A Word or Two From the Illiterati. Coming Soon to Your Local Bookseller.
I’ve been struggling with how to express my contempt over the hard cover travesty that is soon to be staring at us from neatly geometric stacks on the front tables of book stores across the nation. I speak of the literary debut of Joe the Plumber. Timothy Egan in the New York Times, sums up what many of us are feeling about the news that JtP’s book is due in just a few short weeks.
I have a question for Joe: Do you want me to fix your leaky toilet? I didn’t think so. And I don’t want you writing books. Not when too many good novelists remain unpublished. Not when too many extraordinary histories remain unread. Not when too many riveting memoirs are kicked back at authors after 10 years of toil. Not when voices in Iran, North Korea or China struggle to get past a censor’s gate.
But, the more painful proposition for me, is the literary fare that is to come from Sarah Palin, or should I say “Sarah Palin” (aka her ghost writer). I have mused about this before, but once again I defer to Mr. Egan.
Next up may be Sarah Palin, who is said to be worth nearly $7 million if she can place her thoughts between covers. Publishers: with all the grim news of layoffs and staff cuts at the venerable houses of American letters, can we set some ground rules for these hard times? Anyone who abuses the English language on such a regular basis should not be paid to put words in print.
Here’s Palin’s response, after Matt Lauer asked her when she knew the election was lost:
“I had great faith that, you know, perhaps when that voter entered that voting booth and closed that curtain that what would kick in for them was, perhaps, a bold step that would have to be taken in casting a vote for us, but having to put a lot of faith in that commitment we tried to articulate that we were the true change agent that would progress this nation.”
If I thought that Sarah Palin was actually going to write the book, I might be tempted to buy it, if just for the entertainment value. If nothing else, I could walk away with some pretty good material for one of those page-a-day calendars.
I wonder if Joe the Plumber’s book will be out in time for Christmas? I admit to being tempted to buy this book too, except for the fact that some of the money might, in fact, make it back to the wallet of Joe the Plumber. There’s got to be some pretty good blog fodder in there! Just think of it…
I couldcheck it out of the library, but I’d have to stand there in front of an actual human being and do it. Sort of like the literary version of buying condoms, or feminine hygiene products, or ointments for embarrassing conditions. The second the door swung shut after I left, I would envision the entire library staff and most of the patrons exploding in fits of laughter and pointing at the spot I was last seen before exiting the building.
I’m just going to have to wait for one of those free wingnutty book offers from Human Events. I know it’s a scam to get the thing on the best-seller list, but at least no money will have to change hands, and I can leave my dignity intact.
And I suppose I’ll have to plant a tree to make up for the desecration of some majestic spruce that unwillingly gave its 30-year life to be a vehicle of shameless 15-minute self-promotion for Joe the Plumber. Karmic balance.
This could work…
You can just see the ghost writter, ” That is a run on sentance and so this this one and this one and this one and this one and this ………….
Who knows mabie with a ghost writter we can figure out what the hell she is talking about.
The wingnutty book business causes a lot of damage – I’m thinking of books like Obamanation here, and the stacks and stacks of those books I saw at Sam’s and KMart et al. It seems there should be a way to have a bestseller list that is based on what individuals buy, not just nameless crazy organizations that have bought truckloads of books because they want their propaganda listed at the top of the NYT Bestseller list.
I thought reading and writing books was considered elitist – I don’t know how Joe and Sarah could stoop to this!
Hey I’m a funny fat guy and I was first.
I am sure that second hand copies of both “authors” will be available in short order. Thus your payment will not enrich the undeserving, will help a bookseller’s business and defray some cost of the folly of the original purchaser.
@Krubozumo,
I guess that is one way of looking at it.
BTW, AKM, I love your title! Such a useful word,
Illiterati
I laughed when I read about Joe the Plumber’s book. He said something about how he had shunned the major publishing houses so that he could have his book released by a small publishing house and referred to this act as, “spreading the wealth.” I really don’t know if this guy is insanely delusional or just really cocky. If he thinks that his book is going to somehow thrust a small publisher into the major leagues, then he’s quite out of his mind. I’m not sure who would read that stuff anyways.
I wonder if SP will get Hannity or possibly her BFF Greta to ghostwrite her book for her? I hope that the fact checkers do a whole bunch of searching through that book and do a write-up about what is true and what is just plain BS.
I am an avid reader (much like SP
), however, I don’t plan on buying either book. You can probably find them packaged together on Amazon as the dumb and dumber bundle package.
Will Joe the Dumber please take his parting bow?
What is this fascination with stupidity out in the open? (Bush the Dummy, Joe the Dumber)
Haven’t ya’ all figured it out? Who is ALWAYS behind SP in whatever she does? First Dud will write the book for her. Maybe he’s been the real brain all along…someone in that family has got to have one.
