I just finished reading the very first anthology of web journal writing--Never Threaten to Eat Your Co-Workers: Best of Blogs--which is now represented in my sidebar. At one point I was moved to tears. At another I laughed hysterically. At the end I felt profoundly changed, as though held in the comforting hand of a power that’s larger than myself.
Then I read all the pieces that weren’t written by me and, hey, they were pretty good too.
But I kid. I only have a few paragraphs in the book, and there are more skillful wordsmiths represented therein such as the incomparable Dooce and ex-cheerleader-turned-acerbic-maternal-figure Mrs. Kennedy. Even that geek from Star Trek gets his say--which is good, because, y’know, his web site can really use the exposure.
This is the first book of its kind ever produced. It’s a good read. If you like blogs, you’ll love it. If you want to support blogs as an artistic medium, you need it. It’s the perfect gift for the person on your list who has everything but an anthology of web journal writing.
Now me must buy. Urgh.
I WAS A POM POM GIRL. It’s like being an ugly cheerleader who can do the splits.
Wow...you’ve moved me to tears as well. Kind words there Greg...kind words. And so true. But who were the geniuses behind the book...you have any backround on them?
i will only buy the book if you promise to autograph it.
why, as the saying goes, buy the cow when i’m getting the milk for free? :D
heh.
That is, of course, the single biggest objection one might have to a project like this. But the answer is fairly simple as well. Finding quality content in blogs is like finding a needle in a haystack. This anthology does the work for you, while introducing you to some voices that you might otherwise have missed.
I’ll be buying it. Especially since it comes recommended by you and Mrs. Kennedy. Yep. And good idea to use it for gifts as well!
One reason to buy it is because by the year 2005, blog entries could hit over two billion a year. Now...how do you find the good stuff? And...when you read the collection as a whole...it becomes more powerful than a single entry.
The other reason is because we want to introduce blog literature to the world...not just to those folks who are hip to it. Each purchase supports the idea that blogging is an important art form.
Read this:
http://homepage.mac.com/agraham999/blogbook/blog/B1952205778/C801737705/E1443917831/index.html
or how about I give you a Top 10 list of why to buy:
http://homepage.mac.com/agraham999/blogbook/blog/B1952205778/C801737705/E667657939/index.html
I’ll buy it for the title alone.
Alan (the book’s editor) makes an excellent point. The experience of reading the entire book is quite different than surfing through blogs online.
When I came up with the idea two years ago...I just had this feeling it could translate to print...but I must admit that I was nervous. But the first time I sat down with a print out...I was not just surprised, but pleased. It was a totally different feeling. And come on...who doesn’t want to just curl up with one of their favorite bloggers...or take them to the beach...the poolside...in bed…
I’m referring to the book of course.
I had something to say and now I forgot. Cool about the book thingy.
and nobody called me to contribute? i feel so rejected.
or untalented.
or both.
regardless, i’m all over that book. cause you know, i don’t spend ENOUGH time reading (or writing or commenting on) blogs already.
“And come on...who doesn’t want to just curl up with one of their favorite bloggers...or take them to the beach...the poolside...in bed...”
Am I the only one who’s simaltaneously horrified and intrigued by this suggestion?
Congrats on getting published Greg!
félicitations, monsieur howard.
I’m curious about this “blue ribbon panel of judges” that determined the entries. I don’t think your mom should count, Greg.
I’m just kidding. I will have to buy the book. It’s very cool.
And here I’ve been wasting my time submitting fiction to Lit Mags...Really, that is too cool!