Category Archives: reading

January 17, 2013   Michael   Michael, reading, recommendations  
3

Reading in the new year

January has been off to a busy start! I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to have an extra 24 hours this holiday weekend, in part to catch up on some work reading, but also to do some reading for fun, too.  Last night, I was excited when Lawrence Wright’s Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief downloaded to my iPad, and despite it being late and me being exhausted, I had to crack it open for a bit. I pre-ordered the book ages ago, and have been dying to read it. I’ve always been interested in religion in an academic way, though my interest has primarily been in classical religions and early Christianity. But when I read the Paul Haggis profile piece Wright did in The New Yorker in 2011, I knew I wanted more. All of this is to say, the book was definitely my most-anticipated of the very early new year.
With most of the year still ahead, I’m curious to know what you’re most looking forward to. Which books will you be adding to the TBR pile in 2013?
November 30, 2012   Lauren   fun, Lauren, reading, recommendations, why we are agents  
8

Busman’s holiday

Last night, I had a meeting with my book club (not to be confused with DGLM book club, which meets next week).  On the subway home, I was thinking how much fun it had been to leave work and drink wine and talk about books.  The great thing is that while last night was for fun, it’s often my job to leave work and drink wine and talk about books.  At my lunch meeting yesterday (no wine, since publishing’s moved on from the drinking lunch, sadly), we talked about our own lists and a novel I’m shopping that I think this editor will love (now on submission to her, so fingers crossed!).  We also chatted extensively about books we’d read and loved that have nothing to do with either of our companies, which is pretty much what happens when I get together with friends as well.  Sometimes my personal life and my professional life are similar in the best possible ways.

Reflecting on this brought to mind the debate those of us in publishing go through before every long weekend or vacation: work reading or pleasure reading or both?  We breathlessly discuss which books we’re taking on our vacations.  There’s intense analysis of the towering To Read piles and lengthy lists—what to bring?  How many?  E-reader or hard copy or both?  What are you reading?  Which of these did you like more?  Should I bring some manuscripts or put all work aside?

I can’t recall ever hearing someone in publishing say, “I can’t wait for vacation!  I’m not going to read anything.”  A total vacation from publishing means cramming your suitcase with a huge stack of books that you don’t have a vested interest in, not taking a break from books.

It occurs to me that publishing is an industry all about the busman’s holiday. Frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Any suggestions for what to cram into my suitcase for my vacation next month?

October 12, 2012   Rachel   great books, lists, Rachel S., reading  
4

Read what you like

One thing I’m almost embarrassed to admit is that it’s only in the past five years or so that I’ve managed to finally reach the realization that reading isn’t a contest. Not that I ever actively pursued a book or number of books with the conscious thought towards winning or understanding or reading more than anyone else, but I also won’t deny the certain pleasure I used to get when I’d already read a book we were reading in school or when people were impressed with either the books I chose to read or how quickly I read them.

I have a list somewhere I made in a notebook a few years ago while sitting in Borders (R.I.P.) going through the entirety of one of those 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die compendiums, making note of every single one that I had read—occasionally scoffing at some of the books that were included, whether or not I had read them. I don’t remember how many books I ended up having on that list, but it was definitely less than 100. Obviously I declared the list unrepresentative and inaccurate.

Similar lists like the Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels and the sort still present themselves as obstacles to me to this day. While I no longer care that much about whether or not I’ve read the Top 10 Most Difficult Books, I still find all of these lists incredibly fascinating. Of course, as it’s literature, it can only be subjective. Yes, there are the “great books” that everyone is meant to have some understanding of, and there are those that are widely regarded as the epitomes of modern literature, but there’s always going to be someone to disagree.

What are the criteria for these lists? What makes a book great? What makes a books difficult? There’s really no answer to those questions that are universal, and the lists themselves are there only so people like me can get some kind of perverse pride out of having read some of them. But it really doesn’t matter, does it? As long as you read what you like, what you like is good. The only opinion that matters is your own, and simply because you haven’t read Finnegan’s Wake,* known throughout the land as virtually impossible to get through, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy the books you do choose to read.