The timer scares me.
JTP just proves that we truly are living in the “age of the two second, goldfish-minded, soundbite.” “Spreading the Wealth” is Socialism unless I am doing it in a Capitalist way. “And you can trust me, I am Joe the unlicensed Plumber.”
Blue Idaho(09:47:51) :
Hey I’m a funny fat guy and I was first.
———–
Funny, you look like a potato to me. A nice potato, though.
I love to read! I have so much wonderful stuff I’m behind on, I can’t imagine any scenario in which I would waste time, money, eye strength or gag reflex on either of these abominations. I’d re-read Obama four times before I’d read a word from either of these two. Guess I’m just not curious enough. I’ve had WAY more than my fill over and over and beyond and then some! NO! Not interested. Timothy Egan has got it right!
HOPE
This bears repeating on so many levels: Thanks, Krubozumo NyankoyeNo Gravatar (09:53:10) :
“I am sure that second hand copies of both “authors” will be available in short order. Thus your payment will not enrich the undeserving, will help a bookseller’s business and defray some cost of the folly of the original purchaser.”
And I might add: the volume enters the “reuse and recycle” stream where it avoids landfill hell…which may well be filled with the likes of our dear faux plumber and our dear faux candidate.
No need to buy or read either book if they come about. The hilarious portions and the lies will be posted everywhere on the net for the enjoyment of all.
I do feel sorry for the people who WILL do the reading though!
This is just a travesty. You have hit the proverbial nail on the head again, with the mention of all the writers, who actually write their own words, who can’t get published because they aren’t a known entity.
I think it’s time for someone to sue JTP for any work he’s done while not licensed. Fix his wagon…
She used the word “that” 8 times in that sentence. I almost said paragraph, but then I went back to check.
I can’t stand that phrase of hers “progress this nation”.
I wish that she would explain what that means to her. I’m afraid it means to progress it into a religious theocracy
There is no way I would buy this.
I am even wondering about checking it out in a library, maybe if it was assigned for a class.
As for Joe, what an opportunistic _____ bleep (fill in the blank) there is no way anyone would consider publishing his book, had he not gone to those rallys. Was all this staged? I believe so! I still get their emails from when I took there pole and I voted for Obama in the poll.
When I think of my long term goals, to write a book on my culture and history, and how we check all our information with not just one other person but three! to make sure that its true. It’s amazing that they can do this. I wont buy it, and wont even buy it after they wont make money, any publishing company willing to pay it will have to worry about their own losses.
Well, her fan base won’t buy it because they are members of the illiterati – big problem there. And we won’t buy it, because we are literate. I can’t see either book being a best seller.
I hope that is not just wishful thinking!
That timer is like a death knell.
As has been pointed out, JtP isn’t even a licensed plumber .. and has, therefore, been working illegally. At least it’s illegal in this state. Of course, that loses all importance with the base.
*If* his book even gets off the ground, I hope it puts him in a tax bracket that he’s ending up getting about 10 cents profit per book.
A few months ago, there was talk about Bush writing his delusions .. er .. memoirs. It was recommended to him that he wait a couple of years for several reasons – one being to dull the memories of those who know full well he’s destroyed the country and had a major negative influence on the entire world.
But also mentioned was the fact that many publishers were more interested in ‘anti-Obama’ books. That was their hot item they wanted to get out to the masses. I suppose it was some sort of attempt to sway the election .. get enough lies out there (or as they say: baffle ‘em with bullsh**).
Any book by Palin, JtP, or any other right-wing nut only does one thing: it gives the extreme right-wing, evangelical base ‘fuel’ to keep them going. More ‘talking points’ that they’ll hurl back at the rest of us as truth and fact. We know they will have done no analysis of the open illogic, stupidity, and incoherence of what’s written. They’ll just keep regurgitating it thru 2010 and on to 2012 because that’s what they’re trained/told to do.
Yes, it’s trash. Yes, it takes away from publishing a lot of truly fine material. And you can bet the publishers who take this cra .. umm .. garbage on are either not major houses, or won’t be any longer after all this is said and done.
(I still say that JtP looks like a skinhead .. and I wonder how much he got paid by the McCain handlers to start this whole thing going)
Once it becomes clear that no one will buy it, the returns will accumulate and then get sold by the pound to discount stores. I sadly saw John Kerry’s book in the dollar store the other day. Just wait.
EXTRA! EXTRA!… READ ALL ABOUT IT!
It doesn’t make sense for the book that Palin is ‘authoring’ to be a Biography-she already has one in the remainder bins, and her life hasn’t really been that interesting. A compendium of her ‘deep thoughts’ also seems unlikely, for obvious reasons.
