So, I've been thinking about first person lately, and in an act of utter, but convenient, coincidence, jpsorrow posted this entry about writing in first person, pros and cons. He mentions an axiom which I have heard before, that many readers don't like to read first person. In his post he mentions several reasons why a reader might not like a story written in first person. To summarize- ways that first person might go wrong:

1. Narrator lacks a strong voice.

2. Overuse of "I" leads to boring sentence structure.

3. One of first person's strengths is immediacy, so if the author writes it too much like third, it comes off as distancing.

He goes on to say that there are plenty of other ways to screw it up, and I wouldn't argue with that. Reading the article, though, it occurred to me that all of these problems are work-specific. They are things that can go wrong, but by no means things that must go wrong if one writes in first person.

What I'm curious about are those readers who dislike reading first so much that they don't read first at all. Work-specific problems like these aren't even really a factor, because they won't pick up a first-person book at all. If you are a first-person hater, what's behind it? does it seem too artificial? Did you get burned on a book that had one (or all!) of those problems and it turned you off first-person narration forever? I'm curious about the first person haters.

Personally, as a reader, I love first person. My favorite thing about it is the way it can establish voice so very strongly. One of my favorite books is Peter Beagle's The Innkeeper's Song. It's told in multiple first person POVs, and each narrator has a distinct voice, such that the chapter headings establishing just whose head the reader is in seem hardly necessary. Likewise, Ellen Kushner's Thomas the Rhymer. Steven Brust's Dragaeran romances are delightful, in that they are written mostly in third person (omniscient, actually), but the narrator, Paarfi, rapidly establishes himself as a character in his own right.

So, what about first person attracts you to a book? And what about it repels?

Simon Haynes talks about DRM and ebook pricing in a smarty-pants way that I agree with here.

So, while my folks are out of town, I'm not only cat-sitting, but also borrowing my mom's new Kindle. It's pretty amazing.

I read a book while on the elliptical, something I have been unable to do in the past. (Even if the little plastic thingamajig will hold a paperback, you have to pull the book out to turn pages, which is a pain. With the Kindle, you just push the "next page" button. Voila! I readered it!)

The picture is very clear, and the e ink technology means that there's no glare as with a computer. I'm quite enjoying test-driving it.

I am in the fortunate position of having been gifted with many fine books over the holidays. I have spent the new year thus far reading. It's been wonderful.

books of 2009:

Smoke and Mirrors, by Neil Gaiman. A collection of short stories, some of which I had read before, most of which I had not. I do so enjoy his writing.

Nation, by Terry Pratchett. I have long been an admirer of Mr. Pratchett's books. This one did not disappoint. (Or I should say, it didn't disappoint me. A scan of Amazon suggests that at least a few readers didn't like it, mostly because they were expecting another Discworld novel. I find it a little weird and off-putting when people pan a book because it's not what they expected/ wanted, rather than judging it on its own merits.) Part of the fun was piecing together the alternate history.

All the Windwracked Stars, by Elizabeth Bear. This book truly delighted me. Valkyries! Ragnarok! In the future! I loved the characterizations; strength and frailty juxtaposed in most of the characters. And a two-headed metal flying horse.

The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo. I'll be interested to see how the movie deals with time as the book is structured with layered flashbacks and then a flash forward. (Flash present?) The omniscient narrator is great fun. I especially liked the discussion of perfidy.

currently reading: The Stepsister Scheme, by Jim Hines. I'm about a third of the way through, and enjoying it. Mr. Hines is one of the growing number of authors I found out about by reading their blogs (Bear is another).

on deck: River of Gods, by Ian McDonald. Very, very excited about this one.
Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon. (I both gave and received this one for Xmas.)
The Blood Debt, by Sean Williams. Book 1 of this series was the last book I read in 2008; this is book 2. Book 1, The Crooked Letter, is set mid-apocalypse, and The Blood Debt seems like it will go in a very different direction, so I'm eager to see how Mr. Williams will deal with that.

And I got more books, too, but that's my forseeable reading list. My dad got me a freaking amazing birthday gift, a Kindle, but it won't arrive until February or March. The Kindle fills me with techno joy. My dad gave one to my mom, and I've been having a blast playing with hers. Will it ever totally replace paper books for me? We'll see. To whatever degree it does, my severely limited shelf space will thank it.

Happy birthday to Ben!

And happy birthday yesterday to my brother-in-law! And to my neighbor across the street!

Ben's working tonight, but the tiny human is staying with my folks, so I get to go visit him at the restaurant. Babysitter = yay!

I always enjoy picking out presents, especially if I feel like I've picked a good one. Ben and my b-i-l (actually, my sister too) are all easy, because they read sf. (I sprained my hand patting myself on the back when my sister devoured her birthday selection. And I've already got xmas picked out for her. *smug*) The double whammy for Ben, of course, is that the books he gets stay in my house, and I get to read them too.

I almost feel like that's cheating, somehow.