Five Book Buying Secrets Revealed

What makes you pick up a book? Out of all the spines lining a shelf, what draws you to one over another?

Tell me you never do this: browsing through towers of books, whether in a bookstore or a library, a cover catches your eye. It's intriguing. Captivating. Maybe even inspirational. You know it houses a rollicking adventure with a kick-butt heroine. You can feel it. Your palms itch. You judge the book by its cover, glance around surreptitiously, then slip it into your stack of planned purchases. You buy it.

Actually, I'm kinda hoping you do buy books that way. Then I'd feel comforted in the knowledge that I keep dang fine company. Because, honestly, judging a book by its cover is one of the main ways I buy books.

Buying Books: People buy books for many reasons. I'm aware of that. But book lovers, people like you and me, who can't get enough of the written word, who breathe deep in the dank mustiness of used book stores, who caress the frayed edges of an old hardcover book, we buy books for different reasons. For sensual reasons. For possessive reasons. For lustful reasons.

I buy books...

1. because of the cover art: you can't judge a book by its cover, but you can sure be enticed by it. This is so unfortunate for authors, because they often have little say over the cover art.

2. because of the title: if the title is a catchy one, I'll pick up the book and read the back. Titles may not convince me to purchase a book, but they help me choose the ones to peruse more closely.

3. because the author is compared to one I already know and love: ever see those nifty little lists librarians put together? If you like XYZ, you'll love 123. I don't always trust these lists, but I definitely give them a glance over.

4. because of a friend's recommendation: For example, D. M. McReynolds just suggested that I pick up Dragon in Chains by Daniel Fox. That book totally went to the top of my radar because of his recommendation, and I'll be hunting it down soon via library or Amazon.

5. because of the buzz: I'm not even really sure why I typed this last one. I suppose it's because I'll occasionally look at a best-seller list or listen in on what's hot or glance at a publicity poster or read a book review. But not all that often, really. To be frank, I'm not that interested in what others have to say about a particular book. And if a book takes the world by storm, I usually don't read it. So, I haven't read The Da Vinci Code or any of the Harry Potter books or The Notebook. (Eeek -- I know, sacrilege!)

How about you? Why do you buy books? And what makes you initially pick up a book? follow through and purchase it?

Reading for Survival: Beyond the Frippery

I happened across an essay by John D. MacDonald this summer entitled, "Reading for Survival" written only months before his death in December of 1986. I've been mulling the concepts over, filtering them through my own experiences, readings, and understandings, working to enlarge my focus of so many things touched upon within these pages. MacDonald's essay is not the epitome of philosophic contemplation -- in fact, his own description of the essay reads, "the mountain has labored and brought forth a small, mangy, bad-tempered mouse of 7200 words." But buried within the sometimes tedious examples and pontification glitter gems of inescapable brilliance.

Although MacDonald struggled long over this essay, he ended up (upon the advice of Jean Trebbi) crafting a Socratic dialogue between Travis McGee and Meyer, fictional characters of his detective series, in order to communicate his philosophic beliefs. It's a short read, and I recommend it to anyone who considers herself a "reader" or "educated" or "passionate" in the best, liberal arts sense of the word.

"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." Mark Twain

In my combating elitism post, I indicated that certain self-entitled "educated elites" are tedious and self-important. Stu rebutted with the observation that there are those who disdain all educated individuals as lacking common sense. I think both statements contain truth. However, MacDonald's essay reveals that education lies not within a degree but within reading.

Meyer, who serves as a sort of educated moral compass for Travis throughout the mystery series, states, "I would not demand that a man read ponderous tomes, or try to read everything -- any more than I would expect our ancestor to examine every single leaf on a plant he remembers as being poisonous. I would expect that in his reading -- which should be wide ranging, fiction, history, poetry, political science -- he would acquire the equivalent of a liberal arts education and acquire also what I think of as the educated climate of mind, a climate characterized by skepticism, irony, doubt, hope, and a passion to learn more and remember more" (25).

Meyer goes on to note that "common sense is uncommon, dear boy. And in more cases than you could imagine, it comes from reading widely, and from remembering" (31).

While Socrates writes, "The life unexamined is not worth living," Meyer observes that "the life unexamined is the life unlived" (26). It is only through examining and drawing relationships between and contemplating and discussing and mulling over ideas that we truly come to life. "Complex ideas and complex relationships are not transmitted by body language, by brainstorming sessions, by the boob tube or the boom box. You cannot turn back the pages of a television show and review a part you did not quite understand. You cannot carry conversations around in your coat pocket" (25). While technological advances of the last decade have changed the literal truth of MacDonald's claim, the philosophical truth is inescapable. As a stereotypical whole, we tend to eschew the complex and embrace the simple.

This is glaringly evident in MacDonald's final warning to the nonreaders of our nation. Although I have not verified the figure, Meyer quotes an article in Psychology Today, saying that, "sixty million Americans, one out of three adults...cannot read well enough to understand a help-wanted ad" (25). Epidemic illiteracy is devastating not only because of what it means to our economy or our status in the world or the future of our children, but especially because of the multiplying impact it has upon every aspect of our lives, from the minutiae to the enormous. "The nonreader in our culture, Travis, wants to believe. He is the one born every minute. The world is so vastly confusing and baffling to him that he feels there has to be some simple answer to everything that troubles him" (32).