So the only commercially viable topic, would be a ‘tell all’ based on the recent campaign i.e. the rehabilitation that we witnessed on her Victory Tour in print. In exchange for a few lurid details (to boost sales,of course) Palin will try to extricate herself from any blame for losing the elections, and make a few bucks as well.
If she has to tour the country to promote the book…all the better!
I think the important question is, will SP’s book be written in Real American or English? ’cause, also too, English is for those elitest Washington insiders, trying to spread the knowledge, you betcha!
I think I’d rather chew my leg off before I read either Joe’s or sarah’s attempt at literacy. I think I’d rather chew their legs off. . .
Sarah’s book should be titled “Spreading The Wealth: The RNC Economic Recovery Plan. . . and it Started with ME!” Complete with pictures of her spread of wealth garnered as they did their ambush makeover on the Wasilla Hillbilly
PS I don’t like those avatars. . . they look like germs. . .
RE: Karmic Balance:
Instead of supporting such literature abominations, I recommend supporting one of my favorite writers:
AKMuckraker
(I put a little something in your stocking, AKM. Moving can be expensive, what with running out for new picture hangers, shower curtain, a throw rug here and there–it adds up!)
Hey – Loussac still has self-checkout, doesn’t it? No need to have someone actually see what you’re checking out……but there will probably be a wait list (amazing, but true).
AKM – Wise, funny … yet tragically so true. Each and every one of us will have to plant one of those little trees.
The ghost writer? Has anyone seen good ol’ Meg lately? I haven’t read her name in print for quite some time. Maybe she’s incommunicado and writin’ her little fingers off …
Somehow I can’t see a national figure like Hannity or Greta doing that, but maybe I give them too much credit.
I’ve always wondered who reads these abominations. I once saw the sweetest looking old lady checking out an Ann Coulter book at the library. I had hoped she did it to find out what the “other side” was thinking. Unfortunately ….
Finally!!! Took 3 attempts in 3 new windows to get me here.
Sarah will absolutely need a ghost writer to interpret her Palinese word salad speak…..heeheehee, I just LOVE the term “word salad”. I don’t know who came up with it but they should be recognized nationally.
Anyway, maybe Joe the Plumber can ghost write for Palin. I’m sure he understands her better than most since he spent so much time on the campaign trail being the McCain campaigns’ expert on all things middle American. There’s a thought, an idiot who can’t really speak English have a book ghost written by, well, just an idiot.
@Yukonbushgrma:
You hit it on the head with Meg!! She better hope for a best seller, as her employability in Alaska is in shreds. She could write the real back room account, but of course she won’t. She has no doubt crossed over into sycophant territory so deep, she cannot see daylight from there.
Worse than reading her book would be to get the audio version! “Guys and gals” over and over. Hearing her say :maverick” again, endlessly. People running screaming from their homes. Cars being driven off the road.
Oh the horror!
Worse than reading her book would be to get the audio version! “Guys and gals” over and over. Hearing her say “maverick” again, endlessly. People running screaming from their homes. Cars being driven off the road.
Oh the horror!
My title: “The crack of dawn–wisdom from the pants of ‘Joe the Plumber’”
Liz the Broccoli Florette beat me to wondering if your library doesn’t have self check-out, but yeah. Even so.
And Tim Eagan’s point is well taken, but these two losers and their publishers are by no means the first to cash in on celebrity ‘authorship.’ I mean, even Barbara Bush’s DOG has had a book published, fer crackin’ ice. I haven’t read it, but I’m betting it’s not National Book Award material, and I’m pretty sure poochie pulled some strings getting it published…
I don’t trust that guy with my shitter why would I wan to buy a book by him?….there should be a TV show called ‘Hey, People Really Are Stupid.’ he could be the first guest.
OT: Eric Shinseki! Woot! Take that, Rummy!
I really can’t imagine what original thoughts (profound or otherwise) Joe might have ever had which would fill more than one page in a book.
Unless he’s going to devote his chapters to common plumbing problems, I’m betting that he and his ghost writer are going to be stuck for words after he completes the dedication page.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_salad
Guess who is referenced in the article?
No doubt in some basement room in the capitol in Juneau there is a cluster of computers toiling night and day using a totally automated version of Dissociated Press to crank our SP’s 837 page tome… 838… 839 ….
