IS THE BOOK DEAD?

I recently read two books, "The Tyranny of E-mail", by John Freeman and "The Case for Books: Past, Present and Future" by Robert Darnton. Both deal with the huge changes in how we share information currently, and how they affect the way we learn and connect. I have written previously about the influence of cell phones on the plots of movies and stories, but now would like to look at digitization and its effect on reading and libraries.

The book as we know it, or codex, has been pronounced "dead" many times. We all do a tremendous amount of reading on-line, so that looms as a possibility. However, even Bill Gates has said: "Reading off the screen is still vastly inferior to reading off paper. Even, I who have these expensive screens and fancy myself as a pioneer of this Web Lifestyle, when it comes to something over about four or five pages, I print it out and I like to have it to carry around with me and annotate....."

The much-talked-about project, potentially full of pitfalls, which the libraries and world in general are watching, is Google's mammoth digitization project. The claim to 100% of texts is exaggerated. As Darnton says, some very valuable writing could be in the percent not included for a variety of reasons. Materials from five great American libraries will be used, but this doesn't come close to the material in all such institutions.

Another crucial issue revolves around copyright infringement. It currently extends to the author's life plus seventy years. Google can display only part of the text for those still under copyright. Also likely is that Google may make mistakes, skip pages, blur images. There are no guarantees that the format will last forever either. Bits can deteriorate, hardware and software go out of date, as may even encoding.

Finally, even if the copy is totally accurate, there are characteristics of a book that cannot be captured. The very act of HOLDING a book has aspects that appeal to readers like: size, texture, smell, quality of printing, clarity of illustrations. These physical attributes reflect its history in a specific culture and place, not even mentioning fascinating notes left in the margins.

To be avoided, and librarians are in the forefront of this protest, is the "monopoly of access to information." According to Darnton, "Anyone who commands the portals to digital data can act as a toll collector, making you pay to enter the information highway." In Google's case it can charge whatever it wants in the future. A scary thought indeed.

JUDIE'S FALL FAVORITE AUTHOR PICKS

Herewith a list of hot titles coming out in the next few months, traditionally a really prolific publishing time. (A note: see the Paws & Claws blog "Homer's Odyssey" for my absolute favorite.)

September-Brown, Dan LOST SYMBOL- All that is known at this time is that the hero is Dan Langdon and it takes place over a 12 hour period. (9/3/09). Very hush hush......

Doctorow, E.L. HOMER & LANGLEY-Through the eyes of the infamous hoarder Collyer brothers we travel from the early 20th century through the 1980's. The two men wall themselves off from the changing world in their Harlem brownstone, surrounding themselves with old newspapers, musical instruments and other curiosities.

Shreve, Anita A CHANGE IN ALTITUDE-Geraldine had only planned on staying in Kenya for a year, when she traveled there with her husband. A horrific accident while on a climbing expedition changes their marriage forever.

October- Cornwell, P. THE SCARPETTA FACTOR-Dr. Kay Scarpetta is working in New York City, and must face a threat on her life , as well as deal with a famous actor accused of a sex crime.

Crichton, Michael PIRATE LATITUDES-On Jamaica, Capt. Edward Hunter assembles a crew to seize gold from a Spanish galleon. (Crichton has left the dinosaurs for now.)

Mayle, Peter THE VINTAGE CAPER-Los Angeles entertainment lawyer Danny Roth finds himself the victim of a world-class heist when his vintage wine collection disappears. (He's now setting his works outside of France, but still loves vino.)

November-Grafton, S U IS FOR UNDERTOW- almost to the end of the alphabet now-Kinsey Milhone helps a man who thinks he remembers where a young girl is buried, who had died 21 years before. He hopes if they find the body, they can find the murderer-----and justice will be served.

McCullough, Colleen-TOO MANY MURDERS-Not "The Thorn Birds", but an interesting tale of multiple murders in small-town Connecticut, none of which seem to be connected in any way.

Roth, P THE HUMBLING-A leading stage actor feels his life is over---talent faded, wife left. He is about to take a journey that would have a dark and shocking end.

Rutherfurd, Edward- NEW YORK (THE NOVEL)-As he wrote in "Sarum" and others, the author traces the history of a single place through the people who settled it and their descendents. They include a varied lot: Dutch, English, slaves, Irish immigrants, robber barons, and a family who fled anti-semitism in Europe. It culminates with the World Trade Center attacks.

