Questions for Joseph Monninger

[Vermontcozy]

Pen21 asked and Joseph answered..Now we know..Glad your have been here and aquired new readers.. .I believe we are quite loyal,according to the conversations Vtc...

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Joseph-Monninger wrote:..

Thanks for the question...what author doesn't like to talk about what's next?  I have a YA novel -- called Wish -- coming out next fall.  It came out pretty well, I think.  It will be published by Delacorte.  On the adult front, I am working on a novel that includes narwhal...it's about a man and a woman and nature (again) but it has a slightly different world view.  I'm in the last third of it and I like it so far.  I don't want to talk about it too much, because that lessens the tension for me.

Someone also asked about my process...how long things take, etc.  A novel for me is a year long process...at a minimum.  I have friends who write really fast, but I try to do 1,000 words a day and stop. I find my subconscious needs to gnaw on the last day's writing.  Just last night I had a little break through while I was half awake.  That may sound odd, but it's the way it works for me.  I suddenly knew what had to happen in the novel.

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pen21 wrote:

I would like to know what you are working on next. Do you have another book coming out?

Thanks pen21

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Eternal on the Water will be out Feb. 16th, as you know.  Publishing is cumulative, so if EOTW does well it snowballs into my next novel.  If not -- yikes! -- then the publishing interest cools.  I heard recently that 150,000 books are published annually, so there is a ton of competition.  It's hard to get noticed..no matter what you write.  

So, that's my answer.  Thanks for asking the question.  

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[mediamissy]

Hi Joe,

First let me say that I loved your novel and truly enjoyed being able to read it, thank you.  After Indonesia I felt a little like the book moved at a more rapid pace.  Spanning a few years quickly.  I guess I wished I had spent even more time with Cobb and Mary and even with Cobb's work with the student at the college.  Did you have to span time quickly because of time constraints?

[Joseph-Monning…]

Great question.  It's true that a number of people felt the novel speeded up a little after Indonesia.  Part of that is to make it feel elegiac.  But also some people said the book read quickly.....but if you stop and think, the novel is about 100,000 words, a fair sized read.  A slim novel might be around 60.000 words.  So if it read fast, it's not because it's a short novel.  I tried to get to the ending with efficiency.  If the question is asking whether I was conscious of speeding up...I'd answer no.  In fact, it was originally shorter.  Kathy Sagan asked for a few more chapters.  (I can tell you which ones, but I don't want to give anything away....)

So, thanks for the question.  I love talking about the craft of the process...

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mediamissy wrote:

Hi Joe,

First let me say that I loved your novel and truly enjoyed being able to read it, thank you.  After Indonesia I felt a little like the book moved at a more rapid pace.  Spanning a few years quickly.  I guess I wished I had spent even more time with Cobb and Mary and even with Cobb's work with the student at the college.  Did you have to span time quickly because of time constraints?

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[PB684]

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Joseph-Monninger wrote:

Great question.  It's true that a number of people felt the novel speeded up a little after Indonesia.  Part of that is to make it feel elegiac.  But also some people said the book read quickly.....but if you stop and think, the novel is about 100,000 words, a fair sized read.  A slim novel might be around 60.000 words.  So if it read fast, it's not because it's a short novel.  I tried to get to the ending with efficiency.  If the question is asking whether I was conscious of speeding up...I'd answer no.  In fact, it was originally shorter.  Kathy Sagan asked for a few more chapters.  (I can tell you which ones, but I don't want to give anything away....)

So, thanks for the question.  I love talking about the craft of the process...

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mediamissy wrote:

Hi Joe,

First let me say that I loved your novel and truly enjoyed being able to read it, thank you.  After Indonesia I felt a little like the book moved at a more rapid pace.  Spanning a few years quickly.  I guess I wished I had spent even more time with Cobb and Mary and even with Cobb's work with the student at the college.  Did you have to span time quickly because of time constraints?

