The invitation from Amazon.com: "We'd like to invite you to an important Amazon.com press conference on Monday, February 9 at 10:00 am. The press conference is scheduled to take place at The Morgan Library & Museum located at 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street in New York."
Telex from Cuba: A Novel
It's not a surprise that Sebastian Barry has won the 2008 Costa Book of the Year award for The Secret Scripture.
Indeed, many people believe he deserved the Man Booker Prize as well but was snubbed for being Irish. Matthew Parris, chair of the final judges, said: "Sebastian Barry has created one of the great narrative voices in contemporary fiction in The Secret Scripture. It is a book of great brilliance, powerfully and beautifully written."
Now that it's confirmed, the lit blogosphere is discussing the implications of the loss of Book World, the Washington Post's stand-alone book review section. I may be missing a small publication somewhere, but I think this leaves us with the New York Times Book Review as the only remaining stand-alone book review section associated with a major newspaper.Maybe it's a generational thing -- though we rarely think of ourselves as that old -- but, man, do we miss paper coverage. Sure, all our own coverage is online, but the sources of literary coverage that we like dealing with most are those that come in printed form, which we find much easier to deal with, read, and turn back to. (Yes, online has many advantages -- such as the huge archives instantly at one's disposal, and search capability (for specific phrases, etc.) -- but day in, day out we much prefer to receive the information in printed form.)
I've said it before, but it's worth repeating: it is the destiny of serious arts journalism to migrate to the Web. This includes newspaper arts journalism. Most younger readers -- as well as a considerable number of older ones, myself among them -- have already made that leap. Why tear your hair because the Washington Post has decided to bow to the inevitable.
According to the Guardian's summary of a new study by evolutionary psychologists, 19th century British novels helped to shape the positive values of Victorian society. Books like Middlemarch and Dracula promoted cooperation and affability and cautioned against power and dominance. The study suggests novels "have a function that continues to contribute to the quality and structure of group life."
Thanks to a breaking news story at MobyLives, I've just heard that Book World, the Washington Post's stand-alone book review section, is shutting down. Here's the story from MobyLives:New York Times book reporter Motoko Rich reports in the Times' arts blog that sources are telling her the Washington Post “has decided to shutter the print version of Book World, its Sunday stand-alone book review section, and shift reviews to space inside two other sections of the paper. According to reports from Book World employees, the last issue of Book World will appear in its tabloid print version on Feb. 15 but will continue to be published online as a distinct entity. In the printed newspaper, Sunday book content will be split between Outlook, the opinion and commentary section, and Style & Arts.”
Blogger Mark Hurst discusses one benefit the Kindle has over traditional books: the search feature. While reading Ken Follett's bestseller The Pillars of the Earth, Hurst noticed Follett's overreliance on the phrase “his heart is in his mouth.” Using the Kindle's handy search feature, Hurst discovered 17 instances of "coronary snacks":This is how Follett described a character who was nervous or anxious or frightened. It’s not the most refined metaphor to begin with, but there it was—and then a few pages later, someone else’s heart was in his mouth — and then, next chapter, another heart in another mouth - and again — more hearts, more mouths — until I finally finished the book and thought, just how many times did Follett use that ONE metaphor in a single book? ... And the answer is: 13. Actually 17, if you count the four instances of "her heart in her mouth." (It seems that men are, on the whole, a lot hungrier for coronary snacks.)
What a great list. I'm tempted to take on the task of reading the titles on this list I haven't yet read before the winner is announced on February 19th, but I'm afraid that's a bit too ambitious. I'm deep into Ricardas Gavelis's Vilnius Poker (trans. Elizabeth Novickas) at the moment, and I'd hate to break away.
John Updike, at the age of 76, has just died of lung cancer. For more details and a good overview of Updike's prolific career, see the New York Times obituary, which describes Updike as a "kaleidoscopically gifted writer whose quartet of Rabbit Angstrom novels highlighted so vast and protean a body of fiction, verse, essays and criticism as to place him in the first rank of among American men of letters."
