The University of Chicago Press has created eBook editions of Anthony Powell‘s 12-volume epic novel, A Dance to the Music of Time. To get readers started, they are offering the first volume for free.
Publicity manager Levi Stahl explained in an email: “The daunting length of the series has always been an obstacle to getting new readers to pick it up–so we’re hoping we can get people to grab the first one [A Question of Understanding] for free and then we’ll have them hooked on Powell’s fascinating characters. Starting on December 1, people will be able to go to pretty much any place that sells e-books, including Amazon, or to our site to get their free copy of the first book. The rest of the volumes will be $8.00 apiece.”
The 1,000,000-word epic novel was originally published between 1951 and 1975. Powell was inspired by a Nicolas Poussin painting by the same name.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
"Yes, I Drank the Kool-Aid--and I Went Back for Seconds"
"Three Easy Rules for Impressing the Powers That Be (and Maybe Becoming One Yourself, A Simpleton's Guide)"
"The Pegasus Plan: How to Get the Job You Want, the Respect You Deserve, and the Employees You Need in Order to Succeed for Life"
Those are just a few of the imaginary self-help books that novelist Ed Park invented for his book, Personal Days. His office satire is jam-packed with exaggerated career advice from fictional gurus.
Today Park--a founding editor at The Believer and literary blogger over at The Dizzies--shows us how imaginary books can improve your fictional world. It's part of my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions.
In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.
Jason Boog:
Your book also features one of my favorite literary tricks--satirical imaginary books-inside-the-book. How did you craft these hilarious faux-self-help books? Any advice for writers looking to add some fake-book satire to their work?
Ed Park:
I’ve always loved the vertiginous method of including fictional books within a work of fiction, whether the author provides tantalizing passages or just titles. Continue reading...
