Tag Archives: books

Civilization: The West and the Rest by Niall Ferguson (Review)

bigWOWO Review: Non-Fiction Bronze

Niall Ferguson is a gifted writer. The way he writes history makes it come alive. He does his research well, and he tells a great story. He’s the kind of history professor I wish I’d had in school. (And if I had made Harvard, maybe I would have had him.)And for the most part, this book was good. But then it slowly started to fall apart after the first few chapters, before completely landing in the toilet in the second-to-last chapter.

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“Hooked” by John Franc (Review)

I don’t remember how I found out about Hooked, but I heard about it, ordered it from the library, forgot about it, and then received it a month later.

The book is about a group of successful, middle-aged men who, in between soccer practices and work, begin sneaking out and hiring prostitutes at high-end houses around an unnamed city. The main thrust of the narrative is the struggle between secrecy and authenticity, and between the men who hire prostitutes and their families. The book was written mostly from a first person plural point of view, reminiscent of Yiyun Li’s story from the perspective of a town. The author “John Franc” tells a good story and is skilled with language. “John Franc,” in keeping with the style of the narrative, is a pseudonym.

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To E or not to E

It’s been awhile since we talked about publishing, but as we’re getting ready to publish the Thymos anthology (which has some excellent work), I’ve been talking and hearing a lot about publishing. Libby Hellman has published her seven novels both traditionally and through e-publishing. In the video above, she talks about traditional publishing vs. e-publishing, and how each has advantages. Even if you don’t have a book to publish, there’s a lot of information in the video that is good to think about. Check out her website here. (hat tip NH.)

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Fear of Flying by Erica Jong (Review)

I wanted to read something different, so I decided to check out Fear of Flying by Erica Jong. Erica Jong herself isn’t a racial minority (although she’s Jewish), but she was married to a Chinese American psychologist for a while (a dude with the last name Jong), and I had heard that Fear of Flying, an autobiographical novel, was about a White woman married to a Chinese guy. I had also heard that the book was an important one for the growing feminist movement during the 70′s, and I thought it might be good for me to educate myself.

Posted in Asian American, books, media, Reviews | Tagged | 4 Comments

Where the Money Goes in Publishing

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I’m literally years away from finding out what happens when you complete a novel and market it, but if you’re wondering exactly where the money goes when you buy a book at Barnes and Noble, click the image above or check out this informative article by Motoko Rich comparing print and E-books. 

Posted in Knowledge, Writing | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Transparency by Frances Hwang

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Transparency is a collection of short stories written by Frances Hwang. I picked it up at the suggestion of Akrypti, who said that she loved Frances Hwang.

The short stories contained within the book often deal with immigrant issues and questions of acculturation. Many of the characters do not fit within the society in which they live, and the stories deal with their attempts to make sense of who they are. There is the mother dealing with an older Taiwanese father in the the short story The Old Gentleman, the man dealing with his lost voice in Transparency, and the woman dealing with psychological displacement in Intruders. All of Hwang’s characters seem somewhat off-center, and the narratives describe their attempt to make sense of the world.

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James Patterson, Inc.

James Patterson

James Patterson

There’s a great article in the NY Times Magazine this week about James Patterson, the country’s biggest selling author.  I had seen his name in the bookstores, but holy cannoli, I had no idea how big Patterson was.  I think I have a new literary hero, even though I’ve yet to read one of his books.

There are many different ways to catalog Patterson’s staggering success. Here are just a few: Since 2006, one out of every 17 novels bought in the United States was written by James Patterson. He is listed in the latest edition of “Guinness World Records,” published last fall, as the author with the most New York Times best sellers, 45, but that number is already out of date: he now has 51 — 35 of which went to No. 1.

Posted in Strategy, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The New Art of Book Promotion

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Most of the people on this site are either bloggers, writers, or both.  I thought you all might find this Washington Post article interesting: Novice Authors Must Promote Themselves, Since Publishers Won’t.  Here’s a paragraph and a half from the article:

She cobbled together a trailer for her book on her home computer, using iMovie software, downloading a free tune off the Web for background music, and stuck it on her Web site. Her agent helped get her on one network television morning show. About 20 friends hosted book parties, which she hit on a self-funded three-week blitz, selling books out of the trunk of her car. A guy shot video of her reading an essay at one of these parties, and she posted it on YouTube when the paperback came out.

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Miles from Nowhere

milesfromnowhere(picture from Nami Mun’s Facebook Group)

bigWOWO Rating: Asian American Gold

Yes, the Asian girl runaway who becomes a drug addict and streetwalker has been done before.  Yes, there’s no way that this novel will become a rallying cause for Asian American activists–”Another story about an Asian woman selling and shooting up her body?”

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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (Review)

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bigWOWO Rating: Asian American Gold

I finished Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. It was a good book, very sweet and very cute. As one interviewer said of Jamie Ford’s book, it was written about a time when love was really love, and it was refreshing to see that kind of purity in print.

There were a number of factual problems which I couldn’t help but notice. As an amateur historian, I have to point certain anachronisms, factual bloopers, and stylistic questions. These didn’t ruin the story, but fixing them could’ve improved it:

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