Writer's Café 101: January 2008

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

THIS MONTH'S READING TITLE

Well it's been decided.

The votes are unanimous.

Sands Against the Wind by Riccardo Maffey,

is the title members have chosen to read this month.

Please come back soon to read what the book club members have to say about this eBook.

Cheers for now,

Christine
on behalf of the Globusz Oz team

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Ever thought about becoming a mentor to an author?

We need new volunteers to provide mentor support to a number of our authors.

Please visit the Globusz OZ web site to read more and to register.

http://www.globuszoz.com.au/mentor.html

You might also take a look at the WRITER'S WORKSHOP page.

You might be interested in working with a new writer to help him refine his current work.

http://www.globuszoz.com.au/mentor.html

NOTE:
Writing is a tough business, and it's even harder if English is not your first language. We have identified an author who has potential, but he needs help to improve his current eNovel.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Welcome to the Globusz OZ Book Club

CURRENT READING LIST

HOW THE CLUB WORKS,

Members select ONE eBook from four titles displayed above.

The members read the work and then discuss it via emails. Once the members have discussed the work and shared their opinions, they each write a short piece and post it to Writer's Cafe 101.

Anyone can read the member's critiques and leave comments.

HOW TO JOIN
Becoming a Book Club member is easy. Just complete and submit the application form on the book club page of Globusz Oz website. www.GlobuszOz.com.au/club.html

Members decide how much time they give to club activities. They read and write as much as THEY want. There is obligation on members at all.

NOTE TO MEMBERS.

To download a copy of the eBooks just go to the Globusz OZ book club page and click on the book cover you want to download. http://www.globuszoz.com.au/club.html

You can read the synopsis of each eBook and download from the book club page.When you decided which title you would like to read and discuss, please email me at Globuszteam@bigpond.com and let me know the listed title you have selected.

The eBook receiving the highest number of first choice votes is then selected as the current month's reading title.

As soon as the current eBook has been chosen, I email all the members to advise them of the final selection and to provide each of you with the log-in information you need to access the blog site.

You can post your articles at your convenience and edit or change them at any time.

Thank you for participating in the GlobuszOZ book club. I do hope you enjoy being with us.

Cheers for now,

Christine,

for the Globusz Oz Team

PS: Don't forget to tell all your friends about the club and ask them to join.

The Book Club Chat Room

Did you know we have a chat room for members to talk to each other in real time?

Why not try it out? It's a lot of fun, and very simple to use.

We recommend you pre-arrange meet-up times with a group of friends. Setting a time and date in advance allows everyone to sort out their time schedules; and it saves you waiting in an empty room.

We're test-driving a basic chat room at the moment. Loading time is a bit slow, so please be patient.

Our technical people are working on a custom designed system that will greatly improve connectivity time. We hope to have it up and running in the next few weeks.

Until then, enjoy the chat room and invite your friends online to discuss eBooks of your choice.

CHAT ROOM URL: http://www.globuszoz.com.au/chat.html

We've added a guide on the website to help you get started. Don't forget to read the Chat Etiquette notes. It’s important for everyone to respect the code of conduct when using the chat facility.

Philosophy made Easy

We are delighted to welcome Bob Fanelli to the Globusz Book Club Team.

Bob has a BS in History and he has also completed some impressive post-graduate work in Philosophy, which is his special interest area.

Bob is a member of the Hegel Society in the United States and the United Kingdom. His reading list includes Sartre and Ayn Rand. Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus is one of the many books Bob is currently reading.

http://www.hsgb.group.shef.ac.uk/

http://www.hegel.org/

Bob's primary role will be Philosophy Reviewer, but he will surprise us with a variety of other genre as well. Bob's work will add an exciting new dimension to the book club.

aletheia-means 'truth' in Greek-literally 'not hidden, revealed.'

"The true value of a man is not determined by his possession, supposed or real, of Truth, but rather by his sincere exertion to get to the truth. It is not possession of the Truth, but rather the pursuit of Truth by which he extends his powers and which his ever growing perfectibility is to be found. Possession makes one passive, indolent, and proud. If God were to hold Truth concealed in his right hand, and in his left only the steady and diligent drive for Truth, albeit with the proviso that I would always and forever err in the process, and to offer me the choice, I would with all humility take the left hand."

Gotthold Lessing, Anti-Gotze (1778)

Bob is already generating interesting debate. Check out the comments attached to his first post: What is Philosophy - July 4

AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES ONLINE BOOK CLUBS GREAT!!!

It's not often face-2-face book club members get the chance to have an author respond to their comments. Online book clubs make it possible for members and authors to have meaningful discussion about the eBooks. Online communication really is global. And GLOBUSZ makes it possible. WAY TO GO!

NOTE: When Reviewers post their comments to the blog, Globusz Publishing emails the authors to advise them of the post. Authors are given the opportunity to write a response if they choose to do so.

We believe this brings a degree of balance to the blog, and provides authors with a chance to explain their work more fully. It also allows authors to respond to any negative criticism a reviewer may make. Not all authors accept our offer.

Zen & The Art of Stand-up Comedy by Eugene Binx

HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL: The best way to judge a work is to read it yourself. Why not take the time.

When Norman Smith left his hometown, Birmingham, to become his Uncle Ernest and Auntie Katie’s lodger, in London’s East End, he found the relocation in no way diminshed his woman-magnet ability.

If anything his magnetic fields ratchet up a notch, giving him a supercharged shot in the arm; and in other parts of his male anatomy. Women wanted a piece of Norman, and they wanted it now. And we’re talking older, married, women at that.

At the tender age of nineteen, and just thirty-six hours after he unpacked his bags in his new digs, Norman was helping Aunt Kate’s best friend, Nancy Trollope, to seriously rearrange her bed linen. People didn’t say no to Nancy; and Norman wasn’t about to tip the balance of power. Nancy didn’t ask; she demanded and Norman was more than happy to oblige.

Norman was rewarded for his efforts. Nancy had connections and she liked helping her friends. Norman bags a doorman’s job at the 'Two Buttocks', a East End comedy venue. A rollercoaster chain of events sees him leapfrog from one position to another. He becames the compere, a comedian, and then finally he's the manager and running the show.

Norman set his sights on the stage and gets his first real break when he does an emergency fill in for the regular stand-up comedian. The crowds love him and pretty soon he's racing along the success highway. He meets Betsy, another comedian, and they decide to test their homemaking skills and move in together. To everyone’s surprise, including their own, they make a reasonable fist of it, and all’s good.

Zen and the Art of Stand Up Comedy, is a crazy mix of unexpected events and people being in the right place at the right time. A tale of unlikely connections, it’s crowed with complementary, and not so complementary, characters who will make you laugh (or maybe even cry) in between shaking your head in bewilderment.

It’s a good yarn, sprinkled with names like Harry Shagman, Mickey Finn, Bungalow Bill, and of course the loveable Zen Warwickshire is the man at the centre of it all. Surrounded by Betsy, Sheila and a couple of rare gems, who each add their unique brand of wisdom, to help turn the novel into an amusing smorgasbord of human reactions. An interesting life pastiche.

Writer's Café 101