Best of the Year (A Rant)
The Best Novel of 2005, according to me, was:
CANAAN'S TONGUE
by John Wray.
Historical fiction, social commentary, horror and mysticism, to be read with a shot of bourbon in one hand and Sixteen Horsepower on the CD player.
This book sold zero copies at the Barnes & Noble where I used to work. That, in a nutshell, encapsulates for me what's wrong with the world of publishing. Lack of promotion by publishers. Lack of education among "readers". Lack of giving a shit about anything but the bottom line among the various elements of the book industry.
Nevertheless, the book is out there, and it is outstanding. Read it.
And the Horse of the Year should have been Afleet Alex. He did things that horses just don't do: win overwhelming victories at both sprint and mile-and-a-half distances; jump back up and win after being slammed and completely losing his action; accelerate away from his competitors in the Belmont as if they were standing still.
And that, in another nutshell, holds some of the problems in the world of horse racing. Saint Liam is a nice horse, but he's comparable to Ghostzapper last year and Mineshaft before that. Nice horses, horses who win some big victories and who have a good chance to be successful sires. Not horses who engage the national imagination, reaching beyond racing's usual fan base. Not horses who do things that horses just don't do. Money earned shouldn't be the deciding factor in a championship. The single most appealing thing about racing, the single thing that has the most appeal to the public, is its stars. Not everybody's a horseplayer, not everybody's a millionaire, but almost everybody loves to watch a great horse run. Afleet Alex was more than just another nice horse, because of his ability and his courage and his transcendent appeal, and that should have made him Horse of the Year.
CANAAN'S TONGUE
by John Wray.
Historical fiction, social commentary, horror and mysticism, to be read with a shot of bourbon in one hand and Sixteen Horsepower on the CD player.
This book sold zero copies at the Barnes & Noble where I used to work. That, in a nutshell, encapsulates for me what's wrong with the world of publishing. Lack of promotion by publishers. Lack of education among "readers". Lack of giving a shit about anything but the bottom line among the various elements of the book industry.
Nevertheless, the book is out there, and it is outstanding. Read it.
And the Horse of the Year should have been Afleet Alex. He did things that horses just don't do: win overwhelming victories at both sprint and mile-and-a-half distances; jump back up and win after being slammed and completely losing his action; accelerate away from his competitors in the Belmont as if they were standing still.
And that, in another nutshell, holds some of the problems in the world of horse racing. Saint Liam is a nice horse, but he's comparable to Ghostzapper last year and Mineshaft before that. Nice horses, horses who win some big victories and who have a good chance to be successful sires. Not horses who engage the national imagination, reaching beyond racing's usual fan base. Not horses who do things that horses just don't do. Money earned shouldn't be the deciding factor in a championship. The single most appealing thing about racing, the single thing that has the most appeal to the public, is its stars. Not everybody's a horseplayer, not everybody's a millionaire, but almost everybody loves to watch a great horse run. Afleet Alex was more than just another nice horse, because of his ability and his courage and his transcendent appeal, and that should have made him Horse of the Year.
posted by Kyri at 4:25 PM
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