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This weblog has been put to rest, and we've moved to a new spot.
Storytelling2
is up and running as of January 1, 2007.
Everything here remains just where it is; you can still search, but you can't comment.
Please update your bookmarks.
*Moving Dog
sculpture by Cynthia Young
University of Florida
Ceramics
Edited to add: At this moment there are twenty-five people who have signed up for the newsletter but who haven't confirmed their subscription by answering the necessary email. The privacy rules for the newsletter service won't allow me to email any of those twenty-five, even the ones whose emails I recognize, to remind them. The simplest way for you to know one way or another is for me to send out a test message, which I will do this evening. If you don't get that email by tomorrow, you are not signed up, and should try again (link in the navigation bar above).
Coming up soon:
If you're not yet signed up for the newsletter, you'll find the link in the top navigation bar.
On January 1 the new weblog will launch, and this one will go static. To be clear: this weblog stays just where it is, but all comments will be closed, and there won't be any new posts. There will be a link right up front to take you to the new weblog, in case you get lost.
After three years the underlying structure of this site needs some major tweaking. I attempted to do this a couple times without success, and finally it occurred to me that I could just ... move. Start fresh. So storytelling2 is now ready to go.
The templates for storytelling2 are much simplified, and the archives are all dynamic -- which might not mean anything to you, but it saves me a lot of time, and puts much less pressure on the server.
And of course, there's a new banner. I can never resist the opportunity for a new banner.
Between now and then I'm going on hiatus, to get some work done and gather my resources for a good start on the new blog. If you have any ideas of writing/craft type things you'd like me to talk about, I'd be happy to take on such subjects. If you're confused about some aspect of POV or how to handle a certain kind of dialogue, if you want to know why I wrote something the way I did, anything of that sort, please speak up in the comments to this post.
I have been thinking of doing the occasional sentence or paragraph analysis. That is, when I'm reading sometimes a sentence strikes me as particularly successful or a complete mess. Once in a while I'll post the sentence/short paragraph in question and record my observations. People should feel free to ask me to look at things they've run across in their reading that they'd like to discuss.
Also in January, but over in the forum:
ASDFG has kindly volunteered to host, organize and moderate the discussion of Queen of Swords. She's got some really good ideas on how to handle it, and some great subjects for discussion that go beyond the usual what did you think of... I'm quite looking forward to listening in. If you want to take part, or just to lurk while others discuss, all you need to do is sign up for the forum. Link above.
I'll make an announcement here before things get started.
Robyn, ever vigilant, points me to this intriguing suggestion for a new holiday, a purely secular one: Newtonmass. My favorite bit:
With gifts exchanged, everyone begins the most important Newtonmas tradition---procrastination. Now that you have new sources of knowledge, it's time to get busy not absorbing their contents. Eat a big meal, take a nap, talk with friends and family. Just do anything but be productive.
This is all well and good, but I would like to nominate Galileo if we're going to get serious about this. Galileomass (or Leomass) has a lot going for it.
First, the plain facts (via Wikipedia):
Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian physicist, astronomer, and philosopher who was closely associated with the scientific revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope, a variety of astronomical observations, and effective support for Copernicanism. According to Stephen Hawking, Galileo has probably contributed more to the creation of the modern natural sciences than anybody else. He has been referred to as the "father of modern astronomy," as the "father of modern physics", and as the "father of science". The work of Galileo is considered to be a significant break from that of Aristotle.Points to consider:
1. For a big holiday, you need a figurehead with a memorable physical presence. And the beard doesn't hurt either.
2. A catch phrase is crucial. Ho ho ho is fine and dandy (nobody is talking here about giving up Christmas, please remember), but
eppure' si muove
Now, that resonates. The Papal Office forced Galileo (on pain of death) to recant his silly notion that the earth revolved around the sun. Galileo lived on to fight another day, but he did mutter under his breath: nevertheless, it moves.
A stubborn and cranky and intellectually superior figurehead: what secular humanist could resist? Not me.
3. Please note that Galileo was in fact Italian. Nobody does a party better.
My suggestions for this annual celebration:
EPPUR' SI MUOVE!
Winter solstice, which was Thursday. Light! Light! More light! This >>>>
is an inside joke, but if you must know.
Today is the last day of Saturnalia, one of those seven day hell-raising Roman festivals that would put today's frat parties to shame. Today is specifically to honor Acca Larentia, the goddess they also called Lupa (which means wolf) for her ... strong libido? sexual adventures? She thought mortals should have the same freedom. Go, Larentia. Legend has it she also was la nutrice di Romolo e Remo -- wet nurse to the Rolumus and Remus, who founded Rome. And if that doesn't call for putting her face on a coin, I don't know what does.
