The book that inspired my career…

February 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been fascinated by surfing. Something about the elegance of seeing someone balancing on a board floating over the forces of nature manages to be both inspiring and relaxing to watch. But despite a period of trying to conquer skateboarding, I knew I’d never be a surfer. Partly it was down to geography – Kent in England is not necessarily a hotbed of surfing talent. More importantly, I combined a lack of balance with a dislike of swimming.

But around the age of 11 or so, I read the amazing Walking on Water by Andy Martin. Like me, he grew up in England, and didn’t become a professional surfer – but due to his fascination and obsession with it, he did spend time in the water, and the book covers his journey to Hawaii to speak to the leading stars of the early 90s and to cover the world championship at the time.

What really hooked me was one passage, in which he describes being stopped at airport customs and asked what the purpose of his journey was. Having been hired to do some freelance reporting on surfing for The Times, he pulled out a busines card stating ‘The Times, Surfing Correspondent’, and that allowed him to carry on his journey. (I’m writing from memory as I suspect a previous loan of the book led to it never returning to my possession).

It’s followed by amazing writing, characters and stories as he gets to meet all his heroes and surf Hawaii, but the key thing that stuck with me was this:

You can be an expert, earn a living, meet your heroes and be utterly absorbed by something as a writer, and sharing that can be as powerful as actually doing it for a living.

Suddenly I realised that I might never be paid to race cars or bikes, but I could earn a living by sharing my obsession and knowledge of motorsport and all things with an engine.

Having applied that approach to motorcycles, cars, technology, and writing itself, I’ve had the enormous good fortune to be published by leading publications in their field, visited foreign countries, had amazing experiences and spoken with a number of my childhood heroes. Less than 1% of racers will ever get to legitimately be in the MotoGP paddock, for example, but as a journalist I was able to experience it, which I’ll always treasure.

And there’s another key lesson.

You might think that ‘those that can, do, and those that can’t, write ‘ (to adapt a hackneyed quote about teaching). But many top sportsmen and women can’t explain what they do and how they do it. It’s not their job. They have to concentrate on whatever it takes to get to the top and stay there, and not consider anything else. It’s why quite often the most talented people are the worst instructors, because they have no idea what it was like to be an untalented beginner!

That’s why it’s our job. And why it’s my passion and obsession to share the things I love in a way which could inspire the same passion in others.

Filed Under: Blogging, Books, journalism, Writing

It should be ‘Joy in Books’, not ‘Joy of Books’

January 11, 2012 By 3 Comments

A number of people have been sharing a cool video which features animated books moving around a Toronto bookstore. It’s named ‘The Joy of Books’, and it’s a well-made, enjoyable creation which is fun to watch, as you can now see:

But possibly as a result of the title, a few people are using it as an example of why print is in some way superior to an electronic version.

And that’s rubbish, quite frankly.

There are two elements of books that elicit joy:

  • What’s in the book
  • What surrounds the book

None of that is inherent to print, eReaders, parchment, hieroglyphics or any other transportation medium.
Wall of Books

What’s in the book:

Amazing writing and art will bring someone joy. I’m happy reading William Gibson books in print or on my Kindle, and if he decided in the future that he would only inscribe his work into the trunks of trees, I’d be trying to find a way to fund a private forest in my back garden.

As long as the typeface is legible, and the art is clear, then the transportation of it matters not a jot. Possibly my last line of resistance was comics and graphic novels, but even in this case I’ve overcome my reservations about reading them electronically when I’ve been borrowing an iPad. And as always, great writing and art works.

That doesn’t mean that there aren’t things that could be improved – reading a PDF on a Kindle can be frustrating when the text and font aren’t suited, but PDFs have always been the work of the devil regardless of how you’re forced to encounter them.
Christopher Moore book signing

What surrounds the book:

Here’s where it gets more interesting. So the first aspect to transfer between formats is the social aspect. Reading to my son from a printed book or a Kindle doesn’t matter in terms of the benefit and enjoyment he gets from someone reading to him. Chatting about the book with other people isn’t diminished by a screen, and lending is a possibility now. In fact, electronically I can share Creative Commons books directly with friends around the globe, ensuring they can read the same ‘copy’ as me.