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I always feel like there is a certain point at which a novel speeds up...I'm never sure if that is because of the writing or my own reading pace speeding up because I want to find out the resolution. I must confess that I was unfamiliar with the word "elegiac" so I looked it up ( I love words and am always excited to find a new one and its meaning) and came up with this definition: expressing sorrow or lamentation. I think that is just the perfect way of characterizing the tone of the second half of this book. I would also add that,in my opinion, the book read quickly because we had some prior knowledge of the outcome and wanted to get the details along with the fact that Cobb's "voice" was very easy to hear.

Paula

[LISA-BRYAN]

Dear Joseph Monninger-

I have been reading your most wonderful book; I really like the natural elements of your book (I am a biology teacher). 

My question is - How do you feel, as an author, about the new electronic book readers like the nook and the kindle?  Being a bibliophile -- I would miss the feel and scent of the paper; and of course the look of all those books in my house. 

Thank you-

Lisa

[Joseph-Monning…]

Thanks for that question.  I am really intrigued by the Kindle and Book Nook...is it book nook?....and may end up owning one.  It would be a great thing for students, especially.  My wife and I have a boy in college and we considered buying him one so that he could download texts when he needed to.  (The trouble is, he's 19 and loses anything you hand to him.)  I mentioned in earlier posts that I spent time in West Africa in the Peace Corps.  Electronic readers would make the world's libraries accessible to little kids sitting in the sahel if they simply have a way to download texts.  Pretty amazing.

Obviously, though, most of us here were raised with books on our laps and in our lives.  It would be difficult to say goodbye to them.  E.O. Wilson, the wonderful biologist and philosopher, said recently that the age of the "word" is coming to a close.  It ran from approximately 1850-1950...and is gradually winding down.  He may be right.  He thinks the future of education, for instance, is video games.  If you were studying the Amazon jungle, for example, you would enter the jungle in 3-D (like Avatar) with your professor, and together you would study the various plants, etc.  Imagine that.      

I've probably gone on longer than I needed to, but I like thinking about the future along these lines.  A librarian friend tells me that 85% of all books in the typical library never circulate.  That's an enormous waste of materials.  I'm hoping with electronic readers the day will come where libraries will combine -- look at Google and Wickapedia already -- to make things readily available.  I already do my banking on line...it is probably a matter of time before I do my "booking" on line.  

I'd be curious to know what you and others think... Great, thought provoking question....

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LISA-BRYAN wrote:

Dear Joseph Monninger-

I have been reading your most wonderful book; I really like the natural elements of your book (I am a biology teacher). 

My question is - How do you feel, as an author, about the new electronic book readers like the nook and the kindle?  Being a bibliophile -- I would miss the feel and scent of the paper; and of course the look of all those books in my house. 

Thank you-

Lisa

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[Joseph-Monning…]

One more thing....I really love this subject and I have a lifelong interest in education, so please bear with me....When kids ask why they can't watch a movie instead of reading a book, I wonder what the group here would say.  Should teachers insist they read a text of, say, the Civil War....or would watching the Ken Burns doc

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Joseph-Monninger wrote:

Thanks for that question.  I am really intrigued by the Kindle and Book Nook...is it book nook?....and may end up owning one.  It would be a great thing for students, especially.  My wife and I have a boy in college and we considered buying him one so that he could download texts when he needed to.  (The trouble is, he's 19 and loses anything you hand to him.)  I mentioned in earlier posts that I spent time in West Africa in the Peace Corps.  Electronic readers would make the world's libraries accessible to little kids sitting in the sahel if they simply have a way to download texts.  Pretty amazing.

Obviously, though, most of us here were raised with books on our laps and in our lives.  It would be difficult to say goodbye to them.  E.O. Wilson, the wonderful biologist and philosopher, said recently that the age of the "word" is coming to a close.  It ran from approximately 1850-1950...and is gradually winding down.  He may be right.  He thinks the future of education, for instance, is video games.  If you were studying the Amazon jungle, for example, you would enter the jungle in 3-D (like Avatar) with your professor, and together you would study the various plants, etc.  Imagine that.      

I've probably gone on longer than I needed to, but I like thinking about the future along these lines.  A librarian friend tells me that 85% of all books in the typical library never circulate.  That's an enormous waste of materials.  I'm hoping with electronic readers the day will come where libraries will combine -- look at Google and Wickapedia already -- to make things readily available.  I already do my banking on line...it is probably a matter of time before I do my "booking" on line.  

