Some Random Musings

I'm happy to say that I passed my driving improvement test. I scored 39/40 correct, stumbling only on a question about crumple zones on standard-sized cars. I think, after seeing my score, that I truly feel vindicated in having not selected a party traffic school. I was able to concentrate on my studies instead of pledging a fraternity or hitting all of the parties, but I suppose the true test will take place in an hour when I drive my car for the first time since I received all of this improvement.

Keep your fingers crossed.

I received my Christmas books from Books a Million today, and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with their discounts. I received a pair of first edition King hardbacks for under $13.00 (with S&H). Nice. I also received a Bradbury, a Lansdale, a Matheson and the collection Wastelands. They will ship out a Sarrantonio title soon. Seven nice books for under $70.00 total is very nice.

I'm reading Joe Schreiber's Eat the Dark (cover to your right). It's a pretty crisp, fast-paced thriller that is told in three and four page chapters. I have to say that I like the brevity. The novel checks in at a svelte 193 pages, making it, with Willy Vlautin's The Motel Life, a pair of nice reads I've had in the last year that check in with low word counts.

I wonder how this is handled by editors, as it seems a fair amount of novelists' early books come in at 50,000 or 60,000 words. I wonder if the size of the piece impacts the advance, or the decision to acquire. If there are any editors out there that could speak to this, I'd sure love to hear from you in the comments section. Same goes for any authors who have written works of that size.

Finally, did anyone else catch that Simpsons joke last night about the death of the print medium? Nelson offered his signature laugh when it was revealed that there was a (gasp) print journalist covering the Springfield caucus. The times, they are a changing.

That said, I'm heading out to exercise. I think I'll bring my sports page into the sauna when I'm done. Take that, Kindle.