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Jonathan Franzen rants against e-books

Alan — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:34:55 +0000

The award-winning author of The Corrections and Freedom, Jonathan Franzen, has told audiences at a prestigious annual book festival inSouth Americathat he finds the current craze for e-books and technology inexplicable and believes it to be a terrible indication of modern society’s need for instant gratification.

Speaking at the Hay Festival inCartagena,ColombiaFranzen dismissed popular devices like Amazon’s Kindle as no match for a real book and insisted that the pixels on a screen will never be able to replace the printed word when it comes to sparking the imagination and creating memorable images.

Franzen, who severs all ties with the internet when working on a book, joked that his paperback books will continue to work even if you spill water on them and that they will not be obsolete in ten years time having been replaced by a new model. Laughing, he told assembled members of the media at the literary event that it was no wonder capitalists hated the simple paperback book as there was no need to ever replace it and one version could easily last a lifetime.

He added that passionate readers have always enjoyed the fact that they can go back to books they read ten or twenty years ago, knowing that it is the exact same copy they held in their hands when they were younger.

Pointing out that novels don’t need to be updated in the same way that computer programmes are, Franzen said he hoped that the printed word would still be as important in 50 years time as it is today, but fears that people like him are now in a minority. He added that he was at least relieved that he would not be alive in 50 years to see what a world without the printed page looks like.

The American author became a literary sensation in 2001 when his debut novel, The Corrections, sold over three million copies, earning him a place on the cover of Time magazine and celebrity fans including Barack Obama. The 52-year-old Franzen followed up that success with the critically-acclaimed Freedom, which lead one fellow author to coin the phrase “ Franzenfreude”, referring to the pain taken by other writers in the many glowing reviews of Jonathan Franzen.

Obama’s love for Franzen’s writings is reciprocated, with the writer praising the President’s leadership and recalling his astonishment, when he was asked for an advance copy of Freedom to be sent to the White House, that the leader of the free world had time to read a novel at all.

As well as speaking to a paying audience at the Hay Festival, Franzen also held the first press conference of his career, speaking about the global financial crisis and his concerns that modern society has become dependent on bankers to make all the important decisions.

UsingEuropeas an example, he described the continent as one where the politicians have ceased to matter and the only important public figures are those who control the economy and develop new technologies. Franzen also spoke about his attitude towards religion and spirituality, themes which have been absent from both of his novels. The writer admitted that he didn’t believe in a physical God and was far more concerned with science, adding that for him writing was a kind of religion.

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Tiger Woods responds to new book about him

Alan — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:50:26 +0000

Tiger Woods is one of the most famous and successful men in sport. In 2010, he earned more than $90 million (just under £58 million) from both sponsorship and winnings, making him the highest paid athlete in the world. This is despite the highly publicised scandal revealed at the end of 2009.

Tiger Woods’ personal trouble coincided with his temporary retirement from golf, and it was not until very recently that he has managed to win a tournament again. His victory in the Chevron World Challenge at the end of 2011 brought to an end the losing streak that had gone on for more than 100 weeks.

Although it is possible that his sporting form has taken a turn for the better, his personal life could be going the other way, as his former coach has recently published a book. “The Big Miss”, by Hank Haney, describes the six years that Woods and Haney worked together.

The timing of the book’s release is particularly unfavourable, coming out before the Masters, when Woods will be wanting to focus on his performance on the course. The six years together coincided with a run of utter excellence by Woods that any golfer would be envious of.

The book is described by Woods as being all about money, and he is said to think that Haney has been very unprofessional to hurt their friendship as well as their working relationship with this book.

Last year, Wood’s former caddie, Steve Williams, caused headlines with a comment perceived by many to be racist. This came after having been dismissed by Tiger in July 2011, and starting to caddy for Adam Scott, the Australian golfer. With Williams as his caddy, Woods won 13 majors in 12 years.

With all the off-course scandal, the release of a new book just before the start of the 2012 season is not something that Woods would ever have wished for. He heads to Abu Dhabi next week looking to back up last month’s victory with a good run in the European tour.