Where do I even begin? I am a 6th grade English teacher, and I am seriously not joking when I say that I have at least 22 eleven-year-old students that are far more articulate in the English language (written and verbal), and knowledgeable in local, national, and world politics and events, than both Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber are now, or could ever hope to be-combined-. And, I do not teach in some private upscale prep school, I teach in a rural North Carolina public school. Who in the world is making the judgment call to give either one of those… (…remember you are a teacher, don’t be negative, set a positive example…) “highly unqualified individuals” a book deal? The ultimate irony would be that the publishers would give them an advance for the books, and then sell less than 10 copies each. Perhaps they would learn to make better decisions.
@ Greytdog(12:20:20) :
PS I don’t like those avatars. . . they look like germs. . .
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Greytdog, come on, they are like fat, ugly babies… they are sooo ugly, they are adorable. I personally love them because they have such character…
@A Fan From Chicago (13:35:44) :
Worse than reading her book would be to get the audio version! “Guys and gals” over and over. Hearing her say :maverick” again, endlessly. People running screaming from their homes. Cars being driven off the road.
Oh the horror!
____________________________________________________________________________________
I totally agree with you on that thought and image….
At least we know there won’t be a sequel…as JtP is completely ONE dimensional.
We can only hope that the publisher loses oodles of money on this stupid, capitalistic venture.
Why do people like the plumber and the AK Grifter chase celebrity? They get on Fox, bless their hearts, and really think that means something. Fame’s the only thing that feeds their shallow souls and sadly that’s all there is.
Together they might have 3/4′s of a subpar intelligent brain. Maybe they should hire a ghost writer and put their 3/8′s together and just write one book. I wouldn’t buy it, but to some it would be a collector’s item . Plus, the Republicans could hand out paperback copies at the 2012 convention as door prizes. Joe and Sarah could sit outside autographing them. Sarah, to reimburse the clothing/stylist/makeup artist invoices, and Joe, well, he’s been promised the position of Potentate of Potties in the next White House.
Word salad as an insult
In everyday usage, the term “word salad” may be used to indicate disgust or contempt for someone’s speech. Examples of speech that some consider word salad are Sarah Palin’s responses to questions about bailouts
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from wiki!!!
And they forgot her “fungibility of oil speech”
“Greytdog, come on, they are like fat, ugly babies… they are sooo ugly, they are adorable. I personally love them because they have such character…”
I look like a pickle. Course, I like pickles.
Mine looks like. . . a flea.
Word salad as an insult
In everyday usage, the term “word salad” may be used to indicate disgust or contempt for someone’s speech. Examples of speech that some consider word salad are Sarah Palin’s responses to questions about bailouts
~~~~~~~~~~~
from wiki!!!
===================
That settles it — it *has* to be “SALADGATE”!
I think Charlie Brown could sum this up with his signature phrase. “Good grief.”
Speaking of new avatars…(a sneaky segue to go OT)….
Does any one know how to place a personal avatar on the Mudflats? I was able easily over at the Forum (and frankly, I’m still navigating my way around there, bewildered), but don’t know how to do it here.
@CRFlats
There’s a website called gravatar (dubdubdub dot gravatar dot com) (don’t know if posting a link will get me in the spam can, so I’m being cagey about it) where you can set up a personal avatar for all your blogging needs!
Will give it a try, Thanks! BRB.
Also, Thanks, AKM for the new edit function.
@Mother Who Thinks (10:53:56) :
@@This bears repeating on so many levels: Thanks, Krubozumo Nyankoye(09:53:10) :
“I am sure that second hand copies of both “authors” will be available in short order. Thus your payment will not enrich the undeserving, will help a bookseller’s business and defray some cost of the folly of the original purchaser.”
And I might add: the volume enters the “reuse and recycle” stream where it avoids landfill hell…which may well be filled with the likes of our dear faux plumber and our dear faux candidate.
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I am an English teacher, and I spent my Sunday afternoon hitting the PTA thrift stores looking for books for my classroom library. I would gladly spend $1.50 for a Palin or JtPlumber left over to support my local schools, but I would not simply stock it on my shelf for my students to read. (Bear with me as I get a bit literary on you). I am currently reading “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak, and in the book, a Jew hiding in a basement from the Nazi’s only has one book to his name; Mein Kampf. He finds paint in the basement and paints over the pages and then begins to write his dreams and experiences on the newly painted pages. I would take Krubozumo Nyankoye’s & MotheWhoThinks’ advice and recycle the book for the valuable paper it is printed on to keep it out of the landfill, but I would make better use of it than its original intent.
seachele, they are called altered books and it’s an up and coming craft.Quite popular in the artistic world.
@lonewolf a.k.a. Luger Otter Palin(12:06:00) :
( .. and I wonder how much he got paid by the McCain handlers to start this whole thing going)
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It seems to me that I recall a rumor about JtP being a relative of some sort to KEATING of the Keating Five scandal. Does anyone remember or know about this?
