Sunday Salon: Cloning Benefits
The month of October has been full of talks (by me in support of my own book) and launches of other people's, so I have had little time to pick up a physical book. Fortunately, however, I joined Audible several months ago and have hugely enjoyed listening to audio books. At the moment I have just a few chapters left of Murakami's Dance, Dance, Dance. I am eking it out because the deal is that I get one a month, and so my next fix is not going to be until mid November.
I do tend to listen to books when I am walking around or on a train, so today, since I am doing neither, I am reading a real book: The Ancient Guide to Modern Life by Natalie Haynes, but I can say little more about it since I was sent it by the publisher and see on the accompanying press release that it is embargoed until publication date which is the 4th November, so I guess I better keep quiet about it until then.
I have also got a couple of books lent to me by friends that I am dying to read: A History of the World in 10.5 Chapters by Julian Barnes (been meaning to read this book for years); and China Road by Rob Gifford. Then I have novels written by people I know: Sue Guiney's Clash of Innocents; Elizabeth Baines's Birth Machine and Gladys Mary Coles's Clay. I want to read them all, at once... and then, of course, there is my own writing that I want to do.
An editor told me recently that he needs to clone himself - and at the moment I feel like that too. I need a clone to do my reading, another to do my writing, another for the housework, another to do the socialising and visiting, another to do the talks, and then another to do the exercise to keep the rest of the clones fit. Then, once in a while, the clones could get together in a special decloning device and all the benefits shared. There would be a really vibrant, toned and balanced individual - ready to be cloned all over again.
I do tend to listen to books when I am walking around or on a train, so today, since I am doing neither, I am reading a real book: The Ancient Guide to Modern Life by Natalie Haynes, but I can say little more about it since I was sent it by the publisher and see on the accompanying press release that it is embargoed until publication date which is the 4th November, so I guess I better keep quiet about it until then.
I have also got a couple of books lent to me by friends that I am dying to read: A History of the World in 10.5 Chapters by Julian Barnes (been meaning to read this book for years); and China Road by Rob Gifford. Then I have novels written by people I know: Sue Guiney's Clash of Innocents; Elizabeth Baines's Birth Machine and Gladys Mary Coles's Clay. I want to read them all, at once... and then, of course, there is my own writing that I want to do.
An editor told me recently that he needs to clone himself - and at the moment I feel like that too. I need a clone to do my reading, another to do my writing, another for the housework, another to do the socialising and visiting, another to do the talks, and then another to do the exercise to keep the rest of the clones fit. Then, once in a while, the clones could get together in a special decloning device and all the benefits shared. There would be a really vibrant, toned and balanced individual - ready to be cloned all over again.
posted by Clare Dudman at 9:40 am
9 Comments:
I especially want a clone to do my housework! LOL
I'd like to keep reading and writing, but maybe a clone for the marketing...
Interesting post.
Here's mine:
Just click on my name....
Yes, Laurel-Rain, I think I'd keep the housework clone out of the decloning device in case she discovers how she got the short straw.
Just finished The Birth Machine about an hour ago - Virgin died on us today so no Internet for most of the day - but it wasn't an especially hard read, once you get all the various threads in your head. My daughter was born about the same time as the story is set and so I related to it quite strongly. One thing I'll definitely talk about when I write my review is how a book like this should be marketed. I'm not sure how many blokes would sit reading a book with a pink obstetric chair on the cover on the bus. Good book though. Better than Too Many Magpies IMHO.
I expect Elizabeth will be very interested in your view-point , Jim, especially since you relate to it as you say. Interesting what you say about the cover, too, because I really like it! I thought it was a weird sort of dentist's chair...but looking more closely I see you must be right...and take your point.
I want a clone, too!! For all the reasons you said, Clare, plus one to train the puppy. And I do like your idea of bringing clones together to make a "really vibrant, toned and balanced individual." Yep, that's the ideal.
Heh, the puppy-training clone would have to have lots of patience, I think, Mary. Also, chewable legs.
Yes, I can't juggle all those things either. Clones would be interesting, though I'd hate to see so much of my face as the clones grew older. The mirror gives back enough. And I think that I'd rather just have cleaning brownies. So much easier and old-fashioned. It is the household work that is so very hard to manage on top of being a mother and a writer.
Interesting comment about the pink chair. I definitely believe guys are fussy about covers in a way that's hard for women to fully grasp. We are lucky--will read a book despite its cover.
I dunno, Marly, there are some covers that would put me right off - a woman with a shawl on a cobbled street, for instance. I just don't think I'd pick that up. Or a man dressed in battle fatigues. Or cowboys and Indians...I could go on.
I agree about the brownies, though.
@Marly Youmans - actually my wife hated the cover too. I'll be posting my review a week on Monday and I'm including all three covers plus one of my own for comparison.
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