A Look at Lena Dunham's Book Proposal

My presence here has been scarce lately. I need to catch up on reviews and get moving on my best of 2012 list. But until then, please enjoy this gem from Lena Dunham's book proposal. You know, that one for which she got a $3.7 million.

Read Dunham's proposal in its entirety here.

Ryan Gosling works in publishing.

My new favorite tumblr not to be missed, Ryan Gosling works in publishing. Why not? Maybe he could.

Other notable bookish Ryan Gosling tumblrs:

Hey girl. I like the library too. 

Ryan Gosling is an English major.

Shakespearean Ryan Gosling.

Well-Read Ryan Gosling.

How I Became A Famous Novelist by Steve Hely

"If you could write a book and act like you meant it, the reward was country estates and supple college girls."

A few weeks ago I read a review for this book over at Farmlane Books. When Jackie said she recommended this novel to "anyone with an interest in the publishing industry" I knew I had to read it, and I'm so happy I did. This is the funniest novel I've read in a long time and like Jackie said, if you keep up with the publishing industry I highly recommend you read this book.

Without giving too much away, How I Became A Famous Novelist is a satire of the publishing industry and exposes its hypocrisies, lampooning the majority of today's best-selling authors. If you're well-versed in the New York Times bestselling authors, you'll be able to pick up on the fact that Hely's fictional authors have real-life counterparts (I'm looking at you Dan Brown and you too, James Patterson, and the team of 30 ghost writers you employ).

This book made me consider the publishing industry in a new light. Of course like any industry, it's goal is to make money and this book exposes the cost of that motivation in a thoughtful way. It critiques the current state of popular fiction in America and how it came to be.

Since when has anybody wanted to hear the truth? People hate the truth. It's literally their least favorite thing in the entire universe. People will believe thousands of different lies in succession rather than confront a single scintilla of truth... People don't trot down to Barnes & Noble to pay $24.95 for the truth.

I really can't reccomend this book enough. It was laugh out loud funny, and I never say that. While the overall tone of the book is cynical, it ends in a hopeful note, which in turn makes me hopeful that the industry I love so dearly isn't as dire as it may seem.

Publisher: Black Cat, 2009

Publishing in the Digital Era

via VisuaLoop

Penguin: 10 Essential Classics Redux

Last year Penguin compiled their 10 Essential Penguin Classics, a list of book they believed everyone should read. After announcing the list they received a lot of push back from disgruntled readers who complained the list wasn't accurate. So Penguin asked it's readers to vote and today they announced the 10 Essential Penguin Classics Redux. On the list:

1. Pride and Prejudice - Austen
2. Hamlet - Shakespeare
3. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Twain
4. The Odyssey - Homer
5. Jane Eyre - Bronte
6. Romeo and Juliet - Shakespeare
7. Great Expectations - Dickens
8. Little Women - Alcott
9. Wuthering Heights - Bronte
10. The Canterbury Tales - Chaucer

So what was bumped off the list? Of Mice and Men, Moby Dick, Metamorphosis, Oedipus Rex, Walden and The Inferno. Me? I prefer the redux. I'm especially happy to see The Canterbury Tales make the list, as that was the title I voted for. However I am sad to see Of Mice and Men and Oedipus Rex go.

Snooki Vs. People Who Read: A Venn Diagram

 

Oprah's Final Book Club Selection

Oprah began her final "farewell" season this Fall and tomorrow, she will announce her final selection for her book club. Everyone is wondering whether she will chose Jonathan Franzen's Freedom or Nelson Mandela's Conversations With Myself. Of course we all know what happened in 2001 when Oprah wanted Franzen's The Corrections in her club - Franzen wasn't happy, stating that Orpah "picked some good books, but she's picked enough schmaltzy, one-dimensional ones that I cringe".

Of course Oprah is hugely influential in the publishing world. Not only have her book club selections made millions - some have gone on to be reviewed by the New York Times, sometimes as the cover story, and have been translated to the big screen.

"The all-powerful Oprah Book Club is not so much a book club as a ruthlessly influential marketing vehicle, with the power to fundamentally alter best-seller lists, Amazon rankings and royalty payments." -Time Magazine

So, Mandela or Franzen? My vote is on Mandela.