I'd be curious to know what you and others think... Great, thought provoking question....

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LISA-BRYAN wrote:

Dear Joseph Monninger-

I have been reading your most wonderful book; I really like the natural elements of your book (I am a biology teacher). 

My question is - How do you feel, as an author, about the new electronic book readers like the nook and the kindle?  Being a bibliophile -- I would miss the feel and scent of the paper; and of course the look of all those books in my house. 

Thank you-

Lisa

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umentary on the subject be an adequate replacement?  Do we prejudice written text over visual text...and if so, why?  I have a hard time answering the question myself, and sometimes feel sort of stupid when I read a book with a class, then show a movie...(as most teachers do.)  Is the movie supposed to be a lesser rendering of the subject?  Am I supposed to compete with Ken Burns on Jazz if I am teaching music history?  Can the film Dr. Zhivago teach us enough about the Russian Revolution...without our needing to go into a long, detailed history in a text, assuming we are not going to become Russian history specialists?

Anyway, love talking about this sort of thing....thanks again...

[carol_fa]

Hi Joe,

I just love your book Eternal on the Water and feel honored to be a part of the First Look Book Club. Getting to know you through this venue has been awesome. It makes the book even more special. Your writing is beautiful, so hard to put the book down. Can't wait to read your other books, I am hooked.

Regarding the Nook and other e-readers, I love them. The amount of e-books you can fit into the nook is incredible. Not to mention the periodicals etc.  I have purchased the Nook for my husband and he loves it, I also downloaded the app to my laptop and I-touch. Both of my teenagers have e-readers and enjoy them immensly. Education can go so much further with these capabilities, the 3-D technology is amazing. I recently took an anatomy class and was amazed at the dvd's that accompanied the book. This electronic learning tool worked great in conjunction with the book by bringing the content more to life.  Our technology is amazing and my family and I love seeing it progress. I am so happy that e-books are here to stay. I will never get rid of my books, but love the thought of acquiring more electronically.

I can curl up with an e-reader and get just as much out of it as curling up with a book. I was skeptical at first because I love books so much. As long as I have my couch, afghan, latte or glass of wine to go with what I am reading I am happy.  My husband loves the fact that when he falls asleep and his Nook falls out of his hands into his lap, he doesn't lose his page, hahaha. Now I am rambling...

Enjoy your day Joe - off to read Eternal on the Water.

Carol

[thewanderingjew]

For me, books are alive. I love carrying them, looking at the covers and guessing what is inside, reading the blurbs, the statements from other authors, reading the preface or introduction, checking the copyright, referring back to pages, scanning footnotes, acknowledgments, whathaveyou and literally enjoying them as adventures as new experiences, albeit vicarious ones. I need books as other people need food, although I do love food too! If people read ebooks, you can never again look over someone's shoulder and say, what are you reading? Is it good? It would be kind of rude to try and read someone's kindle...there is no readily available title page.

I recently bought 3 ebooks, whose name shall remain a secret, as holiday gifts for members of my family. They really are enjoying them. It took several weeks for them to get used to ordering and reading on them but they do like them. Books are not accessible immediately and I think that is a drawback. I would have thought it would be easier to create the electronic version immediately but the print copy is available first. To me, it seems the electronic copy has to be requested by many readers first. This will probably change if the ebooks become more universal.
I can imagine a future library being online or in a kiosk somewhere, a place where you plug in and download a book, as an adjunct to your computer when you are away and can't access a place to download one, or when your battery needs recharging. You can already do all sorts of downloads even on a plane or a train or in your car. All you would need is a port, power and wireless access for your particular machine.

What will happen to the beautiful buildings where people used to go, not only for the information but for the atmosphere of higher learning, for the knowledge of the librarian, for the experience itself. I used to go to the NY Public Library, the Grand Army Plaza Library and my town library which right now is in a shopping center as its beautiful new building is being erected. I always felt awed when I entered a library waiting for doors of knowledge to open. I just can't see an ebook in that same way.

