Category Archives: Lauren

June 01, 2012   Lauren   advice, book club, feedback, fun, Lauren, reading  
2

Organized nerdiness

Despite my love of reading and the sheer volume of it that I do every week for work, I feel like I don’t often enough do it just for fun.  I tend to cram it in in phases, desperately scarfing down book after book, before returning to a world in which TV and games on my phone exist and sometimes steal my attention away.  As much a fan of books as I am, I’m also a big nerd for systems and rules, so I decided to find ways to make sure I’m keeping up to a reasonable level of pleasure reading.  It’s hard to turn off your inner editor (maybe that National Book Award winner doesn’t really need my marginalia) if you never read enough for fun to find the work mode off switch.

My first step was to form a book club with my friends.  DGLM book club is great, but it’s geared toward learning rather than enjoying, and we don’t usually all read the same book.  I want to be able to chat about books with my friends, but with varied tastes and busy lives, it’s often the case that even those of us who are well read don’t overlap much.  Our first book is Jeffrey Eugenides’s The Marriage Plot, which I’m actually not that sure is going to be my cup of tea.  We shall see, I guess!  Those who’ve already read it suggest we’re going to have lots to talk about, so at least it should be interesting.  I’m pretty adamant that we not pretend to read a book and then gossip about other things instead—we do plenty of that without forming a book club, after all.

So I turn to you for tips:  are any of you in a book club?  Any pitfalls to avoid?  Ways that your book club really made things interesting?

May 18, 2012   Lauren   children's books, favorites, fun, Lauren  
2

The strangest thing

To me, one of the most exciting elements of children’s publishing has got to be the school visit.  I don’t know about anyone else, but I was pretty enamored with anyone remotely famous who showed up to my elementary school.  I can only remember one author ever coming to town, but he earned my undying affection for it.  I read a whole bunch of his books in short succession and managed to get his autograph on my absolute favorite.  And then I told every adult who would listen for ages that I knew a famous, important author.

And who was that man?  Daniel Manus Pinkwater, author of many truly absurd children’s books including The Hoboken Chicken Emergency.

Imagine my delight, then, to see him turn up on this Flavorwire list of the 10 weirdest children’s book authors of all time.  Weird is Pinkwater’s thing, and he’s a master of it.  I’m not sure I’ve read anyone odder before or since.

Pinkwater’s not my only beloved childhood hero to make the list.  All kids everywhere love The Stinky Cheeseman, surely.  Fighting over that one at quiet reading time was a favored pastime in my elementary school classrooms.  And Louis Sachar’s Wayside School books were the most fun a person has ever had doing math.

Maybe as a weekend treat, I’ll go pick up copies of all these now for a trip down weirdness memory lane.

 

April 20, 2012   Lauren   fun, Lauren, reading  
2

A time to share

According to UNESCO, Monday is a pretty significant day in the literary world.  It’s the anniversary of the birth of Nabokov and the deaths of Cervantes and Shakespeare*, among others.  And so in 1995, UNESCO declared it World Book and Copyright Day on April 23rd, in part to tie into a pre-existing celebration of Cervantes in Spain and a lovely sounding holiday in Catalonia where people give a flower and a book to a loved one.  To my knowledge, World Book Day isn’t much of a thing here in the US, but it sounds like a decent number of countries get on board.

Last year, a corresponding event, World Book Night, was launched in the UK, and this year it’s coming to the US as well.  On Monday night, tens of thousands of people will be giving out free copies of 30 different titles in their communities.  Each of them goes to a public place with 20 copies of the same book to give out to people who say they are not readers.  It’s one thing to give out books to people who love books, but the WBN volunteers give them to people who might discover they love something they have never seen as something other than a chore.

I think my favorite thing about it is that volunteers get to name their favorite titles from the list of 30, and the organization tries to distribute the books to people who really love them.  It’s one thing to be handed something randomly, but it’s something else entirely when someone can put a book in your hand and say “I love this, and I hope you will, too.”  Who doesn’t want to share their favorite books with as many people as they can?  And who doesn’t want to read something more when someone shares it passionately?

Here’s hoping that the world has some more readers in it very soon.  Is anyone participating in World Book Night?

*Fun fact: Cervantes and Shakespeare both died on April 23rd, 1616, but they didn’t die on the same day.  Apparently, since England still used the Julian calendar at the time, April 23rd in Spain was 10 days before April 23rd in England, so Cervantes was dead for a bit before Shakespeare kicked the bucket.

April 06, 2012   Lauren   favorites, fun, Lauren, opinion, reading  
8

Ah, the folly of youth

I’m the first to admit I have some obsessions that are potentially embarrassing.  I would never play my music on shuffle for a roomful of people, and at least half my DVD collection is thoroughly ridiculous.  My tastes are ¼ snob, ¼ misguided snob, and ½ philistine.  And that’s the way I Iike it.

