Category Archives: reading

January 21, 2011   Lauren   fun, Lauren, reading  
1

Weathering the storm

There’s something about snowy weather (like what’s happening right outside my window now) that makes me long nostalgically for an experience I’m not sure I’ve actually ever had*:  curled up near a fireplace, sipping hot whiskey, and reading some engrossing and compelling tome or another, possibly some captivating narrative nonfiction.  Unfortunately, much as this winter’s slushy delights have given me more than my fair share of this desire, there really are few fireplaces to be had around these parts.  Fortunately, books and whiskey abound.

Though I’ve never really thought about it before, for me, the act of reading is one that feels really tied into the weather.  Hot weather makes me want to bike to the park to relax in the grass with something fun—my NYC equivalent of hanging out on the beach with a trashy novel is relaxing in Prospect Park with some clever but largely frivolous navel gazer by the “next big thing” on the scene.  When it’s pouring rain, I want to be curled up on the couch, in a room that’s not too brightly lit (which my eyes probably aren’t thanking me for!), close enough to hear the rain hitting the window, with something moody and a little dark and maybe historical.  For a cool but sunny spring day, I’d like something bright and youthful and a lively but quiet enough outdoor place to read it.  Maybe a childhood classic—right around Easter, when it starts to stay brighter for longer and my walk home from the subway is accompanied by children playing out doors, I start to feel an intense longing for childhood.

Anyone else?  Like me, do you like to match your reading material to what’s going on outdoors, or do you dig for stories set in sultry, exotic climes to warm yourself up when it starts to get brisk?  Maybe see what Zhivago or Shackleton are up to when the heat gets a little too oppressive in August?

*Surely there’s a German word for that?

January 18, 2011   Stephanie   contest, fun, marketing/publicity, reading, Stephanie  
2

Putting those cringe-worthy photos to good use

In an effort to keep it light-hearted this week, I thought I would pass along this great blog a friend brought to my attention. Created in preparation for the release of her book of the same name, Will Work for Prom Dress is a blog wherein author Aimee Ferris shares a picture each day of a different published author in their prom attire. Because who doesn’t want to relive those images, am I right or am I right? But more to the point, the blog also includes a competition, allowing readers to guess the authors and enter a prize drawing, to be held on the date of the book’s release. Some of the pictures are fantastic in the worst way—really, it’s more questionably-colored taffeta and organza than you could ever hope for. But on the technical side, I absolutely love Ferris’s creative and quirky approach to advertising and building interest for her book prior to release. That’s one of those things we can’t stress enough to our clients: the importance of taking charge of self-promotion and marketing from the home front, if you will.  I hope you enjoy Aimee’s blog as much as I did!

January 14, 2011   Lauren   favorites, fun, Lauren, opinion, reading  
8

Permanent ink

According to the Guardian, publisher Black Ocean is giving a lifetime subscription to the books they publish to anyone who gets a tattoo inspired by one of them.  I’m too straitlaced for tattoos in general, but the idea at least of literary tattoos pleases me.  Unlike, say, a tattoo of a cartoon character (why do people do that?) or the name of a person you love (and better hope you love forever, because not everyone’s going to be able to pull off a “wino forever” tattoo).  By the time you’re of likely tattooing age, you’ve probably got some serious literary passions.  And it’s a testament to the permanence of certain literary enthusiasms in our lives that this Christmas saw three members of my family exchanging the latest in a series they’d all started reading back in the 70s (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant).

I know that at least some DGLM clients have inspired tattooing among their fans (Jacqueline Carey and Richelle Mead in particular spring to mind), and it’s something that I can get behind, even if I can’t imagine getting one myself.  But I still like to think about what literary tattoo I might get, if I woke up one day the sort of person who’d want a tattoo.  The problem is most of my favorites don’t lend themselves well to such things.  Looking back at my “great books” list from August 2009, not one of them seems to lend itself to tattooing—Mrs Dalloway’s flowers?  The light from Gatsby?  A 1984 tattoo probably actually makes sense, but I think that might send a more complicated message than “Wasn’t George Orwell great?”  If I look back to childhood for something that’s of lasting significance (so I’d know I wouldn’t hate it in a week), I’m just not sure a Laura Ingalls Wilder bonnet is something I’m going to ask someone to ink onto my flesh and something Dr. Seuss is probably just going to look like a bad idea I had while drunk.  So maybe it’s for the best that I’m not the tattoo type.

What about you?  Do any of you have literary tattoos?  If you could get any literary reference tattoo, what would it be?

