Mock Duck

I am Boring

It's five in the morning and I'm awake with a stonking headache. Been lying here thinking - god, what a boring person I have become. I think it's something to do with the fact that writing is so hard and takes such a long time that you end up getting horribly obsessive. And I have a bit of that tendency as it is. But I was just thinking to myself how I really am at the stage where someone will be passing round a spliff at a party saying "cool" things about World Peace and Indie Music and how we should all go and live on a desert island and make beads, and I will, likely as not, be regaling them with, "What do you think about books and the environment?" or "Give me your views on the issue of returns in the publishing industry?"

Argh. What have I become?

Of course I love all this stuff. And a lot of it is because of VL - presently my main job is to organise the Thursday Soapbox slot so I am always thinking about possible subjects and contributors. But really, this doesn't mean that I should let it pervade all aspects of my life! And aren't there rather bigger issues I should be thinking about? (And smaller ones too.) In fact, isn't there more to life than debates and issues surrounding books and writing? (I know, contentious thought. Don't answer that.)

So, from now on, I am going to make a conscious effort to change. And it's going to start right now.

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Shit, what am I going to talk about now?

To Blog or Not to Blog, That is the Question.

I've been thinking recently about the problem of blogging. Why do we blog? Or, more precisely, why do I blog?

This place started as a little personal thing where I just shoved up whatever I felt like. Sometimes I add an url to my comments on other blogs - but more often I replace it with the Vulpes url - which I spend much more time trying to let people know about. I hardly ever add Mock Duck to forums or Facebook - again, far less worried about plonking up Vulpes.

It seems to me that there are a number of main reasons writers blog. One is to publicise themselves, their books, their writing: some people put up reviews and news and snippets and all things "book", others make up a persona or use their blog to explore themes that relate to their writing. The second is is as a personal outlet, where you invite people to follow along with you on key events in your life.The second is to reach out, find like-minded people, test out their thoughts and ideas. All, I suppose, are about attention to some degree.

But when I look at those reasons I'm not sure how they fit Mock Duck. That peculiar reticence I have about letting even my friends on Facebook know about MD suggests I'm not doing a great job of maximising publicity potential. Personal outlet...since starting this blog, when things of big emotional import have happened I haven't mentioned them - a deliberate decision. It just seemed disrespectful somehow. (I know some people think very differently to me about this issue, but whenever I think about it, I come back to the same feeling.)

And so I start questioning the whole thing. If I'm not prepared to create an entertaining persona or fiercely market it for publicity purposes, nor am comfortable creating some sort of online diary where I pour out my feelings to be accessed by friend and foe - what am I actually doing? For what purpose?

(But then - in this respect - is a blog so very different from any sort of writing or even from speech in "real life"? Do you blurt out every private thought to a friend down the pub for that matter?)

And so I go back to the option of reaching out and finding like-minded people. Maybe that is closer to what it's about - for me. Keeping in touch with people I like that I couldn't keep up with in the form of a myriad private email correspondences.

This blog is real, but not real. It is me, but not all of me. It is my opinions and a part of my life, written truthfully and with heart (and sometimes a generous sprinkling of exaggeration) but most of all, I see it as some form of public conversation, hopefully amongst friends. That's the aim, anyway and I'll stick to that, for the moment anyway.

That's my reasoning, but how do you answer these same questions and dilemmas? Does anyone else question why they are blogging or have any difficulties with working out the line between the  public/private divide? Or have any issues with blogging that I haven't even thought of.

 

Bilious Purple

The blue was too tasteful I'm afraid. How about this?

On the Table: How People Buy Books

Was browsing the book blogs and came across this post from Two Ravens blog, which says that a study undertaken by The Bookseller found:

26% of the population make their buying decisions about books based predominantly on retail displays. The second most influential factor was newspaper and magazine reviews (14%) followed by TV and radio mentions for a book (13%). Recommendations from friends and family were next at 12%, 9% gave internet recommendations as their main reason for buying a book, and 2% relied on the advice of shop assistants or librarians.

