- Radar Online has an entertaining history of Hollywood’s love affair with jingoistic villains.
- Justine on bad writing days and the effect on mood. YES.
- Matt Cheney recommends John Williams’ Stoner.
- Apropos of its new excerpt policy, Ed thinks the AP should go whole hog and pay its sources, and he does the math.
- See also, Ed on the novels of Tiptree-winner Sarah Hall.
- Go read and vote in the Million Writers Award.
- Nicola is making a bunch of stuff related to her excellent, Lambda-award winning memoir And Now We Are Going to Have a Party available online. That you should check it out goes without saying.
- Glenn Beck and Ted Bell: Role models. Wait, make that DINOSAUR MORONS. (I love the transcript of Beck interviewing Stephanie Meyer that someone posted a link to in the comments of that discussion–although I’m hoping that she actually does know who Cormac McCarthy is and was just thrown off by some clown throwing non sequiturs at her. Still, hilarious.) Updated to add: Ted Bell posts a somewhat defensive (understandably) comment below and it is worth noting that this discussion is less about the book in question–which he wrote–and more about the unbelievable Glenn Beck interview, which can be viewed at the Guys Lit Wire post.
- Niall Harrison on The Happening, which I kind of want to go see mainly because the post-M. Knight rantiness is as addictive as a drug.
- Carrie’s reading The Writing Class. Yay! Follow suit.
7 thoughts on “Wednesday Hangovers”
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I think this entire discussion is worthwhile and interesting, especially if you haven’t read the book and have no idea what you’re talking about.
As it happens, the 7 year old sister, Kate, is the smartest, bravest, most
heroic character in the entire novel. The brains of the outfit. Captured at sea by a German U-boat, Kate actually manages (with the help of Hobbes, a Jeeves-like character) to capture the submarine and turn it over to the Royal Navy and Winston Churchill himself.
Far from “saving” her from the Germans, her brother is off in 1805, doing battle with a turncoat pirate who would ambush Admiral Lord Nelson at Trafalgar.
There may be instance in the book where Nick saves his sister, but I’m
damned if I can recall it. And by the way, if she needed saving and he was the one who did it, I frankly don’t see what all the fuss is about.
But that’s just me.
Thanks for dropping by, Ted. I think the fuss stems from the good, old-fashioned paternalistic attitudes displayed in the interview — more on Glenn Beck’s part than on yours, to be fair. Most of us are taking issue with his assertions about gender and certain behaviors in children’s books (and, by all indications, in life). To suggest that boys are emasculated by strong female characters, as he does, sells short their capacity as readers and as human beings. He certainly seems to be advocating for a certain kind of regressive book for boys, and it’s too bad if your book is being unfairly treated by association. Regardless, I didn’t hear any argument about the accuracy of his points during the interview.
Fair enough. But if you knew how tough it was for fiction writers
to get ANY airtime on national television, you would understand
that I didn’t want to use my three minutes arguing with the host.
Well, I do know, since I’m pretty informed about this kind of thing, Ted. And I’m not surprised you didn’t argue with him about it. I understand why you wouldn’t.
But it doesn’t leave you with much room to criticize a discussion that has dealt largely with the interview and the impression it leaves — which for many of us was overwhelmingly negative.
I can’t defend the interview, Gwenda. Only my book. Thanks for the opportunity.
You’ve perfectly explained my reasons for writing the post at Guys Lit Wire, Gwenda. I never mentioned the book at all, other than to explain why Ted and Glenn were talking in the first place. The problem is the interview, and what they discussed. If Ted didn’t agree I wish he had said something, but that was, as he admits, his choice.
Gwenda,
Would you like a copy of NICK OF TIME? I’d be happy to send you one.
Best,
Ted