Candles vs. Electric Lights

In his March 19th post, Joe Konrath interviews Barry Eisler who tells why he turned down a $500,000 2-book deal to self-pub. I loved this:

Joe: We’ve discussed this before. Paper won’t disappear, but that’s not the point. The point is, paper will become a niche while digital will become the norm.

Barry: Agreed. Lots of people, and I’m one of them, love the way a book feels. I used to like the way books smelled, too, before publishers started using cheap paper. And you can see books on your shelf, etc... those are real advantages, but they’re only niche advantages. Think candles vs electric lights. There are still people making a living today selling candles, and that’s because there’s nothing like candlelight--but what matters is that the advent of the electric light changed the candle business into a niche. Originally, candlemakers were in the lighting business; today, they’re in the candlelight business. The latter is tiny by comparison to the former. Similarly, today publishers are in the book business; tomorrow, they’ll be in the paper book business. The difference is the difference between a mass market and a niche.




CR: Absinthe of Malice, by Pat Browning, the 'electric light' way—on my Kindle. However, I have a candle lit on my desk right now.

It's all better with friends.

Book Review: AFRAID by Jack Kilborn

This is a seriously good book. It is on my favorite list for 2009. Before I even get to the review, I want to let you know that I read a bit of this on the author's website several months ago. Now, I'm not one to remember things past, well, past anything. But the opening parts of Afraid stuck. For months. When Joe Konrath (a/k/a Jack Kilborn) was looking for a few reviewers, I knew I had to be one of them.

Afraid is a thriller with some gore (and some language). So if you have a weak stomach, take a pass. But if you want something that will make you want to skip television shows you love, people you enjoy, or even an intimate dinner with your husband . . . no, not that . . . but anything else . . . get your hands on this book. You can pre-order it now through Amazon (it hits the stands March 31st) and it looks like there's a Kindle edition (I love my Kindle) coming soon.

If you like Stephen King or Dean Koontz, you gotta get this Kilborn.

Now, on to the review:

Safe Haven, Wisconsin, is a small town with less than a thousand inhabitants. And that number is about to get seriously slashed.

Late on an October night, with a dark orange hunter's moon as a backdrop, a helicopter crashes just outside of town, and Safe Haven will never be the same. Insidious, unstoppable evil knifed out of the wreckage, and worked its way through townspeople who, up until the crash, had led quite ordinary lives.

The only hope Safe Haven has lies in the hands of an aging county sheriff, a firefighter dogged by ideals, and a single mom.

Jack Kilborn delivers a dish best served with all the lights on. In daylight. Anywhere except in a small town in northern Wisconsin. Afraid will harness you for a thriller-ride where the words supplied by the author slither into your own imagination where you supply the rest. I put the book down a few times to ground myself, but ended up reading the entire story in slightly over a day.

If you're looking for a solid rush of adrenalin, with a plausible (if fantastic) premise, Afraid fits the bill.

Highly recommended.

About to start: Waking Lazarus by T.L. Hines.

It's all better with friends.