The lovely people of Mexico, who know how to do a festival. Take for example the Noche de Rábanos. A whole village of tiny radish people. I just can't get over the photos. Thanks to the radiant Robyn Bender for pointing me in that direction.
I've mentioned The Moonflower Vine before as one of my favorite novels. I gave away a copy in one of the pile o' books, even It's being featured right now at The Neglected Book.
My to-be-read stack is daunting just now so I'm not going to look too closely at the intriguing list on that website, or at any of the many links to other titles. Not just now.
Once in a while you come across a really great book title. More than once I have stopped cold in admiration and (yes) envy. An excellent title is almost as hard as the whole novel behind it.
Here are a few that strike me as just right:
A Hundred Years of Solitude
The Shell Seekers
The Inn at Lake Divine
Fear of Flying
Welcome to Temptation
Small Sacrifices (nonfiction)
She Drove without Stopping
The Things They Carried
Friend of My Youth
I thought Pajama Jones was a pretty darn good title, but my editor isn't sure about it. The rest of her suggestions were really very reasonable and minor, things that I had been half worried about myself and that I can fix in a couple hours total. But the title?
That's a lot harder. Also, I got good reactions on this end. Jenny (she who came up with Welcome to Temptation, Bet Me, Faking It, and other fantastic titles) loves Pajama Jones as a title. Unfortunately Jenny is not my editor.
The primary plot is about two people: one agoraphobic, the other claustrophobic. Whenever I consider that fact, I remember the Yiddish saying: a bird and a fish may love each other, but where will they make a home together?
Somehow I don't think that would work as a title.
As I can't solve this right now, I will go and work on something else. Like, hiding cookies from myself.
Today I had one of those flash memories, something pops into your head that you haven't thought of in years. In this case, maybe thirty years or more.
There was a movie on Chicago's channel nine every afternoon. The four o'clock show, it was called. I can still hum the music. The movies were edited all to hell -- even I could see that, as young as I was, but I watched them anyway. I saw lots of old black and white movies, many of which I remember really well. Some I remember well enough to have been able to track down. Examples: Johnny Belinda (which gave me a lot to think about, as I didn't quite understand the cloaked language around rape); Town Without Pity (which had a similar storyline); Back Street (the main character's name was Rae, and she owned a dress shop); Laura, Rebecca, and a lot of old movies with Jeff Chandler.
I had such a crush on that guy, and I have no idea why beyond the fact that he was very tall (more information, if you're curious, here).
Have I ever mentioned the fact that I'm a full foot shorter than the Mathematician?
Now I've got off track and I can't remember... oh yeah.
So there's a movie that I saw maybe a dozen times as a kid, and I can't track it down. The plot was pretty out there, though, so it's at least possible that somebody will know of it.
You've got a young nun in a convent someplace in Europe. I think, Spain, but I'm not sure. She's got regrets. She's got urges. She throws caution to the wind and runs off. But wait! The statue of the Virgin Mary sees this, and intercedes. She doesn't haul the young hussy back by the veil. No. She climbs down from her pedestal and takes her place.
So the running nun goes off and sows her oats. There's a matador, as I remember. He dies. I think a soldier, too. He dies. In fact it turns out she's bad news. Any guy she falls in love with? Dies.
Finally she figures out that the heavens are trying to tell her something. So she goes back to the convent expecting to be punished but finds instead that her place is filled -- by the Mother of God. So the statue goes back up on the pedestal and the young woman is thankful to have her spot back in the convent. Where she apparently spends the rest of her life remembering the good times with the matador and the soldier.
At twelve I was fascinated by that movie. It horrified and titillated. I scoffed, but was transfixed.
Anybody? Ring any bells? Numerous searches on IMDB have left me without a clue.
Edited to add:
I'm amazed that ksgreer managed to track down the movie in question so quickly, and even better: a review from the NYT when it first came out. The Miracle, starring Carrol Baker and a very young Roger Moore. The review adds many details I had forgot, and verifies that the movie is indeed a kitch festival. But one thing I have to take exception to. The reviewer says: "This girl, performed by Carroll Baker, lately of 'Baby Doll' and still pretty much the same plump baggage she was in that somewhat seamy role..."
Plump baggage. Plump baggage? That's mean, even for 1959. And here's the movie poster to prove my point. Plump baggage, indeed. So she made a gaudy movie. She was also in Giant and worked right up until recently, small roles on television mostly. While Bosley Crowther of the poison pen had to retire in 1968 because by that time he was regarded as antiquated in his tastes.
