And Just One More Note on Government

On Tuesday, 10 August, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan comes to Books on First, 11:30am-12:30pm to visit with constituents as well as with fellow Democrats.  This would be her third visit and she is always an articulate, well-informed speaker.  If you have some available time, come spend some lunchtime with her.

American as July and then, Come the Swedes

After a month of pounding technology headaches culminating in more than a week of true Luddite affirmation hell, Larry was exhausted.  Last night, I drove in from Chicago versus his 24 hours away from the store, so we were able to take in a Coty Miller Wednesday night at The Railside in Nelson, IL.  Nelson is midway between Dixon and Harmon.  Coty was just celebrated as one of Sauk Valley's 40 Under 40, congratulations!  This is a wonderful recognition of Coty's hard work, achievements and aspirations at a young age.  On Wednesday nights at The Railside, Coty serves up meals with an ethnic flare, a different cuisine each month.  She has had Native American, Cajun, Italian, Greek, German, Czech, and probably others I cannot recall right now.

Which Came First, the Thinking or the Language?

Most people would read the Title question on this blog post and on a gut level, say that thinking came before language.  There was a very interesting Wall Street Journal Weekend article recently that begins with the questions -- more than one, because we can't seem to stop at one succinct question, but only as a springboard to saying English speakers think differently than Russian speakers or Pormpuraaws, and those differences are influenced by the native languages of the thinkers.  In high school in West Babylon, NY, those of us taking classes in foreign language learned early on that one couldn't simply memorize verbs and nouns to know a second language.  We had to learn another culture including the cuisine and religion, history and literature, geography and folk songs.  If we had time and inclination, we probably would have learned about traffic laws in Mexico, chanted Argentinian futbol cheers, and watched The Brady Bunch and Monty Python as well as the country's Number 1 show on Spanish television (high school students probably do those things and more nowadays).

Surely, a native English speaker who becomes fluent in Pormpuraawan will not lose sight of left and right and begin talking about the pain in his southwest side while at home in the United States and then, that same pain in his due-east side when he sits in the American doctor's office the following day, unless he and his doctor are speaking Pormpuraawan.  However, to have become fluent in that aboriginal Australian language, one probably had to have learned which direction is east, not only to make conversation after saying hello, but to know when facing north, reading progressions would be from right to left.  How do we find east?  We would also need to know that the sun rises in the east and thus to observe the daily phenomenon and mark that cardinal direction as well as the other three (or more, if we're going to be specific about south-southwest).

In other words, to learn another language is to gain.  It means that we become not two souls, but one much richer one.  Yet, we must not believe two people think differently, simply because they are native speakers of different languages.  Language reflects the native upbringing and culture.

The thinker is not influenced by his native tongue.  That would mean he is speaking without thinking.  It is the other way around: foreign languages influence the thinker as well as the language.  Look at all the different influences on American English, proving that English (versus Latin) is a living language, living and growing and changing.  The first step to knowing a person is to learn to speak his language, whether that be English versus Russian, American English versus British English, or ebonics/eubonics versus hip-hop.  Although, often, the converse is not true -- to speak does not guarantee knowing.

There are so many wonderfully written books which highlight the difference in language and culture that I cannot begin to think of any.  But, read the article and I'll get back to you.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood Solved?

I am convinced that most traditional Fantasy/Science Fiction genre writers have so many convoluted ideas spawned from fascinating but trivial information they want to share that they either have to write one 1000-page mass market paperback with 1/4" margins and appendices and a glossary of terms or a whole series of such mass market paperbacks.  What fascinating but trivial information?  Exhibit A is Simon R Green's "Secret Histories" series.  The hero's alter ego's name is "Bond, Shaman Bond."  So, let's start with the titles of the books in the series, coined to delight James Bond fans.

Believe me, except for these catchy plays on Ian Fleming's titles, the books are not anything like those classic 007 novels. For one thing, when Fleming left the realm of possibilities, he did not do it tongue in cheek, but rather, gave us the impression that he really wanted the reader to take seriously any premise of science ,history, politics or spycraft he threw out there.

Reflecting on Books

Yet another entry in the retail selling of e-books race is Borders, which hopes to sell "seven to ten" [different] types of e-book readers by the end of the year (less than 6 months from now).  Are there seven e-reading devices currently available or will be by year's end?

Meanwhile, being thinking people, we continue to reflect on the history and future of books.  David Brooks of the New York Times did just that in a recent editorial column.  And, many wrote letters to comment (these are actual hardcopy letters versus comments written while online (although I don't know if that means the writers were more thoughtful and reflecting as they wrote).

