Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Are you interested in a "collected works" Bayou Renaissance Man book?

 

Several readers, over the years, have suggested that I should put together a "greatest hits" sort of book based on this blog:  a collection of the articles that have attracted the greatest interest (based on the number of times each has been directly accessed), or which I think are the most important, or that are particularly requested by readers.  Such queries seem to have increased lately.

I can do this, of course;  it's not complicated to put together - but I'm honestly not sure whether the demand for it would be sufficient to justify it.  I mean, the archives of the blog are online, and it's not as if anyone interested can't just search through them to find what he or she is looking for.  I don't want to do all the work to put together a collection, only to find that nobody wants it!  On the other hand, there are those requests.  Clearly, there are some who do want it.  Specific articles they've mentioned include some about South Africa ("Remembering Mike", "Remembering Inyati", "The Night Christmas Became Real", thoughts on Nelson Mandela's death, etc.), or about terrorism ("My Heroes", "Paris And The Pain Of Being Human", etc.), or other personal recollections.

Therefore, I'll be grateful for your input.  Would you be interested in such a book (or books) if I put them together?  I'd make them short enough to be readable, and publish them as e-books and in print, at an affordable price.  If you're interested, please leave a comment to this post letting me know that, or e-mail me if you prefer (my address is in my profile in the sidebar).  If you'd like to suggest any particular article(s) for inclusion, please do that too.  Based on the overall response, I'll consider whether or not to proceed.

Thanks, friends.

Peter


18 comments:

James said...

Sounds like one of those things that a lot of people will say "it's a good idea," but nobody puts down the money. Do it only if you can do it without much cost to yourself.

Unknown said...

Your blog classics are worthy of being collected. But I'd rather have more Walt Ames, please!

jen said...

Yes!

Mogrith said...

Yes please,

Not so much for myself but for introducing you and your blog to others.

I will buy a e-book version. then buy others to send out. and send a link to buy elsewhere. mainly discord groups.

SLee said...

I would buy it. If you can put together a collection without much trouble, go for it - but only if you are interested in putting it together.

SL said...

👍🏻 Yes.

Marion said...

It depends, do you want your writing on these topics to outlast you? Paper and ePub are much longer lasting editions than a blog, which will require maintenance and expense after you are gone.

If you are feeling led to do it, I think you should.... and leave the sales up to God.

TheAxe said...

You've been blogging for almost 20 years now, that's a lot to search through. I'd totally buy a "best of"!

Cedar said...

I'd buy a paper copy to give to my son, who doesn't really read online.

RustyGunner said...

I’d buy it, you are always an interesting read.

Francis Turner said...

yes, probably buy a series if you did them on different topics

Cederq said...

Yes, especially if it is made of dead trees or papyrus, as long as it is written form...

Rib said...

Count me in!

Rose said...

Yes please!

CWG Mike said...

A manual of your experiences, lessons learned and prepping advice would be of interest. You have several unique perspectives that I hope my family or myself never see, but better to be paranoid than be caught with your pants down. If you decide to go that way message me and I will pre-order.

selsey.steve said...

I would most certainly buy a copy.
All of your blog entries are of significance.

BadFrog said...

Absolutely. It would sit alongside my collection of Jeff Coopers works.

Mark J said...

I definitely agree with James' comment. If you can do so without undue expense on your end, it would be a worthwhile endeavor, and I for one will absolutely be one of the first to buy it.