And,really, neither one of these clowns is going to “write ” a book, someone else is going to take their “musings” and set pen to paper. The fact that either of them will receive a penny from this venture is absolutely disgusting.
James Baldwin comments in his essay “Everybody’s Protest Novel,” written in 1949:
“The aim has now become to reduce all Americans to the compulsive, bloodless dimensions of a guy named Joe.”
Dee (15:18:42) :
seachele, they are called altered books and it’s an up and coming craft. Quite popular in the artistic world.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Oh, please do tell. I am always looking for new creative ideas for my students… (seachele99@hotmail.com)
Speaking of publishing …. This is terrible.
Reuters
Sunday, December 7, 2008; 6:43 PM
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Publisher and broadcaster Tribune Co. is preparing for a possible bankruptcy-protection filing as soon as this week, The Wall Street Journal reported on its website on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Tribune Co., whose newspapers include the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, in recent days has hired Lazard Ltd. as its financial adviser and a legal counsel for a possible trip through bankruptcy court, the paper reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Messages left with Tribune and Lazard were not immediately returned.
The Journal, which cited a Tribune spokesman saying the company doesn’t comment on rumors or speculation. It said a Lazard spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The paper said Tribune has been on wobbly footing since last December, when real-estate mogul Sam Zell led a debt-backed deal to take the company private.
Tribune so far has stayed ahead of its $12 billion in borrowings with the help of asset sales, but dwindling profits are now tightening the noose, it said. The company’s cash flow may not be enough to cover nearly $1 billion in interest payments this year, and Tribune owes a $512 million debt payment in June, the paper said.
JTP’s book won’t sell. In any significant quantity. Period.
Palin’s book titled “Progressing the Nation by Exploding the Republicans” just might sell.
This whole concept of idiots publishing tripe really disgusts me. Fortunately, I can vote with my checkbook. I don’t have to buy this crap. Hopefully it will go into obscurity and be forgotten. Unfortunately, there are so many illiterati out there that will buy anything and everything that they think (Thinking, a concept lost on most of them) to be trendy. The sad part is the media will hype with interviews on news shows and late night comedy(where it belongs).
Off topic… The news about the Chicago Tribune is troubling. Every morning when its quiet, just me, my coffee and the Tribune. Reading a newspaper is so comforting. makes my day. Of course a great cup of coffee helps too. He He
CRFlats (14:56:52) : “Does any one know how to place a personal avatar on the Mudflats? I was able easily over at the Forum (and frankly, I’m still navigating my way around there, bewildered), but don’t know how to do it here.”
====================
CRFlats – FROM THE MUDFLATS FAQ:
Q. How can I upload an avatar?
The default avatar is a randomly generated geometric pattern. Some people call them quilts, others call them snowflakes. If you want to use your own avatar, you’ll need to go to http://www.wordpress.com and create an account. Then follow the instructions to upload your own avatar. It will automatically be used throughout WordPress.
——
(I had a little trouble at first, and didn’t realize that the blog and forum used different avatars!)
I want AKM to write a book.
I’d pay for that, and feel that thats a tree well spent.
Wondering what avatar I’ll get today, the serious chimp, Bullwinkle, or something else…
( SP’s Memoir – confessions of a language killer moose killer wolf killer liar, pos, as big an embarrassment as GWB)
ah I see its the evolutionart chimp..
I like this edit feature. the 5 minute oops button …
This is a test….I am trying out the avatar set up…I think….*crosses fingers, holds breath* Hmmm, it’s on the edit page…hope this works….thanks for your patience.
Since I can at the moment and since a few people seem to have enjoyed my inputs, I will stay in the thread. I don’t usually offer up opinions on subjects of which I am not knowledgeable beyond the norm. Relating to some comments up thread though, yes there is more than one way to “recycle” a book. I can think of a number that would be good foundational material. Perhaps someone should work out an efficient and easily undertaken process to render a book’s pages blank again so they can be reused without disrupting the binding.
Most of us do not appreciate how huge the richness is that is available to us from books and being able to read. Let alone write. At some level, virtually all the knowledge of humanity is to be found in books. A single story by Joseph Conrad who was not a native speaker of english but wrote some of the most moving and erudite prose in the language, is the equivalent of , well comparison fails me. Good books are still being written of course but it is hard to find them in the avalanche of tripe that passes for literature.
When I lived in New York I discovered a cluster of large second hand book stores around Canal street. Most of the books were incredibly cheap. I could find all kinds of things I wanted mostly for less than $1 apiece. I started to keep a list of books I wanted. I would go to Canal street on the weekend and spend 6-7 hours going through different stores. Over the course of four years I bought hundreds of books. I read almost all of them. The vast majority of them were books of high repute that had been judged by time. From Tolstoy to Saul Bellow and from Lucretious to Conrad Aiken. I could go on about my books for hours, because of course, since then, I have accumulated hundreds more.
