“It's easy to sell good news like this, and the authors confidently rely on classic fallacious arguments. They argue by declaration, which is what makes the books so amusing. In matter-of-fact, authoritative tones, the authors tell us how plants and human beings exchange energy - or they describe what angels look like, whether or how they're sexed, how they communicate with human beings, and how they differ from ghosts. Readers might be expected to wonder, How do they know?” KnowsHumansLooksBookMatterFactsMightEnergyEasyHuman BeingsWonderAtheismReaderNewsAngelArgumentSellsPlantCommunicatePositive AtheismExpectedArguingGhostClassicToneRelyDeclarationGood NewsAmusingMatter Of Fact Author:Wendy Kaminer
“I'm not a writer who's preaching some particular philosophy or something but the big questions do concern me and I like to make my readers think and debate and argue with each other and look at some aspect of the world or some act of governance or war or power and have an angle they haven't considered before, and that's something I strive for and hopefully have accomplished.” ThinkingWorldLooksWarPhilosophyBigsHavensParticularReaderConcernAspectStriveArguingDebateHopefullyAccomplishedPreachingAngleGovernanceBig Questions Author:George R. R. Martin
“I am of the generation of writers who can get instant feedback from readers within hours of publication. The fan forum is extraordinary - readers from all over the world coming together to discuss, argue and debate scenes and characters from a novel. They add a layer to the story that I cannot write and yes, I will participate in that conversation and answer questions. After all, they are the people I'm writing for and their enthusiasm and questions really pushes me to raise the bar.” PeopleWorldWritingCharacterStoriesTogetherHoursAnswersNovelGenerationsFansReaderSceneConversationRaisesAddExtraordinaryArguingDebateBarsEnthusiasmInstantLayersFeedbackPublicationForumsComing TogetherRaising The Bar Author:Michael Scott
“Writing about unknown people means I spend a lot of time arguing to the reader about why it's worth knowing about them. That's challenging, but then the piece is pure discovery.” PeopleWritingMeanChallengesKnowingPiecesReaderPureDiscoveryArguing Author:Susan Orlean
“Merely that you start off with ideas buzzing around in your head, and then you try to give them the simpler, more graceful shape, of a feeling that a reader might share. You learn to sing with, not argue at, your possible readers.” GivingTryingIdeasFeelingsMightShareReaderShapesArguing Author:Adam Gopnik
“Very often, or perhaps more often, and even in very good collections - even in some of the best collections ever written, I would argue - it's because our "voicier" writers hew so closely to one given set of dictional tics that we as readers can't read the books all the way through in a single sitting, because if we did, the stories and their narrators would all start to bleed together.” IfsWayBookStoriesTogetherGivenWrittenReaderSittingVery GoodArguingCollectionsNarratorsTics Author:Roy Kesey
“If some readers take away the idea that animals deserve better treatment in general, then I certainly won't argue.” IfsIdeasAnimalReaderDeserveArguingTreatmentDeserve Better Author:Robert Paul Weston
“I intend Deaths in Venice to contribute both to literary criticism and to philosophy. But it's not "strict philosophy" in the sense of arguing for specific theses. As I remark, there's a style of philosophy - present in writers from Plato to Rawls - that invites readers to consider a certain class of phenomena in a new way. In the book, I associate this, in particular, with my good friend, the eminent philosopher of science, Nancy Cartwright, who practices it extremely skilfully.” WayBookPhilosophyCertainClassPracticeStyleParticularReaderCriticismPhilosopherArguingInvitesNew WaysGood FriendStrictAssociatesPlatoRemarksVeniceThesisNancyLiterary CriticismDeath In Venice Author:Philip Kitcher
“[Michael] Chabon is arguing in favor of what is at the same time an old-fashioned and very forward-thinking opening up - of taking off the class associations with those labels, because we grew up, or I certainly grew up, feeling that, "Oh, there's literary fiction, and beneath that, there's these other things." He's actually saying that they're all of equal merit, and in many cases, that work in the genres, or work that draws from the genres is more entertaining for readers, since it is our job to entertain people.” PeopleThinkingFeelingsJobsFictionClassCasesGrewReaderEqualGrew UpDrawsArguingFavorsOpeningLabelsGenreMeritAssociationEntertainingOld FashionedOpening UpGenre IsForward Thinking Author:Emily Barton