delicious books.

[seoulsearch]

Hey @enril ,

So here is the exciting news I wanted to share...

I sent my letter to Mr. Dean Koontz on July 11. It was later in the day, so it probably wasn't even sent on its way until July 12, and then the next day was Sunday, when there is no mail. I am guessing that my letter probably made it to him about July 16.

A few days ago, I got a notice that I had a package to pick up. I didn't think anything about it because I was expecting some gnat traps I'd ordered (which are apparently from China and are taking forever to get here.) So when I went down to get the package, I was shocked to find a big box. "Why on earth would they use such a big box for just some tiny little gnat traps?!" I wondered.

And then I got a look at the return address -- and the name of the sender was "Gerda Koontz."

Gerda Koontz is Dean Koontz's wife (of almost 60 years!!!) She handles all the business side of his career, and I immediately knew that this box was from him!!! My hands started to shake and by the time I got back to my place, I was shaking all over.

I was so afraid to open the box because I didn't want to risk damaging anything!!! I opened it from the bottom so that I wouldn't have to cut through the mailing label -- which had my first full name spelled correctly (I mentioned in another post here why that's important to me.)

Not only did he send me a page-long typed letter (again, with my first name spelled correctly,) but again, he specifically addressed something I'd mentioned in my own letter (the fact that he donates extra time to YouTube interviewers to answer Patreon questions, because he knows they survive on those donations.)

He specifically mentioned the two channels I had listed in my letter, called out the interviewers by name, and wrote about what a great job they did and how enjoyable it was to work with them. This, among so many other things, is something I've always admired about him -- he is very quick to praise to others.

Along with this hand-signed letter, he sent me 3 HARDCOVER BOOKS, EACH ONE with a post-it note marking where he had personally signed each book to me, again, spelling my full first name correctly each time, along with a short verse referring to something in the book ("Beware all clowns!") and wrote his name -- all in his own handwriting. In this one package, he gave me 2 copies of my full name printed and spelled correctly (on the label and in his letter,) 3 copies of my full name spelled correctly in the 3 books, and 4 different copies of his autograph.

I was nearly in tears!!!

My whole life, and throughout my time on this forum, there have always been the comment that, "You write too much!!" -- and I understand that. My writing certainly isn't going to be to everyone's tastes, and that's why I love writing -- people can choose to skip right over it if they wish.

But if someone answers back and addresses specific things I've written, I'm always touched because it means that they actually took the time to read what I wrote -- and I know their time and attention is a generous gift.

I was touched beyond words that this world-famous author who, in the latest statistics I've read, has written somewhere around 140 books, has sold over 500 million copies, works 40-80 hours a week (at age 79!!,) and now receives over 20,000 fan letters a year -- would take the time to not only answer my letter, but to also send me such a precious set of collectibles in return!!! (He also sent it first class priority mail, when, as a friend who knows the shipping business well, noted that there were other ways he could have sent it that would have cost 1/5 the price.)

Apparently, for once in my life, what I had written -- 10 pages and all -- was not seen as being "too long."

Rather, the opening of his letter began with,

"Dear (Seoulsearch,)

Wow. What a letter. Thank you for all your kind words, your enthusiasm, and your singular grace."

(He then went on to answer specific things I had mentioned.) And his letter was dated July 17 -- meaning that he had answered, prepped this package, and sent it out almost immediately after he had read and received my own letter!

To tell you the truth, I almost feel like I deceived the poor man!! I learned long ago how to set my correspondence apart from the crowds. An inmate I had written years ago said that the mail cart could be down the next block, but if he saw a flash of color among all the plain white envelopes, he could almost be certain that it was from me. And so this became my trademark.

Mr. Koontz had a picture of the numerous letters he receives posted on his website (no personal information is shown, of course, just that they are addressed to him,) and the entire picture was of plain white, beige, or otherwise standard-looking envelopes.

I printed my letter on multi-color papers, sent it in a bright blue envelope, decorated the outside with sparkly star and heart stickers (back in my prison-writing days, they often banned stickers, so I got around this by using markers and stencils,) and chose a stamp featuring Cookie Monster with a chocolate chip cookie. This was because he has mentioned in his newsletter that he and Elsa, his dog, occasionally stop for cookie breaks (though he notes he has to work a LOT harder for his cookie than Elsa does!) I drew an arrow to the stamp and wrote, "Here's a cookie for you and Elsa!"

