Saturday Selects: Farewell to an All-Time Great

As evidenced by my most recent posts, I’ve decided to branch out and discuss a wider range of topics related to books, publishing, reading, and writing. Well, I’m going to continue that trend and start a series of posts on one Saturday a month to discuss a topic that is unrelated to any of the above topics. After all, there’s more to me than books. (But not much) This will be the first and it will have a baseball theme to it.

Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter announced this week that the upcoming baseball season will be his last. You might be wondering why this is significant. Well, Derek Jeter will be a first ballot hall of famer when he becomes eligible. There’s no doubt about it. For those of you non-sports watchers, a first ballot hall of famer is when the player is elected in his first year on the ballot. This year there were three such players elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but it doesn’t happen often.

I’m only 22 and Derek Jeter has played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball. I have literally grown up watching him play. It doesn’t matter that I’m not a Yankees fan, I’m a baseball fan above all else and Derek Jeter has been the face of the game for nearly two decades. He’s played in a whopping seven World Series! Seven! Five of those times the Yankees came out on top, losing in 2001 to the Arizona Diamondbacks in one of the great sports moments of the last 15 years, and in 2003 to the Florida Marlins.

To put it into perspective what he’s meant to the game I’ll give you what I think is a perfect comparison. The NFL is king in America. The Super Bowl seemingly breaks its own viewership records each year. Well, Tom Brady has been the face of the league over the last decade or so. He’s played in five Super Bowls and won three. He’s constantly in the discussion of being one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time. While Jeter isn’t necessarily in that particular conversation when it comes to baseball, it’s hard to argue against him when he’s compared to players of his era. And he is in that conversation when it comes to the Yankees organization, which is far and away the most prolific we’ve ever had in baseball history.

I’m not going to get into his stats because I can tell you that they are representative of his GREAT career. I will, however, suggest that you take a look at this article published by CBS Sports that ranks him based on his numbers among the greatest shortstops ever. I’d also recommend you read this article published on Forbes that discusses Jeter as the player of his generation.

It’s been great watching you play, Mr. Jeter. Absolutely great.

A Valentine’s Day Duel: Ron & Hermione vs. Katniss & Peeta

Happy Valentine’s Day! Hopefully you spend the day with someone special. Or, if you’re like me, you can spend it with your books. So, since it is Valentine’s Day I thought it only fitting to discuss two of the most well known literary relationships of the last decade. I’ll give you a hint…there have been a total of ten movies in which these two pairs of lovebirds appear so far, with two more on the way. Any guesses? Ron and Hermione of Harry Potter fame and Katniss and Peeta from The Hunger Games. Let’s dive right in.

Ron and Hermione

I am a HUGE fan of the Harry Potter franchise, but I have to admit that I have not read any of the books yet. I know, I know. You don’t have to tell me. I NEED to read them. I will at some point. But that’s not the point of this post. We’re talking about witch on wizard love. I considered including Harry and Ginny in this conversation, but Ginny isn’t quite one of the big three in the series, so Harry gets left out even though every book bears his name on the cover.

I’m sure every person keeping up with the literary world, and probably plenty who don’t, heard J.K. Rowling admit that Harry and Hermione would have been the better couple rather than Hermione and Ron. I tend to agree with her. Again, this is coming from someone who has not read the books, but Ron and Hermione just seem….odd together. One of the images I have in mind as I write this is in Deathly Hallows Part 1 when Ron abandons Harry and Hermione. While he’s gone they share a pleasant moment in which the two are seen dancing even though they’re in the midst of a dire situation. You can’t possibly tell me that Ron would be capable of such a thing. After all, he did abandon them.

Also, Ron isn’t exactly the brightest of the wizards attending Hogwarts. We all know Hermione is a brilliant witch. I can’t be the only one who pictures her with a similarly brilliant wizard. I think Harry fits that mold quite well.

I applaud J.K. Rowling for writing the story as she originally imagined it. But I also applaud her for admitting that she should have done things a little differently.

Katniss and Peeta

The unlikeliest of partners. I HAVE read all of the books in The Hunger Games series and I’ve seen both movies. So I guess you can go ahead and call me an expert on the matter. Okay, maybe not an expert. BUT I absolutely love the series and not just because my future wife Jennifer Lawrence happens to play Katniss.

