Ep. 210: Sewing Three Books

Bookbinding

One result of separating my podcast into two parts: Bookbinding and Fiction is to encourage me to spend more time bookbinding. I want — Need! — to have something to talk about in the bookbinding section of the podcast so I have to do more bookbinding. Makes sense, right?

This week, for example, I printed out three blank notebooks and cased in two. Two are graph paper blank notebooks in two different sizes: A5 and B5. Both have (or will have, the A5-sized book isn’t finished as of this typing) a closing strap, a bookmark, a raised portion of the front cover, and both are about 100 pages. The completed B5 notebook is pictured here with a bone folder for size comparisons. In real life the cover is much more blue than purple.

The third book is a revised edition of my Yes! Moat Boat blank notebook that features graph paper on the right page and lined paper on the left page. It also has eight or nine pictures of people important to and famous for art related to bookbinding. I believe I talked about this book in the last episode. And probably ad nauseam.  It is A5 in size which is the same as saying it is paperback size, a creation by one of the people in the book: Aldus Manutius.

Today I will probably print out another copy of this book and bind it next week. See? Productive! All of these are for sale. Contact me for details. My For Sale page is here.

Fiction

I wrote on, but did not even come close to completing, Fear Itself (the first book of my Fear Trilogy, a conspiracy-alien war-political thriller trilogy: Fear Itself, Fear the Dead, and The Sound of Fear) and Giapan.

Fear Itself has gone from 15,000 words to about 17,000 words but with much editing done on the first 15,000 to make it more intense, tense, competitive, and conflictive. The dialog reflects this, I believe. Less chitchat and more debate (not a formal debate, mind you, just anger).

Giapan is more conflictive as well. I’ve increased the conflict or competition between the four main characters, between them and their ultimate goal of getting to Madrid, and between their philosophies (such as they were; the artist believes all living beings – plants and animals – are connected; one guard is an atheist; the other guard is a mass-attending, confession-adhering Catholic (remember, this is not so long after the Inquisition) and the ex--rebelling--angry nun is angry at the institution but not at God itself. Maybe).

I’ve also discovered that they are walking through the heart of La Mancha where Don Quixote was from which makes the connection between Don Quixote the novel and Giapan all that stronger.

This is to say I haven’t written on Botchan’s Bartender, Stealing November, or Caraculiambro at all even though the end is in sight for both of the first two. Usually when I can see the end, I can write quite quickly towards it and finish the novel soon. For some reason I find the first two difficult to finish.

Caraculiambro is so old I must re-read it to get the ideas and plot straight in my mind so that is still and Again! on the back burner of my typewriter (typewriter? With burners? Is he mad?)

 

Go to YouTube to see videos of my bookbinding (and just a smidgeon of fiction).

Speed Binding Three Notebooks!