Update: I guess we don't have to wait until tomorrow. The AP says she picked Freedom. I wonder if we will hear anything from Franzen?

Shortlist for the Booker Prize

The shortlist for the Man Booker Prize was announced last week and, once again, I feel like the more I read the more I haven't read anything at all. I am only familiar with one of the six titles, and haven't read any. (Had anyone read Wolf Hall before it was announced the winner last year?)

Parrot and Oliver in America - Peter Carey

Room - Emma Donoghue

In A Strange Room - Damon Galgut

The Finkler Question - Howard Jacobson

The Long Song - Andrea Levy

C - Tom McCarthy

One of the judges for the Booker Prize, Andrew Motion, wrote an interesting piece in The Guardian that details the difficulties of choosing titles for the shortlist, let alone the winner. He also touched on a point that I feel is sometimes overlooked by readers: "Too many publishers publish too much. Not nearly enough novels get the editing they need. Some novels are so clearly manifestations of distress, they might be better described as "a frieze of misery" (in Larkin's phrase) than a work of fiction. But for all this, the second-rate books all felt worth reading (as a way of range-finding) and also valuable (as a way of fertilising the ground for those other and better books that rise above them)."

I look forward to hearing who will win October 12th.

Check out the list of past winners here.

Ebooks: The New Homewreakers

"By the end of this year, 10.3 million people are expected to own e-readers in the United States, buying about 100 million e-books, the market research company Forrester predicts. This is up from 3.7 million e-readers and 30 million e-books sold last year. The trend is wreaking havoc inside the publishing industry, but inside homes, the plot takes a personal twist as couples find themselves torn over the “right way” to read. At bedtime, a couple might sit side-by-side, one turning pages by lamplight and the other reading Caecilia font in E Ink on a Kindle or backlighted by the illuminated LCD screen of an iPad, each quietly judgmental."

-Via The New York Times "Of Two Minds About Books"

The Chicken or the Egg?

Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, former editor of the New York Times Book Review, responds to the assertion that only while male authors are getting their books reviewed:

I think it reflects what's being published. Does the book review - I don't know what's being published by smaller presses that might be publishing Latino writers, for example, African-American writers. But the major houses are simply doing less diverse books in every respect because they are aiming for the bestseller list.

Listen to his entire NPR interview here.

Books Still Matter

"Is Franzen the literary world's ideal representative? Maybe not. Maybe yes. I don't think it matters. What matters is that on the cover of one of the most widely read magazines in the country, a writer is looking directly back at us, and we are being told that His. Craft. Matters. We should have no tolerance for the snipers, the agitators, the petty grievers who lament that Franzen was given this honor rather than someone else who may have been a better fit. When the day comes that writers are commonly granted the accolades and recognition they deserve, we can argue over who deserves what and why. But for now, Franzen is being lifted up for all of us. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. When our culture tells us that the ignorant are to be admired, that vacuousness is the new entertainment, the battle over ebooks feels like a battle over who has to sweep the deck on the titanic. When reading and intelligence is presented as overrated or unimportant, these small quibbles seem laughable. Too few know the importance of the written word, how important letters are, how important thinkers are, how important books are.

And so here it is, in big bold letters: Great American Novelist. Whether he is comfortable with it or not, Franzen is the representative for the entirety of publishing. His cover is telling millions of people, shouting from newsstands, that writers are still the soul of our culture. That books still matter. That books still matter. And this, beyond anything, is reason to celebrate. And this, beyond anything, is a reason to be hopeful."

- Jason Pinter, "Why Should We Celebrate Johnathan Franzen? Because Books Still Matter"


If you're sick of hearing about Franzen, check out The Dork's post "The Hype Machine: Love It or Loath It"

Jonathan Franzen, You're Pretty Awesome

Jonathan Franzen, the author who was recently featured on the cover of Time Magazine (the first living authors since Stephen King in 2000) and dubbed "Great American Novelist" has released an author video, in which he discusses author videos. Take a look:

I'm Excited About Books Because...