I was speaking with a Professor of Psychology at Sauk Valley Community College who just purchased Nicholas Carr's new book, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. In a way, he will be reading it not to learn anything new, but for affirmation of what he already believes to be true: that since we are getting our information in little bits and bytes in about the same length of time, we do not take the time to think and reflect, nor do most of us notice the loss.  The commonly held premise is that with the internet's vast resources and superior filtering abilities, a seeker of information (note that we do not say "knowledge" and certainly not "wisdom") could garner only the "relevant" points and avoid all the non-relevant stuff upon seeing the results of an "online search."  I believe that we are lulled by the misnomer, the miscalling of what we find when we seek to be "information."  How do we know it's information, let alone relevant?  Do we believe the world wide web is a mind-reader, able to analyse the data to deliver what would inform us? I am especially fascinated by the proposition that every technological innovation starts with an ethos and the internet's is that of the industrialist -- speed, efficiency, optimized productivity and consumption, i.e., bang for the buck (that would be my editorial summary).

From Library Journal: "VERDICT Neuroscience and technology buffs, librarians, and Internet users will find this truly compelling. Highly recommended."

How can that be?  Neuroscientists, maybe yes, but librarians will probably feel bilious when reading this unless they are no longer manning research or lending libraries but "information resource centers" and as for technology buffs and Internet users, I am doubtful this group would be willing to work as hard as one must to read this book and then, take the time to be compelled by it, unless we take in the entire universe of "Internet users" such as you my Gentle Reader and yours truly, who might actually be users of the internet but not "buffs" of any kind of technology except maybe BMW motorcycles.  Do I wrong someone?  Let me know.

John Grisham Goes Juve

I don't read much John Grisham, because, quite frankly as a bookseller, even with the results of his experimentation with many styles and genres beyond the legal thriller, his books sell without my needing to know and understand lovers of Grisham to "handsell" them. I simply need to know that Skipping Christmas is not like Playing for Pizza is not like The Street Lawyer.  It's not to say that I wouldn't want to read all of Grisham's books, but as the saying goes, "So many books, so little time." 

Atop that, I am skeptical about the ability of writers of adult fiction to write for children.  I am even more skeptical of the big name attraction to adults translating to the same popularity among buyers of children's books, be they adults or children.  Obviously, some have done well, most notably in recent times, Jamie Curtis, and to some extent, Julie Andrews.  They write for much younger children than the intended reader of Theodore Boone: kid lawyer.  In fact, then, one could say that the intended reader of Jamie Curtis's and Julie Andrews's books are much older.  With that in mind, it's certainly easier to write for the intended buyer of the books.

However, after hearing Grisham interviewed on NPR, I felt it important to read it for myself.  I liked how he said that this was the first time when writing, he had to keep his target reader in mind.  I wanted to see how we may need to handsell this new endeavor of his, as there is no indication that his adult popularity, any great reviews by NPR, nor with my efforts here, that anyone will buy this book.

This is a solidly decent book.  It even has little details that are important to children of a certain age, like how Theo rides his bike to school, meaning through what parking lots and streets and alleys, and what the adults are doing while everyone is in the kitchen on Saturday morning.  The kids seem real, not too smart, not too dull,  It's a good story, with a 21st century set-up of illegal immigration, divorce and homeless shelters fleshing out a tale of the time-honored value of doing the right thing.  This is not Harry Potter and good battling evil or Percy Jackson reliving Ancient Greece, but something more satisfyingly down-to-earth and quietly familiar.  One could say that the quiet is tense, almost menacing.  Perhaps that's what Grisham meant when he told in his interview that his editor reassured him that it's okay to scare children a little.  What's really scary at the age of twelve to fourteen is not the idea of ghosts or demons or witches, but that something familiar could turn out to be strange and menacing, like adults not behaving like the responsible citizens they are supposed to be -- so much likely in a child's realm of possibilities than being torn apart by a werewolf or hit by lightening.  And, while it's not very satisfying to end the story on a small (albeit very small) cliffhanger, because readers of all ages like closure, or at least the sequel near at hand, the ending is comfortably within the realm of possibilities, too.

Adults, you will enjoy this book, also, so buy it for your thirteen year-old and after he or she reads it, read it, too.  Or read it after the kid's in bed (or buy a second copy) so that you can discuss it together in real time.

When We Have to Read About It In the New York Times...

Remember my constant ranting about how our venerable trade association, the America Booksellers Association (aka BookSense and then, later IndieBound) was exhorting us to get with the e-book trend now, but gave us no tools with which to do so?
Well, silence prevails still and yet, we have read that the Association is ready to throw our lot with Google. We did not read it in a memo or an e-mail message to members, but in the New York Times.  And, to date, we still haven't been notified of what may or may not be happening.  We'll let you know when we know.  Stay tuned.

Author! Author!

Larry Kanfer visits Books on First on Friday, 9 July, at 4pm to discuss and sign his beautifully produced Barns of llinois. This makes a wonderful gift for Illinoisans and a great addition to any barn afficionado's library, so think Christmas in July and stock up!