Thank you
I've been receiving some really nice letters from readers, which means a great deal. I would just like to thank you all for reading - not just my book, but books in general. I'm admittedly a little old school, but I still have great faith in a book's ability to communicate and touch, and so, to bring us all a little closer together. So heartfelt thanks...Things Left Out
A book you hold in your hand isn’t precisely the tip of the iceberg, but sometimes it’s close. So many things don’t make it into a book.For a time I thought I’d include a chapter on the Internet - and its undercurrent technology - in Islands Apart. It seemed obvious. Understating it slightly, cyberspace is a big part of our current culture, and our fast-paced lives.
So for months I industriously notched interesting web sites, sites that clearly illuminated our world’s current path and the inner workings of my fellow man, places like Iowa State University’s Tasty Insect Recipes and scratchingduringsex.com. I read hundreds of news articles pertaining to technology and the Web. My favorite article was a Yahoo! News account regarding a German gentleman who hurled his computer out his apartment window. The police made him clean it up, but they didn’t press charges. “Who hasn’t felt like doing that?” a police spokesman said.
The Web also elbowed its way into our home life on a regular basis.
On the night of our older son’s first formal high school dance he pulled out his laptop.
“Okay,” he said. “YouTube time.”
“Why are you getting on YouTube?” I asked.
“I need to know how to tie a tie.”
“I can show you that.”
“Umm, let me try first and if I have trouble…”
Listening attentively to a headless man who was not his father, my son tied his tie. He turned to me. It looked as if it had been affixed by someone wearing mittens, after they had consumed a fifth of Jack Daniels.
“Dang,” said my son.
It was one of my few victories over this Frankenstein creation.
Yes, I approached the Web with certain unseemly biases. But it’s also true I prefer a sunset to a video of a cat swinging from a ceiling fan.
In the end we decided against a chapter on the Internet simply because we wanted a book that was somewhat timeless, and, in the case of the Internet, as soon as I put the words on paper most of them were obsolete.
New Book
Hi Everyone:This is just to let you know that my new book - Islands Apart: A Year on the Edge of Civilization - hits the bookshelves on July 14 in most major bookstores (you can also pre-order it via my "purchase" link). The book is a look at our sometimes fast-paced times, and a reflection on the need to slow down and smell the roses before life just blips by. Thanks for reading. I never take my readers for granted. Feel free to send me feedback. I really value your opinions.
Sincerely, Ken