I also think the price would really have to come down a lot to make it affordable to more people. You not only have to purchase the "machine", you then have to purchase the books and you have nothing to show for it. There are ways to share books with friends and family, but they are limited. It will be very lucrative for the companies producing them, that is for sure, but gone will be the historic living object, which we would find on a shelf and remember the experience of reading, of sharing with others and perhaps reread. The warm connection of a person to a book will no longer be a part of the experience.

I hope that libraries and hard copies of books remain for a long time. The other atmosphere, is too sterile and cold for me. Then again, I am such a dinosaur, the only thing I took to right away was the computer because of the world it opened up but the cell phone turned me off...it created an antisocial rude class of self important people whose blackberries interrupt you wherever you are, whose conversations they make you privy to as if you invited them into your lives, in restaurants, movies, theaters, lecture halls, etc. Whew, I guess I didn't hold back!

[pen21]

My thoughts on nook.

I received a nook as a gift. I like books, collect them, etc. I thought the ereaders had  a place for people who traveled or had a long commute to be able to have several books. But since I got the nook as a gift I decided to give it a try. I love the nook. When you decide on a book, it downloads quickly. I have several books to pick from to read. I do read several at a time, so the books are with me in this small compact nook. I will still buy books and collect them. But the nook gives me more options.

pen21

[PB684]

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Joseph-Monninger wrote:

Thanks for that question.  I am really intrigued by the Kindle and Book Nook...is it book nook?....and may end up owning one.  It would be a great thing for students, especially.  My wife and I have a boy in college and we considered buying him one so that he could download texts when he needed to.  (The trouble is, he's 19 and loses anything you hand to him.)  I mentioned in earlier posts that I spent time in West Africa in the Peace Corps.  Electronic readers would make the world's libraries accessible to little kids sitting in the sahel if they simply have a way to download texts.  Pretty amazing.

Obviously, though, most of us here were raised with books on our laps and in our lives.  It would be difficult to say goodbye to them.  E.O. Wilson, the wonderful biologist and philosopher, said recently that the age of the "word" is coming to a close.  It ran from approximately 1850-1950...and is gradually winding down.  He may be right.  He thinks the future of education, for instance, is video games.  If you were studying the Amazon jungle, for example, you would enter the jungle in 3-D (like Avatar) with your professor, and together you would study the various plants, etc.  Imagine that.      

I've probably gone on longer than I needed to, but I like thinking about the future along these lines.  A librarian friend tells me that 85% of all books in the typical library never circulate.  That's an enormous waste of materials.  I'm hoping with electronic readers the day will come where libraries will combine -- look at Google and Wickapedia already -- to make things readily available.  I already do my banking on line...it is probably a matter of time before I do my "booking" on line.  

I'd be curious to know what you and others think... Great, thought provoking question....

---

LISA-BRYAN wrote:

Dear Joseph Monninger-

I have been reading your most wonderful book; I really like the natural elements of your book (I am a biology teacher). 

My question is - How do you feel, as an author, about the new electronic book readers like the nook and the kindle?  Being a bibliophile -- I would miss the feel and scent of the paper; and of course the look of all those books in my house. 

Thank you-

Lisa

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This is a really good topic for discussion! When I first read Lisa's question I was going to respond and say that I felt the same, that I would miss having the book on my (many) bookshelves or the feel of holding a book in my hands. (I work in a children's library and am fanatical about books!)

Now that I have read this response I admit that there are many good uses for these electronic readers. I, too, have a son in college, although he is in his last semester now, and can see where downloading text books might have been much easier and possibly cheaper And your point about getting information to people in remote parts of the world is also an intriguing idea.

I am saddened at the thought of "the age of the word coming to a close" but I can see it beginning. The other day we decided to show a video (another dinosaur!) to a group of kindergarteners as a treat for "Pajama day". It was a beautifully illustrated version (colored pencil drawings) of "The Velveteen Rabbit" read by Meryl Streep...one my own children adored at that age. Well, it held their attention for about 10 minutes and then they started to get fidgety. One little girl turned around and asked me why it wasn't real. At first I wasn't sure what she meant but then figured out that because it wasn't animated to her it wasn't real! I wonder if her parents ever read her a storybook?

