Once
upon a time following a link to a link to a link, I learned about a battle raging
over a common word. What the f—? I
really couldn’t quite wrap my head around this issue. If we lived in another
place and time this whole patent debacle might make sense, but maybe not.
So
I selected a book with the word in question as part of the title as a show of solidarity
and in support of all those authors subjected to the ludicrous nature of Patent
Laws run amok. Big mistake. Rooster
is the book I should have waited for. This
is the only book I should have read. Seth King’s treatment of the “the” events
is humorously cocky. I am ridiculously partial to tongue and cheek — often
mistaken for biting my tongue which I actually can do, but it’s a struggle.
Mr.
King denotes the farce of the situation, by writing stylistically in an
absurdist narrative voice. He invites us to join him in a look at the sheer
audacity it takes to usurp a common word and claim ownership. We can readily
recognize that something like this is almost as ridiculous as if the commander
and chief of our nation were to patent a common phrase in a bid for reelection.
Wait … huh … nope … not gonna happen.
I’m
really glad I read Mr. King’s book, mostly because it helps to purge me of that
other book, which had seriously tempted me into writing a scathing review. On
many levels I empathize with Mr. King’s objection to slapping a warning on a
book because the protagonist happen to share a gender. My show of solidarity for
warnings and the word issue was
sorely tested when that other author included “puppy play” in the story. That
really was the moment when a little heads up was called for. Perhaps not a
warning label, but there are many writers who choose to include things in the
blurb so the readers won’t be blindsided by “woof.”
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