B&W in PDF
Posted on June 16, 2008 Posted by John Scalzi 6 Comments
You’ll recall, no doubt, that last week’s “Big Idea” piece was by Lewis Shiner, discussing his latest novel, Black & White. For those of you who thought to yourself “hmmm, looks interesting, I should check that out,” there’s good news: Shiner has put up a pdf version of the novel for your perusal. Check it out and enjoy.
And if you do enjoy, remember that one excellent way to show your appreciation is to then buy a physical copy. Because I’m sure Lewis Shiner likes to eat.
Authors eat? I thought they fed off the energy of their adoring fans!
Most of us would still starve then, alas.
Oh, I love these free ebook things. Thanks for the heads up. Even though the book looks boring as can be to me, my sibling will love it.
Be sure to remind your sibling to buy the book if he or she likes it.
I will be reading. And then, if I even can just tolerate what I’m reading I’ll buy it. (If my toleration is only marginal, then I’ll wait for the paperback).
Because reading has to happen. Otherwise we’d all be cavemen. Or worse. Conservatives.
I’m one of those old farts who prefer to read with an actual physical copy of a book in my hands. Reading off a screen just doesn’t feel as… right.
That said, I’ll probably use Shiner’s online version to read the first ten or twelve pages, and see if it catches my interest enough to seek out a hard copy to read the rest. (Someone on the buying committee at my local public library is apparently a fan of Subterranean Press — almost all Sub’s books show up there.)
Browsing the book online is probably more polite than going down to the local Barnes & Noble or Borders, to stand around with the book in my hands like a literary version of a cigar store Indian.
(Besides, I figured it out once, and whenever I go into a physical bookstore, I average about a hundred dollars per hour in purchases. Eeeep!)
(And that last paragraph probably means — now that I’m retired from my Postal Service career — that actually filling out and submitting the B&N employment application sitting on my desk would probably not be the smartest thing I’ve ever done.)