Banal ramblings

I took the plunge last week and decided to set up a Twitter account, as it seems to be the latest thing and from what I have seen and heard, an excellent way of generating more traffic to your blog. Despite the banality of my ramblings, I am surprised to see that I already have 3 followers. I guess to them, my ramblings aren't as banal as they seem.

It has been a strange day so far - in fact it has been a strange week, a strange year, and an even stranger lifetime ...

I always used to go a salon to get my hair cut, not these expensive glossy ones where they charge you an arm and a leg to walk through the door, but a plain and simple one, with no fuss and no spraying of gallons of chemicals. Lately though on the recommendation of a friend, I have been having my hair cut at home. It is well worth the extra money, as you don't have the stress and hassle of going into town and finding somewhere to park, even if you do have to hoover afterwards. Anyway, today was the day, and my appointment was at 10.45am.

Knowing that the hairdresser likes her clients to wash or at least dampen their hair on arrival, this meant that there was no point in showering. So, for the last couple of hours I have been slobbing around the house in my dressing gown, drinking tea, playing Farmville (a farming game on Facebook) and watching this weeks Ugly Betty.

Now I am showered and not quite dressed (I am still in the dressing gown) I am not sure what to do with the day. It is too close to lunch time to go out, and the crops that I planted will not be ready for another hour. I know what I should do - enter that competition from the National Trust and register for a group meeting with an agent that a friend from a writers forum has set up for forum members. I have half an hour until those crops are ready, so I should be able to get at least half of my entry complete - they only need a few hundred words .... On the other hand, I should really hoover up all that hair ...

Google hearing delayed

As expected, lawyers representing US based authors and publishers have requested the courts to postpone the hearing set to take place on October 7th, regarding the proposed Google settlement. More time is needed to examine the various objections and for further negotiations to take place. The issues are complex and cannot be settled overnight.

On Friday, the Department of Justice proposed several important changes to the proposed settlement, including new protection for unknown rights holders and allowing Google's competitors to gain access to and sell books within the registry, thereby preventing a monopoly.

The Open Content Alliance - which includes Amazon, Microsoft, and the Internet Archive naturally view this as an important victory, which will open up competition. It goes without saying, that the opposite is true for Google. We can safely say that the settlement as we knew it, is officially dead.

The October issue is ready to print

The village newsletter is finally ready for the month of October, having completed it late last night. I shall proof read it today and ring the printer for it to be picked up tomorrow morning, bang on schedule (we usually try and print around the 24th of the month).

I didn't think I would get it done on time as almost everyone was late with their contributions, the last one not arriving until yesterday afternoon - most unlike the person who sent it. He is our Chairman and really ought to have known better, but it still got done.

Every month I panic that I don't have enough material, but somehow the pages get filled up. This month because there is a shortage of news, I have been able to include a few spiritually themed page fillers, such as traditions for living by his Holiness the Dalai Lama, and a piece on the benefits of meditation. I was asked to include this by the lovely people who run the meditation group that I attend every other Monday night, one of whom is the Rector (yes, you did read that right). Not all religious people have closed minds - apologies if you are reading this and consider yourself to be religious - like I say, not all religious people have closed minds, and if you are offended by my words, then I suggest you find the nearest mirror !

The news stories this month are suitably scintillating for a small village such as ours - the winners for the recent mastermind type quiz, fund raising efforts made for a children's village in southern Africa, and the shoe box scheme which is run by the local Christian Fellowship (a very worthy cause). The centre spread has been provided by the National Trust, who play a vital role in our village and in fact, throughout the whole area.

I can't believe it is only 2 months to go until Christmas - I shall have to start planning the Christmas edition soon then !

Google settlement likely to be delayed

It seems that the Google book settlement currently being debated in the US courts may have been dealt a death blow, as in a statement released late on Friday night, the US Justice Department declared in no uncertain terms that the settlement should be rejected.

In their own words:

"As presently drafted the proposed settlement does not meet the legal standards this court must apply. This court should reject the proposed settlement and encourage the parties to continue negotiations to comply with Rule 23 and the copyright and antitrust laws."

Google say that they aim to address the findings of the Department of Justice at the hearing in October. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, frantic negotiations are taking place with their objectors, of which there are many. No matter what settlements are reached, the word is that Judge Denny Chin will not veer too far away from the wishes of the Justice Department, and it may take some months of re-negotitions before the final outcome is announced.

Try this if you dare !

One of my Facebook friends (which I have been spending far too much time on this week, perfecting the art of farming) alterted me to a fun 'game' which she found on dovegreyreaders, whereby using only books that you have read this year, you answer the following questions. You are supposed to use the book titles only once, and the game is a lot harder than it actually looks - especially for someone who has read as little as I have (hardly enough books to answer the questions at all!). I have then been forced to cheat and include books that I have bought this year but am yet to read (terrible I know). Thank goodness for Waterstones and those 3 for 2 offers (never thought I would say that either).

Here then goes:

Describe yourself: The Elegance of the Hedgehog: Muriel Barbery

How do you feel: A Fraction of the Whole: Steve Toltz
Describe where you currently live: Heaven's Gate: Karen Bishop
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Small Island: Andrea Levy
Your favorite form of transportation: Night Train to Lisbon: Pascal Marcier
Your best friend is: The Library of Shadows: Mikkel Birkegaard
You and your friends are: Past Imperfect: Julian Fellowes
What's the weather like: Baking Cakes in Kigali: Gaile Parkin
You fear: Dark Places: Kate Grenville
What is the best advice you have to give: Watching the Door: Kevin Myers
Thought for the day: Late Nights on Air: Elizabeth Hay
How I would like to die: Born Under a Million Shadows: Andrea Busfield
My soul's present condition: The Vagrants: Yi Yun Li

Enough said !