But books?  I don’t know.  I mean, yes, I was into Anne Rice’s vampire oeuvre to a perhaps extreme degree.  And it’s possible that I’ve tried to convince many inconvincible people that The Outsiders is not just a fond childhood memory, but also a work of real art.  But am I embarrassed by either?  I don’t look back and laugh at young Lauren’s appreciation of those things.  I’d happily re-read The Outsiders this weekend and report to you how my heart breaks for the greasers.  (Especially the thoroughly underappreciated Sodapop.)

I just don’t have the “oh, man, I loved that, didn’t I?” mortification when any book bubbles to the surface in my mind.  So when Rachel shared this post from The Awl in which writers reflect on their cringe-inducing early book loves, I couldn’t really come up with my own.  Even though I loved, loved, loved some of the books mentioned (Rice, VC Andrews, Camus, Sweet Valley High), I’m not embarrassed at all to have felt that way.  And ever since I read The Fault in Our Stars a few months ago, I’ve wanted to go out and buy a truckload of its tackier, formulaic cousins, the Lurlene McDaniels books.  When it comes down to it, that stuff all seems like harmless fun or an attempt to aspire to some lofty intellectual heights, and I just don’t see what’s to be embarrassed about in either.  I hope I never reach the day when I’m troubled by my own love of trashy fun or pretension, because I’m going to have so much shame to live down that I’ll probably just have to move into a therapist’s office.

Whether or not you have cringetastic books in your past, it’s worth checking out the link, even if just for Justin Halpern’s response.  Who among us can say they’re not kind of curious to read that one now?

For the record, I’m pretending The Perks of Being a Wallflower didn’t appear on that list.

P.S.  Stay gold.

March 23, 2012   Lauren   about us, advice, Lauren, opinion  
7

7 Things I’ve Learned in 7 Years in Publishing

Seven years ago this week, I walked into the office of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management as Jane’s new assistant. I started out here the usual combination of nervous, cocky, overwhelmed, over ambitious, and grateful someone was willing to take a chance on me. Seven years later, here I am, Literary Agent & Subsidiary Rights Director. Fun fact: on the day I started, DGLM was Jane, Miriam, Michael, Stacey, and Jim. On my seventh anniversary this Wednesday, all five of those people were right here in the office, along with a bunch who’ve come along since. Now that’s partially coincidental timing, but I think it’s a fitting testament to the kind of company this is.

DGLM is a company that’s given me much opportunity to learn and grow in many ways. Through the agency and publishing at large, I’ve learned many lessons in the last seven years. Without further ado, here are seven of the biggest:

  1.  Taste ≠ Quality ≠ Viability: It’s a hard lesson to learn for the very opinionated like me that one’s taste is not an objective indicator of quality. That quality is not necessarily the only factor in viability. It is annoying, yes, that the world does not yet bend to my will and some people persist in having opinions that are not the same as mine. But I’ve stopped taking it personally. (Most days.)
  2. Competition Does Not Preclude Helpfulness: Publishing is a highly competitive beast, but it’s also surprisingly collegial. Sure, some people are overly competitive and undermining, but I find most people are actually pretty helpful even to the people competing for the same resources they are. With few exceptions, the really successful people seem to be well liked by their competitor peers. Of course, being a lovely and wonderful person isn’t enough on its own. But isn’t it nice to know that it can also be a strategic advantage?
  3. There Are a Lot of People Behind Every Book: Before I was told about the job here at DGLM, I didn’t even realize literary agencies existed. I’d pretty much worked out author, editor, publicist, sales rep, buyer, store personnel, customer as the chain, but that’s missing so many people I can’t believe I hadn’t given the others any thought. It’s taken me a while to get a sense of all the other roles at play, because it’s not always easy to see what’s happening behind the scenes. Until you’re mired in the publishing process, you might not be aware of every aspect, but for every piece of the puzzle, there’s a person whose job it is to place it.
  4. The Delete Key Is Your Friend: I implore you to find the delete key on your keyboard and commit its location to memory. It has saved me so much heartache. Publishing is a business, and it behooves us all to be professional and constructive. Delete the bile and move on to something that will help the situation or at least not harm it. When in doubt (even the tiniest scrap of it) about whether your response to something is motivated by reasoned thought or reckless emotion, ask your agent what they advise. Authors need allies, and people who are hurt or pissed off don’t make good allies.
  5. Systems Are Magic: Jane is the master of systems. Seven years on, much of how I get my job done is based on what she taught me to do as her assistant. I’m hyper organized and efficient, mocked for my use of spreadsheets and general systematic nerdery. But without them, I wouldn’t get anything done. Don’t just adopt any old system (electronic/calendar reminders are a total waste on me), but don’t stop trying till you get one that works for you. Being on top of things is important, whatever your role.
  6. The Internet Is Both the Best and the Worst: It’s distracting. It’s glorious. It’s inspiring. It’s soul crushing. It’s connecting. It’s isolating. Find a way to make it work for you, and when it’s just not doing you any favors, walk away. Talk to a friend, go to a café, sit in a park, play with small children or adorable animals, or just take a nap. It’s amazing how much more incredible the internet seems when you’ve taken a break from it.
  7. Breakfast Is the Most Important Meal of the Day: When breakfast arrives in the DGLM kitchen, stand back till Miriam and Jim are done fighting over who gets to use the very sharp apple-cutting knife first. Words to live by if you find yourself in the DGLM offices some morning and value all your limbs.

