Dan Talks to John Marks @ Purple State of Mind
Check out this new Q&A with Dan and John Marks of Purple State of Mind, an interesting and influential blog.
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Back to Fiction?
Dear Mr. Menaker,
Just writing to tell you how much I enjoyed “A Good Talk…” I’m featuring a little bit more about the book and your (wonderful) writing on my blog this week. Thought you might like to take a look:
www.kathleengerard.blogspot.com
Wishing you much continued success. BTW, will you ever return to fiction writing? Sure do hope so.
Cheers!
Kathleen Gerard
Dear Mr. Menaker,
Just writing to tell you how much I enjoyed “A Good Talk…” I’m featuring a little bit more about the book and your (wonderful) writing on my blog this week. Thought you might like to take a look:
www.kathleengerard.blogspot.com
Wishing you much continued success. BTW, will you ever return to fiction writing? Sure do hope so.
Cheers!
Kathleen Gerard
Dear Ms. Gerard,
Thank you very much for your kind words (and kind post) about “A Good Talk.” They are much appreciated.
About returning to fiction: I would very much like to do so, yes, but have not yet figured out what direction to go in. I feel on the verge of something, but maybe that’s just the rheumatiz acting up with the nor’easter blowing in.
Thanks again, and, me and my book aside, keep up the lively, smart blog about good books.
Dan Menaker
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The New York Times Sunday Book Review
“It takes nerve to write a book about conversation, given the well-conceived examples already on the market — Cicero, anyone? In this breezy primer, Menaker, a former executive at Random House, adds an urbane, contemporary cast to the discussion of what makes for good talk and why, drawing on everything from the dating scene to New York publishing gossip to studies on the hormone oxytocin to (how could he not?) Barack Obama.”
Read the full review here.
Online Social Networking
Hello Dan,
I heard your interview today on WLRN and found your conversation with Joseph Cooper very insightful.
My question to you is about popular social networking websites like Facebook, MySpace and similar sites. I conducted a small survey at a local college and found that most students (at the campus) preferred to add a person as an online friend over actually approaching thSOne person in the flesh and starting a conversation.
Do you feel that the average American college student would prefer to trade his or her conversational skills for a profile on Facebook?
Ivan C. Figuereo
Dear Mr. Figuereo,
First of all, thank you for the kind words about the interview. Mr. Cooper is a terrific interlocutor.
About your question ( a good one): Meeting someone in person, especially a first meeting, generally carries with it some anxiety, conscious or unconscious. Almost always, we want to make a good impression and are at least a little concerned that we may not. Facebook and other social networking sites significantly reduce that anxiety, because people can a) hide behind anonymity or pseudonyms; b) edit whatever they say before posting, so as to decrease the chances of making conversational mistakes; and c) deliberately play up or play down characteristics and appearances that are present only in face-to-face meetings.
So yes, I do think that some young people (and many older ones as well) will and in fact do limit the number of new people they meet in the flesh in favor of online connections, as your survey indicates. And I think it’s too bad. I think it takes courage to encounter people in person and know that they will be responding to your whole self, as you will be responding to theirs, without the scrim and disembodied words of the Internet or the telephone. And that kind of social courage is admirable, and essential to our species. It’s one of the reasons statesmen and businessmen still find it necessary to make personal visits in doing their work. And it holds the potential of enormous rewards for everyone.
Dan Menaker
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I Stand Corrected
This is not a question, Dan, but I couldn’t figure out how else to reach you. I’ve just finished (and enjoyed, often laughing out loud) your new book but spotted an inaccuracy in the bibliography. You may know this already but, in case not, CONVERSATIONS OF SOCRATES was translated by Robin Waterfield, not Robert.
Cheers,
T.
P.S. Haven’t seen you near my garden in Riverside Park for ages.
How embarrassing! Where’s the hemlock?
Thanks, T. Hope you are well. And thanks for the perduringly beautiful garden.
Dan
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