The American Nightmare
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 : 3:20 PM : 2 comments
"The European stereotype is that Americans are greedy; older Americans stereotype younger ones as a mercenary generation out to get rich quick. What neither the Europeans nor the senior citizens understand is that young Americans want more money because they need more money. Even if they don't covet mansions or luxury cars, they need big bucks for housing, health care, and education. In the 1980s, young people sold out to enjoy a life of luxury; now they sell out to stay afloat.
...
A whole slew of retailers have grown wildly successful by noticing what mainstream economists and pundits have missed: although education and income often track together, for a whole class of people they don't. This class's incomes are usually lower than their education levels would suggest because their values lead them toward public interest work or creative pursuits. Seeking high-brow goods at modest prices, they furnish their homes at Ikea, feed their familes at Trader Joe's, and buy everything else they need at Target.
-The Trap: Selling Out to Stay Afloat in Winner-Take-All America-
Labels: Books
Sitting in the Tree
Saturday, February 7, 2009 : 2:32 PM : 0 comments
"My college students are romance-starved. Some of you may be asking, What has this to do with my students who are in middle or high school? I know this leap is unscientific, but I'm making it anyway: by the time your former students are midway through college and sitting in my classroom, many (dare I say most?) are tired of sex, sex, sex. They're empty, spent, and longing for seriously chaste, old-fashioned romance -- we're talking stargazing and hand-holding, the end -- and they have no idea how to find it. So now is the perfect time to introduce your students to sweet, innocent-yet-sexy romance novels. That way, when they get older, they'll have narrative models to show them how to make simple, romantic gestures (like asking someone out or setting up a first kiss), and they won't end up having a sex-life crisis in college.
Writing a kissing scene is hard. Writing a good kissing scene (or, for that matter, any romantic encounter) is even more difficult. When I was working on my first novel, somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that eventually I would have to write a kissing scene. This was a daunting thought. I blush even now just remembering that I actually wrote one! I think I may have typed it with one hand screening my eyes (you know, like, when you get embarrassed and can't stand to watch). Therefore, I stand in great admiration of any writer who can pull off a romantic scene with flair and ease."
-Donna Freitas, Be Still My Heart: A Shameless Guide to Sweet, Sexy Romance Novels for Teens and Tweens-
Labels: Books, Relationships
Cup of Joe
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 : 1:21 PM : 0 comments
"Erdos's unadulterated self was less real and less familiar to him than his adulterated self, and that is a condition that holds, more or less, for the rest of society as well. Part of what it means to be human in the modern age is that we have come to construct our emotional and cognitive states not merely from the inside out -- with thought and intention -- but from the outside in, with chemical additives. The modern personality is, in this sense, a synthetic creation: skillfully regulated and medicated and dosed with caffeine so that we can always be awake and alert and focused when we need to be.
On a bet, no doubt, we could walk away from caffeine if we had to. But what would be the point? The lawyers wouldn't make their billable hours. The young doctors would fall behind in their training. The physicists might still be stuck out in the New Mexico desert. We'd set the world back a month."
-Malcolm Gladwell, Java Man-
Labels: Books
Thump
Monday, January 5, 2009 : 5:57 PM : 1 comments
"I never had any wild crush on her, and that used to worry me about the long-term future: I used to think -- and given the way we ended up, maybe I still do -- that all relationships need the kind of violent shove that a crush brings, just to get you started and to push you over the humps. And then, when the energy from that shove has gone and you come to something approaching a halt, you have a look around see what you've got. It could be something completely different, it could be something roughly the same, but gentler and calmer, or it could be nothing at all."
-Nick Hornby, High Fidelity-
Labels: Books, Relationships
The Secret
Thursday, December 18, 2008 : 3:44 PM : 0 comments
"There are few things humans are more dedicated to than unhappiness. Had we been placed on earth by a malign creator for the exclusive purpose of suffering, we would have good reason to congratulate ourselves on our enthusiastic response to the task. Reasons to be inconsolable abound: the frailty of our bodies, the fickleness of love, the insincerities of social life, the compromises of friendship, the deadening effects of habit. In the face of such persistent ills, we might naturally expect that no event would be awaited with greater anticipation than the moment of our own extinction."
-How Proust Can Change Your Life-
I'm working through "How Proust Can Change Your Life," by Alain de Botton. It's slotted mysteriously under self-help and I guess that's useful from a marketing standpoint but I've found it just to be a great book full of interesting ideas and more personal/social commentary along the lines of Friendship: An Expose. Regardless of exactly what it is, it's a fascinating book and written beautifully.Basically there are chapters based on Proust's writings and worldview on how to love your life, how to express your emotions, how to be a good friend, how to be happy in love, how to read, how to interpret art, and how to revel in the details. Fine, it's a self-help book. Whatevers. But it's one that's written well, isn't dumbed down to simple "Life is blah blah blah" type of pronouncements, and holds no promises for a better life. It's just a good read to get you thinking.
Of particular interest to me was his chapter on friendship, which spoke to my heart and gave me confirmation that the way I think/treat friendships might just be okay after all. Proust had cynical views about friendships in general but yet he was a tremendous and much loved friend. "It meant that Proust's overwhelming priority in any encounter was to ensure that he would be liked, remembered, and thought well of." Some call it being manipulative, some call it being a calculating bastard, I see it as a defense of cynical, self-centered, but ultimately great, friendships. Proust and I must get together more, he seems like a fascinating guy.
"Given the effort and strategic intelligence he devoted to friendship, it shouldn't surprise us. For instance, it is assumed, usually by people who don't have many friends, that friendship is a hallowed sphere in which what we wish to talk about effortlessly coincides with others' interests. Proust, less optimistic than this, recognized the likelihood of discrepancy, and concluded that he should always be the one to ask questions and address himself to what was on your mind rather than risk boring you with what was on his."
Labels: Books
Stuff I've Been Reading 12
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 : 4:24 PM : 0 comments
BOOKS READ:
So I've been keeping this column for a year now. It's proven to be useful in remembering what I've been reading but beyond that I'm not sure it's served much purpose. I do enjoy writing it though and it's been fun to go looking through what I've read in the past month. In the long run it makes more sense to do this over at Goodreads since most of my reading friends are on there. I'm sure it'll be easier to compile and update too. So I'm thinking this may be my last "Stuff I've Been Reading."Evil Genius - Catherine Jinks Top of the World: 2008 Boston Celtics - Peter May 24 Girls in 7 Days - Alex Bradley Sex and the Single Girl - Helen Gurley Brown A Step From Heaven - An Na Good Omens - Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman Shenzhen: A Travelogue From China - Guy Delisle Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson
With that in mind, I wanted to do some statistical analysis on exactly what sorts of things I've spent my time on. A month or two ago, one of my friends asked me for my Top 50 fiction books. I didn't think I'd read that many good books period, much less fiction. But I'm a sucker for lists so I gave it my best shot. I petered out around forty books I'd generally recommend. It seemed depressing. Like all this time spent reading, a literal lifetime, and I couldn't compile fifty great books to recommend. I finished my list but only by really stretching the bounds of "great." I had to resort to using "classic," which really means nothing. I had to even dig deep into middle school and high school books. "Where the Red Fern Grows" anyone?
