Costs and Benefits to Readers

I am dawdling and cozy in bed with a mason jar of cafe au lait. It is blizzarding again. If I get brave and warm enough later I will take some pictures to post. The weather in Aspen, land of white snows and proud of it, can be mean with wicked long teeth and an infectious bite that spreads through your blood chilling to the marrow. As I am laying under several blankets trying to keep warm, I was looking on Amazon for Xmas gifts. I have the software for Kindle on my laptop and sometimes I wander through their free stuff and see what is there.

I was reading the reviews for a novella entitled The Wicked House of Rohan: http://www.amazon.com/Wicked-House-Rohan-ebook/dp/B003SX15L4/ref=sr_1_35?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1290606015&sr=1-35

One of the reviews said: "wow even free this was not so good" and went on to say: "I've probably read way to many romance novels over the years and have gotten used to most books having a plot buried somewhere between the first and last page. This book though decided that the plot was just a superflous detail not to be worried about and jumped from the start of a decent storyline straight to the I love yous as if the author was under a deadline or had someplace she had to be right at that exact minute. Implausible story that strains all notions of plot or tenets of romance."

I guess the other books of this series that the author has written are pretty good and this prequel was done for publicity, but wow is that harsh.

This made me think about what else a book costs a reader. It costs time to read, thoughts to consider the ideas, and the opportunity either gained or lost for entertainment. Who has thrown a book across the room in disgust? I have. Pitched McCaffrey's The White Dragon clear across the bedroom until it hit the door with a responding and satisfying thump. I used to like her writing and enjoyed most of the dragonriders of Pern books until I got to that one. It was so badly done in my opinion that I quit reading anything of hers other than her early short stories that are brilliant.

When we write everything that we write has to have some merit and offer something to the readers. I used to work in a bookstore and I have seen it happen too many times where a popular author who is selling like mad pumps out a few in their autumn or spring series that are not so good. They lose a chunk of their readership. And fans talk on forums, in the bookstore, etc. It may take a new author a while to build a following, but an established author can lose a following in a couple years pretty quick with a couple awful books that don't give value to the reader. And even a book that is free can still be viewed as not worth it.

Photos of the Day from up near Independent Pass

I have an idea...

Connections between people are the things that change lives. Real human connections make a difference. I have been thinking about this this afternoon and evening.

I have this idea for teaching people in underdeveloped countries so they could get a high school diploma and some experience on a computer. It involves a renovated van or bus with a generator and a dozen computers with satellite modem internet capability. I was thinking that this education/library van/bus could travel a consistent circuit and offer education to people who wished to come and have study materials given to them, tutoring, and a chance to learn to do work and research on the computer. The key to this plan is having the driver of the van and maybe a couple other dedicated teachers who would be willing to honour and respect the people coming to learn and who would make a personal connection to them and help them to learn.

I am posting this idea for brainstorming out to the blogosphere because if anyone knows of a group already doing this please let me know. I would be interested in joining them. If anyone knows of where I might be able to get a grant or backing to pursue this idea or knows of other individuals with similar ideas, please put the information in the comments so I can try to contact them.

I don't think grand projects run by bureaucrats who check off accomplishments on timelines always work, but people to people connections do work.

Poet Wanted

One of my poems that I came across after looking through poetry last night.


Poet Wanted

Must be fearless.
You will tread past the boundaries of any notion of decency,
past all staid conventions of habit and thought,
past the point where love only wounds.

Must be quick.
You will fly on thought to a thousand divergent points,
turn with agile grace over lyrical expression,
and make connections that only photons dare.