… or for taken Aback. My daily online reading turned up some real gems this morning. First, let’s talk about this interview with Terry Goodkind. (Yes, it’s old, but if you didn’t see it in 2003 either, it’s new to you!) My personal favorite quotes here include these:
Because most fantasy is about world-building and magic, a lot of it is plotless and has no story. My primary interest is in telling stories that are fun to read and make people think. That puts my books in a genre all their own….
Kansas City, KS: What made you choose to leave out other common races(dwarves, elves, etc) from your books?
Terry Goodkind: Please refer to the previous answer, in which I explain that I’m not writing fantasy … My purpose is not weirdo cultural diversity. I repeat: I am writing stories about important human beings….
There’s actually very little to read today because more and more books center around characters who are either unremarkable, pathetic or reprehensible. I don’t like authors who choose to tell stories about these kinds of people. I like stories about individuals who can show the nobility of mankind.
I never did like his work, but perhaps this is because as a fantasy reader I prefer things that are “plotless and have no story.” Although “weirdo cultural diversity” has a certain ring to it as well…
Moving on to Arrogant (or Aback) example number two, today both Tame the Web and Librarian’s Rant pointed to this charming little story about a children’s knitting group getting kicked out of a library. Why?
Pamela Haley, manager of library services for the united counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, said the ban on crafts was put on place because the municipality is revamping its 18 library branches in an effort to attract more people and needs to be more literacy-focused to achieve that end.
However, riddle me this!
She said the library’s new fall lineup includes teen book clubs and Scrabble nights. The library will also be holding some events not focused on literacy, such as video game nights, to attract a younger crowd.
But under the new plan, there will no longer be a space for Kingston Currie and the other girls, aged six to 10, who used to sit around a table teasing yarn into organized patterns and items with crochet hooks and pairs of needles.
I’m all for video game nights, but kicking out the knitting girls and keeping the gaming seems somewhat — well, the most polite word that comes to mind is shortsighted. Way to market, guys! (Perhaps they’re just concerned about “weirdo programming diversity?”)
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