Roughly speaking, I've read 75 books this year. That doesn't sound too bad, considering it's an average of a book every five days. But that's taking into account books that aren't really books. Light fluffy page turners, non-fiction topical things, and YA novels that are high in excitement but really only take a few hours to breeze through. Plus, compiling the list from my Stuff I've Been Reading 1-12 is a bit misleading because there's some books I've reread and some books I didn't fully finish. There was only one month I read nothing, March, which coincided with having to turn in one of the major drafts of Exclusively Chloe.
The general breakdown goes like this: 75 total books read. 22 fiction, 30 non-fiction, 18 young adult, and 5 on how to write or writing related. Of those thirty non-fiction books, eight dealt with the Celtics, basketball, or chess. I don't mean to separate out YA but they are generally shorter and easy to breeze through and often were read for research purposes. Of the fiction books, three were short story compilations, five or six were part of a sci-fi/fantasy series, and only three or four were heavy and serious book-like. Oh and one was a graphic novel.
Overall, for my year of reading, I'd be able to say that I'd recommend seven books that were definitely really great. My top ten looks like this, with the bottom three being a bit of a stretch.
That's kind of, well, sad. It means that approximately for every ten books I read, only one is truly memorable and worth recommending. Then again, that's probably a similar ratio with movies.
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon
- Love is a Mix Tape - Rob Sheffield
- How To Be Alone - Jonathan Franzen
- Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson
- Watchmen - Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
- The Princess Bride - William Goldman
- Good Omens - Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
- Soon I Will Be Invincible - Austin Grossman
- Lullaby - Chuck Palahniuk
- Personal Days - Ed Park
I made three large Amazon orders this year, each time for about a dozen books. I rediscovered the wonders of the library, tried to resist buying things in brick and mortar establishments, and received lots of free YA books provided to me. Total cost of buying books (which I can write off!) is probably $600. A small price to pay for edification and knowledge right? Then again, I question what I really remember from most of these books. My long term memory is shot and even though I was fascinated by books about Google, McDonald's, Wal-Mart, The Fifties, biological civilization, Wall Street, I'm not sure what I could recall too many interesting facts or stories.
All in all, it's probably a sign that I should divide up my reading time better. Read some books that have heft (and smaller print), try to read and process, and more importantly, remember what might be striking about each piece. Maybe it's time to start a book journal to jot down thoughts, great lines, and interesting themes that need to be explored.
Anyhow, thanks Nick Hornby for the inspiration! It's been fun.
*Clap*Clap*Clap*
Thursday, November 27, 2008 : 12:44 PM : 3 comments
Since the book is so close to completion, I've been given the go ahead to write out my dedications and acknowledgements. The dedication was easy, I knew/know who I want to dedicate every one of my books to because she's the one that's always championed my writing career (Hi Lilly!). Heck, without her there would be no writing career. So dedicating this book to Lilly was a no-brainer. Plus, in an egregious oversight, I wasn't given the chance to dedicate or acknowledge anyone for the first book. This is my opportunity to make it all right.The acknowledgements section was a bit harder. I knew who I needed to deeply thank, all the people who had shepherded the project from beginning to end. That numbered four -- Lilly and Stefanie at Full Circle and Karen and Grace at Penguin. They were invaluable in helping shape the project and in many instances, contributing incredible ideas and solving knotty plot issues.
Beyond that, there were a few fashion consultants I would often IM or shoot a quick email to when looking for sounding boards or expertise. In one case, I asked my friend to describe the processes involved in her full makeup routine. I took meticulous notes. Then she IMed me back awhile later to say that one of the steps was wrong. Something about brushing versus smearing. Thank goodness for that, otherwise my cover as a knower of makeup application would have been blown. Generally, one of the best parts of writing the book was sending out random IMs to people that might have said, "Quick, how do you feel about gladiator sandals? Will they still be hot in two years?"
I asked my editor what the difference between a dedication and acknowledgement was. Her answer: "The dedication is basically who you dedicate the book to, whereas the acknowledgments page is where you thank everyone who helped you along the way -- or anyone else you want to thank." While that sounds plain and simple, it's not as easy to do as you'd think. I even Googled around to find out how other authors handled their dedications versus acknowledgements.
Since I didn't have the space to thank everyone in the acknowledgements, I thought I would compile a short list today on the most thankful of days. First, I have to thank the fashion team, which was headed by Des, Meggo, Helen and Dominique. Many names will have to be left off here because I can't remember everyone I contacted. Just know that your contributions were not wasted because now I think I know what's trendy and cool.George, Lynn, and Janelle were consistently enthusiastic about the project and were the first people to see and read through the manuscript. I sent them the first draft and they seemed to enjoy it. It's hard to underestimate the relief that comes when anyone reads your work and can say nice things about it, even if they are related to you or former roommates. The three of them, along with James, were also my cover design consultants. Ultimately, the cover was the work of the publisher but it was nice to have their opinions and insight anyway.
Thanks to all the people who inspired names, personalities, quirks, and little tidbits of fun. Part of the fun of this project was being able to inject little Easter eggs for people. I'm not sure how many remained but hopefully there's a fair amount in there. I'm creating fiction, I can write anything I want! That's so weird!
And then there was Cleo, Amanda, Jennifer, Dhonielle, and Christina, who all read the book in various almost done states and gave me the general thumbs up -- plus a heap of useful feedback. Amanda had even made it through in one sitting, the day after I sent the manuscript over to her. Which says something (good) right?
Last of all, I have to thank my mom. Because everyone thanks their mom! Especially when you're living with her while you finished the manuscript. And I think I'll like to append a special thanks to George because without her there would have been no us (magazine).
Labels: Books
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 : 11:12 PM : 1 comments
Malcolm Gladwell's got a new book coming out. It's called "Outliers: The Story of Success." Even if you're not familiar with Gladwell, it's doubtless you've seen The Tipping Point or Blink. His books have their detractors and their faults but they are certainly entertaining and thought provoking. In fact, I believe Gladwell's work is overlooked a bit because his books are so easily accessible and populist. I'm not sure if he started the trend of this type of book but stuff like Freakonomics seems to me a direct result of Gladwell's strong sales and influence.A few years ago I discovered Gladwell's website, where he's got all his articles from the New Yorker archived. It's a treasure trove. His pieces date all the way back to 1996 and each of them are worth a read. I find Gladwell's observations more gripping and easier to digest in shorter format, where it seems like he's not stretching as far to make a point. Plus, he really digs into some fascinating topics, many of them focusing on the (perceived) role of intelligence. Some of his other articles I've really enjoyed have been focused on food. Constructing the perfect cookie, investigating why ketchup doesn't come in as many varieties as mustard, or how caffeine created the modern world. This is stuff that's awesome to know.
Basically I think the appeal of reading Gladwell (aside from it just being interesting) is that it lets you feel smart, if just for a bit. You feel like you've really learned something and can now look at a part of the world in an illuminated light. His articles are like the type of fun conversation and observations you wish you could have with a bunch of friends over drinks or at the dinner table but rarely do because really, who in the world knows all this stuff? I saw Gladwell on a CNN round table once and was immediately struck by how much he reminded me of Cillian Murphy. Here's a video of him at TED talking about finding the perfect spaghetti sauce. I think I'd definitely invite him round to dinner if I had the chance.
Here's an excerpt from his new book addressing why Asian children are better at math. I mean, aside from the fact that we just study harder and our parents would kill us if we sucked.
