Tra la-la, la-la

Posting may become a bit more sporadic in the near future, as full-time classes have just started up and frankly I'm terribly unused to being a student.  Listening to lectures is more tiring than I remember!

I will say, it's a hopeful sign that the first reading I'm assigned--the Wired article which defined the concept of the "Long Tail"--kicks off with a case study about the Joe Simpson book, Touching the Void.  It's a book about mountainclimbing (specifically, the near-fatal variety) I read several years ago on a recommendation from a fellow mountaineer.  "This is great!" I thought to myself.  "I  love mountainclimbing!  What a good sign!"

Then I remembered a key scene from the book, which was even better in the movie: Joe Simpson is dangling by a rope into a bottomless crevasse, possibly moments from plummeting to his death, when he tragically discovers that Boney M's horrible song "Brown Girl in the Ring" has gotten stuck in his head.

"This is terrible!" I thought to myself.  "I hate Boney M!  And now it's stuck in my head!"

Still, the case study was pretty interesting, and it's a good illustration of how internet buzz about one completely separate book can suddenly give a boost to half-forgotten titles on your backlist.  On the other hand, my guess is that the buzz about Touching the Void didn't have such a promotional effect on Boney M.  If you'd like to see for yourself why I think that way . . . Well, you've been warned.