The two are thrown together during the first chapter of the first book in the series during the annual Reaping in which one boy and one girl from each of the 12 districts is chosen to fight to the death in the annual Hunger Games. Katniss’ younger sister is actually chosen but Katniss does the unthinkable and volunteers in her place. She’s the first ever volunteer from her district in the 74 year history of the Games.

The relationship between the two starts off a bit rocky. Katniss is independent and not the most sociable person while Peeta is about as likeable as it gets. The two remain polite with each other until Peeta admits during an interview before the Games are set to begin that he’s got a crush on Katniss. I mean, I don’t blame him. She’s perfect! Katniss doesn’t like being thrown a curve ball and gets a bit upset. Then she goes on to score an 11 out of 12 during her individual showing for the Gamemakers. Peeta then decides that he no longer wants to be trained alongside Katniss because there is only one winner.

Once the Games begin and Katniss is on her own and Peeta is nowhere to be found it is announced that there can be two winners from the same district. Katniss goes on to keep Peeta alive with the help of sponsors and the two ultimately win the Games, but not before they tick off the Capitol in doing so. Katniss put on a show for everyone watching to make out like the two were madly in love. She did it to survive while Peeta wasn’t acting.

The two are forced to act as if they need each other in order to live after the Games, and although they do their best, it may already be too late. They may have inadvertently started a rebellion.

My Favorite

This actually isn’t all that hard for me to decide. Katniss and Peeta. Hands down. I didn’t go into the second or third books of the series because I refuse to spoil those for any person who reads this who may not have read them. If you have read them then you are well aware of how their relationship evolves over time. But in the first one Katniss is about as upfront as she can be with Peeta under the circumstances. While the cameras were rolling she acted in a manner that kept both of them alive. And as soon as they were out of the limelight she made it known that it wasn’t as real for her as he might have thought. I guess my reasoning for liking their relationship slightly more than Ron and Hermione’s would be because we know what we’re getting from the start. Ron and Hermione take FOREVER to make it happen. (At least in the movies)

So tell me, which would you rather be a part of….Ron and Hermione or Katniss and Peeta?

Just for kicks, which nickname do you like more? The Boy Who Lived or The Girl on Fire?

Print vs. E-Book: Which side are you on?

One of the wonderful things about technology is that it causes us to ask questions that we had never previously thought of. The print vs. e-book question had never once been asked prior to the 2000s. But it’s a question that every bibliophile has struggled with at some point in recent years. I know I have. Before I discuss which side of the stick I happen to fall on, let’s delve into the battle a little bit first.

Print

The printing of books hasn’t changed all that much since the advent of the printing press. The process has become easier and cheaper as technology advanced. No matter the price a particular publisher sets for the print edition of a book, the actual cost to print is essentially the same for all publishers. It isn’t as though one publisher has the printing technology of 2005 and another of 1900. Printing is printing and although the price of books is constantly changing, printing is still printing. For instance, I know exactly how much it costs to print my book.

Also, a print book is a physical object. You can hold it and dog ear your pages and highlight and then put it right back on your shelf to read again in the future once you’re finished reading. That means something to many readers.

In just a few short years print books, and thus publishers, have taken a hit from the e-book market. There of course was a time very recently in which all books were printed. Now only about 70% of book sales fall into this category. Think of owning your own business and losing nearly a third of your business before you even have time to react to what’s happening. This is exactly what happened in the last decade to the publishing industry. If you keep up with publishing like I do then you know that for the longest time there were the Big 6 publishers that maintained a stranglehold on the book world. Hachette, Macmillan, Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon and Schuster, and Random House. Well, as you likely already know, in 2013 Penguin and Random House completed a merger that combined two of the world’s largest publishers. This was done out of necessity, for both publishers, due in part to Amazon’s major role in the the book market.

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves because I haven’t read anything recently about any more major mergers happening soon.