Labels: Books
Stuff I've Been Reading 11
Wednesday, November 5, 2008 : 12:13 AM : 1 comments
BOOKS READ:
I can't really report that I finished my stated goal of reading a dozen YA books. Goal, unaccomplished. However, starting and finishing are two altogether different things and in that respect, I probably did shoot through about ten YA books on hand and kind of got my fill and got all inspired -- which was the point. Now that I feel like I'm a semi-accredited YA author, I take interest in the debate about "What is a young adult novel?" Some people feel like a young adult novel would basically be dumbed down versions of adult books. Like cartoons versus live action shows. Obviously this is a broad, and very faulty, stereotype. Cartoons are real too, just like YA novels.Chuck Klosterman IV - Chuck Klosterman Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs - Chuck Klosterman No one belongs here more than you - Miranda July Love is a Mix Tape - Rob Sheffield Geek Magnet - Kieran Scott Model Spy (The Specialists) - Shannon Greenland Westminster Abby (S.A.S.S.) - Micol Ostow Cindy Ella - - Robin Palmer Plus many other YA books flipped through
But there is a difference between the two, so what is it? Well, it's hard to say. It's not the language, that's for sure. Teens probably have a better vocabularies than most adults so you don't have to shy away from using big words or anything. So that's certainly not the difference. I do like this quote, which attributes some of the difference between young adult and adult books to a matter of perspective.
"The protagonist in YA fiction is almost always a young person, from a teenager to late teens to early twenties. Yes, adult fiction has characters of this age, but generally adult fiction looks in on the young person's life, whereas YA fiction lives out the young person's life. This is perhaps the biggest difference between the Young Adult titles and adult titles. YA titles will tend to be told from the point of view of the young person."To be honest, I was confused and not entirely sure of the definition myself until I really started doing YA research. In the beginning, I wondered if YA books were the equivalent of PG-13 movies. No nudity, less swearing, drinking and drugs only as a morality lesson, and not too much on-screen violence. I wondered if you could touch upon themes that were dark or serious. Well, now I know. You can do anything you want. A good book is a good book and the young adult classification isn't there to put some sort of gauzy happy filter over everything.
-Ian Bone, Playing with the Big Kids-
The best example of a book that's always in the YA section nowadays is "The Outsiders," which everyone read in school. I don't think I would have associated it with YA until I kept seeing it shelved there and realized that the fact it's about teenagers, told from a teenager's perspective, and S.E. Hinton was fourteen when she wrote it makes it the prototypical YA book. But The Outsiders has violence, death, cursing, murder, alcohol, drugs, and all sorts of bad things in it. And it's a timeless classic.
"The language can be chaste or peppered with all sorts of choice profanities. Such a story could deal with vaguely sexualized 'crushes' without there being graphic portrayals of sex; another such story could deal with the confusion that revolves around the unfolding of one's sexuality. There is nothing inherently 'fluffy' or 'light' in such stories, even if the emotions expressed might seem puerile to those of us who are older and more cynical about matters of the heart and loins.I've never experienced this -- and I can't wait to! -- but YA authors are often looked down upon in the literary world. There's a NY Times editorial from an author who comes to terms (sort of) with her book being bought by a YA imprint. Like it's not "real" that she's a YA author. It all sounds like the snobby stereotyping that comic books, cartoons, board games, and other childish pursuits have to fight against; that they're not as serious or important as other types of art. This is definitely a fight I would gladly suit up for.
I have found that the best-written YA lit (defined here as being stories that focus on common adolescent themes and worries, often with a teen protagonist) is very frank and honest with its audience, even if the said audience is as disparate and divided as the stereotypical school lunchroom seating arrangement."
-OF Blog of the Fallen-
And don't look now but YA novels are huge money makers. The YA market attracts all sorts of "real" authors and more than ever, shows and movies are based on fare aimed at young adults. Hello Twilight, I can't wait to watch you soon!
"'I see now that dismissing YA books because you're not a young adult is a little bit like refusing to watch thrillers on the grounds that you're not a policeman or a dangerous criminal, and as a consequence, I've discovered a previously ignored room at the back of the bookstore that's filled with masterpieces I've never heard of.'"
-Nick Hornby-
(Next) Summer Lovin'
Monday, November 3, 2008 : 3:48 AM : 9 comments
It's like really official, the book is nearly complete. I have advance copies of it sitting right here and it looks amazing. I wasn't expecting a full blown cover or anything, just the words set up and printed out, but the advance version looks just like the real thing. Technically this version (advance uncorrected proof, "not for sale") is sent out to be read for minor corrections, last minute changes, and that type of thing, but it feels absolutely perfect. I know this isn't the final but it sure looks like it's ready to be passed around and ogled over.I don't even know if I've really talked about the project publicly but now that I've gone through final drafts and it's 95% of the way there, it's time to start talking about it all the time. First off, it's called "Exclusively Chloe" and it's about a girl who grows up as the adopted daughter of Hollywood royalty. It's a YA novel and geared toward teen girls but everyone will want to check it out because it's me writing as a girl!
My inner teen girl has been silent for far too long and she's been itching to fall in love, to complain, to shop, and to well, shop some more. I won't even lie and say that research for this book wasn't fun. The few people who have read bits of this thing have all been like "Wow, I'm shocked this is you." Or one person said, "This is totally you." Anyway, it's about 245 pages, is being put out by Penguin/Puffin/Speak, and will be officially released May 14, 2009. I believe it'll be a bit under ten bucks so it's super affordable and totally worth every penny. Start saving up now kiddies, everyone on your list will need one.
There's already a few blurbs out there on the Internet and the Amazon page is ready to take orders so I'm ready to reveal the full cover and start the talk. Here's the back cover copy to whet your appetite.
"Chloe-Grace can't help it: she's spectacular. How could she not be, with celebrity parents who have been the queen and king of Hollywood for years? But Chloe is a celebrity unto herself as well -- she's the first ever celebrity-adopted kid in Hollywood. Some kids grow up with silver spoons in their mouths; Chloe had an entire set of platinumware shoved in her face, along with two hundred paparazzi.
But now Chloe's sixteen, and she is tired of every undesired moment of the world's attention. Normal kids get to keep secret diaries. Chloe can barely keep her sanity -- until she thinks about what it would be like to be a 'normal' kid in a regular school. To really understand it, she would need to go undercover. So she gets a 'make-under' at the hands of her mother's fabulous stylist, and enters the normal world. But she soon finds out that there is just as much drama there as there is in Hollywood...."
A Heartbreaking Work
Friday, October 24, 2008 : 12:34 AM : 1 comments
I just wrapped up the last few pages of Rob Sheffield's "Love is a Mix Tape" and I gotta say, it's got me feeling sad and blue. I don't know why I never read the thing -- what a great title -- or ever spent more than twenty seconds flipping pages but the book is amazing. I guess I avoided it because I thought it was all about music and when I looked at the mix tape songs that introduced each chapter, it was all music I'd never heard of or didn't really like.What I didn't realize was that the title was absolutely literal. Rob's mix tapes are all about love and more specifically, love for his wife, who died tragically a few years after they got married. Sheffield's writing is very intimate and poignant and his thoughts on falling hopelessly and madly in love, and then losing that love would hit close to home for anyone. Plus the way he talks about music is outstanding (he's a music journalist), even though I didn't know 90% of the songs he was referencing.