This will be Tiger’s 16^th professional season, and he will be hoping that he can win another major. He will not be playing in the Torrey Pines event, part of the PGA Tour, which he has won 7 times in the past, and was the scene of his last victorious major in the 2008 US Open.

In the past, when Woods has claimed the green jacket, he had already got a victory in the season, so if he wants to win this 15^th title then history dictates he will need to win an event en route.

It seems like an awful long time since we regularly saw Tiger Woods in his red shirt doing his traditional fist pump, and if he can keep the off-course trouble to a minimum then he could be making a habit of it once again. Having spent months away from it, Tiger will be desperately striving to regain his place on top of the World Rankings.

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Tinie Tempah 23, pens biography

Alan — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:23:41 +0000

Tinie Tempah is one of the most successful recording artists in the country and despite only being 23 years old he has released a book detailing his journey to his success. He himself has admitted that it might be too early to write a full autobiography, but this book just covers the last two years of his life and how he achieved his current position in the music industry.

Tempah comes from south London and has roots with Africa through his Nigerian family. In the book there are photographs of his childhood and they provide an insight to his early life. He also speaks in the book of how he was creative from a young age and used to like creating animated characters.

He tells of how many of his friends from school fell victim to the crimes of the street and he says that music was one of the things that allowed him to avoid this. Initially, it was his mother who encouraged him to work on his music with his cousin Dumi and eventually he became to the manager of Tempah.

During the early stages of his music career Tempah worked hard at his academics, while also holding down part-time jobs to pay for the videos that he was producing alongside his music. The book is full of various confessions about how he was insecure about his music in the beginning. He also speaks of how it has always been a dream of his to break into the music industry.

The main message of the book is clear, and that is that it is important to follow your dreams. He speaks of how he worked very hard to make his double platinum album successful and the various relationships that he had with other artists, both in Europe and America. The number of famous names that are attached to his music is quite astonishing, these include such names as Prince William and Jay-Z.

Tempah has won Brit and MOBO awards but the book is not just limited to talking about music and he speaks quite openly about how his life has changed since becoming famous. He particularly speaks about how the fame has changed him, as well as those who surround him, and his character and intellect is clear to any reader of the book.

Those who know his music will easily be able to identify the book as something he has written. His self-assured persona is something that has made him so well received by many of his fans, and this is something that can also be seen in his book. It provides an interesting insight into his fashion sense as well as what he does when he is not making music. Many will see this book as just one of many that he will publish about his successful career in the music industry.

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Arthur Owens Nazi MI5 spy

Alan — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:02:23 +0000

During the time span that led up to World War II, in 1938 to be exact, Arthur Owens a nationalist from Wales was recruited by Germany to spy on the UK during a business trip he took to Belgium. During this time period he was given Johnny O’Brien as his code name and it was his job to report back to the Nazi regime about how Britain was preparing their military for attack.

However, a new book claims that before he was discovered by the MI5 he had actually already agreed to act as a double agent for the agency. In fact, the book takes a close look at how Owens was able to undermine the espionage efforts of Germany and created a path for future double agents to follow.

He was referred to as one of the most vital members of the XX unit of the MI5 and given the code name Agent Snow from the British side of things. From his post as a spy for Germany he was able to deliver many German spies straight over the to the British, blowing their covers and helping to keep Britain safe, or at least the book, written by Madoc Roberts and Nigel West, claims he did.

After the German spies were discovered they were given the choice of betraying the Nazis or death by a firing squad, and as you might guess a good number choose to spill the beans and spent the rest of the war giving the Allies useful information, such as how to crack the German codes and the movements of the troops.

For these spies it was easy to tell whose side they were really on, but given how deep Owens was into the game neither side was ever all that confident about which side he really was loyal to. The public however was clear about how they felt about him because after his Dartmoor integration he was viewed as a traitor in the public eye and forced to live out the rest of his days in Canada living in hiding, and then later in Ireland.

Official files were released in the seventies about his role in the war but most people never really noticed and there was little documentation about what he had done to help the cause. However, the new book attempts to take a closer look at the exploits of Owens during World War II and to show how he actually helped the Allied victory come to be.