I am glad to have read other's opinions on this topic...however I think I will stick to books. Who knows? Maybe when my daughter starts college in two years I will have to buy her a Nook or a Kindle!

Paula

[maxcat]

I have been wondering about the Chungamunga Girls. All of them have a disease. Do they all have Huntington's disease or do they each have a different disease but are terminally ill?

[Joseph-Monning…]

I'm jumping in again....can't resist this topic.

Isn't it true that all technology supplants an earlier technology?  People went nutty when Guttenberg came up with the printing press.  Here's the core of it for me: books are engaged in one of the most essential human needs...storytelling.  Nothing will replace that.  But the method of story telling will evolve as it must.  (In Africa we had griots telling stories....)  We could argue that a book is better than a movie in many instances, but who has bothered to read Lawrence of Arabia?  And yet the movie lives very much like a book in my mind....Is there really a difference in the final analysis?  

I haven't read anything on a Kindle or Nook yet, but this conversation is inspiring me to make sure i do soon.  From what I can glean in the publishing industry, people aren't sure what electronic texts will mean as far as sales, bookstores, and so on.  One thing that is curious to me: why would poets bother to publish work on paper any longer?  Why not just send them out via email?  Many people think of themselves as "failed poets" because a publisher somewhere has decided not to bind their poems in paper.  Strange, when you think about it.  I have a colleague who sends poems to an email tree.  I look forward to them and read them when they come across my desk....and feel no need to have a book of them.  Yet I still experience the "poetry" feeling.

We haven't even begun to talk about the entire world of self-published novels and books....

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PB684 wrote:

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Joseph-Monninger wrote:

Thanks for that question.  I am really intrigued by the Kindle and Book Nook...is it book nook?....and may end up owning one.  It would be a great thing for students, especially.  My wife and I have a boy in college and we considered buying him one so that he could download texts when he needed to.  (The trouble is, he's 19 and loses anything you hand to him.)  I mentioned in earlier posts that I spent time in West Africa in the Peace Corps.  Electronic readers would make the world's libraries accessible to little kids sitting in the sahel if they simply have a way to download texts.  Pretty amazing.

Obviously, though, most of us here were raised with books on our laps and in our lives.  It would be difficult to say goodbye to them.  E.O. Wilson, the wonderful biologist and philosopher, said recently that the age of the "word" is coming to a close.  It ran from approximately 1850-1950...and is gradually winding down.  He may be right.  He thinks the future of education, for instance, is video games.  If you were studying the Amazon jungle, for example, you would enter the jungle in 3-D (like Avatar) with your professor, and together you would study the various plants, etc.  Imagine that.      

I've probably gone on longer than I needed to, but I like thinking about the future along these lines.  A librarian friend tells me that 85% of all books in the typical library never circulate.  That's an enormous waste of materials.  I'm hoping with electronic readers the day will come where libraries will combine -- look at Google and Wickapedia already -- to make things readily available.  I already do my banking on line...it is probably a matter of time before I do my "booking" on line.  

I'd be curious to know what you and others think... Great, thought provoking question....

---

LISA-BRYAN wrote:

Dear Joseph Monninger-

I have been reading your most wonderful book; I really like the natural elements of your book (I am a biology teacher). 

My question is - How do you feel, as an author, about the new electronic book readers like the nook and the kindle?  Being a bibliophile -- I would miss the feel and scent of the paper; and of course the look of all those books in my house. 

Thank you-

Lisa

---

---

This is a really good topic for discussion! When I first read Lisa's question I was going to respond and say that I felt the same, that I would miss having the book on my (many) bookshelves or the feel of holding a book in my hands. (I work in a children's library and am fanatical about books!)

Now that I have read this response I admit that there are many good uses for these electronic readers. I, too, have a son in college, although he is in his last semester now, and can see where downloading text books might have been much easier and possibly cheaper And your point about getting information to people in remote parts of the world is also an intriguing idea.

