December 2009

I've been a bit busy with the day job (we've been trying to get 7 books out before leaving for Christmas break---we all get the week between Christmas and New Year's off---and it's been a scramble) and finishing up the very last of the critiques (I have a small handful left that I want to get back to authors on before Tu opens for submissions). So it's been a little quiet around here, sorry! But perhaps it's a relief after all those posts about the Kickstarter. :)Today I break radio silence to build a book list. My sister reports that my five-year-old nephew is going through a dragon phase. He already has A Practical Guide to Dragons (how could he not? I think I gave a copy to every relative who wanted one, and then some), along with the one I edited, A Practical Guide to Monsters. My sister called while in the bookstore, looking for books to go with a Christmas present, and I could only think of the Dragon Codex books I edited. I didn't even think of the Dragonology books off the top of my head, which would be perfect for him---some reading, but a lot of tactical exploring, as well. So now I'm putting together a list of books for her to look up at the library.He's only five, so picture books are welcome for the list. I'm just not as well-versed in them, ...

I've been a bit busy with the day job (we've been trying to get 7 books out before leaving for Christmas break---we all get the week between Christmas and New Year's off---and it's been a scramble) and finishing up the very last of the critiques (I have a small handful left that I want to get back to authors on before Tu opens for submissions). So it's been a little quiet around here, sorry! But perhaps it's a relief after all those posts about the Kickstarter. :)Today I break radio silence to build a book list. My sister reports that my five-year-old nephew is going through a dragon phase. He already has A Practical Guide to Dragons (how could he not? I think I gave a copy to every relative who wanted one, and then some), along with the one I edited, A Practical Guide to Monsters. My sister called while in the bookstore, looking for books to go with a Christmas present, and I could only think of the Dragon Codex books I edited. I didn't even think of the Dragonology books off the top of my head, which would be perfect for him---some reading, but a lot of tactical exploring, as well. So now I'm putting together a list of books for her to look up at the library.He's only five, so picture books are welcome for the list. I'm just not as well-versed in them, ...

Sorry, sorry (but not that sorry)The thing is, I’m whelmed by something – an idea, or a project or possibly (whisper this) even a novel.And I believe that if you’ve got an inchoate idea you should focus on it, follow it around, play with it, but not talk about it. Never share it until you could pick it out of an identity parade without hesitation as being the suspect in question. Why?Because other people’s views, no matter how well-meaning, colour our own intellectual exercises. I once had an utterly fantastic idea for a novel, and mentioned it to a dear friend, who replied ‘Oh that’s been done already’ and told me about a book she’d read that was, indeed, quite similar in theme and content. I thought about it, and felt the idea was still strong and compelling, but every time I tried to formalise it to a novel’s structure, I felt uncomfortable, as if I was on the verge of plagiarism, even though I hadn’t read the novel in question - so I abandoned the idea completely. Only to see a newly-published book with a similar theme and content win a fairly substantial prize this very year …So I’ve got this idea ...

How about some Christmas Crafts?

Authors and Social Networks: A Love/Hate Relationship
by Jacquie Rogers
Once upon a time, a writer would grab a quill with her ink-stained fingers and proceed to scratch out the latest adventure to thrill her readers.  She lived in her head, maybe acted out a scene or two.  The stacks in the library gaver her not only a dose of realism, but even more Bright Ideas to woo her readers into another world.
Intrigue . . . adventure . . . romance . . .
Her hope was to sell the book so the story could reach a wide audience.  All she had to do was get a publisher, and she had it made in the shade.
Okay, that wasn’t entirely true because some of the most well-known 19th Century authors promoted themselves relentlessly.  Mark Twain, Charles Dickens.  They didn’t wait around for people to buy their books.  Both of them took the show on the road.
I have to think that if they lived today, they’d be all over Facebook.  Twitter was made for Mark Twain.  Will Rogers, too.  Can you imagine the...