Seriously, this book was sad sad sad but in a breathtaking wonderful way and I'm delighted to have read it. It's like unbearably heavy and light at the same time. Here's an excerpt where he describes his wife, Renee.
"Girls take up a lot of room. I had a lot of room for this one. She had more energy than anybody I'd ever met. She was in love with the world. She was warm and loud and impulsive. One day, she announced she had found the guitar of her dreams at a local junk shop. I said, 'You don't even play the guitar.'
She said, 'This is the guitar that's gonna teach me.'
Unlike me, Renee was not shy; she was a real people-pleaser. She worried way too much about what people thought of her, wore her heart on her sleeve, expected too much from people, and got hurt too easily. She kept other people's secrets like a champ, but told her own too fast. She expected the world not to cheat her and was always surprised when it did. She was finishing her MFA in fiction, and was always working on stories and novels. She had more ideas than she had time to finish. She loved to get up early in the morning. She loved to talk about wild things she wanted to do in the future.
She'd never gone two weeks without a boyfriend since she was fifteen. (Two weeks? I could do a year standing on my head.) Before she met me, her wish list for the next boyfriend had contained three items: older than her (I failed that one), rural (that one, too), and no facial hair (I would have needed six months' notice to slap an acceptable sideburn together)."
-Love is a Mix Tape-
Bubble Boy
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 : 11:10 PM : 1 comments
You remember that fun game we like to play? Which wedding would you go to if it was scheduled on the same day? Friend A or Friend B's? Well, a real life example of this has happened and not only are the stakes high, the person involved is a possible bridesmaid for both weddings. I don't know what the proper protocol here is but I'd assume it's first dibs. Which is kind of terrible if you think about it because then it's like someone's basically making a decision for you.Well here's what's going aside from the fun game of Wedding Roulette. My book is practically done and going through copy edits. I hear that galleys are coming in the next week or so, which represents the first time I'll see it bound and looking like a book. To be honest, throughout the entire process, I've never seen it all at once in physical format. Usually I'm reading it off the computer or printed out in snips and pages. A few weeks ago, when I turned in the final draft, I had a chance to print it all out and sat down at the pool to go through it.
It was a bit nerve wracking. I tried to clear my head and think about this book as something I was totally unfamiliar with and resisted the urge to go through with a pen correcting things, nit picking, and generally trying to author it. It turned out to be easier said than done. Even though it's a brisk read, I stopped halfway through because I just couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't go through it without having that writing voice ringing in my head. I had to beat a hasty retreat and finish it later.
So when these galleys come in, I'm going to give it another go and really read it in one sitting. Hopefully there will have been enough distance between writing and reading for me to enjoy it. I had a friend read a similar versioned draft and the day after she read it, she emailed me and was like "I'm done." I was a bit floored by how fast she'd read it and felt relieved that someone had been able to finish it. In one sitting no less.
Her comments were basically, "Okay, so I know you're not gay (at least, I think I know), but I seriously had a hard time adjusting to the fact that you wrote that, especially at the beginning. It captured something in the FEMALE teenage mind so well that I can't wait to make my best friend read it."
So that's like my first real review and it blurs the line of my masculinity but in a totally great way. I think there's only been four or five people who've even looked at parts of the book -- aside from anyone involved in it -- and mostly the comments have been positive, which is a relief.
So yeah, the book is pretty much done and coming early summer 2009. I'm sure I'll be talking about it a lot more because really, it's kind of exciting.
Stuff I've Been Reading 10
Monday, October 6, 2008 : 2:31 AM : 0 comments
BOOKS READ:
My personal goal while being back in San Diego and settling down again is to read a dozen YA novels in the next month. What I've discovered while working on this goal is that I can't read YA stuff along with other things. Usually I have a few books I flip around in but when I'm trying to get into the head space or tone of a YA novel, I can't read really read anything else or I lose my train of thought, as it were. Or maybe I just like these YA novels so much that I'm getting sucked in and don't want to stop.Girls For Breakfast - David Yoo Watchmen - Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons Personal Days - Ed Park Sweep - Cate Tiernan How to Write A Damn Good Novel - James N. Frey Simon Bloom, The Gravity Keeper - Michael Reisman
Other things I'm hoping to fit into this schedule are books about reading and writing. One of them is titled "How to Read a Book." It's advertised as "the classic guide to intelligent reading" and comes highly recommended. I kind of love it, even if it's slow going. Seeing as I've never really taken a literature or writing class, I feel like I need to self educate myself, and fast. I was talking with a friend the other day and she said that I could probably remedially just learn some proper grammar by working through the right books. That would involve discipline and self motivation of course, but it's something I should challenge myself to do because it's my livelihood!
I mean, when I was playing with Lulu Titlescorer, a fun little app that tells you the chances your book will be a bestseller based on the title, I got lost on the little drop-down boxes about the words in my title. I mean, do I really fully understand what a "proper noun used as adjective/modifier" or "preposition/article" are? Um, maybe not.
I took my best swing at it and my chances of producing a bestseller with my next book is 69%. Not bad right? Roll the dice and cue the champagne!
The Sky is Falling?
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 : 3:22 AM : 0 comments
"The demise of publishing has been predicted since the days of Gutenberg. But for most of the past century -- through wars and depressions -- the business of books has jogged along at a steady pace. It's one of the main (some would say only) advantages of working in a 'mature' industry: no unsustainable highs, no devastating lows. A stoic calm, peppered with a bit of gallows humor, prevailed in the industry.
Survey New York's oldest culture industry this season, however, and you won't find many stoics. What you will find are prophets of doom, Cassandras in blazers and black dresses arguing at elegant lunches over What Is to Be Done. Even best-selling publishers and agents fresh from seven-figure deals worry about what's coming next. Two, five years from now -- who knows? Life moves fast in the waning era of print; publishing doesn't."
-The End-
Labels: Books
Stuff I've Been Reading 9
Saturday, September 13, 2008 : 1:21 PM : 2 comments
BOOKS READ:
- Fortress of Solitude - Jonathan Lethem
- The Big Three - Peter May
- King's Gambit - Paul Hoffman
I remember whipping through tons of books when I lived in New York (Jersey City) because I'd be able to read all the time while waiting for subways. I loved it. I could remain in my little zone and read, read, read, without the fear of falling asleep, which is always a possibility when reading at home. Commuter reading is totally the best.
While in New York, I had a chance to visit my publisher's office and they took me to the "book room." Imagine a super large closet filled with piles of books everywhere. I couldn't have been more excited and they further enhanced my childish glee by literally handing me tons of books to take with me. I couldn't get enough and was only restricted by how much I might be able to carry. It was a dream come true! And then my editor was kind enough to say "Oh if there's anything around you see published by us, tell me and we'll send you a copy."
Um, seriously?
The last book I managed to start this month was Hoffman's chess book. The first half of it is one of the better chess books I've read. Hoffman writes about chess in this really exciting way and illuminates many of the players and characters in chess. While "Searching for Bobby Fischer" is hard to beat for an emotional chess story, I have to say that Hoffman's book is quickly climbing my list of must-reads for chess enthusiasts. Next up, I want to read "Chess Bitch" by Jennifer Shahade, which I can't believe I've never picked up yet, even though I see it all the time.