I am saddened at the thought of "the age of the word coming to a close" but I can see it beginning. The other day we decided to show a video (another dinosaur!) to a group of kindergarteners as a treat for "Pajama day". It was a beautifully illustrated version (colored pencil drawings) of "The Velveteen Rabbit" read by Meryl Streep...one my own children adored at that age. Well, it held their attention for about 10 minutes and then they started to get fidgety. One little girl turned around and asked me why it wasn't real. At first I wasn't sure what she meant but then figured out that because it wasn't animated to her it wasn't real! I wonder if her parents ever read her a storybook?

I am glad to have read other's opinions on this topic...however I think I will stick to books. Who knows? Maybe when my daughter starts college in two years I will have to buy her a Nook or a Kindle!

Paula

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Anyway, love to hear what others are thinking....thanks for the comments.....     

[Bonnie824]

Good afternoon. I had to respond to this part of a post, so forgive me for snipping the rest. I am a school psychologist and before was a special education teachers, so the nature of reading books and online books and audible books is very important to me. I always wonder for our seriously reading disabled students (who will never like to read or read for pleasure) if there is a point when we shouldn't let them get the information another way. As a lifelong reader and booklover though, it's hard to imagine a full life without books. Anyway, your thoughs on this are very thought provoking and I thank you.

Bonnie

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Joseph-Monninger wrote:

I'm jumping in again....can't resist this topic.

Isn't it true that all technology supplants an earlier technology?  People went nutty when Guttenberg came up with the printing press.  Here's the core of it for me: books are engaged in one of the most essential human needs...storytelling.  Nothing will replace that.  But the method of story telling will evolve as it must.  (In Africa we had griots telling stories....)  We could argue that a book is better than a movie in many instances, but who has bothered to read Lawrence of Arabia?  And yet the movie lives very much like a book in my mind....Is there really a difference in the final analysis?  

I haven't read anything on a Kindle or Nook yet, but this conversation is inspiring me to make sure i do soon.  From what I can glean in the publishing industry, people aren't sure what electronic texts will mean as far as sales, bookstores, and so on.  One thing that is curious to me: why would poets bother to publish work on paper any longer?  Why not just send them out via email?  Many people think of themselves as "failed poets" because a publisher somewhere has decided not to bind their poems in paper.  Strange, when you think about it.  I have a colleague who sends poems to an email tree.  I look forward to them and read them when they come across my desk....and feel no need to have a book of them.  Yet I still experience the "poetry" feeling.

We haven't even begun to talk about the entire world of self-published novels and books....

[Joseph-Monning…]

Each might have a different thing...no one knows....

---

maxcat wrote:

I have been wondering about the Chungamunga Girls. All of them have a disease. Do they all have Huntington's disease or do they each have a different disease but are terminally ill?

---

[Sunltcloud]

There are five large bookcases in my 900 square foot home – from childhood Latin and Greek textbooks to teen romance novels, to the classics, to the latest book club selections, to various hobby and self-help subjects. I have owned a kindle for several years and recently purchased a nook. As photographer I will, of course, continue to buy any books with color plates and large amounts of graphics, and as impulsive reader I will pick up dead-tree books whenever one intrigues me. But as traveler I love my command over an already extensive library of titles on my ereader and I welcome the ease of carrying around one pocketbook size gadget that allows me to read Hans Christian Anderson’s fairytales, ponder Simone de Beauvoir’s affair with Sartre, smile about Greg Mortenson’s accomplishments in “Three Cups of Tea.” I love to read. By any means possible.

As for education, my motto is “by any means necessary.” If a “modern” child responds more readily to an application that allows him/her to read a book on his iPhone, I’d be accommodating. If Ken Burns breathes life into the Civil War on a DVD, great! If education can bring about change - help us to reduce war, fight poverty - I think we need to do whatever is necessary to educate our children.

One of the great gifts bestowed upon us as result of the age of electronics is our ability to access any kind of information almost instantly. Research my mother used to do in her small local library, things she had to write down because she wasn’t allowed to take that kind of material out of the room, or books she carried through the deep winter snow to her home, those are at my fingertip in the middle of the night when I sit in front of my computer. Much of it is free. Project Gutenberg and google books give us an opportunity to download papers and whole books that are in the public domain. For instance, I am interested in female Victorian travelers and have downloaded ten free books by Isabella Bird to my desktop, laptop, and nook. True, google books are not perfection but they are getting better and better. Text books are still in the minority for ereaders, but considering that they have to be edited frequently, I think it would be a wonderful idea if they were available soon to our students. Carrying heavy backpacks to and from school should be a thing of the past.

