Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 63716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
“Dinner?” he grunted.
We donned our own parkas and kicked our way back through the rising snowdrifts to his cabin. When we got there, he had his small table set for three. Willow and I sat close together, our knees bumping, while we ate what looked like chili and nearly smelled like it, too.
“Like it?” Callum asked suspiciously.
“Delicious,” Willow said. “Is this Beyond Meat?”
Callum looked almost pleased that she’d identified it correctly. They got started on the merits and pitfalls of various meat substitutes that I couldn’t follow. Part of me wanted Willow to bring him back around to the subject at hand, but at least she was getting full sentences out of him. You could finally tell that the man had books inside of him, and his face was just shy of animated.
“Stem cell meat is next,” he said, pushing back his chair and standing up from the table. “You mark my words, Ms. Laurier. Invest now.”
Callum went back to the small bathroom, and I took the opportunity to ask Willow what the hell he was talking about.
“I don’t know how it works, but there’s a company that wants to grow meat from the stem cells of animals.” She nudged me. “Could be an interesting documentary.”
I couldn’t imagine anything less interesting, but then, I wasn’t in the food documentary business. Maybe she was right. Whatever she was, Callum seemed to like it. He’d also liked that she brought Buddenbrooks back over with her. When he came back from the bathroom, he wanted to talk about Thomas Mann.
“In his early twenties when he wrote it,” Callum said, as if he and Thomas Mann shared a kinship. He looked at Willow, “About your age, I’d expect.”
“Mid-twenties,” she demurred. “But I don’t think I have a literary classic in me.”
Callum’s mouth pulled down in the corners. “You’ve been corrupted by the movie business, haven’t you?”
“I can’t help it. I love it.” Willow glanced over at me. “So does Julian. He really cares about making good movies.”
It was beneath Callum to make a crack about aliens. To do so would require admitting that he knew what was going on in the pop culture world, and even if he did, he’d sleep outside in the snow before he admitted it. Still, he gave me a skeptical once over and went back to focusing on Willow.
“Tell me something,” he demanded. “Why is it that every time someone writes a good book, someone wants to turn it into a bad movie?”
I winced, wondering if he’d ever get over what the silver screen had done to his debut novel. If twenty years and millions of dollars hadn’t healed the wound, nothing ever would. Again, I cursed the studio that had discarded his subtle, beautiful story and bent the title around a hackneyed action movie.
“No one wants to turn it into a bad movie,” Willow corrected.
“A movie at all, then.” Callum threw up his hands. “Why does creation have to pander to every medium lately? Print isn’t enough, it has to be an audiobook or a movie or a miniseries or a podcast. I don’t understand why.”
His last words came out plaintive, like he really was asking Willow to explain. Willow looked caught off guard for a minute, but she quickly recovered. “Because what makes a book great isn’t the words alone. It’s the message, the story, the power of the narrative. Now, if you’re a reader, print is enough. But so many people aren’t. Movies help the power of the narrative in the book transcend the barriers of print. It allows your book to touch people who would have never experienced it otherwise.”
“So what you’re saying is, movies are for people who are too damn lazy to read,” Callum said, his frown deepening.
I knocked my leg into Willow’s under the table. Get him, the knock said. Willow didn’t need my encouragement or permission though. She was already leaning forward, a response on her tongue.
“No, it’s not always about laziness. It’s about access. It’s about time. The world is moving so fast now, Callum, you have no idea how fast your average person has to move to keep up with it. Reading for hours is a luxury. When I’m on a job, it’s nearly impossible for me to get enough free time to focus on a book, and I love reading. Movies give people like me access to brilliance like yours. It’s just a taste, but it’s better than nothing. And once they get a taste, you can believe they’ll want more. Movies aren’t taking people away from your books, they’re leading them to them.”
Her eyes were bright with passion. This wasn’t bullshit. Every word she said was true, and Callum could feel it. It had taken the indignant wind out of his puffed-up sails. I could feel his self-righteousness deflating.