Fred Waitzkin, the author of Searching for Bobby Fischer, has another chess book about Garry Kasparov called Mortal Games, which is sadly out of print but totally worth tracking down. I love chess books that tell a story of chess, whether it be personal or historical. If only I had the ability to actually play chess to the level where strategy books could become decipherable. Â Sadly, I'm not even a patzer. But I'm starting to think I should turn my attentions to becoming a better chess player since my physical pursuits are clearly slipping.
It's a Wrap
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 : 7:31 PM : 1 comments
You know you don't get to choose your covers right? Writing a book is like birthing a baby and then having someone else dress them. All this work and you don't get to pick what they wear? How is that fair? Well, it's not about being fair, it's about expertise. Just because you can write doesn't you know a thing about what looks good on a book shelf. The point of the book cover is to move units. Sure, some are artistic and truly works of art, but the book still needs to put its best foot forward to sell and a great cover can do that for you.For my first book, since it was part of a series, the options seemed limited. We got to suggest a few ideas of what might make a good cover but basically the publisher showed me some samples, asked for some feedback, and then created a cover that was totally new to my eyes. At first, I was like "an Eskimo in the snow with a laptop? I don't get it." But then as I came to terms with the surprise, I realized that it really was an eye catching cover and so much better than having some sort of computer screen themed cover.
An Eskimo sitting around with a laptop never looked so good -- and no, it's not me on the cover.
Just for kicks, here's a few (early) mocks of cover ideas. The one that scared me the most was the one with hunks in Speedos standing around bullhorns but those were quickly jettisoned, thank god. I mean, a cover with copious amounts of pink would be fine, but Speedos and bullhorns? I'd never live it down. Check the link to some of those original cover ideas and as you'll see, they're all pretty much themed around the idea of a blog being used as a way to broadcast your ideas. Take a gander.
This time around, with the fiction book, my publisher's pretty much just chose a cover and I didn't see any mock ups. I did get a chance to talk about my preferences of course. I told them I loved matte finish, I liked illustrated covers, I liked minimalistic designs. They listened politely and then came at me with a cover that is none of these things. But it is distinctive and will jump off the shelf. With book covers, just trust the people who are kind enough to let you write the insides, and let them do their design marketing things.
Someone told me a horror story about this author who didn't want his cover touched before publication. This was a cover he designed himself. It was garish, with no style, four different fonts, and just an ugly ugly mess. Yet he had the gall to insist that his cover was the best one for his work. Trust the professionals until proven wrong man.
Labels: Books
Stuff I've Been Reading 8
Friday, August 8, 2008 : 5:20 PM : 1 comments
BOOKS READ:
- Red Prophet - Orson Scott Card
- After the Quake - Haruki Murakami
- Skellig - David Almond
- Charmed Thirds - Megan McCafferty
- Teen Girlfriends - Julia DeVillers
- Wonder Boys - Michael Chabon
- Mary Jane - Judith O'Brien
Out of this month's books, many of them were friend recommendations of one sort or another. I started Card's Alvin Maker series last month and I even have all seven books on hand but I just can't get into it. I love the Ender's series (actually, I mailed a copy to Shelley and she liked it so I felt great) so by extension I like Card. I received solid recommendations for Alvin Maker from both Jennifer and Janice and even with all that, the first two books just didn't work for me. Like I probably enjoyed twenty percent of what I was reading. I slogged through five hundred pages like it was a chore. And I did it for friendship! I decided to let that go and come back around to it in a few years or something. Friendship is worth one book apiece, not seven total.
"Murakami" has been the word of the month. Jennifer gave James and Bassemah different Murakami's to read (Wind Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore, respectively). They were both well received and much appreciated. I happened to start the Murakami short story collection one day at her house and ended up reading most of it. I feel like having "Murakami" flow effortlessly off your tongue can only do good things for your literary game. Japanese names just sound so authentically smart. Then again, if you confuse designer Takashi Murakami with author Haruki Murakami, you'll just look uncultured. Or racist. Or both.
Nick Hornby, best selling author and not a personal friend of mine by any stretch of the imagination, recommended Skellig in one of his columns. He gave it a hearty two thumbs up and the subject matter and potential audience (YA) seemed pertinent to my life right now. Instead I found the story a bit weak and boring. I don't know if I can trust Nick anymore. Just one small disagreement with a gushy review of his and I'm already questioning our imaginary book friendship. It's so hard you know?
One of my favorite book recommenders, Christina, really likes Megan McCafferty's Sloppy Firsts and the Jessica Darling books that followed. Of course, the library didn't carry anything except the third one and I pretty much just shot her recommendation through the foot by diving into the series backwards, from worst to best. Also, I took out Don DeLillo's White Noise for the second time but didn't even start it. Everyone tells me I'll love Don but I just can't seem to motivate to give him a fair shake.
If someone told me that a best friend could be made by just stepping outside for a quick coffee date, I would go right? So why can't I just start the DeLillo? Am I afraid it'll ruin the credibility of book recommenders I care about if I hate it? Maybe... I'm just afraid of disappointment alright? What does it say that everyone absolutely agrees I'll like DeLillo and then I don't like him? Do my friends know me less than I think they do or am I just too dumb to recognize quality work? See the potential problems here? "It's complicated" isn't just a relationship status, it applies to absolutely everything.
I think if I'm going to recommend something, I have to get over the idea that if they hate it, it'll reflect poorly on me. Reading is such a personal experience that you can't really judge exactly what a person will like versus what they'll hate. Even if the writing style, the genre, the everything matches up, you can still end up with a busted book blind date. So the way to keep plugging along pushing books on other people is to just blame them when they don't like something. It takes all the guilt out of the process I think. Once again, self-delusionment and non-responsibility seems to be the answer. I'm sensing a theme here.
No Money, No Problems
Sunday, July 27, 2008 : 12:31 AM : 0 comments
"I keep hoping the corporations will wake up and realize that publishing is not, in fact, a normal business with a nice healthy relationship to capitalism. Elements of publishing are, or can be forced to be, successfully capitalistic: the textbook industry is all too clear a proof of that. How-to books and the like have some market predictability. But inevitably some of what publishers publish is, or is partly, literature-art.
And the relationship of art to capitalism is, to put it mildly, vexed. It has not been a happy marriage. Amused contempt is about the pleasantest emotion either partner feels for the other. Their definitions of what profiteth a man are too different."
-Staying Awake: Notes on the alleged decline of reading-
"Finally, there's the money issue. An editorial assistant at a major magazine is unlikely to make more than $30,000 a year, whereas a successful blogger right out of college could pull in as much as $50,000 -- a big difference when it could mean getting out of a bedbug-infested Bushwick loft share.
Of course, at the upper echelons of the industry, things are a bit different. A contract at a major national magazine can be worth upward of $5 a word; contract writers are generally paid a set yearly amount for a specific number of articles, or a particular word count. But freelance rates are generally much lower.
For most established but not well-known writers, $2 per word at a major magazine is standard, though usually negotiable. So even if a fledgling magazine writer were to write one 1,500-word feature a month for a national magazine -- which would in itself be a difficult feat to pull off -- he or she would be pulling in $36,000 a year before taxes. That's also assuming that none of the stories were killed or held and that everyone paid on time."