We’re not in school anymore, though, and you don’t have to read anything if you don’t want to! So while it’s incredibly entertaining to tick off a list or check them out for inspiration (I’m of the belief that lists in any shape or form are just fun), they don’t have to be the be all end all. If the books you like to read aren’t revered by a great intellectual community, or you just don’t get what the big deal is with Catcher in the Rye or Pride and Prejudice, then you shouldn’t feel any pressure to try and slog through them.

Reading, at its core, is about exploring your own interests, losing yourself in the words, the story and the characters. It’s not about peeking over your book to see who can see what important work you’ve chosen or comparing yourself with others.

 

*(Which, I will say, is the only book I have ever actually thrown across a room, and yes, I did try and read it when I as sixteen because we were going to be reading Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man the next year in school and yes, I thought it would be better if I had read something else of Joyce’s beforehand and yes, I remember flushing with pride when my English teacher was impressed that I had tried to read it at all, and no, I did not make it past page 20.)

September 25, 2012   John   advice, comics, fun, John, reading, writing  
5

Starting out with comic books

Here at DGLM, we’re doing one of our periodic webpage updates, so I was taking another look at my personal essay. Over the past two years, it’s been heartening to receive numerous submissions from writers who felt a connection with me because I grew up reading Tintin and Asterix comics. Full disclosure, though: while I certainly started out with those series, and continued to read them for years, I did move on to more traditional comic books like X-men, Spider-man, and Teen Titans. (Hey, they were big in the 80s.) In fact, I only started with Tintin and Asterix because my parents thought the rest were junk!

It wasn’t until I started earning some spending money that I became a regular at the old West Side Comics on 86th Street—I was there on the day Spider-man debuted his black costume, and for a brief stretch, I could tell you the difference between all the printings of the original Teen Age Mutant Ninja Turtles. Needless to say, my parents still thought they were junk, but at least when I was ready to put them away in high school, they didn’t haul them off to the dump. Though it has been a while since I’ve seen the boxes in the attic—next visit, I think I need to do a thorough inventory…

Anyway, all of this came to mind when I was reading an essay by Jeramey Kraatz at Nerdy Book Club. For anyone who has a low opinion of comic books and worries that they rot your brain, it’s worth a read. I love his explanation of the imaginative aspect of comics, and how, contrary to the common opinion that comics put everything on the page, he shows that the panel format actually encourages visualization and makes readers fill in the blanks. And I think he makes a good case for how comics not only spur further reading development but also writing—seems like a great parenting tip to have kids write their own stories while they wait for the next monthly installment of their favorite series.

So, dear readers, did any of you find your creative spark in the land of Marvel and D.C.? Have you developed storytelling techniques based on the panel format? And, for fun, what’s the best comic you’ve got stored in your parents’ basement? For me, it’s either TMNT #2 or some really old Spideys.

September 07, 2012   Lauren   holidays, Lauren, reading, recommendations  
2

Choice

Today, my friends, is a very important day!  It’s my sister’s birthday.  Well, ok, it’s also National Buy a Book Day.  I will admit I don’t know much about the organization behind it, but I think we all get the gist.

So now we are left with a difficult choice:  what to buy.  I’m going to head to the store on my way home to pick something up, but I’m not sure what it should be.  I’m currently reading Tom Perrotta’s The Leftovers (for DGLM bookclub) and then need to start Téa Obreht’s The Tiger’s Wife (for my personal bookclub).  There are at least 18 million books on the TBR pile at home, plus the bookshelves, plus the bookcases behind me right here at the office.  And that’s not even counting the things I’m reading for professional reasons.  But I can’t just not buy a book on National Buy a Book Day.  I’d be letting down the nation!