Spray-on snow, gift-shopping mayhem, the same old reruns on TV… if you’ve already tired of Yuletide then why not go for something different this Christmas? Let this line-up of alternative festive fare inspire you.
Write your own Christmas songs with the help of The Carolers,  a band of merry gentleman who sing their own seasonal ditties, such as Touch my Balls, with alternative lyrics set to familiar Christmas music..
Go green with eco-friendly gift ideas like this one, which puts a new spin on the idea of “recycling”
Get away from it all and celebrate with the locals in a European city of your choice – such as Berlin, Copenhagen, Riga or Gothenburg
...

If Murray
Rothbard—Austrian school economist, anarchist political
philosopher, early American popular historian, and inveterate
libertarian organizational gadfly—had never lived, the modern
libertarian movement would have nowhere near its current size and
influence.
He inspired and educated generations of young libertarian
intellectuals and activists, from Leonard
Liggio to Roy
Childs to Randy Barnett.
He helped form and shape the mission of such libertarian
institutions as the Institute for
Humane Studies, the Cato
Institute, and the Ludwig Von Mises
Institute. His unique combination of a Randian-Aristotelian
natural rights ethic,
Austrian economic...

With Christmas a short week away from today, I've been faced with the same circumstance I am faced with every Christmas. Or at least I have been since both parents have passed away.No immediate family with whom to spend the holiday.I am an only child, and because I have never married, I have no siblings, no children, and no spouse. My nearest relatives, cousins I dearly love, are a day's drive away. Hardly convenient to drop in on Christmas Day or to have over.When my mom passed away on December 22nd many years ago, Christmas as I knew it, would never happen again. The three of us always celebrated on Christmas Day by a big breakfast and then leisurely opening our gifts. Later that day, we would sit down to a festive dinner, usually standing rib roast. We were small, but enjoyed the day and each others' company.Needless to say, the year Mom died, Dad's and my Christmas was unique. By the time the next year rolled around, Dad had remarried to his childhood sweetheart (as often happens) and had moved back to his hometown in Ohio. That year, my new step-mom and Dad made the trip to my home and the traditions of Christmas Day carried on with me ...

 

Let’s Visit South Africa
Newman and Caldwell
1968

A focused, investigative account of the forces that toppled Anne Boleyn from favor and led to her trial and execution.

<

A new book is a tribute to a Microsoft researcher, lost at sea in 2007, who argued that computing was transforming science.

We are becoming more and more wrapped up in technology. Admit it: You’ve felt the foot of Facebook upon you, beating you down with its endless status reports. You’ve shared too much information on Twitter, had your best hours stolen from you by World of Warcraft, sat mesmerized before YouTube.

Mr.

Next Door Neighbor Mexico
Greenbie
1942

Amazon will have the exclusive e-book rights to two books from Stephen R.

Assuming you want to make macaroons at home - some may say that these little meringue cookies, like blutwurst or head cheese or Neapolitan-style pizza, are an undertaking best left to professionals - Hisako Ogita’s “I Love Macarons’’ is the place to start.

The announcement of a nearly $1.1 billion digitization project underscored the government’s desire to maintain control over French cultural heritage.

On the 10th anniversary of Joseph Heller’s death, an old friend remembers the author’s switchblade-sharp mind and fine-tuned fraud-detector.

No doubt about it, publishing is changing and lots of authors are scratching their heads, wondering what to do next.  In light of this, I asked some readers what they’d like to see happening for 2010 in the reading world.  Here’s the list, dutifully checked twice:

• Better and cheaper ebook readers.  Please, please, please.  My daughter, a college student and mother of four boys, can’t get her reading fix unless she can carry books, and she can’t carry text books, fiction books, the baby, and herd the other three boys all at one time.  An e-reader (good quality and affordable) with all her text books and a bazillion romance novels would suit her just fine.
• Ix-nay on the headhopping.  This is from my older daughter, who says headhopping is confusing, especially if your reading time is frequently interrupted.  She gets annoyed when she has to go back, then keep score until she figures out whose head she’s in before she can start reading again.
• More historicals set somewhere besides the British Isles.  What about Bolivia...