January 14, 2011   Rachel   e-books, fun, future of publishing, opinion, Rachel S., reading  
6

But…they’re so pretty

All anyone seems to want to talk about these days is the future of publishing and whether or not books are a dying medium for literature. While it’s obviously true that electronic versions of books are becoming more prevalent and, in a lot of cases, more practical (especially for reading manuscripts!), it’s hard to believe that people will forgo books altogether. Especially when amassed collections can look so beautiful. There’s a reason that photo collections like this one exist—the appeal of rows and rows and stacks and stacks of books is undeniable.

The other day, a friend led me to an article on Flavorwire that showed the libraries of celebrities. I know the first thing I do when I’m in a friend’s home is examine their bookshelf. Not in a judge-y way (I promise!), but because I’m automatically drawn towards them and intrigued. I’m sure the same is true for so many people. Even non-readers or ambivalent ones will join in an exclamation of delight when someone mentions the library in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. It’s a cartoon! It’s a cartoon, but I would go as far as to say that it’s one of the most memorable background scenes in Disney’s oeuvre. I’ve had discussions with more people than I can recall (Lauren even blogged about them back in May) about how the ultimate real estate dream would be to have a library “like the one in Beauty and the Beast.”

Maybe it’s just the rolling ladder, I don’t know.

Okay, it’s not, but it is an added bonus.

In any case, no matter how easy and cheap it becomes to download books onto an e-reader – and I’m in no way discounting their merits – it’s hard to believe that the aesthetic beauty of the book will ever be forgotten or remiss.

January 11, 2011   Stephanie   canon, fun, lists, reading, Stephanie  
8

Taking on Modern Library

Happy New Year, readers! I’ll be honest: I miss December a little and I’m still adjusting to this new year. But I need to hurry up. After all, I can only mistakenly write 2010, cross it out and write 2011 for so long. But I digress.

Today, I wanted to share with you this post on Edward Champion’s website that I thought was very interesting.  Part his own personal challenge, part a literary case study, Champion plans to read the entire Modern Library list of top 100 novels of the 20th century from #100 to #1.  Throughout the process, Champion will write about each on his site in an effort to “track some quirky course of literature.”  I find this interesting for a few reasons. First, I appreciate Champion’s ambition. I’ve written in the past on lists and reading the classics, and I think this list is a respectable and broad representation of titles considered canon, even within the temporal limits of the 20th century.

But I also wonder about his aim to somehow trace a path, whether linear or not, through literature.  When these one hundred books were chosen, I imagine they were selected for their distinction as individuals, not as a whole.  So I guess I’m just a little skeptical. And of course I wonder how books of this century measure up, and whether in ninety years we’ll be able to make a similar list and track a similar progression.

At the end of the day, I admire Champion’s drive. I’d love to think I could take on a challenge like this, but honestly, where is he going to find the time? Would any of you ever attempt something like this?

December 22, 2010   DG&B   fun, libraries, lists, reading, Stacey  
11

Holiday library reading

by Stacey

Since most of us are pretty much doing everything we can to check out early before the holidays begin, I thought it would be fun and easy to share this piece from the Seattle Times literary page that lists the top 10 books taken out from The Seattle Library in 2010. It’s a chance to see what Americans, at least in Seattle, are really reading. There aren’t any big surprises on the list, but I am personally happy to see the #1 book, The Help, is a first novel. Very incredible in this market that a first time author can find the kind of success that Kathryn Stockett has found with this book. It’s also interesting to see the kind of nonfiction that makes the list. Smart, thought-provoking titles, Outliers and Food Rules, books that allow the reader see every day things in a unique and different way. And I’ll be picking up a copy of I Stink to read to my kids over the break. I’m curious to know more about this book that made the list alongside all of these adult titles. I hope you’ll find something from this list or elsewhere to read over the holidays, and take the time to relax and enjoy family, friends, and a good book. We’ll look forward to sharing a lot more publishing-related news and views in the New Year!

December 20, 2010   DG&B   fun, holidays, Jane, reading  
3

What I plan to read on my vacation

by Jane

It is always so difficult for me to choose what I want to read while away on a real vacation. I have so little time to read for pleasure that picking the perfect titles is incredibly challenging. My family and I are going away for eight days after we close up shop for the holidays and there will be plenty of time for me to go through at least three books.

I thought I’d share with you what I’m taking with me. BUT, if you have any other ideas I would love to hear what they are and why you recommend them:

Mockingjay—the third in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I have just finished the second book and cannot read another thing until I finish the trilogy—so this is definitely the first on my list.