Epistolary novels--Letters become Stories

In my recent e-zine about cellphones, I complained that electronic devices seem to be dictating the pace and plot of too many contemporary films and books-speeding up the action to the point of ruining the suspense. Slowly developing plots seem to be doomed by the constant availability of connection. After viewing a BBC production of that Russian tome "Anna Karenina", I was reminded of this rant because Tolstoy has the twists and turns of the story proceed at a snail's pace. Communication, when not face-to-face, was entirely in written correspondence, letters and notes being the primary means of connecting over distances among the educated classes in the nineteeth century.

So, I decided to look into stories written either partially, or totally, in letter form, the so-called "epistolary"novels. Historically, it became popular as a genre in the eighteenth century in the much-read books of Samuel Richardson, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and even Goethe.

The form declined in popularity gradually, but traces of the use of writing to forward the plot may be seen in such well-known mysteries as Wilkie Collins' "The Moonstone". Published originally in 1868, readers were intrigued by one character's writing used to preserve his family's reputation. In a less-well known work, with a clever title, Kathrine Tayor uses the postal designation "Address Unknown" to provide the plot with the information that a letter could not be delivered, and thus the fact that a character had disappeared or died.

An extraordinarily popular epistolary novel, published in the 1940's, was C.S. Lewis' "Screwtape Letters". Known world-wide as a theologian and author of the Narnia tales, the author uses humor to teach theological lessons about the moral compass which determines human behavior. The book is a collection of letters, supposedly written by a senior devil, Screwtape, to his nephew, Wormwood. His instructions to him regarding how to lure good people into sinning are psychological gold. Humans never change. His advice about romance: "Let them think they have solved by Love problems they have only postponed under the influence of the enchantment. While it lasts you have your chance to foment the problems in secret and render them chronic."

Elizabeth Hailey's "A Woman of Independent Means", 1978, was a lighter epistolary work, equally as popular and having a rich moral base, too. Beginning at the turn of the twentieth century, the reader has the opportunity to dip into the correspondence of a woman who learns to express who she really is, in spite of the pressures to conform during her lifetime. We share her joys and sorrows, watching her grow into a radiant human being.

These books are all worthy predecessors to two fabulous reads which have a lot in common. Word-of-mouth has propelled "The Guernsey Potato Peel and Literary Society" to the top of many lists. Its authors, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, share a lot with Helene Hanff, author of "84, Charing Cross Road". Both use letters to describe life in England, or the Channel Islands, during World War II. As we get to know the civilian population, we share in their deprivations and fears. We also realize how clever they are in finding ways to survive in times of unendurable crisis and worry.

The letters are obviously fictitious, but because they have such a personal form and tone, we immediately become involved with, and attached to, the characters. We feel like we're participating in the events along with them. What a rich storehouse of life experience!

Now for my concerns. Where are the letters going to come from for the next few generations? Everyone communicates by means of : email, cell phone, or twitter-all of which disappear. Family archives will have plenty of digital pictures, I suspect, but little verbal communication. What about the treasures of love letters or little thoughtful notes that paint a detailed picture of the older (which keeps changing) generation? If they never existed in hard copy, we'll never know what was thought or said. Computerized family trees are all the rage, but we'll be missing all the little pieces in between the big events of birth, marriage, death, etc. Too late we may realize that those tiny mosaic-like pieces may be where the real heart of the family lies......

BOOKS THAT MAKE YOU LAUGH, CHUCKLE, SNICKER, ETC.

In the past decade or so, I have noticed that the books with the most humor in them seem to fall into the category of so-called “cosy” mysteries. Agatha Christi fans have long been amused by little old Miss Marple’s adventures, but now a whole legion of authors has picked up on her light tone to create what is now an entire genre of suspense writing. The largest sub-division centers on cooking, including recipes, and inevitably—poisoning. Most popular among these are the ones by Diane Mott Davidson who wrote, for example, “Chopping Spree”. Joanna Fluke’s books always sound mouth watering, like her “Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder”. (She also has one giving equal time to sugar cookies.) The zaniest, however, are those by Tamar Myer: “Crepes of Wrath”, “Custard’s Last Stand”, and “Grape Expectations”. These books are filled with Pennsylvania Dutch cooking since the plots are centered in Mennonite/Amish country. Don’t be fooled by that word-these are laugh-out-loud books-rare indeed.

A recently published mystery, which received a lot of publicity, is “The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Bowl”, by Alan Bradley. Set in England, in another era, it features a young girl sleuth and a purloined letter (shades of Poe). This book is a stand-out because the heroine is not only unique in her insights and devotion to her family, but has a rare intuitive ability to see through hypocrisy. The humor, based on her internal monologues, is threaded throughout, subtle and ironic. Similar to this, is a new series by Laura Lutz, beginning with “The Spellman Files”. This family of detectives is more contemporary, but features young women who out-smart their elders at every turn as did Bradley’s. I especially liked the youngest, a tweeny, who simply outwits everyone, and cannot be reined in. In trying to analyze why I was laughing so hard, I realized it has a lot of the Poconos resort slapstick humor-sort of Rodney Dangerfield in a skirt!