I do not try to read. I read every day for two or three hours unless I am very tired. It is a right. My books are like gold, but worth more, for I can open any one of them for the hundredth time and take away something I did not know before. Gold has only superstitious value.
I can understand why it might be tempting to read a “book” supposedly written by either of the subjects of this thread, just as it is tempting to gawk at an accident. But it is also true that the very idea of such a thing seems almost perverse. But then, what is the whole publishing industry but an arbitrary filter applied to the stew of works produced, some earnest, some mercenary, that we the people produce? Why do we think that it manages to winkle out the best of the best?
We don’t have a clue what is out there, unless of course the Internet persists in its present form, able to offer almost anyone a platform, or soap box on which to stand at “the speaker’s corner of the world”, and hold forth. Then we can select from the choices.
This blog is an example. Its audience found it without the aid of “publishers”.
One hopes, merit will prevail.
Upside to the recession/depression: not many people will have extra $$ for frivolous purchases, even off the remainders table.
OT, but Hicktown started it ;->: As attached as I am to print media, newspapers are last century’s technology. We’ve complained about corporate control of the msm on this here blog until we were turned into goofy little creatures. It may not the solution we had envisioned, but it’s actually good that the Sam Zells and Rupert Murdochs of the world are losing their grip on their control of what information we see and read.
Missin’ the snowflakes…
texasbrian
…he could have his book released by a small publishing house …
Depending on how small the publisher is the spread wealth was probably from him to them. It is quite common for the author to have to foot part of all of the cost any first run and publicity for a small publisher. Profits then are shared unequally.
He could be out a bunch.
At the risk of being booted to the forum, I’d like to add my 2 cents to Krubozumo Nyankoye’s thoughtful comment.
KN mentioned wonderful writers, of that there’s no doubt. My question is, who decided they were the worthy ones? Publishing now may reveal a bias toward the celebrity quick buck, but publishing has always been ‘selective’. There are many voices missing from what westerners commonly consider to be great literature. These days, in schools and colleges, and in many libraries (like the one I run), we make a better attempt to find and honor these missing voices, but it’s still pretty hit or miss. The choice of whose story gets heard, from who’s point of view, who’s missing, who wins, has never been fair. At least, not for the last 5,000 years or so.
lonewolf a.k.a. Luger Otter Palin (12:06:00) :
A few months ago, there was talk about Bush writing his delusions .. er .. memoirs.
Mommie Mommie
Pleezz Pleez I want the book the prezeedint rites, for Chrismuss. Pleeeeeeez!
I want to read EEEEEEvrie word Mr. Duhbya says in it.
Wouldn’t it be a hoot if the ghost writer did this to Palin and Bush. Every word. Pleeeeeeze.
AKM et al
If you buy it you can always mutter that it is a gift.
Better yet get it on line and no one will know.
I think recycling your own books, like composting, by giving the paper pulp back to the arms of Mother Nature is, in some cases, a positive act.
Make a little ceremony and offer Sarah and Joe to a stately tree.
It’s been a while since I been here on mudflats! I have a lot of catching up to do! I finally got thru withdrawals of not coming here as much. And now, I feel like I have missed soooo much!
I have been winging myself from KO, CM, and RM. Had to focus on getting my work done, and stop neglecting my daughter, and my boyfriend. They have been surprised not to see me in front of my laptop reading mudflats everyday.
It would be pure humor if the ghost writer (Sarah Palin) would be allowed to write her own book! Of course, I can’t bring myself to buy her book or JtP book! I wouldn’t want the curse it might put on me. Plus, it would be so much a waste of money!
Big Thank you to all the Muddies who helped on the avatar/gravatar thingy.
I found wwwdotGravatardotcom the easiest to use; I look forward to a whole closet full (will bring out the artist in me). Speaking of illiteracy, that would be me, when it comes to techno web-speak, so I do thank you for your help.
Back to the discussion of idiot books (for and by)…I can’t help but think that just as it has famously been said that “newspapers are the rough draft of history”, blogs will become the new “rough draft”.
At the risk of over-posting my welcome and having 249857928756275642 paragraphs, may I just say I LIKE the germs.
Krubozumo Nyankoye I enjoyed very much what you wrote and agree wholeheartedly. I also like the idea of picking up JtP’s book off the remainder table or from the dollar store and altering it to a tribute to Obama or laborers or someone worthwhile.