Poor Mr. Koontz probably thought he was getting a fan letter from a 10-year-old child, when in fact, it was from a nearly geriatric lifelong fan with a compulsion for conjuring up novel-length letters! The poor man must have felt absolutely bamboozled by this bait and switch!

But I couldn't be more grateful!! Yesterday I picked up a thank-you card with a colorful butterfly on the front, because he's often talked about how, when their first beloved dog died, he and his wife were in such a state of mourning that it was one of the few times he couldn't concentrate on writing.

One day, while walking on their property, a very unique butterfly flew past and lightly brushed each of them. After questioning everyone who worked there, no one had seen the type of butterfly they described -- and no one has seen such a butterfly since.

Both Mr. Koontz and his wife believe that butterfly was God's way of comforting them and telling them it was time to move past their grief, so when I send my thank-you, I'm going to tell him this is why I chose that specific card.

I am VERY grateful that God helped me find the words I was looking for, and I also want to thank you, @enril , because your thread is what really motivated me to finally finish that letter!

Thank you so much again!

 

[enril]

Hey @enril ,

So here is the exciting news I wanted to share...

I sent my letter to Mr. Dean Koontz on July 11. It was later in the day, so it probably wasn't even sent on its way until July 12, and then the next day was Sunday, when there is no mail. I am guessing that my letter probably made it to him about July 16.

A few days ago, I got a notice that I had a package to pick up. I didn't think anything about it because I was expecting some gnat traps I'd ordered (which are apparently from China and are taking forever to get here.) So when I went down to get the package, I was shocked to find a big box. "Why on earth would they use such a big box for just some tiny little gnat traps?!" I wondered.

And then I got a look at the return address -- and the name of the sender was "Gerda Koontz."

Gerda Koontz is Dean Koontz's wife (of almost 60 years!!!) She handles all the business side of his career, and I immediately knew that this box was from him!!! My hands started to shake and by the time I got back to my place, I was shaking all over.

I was so afraid to open the box because I didn't want to risk damaging anything!!! I opened it from the bottom so that I wouldn't have to cut through the mailing label -- which had my first full name spelled correctly (I mentioned in another post here why that's important to me.)

Not only did he send me a page-long typed letter (again, with my first name spelled correctly,) but again, he specifically addressed something I'd mentioned in my own letter (the fact that he donates extra time to YouTube interviewers to answer Patreon questions, because he knows they survive on those donations.)

He specifically mentioned the two channels I had listed in my letter, called out the interviewers by name, and wrote about what a great job they did and how enjoyable it was to work with them. This, among so many other things, is something I've always admired about him -- he is very quick to praise to others.

Along with this hand-signed letter, he sent me 3 HARDCOVER BOOKS, EACH ONE with a post-it note marking where he had personally signed each book to me, again, spelling my full first name correctly each time, along with a short verse referring to something in the book ("Beware all clowns!") and wrote his name -- all in his own handwriting. In this one package, he gave me 2 copies of my full name printed and spelled correctly (on the label and in his letter,) 3 copies of my full name spelled correctly in the 3 books, and 4 different copies of his autograph.

I was nearly in tears!!!

My whole life, and throughout my time on this forum, there have always been the comment that, "You write too much!!" -- and I understand that. My writing certainly isn't going to be to everyone's tastes, and that's why I love writing -- people can choose to skip right over it if they wish.

But if someone answers back and addresses specific things I've written, I'm always touched because it means that they actually took the time to read what I wrote -- and I know their time and attention is a generous gift.

I was touched beyond words that this world-famous author who, in the latest statistics I've read, has written somewhere around 140 books, has sold over 500 million copies, works 40-80 hours a week (at age 79!!,) and now receives over 20,000 fan letters a year -- would take the time to not only answer my letter, but to also send me such a precious set of collectibles in return!!! (He also sent it first class priority mail, when, as a friend who knows the shipping business well, noted that there were other ways he could have sent it that would have cost 1/5 the price.)

Apparently, for once in my life, what I had written -- 10 pages and all -- was not seen as being "too long."