When patrons are complaining about the state of the world, I often suggest the collected thoughts and writings of well-known comedians who sometimes really do have something to say that is worth reading. Dave Barry, Bill Cosby, Denis Leary, and even Best-Seller List Chelsea Handler fall into this category. Distracting and light-hearted-no one said it was great literature.

Collections of cartoon strips are next on my list for fun. A favorite is “Get Fuzzy” (available in the Boston Globe unless the paper folds) because the Shar Pei dog and Siamese cat really do capture a perverse range of human activity and mischance. Other animal strips famous for doing the same thing are:”Peanuts”, “Calvin and Hobbes” and “Pogo” (We have met the enemy and he is us!)

Finally, I have been amazed at the head-snapping switches from tragedy to comedy in many of the very popular long-running series on cable television. Locally, we are all fascinated by “Boston Legal” since James Spader is a summer resident here. His antics in and out of the courtroom leave the viewer not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Similarly, “Monk” uses the severe psychological problems of its detective to mine a whole range of emotions, much of the time happy ones. Both “Desperate Housewives” and “Nip/Tuck” take themselves seriously on one level, but much of the time the all-too human dilemmas provoke chuckles, or at least, tee-hees at the ridiculous plot developments. “Rescue Me”, Denis Leary’s zany, and sometimes deadly earnest portrayal of New York City firefighters, leaves the viewer wondering where to put his emotions. You’re still laughing when, all of a sudden, it’s no longer appropriate, but you can’t help yourself-much like real life-it all changes very quickly. Similar to this very masculine show, is Kyra Sedgwick’s “Closer” in which a very Southern female police officer has to bond with, and boss around, a squad of very macho detectives. Episodes leave one wondering how it is possible to mine laughter from murder.

After reading, or looking at, selections from any of these genres, I always feel more energetic and optimistic. Wasn’t it that odd little magazine “Reader’s Digest’ that had a section called “Laughter is the best medicine? “ I leave that for you to find out!

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CELL-PHONE-FREE BOOKS AND MOVIES

I came across an article in the New York Times the other day, which I had already "written" myself. Well, at least I had spoken all the same thoughts to my staff and any patron who would listen. As this 'zine's title implies, we purists are beginning to be upset with the influence of our ever-present electronic leashes on books and films being written and produced today. If the story-line takes place in contemporary times, it is assumed by the the reading/viewing audience that the characters can be in constant contact. So.....long-distance rarely leads to heart-break or mistaken interpretations of abandonment. (Picture Rick and Ilsa texting each other in Paris about their delays, and you realize that "Casablanca" would have a much different plot development-surely boring if it were taking place during the war in Iraq.) Indeed, contemporary stories must be twisted around so that the characters have absolutely no chance of having live wireless contact. (Even though Tom Hanks worked for hyper-tech FedEX, surely his cellphone wouldn't be able to contact even a passing ship before its water-logged batteries failed). Watch James Bond films and Ludlum's Bourne series to witness techie stuff affecting the plot with great success. Damsel in distress stories present a serious dilemma, however. On the one hand, it is reassuring to know that the heroine has a chance of escaping her pursuer while driving ninety miles an hour - or running through the woods -the stuff of wild humor in the "Scream" movies, for example. However, such questions as where are the cell towers and how does she keep re-charging the batteries do arise.... So, in action films we are ready to accept technology's influence on the plot and characters, but romance and tragedy- filled stories, not so much.

BOOKS YOU REALLY DON'T WANT TO READ

Watching the evening news or reading a newspaper is alarming enough. Why would anyone want to read MORE about our current seemingly dire circumstances—are you crazy? Well, I think well-researched , clearly written books really do books help the reader to understand much better the problems we’re all facing. In other words, rather than fueling anxiety, they are calming, restoring some sense of control over our circumstances by providing ideas for possible and probable solutions.

So, give some of these titles a try—particularly the ones about topics you’re not on top of, or those dealing with subjects you’d rather not contemplate at all. You just might finish one and feel a whole lot better!

Have you read one that I have missed, please feel free to post your suggestions, or send me an email, jkleven@sailsinc.org.

Hot, Flat, and Crowded

In HOT, FLAT AND CROWDED by Thomas Friedman, we read why we need a green revolution, and how it can renew America. >Order a copy through SAILS