I started a survey yesterday in an attempt to measure, at least roughly, the influence of lit blogs on book-related purchasing decisions. This has been a much debated topic in the lit blogosphere recently with some people taking the position that lit blogs have no real influence on purchasing decisions and others strongly supporting the opposite view. Results are already pouring in, and I encourage those of you with blogs, Facebook pages, or other avenues of communication to post a link to the survey, either by linking to my link here at Literary License or by linking directing to the survey: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB228QZGDZ7YL. And thanks to those of you who have already helped me spread the word. The more data that comes in, the better the results will be (but, please, only one survey response per person). I'll post a full run-down of the results on Friday, Feb. 13th.
As reported in the Independent, Farhad Hakimzadeh, the prominent Iranian scholar who pleaded guilty to charges of literary mutilation, has been sentenced to two years in jail. The investigation into Hakimzadeh's actions revealed that, over many years, Hakimzadeh sliced pages out of approximately 150 books in the British Library's collection of ancient and rare manuscripts in order to enhance his personal collection. Hakimzadeh's actions caused damages estimated to be £145,000. Hakimzadeh's barrister argued that his client was motivated by obsessive compulsive disorder and that the thefts were an "aberration."
According to an AP story, Australian writer Harry Nicolaides's account of "the turbulent marital relations of [a] fictional prince" was judged to break Thailand's “lese majeste” law, which applies to “whoever defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir to the throne or the Regent.” As a result, 41-year-old Nicolaides has been sentenced to three years in prison. Nicolaides's conviction is part of a recent "crackdown on people and Web sites deemed critical of the monarchy." Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva explains that the Thai monarchy must be protected because of its “immense benefits to the country as a stabilizing force.”
A Dangerous Affair
Like many families in town, the Talbots had produce sent to them regularly .... I knelt down beside [Mrs. Talbot] and helped as she lifted treasure after treasure from the hamper, unswathing them from snow-white napkins: pork pies ornamented with pastry cutouts of leaves and roses, and glazed so brightly they reflected the light; rich fruitcakes with their tops cracking to show insides packed with raisins and cherries; almond tarts and spiced biscuits. ... Four huge hams wrapped in muslin took up the corners of the hamper. ... [E]ven at this time of year there were still apples, wrinkled but sweet-smelling, and a few pears. A deep bed of straw cradled jars of jam and chutney.Clearly, Peacock has done her research, and this novel's richly imagined setting is what elevates this book over more typical murder mysteries. This book's other advantages include a plucky, likeable protagonist and a well-crafted--and very easy to follow--plot. This isn't highbrow literature, but adult and teenaged fans of mysteries will enjoy A Dangerous Affair.
Recently, there's been quite a bit of online discussion about the impact (or the lack thereof) of lit blogs. To get a better sense of the influence of lit blogs on book-related purchasing decisions, I've created a (very brief) survey. Please take the survey, and forward the link on to your lit-blog-reading friends. I'll post a summary of the results on Friday, February 13th.
Movies with literary bona fides garnered plenty of Oscar nominations last week, including four out of the five nominees for Best Picture:The winners will be announced at the Academy Awards ceremony on February 22nd.
Nonfiction:
Biography:
Autobiography:
Poetry:
Criticism:
The winner of the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award is the Pen American Center, and Ron Charles (of The Washington Post) won the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing.
I can't find the nominations on the NBCC's website yet, but Publishers Weekly has the story. The winners will be announced on March 12, 2009.
For those of you following the 2009 Tournament of Books, it's time to vote in the Zombie Poll. Vote soon because the poll closes tomorrow (Monday) night. See my prior post for more information about the Tournament generally and to see this year's list of contenders. In the Zombie Poll, you get to vote for your favorite contender. The two books that receive the most votes and lose a round of play prior to the Zombie Round are brought back for a last chance before the finals. Think of this as the loser's bracket.
What does Gwyneth Paltrow read when she's curled up by the winter fire? Why, Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, of course. Riiiiight...
David Grossman's collection of essays, Writing in the Dark
, was one of only 3 books I rated a perfect 5 out of 5 last year. I continue to find treasures buried in this slim volume. Here is Grossman on the benefits of difficult reading:In the early 1960s we read books in archaic and poetic Hebrew; we read translations from the 1920s and '30s that did not employ our daily language at all. The incomprehensibility imposed on us was certainly a barrier to fluid reading, but in hindsight I think that part of my reading experience in that period came from this very same incomprehensibility: the mystery and the exoticism of words with an odd ring, and the pleasure of inferring one thing from another ... learning to view language as an entity with a life all its own.
