02-23-14 UPDATE:Podcast Update: Time to Read Episode 150: Annie Jacobsen, 'Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program That Brought Nazi Scientists to America'
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Here's the one-hundred fiftyth episode of my series of podcasts, which I'm calling Time to Read. Hitting the two-year mark, I'm going to make an effort to stay ahead, so that podcast listeners can get the same sort of "sneak preview" effect that radio listeners get each Friday morning.
My hope is that in under four minutes I can offer readers a concise review and an opportunity to hear the author read from or speak about the work. I'm hoping to offer a new one every week.
02-23-14:A 2014 Interview with Jeff VanderMeer, Part 2
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"...still clear distribution lines for books...."
Jeff VanderMeer
While I had Jeff VanderMeer's attention to discuss 'Annihilation' and 'Authority,' I also wanted to take the time to talk to him about his latest co-edit project with with his wife Ann, a mega-thick anthology coming soon, 'The Time Traveler's Almanac.' I also thought it would be a good time to catch up with Jeff about the ever-changing landscape of publishing.
It might be a bit hard to remember now, but VanderMeer was in the business of self-publishing long before it was just a mouse-click away at *.*. In the intervening years, book publishing has faced the same set of problems that the music business managed to use to immolate itself back in the before-time. While big business (and smaller) publishers and independent bookstores haven't done everything perfectly, they've done rather well. They're not out there suing their customers for income.
Our discussion of putting together doorstop anthologies yielded a lot of fascinating talk, if you're into that kind of geekery. You should own 'The Weird,' and if you do, you'll note that it's definitely not justa compendium of stories by The Usual Suspects. And getting the diverse kind of author list therein involves stories pretty entertaining in themselves.
As for the publishing and self-publishing world, it has been transformed since Jeff and I last spoke about such matters. As you might imagine, VanderMeer is well ahead of the game. We touched on the subject of how readers will choose from the huge supply of material out there and how writers might aim at readers, and more importantly, why.
02-20-14 UPDATE:Podcast Update: Time to Read Episode 149: Jeff VanderMeer, 'Annihilation'
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I know, these are supposed to come first, but it's been busy here, in the best possible way. At least I'm in the position to share in the embarrassment of riches!
Here's the one-hundred forty-ninth episode of my series of podcasts, which I'm calling Time to Read. Hitting the two-year mark, I'm going to make an effort to stay ahead, so that podcast listeners can get the same sort of "sneak preview" effect that radio listeners get each Friday morning. This week, I seem to be on top of the game, but who knows what the hell might happen. I am hoping to stay back up and stumbling.
My hope is that in under four minutes I can offer readers a concise review and an opportunity to hear the author read from or speak about the work. I'm hoping to offer a new one every week.
The one-hundred forty-ninth episode is a look at Jeff VanderMeer and 'Annihilation.' It's a live perforemance version.
02-20-14:A 2014 Interview with Jeff VanderMeer, Part 1
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"...obviously, something is subverting the landscape..."
— Jeff VanderMeer
It's one thing to read Jeff VanderMeer's 'Annihilation.' Disquieting and engrossing come to mind as descriptors. It's quite another to talk to him about it in your living room, while your two pugs tear around the room like the wild animals they definitely are not.
I was in fact lucky enough to have both experiences, though I must admit I might have preferred the pugs to have remained more in their usual dozing state. But when you're lucky enough to get a visit from Jeff VanderMeer, it comes as no surprise that the dogs get agitated. To be honest, I thought you'd be able to hear them quite clearly on the recording, but that proves not to be the case.
It was a nice day and Jeff and I had plans to take a tour of a local spot I thought would be of interest to him; our cement boat, the S. S. Palo Alto. It's a great piece of rotting World War I weaponry where they used to have a dance hall. Now it's home to the cormorants and, if we're lucky, the sea lions. Check out VanderMeer's trip blog for some photos.
But before our hobnobbing about the Santa Cruz area and a long lunch on the Santa Cruz Wharf, Jeff and I took the time for two interviews. In the first interview, we focused on 'Annihilation' and to a degree, the first sequel, 'Authority.' For me the books are a fascinating look at what I used to call "omenology," a sort of reading of the landscape for presences that are not apparent, for meanings that are not deliberate.
Apparently, and interestingly to me, there's a lot of "this book is like that [fill in the blank]" going on with 'Annihilation,' and I don't really think it's all that pertinent, other than that VanderMeer, consciously or not. is working in a well-established sub-genre; the literature of the weird place. I asked VanderMeer about this, and he noted that there had been comparisons to Tarkovsky's movie Stalker. Apparently those doing the comparing were not aware (or didn't mention) that Stalker is based on a wonderful (but very different) novel titled 'Roadside Picnic,' by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, who also wrote the screenplay. The premise of the book does have a bit of simpatico with VanderMeer's 'Annihilation,' only in that humanity trying to understand the alien zones is likened to ants, trying to understand the trash from a roadside picnic. Good luck with that!
08-21-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report : Senator Claire McCaskill is 'Plenty Ladylike' : Internalizing Determination to Overcome Sexism [Incudes Time to Read EP 211: Claire McCaskill, Plenty Ladylike, plus A 2015 Interview with Senator Claire McCaskill]
Agony Column Podcast News Report : Emily Schultz Unleashes 'The Blondes' : A Cure by Color [Incudes Time to Read EP 210: Emily Schultz, The Blondes, plus A 2015 Interview with Emily Schultz]
07-05-15: Commentary : Dr. Michael Gazzaniga Tells Tales from Both Sides of the Brain : A Life in Neuroscience Reveals the Life of Science
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Michael Gazzaniga : "We made the first observation and BAM there was the disconnection effect..."
04-21-15: Commentary : Kazuo Ishiguro Unearths 'The Buried Giant' : The Mist of Myth and Memory
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro : ".... by the time I was writing this novel, the lines between what was fantasy and what was real had blurred for me..."
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Marc Goodman : "...every physical object around us is being transformed, one way or another, into an information technology..."
Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 199: Marc Goodman : Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It