A major problem I see with modern technology, as far as education is concerned, is the resistance I often see in adults. We pride ourselves to be the preservers of history and the caretakers of the present time, but we don’t always look the future in the eye and accept responsibility for its negative aspects. If a parent does not know what facebook looks like or has never explored Twitter, indeed, has no idea what is available on the “information highway,” how does this parent educate the child about dangers, downfalls, misrepresentations, and outright criminal behaviour on the part of deviants?

I think that some of our children are not aware of the misinformation that is available, because the responsible parent isn’t interested in the technology that allows the child to access it.

I think that some children can’t tell the difference between truth and falsehood on the Internet because they have not been taught how to sort through a massive amount of data.

I think that parents should be less critical of their children’s “gadgets” and, instead, promote more careful use, in short, establish some kind of “gadget etiquette” both sides can live with.

I think that many children don’t have access to all of the information available, because adults have not put priority on furnishing children with the technology needed for their education, especially in impoverished areas like many inner cities and distant rural communities.

But I also think that the passing of time eliminates many of the problems (while adding new ones, of course) we have now with understanding and using technology to our advantage.

As I have mentioned on another thread on one of B&N’s boards, I observed myself being impatient with a young man’s obsession with viral videos on YouTube during a bus ride. I had to remind myself that I too am obsessive with some of my activities, like reading message boards on my Netbook, while I frown at his seemingly aimless scrolling. If this young man finds just one creative idea while looking at a hundred videos on his laptop, he might get inspired to try his own hand at something new to him. Two generations separate us, two seats on a crowded bus; I still look to words to educate me, entertain me, please me, but is it wise to deny a younger generation their enthusiasm with a different medium from the one I am comfortable with? Anyway, I smiled at the young man as he left the bus. He must have thought “what’s wrong with that old woman?”

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Joseph-Monninger wrote:

Thanks for that question.  I am really intrigued by the Kindle and Book Nook...is it book nook?....and may end up owning one.  It would be a great thing for students, especially.  My wife and I have a boy in college and we considered buying him one so that he could download texts when he needed to.  (The trouble is, he's 19 and loses anything you hand to him.)  I mentioned in earlier posts that I spent time in West Africa in the Peace Corps.  Electronic readers would make the world's libraries accessible to little kids sitting in the sahel if they simply have a way to download texts.  Pretty amazing.

Obviously, though, most of us here were raised with books on our laps and in our lives.  It would be difficult to say goodbye to them.  E.O. Wilson, the wonderful biologist and philosopher, said recently that the age of the "word" is coming to a close.  It ran from approximately 1850-1950...and is gradually winding down.  He may be right.  He thinks the future of education, for instance, is video games.  If you were studying the Amazon jungle, for example, you would enter the jungle in 3-D (like Avatar) with your professor, and together you would study the various plants, etc.  Imagine that.      

I've probably gone on longer than I needed to, but I like thinking about the future along these lines.  A librarian friend tells me that 85% of all books in the typical library never circulate.  That's an enormous waste of materials.  I'm hoping with electronic readers the day will come where libraries will combine -- look at Google and Wickapedia already -- to make things readily available.  I already do my banking on line...it is probably a matter of time before I do my "booking" on line.  

I'd be curious to know what you and others think... Great, thought provoking question....

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LISA-BRYAN wrote:

Dear Joseph Monninger-

I have been reading your most wonderful book; I really like the natural elements of your book (I am a biology teacher). 

My question is - How do you feel, as an author, about the new electronic book readers like the nook and the kindle?  Being a bibliophile -- I would miss the feel and scent of the paper; and of course the look of all those books in my house. 