Author Larry McMurtry spoke at Rice University in Houston last night. McMurtry, best known for his Pulitzer-prize-winning novel Lonesome Dove, is a prolific novelist, essayist, and screenwriter (including co-writing the screenplay for Brokeback Mountain, which won an Academy Award in 2006). McMurtry's 29th novel will be published later this year.Q: What will you talk about at Rice?
A: The end of the culture of the book. I’m pessimistic. Mainly it’s the flow of people into my bookshop in Archer City. They’re almost always people over 40. I don’t see kids, and I don’t see kids reading. I think little kids love to have stories read to them, but when they get to 10 or 11 or 12, they run into this tsunami of technology: iPod,
iPhone, Blackberries. They don’t resist it, and it’s normal that they wouldn’t; it’s their culture. I’m not so sure they ever come back to reading. Some will, but most won’t.
Q: What are you working on?
A: I have turned in the fifth and final volume of The Last Picture Show quintet. It’s called Rhino Ranch. It’ll be published, I guess, in early summer. And I’m working on the second volume of my autobiography. The first volume is about my life as a bookseller (Books: A Memoir, published in 2008). The second volume is going to be called Writing, and then there will be a third and final volume about Hollywood.
Q: You’ve been quoted as saying Booked Up is going to stay in business as long as you’re alive.
A: Well, as long as I can afford it. I hope it’s as long as I’m alive. Actually, business has picked up in the past six months. I don’t know how seriously, but any little bit is welcome.
The Telegraph offers 100 Novels Everyone Should Read (warning: it's a weird list). Not to be outdone, The Guardian offers 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (this one's a long list).
If you're in Houston tomorrow morning, tune into Sunny 99.1 at 7:50 AM to hear Andrea White (author and wife of Mayor Bill White) talk about Literary License and other Houston-based literary blogs.In order to get some a picture of how publishing beyond New York's giants is faring, I'm going to be conducting interviews with presses and publishing them here. I'll be interested to see if they're feeling the pain every bit as much as the big guys, or if their different publishing models are yielding different results. I'll also want to see what they're doing to stay competitive in this market and if they think the recession is going to shake up publishing at large.The first interview is with Declan Spring, senior editor at New Directions, who is turning to the strong backlist to survive in tough times:
I'd say the main way we're reacting to the climate is really taking advantage of our backlist. There are so many incredible books and authors we've published over the years, some of which have fallen off peoples' radars. Many of these books are loved by other important authors, so for instance, rather than pay an advance for a new author and bring out a new book, we've discovered we can find one of these well-known authors to write an introduction for a book we already publish which the famous writer really loves."If you're interested in these issues, the full interview is definitely worth reading.
For only the fourth time in history, a poet (in this case, Elizabeth Alexander) recited a poem at the presidential inauguration. Alexander is in good company: Robert Frost read at John F. Kennedy's inauguration in 1961 and Maya Angelou and Miller Williams read at Bill Clinton's inaugurations in 1993 and 1997, respectively. Here is an excerpt from Alexander's inaugural poem, titled Praise Song for the Day:Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.
A Country Called Home
Even after all the hours spent with a rod in his hands, each strike seemed a surprise rather than the end result of his studied experiment: the fly carefully selected to match hatch and season; the cast so nearly perfect that the feathered hook whispered down like a caddis dipping its wings; the placement at the lip of current just shy of stone; the rise and roll and set. He would bring the fish in, cradle it just below the surface, and rock it softly until it spasmed free.This novel is deeply grounded in its western setting, which Barnes evokes with beautifully poetic prose. Despite her gift with landscapes, Barnes does not shortchange the human element of this story, and A Country Called Home is populated with sympathetic characters and several lively plot lines. Although the Deracotte's endure loneliness, death, addiction, and mental illness, their story is ultimately hopeful. It's rare to find such striking prose in a page-turner, but A Country Called Home has it all. The overall effect is a powerful book that feels like a classic already.