Titled Snow- The Double Life of a World War II Spy, the book takes a close look also at how his daughter went on to be a famous Hollywood actress by the name of Patricia Owens who never mentioned who her father was because she was afraid of those who still felt that he was a traitor.

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Royal Society on childrens books for Christmas

Alan — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 06:51:05 +0000

If you are struggling to find the perfect Christmas gifts for the young people in your life. Let the Royal Society with the assistance of 1000 kids across the UK, help you to make your decisions. While we seem to live in an electronic age there is still something special about books. Forget your e-readers, there is nothing quite like relaxing and turning the pages while you are engrossed in a great story.

There is that unique new book smell too that cannot be replicated on a screen, and reading proper, written font as opposed to digital characters just can’t be beaten. There is also a priceless satisfaction as the thickness of pages in your right hand diminishes and you know you are nearing the gripping climax. All the technology in the world cannot replace the sheer pleasure of reading a proper book.

Books are superb books, especially for children. They have the brains of sponges and learn so much through the pleasure of books, and all children should have their own personal library, but knowing where to start when buying books for children can be a minefield. Books that communicate science to youngsters are ever popular, and are a good play to start.

While science may seem a strange subject for a children’s, but many, including the Royal Society, thankfully think differently. They asked 1000 young people who attended 100 schools right across the UK to help them choose, from the shortlist of 6, their Young Peoples Book Award for 2011. The 100 schools involved formed panels and discussed the books, which are targetted at the under 14 age group.

The video review from Northlands Primary School was chosen as the winning review by the Royal Society and the winner of the 2011 Young Peoples Book Prize is ‘How The World Works’ by Christiane Dorion and Beverley Young.

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Duchess of Cambridge book deal

Alan — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:02:57 +0000

It is recently been announced that the sister of the Duchess of Cambridge has been awarded a book deal valued at over £400,000. The book is going to be about how to throw a great party and it is going to come from a knowledgeable source as Pippa Middleton works for an events company called Table Talk, her parents also own a party hosting business.

It has been said that there was a bidding war between major publishers about who would get the deal to publish the book editors recently been announced that Penguin are the victorious publisher. The deal has been arranged with the help of her agent, David Godwin. The Mail On Sunday has reported that she will not be using a ghostwriter and the book will be written entirely by herself.

A source close to Middleton has recently said, “She seems quite nervous but I think she is very much looking forward to writing this book, she already wrote a synopsis which was sent out to publishers so I think she is about ready to begin. There were many offers on the table but in the end Penguin where the company to offer the most money.” Pippa has previously been involved in writing as she was the editor for the newsletter for her parents company which was published online.

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Charles Herbert Lightoller Titanic disaster thoughts

Alan — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 09:18:31 +0000

Charles Herbert Lightoller was the most senior officer to survive the Titanic disaster which occurred on April 14, 1912. Patrick Stenson, an author, has been fascinated with the Titanic disaster and this particular officer for some time. In a new book he claims that he has found new evidence that sheds some light on why the Titanic sunk.

The author commented, “When I was looking at the various pieces of evidence around the sinking I found that some things have been overlooked, most notably details about how close the iceberg was to the ship before the crew noticed it.” Initial thoughts were that the iceberg was over 400 feet away but in his book Stenson claims that the iceberg was less than 200 feet from the ship.

Lightoller was the second in command of the vessel and when it hit the iceberg he was asleep in his room. At first there was not a great deal of panic on the vessel as the ship was thought to be unsinkable, but it quickly became apparant that it was not. The second officer offered a great deal of assistance to those escaping the vessel but in the end over 1500 people perished at sea.

After the disaster and he was rescued and became a key witness into the enquiries about the sinking of the Titanic. He defended the captain on numerous occasions but ultimately his sailing career suffered greatly because of his association with the sinking of the Titanic.

Stenson believes that the officer should still be celebrated because he helped those on the vessel and only survived because of his bravery. Stenson commented, “I was drawn to write about Lightoller because he is such an interesting character, not just for his actions on the Titanic but for what he did during the rest of his life.”