-The Decline and Fall of the Writer-
Labels: Books
WYSIWYG
Monday, July 21, 2008 : 1:16 AM : 1 comments
Don't read books by their covers? Yeah right. Studies have shown that an eye-catching cover can increase sales a gazillion percent. Heck, when browsing through a bookstore all I'm doing is walking around picking up books to see if the cover material is matte, my favorite.A great book cover even alters my reading habits. Reading a book with a great cover makes you be more careful with it, because you're not only reading the art of work inside, but also preserving the work of art outside. No hanging out gushing water while brushing your teeth while reading these gems. No sir. Keep it safe and tidy before reading.
Just like in any art form, there are some serious standouts. Chip Kidd is a name you hear alot. I recently started paying attention to which designers are responsible for the covers that catch my eye in a crowded bookstore and it's like a whole new world. I'm partial to the vintage look and just covers that are beautiful and simple, or visually witty, or able to capture the spirit of the entire book in just one image. It makes a great book even better.
I mean, look at something like the photo inset on this post. That's an alternate cover image (sketch) idea for The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, which is set in New York and involves a fictionalized super hero called the Escapist who can break out of chains like Houdini. The Empire State Building in chains is exactly that plus the style of the drawing evokes the 1940s setting of the book. It's super simple, and maybe obvious, but just awesome.
Check out the New York Times' Book Design Review and Covers for reviews on, well, book covers. Through reading this blog, I've been introduced to the work of Henry Sene Yee, the creative director at Picador, which regularly wins awards for their book covers. It's fascinating because Yee talks about the design process, the evolution of a book's cover, and also showcases ideas that never panned out. Here's an article with him talking about book design. David Drummond offers similar access to the book cover design world on his blog.
Seriously, feel free to judge a book by its cover. Cry if you want to, cry if you want to. You would cry too if it happened to you.
Labels: Books
Stuff I've Been Reading 7
Tuesday, July 1, 2008 : 7:24 AM : 0 comments
BOOKS READ:
- Seventh Son - Orson Scott Card
- Despite Everything - Aaron Cometbus
- Reading Like a Writer - Francine Prose
- Unfinished Business - Jack McCallum
- Bird by Bird - Anne Lamott
That's just a poor excuse though. Readers read, period. But so much of my time is spent in front of the computer I guess I'm skimming articles and blogs more than actually reading. So what separates me from the masses of "non-readers" who only consume short pieces and articles in magazines and online? Not much I guess.
And I quote "non-readers" because people who don't read books are considered capable of reading but not really readers. There's a few simple categories of readers. While I'm here, I'll just make a quick ranking.
Apparently length matters. Readers are people who can curl up with a book and commit to something longer than ten pages. Non-readers basically consume things in little bite sized pieces.Zero (0)
Can't/won't read at all. Like anything more complex than a menu would be taxing. Paragraphs are soooo long.
Favorite book: The funny pages
See Spot Run (1)
Reads a magazine on a flight or a newspaper during breakfast. Books with pictures and articles with bullet points are super awesome. Light internet browsing.
Favorite book: Who Moved My Cheese?
Blue Fish, Red Fish (2)
People who like to read but often only in niche categories. Subject matter is the most important quality when looking for something. Thinks self-help books qualify as reading. Medium internet browsing.
Favorite book: Tuesdays with Morrie
Gladwell's Code (3)
Light and fluffy fiction top sellers with a mix of the occasional hot non-fiction of the season. Knows where the tipping point is, why economics freak people out, and has a sizable collection of buy two get one free selections. "I totally read that in eighth grade!" Possible heavy internet browsing.
Favorite book: Harry Potter
Years of Solitude (4)
Seasoned reader. Scoffs at low brow drivel. Familiarity with the classics and devotes time to serious works. Not confined to genres because a book is a book is a book. Wouldn't be lost looking at a list of the 100 best novels. "I really enjoyed her earlier work but her new stuff sucks."
Favorite book: Something foreign
Rushdie's Rainbow (5)
Consumes literature, can talk about the works of so-and-so, isn't afraid of diving into something experimental. Words and ideas are fuel for life. One of their goals in life is to have a room for a personal library. The library card is always maxed out.
Favorite book: Gravity's Rainbow
Anyway, since the beginning of summer has been such a bust in the reading department, I think I'm going to make a list of books for summer reading and make sure to finish them all by say, September.
Lilly was talking about a great idea the other day: starting a summer read-a-thon just like when we were kids. Remember those? You raced to read as many books as you could and then when you returned to school you got prizes like medals and trophies and pieces of paper to hang on the fridge. Of course, people have jobs now so an adult read-a-thon might be hard but it's a worthy goal. I'm going to start making my list now.
Oh, I consider myself a 3.5 reader. Somewhere in-between the things you find at the front of the bookstore and the stuff I can't pronounce without mumbling.
Stuff I've Been Reading 6
Monday, May 19, 2008 : 3:07 AM : 0 comments
BOOKS READ:
- Down & Out in the Magic Kingdom - Cory Doctorow
- Lullaby - Chuck Palahniuk
- Writing Down the Bones - Natalie Goldberg
- How To Be Alone - Jonathan Franzen
- The Fifties - David Halberstam
- Self-Editing for Fiction Writers - Browne/King
- The Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt - ed. Ruth Andrew Ellenson
Let's say it takes me six hours to finish a normal sized book. That's three movies, half a night of sleep, and an afternoon of sitting around. Sure, I could learn some really interesting information (the Halberstam book this month is great) or I could feel like I've read something totally spectacular (Lullaby was like that) but at the end of the day -- or life -- what application does either of them have? I can feel a bit smarter, a bit wiser, a bit more knowlegeable, and possibly content but most books just come and go without a lasting effect. That kind of sucks doesn't it?
The only way I can come to grips with this problem is to think about books in the context of other entertainment. Do I enjoy it over most movies, television, and other media? Most certainly. I couldn't live without books. Then again, I couldn't live without movies and television either. There's a huge letdown to know that even if you can read twenty books a month, you'd hardly be making any dent into the huge sum of human knowledge.
For example, if we could someday just download every single book straight into our brain, would we? That would perhaps suck the romance and fun out of reading but it would quickly and effectively give us more free time to... watch more TV or something. I think I would probably opt for that option if it were available actually. So I guess the final answer is that I read for entertainment and hope for edification to justify the expense.
I, like, feel sad about that.
Lucy, I'm Home!
Saturday, May 17, 2008 : 4:03 AM : 0 comments
"The great strength of the Lucy show... was the mirror it held up to every married couple in America: 'Not a regular mirror that reflects the truth, nor a magic mirror that portrays fantasy. But a Coney Island kind of mirror that distorts, exaggerates and makes vastly amusing every little incident, foible, and idiosyncrasy of married life.'"
-David Halberstam, The Fifties-
Labels: Books
Bitchin'
Monday, April 21, 2008 : 3:03 AM : 0 comments
I just finished reading Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, by Cory Doctorow, editor of BoingBoing and also a well known scifi writer (pioneering giving his work away for free in every format imaginable). There's lots of fun things going on in this book's near future but two of the main ones are the obsolescence of death and the replacement of money as the most important currency.People don't die anymore because they can, at any point, be restored from a mental backup and a physical clone. Some people die weekly, some people only die a few times; everybody lives forever. The only caveat is that if you forget to back up, you could lose the time between your last backup and your restoration. Sometimes, that's a great thing. For example, if you have had a terrible six month relationship you'd rather forget about, you can just revert to a backup copy from before that period.
