book overdose

Well, it was bound to happen. Scooter and I had some money, so of course we went book shopping.
I found treasures like I couldn't believe. Both of the Dave Fryxell books on structure and research that I currently have checked out of the library (How to Write Fast [While Writing Well] and Structure and Flow) were there, as well as a semi-recent book on research shortcuts (written by a real live librarian, who ought to know), and a narrative nonfiction classic by Tracy Kidder, Soul of a New Machine. Kidder's book traces the creation of personal computers, and since it's narrative nonfiction, I expect it will read like a novel.
It seems odd to get excited about the books written about writing, but they are SOOO helpful right now. I always thought I was pretty good at organizing and structuring my work, but I have needed something to shake me out of my paralysis of analysis about it and try something different. And the research one...I got caught in that canyon between the old-school journalism of visit-the-reference-librarian-and-city-hall for facts, and the kids two and three years behind me who were schooled in how to surf the 'net QUICKLY for facts. I spent a lot of time at Echo fruitlessly Googling and calling it "research," and I want to learn how to use the Web to my advantage.
Also got a book out of the library about blogs and their influence on corporate news media in the new age of "citizen journalism." It's called We the Media. I'll probably report on it later.
Oh, speaking of blogging, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has a good website on Blogger's rights, if any of you get an inkling to publish something inflammatory or controversial. It's at www.eff.org/bloggers/lg/.
The EFF is sort of the civil libertarians of the World Wide Web and other electronic communications media. Very interesting.
Since I'm in Phoenix, I'm sure I'll spend much of my long weekend enjoying the invention of air conditioning. More blogs may emerge! :)