Conveniently, I polled friends earlier this week on how they choose books, which might help me decide.  The two smartest people I know more or less say they read whatever I tell them to.  There’s one vote for genre.  One for reading free samples on her e-reader.  One for free e-books.  One for bookclub.  One sarcastic and one serious vote for judging a book by its cover (along with a vote for those books that are faced out on the shelves).  One for random book reviews.  One for the literary press/blogosphere.  Interestingly, no one said bestseller lists, though I’m sure that’s a factor for many.

Though my friend Chuck didn’t weigh in on the poll, he shared this parody video for “Call Me Maybe” (you don’t know how much it’s hurting me not to throw a comma in there) from Open Books bookstore in Chicago, which sounds like a pretty great organization dedicated to literacy.  The video seems to advocate choosing books by staring at people reading print editions on public transportation, so that’s an option, too:

So I think that does it: I can’t just tell me what to read without knowing the answer first.  I like to read across genres.  I don’t ever feel like I have time for free samples and feel obligated to buy books to support my industry.  I already have my next two bookclub books at home.  I don’t have time between now and leaving to wander through reviews and the literary press.  Covers might work, but we all know what they say about that.  And I have to buy the book before I get on the subway.  So I’m just going to go ahead and buy the book the video recommends at the end—I’ve been thinking about it anyway, considering how the publishing community on Twitter has been raving about it.

So…what are you buying today?  And how’d you pick?

August 27, 2012   Jim   advice, Jim, reading, Twitter  
6

Jim opens the flood gates.

If you happen to follow me on Twitter, you may have seen this last Thursday:

Jim McCarthy ‏@JimMcCarthy528 Okay authors: we’re entering the quietest weeks in the publishing year and I’m caught up on slush. Thinking of querying me? Try now!

And it’s true—the last two weeks of the summer leading up to Labor Day are pretty much dead. It seems like everyone is either on vacation or pretending they are, so submissions aren’t going out, contracts are taking longer, and maybe there are SOME new deals, but less than any other time of year barring the stretch from Christmas to New Year’s.

It’s that magical time of year when I feel like I’m almost up to date on everything. So since I haven’t signed on many new authors in the past year, it seemed like a nice time to remind people I was still (and always am) looking. Said tweet had some interesting results. Let’s discuss.

First, a lot of people replied to let me know they were sad that I don’t represent any middle grade fiction. That took me by surprise, because while I certainly haven’t done much of it, I don’t believe I’ve ever said no to the category across the board. I also don’t do much memoir, but the last new project I signed on is just that. It was an interesting reminder to me that as we encourage authors to focus more and more on researching agents before they contact us, we ourselves have to be extra certain that we’re putting good information out there.

Let’s take a quick moment to clarify what it is I’m looking for: just about anything. I know, I know. That’s not helpful. So let’s say this: it seems I’m known for YA fiction and paranormal adult fiction. And I certainly am always looking in those categories. I’d also love to find some wonderful middle grade, more literary adult fiction, and any breathtaking narrative nonfiction. Just because I don’t do something all the time doesn’t mean I’m not game to try it out (note: this is not a rule that applies for ALL agents).

Beyond that, I learned that sometimes it’s possible to be too encouraging. I’ve actually requested a ton of manuscripts in the past four days and got some great, great queries seemingly in direct response to my call for submissions. On the flip side, there were a fair number of queries that clearly weren’t ready to go yet. People saw an opportunity and jumped on it. I get that; I really do. But here’s a safe rule going forward: if it isn’t ready, don’t send it out. No matter how appealing the circumstance is, whether it’s an editor you met who asked to see it or just little old me saying to send a query, it will never pay off to rush material out if you don’t believe it’s in the best possible shape.

All in all, though, I’m thrilled with the response. There’s something so wonderful about digging through and seeking out the books that I’ll fall in love with. Even if that excitement is ever so slightly tempered by the fact that more queries equal more rejections. I know a lot of you think we agents love a power trip and really enjoy saying no. I promise that isn’t true. I’m a whole lot happier to extend an offer of representation than to send a rejection. Let’s hope that I have the opportunity to do so in the near future!