Rather, the opening of his letter began with,

"Dear (Seoulsearch,)

Wow. What a letter. Thank you for all your kind words, your enthusiasm, and your singular grace."

(He then went on to answer specific things I had mentioned.) And his letter was dated July 17 -- meaning that he had answered, prepped this package, and sent it out almost immediately after he had read and received my own letter!

To tell you the truth, I almost feel like I deceived the poor man!! I learned long ago how to set my correspondence apart from the crowds. An inmate I had written years ago said that the mail cart could be down the next block, but if he saw a flash of color among all the plain white envelopes, he could almost be certain that it was from me. And so this became my trademark.

Mr. Koontz had a picture of the numerous letters he receives posted on his website (no personal information is shown, of course, just that they are addressed to him,) and the entire picture was of plain white, beige, or otherwise standard-looking envelopes.

I printed my letter on multi-color papers, sent it in a bright blue envelope, decorated the outside with sparkly star and heart stickers (back in my prison-writing days, they often banned stickers, so I got around this by using markers and stencils,) and chose a stamp featuring Cookie Monster with a chocolate chip cookie. This was because he has mentioned in his newsletter that he and Elsa, his dog, occasionally stop for cookie breaks (though he notes he has to work a LOT harder for his cookie than Elsa does!) I drew an arrow to the stamp and wrote, "Here's a cookie for you and Elsa!"

Poor Mr. Koontz probably thought he was getting a fan letter from a 10-year-old child, when in fact, it was from a nearly geriatric lifelong fan with a compulsion for conjuring up novel-length letters! The poor man must have felt absolutely bamboozled by this bait and switch!

But I couldn't be more grateful!! Yesterday I picked up a thank-you card with a colorful butterfly on the front, because he's often talked about how, when their first beloved dog died, he and his wife were in such a state of mourning that it was one of the few times he couldn't concentrate on writing.

One day, while walking on their property, a very unique butterfly flew past and lightly brushed each of them. After questioning everyone who worked there, no one had seen the type of butterfly they described -- and no one has seen such a butterfly since.

Both Mr. Koontz and his wife believe that butterfly was God's way of comforting them and telling them it was time to move past their grief, so when I send my thank-you, I'm going to tell him this is why I chose that specific card.

I am VERY grateful that God helped me find the words I was looking for, and I also want to thank you, @enril , because your thread is what really motivated me to finally finish that letter!

Thank you so much again!

wow! that might be almost as long as the letter

thats really cool! I am actually reading quicksilver now, andwow it is well written. im where tey just left the area with the nihilim and the crazy doglover.

i would write for hours but i cant. need to go to bed, and the only way i can really type well is on a real keyboard.

i think i have heard of the other guy, might even have his book onmy shelf.

 

[enril]

(I've had less time for reading lately, busy work week.

 

[seoulsearch]

wow! that might be almost as long as the letter thats really cool! I am actually reading quicksilver now, andwow it is well written. im where tey just left the area with the nihilim and the crazy doglover.

i would write for hours but i cant. need to go to bed, and the only way i can really type well is on a real keyboard.

i think i have heard of the other guy, might even have his book onmy shelf.

I really liked the setup in Quicksilver.

Back in the day, Mr. Koontz seemed to go into more details of how the things in his stories came to be -- these days not so much, but I still really love the characters he creates. Quinn Quicksilver is just such a great, ordinary guy, you can't help but like him.

I hope you're getting some rest and that things are going well!

 

[enril]

May 13, 2010COLD FIRE From the Author

To those of you who have been reading this series of afterwords that Berkley Books asked me to write for reissues of my novels, I wonder why you don’t have something better to do with your time than reading afterwords. This is a lovely world. Go for a walk in verdant fields, in cool and mossy woods. Have an ice cream cone. If you’re on a low-fat diet, have just the cone. If you’re on a low-carb diet, eat a squirrel. If you have a child, dandle him or her on your knee while singing a happy song. If you don’t have a child, dandle your dog on your knee; the song is optional. If your dog is adamantly opposed to dandling, find someone much larger than you are and ask to be dandled on that person’s knee.

With all the options available to you, if you still insist on reading this afterword, I understand. I myself have always enjoyed reading introductions and afterwords written by novelists. I am an admitted fiction wonk, fascinated by how other writers work, why they write the books they write, and how they manage their careers — assuming that they have occasionally been sober enough to engage in any management.

