It’s been some time in coming, but the burgeoning digital revolution as pertains to the written word is now fully upon us. We’ve seen the forerunners, to be sure, but Amazon has now released what I can only describe as the new benchmark in digital text transmission, The Kindle. Sony, of course, is trying its best to compete, with an updated reading device of its own.

There are differences between the two, and those differences may or may not be significant. That delineation ultimately, I think, will rest in the hands of each consumer as he (or she) decides what is of utmost importance.

The main differences, initially, are that the Sony Reader can play mp3’s and view PDF’s, while the Kindle does neither of those. The Kindle, however, is wirelessly synced to a “virtual” bookstore and that connectivity is always on, and you never pay for it. To get e-books to the Reader, you have to connect through a portal similar to ITunes and download them to your computer before transferring to the Reader.

Each allows access to blogs and newspapers. I’m sure there are some minor differences here, but I doubt they are of much significance. The size and weight dimensions are essentially the same, though the Kindle boasts a “keyboard” with many more keys.

Ultimately, what concerns me is not that these devices exist. To be honest, I have decided that I really want a Kindle…or I want one for a month to test drive (now if only I was a critically acclaimed best selling author…). Nevertheless, I am concerned about where this may lead.

As you all know, I hope one day to make a meager living as a writer. I’ve spent a number of years retailing books, and I’m pursuing both an MA in English and MFA in Creative Writing. Words are less something I’m concerned with, and more a considerable part of how I define myself. And so, I think I cannot be faulted too greatly for being concerned with how these devices will impact the way in which reading (and more importantly, in my mind) and writing are digested and created in our society.

I can already hear your rebuttal…something along the lines of, what about the IPod? As much as the record companies want you to believe otherwise, digital music has, in many ways, been very good for the music industry. Sure, the recording industry hasn’t yet figured out how to really deal with people who download music illegally (though, I might humbly suggest not suing housewives for hundreds of thousands of dollars as, you know, a gesture of good will…), but eventually the corporations will embrace the technology, instead of trying to prevent it and most everyone on both sides will be happy (I say most because, someone, somewhere will want to steal just for the fun of it…).

The fundamental difference, I think, is that music hasn’t really ever had a set mode of transmission. In my lifetime I have owned (or my family has, when I was just a nipper) record players, cassette players, 8-track players, CD players, and digital players (I love you WinAmp!) . Other than issues with convenience, there really isn’t much difference between the different medias. Unless you’re a total nutjob and have thousands of dollars, a CD isn’t all that better than a cassette, than a record (and some would argue that analog sound BETTER for certain types of music), etc. Don’t get me wrong, I love music. I have just under 200 hours of music on my laptop, and that’s about half the total CD’s laying around my house, not counting classical (of which, I have an assload thanks to years of free promos…). But when it comes right down to it, the specific player I am utilizing at any given time is of little importance to me.

Such can not be said about the written word, but more specifically about books. It’s been 600 years since there’s been any real innovation when it comes to transmitting the written word. Sure, newspapers and magazines are not the same as books, but they are produced in similar manners, and they present a tactile experience on par with books.

A book is something that you necessarily interact with. In his endorsement of Amazon’s product, Neil Gaiman (not a man I usually disagree with) states that it makes no difference to him whether he is flipping a page or clicking a button, and that the device is so intuitive that you hardly notice the difference. I haven’t used it, obviously, but I find this a bit disingenuous. Maybe I’m a poor reader, but I often find myself flipping back through pages of a book to revisit passages from earlier after I’ve come across something intriguing or important later on. I don’t think any flat screened device, no matter how intuitive, can make that particularly easy. And on a similar point, I can’t be the only person to write notes in margins or underline important passages…

I’m also quite curious to see how digital transmission of writing will affect poetry. I’ve waxed philosophic on a similar topic in the past, but the impact of digitized content seriously concerns me in regards to a form of art that can have as much depth visually as it does linguistically.

On some level, I realize all of this stems from the fact that I have the soul of a 60 year old. I like my personal library (no matter how much it annoys my wife). It’s taken me, literally, years to collect all the books that I have, and there is something very unsettling about thinking that one day, all of it could be stored within a device that fits easily in a small bag. I really do believe that digitizing the written word will, in some way, degrade the regard we have for it. Book reading is on the decline, and I have a suspicion that these devices might inadvertently contribute to this even more, what with there online newspaper and “blog” reading functionality.

Of course, I could be wrong. Maybe people will get enthused about fiction once it’s so easily accessible, but at a the current price tag of around 400 bones, I seriously doubt it.