August 17, 2012   Rachel   fiction, Rachel S., reading, recommendations  
2

Really flashy flash fiction

I’ve always relished a Sunday morning with the New York Times Magazine, but I’ll admit that while I flip through and read an article if I see one that interests me, it had always been about the big ole’ crossword in the back. Until recently (enough) when the Magazine underwent a massive redesign and up popped the “One-Page Magazine” feature in the very front. A fun little page, there’s trivia, humorous lists and comparisons, mini, mini articles, a riddle, and my favorite, Curtis Sittenfeld’s Summer Fiction Series.

I look forward to Sittenfeld’s stories every week. They’re poignant, funny, quirky and thought-provoking. And I’m finished reading them in under 30 seconds. Shorter than even normal flash fiction, the stories printed in the Summer Fiction Series are no more than one hundred words, oftentimes significantly less than that, yet they manage to evoke characters, feelings, mystery and resolution each and every time.

Some of them are wildly fantastical and others are completely mundane. Though flash fiction hardly requires the character development and careful plotting of a full-length novel, or even a short story, the effect can be equally powerful, and actually more difficult to evoke. All the elements of a good book need to be there, just radically condensed.

Here’s an example of one of Sittenfeld’s called THE FEMUR, which ran on July 1st of this year:

This one is an entirely self-contained situation, and it takes more than one reading (at least on my part) to really get the entire feel for the story.

Here’s another called THE MORTGAGE, which ran on May 20th in the Magazine:

Again, an story in and of itself, but like many of the really short flash fiction that I’ve seen, this could also be used as a writing exercise—a jumping off point. Whether you find yourself able to write effective flash fiction or not, there’s always a way to use it to your advantage beyond simple enjoyment.

Have you ever tried your hand at super short fiction? Care to try…now? Do you find it a helpful tool to write an extremely brief situation to use as the kernel for what might later become a novel?

August 13, 2012   Jim   Jim, reading  
5

What do you want to read/What should I read

Okay, I admit it. I took to Twitter (@JimMcCarthy528) for help coming up with something to blog about today. What? You’ve never had writer’s block?

Mm-hmm. I thought so.

Two questions that popped up close together: Anne Marie wanted to know what I look for in signing new writers. And Caroline asked for books I’ve read recently that I would recommend. I got some other good questions that I’ll save for later (including a rather controversial one, so keep an eye out), but these two fit together nicely.

Yesterday, I finished reading Barbara Demick’s narrative nonfiction title Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea. It’s a stunning book that peeks behind the heavily protected North Korean border by way of extensive interviews with defectors who made it to South Korea. As I read it, I kept thinking that I desperately needed to do look out for more investigative journalism which, for anyone unfamiliar with my list, is not at all what I usually do. Now, the most exciting thing about being an agent is that you’re free to try anything. I represent a lot of young adult, paranormal, and pop culture titles because I love them, and that’s where I’ve had the most success. But for the right book, I’d be willing to try any genre.

So what would make something the right book? Let’s go back to the Demick title: what she does so brilliantly is convey the history of this nation since the Korean War primarily through the stories of six individuals—an eclectic group that is nonetheless each relatable. If there’s one thing I most look for in new material, it’s people I can relate to or understand. I look for human stories above all else. The ways in which people act or react fascinate me—how individuals are fallible, where people’s goodness comes from, what makes people do terrible things… The psychology of it all is a point of endless fascination whether in worlds real or imagined.

Similarly, Demick takes a look into a world that so few people outside of it know anything about, and that’s what drew me to that book to begin with. I love a great look into a culture I don’t know about. It’s why I adored Brady Udall’s The Lonely Polygamist. Or Allegra Goodman’s Kaaterskill Falls. They’re both novels about communities extraordinarily different from anything I’ve experienced, but there’s a sense of kinship that comes from becoming able to understand these characters–what their backgrounds are, how they came to be the people they are. Something about that collapses down the human experience in a way that feels almost magical to me.

