Dated Books, Part 2 - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T12:16:20Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/537324:Topic:25972?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A26068&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI'm wondering why something l…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-19:537324:Comment:263342007-04-19T06:25:51.032ZJeri Westersonhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/westerson
I'm wondering why something like that is even considered. Would you change what we would deem as inappropriate racial slurs? Naw, it was written when it was written. And if new words fall on a page and no one hears them, do they make a sound? In other words, if you don't notice the change is that good or bad? I say let it stand.
I'm wondering why something like that is even considered. Would you change what we would deem as inappropriate racial slurs? Naw, it was written when it was written. And if new words fall on a page and no one hears them, do they make a sound? In other words, if you don't notice the change is that good or bad? I say let it stand. True, but you can pick up a l…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-19:537324:Comment:262952007-04-19T03:00:30.511ZBill Criderhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/macavityabc
True, but you can pick up a lot of stuff just from the context. You might not know exactly who Primo Carnera was, but you'd get the general idea.
True, but you can pick up a lot of stuff just from the context. You might not know exactly who Primo Carnera was, but you'd get the general idea. I believe the point about the…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-19:537324:Comment:262912007-04-19T02:33:11.111ZElizabeth Burtonhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/ZumayaEnigma
I believe the point about the WTC was that the book took place in a timeframe AFTER they no longer existed. If it were my book, given the opportunity to change that, I would definitely want to.<br />
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I should make it clear I'm not advocating totally updating a book to reflect recent developments. For example, I wouldn't, as an editor, encourage someone to update the technical elements of a book set in the 90s. As several people pointed out, that ruins the historical perspective.<br />
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But let's be…
I believe the point about the WTC was that the book took place in a timeframe AFTER they no longer existed. If it were my book, given the opportunity to change that, I would definitely want to.<br />
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I should make it clear I'm not advocating totally updating a book to reflect recent developments. For example, I wouldn't, as an editor, encourage someone to update the technical elements of a book set in the 90s. As several people pointed out, that ruins the historical perspective.<br />
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But let's be honest--not every book written is a classic like Huckleberry Finn. Does it really do irreparable harm to update a book that's essentially meant to be entertainment so that it entertains without requiring the reader take a history class to get the references? There are plenty of genre novels that could be set in any time period--it's the characters and the story that matter not the atmosphere.<br />
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I don't care how many resources are at my fingertips. When I'm caught up in a story the last thing I want to do is stop to do a Google. Nor to I find it productive to refer to readers who would find themselves confused by references outside their sphere of knowledge as "stupid" or "slothful." It's hard enough getting people to read without insulting them. Yeah, that was even before th…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-19:537324:Comment:262452007-04-19T01:15:30.692ZBill Criderhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/macavityabc
Yeah, that was even before them there hippies.
Yeah, that was even before them there hippies. One of my weird quirks is tha…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-18:537324:Comment:262142007-04-18T23:49:55.486ZBill Criderhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/macavityabc
One of my weird quirks is that I always look at the copyright info for a book I'm reading, so I usually know the setting before I begin. Makes those "bag phone" references easier to process.
One of my weird quirks is that I always look at the copyright info for a book I'm reading, so I usually know the setting before I begin. Makes those "bag phone" references easier to process. If he novel is set "today," e…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-18:537324:Comment:262122007-04-18T23:43:39.529Zspyscribblerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/spyscribbler
If he novel is set "today," even though it was written decades ago, then little tweaks are good. References to "bag phones" are disconcerting when you think you're reading a story set in 2007. Change 'em to cell phones, already, especially if that's the only reference to the time period.<br />
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If it's clearly set in the '80s, and was meant to be set in the '80s rather than meant to be "today" in the '80s, then I'm all for the tweaking.<br />
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I'm not convinced on a whole update, though.
If he novel is set "today," even though it was written decades ago, then little tweaks are good. References to "bag phones" are disconcerting when you think you're reading a story set in 2007. Change 'em to cell phones, already, especially if that's the only reference to the time period.<br />
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If it's clearly set in the '80s, and was meant to be set in the '80s rather than meant to be "today" in the '80s, then I'm all for the tweaking.<br />
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I'm not convinced on a whole update, though. Now that's a great example, J…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-18:537324:Comment:262082007-04-18T23:24:06.114ZBill Criderhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/macavityabc
Now that's a great example, Jon. I hadn't thought of Koontz. It would be interesting to compare one of his rewritten books with the original, something like PRISON OF ICE. (He did rewrite that one, didn't he?) I'm too lazy to do it, of course.<br />
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I agree with you about those Westlake books, I guess. I read them when they were first published and thought they were fun at the time.
Now that's a great example, Jon. I hadn't thought of Koontz. It would be interesting to compare one of his rewritten books with the original, something like PRISON OF ICE. (He did rewrite that one, didn't he?) I'm too lazy to do it, of course.<br />
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I agree with you about those Westlake books, I guess. I read them when they were first published and thought they were fun at the time. They should be left alone. A…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-18:537324:Comment:262062007-04-18T23:20:30.767ZJon Jordanhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Crimespreeman
They should be left alone. A book can be like a snapshot, an image from the time. I think the only changes that should be made are major errors. Like the wrong spelling of a president or something.<br />
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Dean Koontz has rewritten and aded to earlier work for rerelase and it just makes me nuts. I like to see the changes in the writing of an auhtor and his updating them doesn't allow that.<br />
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I actually really enjoy reading older books because of the things going on in them. Old spy stuff from Westlake…
They should be left alone. A book can be like a snapshot, an image from the time. I think the only changes that should be made are major errors. Like the wrong spelling of a president or something.<br />
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Dean Koontz has rewritten and aded to earlier work for rerelase and it just makes me nuts. I like to see the changes in the writing of an auhtor and his updating them doesn't allow that.<br />
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I actually really enjoy reading older books because of the things going on in them. Old spy stuff from Westlake during the early sixties with the cold war and beatnics is tons of fun. I never have trouble making t…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-18:537324:Comment:262052007-04-18T23:19:20.907ZBill Criderhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/macavityabc
I never have trouble making that brain shift. I guess some people do, though.
I never have trouble making that brain shift. I guess some people do, though. Good grief - next thing you k…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-18:537324:Comment:261862007-04-18T22:53:47.753ZKaren from AustCrimehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/austcrimefiction
Good grief - next thing you know they'll be colourising black and white movies for current consumption - but don't start me on that particular piece of bastardry --- VBEG incidentally.<br />
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I'm currently happily wallowing around in 1960's / 1970's Sweden with Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo and I, for one, would be mightily pissed off if these books had been "updated". For a start they stand up exceptionally well as they are so well written, and for a second, so what if there are references to stuff…
Good grief - next thing you know they'll be colourising black and white movies for current consumption - but don't start me on that particular piece of bastardry --- VBEG incidentally.<br />
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I'm currently happily wallowing around in 1960's / 1970's Sweden with Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo and I, for one, would be mightily pissed off if these books had been "updated". For a start they stand up exceptionally well as they are so well written, and for a second, so what if there are references to stuff that may or may not still exist / happen / what was happening at the time etc etc etc - I can make the necessary brain shift if I need to, and it gives me a sense of historical perspective.<br />
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Okay, maybe between editions, in close timing with the initial release, a writer might want to dust off the curtains and tighten up some references, but knowing what the thinking was / issues were in past history is an important component of fiction (and why some of us keep books for years).