Re-imaginings are nothing new, especially in the world of Sci-fi and Fantasy…a world in which I toil most happily. Case in point, the last book I attempted to read for pleasure was one such re-imagining…

And if one were to grade a re-imagining solely on, say, inventiveness the The Looking Glass Wars would definitely deserve an A. I tend to judge books on actual writing ability, though, and this one probably rates a C- where that’s concerned. The idea is great, and I was very spirited in my reading for 100 pages or so…at a certain point, regardless of how much I wanted to ignore it, the plain fact that the book is not written well just became too much of a hurdle, and I put it down about 2/3 of the way in. Thanks to work, school, the kid, the website, and my own attempts to scratch out what fiction I may, my time for reading is limited and I just can’t devote energy to something that isn’t enthralling. I’ll likely finish it at some point, since I’ve never left a book unfinished indefinitely, but that time is not now.

Besides which, there is a wholly amazing re-imagining taking place right now on the Sci-fi channel, Tin Man.

While the special effects aren’t quite what I’d like…granted, it is a Sci-fi original, I understand that the budget probably wasn’t great…the writing is very good. I think for a re-imagining to be successful, it needs both a fresh take on the original content, and the writer (or writer’s) needs to be committed to actually creating something wholly new. In this way, the source material becomes a framework on which the actual (new) story is constructed. Broadly speaking, this is how Shakespeare worked.

And I think that Tin Man is a very good representation of this. By the end of the first episode, we had already seen nearly all of the “source” material used up and evolved, and the series was moving into its own creative territory. Plus the line by line writing is very, very good. This, in my mind, is the ultimate lynch pin. It is where The Looking Glass Wars fell short, in fact. All the imagination in the world cannot save a writer who is unable to construct a compelling sentence.

And it doesn’t hurt Tin Man that both Zooey Deschanel and Kathleen Robertson play the heroine and villain respectively…

There’s a couple of women that would definitely be on my stalking list if I still did that sort of thing…which I totally DO NOT…seriously, I’m completely cured…

Dear Assorted TV Executives,

I would like to humbly submit for your consideration that Normality Restored could easily be turned into an animated series very cheaply. First off, most animation for US shows is actually done overseas in what some might call “Animation Sweatshops.” Secondly, I think that you will find gilgrim and I are very negotiable in terms of salary. I’d be willing to bet, in fact, that producing our show would be even cheaper then, say, most run of the mill reality shows.

More importantly, though, as the writer’s strike continues we, the american media consumers, are increasingly forced to ingest worse and worse forms of entertainment.

Case in point, the new show from “reality king” Mike Darnell…The Moment of Truth. No doubt this will get huge ratings, it’s due to follow American Idol and people in this country really love seeing others get humiliated on national TV.

In terms of actual quality, though, I’d say that any animated series based on the (admittedly small) comic that gilgrim and I produce would at least equal what’s currently coming out of TV land.

Plus, most animated series are not in the middle of the current writer’s “issues.” With the exception of a few, most animated series writers are not members/not under the rules of the WGA.

A quick aside to any WGA members out there. Don’t bother calling me a scab. First off, I’m not a WGA member. Secondly, I’m not talented enough to actually take a job from any WGA member. Third, I like to get paid, sue me.

Once again, to my merciful TV overlords, please consider Normality Restored. And please bring back Heroes as soon as possible…

Your humble servant,
kilian

Saturday I was, as usual, at the bookmines toiling away in the dark recesses where only goblins and damaged remainders dwell…

Sunday, brought me to four solid hours where I actually sat down and worked on one of my novels…I had to stop several times and administer self-inflicted pain to convince myself I was not in some dream-like alien world…

My bruises are proof of my hours of hard work.

And I will have many more such nights in the next three weeks, because I am under a serious deadline. No, as of yet I have no publishing deal. There is what you might call a “contest” that I am entering, but the final day for submission is the end of this month. I have, I think, 30 or so pages left to finish novel #1. Then I have to cram as much editing time as I can into the remaining days. Suffice it to say, the next few weeks are of much importance to me and my continuing attempt to actually make some money with this whole writing thing.

With some more, ahem, notable MFA writing programs nearby, the one that I’m currently at tends to get less than stellar press. OK, granted no Pulitzer Prize winners have come from Chapman. And, yes I have once or twice questioned the “selectivity” of the program when reading some other students’ work (and, no doubt, my own work has inspired similar thoughts in others).

But here’s an interesting piece of information I recently came across, one of my classmates (that’s right, CLASSMATES) has already published several novels. Now I actually had a workshop with him last year, and I have to say that I am not at all surprised he’s been published. His writing and/or subject matter wasn’t exactly my cup o’ tea (there was a serious lack of werewolves, demons and bodily fluid humor in his work), but no one could question his mastery of the craft.

And now, quite inexplicably (well, there is an explanation, one that was communicated to me by the man who would know, but I’m not really at liberty to go posting it out on the interwebz…) Chapman will host none other than Salman Rushdie as part of the annual John Fowles Center for Creative Writing lecture series.

This information probably mean little to you, faithful Normalinauts, but it certainly means something to me…and now I’m going to have to re-read The Satanic Verses before March…