I read to be entertained, of course, but I also read to understand the world. Whether it’s from a thriller like Gone Girl where Gillian Flynn expertly captures the sociopathic eye or a fantasy novel like DGLM’s own Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Dart which uses an alternate universe and a realm of magic to explore issues that are very real, characters and how they interact with the world around them are key. Nothing will draw me in faster than well-drawn, complicated, fascinating people at the core of your work, fiction or nonfiction.

August 07, 2012   Brenna   Brenna, reading, recommendations, science fiction, short stories  
2

The unusual places we turn to for help

My infinitely wise co-worker Michael Bourret pointed me to this great piece from WBEZ’s radio program This American Life that his client, Joelle Anthony, blogged about recently. (A big thank you to both of them!) There are two really interesting stories here that definitely deserve another post because of their relevance to publishing. The program breaks each story into an act, and in each, as well as the heart-wrenching introductory story in the prologue, we’re introduced to sympathetic characters that turn to unlikely people for help when they’re in trouble.

The first story is about a teenager, Andy, who had problems with his broken family and fitting in at school, so he decided to travel 1,000 miles—alone—to find his favorite author, fantasy novelist Piers Anthony. He impressively found Anthony’s address by piecing together clues from his books, something only a genuine fan could do. When Andy finally arrived at Anthony’s door, though he wasn’t welcomed to live there—as his great imagination led him to believe—he was met with at truly compassionate man who listened to everything the young boy had to say. And even though he didn’t get what he wanted, Andy left the next day feeling, for the first time, the hope that there was a better world out there for him. I wanted to share this tale to once again illustrate the colossal effect a book can have on readers. I’m sure that the very feeling Andy describes at the end of his story is a reason many of us have chosen publishing as a career path—whether as agents, editors or authors.

The second story beautifully re-imagines the plight of poor Gregor Samsa from Kafka’s THE METAMORPHOSIS. Gregor, having famously transformed overnight from a human into an insect, enlists the help of one Dr. Seuss to make Gregor a human again, or at least a healthy bug. I’m going to hold back on giving any more details on this one, as the letters between the two are such a delight to listen to. I will say though, that I really enjoyed the creative way the authors brought these two unlikely comrades together. A recent post of mine was on re-telling classic stories…but what’s really interesting to me is when writers can create a new story from the bones of others. I’m curious if anyone has read any of these types of stories lately. Anything you’d like to recommend?

July 30, 2012   Jim   Jim, reading  
8

Exactly how much do you read?

In the midst of my totally unstressful move yesterday during which everything went exactly as planned and I came nowhere near having a nervous breakdown two to three times, I plopped down on the floor to start unpacking the first of five double stacked bookshelves that have now taken up residence in my new apartment. The man who was painting the ceiling (and I definitely recommend having your ceiling painted AS you move in to a place) looked down at me and said, “ Wow. So…how many hours a week do you read?” As I thought about it, I realized it’s a difficult thing to count up. There’s the reading I do on my commute, at least a little bit of reading in the office every day, between one and five hours after I get home at night, and then a wildly variable number of hours on the weekend. Realizing I was taking a long time to respond (and that the ceiling painter was really just making conversation and didn’t actually care), I settled on 20 to 30 hours. I have no idea if that’s true, but now I really want to know. And because I’m slightly OCD, but only about insanely stupid things, I’m thinking about keeping an eye on the clock when I start and stop reading this week to get a real estimate. So far I’m at about 30 minutes, but hey, it’s early. Does anyone out there want to venture a guess to how much they read and then see how that bears out in action? Or suggest a better way to spend my time than counting reading hours? And if anyone says unpacking, I will punch them.

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