Two Ravens' Sharon Blackie seems somewhat despondent about this news - particularly the dominance of instore promotional displays. To be honest, I am surprised the figure is not greater than 25%. I am certainly influenced by 3 for 2 tables - not so much because of the 3 for 2 factor (although that always activates my "bargain" gene) as just the sheer visibility and browsability.

However, my eye couldn't help being drawn to one of those other figures: 9%. At last! The power of internet recommendations is being statistically recognised (although it must be admitted it is unclear how Amazon fits into any of these figures).

Blackie finishes her article with a call for change.

Of course what I’d like to see is a revolution - more and more publishers refusing to accept the huge discounts that big stores demand and the unlimited returns that can put an entire print run into the red … and so refusing to accept this crazy state of affairs where the publishers are the only ones who ever seem to take a significant financial risk at every stage of the business … or maybe a return to the net book agreement

Can this situation carry on interminably? Or will it eventually be a case, as Blackie predicts, of "something's gotta give"?

Feeling blue

I've gone blue for a while. You may have to press refresh. Which do you prefer?

Plain Old Books

I've just uploaded an excellent piece onto Vulpes from the very wonderful Rosy Thornton about categorising books. Apart from anything it is entertaining and wry and elegantly written and well worth a look.

I'm not sure whether I agree with RosyT here or not. I mean - I do. But I also don't. And that's partly because of the two hats I wear as a writer and as a reviewer/writer for Vulpes.

RosyT is ostensibly saying we need to level the playing field - let the books speak for themselves. Plain anonymous covers. No blurbs or taglines. No genre. No "high-brow"/"low-brow"/ No "literature" versus "fiction". Even the author's name, she suggests mischievously, could be a give away.

(I should point out for those who are reading this without having read RosyT's post, that it is piece of wry and witty irony. But still, the central point and problem with categorisation remains.)

I have certain sympathies with this. Particularly in light of the rise of the recent phenomenon of "literary fiction" being treated as a genre. I used to think "literary fiction" was James Joyce. But apparently now it is a separate genre - and it does not seem to require literary allusions or intertextuality to be litfic at all. (I know, I know, I'm very behind the times on these things.) I recently heard of another genre called Faux Litfic. So what's that then - a sort of soft "litfic" with "intellectual" pretensions?

Basically this stuff is not so much about the book - but about the book as an accessory, a life-style choice, something to be seen with.

None of this particularly affects me as I don't write litfic anyway - though, as a reader, I don't see what's wrong with "fiction" or "general fiction". (For more on "literature" versus "fiction" read what RosyT has to say.) However, I do sometimes feel frustrated with the dominance of genres in commercial fiction - most particularly the rules that are attached to those genres. I understand the necessity for marketing purposes...but the danger is that it could  fail to encourage anything outside the box.

However, since writing for Vulpes Libris, I have seen how very difficult it is to sum up and present books. As a reviewer you necessarily summarise a book, and to some extent you have to get across what kind of book it is. Thankfully we have a bit of time and space and can waffle on at length trying to get the specifics across. But as soon as you shorten that space, you have to compromise. So, occasionally we have round-ups or group works together, thematically or according to dates: Valentine's Day, Mother's Day etc (not that any of our choices on Vulpes are anything other than idiosyncratic.)  Immediately you are categorising that book whether you like it or not.  Ok, we could be ultra-high minded and not do such polluting things as round-ups or themes. But, it is interesting how these pieces really reach people - readers enjoy them and comment, they often investigate the longer reviews from these round-ups and we are able to bring books to people's attention that we think are great and they might never have heard of in the normal run of things.

I suppose you could say it is not our job on Vulpes to be bringing books to people's attention. We are just reviewing them. But, for me, one of the pleasures of finding something really good is to be able to wave it around at a friend and go "hey, have you read this - it's brilliant - I think you'd really like it". If you care about the culture and want good...oh what word am I going to use? - art (?) entertainment(?) literature (?) fiction (?) stories (?) plain old books (?)(insert whatever terms you are most comfortable with)...then you have to make a fuss when you find something that IS good and, if it is something that others have overlooked, then even more so.

