Good news for everyone who didn't make it to a reading The Graveyard Book: British author Neil Gaiman reads the entire novel to you, a chapter at time, on the The Graveyard Book Video Tour, available (free) here. "Gaiman’s latest novel, The Graveyard Book, is an affectionate homage to Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book channeled through Webster’s morbid aesthetic. Aimed at both younger and adult readers alike, the story opens on a dark night, following a shadowy assassin as he calmly and dispassionately slaughters a sleeping family one by one," says Bridget McGovern of Tor. My favorite Gaiman work is American Gods. Neverwhere is a close second and I just recently learned that book is a companion to a BBC TV series. Perhaps the Seattle public library has the BBC series on DVD.
The video readings are not particularly interesting visually but are definitely a treat to hear. Listening to an author express out loud the phrasing and pacing of the internal voice heard while writing is a learning experience.
What's the book about?
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Neil Gaiman Reads to You
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Cory Doctorow At Univ Bookstore Tonight
Mr. Boing Boing will be reading tonight at the University Bookstore, as part of the Clarion West writers workshop instructor reading series. Cory Doctorow will likely be reading from his latest publication Little Brother, a novel for the adolescent market.
Doctorow is the author of several fiction and non-fiction books, including the fun and amusing Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (2003). Down and Out is good summer sci-fi read: short, witty, and doesn't require too much thinking.
However, I'm a little gunshy of favored authors jumping into the youth market. Take Michael Chabon. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (2000) turned me on to his other works (Wonder Boys, 1995 and A Model World, 1991) so when Chabon's Summerland (for tween market) was released in 2002 I bought the hardback version at an airport. Hardback. Airport. Yep. Wish I could say hauling it around was worth it. I DO like and read children's books, but Summerland? Bah. It felt like it was written with the screen in mind.
It will be interesting to see if Doctorow is able to adjust gracefully to a younger audience, something Chabon struggled with.
Cory Doctorow Reading and Book Signing
Tuesday July 8th, 7 pm
University Book Store - U District
Free
Thursday, June 5, 2008
William Gibson to steampunk enthusiasts: make it look old!
Gibson on:
The popularity of the steampunk esthetic: Some of it is quite interesting and nice to look at, but for goodness sake make those decorative brass attachments on your laptop look old! Carry the things in your pocket along with a bunch of change and screws first. (Gibson and Bruce Sterling co-wrote The Difference Engine, an alternative history novel which popularized the steampunk meme.)
The science fiction genre: Speculative fiction is not really about the future. It is about society as it is at the time the piece is written. Case in point: the novel 1984 is not about the year 1984, it is an illumination of western society and culture in 1948, the year it was written.
Timeliness: He's tending to shorten his speculative timeline with each work. By the time his most recent two books were published (Pattern Recognition, Spook Country) the concepts were no longer futuristic and speculative. They were/are current and real.
Reading: Authors don't usually read their books start to finish once they are turned over for publication. That would just be too weird -- like trying to relive a part of the past.
The Singularity: The technological Singularity theory is essentially the Rapture, repackaged for geek consumption.
The movie Johnny Mnemonic:The movie released for screening was not the movie that written or shot. Sony completely re-edited the movie to make it an action flick after Keanu Reeves became famous as an action hero in Speed. The Johnny Mnemonic movie was originally a farce comedy.
