mercredi, juillet 26, 2006

One Day I Will Write A Book.

The last time you came here when there was something new to read, I just had ear surgery. Well it is confirmed and I now hear much better than I previously did. Some unexpected impressions and reactions come with it. For example, one day I opened the tap and it felt like a little waterstream was singing in my right ear. Unfortunately I was not in the country but in the toilets. The real difference is that I now ear things coming from the right hand side, like conversations in bars, which sounds sometimes like listening to things I shouldn't. One problem is actually really tricky. I used to sleep on the left ear so that I'd be almost deaf and in a deep sleep. I can't any more, and I keep on being awaken by insects or birds from the outside in the morning. I understand that you mustn't care much about it but this is important for me. Please be sympathetic.

Since one month now, I am a salesman for a major French Publishing company in the South of France. Well, salesman. Mainly, I put books on shelves so that they don't remain at the back of the store while people are on holidays. I also order books sometimes, but for now this is not the main part of the job.

If you visit this blog sometimes, you must by now know that I like to write a lot. I have always thought that writing books for a living would be the perfect job. This explains why, since one month, I'm disappointed.

There are two ways of writing books. Either you become a star -or something close from a star (son of star, wife of a star, etc...)- and you ask someone to write your fake story, or you write a "marketing book". You already guessed what I call a "marketing book". This is a book that says nothing but that targets a certain type of customers. Examples of titles of Marketing books: "Where Are You?", "Seeing You Again" -(these are titles translations of books targetting women-, "The Shopping Addict In NY" -you should see the cover of this one-, or the best one "The Devil Wears Prada" (movie to come soon!). Anyway, not only is the activity of putting books on shelves depressing, but it is even more when you have to read these titles and think that these people live from the shit they write and that, doing so, they keep people away from intersting books, true culture, things that are tough to understand but that you end reading with the feeling that you have grown since the beginning. Marketing books are ones that you read like you eat candies: quickly. You love them at first, then you get sick of them. Later on you try them again because you are addict, and finally you get fat. Fat with useless fat, not the kind you can change into muscles.

I have other ideas to add, but it is time for me to join friends for a drink. I'll try to come back soon, I swear. Take all good care, dear readers; and please leave comments if you like to debate on things.