Monday, March 08, 2010

Book Nerds TV

So I suppose it isn't enough that I've got this blog, a podcast, and various other online outlets to share writing and various creative activities on the web.

Last night I recorded the first episode of something I'm calling Book Nerds TV. It's a UStream feed, which I'm fooling around and experimenting with.

In the first episode I talk about Earth Abides by George R. Stewart -- one of my all time favourite novels (though I've only read the book twice). It's not a proper book review. Instead, I talk a little bit about how much I enjoyed the book, my journey to finally reading it through at least one false start, as well as a general bit of talk about post-apocalyptic novels. I, (as always), slip in a little self-promotional material by talking about how I quoted from Stewart's novel in the opening of one of my short stories (Browsers -- which you can listen to for free on my podcast), but then quickly got back to talking about how, like the boy I refer to from that quote, I am continually overwhelmed by books.

The episode runs just under 14 minutes. And in all honesty, I have no idea what I'm doing (which you can likely tell if you watch the recorded clip). I grabbed a couple of copies of Earth Abides to keep near my desk, made a quick list of some of my favourite other "end of the world" novels, and started recording.

Given how much I love books and love talking about various different books and bookselling related topics, I thought I'd try doing a semi-regular broadcast on Book Nerds TV and just start talking about something for 15 minutes to half an hour.

I was thinking of a weekly show and picking a time when I figured I'd be able to do this.

Perhaps something like Sunday nights at 11:30 PM. (Tricky to pick a regular time slot and stick to it -- but I can rest assured that most Sunday nights at that time, I'm actually at home) And I'm wondering if, like podcasting, the archived videos which can be watched at any time might have at least some value, or if there is more value in a "live" medium, where viewers can comment live and offer input, ask questions, etc.

It's a fun experiment that I'm looking forward to continuing.

What do you think? Should I give it a shot, try to do this weekly? Was this 15 minutes of listening to me babble on about Earth Abides and other books too painful and should I just abandon the whole idea?

Let me know your thoughts. Don't worry -- I'm a writer with decades of "rejection" experience. I can take it.

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