Julia Barrett's World

My husband says so. Therefore, I find it necessary to elaborate upon my post of yesterday. In the world according to him, we are, each and every one of us, a combination of male and female characteristics. My husband has some personality traits that are traditionally considered feminine, i.e., nurturing, an ability to listen, sensitivity (but not like The Most Sensitive Man in the World as in the movie Bedazzled - when is that sun gonna set?). This is why he’s reading The Female Brain, by Louann Brizendine, and then he’s going to read the book related to my previous previous post, The Male Brain, i.e., the penis, by the same author - so he can potentially develop some additional insights into his own behavior. See…prime example - female brain…how many males seek insight? I mean, other than mystics and saints and Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha, a book and an author who, along with Martin Buber, set me on the right path back in the days when I searched for enlightenment.

I have to admit there is one male-brain thing my husband does and it involves the TV remote - it’s like this male obsessive compulsive disorder called: Point Remote and Switch from One Game to Another for Hours On End. Today the disease involves the NCAA Women’s Final Four - Stanford vs. Oklahoma, The Golden State Warriors, the Sharks (hockey), and a preseason Giants game. The male brain at it’s finest…

But I digress. I’m thinking of getting a Kindle. I read Jayne’s review of the Ipad on Dear Author: http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/ - please somebody change the name from Ipad so I don’t flash on Kotex every time I hear it - and she mentioned that as far as uploading or downloading ebooks, it’s no competition for the Kindle or the Nook. I love holding a book in my hand, but I’m not only starting to feel guilty about the waste of paper, I’m running out of storage space. Every single chest, bookcase, coffee table, kitchen chair, is piled high with books. And…I won’t feel as bad if I spend, say, $6 and hate a book than if I spend, say, $24 and hate a book. Yeah…thinking about it. Jayne’s post may have sealed the deal.

Tweet This Post

Note the size difference….

According to neuropsychiatrist, Dr. Louann Brizendine, romance writers have had it right all along, a man does think with what’s between his legs!

She says, and I quote, “Women don’t always realize the penis has a mind of it’s own - for neurological reasons. The male brain has an area for sexual pursuit 2.5 times larger than female brains.”

Her book, The Male Brain, was released last week. My question for women is - Does this come as a surprise? Anyone?

In other news, as ebooks and ereaders become increasingly popular, authors in all genres are going to have to make sure to hook a reader in the first twenty pages…I’ll go a step farther. I say authors had better hook the reader in the first ten pages or less. If you own a Kindle, as my hubby does, you can download the first twenty pages of any book for free - even with my novella, Captured, you can download the first twenty pages for free via Amazon. My husband said there was a work of nonfiction he was interested in so he downloaded the first twenty pages to check it out. He knew within five pages that he had no further interest in the book so he didn’t buy it.

Those of us already in the epublishing world have been working under the premise that we must hook publishers, editors, and readers within the first few pages, sometimes in just a paragraph or two. Do I dare venture to say that we may have a leg up? Let me put it this way - a few months back I bought an expensive hardcover book based on a friend’s rec and Amazon reviews. The book wasn’t available on Kindle and there was no look inside feature. The book sucked and I felt totally ripped off. If I’d had the opportunity to read the first twenty pages, I would have known immediately that this was not the book for me and I would have skipped it altogether. So yes, I believe ereaders will change buying habits, especially if you can download a free excerpt from the book.

Tweet This Post

I see a tipping point on the horizon.

My husband is thrilled with the Kindle I gave him for Christmas. He holds it in his hand with reverence, not so much because he’s enthralled with a piece of technology, but rather because of what the technology can do. I’ve heard him say repeatedly - I can upload an entire library into this thing!

It occurs to me that once we all, the human race, that is, develop the ability to travel to other worlds, we’ll want to take our written word with us so of course we’ll download as much as we can into tiny devices. Not only will we take whatever we believe to be important at the time, we’ll take our written history with us.

Yes, I believe ebooks have reached a tipping point and their sales will continue to rise for several reasons. First, the technology is very cool. Second, printed books are expensive to produce and purchase and people have far less expendable income than they used to. And third, it makes more environmental sense to read a book on an electronic reader.

Does that mean I won’t miss books or that I think books will disappear altogether? I don’t believe books will disappear altogether, but if they did, I would miss them terribly. Aside from my family, books are the love of my life. Always have been. This five minute article from NPR is well worth listening to.

20091230_me_05

Tweet This Post