Do your beliefs affect your reading?

There seem to have been some really interesting topics of late over on the book club forum, like the one I discussed the other day about what I have learnt from books. One that I am finding particularly interesting at the moment is whether our beliefs influence the type of books that we read. For beliefs you can read religion. I am aware that to some, religion is a touchy subject, but I have found myself fascinated by this thread and the answers that members have given.

They are for the most part talking about fiction as opposed to non fiction, as the majority of members prefer this type of book, but a glance through my "I have read this year" list will show that I read both, although this has not always been the case. There was a time not that long ago, when I read nothing but non fiction, necessitated by the fact that I was writing a book of this genre. Non fiction of course covers many different areas, but the type of books that I read at that time (and my library is still dominated by these) were mind, body and spirit, religion and alternative history, with a healthy dose of science (mainly books on human evolution and genetics, which I studied for a year - in rudimentary form, via Birkbeck). Unlike most of the other members, I therefore answered the question from the perspective of both fiction and non fiction.

While those who read mostly fiction stated that in the main their beliefs did not effect their reading, when I thought about it, the opposite is true with me. They much colour what I read. I find myself actively seeking out books (like The Shack for example) that reinforce my views. Books that examine the human condition and our views of God form an important part of my reading. Books such as Conversations with God, the works of Eckhart Tolle and when it comes to fiction, books about other countries and cultures and days past - the other day I bought six books, two of which were about the Salem Witch trials, and one about a woman in China who decides she longer wants to be a Communist. This year I have also read books on Afghanistan and Northern Ireland - all books that look at the motivations of the character within, which are in their way, tales of how the characters faith was tested. Reading such things helps in a strange sort of way to strengthen your own faith, when you see that the trials that these characters go through and the growth and learning that they experience.

It makes me wonder though whether the other members are being really honest in their own assessment - after all we have this interest in human affairs, it is what makes us human in the first place. To me an interest in humanity is the same thing as an interest in spirituality, because well, we are all spiritual beings whether we like to admit it or not. I have learnt over the years however that when it comes to faith and belief, many people do not appear to know the difference between religion and spirituality, tarring them with the same brush. That then is the key, for I view the two things are separate entities where others believe they are the same. So, what do you think, do your beliefs affect your reading, and if so how?

The Lost Symbol - a symbol of a lost industry

With the release of Dan Brown's long awaited novel "The Lost Symbol" tomorrow, book stores and supermarkets are no doubt expecting a surge of interest, not to mention the ringing of tills. This is excellent news for Brown and his agent, and good news for his fans, but is it such good news for the stores? When what has been touted to become the decade's best selling novel is sold at half price (£9.49 instead of the cover price of £18.99), perhaps not. When one thinks of the beleaguered book sellers placing these books into carrier bags and smiling as they take the money, none of which will add to their company's profits, then it all looks rather farcical. A bit like the Curry's superstore which opened in Croydon at the weekend with queues a quarter of a mile long so that customers could buy half price televisions that actually cost the company money rather than earning them any.

This book is no different. Make no mistake - Brown, his publisher and his agent will be about the only ones to profit from this farce. Even with a discount that must be a minimum of 60 percent. Anyone with the slightest understanding of business (not to mention a few brain cells - one would do) can surely see that it is impossible for the book sellers to continue in this mode. Even with that high discount (which will eat heavily into the publisher's own profits, even though there are unlikely to be high returns), what small amount of money the stores do make will be swallowed up promotional costs and other overheads. The situation is such that many small independents who do not have the buying power of the chains, will find it cheaper to buy their own copies from the likes of Asda and Amazon than from their own wholesalers! How can this make sense?

Thus it is that several million pounds that could have been used to help a flagging industry will be literally poured down the drain, and all this at a time when the industry is struggling for survival. It defies all logic known to man (and certainly this woman). What a way to run a business! If people want to buy this book, then why not make them pay full price? When you ask that vital question though, the only response is that the retailers have to remain competitive. Well, how can they remain competitive when they lose money? I fail to see the point.

Selling books at these knock down prices devalues the entire industry, not to mention the worth of authors in the eyes of both readers and publishers, both of whom are struggling to make ends meet (Brown being very much the exception). This comes at a time when authors advances are being squeezed more and more, with some reporting decreases of up to 80 percent and wondering why they bother at all. Brown himself, as with most best selling authors, will make most of his money not from the book itself from the sale or rights - merchandising, film rights and so on, and of course foreign rights for other languages and territories.

For all the talk about diversity and about how the face of publishing is changing, the reality is that very little is - it remains just talk. Walk into the average supermarket and you see rows of celebrity biographies and best selling fiction paperbacks, with if you are lucky, a few heavily discounted gardening and DIY manuals. This is not diversity, but to be quite honest, boring, and I cannot understand how the supermarkets have become the leading book retailers with such a predictable stable. The chains may promote these same types of books the heaviest, but at least they make the effort to stock other types of book, and can order them in if requested. The supermarkets do not offer this level of service, and do not pretend to.

Some may argue that offering books at discount encourages more people to read, and in a way they do have a point, but at what price? In the end if simply devalues the industry and further erodes what is left. After all, logic dictates that if Dan Brown can be sold at half price, so can everything else.

I remember when I first read the Conversations with God series of books back in the mid 90's, in one of them (it may have been book 2, but I can't remember exactly), God speaking through author Neale Donald Walsch suggested that goods should have 2 sets of figures on them - the cost of buying the product and the price that it is actually sold for -perhaps it is time to introduce this system and ask the consumers, would you be prepared to work for so little?