Sunday, July 09, 2006

SUMMER READING

Summer reading - the Guardian can't stop talking about it, the Independent can't stop talking about it, for all I know Pravda has a bit of an obsession with it too.

Well, use those bourgeois supplements as the kindling for which they were intended (those who find the need to point out that kindling must, strictly speaking, be made of wood: kindly shut your kissers), for there is really only one book worth reading this summer.

That book is called Drift and, coincidence of coincidences, I wrote it. But even if you have never enjoyed a single phoneme I have written, please do hurry along to drift-the-novel.blogspot.com. I will be serialising it over the next few months, and would be very grateful if you would do three things for me: (a) read it, (b) tell anyone and everyone you know about it, and (c) post a comment telling me what you think of it. Chapter I is available to read now, and Chapter II will be posted on 11 July.

Drift has never been anywhere near a publisher because frankly, I don't feel novels belong in the offices of big publishing houses. The humble blog seems tailor-made for the novel - everyone can read it, everyone can say what they think and - I hope - everyone can enjoy it. Ta very much in advance.

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Enjoyed first chapter. I'm already running predictions in my head about what the bubble might do,what happens when or if there are hundreds of people stuck in it.

To be snotty for a moment, it might be good if the dialogue was as odd and eliptical as the narration. There seems to be a mismatch between the almost parodic and absurd narration but the straightforwardness of the dialogue...

6:44 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Really quite impressive. Count me in as someone looking forward to future instalments.

So, um, did we just read of the opening of Joanna Southcott's real box?

8:59 AM  
Blogger FraVernero said...

Hi there!

Very fond of your blog. And (must confess it), absolutely envious of your assistance to zizekian lessons. I´d give an eye (well, not literally) to be there listening one of the most interesting of today´s intellectuals. His Lacano-Marxism-Leninism I´m finding it much to my liking...
'parallax View' is coming through Amazon. Just can´t wait to read it. But I suppose his life lessons (in spite of your nice efforts here) are absolutely undescibible. You either are there or you aren´t.
At least I hope to see him life some day...
As to your novel, I´m looking forward to it, allthough I don´t share your optimistic appraisal of the blogosphere as the best place for reading a novel. It is certanly cheaper, but slightly unconfortable if you don´t enjoy reading books on a computer. And a blog-reader tends to develop certain lazyness with long entries.

Cheers.

M.

10:36 PM  
Blogger paddington said...

Thanks for your comments so far.

Fravernero - I suspect you may be right about the difficulties of reading novels on the web. I have seen people on the underground reading novels on those PDA things - looks like a surefire route to a migraine to me.

Nathaniel / Isakovsky - you'll just have to wait and see if yr predictions come true. I kind of thought the dialogue was fairly stylised, but perhaps it doesn't come across that way. Anyway, about to add chapters 2 and 3, so hope you continue to enjoy.

PS: Isakovsky, am reading yr book on Shakespeare which a friend bought for my birthday. Fantastic scope, and very approachable - I've devoured most of it in the sun today!

9:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

ta Padd.

8:46 PM  

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