Smart Librarians

Many years ago, I read The Hitchhiker Trilogy (age disclosure alert: back when it was only four books), and decided it was high time to read it again. I'll probably buy the leather-bound version from Barnes & Noble the next time I'm there, but in the meantime I decided to check it out from the library.

So.... you know how libraries help shelf browsers by putting little stickers of the bottom of the spine to indicate the book's genre? A book may have a sticker with a unicorn and the words "Fantasy" on it. Or a book may have a ringed planet or a rocket ship and the words "Science Fiction," etc. etc. Western, Romance, blah blah, you get the point.

Now as I scanned the 'A' section of fiction, looking for the first book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, once I found it, I saw the sticker at the bottom of the spine read "Classic."

Oh... Librarians...genius! ... People after my own heart. Yes, the book is science fiction. Yes, it's a comedy. And finally, YES, it's a Classic. Good call, Anonymous Librarian, good call.

Until Next Time...
Classically Yours,
Michael

Just Proves My Point

My assessment and summary of the May/June 2014 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction serves as a perfect example of why my blog and website are necessary for readers of either classics or genre fiction.
 
It's important to cross read - to read more than just one certain category. Stephen King's advice to budding writers is to read as much as possible, especially books outside your chosen niche.
 
One of the best short stories on the long term scars of war came from the story The Memory Cage by Tim Sullivan. As a man goes through his father's effects - a father who served in World War II - a father who would later commit suicide because of the images he continued to see many years later, the adult son makes this observation:

     Three sentences from another keepsake, a letter sent to my grandparents from French Morocco, were most telling.

     "We shot down a German bomber. I guess we killed the men in that aeroplane," he said. "I don't know how to feel about it. Good, I guess."

      Good, I guess. An eighteen-year-old boy, on the opposite side of the world from all he knew, had just killed a group of other boys whose faces he never saw, consigning them to a twisted-metal funeral pyre in the Sahara from the business end of a gigantic cannon. I don't know how to feel about it. Good, I guess.

And here's proof that Sullivan read much more than just science fiction. When describing the father's mental state after coming home from WWII, the author makes a one-line reference to Hemingway in what many might think is a casual way, but shows a clear brilliance of writing:

     He didn't waste time sitting on the porch like the damaged vet of Hemingway's story. 

There's our proof! That shows not only a depth of reading, but the ability to create a character's state of mind with one sentence. That, my Cheesy Readers, an example of great writing - the ability to completely capture a character with one simple sentence. If I offered a Classics And Cheese annual short fiction award, this short story would be nominated.

The novella featured in this issue is Bartleby The Scavenger by Katie Boyer. A clear homage to the classic Melville story many of us read in high school. It was a bit long, and the author went above and beyond in establishing parallels between the original and this futuristic dystopian version, so in my opinion its overall length could have been trimmed by about 25%, but it's still worth reading if you get the chance.

Rooksnight by Marc Laidlaw and Containment Zone: A Seastead Story by Naomi Kritzer are two novelletes worth their time. Fun stories, told well, and worthy of these pages.  

Until Next Time...
Bartlebly Yours,
Michael 

 

It Was One Simple Task...

THE MISSION: Drive to the grocery story. Pick up two items.

 

ESTIMATED TIME TO COMPLETION: 15 Minutes

 

MISSION SUMMARY: Pulled into parking lot, walked into store, spotted dump bin full of bargain books, priced 5 for $10. Felt overwhelming compulsion to sort through dump bin until I had seen and evaluated every book. Came away with two (pictured). Left store with a total of four items, the two I was originally sent to purchase, plus these two additional items.

MISSION COMPLETION TIME: 30 Minutes

 

MISSION STATUS: Failed.

 

LAME EXCUSE: Still a sucker for dump bins full of bargain books.

 

Until Next Time,

Ashamedly Yours,

Michael



Word of the Moment V

It's no surprise that people can increase their vocabulary by reading, and I've often bragged that a person can increase their vocabulary by reading genre fiction as well, but I had no idea that you can increase your vocabulary by reading reviews of science fiction and fantasy novels.

That is until I read James Sallis's column Books reviewing The Land Across by Gene Wolfe and Cordwainer Smith, Lord of the Afternoon by Pablo Capanna in this month's The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

Seriously. When I sit down to read book reviews, I don't expect to have to run over to the dictionary every few minutes to look up words the reviewer is using. If he's quoting a passage from the book and I have to look up a word from the quotation - then fine. But to look up words from his writings? Come on? Are we sure he's not showing off?

Well, doesn't matter. Mr. Sallis expanded my vocabulary this week, so I suppose I must thank him. So without further (boring) adieu, here are this entry's words of the moment:

• encomia - noun - a formal expression of high praise; eulogy
• shibboleths - noun - 1. a peculiarity of pronunciation, behavior, mode of dress, etc., that distinguishes a particular class or set of persons; 2. a slogan or catchword; 3. a common saying or belief with little current meaning or truth.
• mimetic - adjective - 1. characterized by, exhibiting, or of the nature of imitation or mimicry; 2. mimic or make-believe.
• cavil - verb - to raise irritating and trivial objections; find fault with unnecessarily (usually followed by at  or about)

 
So there we go, four new words we can struggle to actually use in our daily lives. And don't let people convince you that you're just showing off your superior vocab, because you're not, you're just letting them know you read science fiction book reviews.
 
Until Next Time...
Cavilly Yours,
Michael