I have received a lot of mail about the first seven afterwords in this series, mostly from people surprised to learn that there were so many bumps in the road I followed, that not all of my publishers and agents were always supportive of my work, that I was in fact often relentlessly pressured not to write the books that I wrote, that I never received the massive TV/print/sandwich-board ad budgets that are supposedly essential to build a career as a best-seller, and that I have never been in a mental institution. Sometime within the next year, as I write this, worldwide sales of my books will pass 325 million copies, so there is a tendency among some–especially other writers–to assume that I have romped without obstacle through the flower-filled meadows of success and now spend the larger part of my days poolside with tropical drinks and a smug expression. Those struggling to make a writing career of their own tell me they have taken comfort from my disappointments and devastations. Thanks a lot; glad to help.

COLD FIRE is one of the few books in my career about which I have no amusing stories regarding the process of its writing and publication. I worked on average sixty hours a week for seven months, wrote twenty or thirty drafts of each page, had bad days when I pounded my skull against the walls hard enough to leave eight or ten impressions of my forehead in the plaster, had good days when I left only two or three impressions, and delivered the novel reasonably close to deadline. Although it bridged several genres–suspense, romance, supernatural, science fiction–and was a novel of ideas with comic elements, neither my publisher nor my agent suggested (a) that I totally rewrite it, (b) that I put it on a shelf for seven years so as not to destroy my building career, (c) that I analyze my stubborn and self-destructive insistence on writing books in total disregard of the formulas by which bestsellers supposedly must be created–all of which were suggestions they made with increasing force regarding all my previous books except WATCHERS. Everybody liked COLD FIRE. Either my stubborn persistence had brought them around to my way of thinking–or they had just decided that I was a hopeless bonehead. My lovely editor, Stacy Creamer, approached it seriously but with a light touch, and I addressed her notes in two days.

COLD FIRE was my third number-one hardcover bestseller. When I received the news from my publisher that it had hit the top of the charts, I was–as with MIDNIGHT and THE BAD PLACE–again assured that it was not an achievement likely ever to reoccur for me, as mine were not the kind of books that could be expected regularly to be embraced by so many people. A fluke. Considering that this was the third such fluke in a row, I was not as crushed by this assurance as I had been the first two times.

Life was good.

Then as is often the case when life is good, someone said, “Hey, let’s make a movie!” and life got strange, dark, and scary.

By this I do not mean to imply–although I can’t stop you from inferring–that a lot of movie-industry executives are as brainless, voracious, and destructive as the flesh-eating bacteria that was in the news not long ago. I’ve met smart, fair, creative executives over the years…although I’ve noticed their kind either eventually get fired, are driven insane, or decide that gutting halibut aboard an Alaskan fishing trawler is a more appealing and even a more glamorous occupation than anything Hollywood has to offer.

 

[enril]

In this instance, we were going to develop COLD FIRE as a film without input from studios, and make a deal only when we had a script we loved. My partner in this was a director with whom I’d worked on a previous project and whose talent I admired. He was smart, had shown integrity on that shoot under difficult conditions, and was fun to spend time with. I wrote several drafts of the screenplay, always taking notes from him, and eventually we arrived at a version that we were ready to market.

A series of pitch meetings were arranged with independent producers and studio executives, and we began making the rounds. Any of the potential buyers we met with could have tortured us with sharp instruments and killed us during the meeting, right there in their office or studio-lot bungalow (and I suspected that many of them were engaged in similar psychopathic behavior in their private lives), but none of them was sufficiently forthright or kind enough to put a quick end to us.

Soon it became clear that we had two problems. One of these involves revealing an important plot point in COLD FIRE, so if you haven’t yet read the novel and intend to, consider this a SPOILER WARNING.

In the novel, Jim Ironheart, the lead character, has a psychic gift of a peculiar nature that becomes the sole focus of his life. Eventually he comes to suspect that the source of this power dates back to something that happened to him when he was a boy, in a hulking windmill on his grandfather’s farm. Later we are led to believe that he might have had contact with extraterrestrials in a spaceship that has rested in the silt under the windmill pond for perhaps thousands of years. This is not what has happened to him; the source of his power is something far stranger, more interesting, and arguably scarier than aliens ever could be.