For some reason this old quote about Portnoy's Complaint keeps popping into my head: Philip Roth is a great writer, but I wouldn't want to shake his hand.
I just can't remember who said it, except I'm fairly sure it was a woman.
If you haven't read the novel (published in 1969) you wouldn't realize why that quote is funny. You can read a pretty good overview at Wikipedia, but in brief: the whole story is structured like this: Portnoy is talking to his psychiatrist, recounting episodes from his life. His problem is primarily about sexual longing of an extreme (and to use his word) perverse nature. Masturbation is a major theme.
So you see why somebody might not want to shake Roth's hand, depending on to what degree the novel was autobiographical. It's supposed to be fiction, of course, but this is one of those cloudy areas where it's hard to separate the author from the work.
There are lots of stories out there about writers who were (or are) terrible people. Mean, small minded, jealous, vindictive. Reading the work of such people, you would not necessarily get any sense of their personal failings. One example I can provide, because the person in question is dead: Robert Frost, he of the snowy woods. He was pathologically spiteful and envious of any writerly success that wasn't his own. The story goes (and right at this moment I can't find the citation, so this is heresay until I do) that once when another poet was giving a reading, Frost started a fire in the back of the auditorium to bring things to a quick end.
Now, I can't say I would have wanted to spend any time with Frost, but this kind of story makes me think about him more, and look at his poetry in a different light. Was he deeply unhappy, scarred by childhood trauma, or simply a bastard? Or maybe all three. And look, he created some beautiful poetry anyway.
There are other authors whose work I really adore, but whose personal politics are anathema to me. Just as I know I have readers who are religiously and politically conservative, and who are unsettled by the occasional post in which my liberal view of the world is unmasked. Do they keep reading my books? I hope so, but maybe not. Sometimes a reader just can't get past something they know about the writer's real life.
So what's the upshot of all this? I suppose I'm just reminding myself that curiosity is a two edged sword. If a new author (or screenwriter, or actor, or musician) catches my attention I may find myself wondering about him or her. The real question though is, do I want to take the chance of being disillusioned, or should I remain content with whatever my own imagination comes up with?
This same question applies to reviewers. If you get a review written by another author, one you don't know, you're going to be curious about that person and his or her work. If they praise your novel to the sky or stomp it into the mud, either way, you're curious.
This past summer there was a really awful review of Tied to the Tracks in the main newspaper of a large city. The kind of extreme review that is so over the top that you almost have to laugh at it. Words like puerile and caricature were prominent. And here's the thing: I didn't know anything about the writer of that review except that s/he was an author. And that s/he really, really hated Tied to the Tracks, with a near breathless passion.
The question before me was, did I want to know more about the reviewer? If it turned out that s/he wrote fantastic, universally loved novels, then the review would be even more devastating. If, on the other hand, the reviewer's own publication history was not so stellar, that might give me room to rationalize away the sting. Or at least, tell myself a story about how the reviewer came to write such an extremely nasty review. Eventually I gave into curiosity and I did some searching. In this case I found that balm I was hoping for. Let me just say this: an author who names a primary character Venus Diamond has a lot of nerve using a word like puerile in a review.
All of this applies equally to film makers and actors, of course. It's something I can't quite sort out for myself and maybe I'll never come to a conclusion on how I want to handle such conflicts. Tom Crusie has made some excellent movies (and a lot of awful ones); do I pass up one that is well done and interesting because I cannot abide the man's prostelytizing and public persona? Do I hesitate buying that movie ticket because I just can't make myself put money in his pocket?
I wish I had an answer.
Susan G (comment 18) and Stefanie (comment 26) have each won a coupla novels.
So now I need postal mailing addresses from Susan G, Stefanie, Jeanette and Elisabeth so I can get all these packages to the post office. Please email me with that asap, okay?
With that I feel as though I have finished the seasonal shopping. Of course the list of other stuff to do is about a mile long, but all in good time.
On the first round Jeanette picked:
The Magician's Assistant| Jeanette |
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| Elisabeth | Elisabeth |
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I've been reading. I've been hip deep in books, rolling around in words, filling up with stories. Which is good and necessary -- I'm sure you've heard it said that to writer, you have to read -- but there are so many other things I should be doing too.
Corporate taxes.
Holiday baking.
Sorting through books and putting them where they belong.
Writing letters.
Walking the puppy boys.
Cleaning up in the garden.
You'd think that some of those things might appeal to me at least a little, but here I sit, glued to the comfy chair with The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch. Which is turnning out to be one of those rare first person narratives that doesn't irritate me. That (so far) I'm liking a lot. The storyline isn't all that unusual, but the narrative voice is compelling, in spite of the fact that there are red high-heeled shooes on the cover.
