Gredunza Audio Series 13: Interview with Jason Gilmore

You can find more about Jason Gilmore at http://www.easyphpwebsites.com/ and on his twitter http://twitter.com/wjgilmore.

Become a reader

*Image by Hark A Vagrant

Say you've never read a book before. I know, impossible. But just picture yourself as someone who has somehow gone through life never having read a book. And then, somehow, you want to begin. Maybe all your friends have finally convinced you that volunteer illiteracy is craziness, I don't know. Anyways, you want to dive in hard and read a crap ton of books. Well, if it were any other time period, the answer would be stupid simple: go to a bookstore and buy a book. Well, thanks to the internet and some major media conglomerates, this is no longer a simple question. So, new reader, what do you do? Well, you follow this guide. That's what. Follow the answers to these questions and you will be on your way to a fruitful life of literacy. 

How many books do you want to read? 

One. I just want to read one book.: Just go buy the book. 

The entire Harry Potter, Twilight, and Star Wars collections: Buy a Sony Pocket Reader, as you will recoup the cost of the $200 reader as soon as you've purchased your 20th $9.99 book, and you'll have them all with you in a tiny package. You also won't be burdened with the physical copies when the fad is no longer acceptable.

Every book published in the 20th and every other century: If you don't mind swapping them in and out of your collections, the Sony Pocket or any sub-$250 reader will do. If you want them all at once, go with a reader with expandable memory and lots of readable formats (epub, mobipocket, LRF, etc) because some books are only available in some stores. You will also have to buy some physical books, as not every published book has been digitized yet. 

Why are you even suggesting ereaders? I already have an iPhone

Well, hey, that's great. You have an iPhone. Or you have a Blackberry. Or a laptop. Or you've pre-ordered an iPad because Apple said they do books now. Swell. The problem tech companies and many people don't realize is that there is a huge difference between passive and active reading, and that while it may be somewhat sane to sit for 8 hours a day and work on a computer, it's something else entirely to read large amounts of text for large amounts of time. Ask any editor: their (and your) eyes suffer for it. Ereaders don't emit any light, and the good ones don't reflect light either (this counts out any reader with a touch screen, since the extra layer is reflective and produces glare) so you're not staring into a tiny sun. This isn't just me talking, either. Studies show that "1 out of 6 patients requiring eye examinations have a computer-related eye problem." The options for reading shouldn't be Lit-screen device VS ereaders VS books. It should be a combination of ereaders and books. 

Books take forever to get through. Can't I just watch the movie when it comes out? 

There's a lot of debate about that, actually. Sure, it might take a while to get through War and Peace, but the average book is 300 pages. An hour of reading before bed kills one of those every week, if you're slow. The advantages of passive reading, as opposed to only reading short passages online, are paramount. Increased imagination is only one thing. The more people read, the more educated their opinions of the world become. They more they're able to communicate. And even though books are probably the slowest form of learning the news, they are the most effective way of deeply informing the populace on serious issues that take time to understand. 

Books can be boring. But you know what? Don't read those books. Don't finish them. Put them on the shelf. Go get another book. You're never going to run out of books. Read the stuff that makes you want to read the next page. Don't listen to anyone regarding the quality, either. Are harlequin romances the only thing that gets you to pick up paper? Read those. Da Vinci code? Read that. Whatever it takes, read it. Even if everyone thinks it's a bad book, if you like it, read it. Reading, unlike playing video games, driving cars, or eating, is always going to be good for you. The idea is that once you get into the habit of it, you will become addicted. Books are one of the few things in this world you should be addicted to. 

Why would I want to join a book club? And how would I go about doing it?

Book clubs can be awesome (this press began as a book club, and Éisee and I met at a book club). They can also be boring. Here are two basic things to remember in maintaining the quality of a book club:

1) Digressions will happen and are important

2) Alcohol is wonderful. 

Okay, that second one only pertains to the adults in the audience, and even then only to a point. I've been to a few book clubs where people definitely needed to be separated due to having one too many. But that's a rare exception. Have the book club in a bar, or a cafe that has a license. Or, have it at home. Anywhere. Just make sure it's cozy. Keep the topic on the book only so long as people seem to care, then socialize your heart out. You will learn things about the book you didn't think while reading it (and which might make you want to reread it). Oh, one other piece of advice: it's not a book report. It's okay if you didn't pick up on a piece of subtext. 

In terms of finding book clubs, try Facebook or Twitter, or go to your local bar or café and ask the owners if there's a club running. If you can't find anywhere, try asking on craigslist in the community section. If all else fails, you might have to make your own. I'll have advice on that in a different blog.

Okay, I'm going broke from buying books. Thanks a lot, book pusher. 

Books, pound for pound, are an incredibly cheap medium. Twenty bucks buys you a week's worth of entertainment. You're not going to get that deal with anything else. Still, it can definitely pile up. Here are two fairly obvious tips:

1) Trade with your friends, or with people online. There's absolutely no law says you can't re-sell your books or swap them for others. And even if there were, who's going to enforce it?

2) See that run-down building over there with the daycare? That's a library. There's thousands of free books in there. Go to it. Give it a hug. 

***

All of this seems pretty obvious to dedicated readers, but none of this advice is for you. It's for the majority of people who read less than a book a year. It's for the people who can't seem to find the time to get a new hobby, even though they blow through hours and hours playing crappy flash games on Facebook. You know who you are.

Slight retooling

So, I've been wondering how best to do this whole "blogging" thing, and I've decided the best thing to do is to split up publishing news and writing tips. So from here on the twitter feed and the audio podcast will cover publishing news (with a little writing advice sprinkled in), while the blog will focus on tips, tricks, and boosters to get your writing juices flowing. 

Gredunza Video Series: Competency

Competency in publishing from K Sawyer Paul on Vimeo.