I do not agree with every statement or hypothesis or theory espoused by MacDonald within Reading for Survival. I believe MacDonald would be disappointed if I did. His intention was to enter the dialogue, offer a messy collection of suppositions, thoughts, and claims, provide pieces of evidence, and invite the rest of us to respond, refute, endorse, embrace, argue over, contemplate, and...most importantly...enter into the dialogue ourselves.

Spreading the Link Love

Following the example of Interminable Writer (who evidently got it from Juiced on Writing), I'm spreading a little Link Love. "What is Link Love?" you ask. Well, it's an organized method of finding like minded people ... mainly writers who write and blog and have a life, too ... and crowing about them. Singing their praises. Bringing curious readers to their deserving pages.

Spreading the Link Love:

Step One: Explore some writerly blogs from the list below that have merit. Expand your horizons.

Step Two: Comment on their pages. Leave your calling card. (Commit to a couple new blogs per day, if you choose.)

Step Three: Copy the links below into your own post. Add your writing buddies to the list.

Step Four: Post. Continue exploring these various writers. Build a bigger network. Learn. Consider. Ruminate. Mull over. Disagree. Enlarge. Engage. Extrapolate. Join. Converse. Be.

Alex Moore All Things Good Anthony Pacheco: Hack Writer Selonus Writing Career Coach Nick Daws’ Writing Blog The Ups, Downs and Sometimes Insane World of Freelance Writing The Writer’s Roadmap Grammar Girl Cute Writing Tumblemoose The Writers Manifesto Blog Murder & Magnolias The Fictorium Writer…Interrupted Pix-N-Pens Juiced on Writing Girls Write Out Novel Journey Write Thinking Confident Writing A Life in Pages Write to Done Foxy Writer Story Hack Writing Journey Advanced Fiction Writing Scribereglyph No Excuses, Just Write Rantings and Ravings of an Insane Writer A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing Acme Authors At Home, Writing The Rejecter A Writer’s Edge Remarkable Communication Men with Pens Freelance Parent The Golden Pencil Ink in my Coffee Inkthinker All the Write Stuff BK Birch’s Writers Blog Chronicling the Novel Freelance Writing Jobs eWrite Life Miss Snark The Renegade Writer Writing White Papers Pub Rants The Well-Fed Writer Writer Beware Blogs! Gotta Write Girl PoeWar Tip Booklets 1WriteWay Enriched by Words To Breathe Underwater Annie on Writing The Interminable Writer Just Another Writing Blog Not Enough Words Paperback Writer Writing Time Writer Dad Pocket Full of Words Tech for Writers Writing with Zette The First Book Buzz Balls and Hype Big Bad Book Blog Diary of a Wordsmith Freelance Writing Tips Inky Girl The Urban Muse Mike’s Writing Workshop Write to Travel Something She Wrote Wordcount Write-From-Home Writing the Cyber Highway Write on Wednesday Writer’s Roundabout The Writer’s Technology Companion Writer Unboxed Backstory Editorial Anonymous Murder She Writes SlushPile.Net WOW - Women on Writing Rejection is My Middle Name Emerging Writers Network Writing Power Writing Hermit Write Anything Always Try a Little Harder Pecked by Ducks Bookends LLC - A Literary Agent writerjenn Daily Writing Tips Freedom from the Mundane The View from Here Out of Thin Air Shari Writes Writing for Your Wealth Into the Quiet Editorial Ass A Writer’s World Interminable Writer

Podcasts for the Sci Fi / Fantasy Writer

We're all looking for something more in this cold, weary, economically-challenged world, and I'm no different. And, like most of the common folks, it's not the fame or the glory or the name in lights that calls to me. Nope. I'm looking for a few good podcasts. That'd make my cookie moist and chuck full of chocolate-y goodness.

More specifically, I'm looking for podcasts on writing: all things character development, world-building, killing off your loved ones, and plot enhancing. So, in the spirit of share and share alike, here are the ones I have to offer:

1. Odyssey Podcasts: Welcome to the Odyssey Podcasts. These podcasts are excerpts from lectures given by guest writers, editors, and agents at the Odyssey Writing Workshop.

2. Writing Excuses: Fifteen minutes long, because you’re in a hurry, and we’re not that smart.

3. Litopia of Redhammer: I haven't listened to them out yet (site is in "Design Beta" since Friday), but David Bridger of How to Get Your Novel Published writes that these are his "favourite podcasts in all the world, the tasty ten-minute Litopia Daily each weekday and the sumptuous 50-minute-ish Litopia After Dark at 8pm (GMT) on Friday evenings."

[UPDATE: Catch Litopia at the following address http://podcast.litopia.com/. Thank you David, for pointing that out.]

So, please, please, please: post the podcasts that you follow religiously or dabble in or think have some merit. There are a literal TON of podcasts out there, and I don't have time to sort through the good, the bad, and the ugly. Your recommendations are desperately needed.