The Librarian Writer

"I'm glad I'm off the grid." --> June turned out to be a month of middles. I finished reading Innocent Darkness by Suzanne Lazear (review pending), but mostly got to the middle of other books I’m reading. I did finish A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but that hardly counts because it’s a novella. And now I’m in the middle of The Sign of Four . I’m in the middle of Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. This book is one that I come to every now and then for inspiration rather than something I want to barrel right through. I’m in the middle of Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. I downloaded this title ages ago when I found it was available for free , but never got around to reading it. I did finally get around to transferring it from my computer to my Nook, so hopefully I’ll finish it soon(ish).   Here's a bonus video of Cory talking about Little Brother :

YA Author Cory Doctorow is giving away free downloads of his new sci-fi novel, Little Brother . The reviews on Amazon are beyond glowing from such YA titans as Neil Gaiman and Scott Westerfeld. I've downloaded it and am looking forward to the read. BUT ... would you give away your blood, sweat, and royalties so easily? Doctorow's contention is that obscurity is worse than piracy . Get the book out there, make people aware of it, and book sales will actually increase. It probably helps that the book is, according to reviews, a damn good one. Doctorow covers himself with a Creative Commons license that allows non-commercial sharing. Readers can create fan fic, which is especially important for YA readers, who become invested in the characters and like to continue the story on their own (I certainly wrote my share of comic book fan fic as a teen). But give away the whole novel? Seriously? Why not just the first three chapters to whet appetites? Would teens' short attention spa...