Most people complain that they don't have time to read. When do you read?

Monday, December 19, 2011

Book 1 Project

Promoting The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Ideas
1.      Lisbeth Salander Bike
2.      The Millennium Magazine
3.      Vanger Chronology
Idea Number One: Yamaha WR250X supermoto Lisbeth Salander Edition.
            In the book, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, one of the two main characters is a computer hacker by the name of Lisbeth Salander. While this character is most certainly ‘round’, and has many sides to her, there is one very marketable characteristic which she possesses. The fact that she rides a motorcycle. Now you may be asking yourself, “Why is this a marketable idea? No one would buy a motorcycle simply because some character in a book rode it.” Now, ordinarily I would agree with you, but this strategy has been used before and has been successful, considering they’ve done it twice now. Jeep has invested in making not only the Black Ops Edition of the Wrangler, but also made a Modern Warfare 3 Edition of the Wrangler as well. They seem to believe there is money to be made here, and I for one agree with them. This idea is not only applicable to the motorcycle, but also to the Mac computer that she owns. Now another question you might pose is, “What would be different about the motorcycle?” Well, there’s not much of a difference between a regular Jeep and the COD Editions, so you wouldn’t have to change much about the bike. Maybe replicate the modifications Salander makes to it. Why would readers connect to this idea? Well it’s actually quite simple. If someone really likes the character of Lisbeth Salander (I for one enjoy this character a lot), they want to be like them. Sometimes people imitate mannerisms of people they once saw on TV. They want to dive deeper into the world that Stieg Larsson has created. How can they do this? By getting the bike that Lisbeth has.
Idea Number Two: The Millennium Magazine
            Also in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, there is a journalist by the name of Mikael Blomkvist. He is associate editor with his friend Erica Berger on a magazine called The Millennium. Although Blomkvist is considered a decent writer, we never see any of his work. And neither do we see Erica Berger’s work. At the end of the novel, The Millennium comes out with a special issue revealing Wennerstrom and how he was a crook. Although the book explains what Wennerstrom did in scamming Blomkvist, I would like to see the issue for myself. And I think most people would as well. Therefore, it makes sense to publish that particular issue of The Millennium. This makes sense because people connect with Blomkvist throughout the book, and people want to see what this man would write like. This not only improves the characterization of Blomkvist, but also allows people to dive deeper into his world. “Millennium’s special report on Hans-Erik Wennerstrom took up all 46 pages of the magazine.”
Idea Number Three: Vanger Family Tree and Chronology
            Not only is Blomkvist an editor on a magazine, but later on in the book he is recruited by a bizzare, eccentric old man by the name of Henrik Vanger. “I want to publish a… history of the Vanger family,” he tells Blomkvist. This is true, but really it is something else Vanger wants. “I want you to solve a mystery, that’s your real assignment.” The family chronology is never completed, however the mystery is solved. Personally, I would want to see the chronology that Blomkvist assembled in its uncompleted form. I think that people would connect with this because as well as The Millennium, this reveals character about Blomkvist and allows us to understand him further.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

What is a Book?

A book is like a piece of clay. Clay, like a book, cannot be immediately turned into a masterpiece. It takes time and work. You can't take clay and mold it into a great work by just holding it in your hand and squeezing a couple times. Just like a book is not a great work simply if it sits on a shelf. One must read it, and even then it won't be great. Maybe the first 20, 50, or even 100 pages are a drag. But once you get to the middle, maybe it starts to pick up. Then it becomes great, like a finished clay sculpture.

I agree with Nancy Jo Sales when she says that "I don't think that books will ever be gone...We need them too much." Unlike the transistion from CDs to iPods, you will always have the group of people that resist change and read off of good old fashioned paper. I am one of those people. I don't own a kindle, and probably never will. I get more satisfaction out of finishing a 600 page book and the feeling I get when I close the back cover, rather than simply clicking the power switch on an iPad or what have you.

Q: Why is it important whether you get your information from a computer or a physical book?
DS: For me, I get more out of an actual book. As stated above, I feel like I accomplish more when I close the back cover on a book that I just finished. I think there are people out there who think like me, and they too understand the meaning of the weight of a book.

Why I Read

I read simply because I want to read. Sure, there are times where you read things that you don't want to, when the school makes you read some sort of American "Classic". Whenever I get those, it's difficult to get through them and the pages never seem to end. However, when you get a book that you picked out, and one that you think is a classic, it makes the read faster and far more enjoyable.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Stieg Larsson- And some research

Three Interesting Facts:

1. Stieg witnessed a rape at 15 and the girl's name was Lisbeth. A bunch of his friends did it and he was loyal to them; that's why he didn't intervene. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/04/stieg-larsson-witnessed-b_n_671002.html

2. He lived with his grandparents for a long time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stieg_Larsson

3. "Stieg" is not his original name. It's Karl. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stieg_Larsson


"Even after 460 pages, it’s not clear whether Blomkvist cares, whether he’s troubled by his lack of intimacy or simply resigned to it."- Alex Berenson, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/books/review/Berenson-t.html