Books? Who Reads Books?
Yes, it may seem like an odd question at first. What with Hulu, and iTunes, and eShit, and all the other technological advancements that have been made over the past decade or two, one wonders who even has time to read books anymore. And that's where I think our old pal George is coming from. He knows that we're busy people. He knows that we are into instant gratification, easily-summarized plots, and predictably crafted story arcs. And his vision, well, it just doesn't match our vision, and that's why he has just decided to give it up. He's going to hide away and write alone in his room and say to HELL with everyone else! He's going to do it HIS way!
He is the J.D. Salinger of nipple tweaking.
What brought me to the above realization? Well, to start, there was the offer to have some of Pesci and my work published in a book of fantasy essays. Yes, 'tis true! We were indeed solicited by a small vanity publisher to include some of our more, um, intellectual work in a compilation of equally-opinionated persons' diatribes on the state of modern fantasy. However, due to our personal convictions regarding the direction and purpose of our little corner of the blogosphere--and our suspicion that something like that might just end up getting us sued--we decided to pass on the offer. We remain, in short, your humble servants.
However, through this process, I have gained a new appreciation for George's true artform--that is, avoiding writing for publication. It really does seem like a headache, now that I think about it. It would be way easier if I just convinced other people to write things, then put them all together, slapped a shiny oil-painting cover of a busty spacewhore with one foot on the back of a wreck of a smouldering jetbike, and put my name in giant letters across the top. EDITED BY LIOTTA, it would say, and the people would rejoice.
Sigh. Such fantasies. I feel like William Blake, only more interested in owning cool shit.
Meanwhile, in the world of Westeros, we have little to report. A lot of slinging of old crap (Look! Fevre Dream in Polish! Reserve your copy today!), and of course, a few choice words on the structure of ADWD (see George's post from 2/15 if you have not yet seen it). I won't reprint everything the increasingly-terrifying looking GRRM has posted, since you can read it yourself. However, I can boil down his post into the following series of helpful bullet points:
- ADWD is growing increasingly unwieldy, because the timelines have gone beyond his control
- Its structure will be awkward and dissatisfying
- It will now take even longer to finish because he thinks some of it should be split off into WOW (Holy shit, why did I never realize that that was the acronym of the next book???)
- George's editors will be taking the reins on this one
Depressing? Certainly. Surprising? Not in the least. Everything we've been predicting since AFFC seems to be coming true. It's like watching that dude in the Olympics slam into a concrete pylon while doing the luge. You know what's coming, but you just...can't...look away...
And finally,
Seriously?
He is the J.D. Salinger of nipple tweaking.
What brought me to the above realization? Well, to start, there was the offer to have some of Pesci and my work published in a book of fantasy essays. Yes, 'tis true! We were indeed solicited by a small vanity publisher to include some of our more, um, intellectual work in a compilation of equally-opinionated persons' diatribes on the state of modern fantasy. However, due to our personal convictions regarding the direction and purpose of our little corner of the blogosphere--and our suspicion that something like that might just end up getting us sued--we decided to pass on the offer. We remain, in short, your humble servants.
However, through this process, I have gained a new appreciation for George's true artform--that is, avoiding writing for publication. It really does seem like a headache, now that I think about it. It would be way easier if I just convinced other people to write things, then put them all together, slapped a shiny oil-painting cover of a busty spacewhore with one foot on the back of a wreck of a smouldering jetbike, and put my name in giant letters across the top. EDITED BY LIOTTA, it would say, and the people would rejoice.
Sigh. Such fantasies. I feel like William Blake, only more interested in owning cool shit.
Meanwhile, in the world of Westeros, we have little to report. A lot of slinging of old crap (Look! Fevre Dream in Polish! Reserve your copy today!), and of course, a few choice words on the structure of ADWD (see George's post from 2/15 if you have not yet seen it). I won't reprint everything the increasingly-terrifying looking GRRM has posted, since you can read it yourself. However, I can boil down his post into the following series of helpful bullet points:
- ADWD is growing increasingly unwieldy, because the timelines have gone beyond his control
- Its structure will be awkward and dissatisfying
- It will now take even longer to finish because he thinks some of it should be split off into WOW (Holy shit, why did I never realize that that was the acronym of the next book???)
- George's editors will be taking the reins on this one
Depressing? Certainly. Surprising? Not in the least. Everything we've been predicting since AFFC seems to be coming true. It's like watching that dude in the Olympics slam into a concrete pylon while doing the luge. You know what's coming, but you just...can't...look away...
And finally,
Seriously?