Several of those with whom we had pitch meetings expressed an interest in the script–but only if we’d make one “little” change. They thought it could be a terrific picture if there really were aliens in a starship under the pond. In fact, this was not a little change but a huge one; it would have turned a fresh idea into stale mule puke, than which there is nothing stinkier.

Each executive and/or producer presented that idea in the same way: leaning forward, smiling and as bright-eyed as an ax murderer on methamphetamine, voice characterized not just by excitement but also by awe, as if what he was about to suggest was of such genius that we might want to hold fast to the arms of our chairs and brace our feet to avoid being literally blown away. And always it was the same exact words, “What if there really are aliens in a starship under the pond?”

If I had been inclined to doubt the shape of the original story, I might have succumbed to one of these people. Any temptation to give them what they wanted, however, was squelched by the dismal fact that so many of them had the exact same stroke of genius, which was proof positive that it wasn’t genius at all, but classic dumbass plotting. Worse, when each of them suggested possible scenes and set pieces that would flow brilliantly from this change, everything they wanted was cribbed from other movies including the original INVADERS FROM MARS, ALIENS, and PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. Okay, they didn’t steal from PLAN 9, but there wasn’t another movie about aliens that they didn’t want to steal from.

Fortunately, the director was as strongly opposed to this change as I was. Consequently, each time the issue was raised, we politely declined to go in that direction.

The second problem was nastier.

We had the bad luck to pitch our project during the beginning of the first Gulf War, when a United-Nations-sanctioned, multinational force expelled Saddam Hussein’s army from Kuwait. A few offices where we had meetings were draped with antiwar banners. In some meetings, instead of the usual friendly chitchat that proceeds a pitch, we were subjected to angry political rants, to which we smiled and nodded.

All we wanted was to make our little movie about Jim Ironheart and Holly Thorne, this suspense story that was also a story about how love can save the most wretchedly conflicted among us. There weren’t any politics in COLD FIRE, and if someone had wanted us to pack it full of politics, instead of ETs, we’d have been so bored by the prospect of doing such a version that, had they the power to draft us to do it, we’d have shot ourselves in the feet to avoid service, regardless of whether or not we agreed with the politics.

My director friend, a striking and charismatic-looking guy, was of Mid Eastern heritage. Some of the people we met with asked leading questions about his background–and when they found he was partly Persian, I swore I detected animosity. Many people who are–or whose families were–from the old Iran, before the Ayatollahs took it over, prefer to call themselves Persians, rather than Iranians. In the heat of the political moment, there were those who were against liberating Kuwait and who allowed themselves to feel friendly toward only those nations in the region that were opposed to the United States. The old Iran, before the Ayatollahs, had been a friend of the United States, and therefore anyone calling himself Persian might press the wrong buttons in those who were in a political fever.

In the years I had known him, my director friend had never spoken to me of a political matter. His passion, to the exclusion of all else but his family, seemed to be movies, and whatever was not about storytelling in the format of film…well, it seemed of no interest to him. His love of film had a purity of focus.

When questions were asked about his heritage, I was surprised and dismayed, especially when I clearly detected an agenda on the part of the questioner. If my friend thought them rude or found in their apparently casual questions anything disturbing, he never gave any indication of it. He seemed oblivious of the dark undertone of their interest–even though in some cases these were people he knew; if they’d had any curiosity about his background, one would think it would have come up long before this.

After these meetings, he never referenced these rude questions; neither did I, as it seemed to me that if he didn’t want to remark on the matter, that was his business. If he hadn’t even noticed any unearned animosity, then either I had imagined it (which I knew I had not) or he had been too naive to perceive it (which I very much doubted could be the case).

Two of the principals from two of these meetings subsequently called an agent of mine to express interest in the script if another director could be attached. When pressed as to why, only one of them had what seemed to be a half-credible answer. He said my friend’s experience was largely as a TV director, that he was nervous about using him as a feature director. But the project did not require a hundred-million-dollar budget; it was exciting, action-filled, but intimate and designed to be the perfect vehicle with which a gifted TV director could make the leap to the big screen. Furthermore, the script they liked so much had been honed with hundreds of excellent notes from this director and would not have been something they so much liked if he hadn’t been involved. And finally, when this person insisted on presenting a list of young directors he found acceptable, two of them had done nothing but television.