AKM, congrats on the new site. I’m still feeling my way around. There’s a problem with my password in the forum
I, too, prefer the quilt squares to the critters (but I’m a quilter, so that’s expected).
Krubozumo Nyankoye I enjoyed very much what you wrote and agree wholeheartedly. I also like the idea of picking up JtP’s book off the remainder table or from the dollar store and altering it to a tribute to Obama or laborers or someone worthwhile.
AKM, congrats on the new site. I’m still feeling my way around. There’s a problem with my password in the forum
I, too, prefer the quilt squares to the critters (but I’m a quilter, so that’s expected). My guy looks like a penis, can you change it?
seachele99
and
A Fan From Chicago
Worse than reading her book would be to get the audio version! “Guys and gals” over and over. Hearing her say :maverick” again, endlessly. People running screaming from their homes. Cars being driven off the road.
Oh the horror!
– I totally agree with you on that thought and image….
Problem is that when the book is recorded, even by the author, it is read from the printed book. Word for word. Can Sarah read? Can Sarah read for hours on end what Sarah has said for hours on end and remain even remotely sane?
Sarah can’t stay on script. I don’t think she is capable of concentering sufficiently to do that. (I recorded school books for Recording for the Blind in Austin for several years. You can’t start thinking about what you are reading too much; your mind wanders off the text and Oops. Stop – erase – restart. Concentrate Concentrate.
If the book is recorded in some other voice or accent I don’t think her public would want the recording.
Anybody want to start a pool to see if the book is actually written.
Does Palin realize how much of her privacy she is going to have to give up to the research and writing team? How many hours of questions and directed, as in on the topic the writer chooses, discussions she is going to have to do? How her past will be dug through. How enemies as well as friends will be interviewed, news items searched …
If she is with a major publishing house they may want quick but they don’t want sloppy and they don’t want law suits, if Sarah starts saying lies like “paling around with terrorists,” about private citizens or other public figures.
Fact based claims are not her forte.
Any publisher who would publish a book where the author used the word “progress” as an active verb (e.g.”the true change agent that would progress the nation”) does not deserve to get anywhere near a printing press.
Just sayin…
Physicsmom says: ” My guy looks like a penis, can you change it?” too funny.
Krubozumo Nyankoye
Well said. Your and I suspect many of our love of books is huge. I have a storage room full of read and to be read. I had to stop buying or drown in them, as I hate to sell or give away a book I like.
Please don’t get mad and go away. This site talks, in multiple tongues, sad, mad, silly, sardonic, and many voices are heard, appreaciated and welcome.
The problem with blogs being the new first draft of history is that a great deal of blog material comes from MSM. It is like a teenager complaining about the parents. Few bloggers could put the financing into the sort of stories needed for a democracy. The usual example given is the series done by WAPO on the Walter Reed scandals. Newspapers are like every other organization … they’ve become fat, inefficient, and star happy. They need a new model that can produce the news in another profitable format.
Physicsmom says: ” My guy looks like a penis, can you change it?”
So! Mine looks like a purple turd that some poor child has tried to use as a Mr. Potato Head.
Usually people say “Where’s your imagination.”
Maybe we need less imagination.
Quoting my self
“Can Sarah read? Can Sarah read for hours on end what Sarah has said for hours on end and remain even remotely sane?”
What is it about Sarah that makes me write soap opera style?
I hate Soap Opera.
I would never buy Barbie’s book or JTP who anyway is unemployed b/c according to a RR wing blog (who was having a *donation for him* $595) his was unemployed b/c of the “Gotcha” media and of course “Obama” who seeked him out…for a interview….NOT !!!! this was a repug plant if I ever saw one. Now recently I saw some sort of charity website by him, For people in need.(Right share the wealth….?)
He’s a total GRIFTER like BARBIE trying to cash in on their 15 mins. of fame.
Oh the other hand, I am reading Obama’s book, (thanks AKM & Martha) the Audacity of hope and just overjoyed, and totally “in love” with our President, Obama! I saw a repeat of him on Letterman from Sept 10th and he was explain’in the “lipstick on a pig” and I was laughing so hard in tears! He is such a wonderful person!
The RR wing are such “wingnuts” and I believe in the hardcore repubs can see “change is afoot” and GOOD change.
Go Obama!!!!!!!
new post
The only way I’d buy the book, is if I lived in Joe’s neighbourhood. I’d call him up and say my toilet is stuck and be sure that only the great plumber Joe, only he must come, he’s soooo good I hear, to fix it.
He’d find that someone had stuck their toilet up with a book. Can you imagine that? It was penned by Joe the plumber. Bloody hell, shit like that belongs in the toilet I’d tell him, now sod off sonny, I’m not paying you either for your crap and BTW, do you have a plumbers license? Then WTH are you doing here taking a call. Now take your shit with you.