E-Book

The little guy who has turned the publishing world on its head. The advantages of e-books are numerous and can’t be denied. A digital version of a book is cheaper than a printed version. There’s no paper or ink or printing or anything but a file to be downloaded. A single e-reader or tablet can hold thousands of books without ever needing to give any away to make more room on the shelf. Reading on a device is often more suitable to the eyes than reading straight from paper. (Just think of reading something on your phone in your room at midnight versus reading off of paper) Lastly, everything you can think to do in a printed book like take notes or highlight or save your page can now be done on just about every e-reader or tablet that allows you to read e-books. Let’s face it, a huge percentage of the American population has access to a device on which e-books can be read. I mean, who doesn’t have a PC, Mac, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Nook, Kobo, Galaxy Note, or Galaxy S? We all do, which means we all have access to the cheaper version of the exact same books available at your local bookstore or online.

Where do I Fall?

After examining printed books versus e-books the conclusion may be clear to some, if not most people. And it is for me. I’m willing to pay whatever the difference is between the digital and printed formats. Why? Because a printed book is a physical object that I can forever admire on my shelf. I can’t admire a file on a smartphone or tablet. I personally have more than 160 printed books and less than 20 on my Kindle. NOTE: I did not buy my Kindle, it was given to me as a gift.

I’m Team Printed Books, what about you? Tell me in the comments!

By the way, this is on my left forearm. I HAVE to be all for printed books.

Some Tips About Writing Book Reviews

I’ve recently read several blog posts about book reviews that got me wanting to chime in on the the subject myself. There seems to be a difference of opinion out there. I’m obviously not a professional reviewer but I am an author and I’ve received both good and bad reviews for my first book.

There a few things I’d like to go over when it comes to writing a review of a book you either did or did not like.

1. Read the Book

The first is that the book, at least in part, needs to be read. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever for you to write a scathing review of a book that you read only the first two chapters. You are not helping any other reader and you’re definitely not giving the author any information as to how come you decided to write the review that you did. You can’t talk about the story or the characters or anything. So before you put your reviewer hat on just remember to read before you review.

2. Review the Book

This may seem straightforward enough, but browse the reviews on Amazon and you’ll likely come across a number of reviews that appear to have nothing to do with the book. What I mean is that you should be able to give an explanation as to what you did or did not like about the book and be on your way. There’s no need to sit there for an hour trying to come up with ways to bash the author. So you didn’t like the book, right? Then tell other potential readers why you didn’t like it and be done with it. I understand that it isn’t your job to be nice in your review, but what’s a review if it isn’t fair?

3. Proofread your Review

You may be laughing at this, but think about it. How much credence are other readers going to give you if you write a very detailed review of a book that is riddled with typos and grammar mistakes? Again, this is something that I have personal experience with. Just take a minute or two, because your review shouldn’t be the length of the book, and read over what you’ve written. There’s probably something that needs fixing.

4. Good Books need Reviews Too

Everyone wants to rush to write down the one star review of their latest read. The book was so bad that you threw it into the middle of the street for any unknowing motorist to run over so no one would ever have to be subject to its awfulness. But what about the book you read before it? That you thoroughly enjoyed but never took a few minutes to review. I’d argue that five star reviews are just as important to potential readers as one star reviews. So don’t forget that potential readers can also read about how great you think a book is and not just how bad.

Lastly, I encourage you to check out a few blog posts written by some bloggers I follow and some I don’t. I think you’ll find that there is no consensus on the matter.

The first was written on the blog A Platform of Sorts.

The second was written on the blog Raven Reviews.

The last one was written on author Shannon A. Thompson’s blog and goes beyond just the simple book review.

Is Amazon Good for Books?

Before I begin I would first like to make it known that I am a huge fan of Amazon. The paperback edition of my book is sold by CreateSpace and the Kindle version is sold by Kindle Direct Publishing, which are both Amazon companies. But I’ll try to be objective.

I’ve read several articles recently about the impact that Amazon has had on the publishing industry. Most often the takeaway seems to be that Amazon is not good for books for a number of reasons like the discounts they receive from publishers or how low they’re able to sell their e-books. There are plenty more but there’s no need for me to be exhaustive at this point.

Jeff Bezos started the company all the way back in 1994 as a bookstore. In the 20 years since then independent bookstores have been cut in half and the mega-chain Borders has shut its doors. But is it really smart to blame Amazon for both or either of those? Maybe. But what about the fact that indies were always under fire from big chains like Barnes and Noble and Borders? Or what about the fact that most indie bookstores have no place in the e-book market? Amazon is constantly blamed for the failure of indie bookstores in recent years, but there’s always more to it.