If you live in Houston, tune into Sunny 99.1 tomorrow morning (Jan. 22nd) at 7:50 AM to hear Andrea White talk about Literary License and other Houston-based literary blogs. Along with being a big supporter of books and reading, White is an author of fiction for children and young adults and is married to Bill White, the mayor of Houston.
The Wall Street Journal reports that "recession-weary patrons are turning to libraries for cheap entertainment." According to the article, free wireless internet service and career books are particularly popular as library patrons search for new jobs, and "[m]any jobless people are reporting to the library as they used to report to the office." Perhaps this new popularity will help to reverse the budget cuts many library systems across the U.S. are facing.
One of the most famous characters in children's literature—A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh—will make a long-awaited return this fall when Dutton Books for Young Readers publishes Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus, illustrated by Mark Burgess. Return to the Hundred Acre Wood is the first authorized sequel to Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928). The book will be released simultaneously in the U.K. by Egmont Publishing. Get the full story at Publishers Weekly.
As newspaper books coverage continues to decline, the Washington Post Book World has become one of the few remaining standalone books sections. Unfortunately, that may not be the case for long. As reported at GalleyCat, recent rumors suggest Washington Post editor Marcus Brauchli "may recommend Book World's 'elimination' to the paper's board." Basically, that would leave the New York Times Book Review.
After 52 years as one of the country's best independent bookstores, Cody's of Berkeley, California closed its doors. In an insightful Business Week article, Stacy Perman explores what went wrong. The bottom line: Amazon and decreasing interest in books. It's a story that transcends its particular place and store and applies to struggling indie booksellers everywhere.
Vacation
There were also the mirrors, the photos, and other inaccurate reflections. The razor, the bathtub. The kids and the dog, although they had none. The idea of dog, that. The possibility of dog that now would not be possible. Her mother, or her mother's dislike of him, who would get that? Surely that would come with him. Along with the rooster clock that she loved, that he hated, that she bought when she started to hate him.Images of drowning are prevalent throughout Vacation, and Unferth masterfully transforms these desperate images into events of great beauty:
A man struggling in water looks somewhat like the inside of a jewel box or a crystal. The tiny bubbles shine whitely and sparkle. The more the man thrashes, the more it seems that gems and bits of silver and pearl are falling around him, as if he were caught inside a heavy opera costume, as if he were crashing through the stained glass of a cathedral, as if he were wrapped in air and light.Unfortunately, the primary story is disrupted by a sideshow involving a daughter seeking her dolphin-trainer father. This subplot is never resolved and becomes an unwanted distraction that should have been deleted during the editing process. Despite this imperfection, Vacation is entirely charming and well worth reading.
Barnes & Noble has announced that it's eliminating "close to 100 positions in its corporate headquarters." CEO Steve Riggio notes in the press release that this is "the first time in the company's history we've had to do this" and that "the business climate in which we are operating is unprecedented, and therefore, the reduction in expenses is inevitable."
The Tournament of Books is back for its fifth year. The Morning News, which runs the contest, describes the event:[T]ake 16 of the most celebrated and highly touted novels of the year, seed them in a March Madness-type bracket, conscript them into a “Battle Royale of Literary Excellence,” and, in honor of David Sedaris’s brother, present the author of the winning book a live rooster.
According to the recently announced results of a study by the National Endowment for the Arts, reading rates among American adults have risen nearly four percent since 2002, the first increase in reading rates measured by the study over its more than 25-year history. The new statistics suggest 50% of all American adults are reading fiction, an increase of 16.6 million readers. Also from the announcement: "Young adults show the most rapid increases in literary reading. Since 2002, 18-24 year olds have seen the biggest increase (nine percent) in literary reading, and the most rapid rate of increase (21 percent). This jump reversed a 20 percent rate of decline in the 2002 survey, the steepest rate of decline since the NEA survey began."
In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom
The silence after the engine stopped engulfed us. Only the ticking of the slowly contracting metal under the hood punctuated the vapors of grief emanating from the house.And:
His alabaster skin was a blank canvas to blend with all cultures. His clear eyes (the bluest I had seen in Riyadh) concealed a safe of secrets to which I wanted the combination.Fortunately, Dr. Ahmed's story is interesting and engaging enough to overcome the awkward language in which it's told.
