TITANIC: End of a Dream by Wyn Craig Wade

Skyhorse (A Herman Graf Book) February 2012 * 384 pages/50 b&w illustrations
A CENTENNIAL EDITION OF THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED BESTSELLER FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1980

TITANIC: End of a Dream relies on survivors' accounts to establish some startling facts, including that almost two-thirds of the first-class passengers survived while only a quarter of the steerage passengers made it to safety. And that those in the lifeboats chose to ignore the piteous cries of passengers in the water, almost all of whom perished. This chilling account demonstrates that the Titanic's sinking was in many ways entirely avoidable. He begins with Titanic leaving on its maiden voyage from Southampton, full of hope and excitement. He then quickly shifts to the scene of confusion and horror right after the sinking, when few facts were known. In the next chapters the sinking comes to life through an official Inquiry into the disaster, due to the work of a Senator from Michigan and his committee who actually met the rescue ship Carpathia in New York and served many of the notables with subpoenas. The Inquiry was held within a week of the rescue ship arriving in New York. Particularly memorable is the chapter detailing the negligence of the Californian - in reality the closest ship to the point of sinking. Therefore, Wyn’s book is based on source material that was very fresh and thus gives a great read that fills in so many details that would otherwise have been lost to time and embellishment.

Titanic was truly a community afloat, with everything you might find in a small city: a government, social classes, and a sense of forward progress. As Titanic left the dock, she was almost a caricature of herself. The appropriately named ship was symbolic of the dreams and expectations of the men, women and children in 1912 prior to World War I. As they looked ahead at the brave new world they were building, Titanic reflected who they were In TITANIC: End of a Dream detail-oriented journalist Wade translates the human emotions of the Titanic sinking into modern culture. Wyn conveys what Titanic—and, more importantly, the sinking of Titanic—meant to the people of that time. If we cannot understand the impact of Titanic on the world of 1912, how can we possibly understand how Titanic integrates into our culture and thinking today?

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The Inquisitor's Apprentice: a children’s fantasy by Chris Moriarty

This title will be released on October 2011. The Inquisitor’s Apprentice Book 2, Manuscript available December 2011. & The Inquisitor’s Apprentice Book 3, Manuscript available December 2012

This book is admirably well plotted, really tight and compelling. The pace is brisk, but well detailed too--and characters are nicely developed. Just generally well written.

I am in LOVE with the setting and the premise. The idea of magic-as-replaced-by-machines, of capitalists as the villains behind the end of "old world" magic. It's brilliant. The way all of these historical characters and institutions (Edison, Houdini, the IWW, Morgan Library, etc) are incorporated and "magicalized" is smart, and never feels arbitrary. And the author appears to have done her research! Reading, I really did feel submerged in the building of the subways, the dingy tenements, Coney Island sideshows, etc.

The biggest issue for me, as I read, was this nagging sense that there was an incongruity to the use of Judaism (and maybe other identities too) as the cultural/religious basis for magic. In the book, some rabbis are understood to be Kabbalists, though mysticism is illegal. As are basic conjuring, spells, hexes, etc. This is INTERESTING. Especially as faith/magic are then replaced by the industrial/capitalistic world. Interesting.

And as a Jewish reader, I liked references to dybbuks. I liked that Yiddish was tossed around.

But there's something off, maybe-- because all the while there was still the "real" Jewish world in the background. Hester Street is the same, and people are running around, trying to get to market before Shabbos. Rabbis are davening in storefront shuls. I couldn't put my finger on what exactly bothered me about this duality of Jewish lives, but something did. Some sense that the author never made clear how these two worlds coexisted. The "magic" world isn't, as it is in Harry Potter, a secret. That would have made more sense to me, Instead, the mothers dashing off to market to make Shabbos before sundown KNOW about the magic world. But it isn't incorporated into their faith or practice, and it doesn't seem to make them question their faith.

I know this may seem like nitpicking, and I certainly wouldn't want this idea to keep a kid from reading and loving this book (which they will). But I wondered how the author understood the theology (not the cultural trappings, but the actual beliefs) of an orthodox Jewish world that happens to be full of magic. Jewish mysticism isn't something most Jews practice (and it wasn't on the LES at the turn of the 20th century either). I couldn't help thinking that if the average frum housewife had experience with magic and mysticism, it might have changed her life.