Thank you-

Lisa

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[EiLvReedn]

I also have to jump in on this part of the discussion re: electronic media. I have been thinking about getting an e-reader but just thought the cost was a bit much. I have finally gotten into an empty nest situation where traveling could be an option. The e-reader sounds great for travel. I am currently reading a library book of over 1000 pages. Lugging that back and forth between work and home has been a hassle and again prompted the thought of an e-reader. It would be sad to see books go by the wayside but perhaps all of the current print books could go to third world countries for education purposes AND just think of how "green" we could become by saving a few trees. As far as publishing companies go those who deal with the actually printing of books may not agree. We've got to come up w/ some "green" jobs for them I guess. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the old fashioned books that I have stacked everywhere as long as they are available!

[Carmenere_lady]

Hello Joe,

Please forgive me if this question has been asked/answered but I am a little late to the party and since I haven't finished the book I did not want to read thru all of the questions.  Spoilers etc.

I think it is very risky starting a book by having a main character die.  What the reader is left with is finding out the details. I have not yet formed an opinion about your book but the technique worked for Margaret Atwood in the Blind Assassin.  Did you struggle as to how you wanted to open this story or did you know from the get go that it had to be this way?

Thanks for joining us First Lookers and for playing such an active part in the discussion.

[Sheltiemama]

Forgive me if this has been asked already -- this weekend is the first time this week I've been able to sit down with the book club -- but how did you come up with the rituals of the Chungamunga girls? I was in a sorority in college, and I can easily see the girls performing the wedding, getting their invitations and singing that lovely little song. I find rituals fascinating.

[literature]

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Joseph-Monninger wrote:

Thanks for that question.  I am really intrigued by the Kindle and Book Nook...is it book nook?....and may end up owning one.  It would be a great thing for students, especially.  My wife and I have a boy in college and we considered buying him one so that he could download texts when he needed to.  (The trouble is, he's 19 and loses anything you hand to him.)  I mentioned in earlier posts that I spent time in West Africa in the Peace Corps.  Electronic readers would make the world's libraries accessible to little kids sitting in the sahel if they simply have a way to download texts.  Pretty amazing.

Obviously, though, most of us here were raised with books on our laps and in our lives.  It would be difficult to say goodbye to them.  E.O. Wilson, the wonderful biologist and philosopher, said recently that the age of the "word" is coming to a close.  It ran from approximately 1850-1950...and is gradually winding down.  He may be right.  He thinks the future of education, for instance, is video games.  If you were studying the Amazon jungle, for example, you would enter the jungle in 3-D (like Avatar) with your professor, and together you would study the various plants, etc.  Imagine that.      

I've probably gone on longer than I needed to, but I like thinking about the future along these lines.  A librarian friend tells me that 85% of all books in the typical library never circulate.  That's an enormous waste of materials.  I'm hoping with electronic readers the day will come where libraries will combine -- look at Google and Wickapedia already -- to make things readily available.  I already do my banking on line...it is probably a matter of time before I do my "booking" on line.  

I'd be curious to know what you and others think... Great, thought provoking question....

---

LISA-BRYAN wrote:

Dear Joseph Monninger-

I have been reading your most wonderful book; I really like the natural elements of your book (I am a biology teacher). 

My question is - How do you feel, as an author, about the new electronic book readers like the nook and the kindle?  Being a bibliophile -- I would miss the feel and scent of the paper; and of course the look of all those books in my house. 

Thank you-

Lisa

---

 I've been tempted and have looked into the electronic book but am still undecided.  It would be great for when I travel, light weight and would easily fit into my pocketbook and this would probably be the only reason I would purchase one.  I have this need to be able to see the book, hold the book and feel the book.  Over the years I've collected books with the intention of one day having an extensive library in my home.  I feel safe and secure being surrounded by books.  If I want to browse through a book I read a number of years ago, I have the option of taking the book off the shelf.  To own just an electronic book would be a library with just an e-book sitting on the shelf.  That's no fun and a little sterile looking.

I do listen to audio books during my commute to work.  Audio books are good if you want to read two books at once or you want to read the book but don't have the time.  The difference between holding a book and listening to the book is that I feel I'm on a more personal basis with the characters and author if I'm making physical contact with the book.  Also, I feel that I retain much more by reading it than listening to it.  Although I must say for those audio books I've listened to that have been read by the author, I found that the author read with much more feeling than when a professional reader recorded it.