Shaken: Stories for Japan available now!
Contributors include Hallinan, Adrian McKinty, I.J. Parker, Brett Battles, Cara Black, Vicki Doudera, Dianne Emley, Dale Furutani, Stefan Hammond, Rosemary Harris, Naomi Hirahara, Wendy Hornsby, Ken Kuhlken, Debbi Mack, Gary Phillips, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Jeffrey Siger, Kelli Stanley, C.J. West, and Jeri Westerson.
Most, but not all, of the pieces are crime fiction. McKinty's is a touching account of Matsushima Bay before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, for example. The book's distribution through Amazon promises prompt release of proceeds, Hallinan says, so buy now. The cause is good, the gratification instant.
© Peter Rozovsky 2011
Labels: Adrian McKinty, e-books, I.J. Parker, Japan, Timothy Hallinan
posted by Peter Rozovsky at 7:31 PM
34 Comments:
Very cool. I'll be sure to get one, or possibly more. And in fact, I have just the place to mention it.
Aha! I saw you were taking that challenge. Thanks. I've also had a few recent posts about Japanese crime writing and movies from "The Celtic Kagemusha." Anyone with a moniker like that ought to be interested in this collection as well.
Peter
I read the book last night. It's an excellent collection. Mine is definitely the shortest and the least of the pieces so no one should be put off after reading my bit free on the kindle.
You're talking shite. Yours is a hell of a piece.
I'll have to get this and also repost it.Spread the word.
Adrian, I forget to mention that the editors have your piece leading off. You're the Rickey Henderson of this collection.
Robert, I think Tim Hallinan said the book should be available this weekend. I'll put up a new post or update this one when that happens.
Peter
I'm not quite as ornery.
This has been a pure joy, Peter. Thanks for contacting me about the project. Tim has done a magnificent job and has spent untold hours over the past three months or more getting the materials organized and dealing with legal problems and publishing details. His is by far the biggest contribution. I'm in absolute awe of that job.
Mind you, for me, being able to do this very small thing for Japan has been wonderful.
I should add that I had read works by several of the other authors and know the level of quality is very high. It's an honor to share space with all of them.
And with Bassho. :)
I'm not quite as ornery.
But just as talented. No accident they made you the table-setter. You'll pull readers in.
You're the alpha, and it looks like we've just heard from the omega.
I.J., thanks for reminding me of a contributor I had not mentioned.
Basho (or 松尾 芭蕉, to give his full moniker) is the great eighteenth-century poet whose haiku appear between the stories in this collection.
Even leaves don't move
Awesome is the
Summer grove
It looks like it will be a Kindle exclusive. But don't let that stop anyone. You can download a Kindle reader for free on to your computer, which I have done for precisely this kind of reason.
That's right. It's a Kindle exclusive. An e-book can brought to market faster than a regular book can, which means sales, which means proceeds for the charity a lot sooner. Tim Hallinan also says that Amazon distributes procceeds/royalties especially quickly.
I have downloaded the free Kindle reader to my computer, and it seems to work reasonably well.
Hi, Peter, hi, everybody --
Thanks for all the enthusiasm, and I'm happy to say that THE BOOK IS NOW UP on Amazon -- it's at http://www.amazon.com/SHAKEN-Stories-for-Japan-ebook/dp/B00556WX9A/
And Adrian's piece begins the collection (a) because it's great, and (b) because it sets the stage for all that follows -- and because it was responsible for our using haiku by Basho and Issa to link the stories.
IJ's piece is last because it's kickass and I loved it, although I have to say that I love every piece in the book. People really wrote on tiptoe.
And I should mention Basho translator Jane Reichhold, whose 2008 volume of all his haiku is the new standard, and David Lanoue, who has translated so much of Issa. Both gave us permission to use their translations free. John Ciardi, who translated Dante, once said that poetry is what gets lost in translation, but that's not true here.
Thanks for the exposure, Peter, and thanks to all of you.
Great news,Tim. I am headed off on what may be a wild ride to my nephew's graduation, but I'll download it as soon as I get back again.
Thanks, Tim. I should mention that the collection already has me interested in Basho. His haiku could form a good counterpoint to Hiroshige's later and somewhat earthier moon views and travel scenes, which I have been enjoying recently.
Seana, I don't believe I had ever seen "wild ride" and "my nephew's graduation" before. Sounds like a flash-fiction challenge to me.
Pete, posted the update up to my blog, aiming all three of my regular readers here and to Amazon. Hope it does some good.
It takes a village to raise a child, but it takes just one reader to raise a few dollars and buy some good reading. Thanks.
Tim (and other reading these comments):
Here's the link to buy the book in handy, one-click form.
What a wonderful project and with terrific authors, too.
Just wondering: I don't have an ebook, so how would I get this book? Is there even a way I could purchase the text and see a pdf and print it out (I am into low-tech methods here, still printing out pdf files).