Also, some points of order bugged me. In the opening scene of the book, much is made about the mother needing to get to market in time for Shabbat, but then she's still out wandering around after sundown. Why she's bothered to rush from work to the market, to buy a whole herring, if she doesn't plan to go home and make dinner in time-- I'm not clear on it. I have a hard time believing that her Rabbi Brother-in-law who lives with her wouldn't be upset about this infraction. But this is minor. It just happened to be on page 3, so set off alarms of Judaism as gimmick. Though other lines, like the one about the MC "memorizing" his bar mitzvah Torah portion, also made me wonder.

I'm also a little confused about when exactly the book is set-- can't be earlier than 1913 because Roosevelt has gone to DC, but the "Pentacle" shirtwaist factory is still in business. The author has used an unusual mix of historical figures/institutions (Edison, Houdini, etc) but then a bunch of people have been reimagined (Astor has become "Astral" and the Morgan Library is the "Morgaunt." Triangle is Pentacle, etc.) I understand that this is a "parallel" world, but I'm not sure why things have to be inconsistant this way. I'm not sure what purpose it served.

Now, I've spent way too much time picking the book apart. In truth, it's a wildly fun read, but in attempting the hybrid/historical/religious novel, Moriarty kind of opened herself up for questions.

And as I'm sure she well knows, Jews tend to ask questions!

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source: http://laurelsnyder.com/?p=1111

visit the official website http://www.inquisitorsapprentice.com

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Tiya: A Parrot's Journey Home

Paperback, 174 pages
Published 2009 by Harper Collins Publishers India ltd., New Delhi

Tiya : A Parrot's Journey Home is this little-known book that I picked up as a last-minute purchase at my favorite bookstore. I am a sucker for Alchemist type of books. Tiya sounded so similar to the Alchemist in its premise. Yet, it was different.

Samarpan or Swami Samarpananda as he is better known is a monk. And Paulo Coelho isn't. Therein lies the difference. While the Alchemist was also a fable much like Tiya is, what differentiates Tiya is the veneration of spirituality that surrounds it. Tiya is deeply metaphysical, its spirituality rooted in language simple yet so complex in its simplicity. Tiya is a parrot, not just another parrot, but one who thinks he is different. Haven't we all? He befriends a beautiful swan, Hans, (an unknown presence )who tells him there is more to him than ever will be, and urges him to seek himself.

“You are much more than what you think you are, and you can achieve much more than you are achieving now.”

Tiya sets off on a journey, a voyage of self-discovery to fantastical lands where he meets various creatures, equally fantastical. Through his interactions with them, Tiya learns to identify his own strengths and weaknesses, disseminate his ego, and understand his self. If only I can take such a journey, and find such beautiful revelations to my self! But the path wasn't easy - many times, Tiya almost came to close to losing his life. Yet he emerges - soul singed but freer for it.

Harper Collins, it appears, has not done much to promote the book. I can scarce find an Internet source credible enough apart from Samarpan' own blog. Looking back now, I wish I had read the book a little slower. Yet, there were certain allegorical descriptions that were a bit too difficult for my simple mind to fathom. There is no doubt that Samarpan has weaved in years of his Vedantic learning into creating this charming book and that effort needs to be lauded. Perhaps my cluttered mind too needs to fly, just like Tiya. Maybe then, I might really believe I am more than what I think I am, which is not much anyway. [source]

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Lessons on Self-Publishing Success from Amanda Hocking

Many self-published authors don't fully realize that after their book is completed and published, they have a whole new set of objectives to meet. They aren't trying to write 2,000 words or so a day any more. Instead, they must start work on selling their book!

For many self-publishing authors, marketing their books can be a major stumbling block; others, however, seem to have a knack for it. In fact, there is a small but growing number of authors who are enjoying huge success - greater indeed than most conventionally published authors - from self-publishing.



Take the example of 26-year-old web fiction author Amanda Hocking, who has self-published nine books to date and sells approximately 100,000 copies per month according to Novelr.com. Most of her income comes from e-books sold through the Amazon Kindle store. Under Amazon's terms for Kindle authors, she keeps up to 70% of gross sales, compared with the typical 10% of net earned by most traditionally published authors.

Even more exciting for her is that Terri Tatchell, of District 9 fame, has recently optioned her trilogy for a screenplay.

So how has Hocking accomplished these amazing feats by self-publishing books such as Switched?