That about sums up what I think of Joe the plumber ‘writing’ a ‘book’. Just like his bullshitting me about buying a plumbing company when he had no license, no money [except from the Republican party probably as a shill] and owes taxes still.
What a joke.
Will I be able to find Sarah’s book in the Non-fiction or Fiction section of my bookstore?
She could write her NaNoWriMo book in a day (or half a day).
“Also, progress, also, shore, the one I see, the Russian one, up, also.” A program that randomly throws words together would do.
Why is it that my eyebrows turn into a unibrow whenever I hear Sarah Palin or Karl Rove whine about how us regular joe’s didn’t jump off the cliff of stupidity on election day? Why do those two remain so cynical as to believe Americans are stupid to the point of voting for one of dumbest and self-aggrandizing politicians since Dan Quayle and gw?
We already saw the prior GOP movies and we were no less unimpressed with the originals than we were with the proposed sequel which was an over-the-top combining of the 1988, 2000 and 2004 editions into an even bigger disaster. Even long-time republicans were so revulsed with the McCain/Palin ticket as to not be willing to partake in that kool-aid.
Of the two, I gotta say the JTP tome is the worst. At least SP managed to get herself elected to office a few times, which might intrigue a few wingers.
I can’t for the life of me figure out what JTP has to offer anyone.
Heck, I really, really like my plumber (who goes by Pedro) but I don’t want to read his life story. Bad enough I have to hear about his rotten in-laws while he is fishing the toy mousies out of the toilet trap. Yes, my cat really did that–at night, it was dark when I flushed. We now keep all toilet seats down.
Jamie, I would vote for “fiction” unless someone unbiased is going to vet it.
Marnie,
Why should I be sad or mad? Well, in actual fact I probably have good reason to be “mad” (cf. W. B. Yeats) . However, I have no intention of “going away”. I do not have much to say on many things.
I think it is important and worthwhile to speak up if what you might add to the conversation could sway some people by clarifying or constraining the facts of the debate or discussion or whatever.
Some of the other replies to my comments deserve attention but I have not troubled to look up the speakers, apologies.
I do still think the Internet has the potential to unravel the present monopoly of major media on the thought processes of the bobbleheads. The technology has been widely available for only 13 years and I think this past election has demonstrated that it has extraordinary power to influence events.
As to how the judgement was made that certain authors should become renowned in the past, I think it takes at least two and perhaps several forms.
William Faulkner for example wrote many works and submitted them for publication without success for a long time. When a publisher finally realized the quality of his work and asked him for some additional submissions he sent them a huge collection. I have already cited Joseph Conrad, writing in his third language. I don’t think it is possible to constrain the criteria for what is great literature by defining some editorial standard. In fact I think the reverse is true, high editorial standards are defined by the quality of the work chosen to be published.
This is not to say the system is perfect. It is not, and it has deteriorated over the past few decades as the business of publishing has become more a matter of marketing and getting endorsements (Oprah anyone?) than of selecting works that an individual editor deemed worthy based solely on the work itself and not on the external considerations of whether or not it would be profitable, popular, politically correct, etc. etc.
On the next level quality of work might be purely a matter of survival. We know about the plays of Euripides because we have them, we know nothing at all about the lesser playwrights who may have been his contemporaries, and who may well have crafted better plays, because no record of their work survives. The same may well be true of the 1950′s in the US or France. Or yesterday’s efflux of new works thrown upon the market.
What is egregiously corrupt about the concept of Sarah Palin or Joe the plumber by default of their noteriety meriting multimillion dollar advances to produce tripe, is that the publishers themselves have utterly abandoned any semblance of ethics or standards. Their sole aim is to profit from the enthusiasm of a demographic of delusioned fanatics. It may be cynical and cruel but it gives them greater profits and that gives them greater power to influence the same demographics.
The ultimate irony is that the perpetrators are using good science to manipulate people and inculcate them with the idea that science is just like any other “belief”.
Hi Mudflatters!
AKM, nice new house!
So — just wanted to mention that Joe got a “publishing deal” that looks remarkably like his plumbing career…
The “small publishing company” he went with was a guy who’s self published one other book, a novel.
This isn’t a small publisher. This is a one-book self-publisher. This is Joe’s hot deal.
http://pearlgatepublishing.com/
One of the many things I love about this is Joe’s big book isn’t even mentioned on this site any longer…but here’s the star-spangled Joe site:
http://www.secureourdream.com/
Oowee –Joe’s now Joe the Blogger, Joe the Reporter, and Joe the Forum!
I want to be a forum when I grow up!
Hubris knows no bounds…
Best,
Leigh