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Nancy DellOlio guide to sex

Alan — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 09:01:16 +0000

Seven Goran Eriksson will probably not be happy with the latest news that his previous lover will be writing a guide to sex, this follows a recent appearance on the popular television show Strictly Come Dancing. Nancy Dell’Olio is an Italian-American who was involved with Mr Eriksson for eight years, and she has been approached by two different publishers to create this guide.

The guide is expected to offer advice on sexual relations as well as choosing lingerie. Currently she is a lawyer and is aged 50 years old, and she plans to appear in the book herself wearing lingerie that she finds particularly attractive. She is currently dating James Petrie who is 16 years younger than her and the rumour is she has been offered £30,000 to write the book.

Another rumour is circulating that she has been offered £100,000 to sign on for a three book deal, with the sex guide being the first of the books. A spokesperson for Dell’Olio has commented that, “We’re quite far along with discussions with our publishers.”

Mr Eriksson has recently come into dispute with Ms Dell’Olio over an apartment that they owned in London. Eriksson wants to sell the apartment, which is worth nearly £2 million, but this is where Ms Dell’Olio currently lives and she has said that she will not leave.

She previously claimed that one of the reasons her relationship with Mr Eriksson fell apart was because he was jealous of her relationship with former Prime Minister, Tony Blair. She was close to Mr Blair saying, “He was a political genius, very similar to JFK. Sven was jealous of this relationship from its outset.”

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Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize for Ribblestrop

Alan — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 21:11:44 +0000

Ribblestrop is a boarding school of extraordinary qualities. For one thing, it’s missing its roof due to arson in a previous term, and for another it harbours a mad defrocked Irish priest who curses a lot. But that’s only the icing on the multi-layered cake of quite unusual characters; the staff and students make up a cast that is about as politically incorrect as it gets.

The good news is that the second book in a planned trilogy by Andy Mulligan has won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. Return to Ribblestrop could certainly be enjoyed as a one-off, but just for the record, the first one is simply titled Ribblestrop and it’s an introduction new fans won’t want to miss.

Judges who awarded the prize said that their choice was based on the book’s originality combined with warmth and “hilarity”, and they applauded the wealth of most unconventional characters as well as the “streak of anarchy” that is a strong motif in Mulligan’s extremely unconventional school.

One way to sum up Return to Ribblestrop and the entire trilogy is in the author’s own words, when he says, “I have enjoyed giving the finger to the cotton-wool-wrapping health and safety executive that has paralysed so many schools and prevented children playing.” Mulligan’s children have no real disciplinary role models at Ribblestrop, so they have to make up their own set of rules.

There are plenty of challenges, some serious violence, rum-drinking (just to ward off the cold), a token authority figure in the form of a thoroughly disreputable police officer, and a visionary but rather hapless headmaster who is way out of his depth before the action even begins.

Andy Mulligan is actually a teacher, and having taught at a couple of ‘normal’ boarding schools, he proceeds to take the prototype apart with great glee and quite a lot of skill. He said he was really surprised to have his book(s) accepted as valid children’s fiction, since Ribblestrop is chock full of irreverence, violence and danger, and the kids involved are not only exposed to it but contribute quite a bit of their own.

However, says Mulligan, his intent is far from destructive. He is pro-kid, and he doesn’t go around killing off his characters. The book’s young protagonists are drawn from real children he has taught, and as he says, Ribblestrop is definitely not Hogworts – but it has its own sort of magic that is tied irrefutably to real life.

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Make Your Website Sell

Alan — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 07:15:10 +0000

The methods behind creating a successful business online that can stand the test of time have changed quite a bit over the years as everyone now has a different approach. Some companies create attractive websites and then wait for business to find them with others choosing to give up on customer service completely believing that their online presence will do enough to satisfy customers. However, both of these methods are actually sure to fail which is why it may be useful for businesses unsure of what is going wrong to check out the new book from Jed Wylie of online fame entitled ‘Make Your Website Sell.’

According to Wylie the very first step of conducting business is to get the right mindset in order because the web will not wait for any business and it is important to recognize that change is one thing you will have to expect and welcome to prosper online. The second step is defined as finding the key partners because in the web world having the right people to work with you is just as important as it would be in the real world. Overall, the bottom line of the bestseller is the fact that the web needs to be taken seriously and is not a shortcut to instant success.

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