Well, if you read Hocking's own blog post The Epic Tale Of How It All Happened, you'll get a good idea of how she became one of the most popular web fiction authors alive. Here are some of the most important lessons from that post and others on her blog.

Select a Publishing Format

One of the keys to Hocking's success was her decision to make her books easily accessible to a lot of people through the Amazon Kindle store. By formatting her novels as e-books, she was able to price them lower than a standard hardback: $2.99, for example, versus $14.95. That, and the ubiquity of the Kindle e-readers, gave interested audiences a quick and easy way to access her writing.

Build Connections with Book Bloggers

The next thing Hocking did that helped sales take off was contact book bloggers. She says that after she contacted bloggers to start reviewing her books, "something surreal started happening. My books were selling. Like, really selling." Her sales jumped dramatically, going from 624 books for $362 in May to 4,285 books for $3,180 in June. She attributes this success to the buzz created by the bloggers.

Find a Trusted Editor

Once she could afford it, Hocking began to pay an editor to help her revise and edit her books. In fact, this is her most important tip for aspiring authors. She writes, "My biggest word of advice to any new/future writers thinking about diving into Kindle: Edit." Hocking admits it wasn't easy to find a good editor, and most of her books have been edited by a number of different people (and, she says, she still finds some mistakes when she looks at them now). Still, she believes it's crucial to ensure your books are as error-free as possible: "Some people won't care that there's errors, its true, but enough of them will. And they paid for it, so they have a right to. So edit more. And then again. Really."

Commit to the Writing Life

This is perhaps the most courageous act an aspiring author can commit. Hocking quit her day job after she had decent sales on the Kindle so that she could write full time. Doing so allowed her to produce even more work and increase those sales. In one month, she claims, she made as much as she made at her job for a year. Of course, this was after the buildup to her success, but still: quitting her job gave her the opportunity to commit fully to the writing life.

If you believe in yourself, then you should try to write as much as possible. It doesn't mean you have to quit your day job immediately, but it does mean that you may have to sacrifice other things (such as your social life!) to achieve the success you dream of in the end.

Write for an Audience

Finally, one crucial thing about Hocking is that she researches what her audience want and then tries to give it to them. If you simply write for yourself, you risk failing to find readers who share your enthusiasm. Sure, it's OK to start out that way, but you should look towards your audience for inspiration as well. It's no coincidence that Hocking started off by publishing on her blog - this gave her invaluable feedback, and helped her focus on providing the sort of reading experience her audience craved.

By-line: Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, so please do leave any comments or questions for her below.


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this article is written by Mariana Ashley. [source]

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The Count of Monte Cristo: Which Translation Version to Get

This review is for those who've already decided they want to read The Count of Monte Cristo (you won't regret it!), and don't know which version to get.

Short answer: see review title, duh!

The Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite book, and I've read several translations, both abridged and unabridged.

TRANSLATION
Robin Buss translation is the most modern, and reads most fluidly. A quick example comparing this translation with the one found on Project Gutenberg:

PG - His wife visited for him, and this was the received thing in the world, where the weighty and multifarious occupations of the magistrate were accepted as an excuse for what was really only calculated pride...

BUSS - His wife visited on his behalf; this was accepted in society, where it was attributed to the amount and gravity of the lawyer's business -- when it was, in reality, deliberate arrogance...

Buss's work reads like the book was written in English. The two or so times that the work is nearly untranslatable, Buss makes a footnote about it (eg, an insinuated insult using the formal "vous" instead of the familiar "tu"). Other translations just skip the subtlety. The most common translation out there (uncredited in my version) reads like a swamp. Trust me, get Buss.

ABRIDGED V UNABRIDGED
Abridged versions of this book rarely say "abridged." You can tell by the size: abridged is 500-700 pages, unabridged is 1200-1400 pages. Go for the unabridged.

The abridged version is VERY confusing! Pruning 1200 pages down to 600 leaves a lot of plot on the cutting room floor. Suddenly, arriving at dinner are 4 new characters; it's very tiring to try to keep up with the hole-ridden story of the abridged versions. And you know where the holes are? Publishers "clean up" the book by omitting the affairs, illegitimate children, homosexuality, hashish trips, etc.

As an added bonus in the Penguin Classics edition, there's a wonderful appendix bursting with footnotes to explain all the 19th century references, and a quick guide to the rise and fall of Napoleon (crucial to the politics in the story).

Hope this helps. Get the book and start reading!

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