Bullshit Jobs

Since I review audiobooks, and apparently most audiobook publishers have no way of distinguishing between genres of audiobooks, I’m on the mailing list of a few different companies which just send me every single audiobook they publish.  All I really need are SF/fantasy audiobooks, but this is the only way for me to get review copies, I guess.  I’m not complaining, just explaining. 

Sometimes sending me all these books does pay off though, since I do review for Publishers Weekly; on occasion, I’ll see an audiobook review copy that I might not have otherwise noticed, and if I find it interesting enough to read, I’ll ask my editor if I can review it.  Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t; most of the time he gives me a list of things to choose from.

But anyway, that’s all a long way of explaining how I got a copy of the following book in the mail the other day: 100 Bullshit Jobs…and How to Get Them by Stanley Bing.  I haven’t read it yet, but it sounds interesting.  I’ve always wanted a bullshit job, but at the moment I have a job that I quite enjoy, so this won’t be of much use to me at the moment.  However, I was thinking that writers are always in need of bullshit jobs, because the more bullshit the job is, the more time you’ll have to write while you’re supposedly working.  So, if you’re in need of a bullshit job, you might want to check this book out.

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Subterranean Press sale

Bill Schafer at Subterranean Press wrote to tell me about a special sale he’s having:

We sometimes get returns from distributors, and have received back from one a healthy handful of Connie’s Hugo-nominated novella in the past week or two. Here’s the deal: These copies are no longer in perfect nick. Some are slightly
dinged, some have a scuffed dust jacket. So w’re offering them for $10 (plus $5 shipping), instead of the usual $35 cover price.
 
If you’d like to snag a copy, order INSIDE JOB as usual at the SubPress website and mention “Dinged Inside Job” when checking out. (Your shopping cart total and automatic email confirmation won’t reflect the sale price, but don’t worry, we’ll catch it when processing your order. This offer valid until May 1, 2006. If you want to order via PayPal, do NOT use the online store. Email us at subpress@earthlink.net and we’ll invoice you.)

He also gives permission to spread the word about the sale.  Go buy it!  Come on, it’s Connie Willis!

 

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Lit Soup

Superagent Jenny Rappaport just started a new blog.

The purpose, according to Jenny:

Simply put, to let people learn a little bit about me and what I do as a literary agent. I’m very open to answering questions about the publishing business, and also to explaining my own tastes in books. The ultimate goal is for this to be a place that’s got some great comment discussions going on, and where you can learn a little while having fun.

Go read and ask those burning questions you’ve always wanted to ask a literary agent.

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A History of Violence

Just watched A History of Violence. Um, wow. What a over-rated, melodramatic piece of crap. One of the astounding things about it is just how uniformly terrible the acting was throughout. William Hurt’s performance was worthy of an Oscar nod? And *this* was one of the best adapted screenplays? Was the Academy watching the same movie I just watched? There was no sense of verisimilitude at all, and the movie felt completely tensionless.

Yeck. What a horrible, horrible film.

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