 

March 09, 2012   Lauren   Lauren, recommendations, resources  
15

The book I’ve always wanted

Everyone once in a while, someone sends you an interesting link that just happens to answer a question you’ve long been asking.  You see, I’ve always loved history, but I can’t for the life of me contextualize it.  I was once humiliated in a college class for accidentally suggesting that Biblical times predate ancient Greece because, well, I might have sort of thought they did up until that time.  I mean, I knew they were both old, don’t get me wrong.  And the second it was out of my mouth I knew for a million reasons that it made no sense.  I just have no innate sense of the timeline of history and how each piece fits together.  (Incidentally, I also have this problem with neighborhoods in Brooklyn.  Fort Greene is where in regards to Park Slope??)

So when Rachel sent me this link to a post on The Awl about books that teach you about the world, I was totally thrilled to find this:

“Before I read this book—I later came to realize—I had no consistent mental timeline for human history. Because everything I had learned in school I had learned in discrete sections: US history was separate from European history which was separate from “World” history, and I had no real idea of how the events I learned about in each of these classes interrelated with one another. But in this history, the Basques, who have maintained a stable society in the same place of the world, Euskadi, since before the Roman Empire, become the continuous line through which to view and analyze the events of Western history, as Kurlansky does a phenomenal job plotting the parallels between changes in Basque culture with what was going on elsewhere in the world.”

The answer to the question I’ve always been asking myself is apparently, “Read The Basque History of the World by Mark Kurlansky.”  Handy!  The only things I really know about Basque country relate to soccer and the perplexing anomaly that is their language, so I’d actually be kind of excited to find out more.  Conveniently, I’ve also long been asking myself “Which Mark Kurlansky book should I read first?”

Two questions: one answer.  Just the way I like it.

So what book have you always needed?  Maybe someone else can chime in with your perfect answer.

February 24, 2012   Lauren   advice, fun, Lauren, reading  
23

Make me smile

My computer has decided to stage some kind of hateful protest of late (if it’s not done with that, you can find me standing over its incinerated corpse on Monday), so I’m very far behind—so much so that my brain can’t stop and focus long enough to figure out what my note re: a blog idea was really meant to be about.  I know at one point on Wednesday I was downright inspired.  Alas.

So as an alternative, I’m going to ask you all for some help: the last few books I’ve read, while phenomenal, have been kind of sad.  Especially the most recent two, which ended with me bawling on my couch for about thirty minutes before going to bed all a-sniffle.  Now I love a book that can move me to tears, even the embarrassing all out sobbing kind, but I think I might need something a little happier for a bit.  So I ask you, dear readers, what are your favorite pick-me-up books?  They don’t necessarily need to be purely escapist, just really hopeful, and not in a “dark but ultimately uplifting” sort of way.  For now, I’d like something with an emotional range from fine to cheerful (or just a book where the author doesn’t make me love an amazing character and then allow the world to try to destroy them because why would you do that to me????).

So…what should I read next?

February 17, 2012   Rachel   contest, fun, holidays, Lauren, Rachel S.  
107

Book love: The winner!

As you’ve all been waiting with bated breath to find out what the verdict is on our lovely little contest of last week,  I won’t waste too much time waffling on about what creative submissions we received and about how much fun it was to actually imagine these pairings–which it was! Lauren and I actually agreed on the outcome here, so with no further ado, in her own words, here’s Lauren with the results:

OK, so full disclosure, there were a few I felt I couldn’t really consider, because I know them and felt biased because they’re all so smart and witty (client, grad school roommate, agency client), but I haven’t told Rachel so that she won’t have the same problem.  WordPress automatically emailed me the comments since it was my blog post, so I actually saw the email addresses before the actual entries.