“Because books are still the most valuable commodities we have. Because books can transport you to a different world, or change your own perception of the one you live in. Because the notion of ‘getting lost in a good book’ transcends time, generation, and even the page itself.”

-Jason Pinter, author and literary agent, via Guy LeCharles Gonzalez "Why Books? 9 Reasons To Be Optimistic"

On Book Trailers

I read an article in the NYTimes Online today that discusses the importance of book trailers in today's publishing industry. "In the streaming video era, with the publishing industry under relentless threat, the trailer is fast becoming an essential component of online marketing. Asked to draw on often nonexistent acting skills, authors are holding forth for anything from 30 seconds to 6 minutes, frequently to the tune of stock guitar strumming, soulful violin or klezmer music. And now, those who once worried about no one reading their books can worry about no one watching their trailers."

It's undeniable that book trailers are the next big thing. We've even got book trailer awards and trailers with almost 5 million hits but at the end of the day, who are these trailers being marketed to? Are publishers hoping to reach avid readers who are constantly adding to their TBR list, or are they going after the demographic who watches more youtube videos in a day than they read pages out of a book?

For me, I've never bought a book based on it's trailer. But then again, I haven't seen that many book trailers. I can remember the first book trailer I ever saw, about two years ago, which also happens to be the most viral trailer. It promotes Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan through a series of touching anecdotes.




But did it work? Did I buy the book? No, I already told you I've never bought a book because of its trailer, silly. However, when I was at BEA last year I saw they were giving it away and grabbed a copy, which is still sitting in a box in my basement waiting to be read.

I'm not knocking book trailers. I think anything out there that promotes reading is a good thing. But I do question it's effectiveness. Maybe 10 years down the road when next generation's avid readers are purchasing books they will pick out a few from a trailer they saw. But until then, have any of you ever bought a book because of it's trailer?

One in Seventeen Books Sold are Written By James Patterson

That statistic scares me.

I just finished reading an article from the New York Times entitled "James Patterson, Inc." and wow is it interesting. Basically the article relates the major success of James Patterson - not only how he created a brand for himself using his experience as an Ad Exec, but also how he essentially shifted one of the most successful publishing houses, Little, Brown, to embrace mass-market fiction rather than literary masterpieces.

Let me preface my response to this article by telling you I have only read one James Patterson novel in my life, Sam's Letters To Jennifer, at the request of my mother. After taking a whole two days to read this fluffy novel with absolutely no character development and a disgustingly simple plot structure I promised myself I would be much more skeptical when considering recommendations from my mother.

I have also met James Patterson, last year at BEA, and while I'm not a fan of his books I'm kind of a fan of him. As I trotted up to get a signed copy of his latest YA novel he noticed my name tag that labeled me from Madison, WI and began bantering about the terrace and the fact that his wife is also a fellow alumni of UW. Cool guy, bad books.

However, while it seems that James Patterson (and his many ghost writers) write for the masses using little or no literary devices, once upon a time James Patterson did know how to write. After Patterson landed himself an agent who helped to get his first book published he was awarded an Edgar - the mystery writing equivalent of a Grammy - for best first novel. Now days Patterson fails to live up to his literary achievement and notes that in his first novel, "The sentences are superior to a lot of the stuff I write now, but the story isn't as good. I am less interested in sentences now and more interested in stories".

Considering one in everyone seventeen books bought are written by James Patterson, it's sad that he can't master the art of pairing a good story with a good sentence. Why does it have to be one or the other? One of my favorite authors, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, has mastered the art of combining rich prose with a suspenseful, cant-put-it-down story line and I'm sure 9 out of 10 people have never heard of him. (You know, all those people who don't read book blogs everyday.) They are too busy reading the nine books Little, Brown publishes by James Patterson per year.

In my opinion, James Patterson left his writing abilities to pursue marketing his brand. Here is a marketing genius who has schemed his way to the best-seller list too many times to count by writing simplified novels that indulge the public's basic instincts. Does that make him a bad guy? No, he is arguably the most successful authors today - he's obviously doing something right. But, in my opinion, he is a shinning example of what publishing is turning into - or has already become. These days it's more about marketing your book than it is about writing a decent one. It's more about an author's platform and what they can do for the publisher than what the publisher can do for them.