The Room by Emma Donoghue. Ever since I first read a description of this novel, I have wanted to read it. And Jim and Lauren in our office loved it. Those are the two very important reasons why I am definitely taking this one along.

The Ghost Writer by Robert Harris. The idea of this book is really intriguing and since we work with so many ghost writers, I know I am going to enjoy this one. Plus, of course, Miriam loved it—which in itself is a great reason for me to take it along.

In between, I am looking forward to reading Playing with Fire, the manuscript from my client Pam Constable—a book about Pakistan which we have very high hopes for—and the manuscript for Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François’s new book Pizza and Focaccia in Five Minutes a Day, which was just turned in to the publisher and is bound to become another bestseller for the authors.

I figure that should keep me busy. I’ll also try to fit in some sleeping and eating and, of course, golf.

A very happy and healthy holiday to you all. We will be back in the New Year with some exciting new things to share with you.

December 15, 2010   DG&B   advice, editing, fun, reading, Stacey, writing  
3

Writers dish about editors

I enjoyed reading this piece from The Awl written by five published authors who write candidly (sometimes very candidly—check out Emily Gould’s piece) about their experiences with their editors. There’s so much great behind-the-scenes information in here about the publishing process—how agents work, how editors acquire books (or sometimes lose out to others), and how different each individual experience is. Even though it’s written from different points of view, this piece speaks to how unpredictable the publishing process can be. Each author makes some wise observations about what you can expect, what you might actually get, and how frustrating and/or refreshing that can be depending on where you fall on that curve! The idea that editors are overworked and that your book isn’t the only one on their list is something that authors and agents alike sometimes forget to take into consideration, so it’s a good point. It also illustrates to me how important perspective is, both in your publishing career and in anything else you do in life.

In this piece, you’re getting the scoop from those who have been through it. I hope you all find some good takeaway, or at the least an entertaining read, and ultimately see this a positive take on the publishing process. For me, even as an insider (or maybe because I’m an insider and know many of the players), there’s a lot of juicy stuff in here!

December 15, 2010   DG&B   commercial, fun, literary, Miriam, opinion, reading, writing  
14

The good, the bad, and the unputdownable

by Miriam

One of the assets of a pricey liberal arts education is that you can turn on the literary pretentiousness with the best of them and then tuck down with your popcorn title of choice, feeling confident in the fact that you know the difference between what’s great and what’s the intellectual equivalent of a Twinkie. Aside from the days of suffering through various soporific graduate school seminars, I’ve never really spent much time agonizing over my literary tastes. I pretty much read from every category of fiction and nonfiction and can find value and entertainment in all but the most execrable writings.

Which is why I like this piece by Laura Miller in Salon. Sure, Dan Brown, Stieg Larsson and James Patterson* may not be on same artistic level as Jonathan Franzen, Ian McEwan, and Ann Patchett, but as their legions of fans will attest, you can’t put down their books once you’ve started them. You may hate yourself in the morning, but you’ll stay up way past your bedtime to get through every last page—full of clichés, awkward character development, ridiculous plot twists and workmanlike prose though they may be. Thing is, a good story is a good story is a good story. And, there is craft (and sometimes genius) in telling a good story whatever the author’s writing abilities. There is a great deal of bad writing in my life that I am grateful to have read. And, I hope there’s a fair amount of it left in my future. As long as it’s good, of course.

What are your examples of good bad writing/writers?

*Whose work I’ve excoriated for years—‘cause, you know, I’ve got that pretentious lit-major-followed-by-a-career-in-publishing thing to live up to.

December 14, 2010   DG&B   e-books, fun, genre, reading, Stephanie  
0

Get a room!

by Stephanie

In light of my post from last week about spying on others and the books they are reading, I loved reading this article from the New York Times about how romance readers are switching from print to electronic in droves. Just as I had mentioned how the Kindle and iPad complicated my creeping endeavors by removing a visual cover from the equation, it seems that many romance novel fans have made the transition from print to e-reader for exactly that reason—trying to hide Fabio from my prying eyes, are you? Anyway, new information from Bowker suggests that romance is now one of the fastest growing genres in terms of electronic sales, surpassing even general fiction. As numbers grow exponentially, it’s clear that romance is carving out its own place in the e-reader market. And apparently, some of the most sought-after titles are often also the raciest. Cheeky!

Information like this is just another indication of the change that we’re constantly seeing. And for something like romance, a genre that has held its own over the years, it’s nice to see that it too can adapt to the evolving landscape.

First of all, I love the implications of discreetness that come out of this. But I also wonder, for the prospective romance writers out there, do you think something like this might affect or influence the kind of novel you write? Will it change at all how you approach your story?

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