Several articles estimated that roughly seven percent of all of Amazon’s annual revenue comes from books, which puts the number around $5 billion. It’s easy for critics to throw that number out there and make a fuss about Amazon’s bookselling practices because they seem to be doing it better than any other company at the moment. But let’s think about what they’ve managed to accomplish to help the reader. First, the customer will  never pay list price of a book on the site, no matter if it’s hardcover or paperback. Compare that to walking into your neighborhood Barnes and Noble bookstore and paying exactly what it says on the back cover. Second, the selection that Amazon is able to offer is far and away the most vast there is in the world today. Most readers have experienced the turmoil of wanting an obscure book that may be long out of print only to find that Barnes and Noble doesn’t have it online or in-store. And third, if Amazon didn’t have a place in the bookselling world then what would stop Barnes and Noble or Books-A-Million from selling books at cover price. Or Kobo or Apple from selling e-books at higher prices. I mean, all four companies already struggle to compete with Amazon in the book marketplace, but they are competing.

Amazon also has several publishing imprints that operate just as any other traditional publisher and back the most lucrative book writing contest in the country, the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, which gives its grand prize winner a $50,000 publishing contract along with several $15,000 publishing deals given out to the genre winners.

Lastly, Amazon revolutionized the publishing world with its Kindle. No company has been able to develop an e-reader quite like it, which is why Amazon holds a roughly 67% percent e-book market share.

I’m not here to defend Amazon, but I would like for the site’s critics to be fair. Amazon’s competition in the marketplace helps drive prices of all books down for the reader. They changed the publishing world when they released their Kindle e-reader which has evolved into a full-use tablet comparable to any other. And they offer a selection of books that no other company can. So if I had to answer the question as to whether or not Amazon is good for books, well I think you know my answer by now. Yes.

Amazon’s List of 100 Books Everyone Should Read

Last week the Amazon editors released a list of 100 books that they believe everyone should read. There are other similar lists out there but this one just happens to come from the world’s largest bookstore. So in my effort to broaden the appeal of this blog I’ve decided to go ahead and challenge myself to read the books they’ve listed. This is not something that can be accomplished in a few months or even a year. I’ll most likely be working on the list well past the end of 2014 because I’m going to mix in the books from the list with my regular reading. If you’re interested in checking out the full list then just take a look at my Amazon 100 Books List page and I’ve listed the entire list and checked off the books that I’ve already read.

Also, I’m suffering from what I’m calling the second book blues. My definition of this phenomena is that I’m on the verge of abandonment. Abandoning what, you might be wondering. I’ve been working on my second book for several months now and it has been a struggle since the start. I’ll remind you that I wrote my first book in about three months. The second one is just not coming along like I’d hoped. BUT I can’t quit now. I’m going to keep pushing along to see if I can light a spark. Perhaps I’ll just change the story some. I don’t know, but I won’t give up. I can’t.

Word Count Goal Failure

I mentioned in a post last Friday that I’d set a goal of writing at least 10,000 words by midnight tomorrow night. Well, suffice it to say that I am not going to reach that goal, which is good and bad. It’s good because I’ve never written that way and have always stressed that writers should use proven strategies that work for them. I know plenty of people can work under the pressure of a word count goal, but I don’t really embrace such mechanisms for my writing. It’s bad because I obviously don’t have 10,000 more words at the end of my manuscript. It’ll be fine. I will be writing tonight, though! So there’s some hope left for me.

Also, I posted a couple of posts back that Michael Connelly’s acclaimed LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch had finally made it to screen. Well the pilot, which will be available for free viewing via Amazon Instant Video is now online! All you have to do is watch, rate, and share it to help it develop into a full series. It will be available for 30 days. I’ve watched it and I HIGHLY recommend you do the same if you’re a fan of Connelly, and even if you’re not. It’s a great pilot episode. Just click here to go ahead and watch it!

Lastly, in my last post I wrote a little about the relationship between bestselling authors and Hollywood studios. I’d REALLY like for you guys to take a look at it. I think it’s one of my best. The previous post was titled Has Hollywood run out of Ideas? Take a look!

Has Hollywood run out of Ideas?

I can’t say whether it’s a growing trend or if I am just now realizing it, but every year it seems that Hollywood adapts more and more books into major movies. That isn’t to say that the best movies are adapted from books, but sometimes that can be the case. Let’s look at recent theatrical releases.