My pick is Elizabeth Lynd for Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret? and Then Again, Maybe I Won’t.  Not least because I actually felt as a kid that Margaret and Tony were kindred spirits.  Elizabeth, please write to me at labramo@dystel.com to claim your mug!

Honorable mention goes to Jesse, because Perks of Being a Wallflower is always going to win me over.

So there you have it! Thank you so much for your participation and please, have a wonderful weekend!

February 10, 2012   Lauren   contest, fun, Lauren, Rachel S., retailers  
13

Book love: a contest

UPDATE: Some great entries so far!!  I guess it probably would’ve made sense to set some deadlines and such, huh?  We’ll keep collecting entries till Friday at noon, and then Rachel will announce the winners that afternoon.  Keep ’em coming!

Now normally Valentine’s Day is not my thing—in high school I established a cabinet for when I take over the world specifically to delete 2/14 from the calendar—but when Rachel sent me this adorable video, my icy cold heart melted just a bit.

Via Word Brooklyn, Rachel’s favorite bookstore, via Riverhead, comes this video from LA’s Skylight Books of books that are totally gettin’ it on throughout the store.  It’s charming and adorable.  (Except that dead Steve Jobs should probably not be participating in spin the bottle.  That’s sort of icky.)

But it made me wonder about what kinds of books actually would love each other.  Fortunately, Rachel helped me brainstorm some ideas:

The Great Gatsby would be all about Emma.  Lord of the Flies and The Hunger Games would go steady for sure, until their romance ended tragically and prematurely.  Animal Farm and Charlotte’s Web could be a good couple since opposites attract.  And I could see a strong future for The Imperfectionists and Then We Came to the End, as long as one or the other managed to win the lottery so they didn’t have to bicker about how to pay the rent.

Which books do you think should hook up this Valentine’s Day?  Rachel and I will each select a favorite entry from the comments below to receive a DGLM mug!

January 27, 2012   Lauren   fun, Lauren, opinion, reading, why we are agents  
5

The magic of words

If you follow me on Twitter (@laurenabramo), you might already have seen my delight at the appearance of one Stephen Fry at Barnes & Noble in Tribeca on Tuesday.  I’ve spoken of my love for him (and QI) on the blog before, so I don’t need to bore you with the details of why he’s in many ways my model of everything a human being should strive to be.  Instead of reading from his new memoir (published here in the US by Overlook), he spoke about his love for words.  Apparently, young Stephen was introduced to the magical possibilities of language when he came across the work of Oscar Wilde, who opened his eyes to the fact that words can do so much more than convey meaning and direction.  It’s what endeared him to the written word as an art form—and not coincidentally is much of what I love about Fry himself.

Hearing Fry wax rhapsodic about Wilde made me think about the first time I really got excited by how much power words could have.  I’d always loved reading, but I think much of my early love for books was love for story or characters.  It wasn’t even a book that first tipped me off to what language could do: it was A Few Good Men.  If you aren’t a huge fan and can only recall the climactic court room scene that might seem an odd choice.  But A Few Good Men comes from the pen of Aaron Sorkin, whose greatest strength as a writer has always been the absolutely glorious sentences he constructs.  It’s not even Jack Nicholson telling Tom Cruise he can’t handle the truth that was the clincher for me—throughout the film there are lines and moments that to my young mind were revelatory.  I started keeping a notebook of quotes and transcribed a pretty decent chunk of the film, adding those from other sources along the way.  The way Sorkin expressed even the most trivial things with a cleverness I’d never encountered before was really amazing for me.  I’ve been in love with words ever since.

Of course, it wasn’t long after that I discovered that the best resource for such word mastery was often in books.  Over the years I’ve taken to noting exquisite turns of phrase, not usually in a centralized location or even one I’ll return to, but with a folded corner.  I may never need it again, but I’m not the sort of reader who can let those moments pass unmarked.  In clients’ manuscripts, I usually go for a simple “!!!” in the margin.  No good phrase should go unnoticed as far as I’m concerned.

Surely Fry and I aren’t alone in this moment of explosive realization—I’d imagine many readers and especially writers would feel the same way.  Any distinct sources of epiphany for any of you?

P.S. I may have linked to this before, but it’s worth a listen/watch.  Pretty mesmerizing.

P.P.S. While I’m linking to tangentially relevant things involving British people, I was reintroduced to the delight of this clip from That Mitchell and Webb Look by Twitter earlier this week—I’d love to credit the person, but can’t remember!—and it’s worth watching.  This is pretty much exactly what all my meetings with clients are like.  What book would not be improved by adding a shark, I ask?  And you should definitely kill your main character in the first chapter.  Or don’t.

P.P.P.S. This blog post somehow inadvertently became a very clear view into what TV would look like if I were in charge of it.

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