Category Archives: recommendations

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 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 06, 2012   Rachel   fun, Rachel S., reading, recommendations  
8

Friday Reads

I’ll begin by stating two obvious things:

  1. It’s Friday
  2. I like to read (and my guess is that most of you out there do, too).

Why, then, have we never, ever discussed Friday Reads before? Oversight of the grandest scale!*

As any avid reader does, I’m always very interested in what others are reading, too, and am always seeking out new things and recommendations. I don’t, however, spend my days inquiring of everyone I meet, whether or not we have ever seen each other before, about their daily reading choices. But it would be so nice to know! Quickly! And easily!

This is where Friday Reads comes in. Fridays, the loveliest and most leisurely weekdays are bastions of possibility. The whole weekend is wide open ahead of you and you have nothing to do but things that you actually want to do and choose to do. (I’m getting really operatic here, but bear with me). Books are better on Fridays!

Friday Reads offers a forum where readers can post their Friday reading choices for others to peruse, comment on, or take note of. More than just a list of titles and excited notes, Friday Reads aims to raise the visibility of readers. Reading is generally such a solitary pursuit, yet so many people engage in it every day (not just Fridays!). Friday Reads wants to showcase the fact that reading can be a communal pleasure pursuit and encourage everyone to proudly display their literary loves.

It’s also fun to see if others are reading the same book as you or to discover a new title you would never have found on your own. Friday Reads is also accessible on Twitter, with the hashtag, surprisingly, #FridayReads.

Try it! The more people involved, the more opportunities for inspiration, discussion and general warm fuzzy feelings of community there are. My Friday read this week is The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown. So far, so (so, so) good! What’s yours?

 

*Not actually the grandest oversight ever, I don’t think.

June 19, 2012   John   advice, biography, John, recommendations, suggestions  
6

Bio recommendations

Having spent my lunch hour today booking rental cars for various trips this summer, I’ve got vacation on the brain, which means I’m also thinking about reading for pleasure. Not that I get a ton of time to read on vacation anymore—with two boys to chase after, my days of reading quietly on the beach seem to be a thing of the past. But nevertheless, I always try to leave the city with at least one more book than I think I will actually get through, on the off chance that I can snag a few hours of sustained reading time.

Anyway, I’m looking at my reading list, and it’s all novels. And while that’s fine, I do feel like I want to mix it up with at least one nonfiction piece. Typically, I indulge in a rock star bio, but I can’t think of anything recent that I want to pick up. So, anyone have a good rec for a new biography or autobiography? Would love a good tip for the trips!

May 10, 2012   Michael   college, Michael, recommendations, suggestions  
5

Livin’ in the 90s

Yesterday, a friend asked for a list of favorite songs from the 90s, which sent me into a nostalgia spiral. I think I’d forgotten about the 90s, really. I’m not sure how.  I spent all of high school and college in the 90s, so you’d think I’d be more invested in them. But my heart has always belonged to the 80s, with New Wave, and Star Wars (the good ones), and Atari, and Bunnicula. I guess I’m more nostalgic for my childhood than my teen years.

But thinking about 90s music got me to thinking about 90s books. Being in school at the time, much of my reading was focused on coursework and classics, so I’m not as familiar with the contemporary literature of the time. I distinctly remember reading The Bean Trees, High Fidelity, Memoirs of a Geisha, Angela’s Ashes, She’s Come Undone, Naked and, of course, The Secret History in college, and I know I read some Crichton, King and Grisham, though I’d be hard pressed to tell you which books. Now I’m starting to wonder which books I missed, and I’m thinking it’s time to put together a list so I can start catching up (what, with all that free time I have for reading!). So, what 90s books do I need to put on the list? Any favorites of yours that I can’t be missed?

March 13, 2012   John   advice, inspiration, John, opinion, recommendations, suggestions  
10

Getting a grip on fear

While it’s said that Publishing is an industry built on optimism, it’s often ruled by fear. Writers fear rejection; editors fear acquiring an unsuccessful project; booksellers fear Amazon; everyone fears ebooks; and so on. And ever since I became an agent, I feel like I’ve been more aware of the fearful side of the business than ever before.

If one of the key attractions of agenting is that you work across the publishing spectrum, it seems to come with a similarly broad range of fears. In any given day, agents handle acquisition worries (i.e. whether or not to take on a client), fear of rejection from editors, stress about the future of the industry, and a good dose of personal financial uncertainty, much like our independent bookselling colleagues.

In other words, oy!