The other thing is that since you can live forever, boredom is a huge issue. For those people, you can go into sleep mode, "deadhead," for a few decades or hundreds of years and then be resurrected when life might be more interesting.
The other innovation, Whuffie, replaces money by measuring how much respect you receive from people around you. The computer implant in your head -- you're always connected to the net -- automatically gives your stamp of approval to the people around you for good (or bad) actions. You think so-and-so is awesome? Their Whuffie goes up. With high esteem and a good rep, you get perks like better seats at a concert or a restaurant. It more or less functions like money but is centered around good deeds. It's a way to identify and tag assholes basically.
Looking around at most of the social networking sites, this constant measuring of personal reputation is exactly what is happening. Amazon, eBay, Xanga, MySpace, all of these things are promoting getting rep from your friends and fans and then using your rep as currency. Actually, that's pretty much how Google works. Your site gets ranked higher when people link to you and the more influential their site is, the more heavily weighted their vote toward your awesomeness counter is. Whuffie is probably right around the corner.
Doctorow is known for riding the technology curve out to a technological singularity, which is when, as explained in this review, "...sophisticated technologies like nanotech, biotech, life-extension, and human-level machine intelligence would transform life completely."
I, for one, can't wait. Given a chance, I'd deadhead right past this decade and into the next one.
Labels: Books, Technology
Stuff I've Been Reading 5
Friday, April 11, 2008 : 4:59 AM : 0 comments
BOOKS READ:
- The A-List - Zoey Dean
- Hollywood Car Wash - Lori Culwell
- The Wal-Mart Effect - Charles Fishman
- Confessions of an Economic Hit Man - John Perkins
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon
- Best American Non-Required Reading 2002 - ed. David Eggers
I'd always known the name "Michael Chabon" because he's unavoidable once you read Eggers and McSweeney's and he's prolific and ubiquitous once you're aware of him, but I hadn't ever read any of his works. Why is beyond me. Amazing Adventures is not only brilliant but also highly entertaining and poetic. I hate that it's been out for eight years and I only discovered it now. The next author I really need to explore is Dom DeLillo because he's been recommended more than once and I don't want to pass him up anymore, just like I did Chabon.
"I was afraid that the book, on its surface, would be off-putting to women readers. It's about comic books, and in my greatly enlarged recent experience it's become clear that women have a very negative attitude toward comic books. They didn't grow up reading them, for the most part.There's really no denying it, comic books and super heroes are cool again. Which means, Soon I Will Be Cool (err, Invincible). Okay, fine, maybe not, but geeks have inherited the planet and I'm ready for my time in the sun. Mainly because I'm pale as a sheet from never being awake during daylight hours. I need summer, and beach time, like right now.
I was surprised that my wife thought it was a good idea, then again with my agent, another woman, then my editor, another woman - in spite of the fact that all three of them reacted positively I still have this fear. It probably reaches deep down into my childhood history as a geek, being interested in comic books and getting nowhere with girls. Those two things going hand-in-hand. But the response has been very positive; women readers are finding lots to enjoy."
-Interview with M.Chabon, Powell's-
While waiting around for my roast beef sandwich at a deli where long waits are par for the course, I saw that the counter girl was reading Card's Speaker for the Dead. While Ender's Game is quite a popular (relatively) sci-fi book among the normal girl set, I was very impressed that she was onto the sequel and seemed to not be able to tear her attention away -- she was almost done -- to accept my cash at the register. That's awesome.
Stuff I've Been Reading 4
Wednesday, March 12, 2008 : 7:21 AM : 0 comments
BOOKS READ:
I haven't read a single book in the past month. Which would be alarming except it's been by design. I kind of started "Eat, Pray, Love" but came nowhere close to finishing it. Book club had Zadie Smith's "On Beauty" up on deck, which is something I really want to read, but I skipped it. Mainly I've been consumed with writing, thinking, writing, thinking. I'm in the middle of revising another draft of the book and there's a lot of work to be done.none
Rome wasn't built in a day and writing a book isn't either. I wonder if anyone is capable of whipping out a near perfect first draft. Did you know Good Will Hunting was originally supposed to be much more action orientated? Car chases, government intrigue, the works. Instead, after a few re-conceptions and rewrites, we got the touchy feely version with no action whatsoever. Obviously, the latter proved to be much more effective and endearing.
The thing I keep trying to remember as I look at all the great and amazing things around me is that it takes multiple tries to perfect something. It gives hope to the common man doesn't it?
Lulu Dark Can See Through Walls (2005)
Monday, March 10, 2008 : 7:05 AM : 0 comments
"Guys. They were the problem, not me. They're so weird and fickle. It's like, they're all desperate to get with you, but as soon as you act like you might actually be interested, they treat you like some insane, pathetic Ophelia type who's going to send them pig's hearts as Valentine's Day presents."
-Bennett Madison-
Labels: Books
Stuff I've Been Reading 3
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 : 12:40 AM : 0 comments
BOOKS BOUGHT:
BOOKS READ:I'm letting this section go. I discovered the library and really, I don't buy that many books anyway
Here's a big problem for me. As I try to write this semi-monthly column about the books I've read (or tried to read at least), it's becoming increasingly hard to fit the titles into the space at the top of each post. Every book title now has a long description about itself after the ":" mark. It's useful for marketing and selling purposes I'm sure, but it's killing my blog.Adverbs - Daniel Handler Seven Seconds or Less - Jack McCallum Friday Night Lights - HG Bissinger The Sword and the Chain - Joel Rosenberg The Heir Apparent - Joel Rosenberg The Black Swan - Nassim Nicholas Taleb McDonald's - John F. Love The Search - John Battelle The Chess Artist - J.C. Hallman Out of Control - Kevin Kelly Cultural Intelligence - Thomas/Inkson Soon I Will Be Invincible - Austin Grossman
I mean, Jack McCallum's "Seven Seconds or Less" is actually supposed to be "Seven Seconds or Less: My Season on the Bench with the Running' and Gunnin' Phoenix Suns." I had to check that twice over just to make sure I got the wording and punctuation right. Try fitting all of that on one line.
For aesthetic reasons, I refuse to let a book/author pairing go over their allotted space. If I wasn't so anal, here's what this month's list would look like:
Ridiculous right? It's like trying to run the 100-yard dash with a huge wedding train flaring out behind you. Actually, I even cheated a little because the copy that I have of "Out of Control" is actually sub-titled "Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, & the Economic World." Which is, to be sure, much more explanatory than "Out of Control: The Rise of Neo-Biological Civilization." But which one sounds cooler?Adverbs: A Novel - Daniel Handler Seven Seconds or Less: My Season on the Bench with the Running' and Gunnin' Phoenix Suns - Jack McCallum Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, and a Dream - HG Bissinger The Sword and the Chain - Joel Rosenberg The Heir Apparent - Joel Rosenberg The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable - Nassim Nicholas Taleb McDonald's: Behind the Arches - John F. Love The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture - John Battelle The Chess Artist: Genius, Obsession, and the World's Oldest Game - J.C. Hallman Out of Control: The Rise of Neo-Biological Civilization - Kevin Kelly Cultural Intelligence: People Skills for Global Business - Thomas/Inkson Soon I Will Be Invincible - Austin Grossman
While this long title problem is more prevalent in the non-fiction world -- where the abstract titles sometimes do need a bit of an explanation and a hook -- take a look at "Adverbs: A Novel." I'm not sure why that's there; the book is fiction and clearly adding "A Novel" doesn't help explain anything. I mean, Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) is a wonderful writer but I'm trying to figure out if it was his idea to add the appendage or if it was something tacked on by mistake. Check out the cover for Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones." It clearly has "A novel" printed on it, which is semi-helpful I guess, but it's not part of its official name.
