Thursday, May 18, 2006

Web Surfing

Tess Gerritsen has a new blog address, with comments and all. Me, I just lurk most of the time (in a lot of places), but I'm sure the comments on that blog are going to be hopping.

MJ Rose has an entry up about Authorgeddon, "refers to the hypothetical date when the number of books published in a given year will exceed the number of people who have read a book that same year."

Agent Jennifer Jackson has a post up about her pet peeves re submissions.

Reviews of The Da Vinci Code movie are coming in. Here's one, here's another, and if you want more, go here. None are particularly positive but I'm still going to go see it for myself and make up my own mind. Anybody else planning to go check it out?

A Time.com writer goes off on the topic of NY Times survey to choose the single greatest book of the past 25 years. The winner was Beloved by Toni Morrison, which I have read and considered a very good book. But I have to agree with the Time writer that:
...the greatness of literature lies in its diversity, not in its unanimity; herein also lies the greatness of people who read it. And Lists have a way of strengthening the hegemony of big, syllabus-ready tomes and making it harder for readers to find their way to minor, more idiosyncratic, less well-connected but maybe more lovable books.
What do you say?

3 comments :

Nalini Singh said...

I agree, Milady. I also think that it's a fallacy to assume that books that entertain don't educate at the same time. I've learned so much through reading fiction.

Jade L Blackwater said...

"Greatest book" is so subjective... Beloved is a great book, but really, there are so many books that are great and wonderful and touched me so much deeper than Beloved ever could!

And of course, there are plenty of books written in other languages which I might never have a chance to read! I find the whole idea of a "Greatest book" to be rather silly in its premise.

I read for both edification and enjoyment, sometimes more for the former than the latter... Nalini, I think you really nailed it: good books can (and perhaps should) educate and entertain concurrently!

Nalini Singh said...

JLB, what an excellent point about foreign language books! I never even thought about that.

Emma, I have the exact same thoughts sometimes, to the point where I'm occasionally a reverse snob. *g* But I'm working on being balanced (and not poking myself in the eye).