But as I logged on to Facebook this morning, I was fortunate that the first post on my wall was this blog from writer Candice Ransom about dealing with fears both in writing and in life. It’s a beautiful piece, perhaps made more so by her stunning photographs. I was particularly struck by her honesty about her new fear concerning time and productivity—it’s a sobering thought, and yet a brave one to acknowledge like this.

Best of all, I appreciate that she offers at least one concrete suggestion for dealing with fear. Has anyone read Writing Past Dark? If so, I’d love to know what you think. One thing that certainly helps me deal with my fears and to get better as an agent is to see how writers manage their own work. So I’d love any suggestions/inspiration you’ve got for how, as Candice puts it, to “face down fear and walk through doors into uncertainty.”

 

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 27, 2012   Jim   great books, Jim, reading, recommendations  
57

Jim Will Tell You What You Want to Read: The Sequel

Almost exactly two years ago, I posted a blog entry saying that if you told me the last three books you’d read, I would make a recommendation for what to read next.

I loved the results—not only did it give me a fascinating snapshot of what our visitors are reading, it was really wonderful to engage with people about reading in general. Some people got back to me to let me know they loved the books I recommended. Others were…less thrilled. And a whole ton of others, let’s be honest, probably never read what I suggested. And that’s fine too!

I’ve wanted to do this again ever since, but I needed enough time to pass so that I wasn’t just recommending the same books all over again. Happily, I’ve read a lot in the past two years, so I have some fresh picks.

One small caveat: I won’t post my suggestions until tomorrow. Somebody has some dental surgery this afternoon! That said: bring ‘em on!

January 26, 2012   Jessica   great books, opinion, reading, recommendations  
1

Reading to Quiet the Monkey Mind

My family has been in the grip of a particularly nasty stomach virus this week, so aside from endless loads of laundry, I fear I’ve not been able to accomplish much. My recent attempts to read this week’s New Yorker felt uncomfortably like the Shouts and Murmurs piece contained therein, “Me Reading,” in which the author, plowing through Anna Karenina on her Kindle while seated on the subway, is hard-pressed to concentrate.

“ ‘Yes, I understand it all now,’ said Darya Alexandrovna. ‘You can’t understand it; for you men, who are free and make your own choice, it’s always clear whom you love.’ ”

Did Larry really finish the Pecan Sandies? Now what will I eat?

“Sergei Ivanovich Koznyshev wanted a . . .”

Jane’s a nice name. I could make waffles

My own waffling came to an abrupt end, however, when I got to Adam Gopnik’s The Caging of America: Why Do We Lock Up so Many People? His argument: “The scale and the brutality of our prisons are the moral scandal of American life,” which he elaborates in his discussion of several recently published books on the American system of incarceration.  His piece was so effective, so astringent, so appalling that it banished all distraction–professional, domestic, and epidemiological–and nailed me to the page.

I’m curious to know what you’ve read, whether an article, a book, or a blog post, that shut down your multitasking “monkey mind” and commanded your absolute attention.

November 28, 2011   Jim   fun, Jim, reading, recommendations  
14

My best/your best

John stole my thunder and pointed out the New York Times Best of 2011 list last week, but more are pouring in. The Globe and Mail has named theirs. Early Word has its children’s book lists up. Publisher’s Weekly is breaking it down category by category.

And already, a few things are clear: as more of these lists come in, we’ll be seeing lots and lots of mentions of the new Stephen King, Haruki Murakami, and Jeffrey Eugenides novels. Maggie Stiefvater and Laini Taylor will dominate the young adult lists. And I’ll personally dedicate at least five hours to mourning the fact that there isn’t enough time in the world to read every book I want to. I could choose to be positive about this and be happy that there are enough good books that I know for sure I’ll never run out of new worlds to explore. But let’s be honest: that kind of radiant positivity just isn’t my style.

Meanwhile, I want to know what YOUR favorite book was this year. And don’t worry about when it was published. I just want to know what the most transcendent reading experience of your year was. I’m torn between a completely commercial young adult novel that I found compulsively readable and endlessly entertaining (Marie Lu’s Legend) and an adult novella that sneaks up on you with its depth and beauty before delivering a heartbreaking sucker punch of an ending (Justin Torres’s stunning We the Animals). One kept me at the edge of my seat. The other made me cry like a small child.  But I’m asking you to choose a single book, so I’ll do the same and go with Torres.

Of course, the problem with making these calls is that as soon as you do, I start to feel bad for other books that I didn’t choose. The Art of Fielding stands out. Man, that book was great. But what about you? What’s the most exciting thing you read this year?

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