I will always believe that an insane prejudice, spawned by world events of the moment, colored the responses of some people with whom we met. Hollywood has a reputation for tolerance, but I’ve had other experiences from which I’ve learned that, sadly, the usual prejudices exist there, and others as well, so it is no more the New Jerusalem than is, say, Hackensack, New Jersey, and no offense is meant to good old Hackensack.

No sale was made without the director because I had a personal commitment to him that I intended to keep. Indeed, I never told him there had been interest predicated upon his leaving the project.

Several years later, a famous producer with many successes read the script, liked it, and wanted to make a deal. I said that I’d sell it as long as I had approval of whatever substantive changes might be proposed. “In that case,” the producer said, “we need to discuss those changes up front rather than after a deal is in place.” He had only one little change he wanted, but it meant all the world to him because it was “and I think you’ll agree, totally brilliant. What if there really were aliens in a starship under the pond?”

I still regularly receive mail, almost fourteen years after the original release of COLD FIRE from readers who love the characters, love the story, love the theme of the power of love–and of books!– to change a life, and who say it’s one of their favorite novels ever. Not one of them has ever suggested I should have put aliens in the pond. Clearly, none of these lovely people has a future in the film industry.

 

[enril]

@seoulsearch Tis was so good.
loved it!

 

[seoulsearch]

@seoulsearch Tis was so good.
loved it!

As a lifetime Dean Koontz fan, even I have to admit that his plots over the years have become repetitive, and I've been slightly dismayed that he doesn't try to go into thorough explanations like he used to. But the man is 80 years old and still cranks out 2-3 books a year -- I have to give him nothing but credit!!

If you loved the "Afterwords" in his books, you might love his website. He writes HILARIOUS newsletters each month, and sometimes I go back and re-read them when I really need a laugh. In an interview I found with him on YouTube, he had a new publisher that insisted he have a newsletter each month -- and that they would write it for him. It's meant to be one big advertisement for his books.

But he told them, "No, no, if I'm going to have a newsletter, it's going to come directly from me," and so he uses it not only to keep fans informed of his upcoming work, but to tell us a little more about the vastly entertaining stories of his life. And I always love how down-to-earth and humble he is.

If you get a chance, read the Afterward of "The Bad Place" (I recommend the book as well) -- it's fully illustrates how frustrating it's been for him to work with "the big wigs" in entertainment.

I enjoy his "off the wall" writing even MORE than his books. Some of his books had to be very serious due to publisher demands, and these were the ones I enjoyed the least.

To me, his best works were when he was able to fully flesh out the characters' personalities -- and sense of humor.

I enjoy his writing most when it's coming straight from him, about his own life. Hollywood has notoriously botched every "adaptation" they've tried to make of his works, and it's a tragedy.

I don't want to be on Facebook or Twitter, but I'm thinking of joining -- just to be able to see more of what he writes off the cuff.

 

[enril]

As a lifetime Dean Koontz fan, even I have to admit that his plots over the years have become repetitive, and I've been slightly dismayed that he doesn't try to go into thorough explanations like he used to. But the man is 80 years old and still cranks out 2-3 books a year -- I have to give him nothing but credit!!

If you loved the "Afterwords" in his books, you might love his website. He writes HILARIOUS newsletters each month, and sometimes I go back and re-read them when I really need a laugh. In an interview I found with him on YouTube, he had a new publisher that insisted he have a newsletter each month -- and that they would write it for him. It's meant to be one big advertisement for his books.

But he told them, "No, no, if I'm going to have a newsletter, it's going to come directly from me," and so he uses it not only to keep fans informed of his upcoming work, but to tell us a little more about the vastly entertaining stories of his life. And I always love how down-to-earth and humble he is.

If you get a chance, read the Afterward of "The Bad Place" (I recommend the book as well) -- it's fully illustrates how frustrating it's been for him to work with "the big wigs" in entertainment.

I enjoy his "off the wall" writing even MORE than his books. Some of his books had to be very serious due to publisher demands, and these were the ones I enjoyed the least.