There are differences in the physical sensation. It’s not so much the turning on a page – the way buttons work to flick through a book on the Kindle is a pretty damn effective substitute. But particularly the smell of an aging book hasn’t been replicated electronically (Although it easily could). Not sure that’s a particularly great source of joy though – more an association that old paper quite often comes with great stories.

Then there are two tangible areas which reflect the hoarding of knowledge – the receiving of a book as a treasured gift, and resale value. The resale value of most books is negligible thanks to the massive inventory of mainstream paperbacks, so it really only applies to niche hardbacks.

And then we come to gifting – particularly if it’s a family heirloom or with handwritten notes. That’s the only area in which culturally it’s hard to put the same weighting on an electronic version, but that shift will undoubtedly happen to some extent, leaving either small inventories of the most popular gift choices in print editions, or print-on-demand for anything which isn’t in a classic gift choice.
kindle_etch04

Either way, the pleasure of the contents, the social aspect of sharing and discussing, and many of the other areas of enjoyment when it comes to literature are already present in electronic formats, and some of the others could be closely replicated. That’s why the joy is ‘in’ the book, not ‘of’ the book.

Filed Under: Books, Digital Culture, Digital Publishing, Print Publishing Tagged With: , , , ,

This week I have mostly…

January 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Over the past few weeks and months I’ve been on a major de-cluttering spree, which has particularly focused on my pop culture addiction. I’ve sold, donated and binned a fairly substantial amount of books and videos, with CD’s and DVD’s either ripped and archived or in the queue to be added with the next external hard drive purchase.

The net result is that I’ve made a small amount of cash by letting go of books I’d probably never read again, I’ve gained some space and perspective on what is actually most important to me, and I’ve been investing in more digital formats for the future. The only downside is that one of my favourite habits is to check out the books/films/cds whenever I visit someone’s house, which doesn’t work so well in the digital age. Hence a quick top-of-the-head list of my entertainment for the previous week (For more comprehensive lists, you can always check out Last.fm, Goodreads, etc, but some items either don’t appear or get forgotten…)

I’ve been reading:

Since getting a Kindle, I’ve devoured Bad Science by Ben Goldacre, which I’d meant to read for ages, and finally picked up. Not only is it extremely interesting for those with an interest in medicine and science, but it should also be essential reading for any journalist and writer who has ever had to deal with a press release containing data, technical terms, or plain BS. And it’s a pretty damning report on the state of national news reporting when it comes to big medical stories.

I also raised through With a Little Help by Cory Doctorow. Like Bad Science, I’d meant to read it for ages, and indeed had started via the Creative Commons edition that Cory makes available for free via his website, but to enjoy it outside of a PDF on my laptop I figured I’d pay the ‘Lazy tax’ to have the Kindle version.

It’s a great collection of short stories, and although some did appeal more than others, what is always consistent is that every Doctorow tale comes with insight and inspiration for the future of the internet/society/technology etc. Even an average Doctorow story gets you thinking, and there are a number in here which are way above average. If there were two authors I’d subscribe to for all future work sight unseen, it’d be Cory and William Gibson.

And finally I’m just finishing the Tao of Jeet Kune Do by Bruce Lee – something which I’ve always meant to read but never enough to make it to the top of my list when in a bookshop. But it seemed like good timing, having rekindled my interest in actually practising some martial arts again by The Pajama Game, rather than just watching the occasional film. It’s interesting because it’s not a ‘how to’ guide for individual punches and throws – it’s a sometimes random collection of notes loosely structured after Lee’s death into the philosophy and approach of a fighting style which has no fixed style. And I also happened to read this post by Charles Frith which features an interesting interview with Lee.