Originally posted 1.14.10

Friday Finds

A few of my favorite things from the inter-webs I happened upon this week:

Russell Smith responds to the controversy around David Davidar's termination from Penguin Canada in "The Truth About Publishing: It's Full of Hotties". Don't let the title fool you. Smith is one of those guys who actually gets it: "But I have never in my whole career made a real pass at one of my colleagues or, I think, been flirtatious to the point of making someone seriously worried about my attention. Even when I was single. Perhaps I’m getting old, but believe it or not, I actually value my colleagues’ professional abilities more than their beauty. " How refreshing.

A big thank you goes to Carolyn Kellogg for writing such a great response to Lee Siegel's claim that fiction is dead. This article is full of solid arguments and witty responses; a must read. She picks apart Siegel's claims sentence by sentence. "Siegel: It is only when an artistic genre becomes small and static enough to scrutinize that a compensating abundance of commentary on that genre springs into existence." If writing critically about an art form indicates that it is in its decline, that means there hasn't been a rock song worth listening to since critic Lester Bangs died in 1982, and that filmmaking ended with the 1965 publication of Pauline Kael's "I Lost It At the Movies."

If you've ever had an intimate relationship with the slush pile (those of you who have know what I'm talking about) you will love Slush Pile Hell, where a literary agent posts the funniest bits of inquires and comments on them. My favorite so far:

Do you ever get the feeling that we are all machines being controlled by someone or something beyond our control?

Katie Holmes, I’m just a literary agent. I can’t help you with your husband issues.

Friday Finds is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

My Thoughts On "What It's Like For A Girl"

A couple of days ago I mentioned David Davidar's termination from Penguin Canada as a result of a sexual harassment case brought on by one of his coworkers. Well, the story just got juicier, and a tad more depressing.


This week, an "anonymous" blogger from Canada who worked in the publishing industry up until her recent termination discusses "What It's Like For A Girl" within the world of publishing, and it's not pretty: "I flirted back, when he'd flirt, and I'm ashamed. But I blame him. I blame the way he manipulated us into thinking it was all part of the job, the "culture" of the office. We were often told to "entertain" people at our parties, like we were geisha. Dress sexy, be the first ones on the dance floor, get drinks. Looking back, I feel like we were supposed to represent not the brains and talent of our office, but the tits and ass. Lucky for him, we were a smart, hard-working bunch of people, and we managed to make that place work. That made him look good too. You know, I'm still not sure really what he does, other than take buyers to lunch. His tales of business trips always involved a lot of drinking, eating, and weed-smoking. At Book Expo, he'd point out all the women he'd slept with. " And yes, the him she is referring to is her boss.


I'm not going to get into how painfully obvious it is that this girl worked under a man who may or may not have been recently let go from a major publishing house in Canada because of sexual harassment accusations, but I will say that as a girl whose career aspirations revolve around the publishing world, this woman's post gave me a slap on the face. I'm sure (and hope) these office dynamics aren't synonymous to every publishing office, but knowing to what extent this woman was harassed in an industry that is supposed to represent brainy, well-read intellectual women is depressing. That this blogger believes she was meant to represent the "tits and ass" is heartbreaking to me. Utterly heartbreaking.

Oh, Snap!

"The truth is that a former colleague accused me of sexual harassment and Penguin terminated my employment." - David Davidar, former president of Penguin Canada, revealing that he did not in fact leave Penguin to pursue writing, as he claimed last week. Read more here.

Barbara Kingsolver - Orange Prize Winner

Barbara Kingsolver won the Orange Prize this year for The Lacuna - her first published novel in nine years.

"We chose 'The Lacuna' because it is a book of breathtaking scale and shattering moments of poignancy. We had very different tastes on the panel, but in the end we went for passion, not compromise." -Daisy Goodwin, chair of the judges

Have any of you read this? What did you think?

Congratulations, Jonathan Karp

"For Karp, it's like going to sleep running a classy bodega and waking up managing Bloomingdales."

-Robert Barnett on Jonathan Karp, who founded the imprint Twelve and now, will head Simon & Schuster beginning June 14th.