Sure, a great movie can do that too but not as well and for not as long. Maybe I'll finally get into Cormac McCarthy next...Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09329360007920754967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-1158758810011197092006-09-20T09:26:00.000-04:002006-09-20T09:26:00.000-04:00WP, I'd say the 40% has been relatively constant,...<B>WP</B>,<BR/> I'd say the 40% has been relatively constant, although the split of History annd Science has always been in flux. I'm throwing into the non-fiction chasm such beauties as <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Trawler-Redmond-OHanlon/dp/1400042755/sr=1-2/qid=1158757528/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-7558793-1377721?ie=UTF8&s=books" REL="nofollow">this</A>, <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Intimate-History-Richard-Fortey/dp/0375406263/sr=1-3/qid=1158757700/ref=pd_bbs_3/102-7558793-1377721?ie=UTF8&s=books" REL="nofollow">this</A>, <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Life-Natural-History-Billion-Vintage/dp/037570261X/sr=1-2/qid=1158757737/ref=sr_1_2/102-7558793-1377721?ie=UTF8&s=books" REL="nofollow">this</A>, <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Guns-Germs-Steel-Human-Societies/dp/0393061310/sr=1-1/qid=1158757911/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-7558793-1377721?ie=UTF8&s=books" REL="nofollow">this</A> and <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Heard-You-Paint-Houses-Teamsters/dp/1586420771/sr=1-1/qid=1158757784/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-7558793-1377721?ie=UTF8&s=books" REL="nofollow">this</A>.<BR/><BR/>Non-fiction category is the Pacific to fiction's Mediterranean, so 40% actually seems very low to me. Included in non-fiction would be travel-related books as well, which I'm a soft touch for especially those written by <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/102-7558793-1377721?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Tim+Cahill" REL="nofollow">Tim Cahill</A> and <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/102-7558793-1377721?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Eric+Hansen" REL="nofollow">Eric Hansen</A>.DarkoVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11572734667248592785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-1158749717333633442006-09-20T06:55:00.000-04:002006-09-20T06:55:00.000-04:00Funny, but you have a couple of titles that can be...Funny, but you have a couple of titles that can be found in my bedside pile, too. Hammett and McCarthy are there currently, but I've also had Hillerman, McMurtry and Finney threaten to topple over and wake me up (Prairie Mary's inclusion is a good reminder: been meaning to pick that one up).<BR/><BR/>Still, your representation differs quite dramatically from Amazon.com (US), whose top 25 sellers include only nine(!) fiction titles. Amazon used to have a "regional" feature, where the curious could see what sold well in, say, Texas - but I can't seem to find it. It could be Texans have a greater appetite for fiction. If that were so, I wouldn't be at all surprised - Texans being indeed a breed apart.Whisky Prajerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14076228013022881173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-1158720340644817102006-09-19T22:45:00.000-04:002006-09-19T22:45:00.000-04:00Hmmm, I hate math questions.But, in order to be an...Hmmm, I hate math questions.<BR/><BR/>But, in order to be an accomodating reader/commentor, I would judge my average genre percentage as thus ( and blogs are not averaged in):<BR/><BR/><BR/>Fiction -68% or better <BR/><BR/>Non-fiction ( mostly nature writers as of late) 32% or less<BR/><BR/>What have I read this year so far? <BR/><BR/>My memory is as sharp as my math (like a forgotten campfire marshmellow left out in the elements and early morning dew) and my bedside reading pile rivals the peaks of Kilimanjaro, but here goes the short list containing some of the stuff I have read recently:<BR/><BR/>1. Telegraph Days - Larry McMurtry<BR/>2. Bone Game - Louis Owens<BR/>3. Red -Passion and Patience in the Desert - Terry Tempest Williams<BR/>4. The Last Cheater's Waltz - Ellen Melloy<BR/>5. Falling from Grace in Texas: A Literary Response to the Demise of Paradise - Rick Bass<BR/>6. The Historian - Elizabeth Kostovo <BR/>7. The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd-by Richard Zacks<BR/>8. The Complete History of Jack the Ripper -Phillip Sugden<BR/>9. The Crossing - Cormac McCarthy<BR/>10. Bluefeather Fellini -Max Evans<BR/>11. The Widow of the South - Robert Hicks<BR/>12. Time and Again - Jack Finney<BR/>13. The First Eagle - Tony Hillerman<BR/>14. Second Coffee Creek - Alan Kimball<BR/>15. The Novels of Dashiell Hammett - A compilation<BR/>15. Desert Solitaire - Edward Abbey<BR/>16. Twelve Blackfoot Stories - Mary Schriver<BR/><BR/>Looking back on my list, I discover I have weird reading tastes...and now the world knows.Cowtown Pattiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07384649567351202679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-1158687779866913912006-09-19T13:42:00.000-04:002006-09-19T13:42:00.000-04:00This Thornhill is indeed the locale that inspired ...This Thornhill is indeed the locale that inspired the group. Entirely suburban in character, but again: that smoked meat was delicious enough to give Old Montreal a run for its money.<BR/><BR/>I should add that this theory of mine does nothing to dampen my own fiction-writing output. These musings are pretty common, and unless a fiction writer is hoping to make a comfortable living at the trade, they shouldn't be at all discouraging.<BR/><BR/>You say 40% is non-fiction: has that percentage increased or held steady over the years?Whisky Prajerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14076228013022881173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-1158685006256562432006-09-19T12:56:00.000-04:002006-09-19T12:56:00.000-04:00I wouldn't put too much stock in my reading habits...I wouldn't put too much stock in my reading habits; don't think they're a worthy statistical lot.<BR/>All are rough estimates<BR/><B>Non-Fiction 40%</B><BR/>History-related 60%<BR/>Science-related 40%<BR/><BR/><B>Fiction 55%</B><BR/>Novels 70%<BR/>Short stories 30%<BR/><BR/><B>Science Fiction 5%</B><BR/><BR/>I note the latter simply because the 5% used to be 30-40% of my reading a long time ago. I guess as I'm clocking the years, the optimisic/fatalistic ideas that sci-fi brought to me are getting less interesting; their possible occurence are beyond my scope of living.<BR/><BR/><BR/>And new stuff, particularly fiction, is less tempting. My backlog of unread novels published in the last 100 years is too great to tarry around the newbies. Except, of course, novels by favorite writers of favorite novels already read.<BR/><BR/>This entry of yours isn't a harbinger of some news regarding your soon-to-be-available tome, is it?DarkoVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11572734667248592785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-1158684111651529052006-09-19T12:41:00.000-04:002006-09-19T12:41:00.000-04:00Apropos of nothing at all. This deli. Located in...Apropos of nothing at all. This deli. Located in Thornhill, Ontario. Is it the same Thornhill as Moxy Fruvous' <A HREF="http://www.fruvous.com/thrnhill.html" REL="nofollow">Thornhill</A>?<BR/><BR/>o.k., continue.DarkoVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11572734667248592785noreply@blogger.com