Wednesday, August 10, 2005
British Novel in best shape since Booker prize began! Bully boy Editors!
Jason Cowley argues that this is the best year yet for British fiction since the Booker prize began. Well I don't know if it is or not. As I am young and I haven't read a lot of books. The books I have read aren’t all fiction, plus they are from different years. If all the books I had ever read had been from one year in particular, then I could judge whether that year was good or bad.
I have read no books published in 2005 that are fictional. I have not a lot of desire to read many he has listed either. I like McEwan, he's one of my favourite writers, but Saturday doesn't appeal to me. I'm getting a bit bored with representations of the upper middle classes and their provincial lifes. I will probably whack through it when it comes out in the softer format though. The same goes for Barnes's Conan and Doyle. I don't like the old-fashioned book jacket, it reminds me of old libraries. Bet it smells like them too. It looks very twee. This annoys me.
Black day for the blue Pencil
Blake Morrisons lengthy article on the role of "pompous avuncular brutes", Book editors.
I'm interested in them and the role they play in shaping a writers work. How much do they contribute? Can a book ever be attributed to one person’s effort? If I could write then I wouldn't like these people. Imagine slaving over a novel, your novel, not theirs, and have them rip it apart at each meeting. Change this, shorten this, expand on this, where's the character development?, not enough plot etc etc. Would drive me mad.
I have read no books published in 2005 that are fictional. I have not a lot of desire to read many he has listed either. I like McEwan, he's one of my favourite writers, but Saturday doesn't appeal to me. I'm getting a bit bored with representations of the upper middle classes and their provincial lifes. I will probably whack through it when it comes out in the softer format though. The same goes for Barnes's Conan and Doyle. I don't like the old-fashioned book jacket, it reminds me of old libraries. Bet it smells like them too. It looks very twee. This annoys me.
Black day for the blue Pencil
Blake Morrisons lengthy article on the role of "pompous avuncular brutes", Book editors.
I'm interested in them and the role they play in shaping a writers work. How much do they contribute? Can a book ever be attributed to one person’s effort? If I could write then I wouldn't like these people. Imagine slaving over a novel, your novel, not theirs, and have them rip it apart at each meeting. Change this, shorten this, expand on this, where's the character development?, not enough plot etc etc. Would drive me mad.