Now you can rent books Netflix-style at Bookswim. Pay a monthly fee to get books shipped to your house. Keep them as long as you want. Send them back when you're ready for new books. The shipping is free both ways (with your paid subscription). This sounds like a good idea for people who don't want to buy every book they read but are without access to a good local library. This may also appeal to those who like the convenience of things showing up on their doorsteps. Apparently, Bookswim is renting textbooks, too. Assuming good availability of the right books, students could save quite a bit of money. A quick search revealed a decent (but not great) selection of recent literary fiction.
Generally, self published books don’t fare well in the marketplace. Every now and then, however, the stars align, and there’s a surprise, break-out bestseller--the literary form of the American Dream. Just a couple weeks into 2009, we may be seeing our first self-published success of the year. GalleyCat describes the Good Morning America story that resulted in over 8000 copies sold of the self-published memoir Notes Left Behind:Last month, Good Morning America aired a segment about the family of Elena Desserich, who died of an inoperable brain cancer in August 2007 at the age of six. In her final months, as she fulfilled all sorts of wishes (from swimming with dolphins to getting a painting in a museum), Elena left little notes for her parents and younger sister hidden all over their house. Her parents decided to take those notes, and the story of Elena's life, and publish a book, Notes Left Behind, both as a tribute to their daughter and as a fundraiser for The Cure Starts Now, the foundation they created to support research on pediatric brain cancer.
is still available in its self-published form via Amazon (where it has a 5-star rating), the book is now being auctioned to the highest bidder. Expect a new edition from a big publishing house in the near future.
The Development
From A to X: A Story in Letters
The accordionist standing, head almost touching the beams, a few people sitting at tables and in the centre, a couple about to dance--or, perhaps, to dance again for a third or fifth time. She couldn't have been more than seventeen. She stepped out alone, holding her arms a little apart from her body, waiting. Not for her partner who was watching her, bemused. Not for the accordionist who had begun playing. Not for another couple to join her. She was waiting to be carried away by the forces inside her. She was waiting for those forces to emerge. Calmly, her heels a little off the ground, her face open, wrists turned with their palms up, as if to see whether it was yet raining. When she felt the first drop, she would move. The drops came! She circled twice making more than twenty steps and her partner, in a leather jacket and jeans, joined her.The unique structure of this "novel" is interesting, but the complete lack of any grounding details results in a story that feels insubstantial, like a collection of random musings rather than a cohesive whole.
Powell's just announced Volume 8 of Indiespensable, the bookstore's high-end book-of-the-month club. This volume, which will ship January 21st, will contain a "[s]pecial limited edition with custom endpapers and tipped-in limitation page" of Tinkers by Paul Harding. Each copy is signed and numbered. A starred review in Publishers Weekly describes the book as "an especially gorgeous example of novelistic craftsmanship." This looks like a good volume, and others must agree because it's already sold out.
In his Daily Beast essay, Jason Epstein writes, "While it may deliver the fatal blow, the financial crisis is only the proximate cause of the book publishing industry’s difficulties. The deeper cause is structural and its symptoms have been visible, though largely unacknowledged, for years." Read "An Autopsy of the Book Business" here.
St. Martin's Press has an interesting new marketing campaign called "Read It First." If you sign up, here's what you get:Each weekday morning, we’ll send you a taste of the week’s featured title right to your inbox. By the end of the week, you’ll have read approximately a few chapters, enough to decide whether it is the right book for you … sometimes just before it even hits the stores!
Indie publisher Jasmine-Jade Enterprises, the parent corporation of Ellora’s Cave and Cerridwen Press, just filed a lawsuit against Borders and its distribution company Baker & Taylor. Jasmine-Jade is seeking $1 million in damages allegedly caused by Borders’s "excessive" orders of books (followed by large returns of those same books). In a statement, Jasmine-Jade’s CEO accused Borders of ordering more books than it planned to sell in order to "reduce the amount owed [Jasmine-Jade] and produce a credit balance in the account." GalleyCat has the full story here.