The whole point of having reviewers and sites like ours is that we read them and you - as a reader - can sift through and take a look at the ones you think you might like. We don't all have time to read every single book out there. Reading books isn't all about judgment, it isn't an exam, at the end of the day; it is - or should be - about enjoyment/entertainment/interest/thought-provokingness and about an ongoing conversation. How the books reach the readers that will get those things from them, and vice versa, is the challenge.

I don't know what the answer is to the plain old covers argument. And I expect this whole issue is something I will continue to change my mind about. At the moment, I can't see a way round using  short-hands and categories. But perhaps we just need to get more sophisticated with both the categories themselves and the ways that we use them.

At last

It's sunny! Sunny! Sunny!

Thank god. I thought I was going to have to buy one of those lightboxes to get me through the summer.

More Geek Love

After the whole short fat hairy dwarf incident:

Me: Say something nice.
The Geek (not looking up from the laptop): You look nice.
Me (coyly): In what way? (and then just to encourage him along a bit) IN WHAT FUCKING WAY?
The Geek stares at me. I know he is still thinking about code.
Me: Oh forget it!
The Geek: Big brown eyes, red face...
Me: Red face.
The Geek: What's wrong with that?
Me: Red face.
The Geek: Red's my favourite colour.
Me (resigning myself to a life without conventional compliments): You just don't get it, do you?

The Problem with Showing Off

Over posh lunch in a restaurant.

The Geek's Cousin: You're getting published, you say? How splendid! Have I heard of the publisher?

Me: They're called Marion Boyars, they are quite an amazing publisher actually. Yes. They publish wonderful contemporary novels: The Streets of Babylon, The Feather Man. (Casually) You might have heard of a little book of theirs: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?

Cousin: Really?

Me (leaning back nonchalently): Yes, Cuckoo's Nest, Last Exit to Brooklyn, you know.

Cousin: Goodness!

Me: Oh yes. (Warming to theme) They are a pretty heavy-weight publisher, in fact. I think you'll find they have published some of the most important works of 20th century. Witold Gombrowicz - you may be familiar - ?

The Cousin nods.

Me: Heinrich Boll, Georges Bataille...You know, that sort of thing. Real intellectual classics of twentieth century literature.

Cousin: Indeed! How exciting. (Pause.) So, tell me, what is your book called?

Angry Ducks and Other Problems

Apparently, someone came across this site by googling "Duck Rage".

Duck Rage. I am intrigued. What do you think it can possibly mean? Rage between warring ducks? Or is it the anger of the pedestrian trying to pick their way around Emmanuel College duckpond?

When I was little I used to feed the ducks. Perfectly normal behaviour. Except I wasn't keen on giving the bread to them so much as feeding it to myself. One day a member of that wildfoul genus lost its cool and grabbed the entire bag off me. I was furious. Perhaps that's Duck Rage.

My sister, on the other hand, was so generous with the bread that she not only threw that in, but herself in behind it. "I forgot to let go," she told an appaled and drenched Mum, who had dived in to save her.

ABRUPT CHANGE OF SUBJECT

Well back to earth with a bump and, on a slightly down note, I've been thinking a lot about people who use the internet to get at other people.

Now, on the subject of comments, despite some lively and colourful debate on many occasions, I have only ever had to delete comments from this blog twice - from the same individual both times. Both times it was for the same reason: slagging off friends of mine. I am not talking rational reasonable debate here. I am talking simple childish name-calling.

If it had been slagging me off, I wouldn't mind so much -  but slagging off friends makes me very angry indeed - the nasty twisted feeling of my site being used to sneer at a friend, as though my site and my friendship are being manipulated to voice someone else's anger. As far as I am concerned, leaving those mean remarks there and not saying anything is tantamount to being complicit in it. So I won't leave them there and I won't not say anything.

I'm not having it and I'm not putting up with it.