I would be glad to and donate the funds for a very worthy project.
Kathy, you can download a free Kindle e-reader to your computer. A for "free Kindle e-reader" should take to Amazon's Web site, where you can follow the instructions.
Oh! Thanks so much.
You're welcome. It won't be a good, old book in the hand, but it's good reading for a good cause.
I love my Kindle, and that from a guy who never owned a digital watch ;-)
OK, talk me into a Kindle. I'm not entirely technophobic. I use a computer all day at work, I have my blog and I'm on Twitter, and I have a little Netbook that I take on vacation. But I just find the idea of reading off a screen for fun weird and oddly alienating. Also, I'd be afraid to being an e-reader into the bathtub because I'd be afraid of dropping it in the water and ruining it.
The new Kindles do seem to have some handy features, though.
I thought it would only be for travell, commuting on the bus where I wouldn't have to lug around a lot or large books. Ha! I almost prefer it, it is so light. I got mine with a leather cover that holds it real securely, and folds back so it's not in the way, it also has a strap that secures it to one hand, a lot of people like that on a treadmill, but It is absolutely secure in the bath tub. . You can hold it, turn pages, turn pages back, hight lite and book mark all with one hand. And it is so light that I prefer it in bed to a standard book. I also prefer it for taking notes (since you can take them right inside the eBook) for doing reviews. I used to carry around those Marble Notebooks for that, put the book down, take your notes, loose your page...you know the drill. The Kindle II also actually works as a non tab Tablet, check your face book, GMail, etc...and one cool aspect, you can post your notes or highlite to many social media sites at the push of a button. oh, and it is also a MP# player!
Have you ever considered a career in sales? Now all I'd need is a way to save the Kindle if I fell asleep in the bath tub.
I know well the note-taking drill you speak of; I go through it every day, so there's a possible plus for an e-reader.
I'm not sure I'd need or want one that works as a tablet, so I'd probably go for a stripped-down version. An MP3 player might be nice, though.
I suspect I might buy a basic model and use it as a backup -- for short stories, novellas, and other forms not easily available between covers, and for those times when I'm on the road reading a book whose traditional form would be too bulky.
Thanks for the tips.
It's real rudimentary as a tablet, they even call it Experimental (and you get that capability even on the $139 version or the $114 version (which is the same as the $139 but delivers ads when you aren't reading.)As for falling asleep in the tub, well....water wings? I loaded a bunch of my classical music on it and that's kind of nice to kick it on in the tub and get into a good book. I even used the Hightliting feature for typos and shared them back with the author thru Amazon. nother plus, is the Kindle will soon support ePub format, so you can actually buy books (or however you receive them-I get a ton for free to review) from B&N or Google or where ever and read them on your Kindle. It's a nice tool, I was amazed I liked it as well as I do. The cover with the "handle" makes it fool proof, I'll get the "model #" of that and send it to you. As for the salesman part, Amazon ought to be kicking me back somethig as much as I brag about mine.
I'd done a bit of browsing last night and decided that if I got a Kindle, I'd go for the $139 version.
So, those basic versions will play music? That's good. All that other gimcrackery would be distractions and excuses not to read.
Yep, the $139 version plays MP3's, just plug USB cable in and copy your music from you PC or Mac into the folder that says Music. I do occasionally use it to check FB after I am finished reading for the night. Probably just because I can. I do like the ability to find one of your highlited passages and post it up to FB or Twitter. I didn't want the 10" one, I wanted one that would slide right into my sport coat side pocket and I don't regret it. You can also with a key stroke change the font size, with my limited vision, that is a plus. You'll like it. Here's the cover I bought, bit pricey, but well constructed and has the strap making it nearly impossible to drop. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0046A8YEO/ref=s9_hps_bw_i3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=right-3&pf_rd_r=1F0FPAPRG5SHZDBT3TD8&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1289681622&pf_rd_i=1268192011
I'd also want a small one I could carry in a pocket. Size is the point.
I'd be interested in the ease of highlighting passages and of finding those highlighted passages later. Even the free e-reader download version has a "find your notes" function, so I expect this would not be difficult.
Peter - The Kindle IS NOT A BOOK. It takes some getting used to. When I got mine (I was writing for it, so I figured what the hell?) I hated it. It felt like plastic, looked like plastic, and struck me as the most superfluous purchase of my life.
So, two months later it's got 215 books on it and I take it everywhere except to the coffee houses I write in, because I'd turn the damn thing on and read instead.
Bathtub? That's the real reason ziploc bags were created. It even floats, as long as you've sealed it tightly.
Tim, I'm afraid it would look like plastic, etc. But if I can get certain books earlier in electronic versions than on paper, I may have to take the plunge -- figuratively rather than literally, unless my reading device is safely guarded by a sealable plastic bag.
Kindle...hmm, was the name chosen because its marketers hoped it would consign traditional paper books to the flames?
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