We all know about the Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and Twilight movies, so those won’t be discussed. There have been a number of recent releases that many may not even know come from books. The Wolf of Wall Street, which is a major Oscar contender was adapted from the book written by Jordan Belfort. Lone Survivor, a movie nominated for two Oscars is also adapted from the bestselling book of the same name. These are two examples that I myself didn’t initially realize had been adapted from books. These also both happen to be true stories, but that isn’t always the case. The second movie in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy was just released last December and World War Z was released last summer.

You see, the number of literary adaptations released each year may beg the question, “Has Hollywood run out of ideas?” We already get countless sequels to successful movies anyway, just think any movie starring a comic book character, but studios are relying heavily on authors to bring their books to the big screen in order to cash in. I don’t hate that this is happening because I am of the opinion that authors are the most creative people around, but I’m just wondering at what’s currently happening.

As we look at the number of successful adaptations, we must also look at the number of box office bombs from 2013. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones ended its theatrical run with just over $31 million. Ender’s Game has made just $61 million on a budget of $110 million.  The Book Thief made just $21 million. The Host ended its run with just $26 million. And Beautiful Creatures came out with a horrendous $19 million. Suffice it to say that for every major literary adaptation success, there are several that don’t quite make it.

But let’s not forget that the highest grossing movie of 2013 was The Hunger Games: Catching Fire with $421 million to date.

Just off the top of my head I can think of a couple of literary adaptations that are expected to make studios a lot of money in 2014. Mockingjay Part 1 and The Hobbit: There and Back Again. But there are also a number of films that will be adapted that we have no idea how successful they will be. Both The Monuments Men and Vampire Academy will be adapted and released this week, Divergent will be released in March, Fault in Our Stars will be released in June, Gone Girl will be released in October, and then at the end of the year we’ll have the third installments of The Hunger Games and The Hobbit series. We’re talking hundreds of millions of dollars that have already been spent on these projects that may or may not pan out at the box office.

Quite frankly, the answer to the title of this post is that Hollywood hasn’t run out of ideas because the box office in America continues to thrive. But it is worth asking if their dependence upon bestselling authors is growing. I don’t have the answer to that  and maybe no one does.

Bosch Pilot

I posted yesterday that I wanted to expand the scope of my blog posts to include posts that are not solely about my own writing or books. Well, today is the first post to fall in this new category.

I know a great many people enjoy anything having to do with crime, whether it be TV shows or novels or movies or whatever. I am certainly one of those people. I have a degree in criminal justice and two of my all time favorite TV shows are 24 and The Following, both of the crime variety. I also write detective novels.

Well, one of the top crime novelists of today, Michael Connelly, has finally done his millions of fans a favor by doing his best to get his most famous character, Harry Bosch, on screen. Those of you who are fans of Connelly know that he sold the rights to Bosch early in his career but no movies were ever made and Connelly eventually retained the rights to his LAPD detective. Now we’re here.

Connelly has brought Harry Bosch to Amazon Studios, who have developed a pilot episode for the potential series. It will be the first time that his fans will be able to see Harry Bosch on screen after more than twenty years of novels. Suffice it to say that we’re all beyond excited.

I’m sure you’re wondering now how you can get your eyes on the pilot, well it’s simple! The pilot is set to air FREE via Amazon Instant Video this month. Connelly, Amazon, and everyone working on the project simply ask that you watch and rate the pilot like you would any other item on the site. The overall reaction will determine whether the show is fully developed or not.

You can find all the information and teaser trailers about the Bosch pilot by clicking here!

Branching Out

I’ve been very strict about what I post about on here. I think all but one of my 80 or so posts has had to do with the writing of either my first or second books. And I think that up until this point that that was a good choice to make because most of my WordPress followers are fellow authors or book bloggers. Naturally, right? I’ve now decided that there are more things going on my life that I wish to share with you guys. Maybe I might want to discuss a movie or an article I read about the publishing industry or who knows what, and I think I should allow myself to do so. I can guarantee that you will still get PLENTY of posts about my writing and my book and my journey searching for an agent, but I think I’ll have much more than all of that to share with you all in the coming months. I already have at least two things that I want to post about very soon.

So check back!