Perhaps my book should have been "The Rough Guide to Blogging: A Guide about Blogging." Or maybe with my next book I can incorporate " : A Book" into it somehow to create "My Brand New Book: A Pretty Decent Book (if you don't mind me saying)."
Anyway, what I've decided to do in the interest of beautiful blog posts is to shorten any title that is way too long, leaving only the essential bits for your consumption -- or just little ditties I make up. I figure if you're really interested in one of these books, you're only a few clicks away from Googling it. Also, that's my rationale for not listing full names of multiple authors and editors. So here's what my list this month should look like:
Adverbs - Daniel Handler Seven Seconds or Less: The 2005 Phoenix Suns - Jack McCallum Friday Night Lights - HG Bissinger The Sword and the Chain - Joel Rosenberg The Heir Apparent - Joel Rosenberg The Black Swan - Nassim Nicholas Taleb McDonald's: Behind the Arches - John F. Love The Search: How Google... - John Battelle The Chess Artist - J.C. Hallman Out of Control: The Rise of Neo-Biological Civilization - Kevin Kelly Cultural Intelligence: People Skills for Global Business - Thomas/Inkson Soon I Will Be Invincible - Austin Grossman
Stuff I've Been Reading 2
Sunday, January 20, 2008 : 11:11 PM : 0 comments
BOOKS BOUGHT:
- A whole bunch of stuff on Amazon; too many to list here
- Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain
- This Is Not Chick Lit: Original Stories by America's Best Women Writers - Elizabeth Merrick
- Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street - Michael Lewis
- King Dork - Frank Portman
- How Sassy Changed My Life - Kara Jesella & Marisa Meltzer
- Skin Deep - Karol Griffin
- The Princess Bride - William Goldman
I've figured that out after many book club meetings, where invariably, the best meetings (meaning the most animated and free flowing discussions) are during the non-fiction months. It's just hard to explain why you loved certain parts of a book without referring to the source material constantly. And people are here to talk, not to be read at.
With that in mind, if I were to put together my ultimate one hour book club meeting, I'd format it something like this:
- Start with a quick vote of who liked it and who didn't so we know where everyone stands.
- Recap what happened in the book because chances are, half the people in attendance didn't finish the book.
- Have someone knowledgeable lead a quick run through of major themes, characters, points of interest. Like you would have in English class. I want someone to bring some literary heft to the table.
- People can bring up questions and points of interest, perhaps referring to a quote or part of the book that really struck them deeply.
- Discuss the author and the work as far as their style and historical placement. Or fun facts about the author that might lend some perspective to the novel.
- Plan to go see the film version; or discuss who should be cast as the main characters. Never skip this portion of the meeting, it's key.
- Have an email list (or blog) that allows a lead up to the actual physical meeting. Giving people a chance to communicate about the book beforehand is useful and some people are more comfortable articulating themselves online. Plus, it fosters more in-depth communication because people can take their time to read, reflect, and react.
- Everyone should bring in or discuss what they've been reading that month. After all, a book club isn't just about the book of the month, but connecting with people about reading in general. Show me your books!
King Dork (2006)
Wednesday, December 19, 2007 : 10:48 PM : 0 comments
"In youth-oriented movies and books, the guy like me often has a huge crush on a specific blond cheerleader who doesn't know he exists and would never stoop to talking to him. Or maybe she is kind of mean to him even though she's friends with him and asks him for advice on how to get the football guy to make out with her, which drives him crazy, and so forth.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm definitely that guy. But there isn't any one particular girl that fits that formula, and the idea that someone like that would ever be friendly with me in any sense, even as a device to dramatize my own pain and loneliness, is rather preposterous.
But of course I do have this mousy but cute female sidekick who has been right under my nose all along, only I won't realize how great she is till I've learned a few painful lessons about commitment and responsibility and what's important in life.
Just kidding; I don't have one of those, either."
-Frank Portman-
Labels: Books
Publishers Lunch
Friday, November 30, 2007 : 1:23 AM : 0 comments
Here's the little blurb about my upcoming book from Publishers Lunch, the industry email where deals are announced. The first draft is finally all done and submitted so I'm looking forward to some time off before I hit the revisions. The book is due in Spring 2009. Pre-order now! Or you know, wait.
Children's: Young Adult
14 November, 2007
The Rough Guide to Blogging Jonathan Yang's untitled novel about the misadventures of a "celebutante" who decides to shake things up in her life, to Karen Chaplin at Puffin, in a two-book deal, by Stefanie Von Borstel and Lilly Ghahremani of Full Circle Literary.
Labels: Books
Stuff I've Been Reading 1
Tuesday, November 20, 2007 : 10:43 PM : 0 comments
BOOKS BOUGHT:
- Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made - David Halberstam
- Let Me Tell You a Story: A Lifetime in the Game - Feinstein/Auerbach
- The Princess Bride - William Goldman
- Bookmark Now: Writing in Unreaderly Times - Kevin Smokler
- Playing for Keeps
- Let Me Tell You a Story
- Firstborn (Dragonlance Elven Nations, Vol 1) - Thompson/Carter
- Children of the Mind - Orson Scott Card
- Black Hawk Down - Mark Bowden
- About a Boy - Nick Hornby
I would like to set my book budget at $200 a month but when I stop to look at that number, it's the same amount as a month's worth of insurance, bills, or car payments. Let's say I make two thousand dollars a month, that figure would then represent ten-percent of my income. If I flipped that into a Roth IRA, I could be a millionaire in forty years or something.
But it's so much fun to buy books isn't it? Sure the library is cheaper and semi-convenient but the selection is never what one would like. Although I've heard that some libraries have organized themselves bookstore style, which seems like it would be pretty awesome.
The point is, how much is buying new books worth to me? Ten percent of my paycheck per month? Should I look for other (stimulating) alternatives? Netflix provides unlimited movies for a mere $20 a month; Internet is around the same; after fixed costs, a videogame is the most economically efficient form of entertainment around. So again, how much is literature worth?
My number one criteria for buying books for their retail price (in a bookstore) is re-readability. Am I likely to read this book multiple times? Then I should buy it. Also, is it a book that should be in my collection ten years from now? Auto-buy. The last kind of book I'll purchase in-store is one I just happen to stumble upon and don't have the patience to wait for it post-Amazon. These are often the dumbest buys of all time because it's like committing to a girl after the five minute meet and greet; totally hit or miss. Sometimes you have to judge a book by its cover (or blurb or title) right?
Since the basketball season's starting, I was forced to buy the Halberstam and Feinstein book just to gear me up for the Celtics' championship run ahead. Princess Bride made the cut because I've been told it's a true classic. After purchasing Bookmark Now and opening it up, I realized that the editor, Kevin Smokler, was on Lilly's pitch panel for the Ann Arbor Book Festival we attended in May. The local bookstore and my book life is starting to collide! It must mean I'll soon be a real author. Yes!