The ownership of the e-book rights to older titles is a growing source of conflict in the publishing industry.

Know this, if you dive into “Pirate Latitudes,’’ Michael Crichton’s 17th-century high seas adventure: The Englishmen who plunder Spanish treasure ships here are not pirates. They are “privateers,’’ patriots fighting to loosen Spain’s hold on the Caribbean trade.

Dominick Dunne, who died on Aug. 26, left behind one last, stinging roman à clef.

I didn't want this to get lost in The Book Table's favorite covers of 2009 post. Jason from The Book Table wrote this; I love it. Jason, have you seen this?"Our assignment was to pick 15 covers and comment on them if we wished. We think the covers speak for themselves, so instead of talking about them, we want to mention what we think was the most amazing piece of book design of the year. As much as we'd like to choose Chip Kidd's design of The Original of Laura, which we loved, or any of the designs done by Chris Ware, Oak Park's very own genius, we think the design of The Hemingses of Monticello is the best design of the year. We know that most books that we sell in the store are sold because of their spine and we know that of the thousands of books in our home, only a few at anytime have their covers displayed. Because of this, we spend a lot of time thinking about spines. The Hemingses of Monticello is the first book that we ever remember seeing that has award medals on the spine. It's ...

After writing a memoir about his interest in books and the book trade, it makes sense that the prolific and celebrated Larry McMurtry would turn to the subject of writing.

I just woke up to see that our Kickstarter has been fully funded with 11 hours to go. You guys, I'm speechless. I went to bed knowing we had $2000 left to go, and wondering if we'd make it. Wow. So, a big thank you to everyone who made this happen: All the people who tweeted, blogged, and shared on Facebook about it; all the people who participated in the auction; and especially all the people who pledged. We'll officially be open for submissions from writers come Jan. 1 because WE MET THE GOAL! For you writers: keep an eye on the Tu Publishing blog, where we'll be posting official submission guidelines in the next few days! Originally published at Stacy Whitman's Grimoire.

I just woke up to see that our Kickstarter has been fully funded with 11 hours to go. You guys, I'm speechless. I went to bed knowing we had $2000 left to go, and wondering if we'd make it. Wow. So, a big thank you to everyone who made this happen: All the people who tweeted, blogged, and shared on Facebook about it; all the people who participated in the auction; and especially all the people who pledged. We'll officially be open for submissions from writers come Jan. 1 because WE MET THE GOAL! For you writers: keep an eye on the Tu Publishing blog, where we'll be posting official submission guidelines in the next few days! Originally published at Stacy Whitman's Grimoire.

I just woke up to see that our Kickstarter has been fully funded with 11 hours to go. You guys, I'm speechless. I went to bed knowing we had $2000 left to go, and wondering if we'd make it. Wow. So, a big thank you to everyone who made this happen: All the people who tweeted, blogged, and shared on Facebook about it; all the people who participated in the auction; and especially all the people who pledged. We'll officially be open for submissions from writers come Jan. 1 because WE MET THE GOAL! For you writers: keep an eye on the Tu Publishing blog, where we'll be posting official submission guidelines in the next few days! Originally published at Stacy Whitman's Grimoire.

William Styron may have been one of the leading literary lions of recent decades, but his books are not selling much these days.

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union labeled Pluto a “dwarf planet,’’ ending (it hoped) a controversy that began in 2000 when the newly-designed Hayden Planetarium’s exhibit had effectively downgraded the ninth planet.

In all likelihood, the definitive book about the global financial meltdown is yet to come and will be written by, say, a Larry Summers or a Robert Samuelson, but the funniest is already available at your bookstore.

Writers are practiced recyclers because some stories deserve to be told again and again.

