Here we go:
:: So how do you feel? Are you’re still reading Orson Scott Card’s work? Have you sworn him off? Do you think that one should consider an author’s personal opinions or lifestyle when making a decision to read his or her book? (Tough questions, those. I was never a Card reader to begin with, but I did own a few of his books that I promptly put on eBay when I realized how odious his politics are. I think I still have his “How to Write Science Fiction” book around here somewhere; I should sell that, too. The man’s views nauseate me. I particularly enjoyed a recent column where he called Al Gore “pond scum”. Another author whose views rule out the possibility of my reading him is John C. Wright. Generally I don’t make a big deal out of reading authors whose views differ from mine, but I do have my limits.)
:: Let’s help Eon out and pick the name for the next Bond feature. (I made my suggestion over there.)
:: Wall-E sucks! And so does Pixar, for the most part. (Well, that ought to be provocative enough! Intriguing critique that I don’t agree with, and it commits what I consider to be the single most tiresome objection that is commonly leveled at sci-fi movies. Extra points to the reader who can figure out which one that is. I’ve griped about it before in this space.)
:: But you can’t blame George Bush or the “conservative intellectuals” for Sarah Palin being, well, Sarah Palin. Vice President Ellie Mae Clampett is a product of one person, and that person is Sarah Palin. (I am sicker of Sarah Palin than just about anybody else in American public life. That we apparently will hear lots about every stupid thing that comes out of her mouth until 2012 makes me crazy.)
:: I am losing! (Well, crap — but I wasn’t even nominated. Of course, I tell myself that’s because taking a three-month hiatus probably disqualifies me, but it’s probably even more a function of the fact that very few people read this blog. Lately the vast majority of my traffic comes from people Googling images of Sophie Marceau.)
:: On December 28, he offered her a ride home from the record hop even though he had no car. (I have a bad feeling about why Sheila’s been making so many posts of this nature the last few days.)
:: Shadow, the Bennion Family Border Collie, whom you may remember has been fighting cancer off and on for about two years, died on December 30. (Awww, man. Condolences to Jason and family.)
All for this week.
People interest me. I like trying to get inside their heads to see what makes them tick. Some people are truly puzzling. It’s been a while since I read any of Card’s political essays. I don’t remember any that particularly offended me. But I’ve never been all that excited by his fiction. There are way too many books in the world to waste time on an author whose work I find only mildly interesting at best.
The only time that Card has actually hit me over the head with his beliefs is in the explicitly Mormon post-apocalyptic novel that he wrote. I actually enjoyed the Bean novels, loved the first five Alvin Maker novels, and liked his one-offs like Songbird and Enchantment.
Oh well.
Hey, Jaquandor – I’ve had a busy couple of weeks and just now saw your recognition of my dog’s passing. Thanks very much for your kindness. It honestly does mean a lot.
Regarding Orson Scott Card, I remember enjoying Ender’s Game back in high school, and I once encountered him at a book signing and thought he was a decent guy (he was very encouraging when I mentioned that I, too, wanted to write). But this was years ago, and I have to admit my admiration for him took a big hit when I found his opinion columns on the web. I hadn’t read any of his work (or really been interested in any of it) for a very long time before that, though, so I can’t really say I stopped reading him because of his politics or personal viewpoints.
Michael Crichton, on the other hand… ugh. I very definitely got to a point where I couldn’t read his work because of how I felt about him personally…