I’ve been listening:

In a shocking lack of awareness, I’d seen Laura Kidd occasionally being mentioned in reference to her fanbase on Twitter, but hadn’t actually got around to listening to her music until she recently released an album of remixes in aid of charity. That prompted me to check out her album Disarm (on Amazon, and on Spotify), under the name ‘She Makes War’.

Turns out I’m an idiot, she makes brilliant music including a free downloadable cover of ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ which is now the version I’ll hear when someone mentions the song.

I’ve been watching:

Aside from catching the odd episode of Big Bang Theory and a passing interest in Man vs Food, the only thing I actually wanted to watch when it was being broadcast was Sherlock Holmes. At which point my parents decided to have their weekend telephone call, so I haven’t really watched anything this week. And luckily my strange soap opera obsession with Ice Road Truckers Deadliest Roads ended just before this week so you’ll never find out about it.

I will get around to watching Borgen, but will probably end up waiting for the complete series to become available rather than watching weekly – I’ve increasingly found it’s easier for me to spend a weekend immersed in a series rather than waiting impatiently for scheduling to mean that I get out of sync anyway.

In terms of films, there hasn’t really been anything grabbing me – I did catch random bits of films I’d already seen being broadcast yet again, such as watching Oceans 12 for long enough to remember why it was such a letdown. But I did end up watching the Smurfs, which combine Neil Patrick Harris with what has to be the best role Hank Azaria has played – normally his appearance in a film is a guarantee of slight irritation at a slightly annoying pastiche. One that kept a 3-year-old entertained enough whilst his parents could also enjoy it.

I’ve been playing:

Rather than television, any leisure time goes into the Xbox. The social side of Xbox Live defines most of this, with my current Forza Motorsport 4 obsession combining a group of friends and the still-present ambition to find a way to race regularly. I’ve also had a very short blast on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, but it still hasn’t grabbed me as addictively as the previous games in the series.
Besides that I’ve finally been catching up on the downloadable content available for Grand Theft Auto 4, particularly now I know there’s a new one on the way, and also been slowly making my way through the Wild West version in Red Dead Redemption. Both are massive, epic games with enough storytelling elements to replace television and films, with the added advantages of interactivity and being able to pursue the areas and choices that interest me.

Filed Under: Blogging, Recommended Books, Videogames, xbox 360 Tagged With: , , , ,

Beat ‘The Flinch’ in 2012

January 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The start of a New Year is the perfect time to recommend ‘The Flinch‘, which is the latest book by Julien Smith, who previously wrote Trust Agents with marketing uber-blogger Chris Brogan. It’s not only a free download for all new and existing Kindle owners, but at a time when we’re all talking about our resolutions, and in my case New Year Obsessions, it’s the perfect time to take on the flinching reflex that stops us from achieving what we want.

And that’s the importance of the book, which is available via the Domino Project. First Smith outlines what ‘The Flinch’ is, and how it has to be overcome by champions, such as boxers. If you’re flinching away at the thought of being hit, you’ll never land a punch, so whether it’s boxing, martial arts, or any sport involving physical risk, you have to overcome that primitive instinct to get away from potential pain. It’s served us well when we were on our guard against sabretooth tigers, and isn’t a bad thing if you’re walking through town at night, but generally in our lives we end up misplacing it against minor inconveniences which get blown out of proportion compared to the actual risk to us.

That’s all fairly logical, but Smith does a great job of writing with infectious passion. More importantly, I was pleasantly surprised to see some assignments to actually get used to the reflex and how to react. They’re all relatively simple in theory and don’t take any effort beyond using objects you’ll have readily available in your house to create situations where you can learn to stand up to the flinching mechanism, and not shy away from it.

 

 

So whether you’re planning on tackling some specific challenges in 2012, or you’ve experienced flinching in the past and want some support in tackling it, there’s no reason not to pick up the free download. As is the case with all the Domino Project books, it’s a relatively short and quick read, but given the practical steps, it’s probably the most useful of all of them.

Filed Under: Books, Recommended Books Tagged With: , , , , ,
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