Just a Little Bit: Leo Babauta

I was never too big on reading blogs, until I started writing one, admittedly so. But I'm enjoying getting lost in and finding sweet treasures all over this dizzying web.

Recently, I stumbled on one of the top 100 most read blogs, Zen Habits. The owner is Guam resident, Leo Babauta-author of the new best-selling book, The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essentials... in Work and in Life.

He recently posted a blog entry which I found rewarding. A few things I walked away with were:

• Be yourself, loudly.
• Read, read, and write.
• Be passionate.

Oddly enough, this simple, yet inspirational, entry is essentially my to-do list. (Has been for years and is still growing...) Click here to read Babauta's blog, Do Interesting Things.

Nonfiction One-on-One with Alicia Partnoy: Nothing But The Truth

Poet, Alicia Partnoy

In my personal nonfiction class today, Alicia Partnoy, Argentine poet and human rights activist, read from her published works and spoke to our class about truth. Truthfully speaking, you'd never know this smiling spirit was held captive in a concentration camp, with no charges, for two and a half years. She has published a few books and is now in alliance with a small publishing company, What Books Press. Interestingly enough, for being honest, Partnoy is in denial about being a writer.

Having survived hardships unimaginable to most, Partnoy informed us about the risks in writing (nonfiction, mostly). Warning Webster: You may not be familiar with these terms.


Risks (in nonfiction):

1. Vulturization - (a made up term) signifying the reader's detective response. They will most likely ask themselves, "Is this person telling the truth? The whole truth? Nothing but the truth?"
   
2. Trivilization - (another made up term) signifying the experience. Does a writer truly experience certain situations, or are they imagining what they would have been like?
   
3. Deagency - (yet another made up word) signifying the stripping of agency.
   

Truth, as Partnoy explained, is subjective. That's no secret, everyone knows how fickle one's memory may be. However, it's what Partnoy proposes that struck a chord with me.

Proposal: Co/labor/actions (Merriam, did you get that?) This is Partnoy's method of returning the agency to the "true" victim/persona/character. Thus, raising them to the author's "level."(a.k.a. Giving credit where it is due.)

In short, Partnoy's brief tutorial answered the tough questions readers ask of writers. Oh, I don't know... writers like, David Sedaris, for example. Are they telling the truth? An author, Partnoy claims, needs to be fair to the reader, persona (character), and themselves.

Essentially, it's a good thing for the audience to question the validity of a piece of literature. It's okay for them to inquire about the truth. As long as they know that everyone's truth can be interpreted and viewed differently. No two eyes see the exact same thing. Now, that's no lie.

To hear or read some of Alicia Partnoy's works, click here.

Speaking of Google Books...

As mentioned in our last posting, we all may very well start reading Google Books. -- Okay, okay, so those weren't my exact words. However, we very soon might be!

On Friday, September 4th, the (already extended) Opt-Out Deadline for the Google Book Settlement will come to a close. So if you're an author, illustrator, a publisher, or someone who owns a U.S. copyright as of January 5, 2009, you're probably not reading this... But, if you are an author, illustrator, a publisher, or someone who owns a U.S. copyright, then you are probably included in the gigantic Google settlement.

If I am just catching you up with the not-so-latest, then here's a conveniently short description:

This lawsuit involves the Google Library Project. In 2004, Google announced that it had entered into agreements with several libraries to digitize books, including books protected by U.S. copyright law, in those libraries’ collections.

Later this year, a judge will decide on the settlement. But, the-soon-to-be-monopoly, Google, has some mighty big opponents on the other side of the ring. Three of the biggest: Microsoft, Amazon.com, and Yahoo!. Bloomberg.com reports that "A coalition including Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo! Inc. argue that Google is trying to control the access and distribution of the world’s largest database of books."

These big corporations aren't the only ones raising strong points. Germany-yes, the country-protests too! Germany's main argument, however, focuses on the effects on the E.U., agreeing that The Google Book Project “runs afoul of the applicable German national laws, as well as European public initiatives to create non-commercial worldwide digital libraries. ”

The overall consensus seems to be: STOP trying to monopolize, Google!

Personally, I'm still not sure where I stand on the whole debate. I have a feeling this blog entry will be a multiple-parter. What I do know, however, is that it is important to me that my personal information remain secure and private. Can you handle that, Google?

My next question: Why is the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department investigating this settlement?

For more information about the settlement, click here.