Faster than a speeding matzo ball. More powerful than chicken soup.

Kirkus churned out nearly 5,000 reliably cantankerous reviews a year, which many librarians and booksellers used when deciding how to stock their shelves.

James Rosenquist writes about growing up to be a painter, while other authors dissect the Warhol phenomenon afresh.

This book of essays from the Bush-era coheres better than most in the genre because of George Packer’s unusually coherent worldview.

A collection of Herbert Muschamp’s energetic architectural criticism.

Top 5 at a Glance1. U IS FOR UNDERTOW, by Sue Grafton2. THE LOST SYMBOL, by Dan Brown3. I, ALEX CROSS, by James Patterson4. UNDER THE DOME, by Stephen King5.

Cross-posted from Tu Publishing:A big thanks to Alana Joli Abbott, who arranged the online auction to benefit our Kickstarter campaign, and to everyone who donated something or who bid on the items in the auction.Now that the auction is over, we're still heading toward the home stretch in our Kickstarter campaign. As of writing this, we are at $6502 with 58 hours to go! That means we are $3498 short of our $10,000 goal. Can we make it in 58 hours? Well, we jumped about 25% up in the last several days, so it's very possible!Several people have been asking why we're doing this Kickstarter campaign. Mary Robinette Kowal said it best over on her blog:Once upon a time, someone starting a new publishing house would either have a personal fortune or would seek large private investors. Crowdsourced fundraising allows the masses to chip in for projects they believe in.When we start out, we'll have a lot of friends who we know helped us out, who will be rooting for us to succeed. It's because of all of you that we'll be able to do this. So, thanks for your support so far, and thanks for the help you'll g...

Cross-posted from Tu Publishing:A big thanks to Alana Joli Abbott, who arranged the online auction to benefit our Kickstarter campaign, and to everyone who donated something or who bid on the items in the auction.Now that the auction is over, we're still heading toward the home stretch in our Kickstarter campaign. As of writing this, we are at $6502 with 58 hours to go! That means we are $3498 short of our $10,000 goal. Can we make it in 58 hours? Well, we jumped about 25% up in the last several days, so it's very possible!Several people have been asking why we're doing this Kickstarter campaign. Mary Robinette Kowal said it best over on her blog:Once upon a time, someone starting a new publishing house would either have a personal fortune or would seek large private investors. Crowdsourced fundraising allows the masses to chip in for projects they believe in.When we start out, we'll have a lot of friends who we know helped us out, who will be rooting for us to succeed. It's because of all of you that we'll be able to do this. So, thanks for your support so far, and thanks for the help you'll g...

Cross-posted from Tu Publishing:A big thanks to Alana Joli Abbott, who arranged the online auction to benefit our Kickstarter campaign, and to everyone who donated something or who bid on the items in the auction.Now that the auction is over, we're still heading toward the home stretch in our Kickstarter campaign. As of writing this, we are at $6502 with 58 hours to go! That means we are $3498 short of our $10,000 goal. Can we make it in 58 hours? Well, we jumped about 25% up in the last several days, so it's very possible!Several people have been asking why we're doing this Kickstarter campaign. Mary Robinette Kowal said it best over on her blog:Once upon a time, someone starting a new publishing house would either have a personal fortune or would seek large private investors. Crowdsourced fundraising allows the masses to chip in for projects they believe in.When we start out, we'll have a lot of friends who we know helped us out, who will be rooting for us to succeed. It's because of all of you that we'll be able to do this. So, thanks for your support so far, and thanks for the help you'll gi...

The master of sinuous syntax has performed surgery in this collection, often bringing his poems into the wry epigrammatic domain of Dickinson.

Recently reviewed books of particular interest.

Some care about getting English right; others don’t.

A digest of the history of human-polar bear relations, a pretty shameful record even before global warming.

Recent automotive books of note focus on Paul Newman’s racing career, every Porsche model ever made and a muscle-car builder on Long Island.