To me, his best works were when he was able to fully flesh out the characters' personalities -- and sense of humor.

I enjoy his writing most when it's coming straight from him, about his own life. Hollywood has notoriously botched every "adaptation" they've tried to make of his works, and it's a tragedy.

I don't want to be on Facebook or Twitter, but I'm thinking of joining -- just to be able to see more of what he writes off the cuff.

I loved his last couple newsletters since I signed up.
"BobbleDean"

 

[seoulsearch]

I loved his last couple newsletters since I signed up.
"BobbleDean"

I can't remember which month it was from, but Mr. Dean was talking about how helpful AI is when it comes to appliances -- and how refrigerator now yells, "Soylent Green Is People!" every time he gets a bottle of soy sauce...

I was laughing so hard, I had tears!

 

[Lanolin]

Wow a book thread I could get into. And not started by me, cos who wants to hear a librarian bang on about books?!

That said, I'm reading one at the moment that's NOT delicious, but I'm reading it anyway. Its called Fly, Wild Swans by Jung Chang. It's a follow up to Wild Swans, three daughters of China.

It's history, and current history...a lot of terrible things happened in China. Its no wonder, many Chinese, including my parents/granparents, ran away from China and didn't go back. Awful absolutely awful, even worse than the Holocaust IMHO.

Before that book came out - in 1993? I was about 13 - I was blissfully ignorant.
When Jung Chang came to NZ on a book tour to promote Mao and untold Story and Empress Cixi I was fascinated. She had lived through the Mao era and wrote a lot of things...her books were actually BANNED in China.

It would be like if I was American and wrote about how brainwashed everyone is by Trump and they don't even know it. Or German about Nazi Germany.

I'll try to pick another favourite in my next post.

 

[Lanolin]

My favourite author, or one I've read a lot of, and she'd in her 80s now - Margaret Atwood.
She's a bit pagan/heathen, but honest about it. She writes from female POV, and writes about personal experiences that women go through that are not always sunshine and roses. My favourite book is one about child bullies - little girls and is called 'Cat's Eye'. It's written like a memoir of a middle-aged woman looking back on her life and some of the trauma she experienced as a child at the hands of her 'best friend'. I have read this book so many times I could probably quote it.

It does touch on mental illness - the best friend, Cordelia, goes a bit mad. It also has childhood memories of growing up in the 1930s-1950s in Toronto, Canada. It's fascinating, because it's like, with a lot of books, entering a time warp. Also this book, seems like it's semi-autobiographical, because a lot of the main narrator/Elaines memories and background, line up with Atwood's own. But obviously, it's fictional.

The books is funny, wry but also a bit disturbing. But I like it. I think young Elaine is a bit wishy-washy because she is weak and doesn't stand up for herself, but in her situation, what could she do? But she let if affect her for her entire life, and that's the sad part.

 

[NightTwister]

Historical Fiction
Early Tom Clancy, but especially Red Storm Rising
WWII history
The Princess Bride
Ready Player One

 

[enril]

Historical Fiction
Early Tom Clancy, but especially Red Storm Rising
WWII history
The Princess Bride
Ready Player One

number four great choice!

 

[Lanolin]

Edmonds Cookbook.
Actually I go for something simpler - 4 ingredients.

As for Dean Koontz. I remember reading one of his where it was set in a underground library or something. And this man couldn't go out in the day like he was some kind of vampire? Or am I getting it mixed up with Anne Rice.
I think it was called...Innocence?

 

[enril]

do

Edmonds Cookbook.
Actually I go for something simpler - 4 ingredients.

As for Dean Koontz. I remember reading one of his where it was set in a underground library or something. And this man couldn't go out in the day like he was some kind of vampire? Or am I getting it mixed up with Anne Rice.
I think it was called...Innocence?

nt recognize but im not readevry vook by any means.

 

[Lanolin]

do

nt recognize but im not readevry vook by any means.

I'm a librarian. We are supposed to read every single book.
Or the titles at least.
Otherwise how are we to know what we have in the library?

However I don't have to read James Patterson, or Norah Roberts to know that every book they write is kinda the same. How else do they churn out 250 books? A book a month? How does Danielle Steel not run out of plots? Why is it always a riches to rags to riches tale?