I think there needs to be a bann on high heeled shoes on cover art.
I'm sure there are other objects that should also be banned from bookcovers because they've been overused... but I can't think of any right now. Can you?
Say I've got an idea. Leave a comment telling me what you don't like to see on a bookcover. Or just leave a comment. Tomorrow I'll pick a couple people at random and send y'all some of these books I've got in piles all over the house. My ones, you understand. I've got millions of 'em, and the more I give away, the less sorting and putting away I have to do.
Anybody can throw their name in the hat.
Elisabeth, who selected "The Learning Curve" by Melissa Nathan as her favorite book of 2006.
On the first round Jeanette picked:
The Magician's Assistant| Jeanette |
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Justine Larbalestier has a post up called Why do all the writers know each other? -- a question put to her by a workshop student.
I read Justine's weblog now and then, but I don't know her, in case you were wondering. We do have the same fabulous agent, but otherwise our worlds don't much intersect. She writes sci-fi, which I read but don't write.
Part of her answer to the question:
So how do all us writers know each other? From hanging out in places other writers are likely to be: conventions, conferences, book festivals, university English departments, writers’ workshops.
Now see, I would say that most writers don't know each other. And if one author does know a lot of other authors, it's almost always restricted to the genre in which he or she writes.
I'm defining "know" this way: somebody I can contact who will remember me, usually somebody I have met in person. My list isn't particularly long, maybe fifteen names of other published novelists. The list gets longer if I count other authors I know exclusively through email and weblogs. These are people I might email with a work-related question, and know I'll get a response. It's my sense that we'd get along if we met.
As I write in two genres, I have two sets of connections. If I really had to, I could follow the romance connections or the litcrit connections and find my way to almost anybody within those groups. I can't imagine under what circumstances I'd try to set that train in motion, but I think it would be possible. On the other hand, I have no idea how I'd get in touch with the authors who have established themselves in mystery, horror, or sci-fi. Unless they happen to be represented by the same agent, which is how I came to meet Garth Nix.
In general I don't miss having a lot of connections. Maybe I'd feel differently about it if I were twenty-one and living in Manhattan, but right now? I'm one of the more reclusive types.
And I have to get back to that blank page, all by my lonesome.
edited to add: I'll give Jeanette until Sunday evening and then I'm going to pull another name.
Jeanette (who suggested Madonnas of Stalingrad) is the first pile o' books winner.
Jeanette now has to pick two of the eight books shown here and announce her decision in a comment to this post.
At that point, I'll announce the other winner, and that person will pick two books from the six that are left over.
And then back to Jeanette.
And so on. When the eight books are divvied up and I have postal mailing addresses, I'll add in some of my books and a few other goodies, and send the packages off.
So please don't comment on this post unless you are, in fact, Jeanette.
As I have to take a huge amount of stuff to the post office anyway, I think it would be a good idea to ship off a pile o' books (or two) at the same time.
So this evening I'll be pulling the names of two people who entered the giveaway.
Also, don't forget to sign up for the newsletter (bottom right of the linked page) by the end of the month, at which time I'll pull the name of the next person to get a signed first edition of Queen of Swords.
In this household the adults have pretty much given up on holiday gifts. We constantly remind each other that we don't want anything at all -- and we both mean it. And then we continue to worry about what to get the other person.
We have never been big on surprise gifts, or really gifts of any kind. I would be truly horrified if I found a jewelry box waiting for me on Christmas morning. I know somebody who surprised her husband with a new car, something that would truly horrify the Mathematician. Finally I point out something I would have bought for myself anyway (this year? a new stockpot, as there was a Thanksgiving Disaster with my old one). I figure out exactly what I want after reading reviews and cooking websites, spent some time talking myself out of my first choice.
Because really, $1,800 for the All-Clad Copper Core 15-Piece Cookware Set? Overkill. And if we're going to talk big bucks (or go whole hog, as my father liked to say), I could get a brand spanking new top of the line 17" MacBook Pro for three grand, a gift that would make me forget about cooking alltogether. So I do the sensible thing, find a solid 16 quart stock pot that won't break the bank. I send the link to the Mathematician, and shortly it will be delivered.
The Mathematician does the same. He likes to do jigsaw puzzles when he's stressed by work, and not just any jigsaw puzzles. Here are two he's getting this year, each of the 5,000 pieces.
I grew up in a working class household where there wasn't a lot of cash. We would watch The Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights and see commercials for visiting Disney Land, and it never once occurred to us to ask if we could go. It would have been like asking for a trip to the moon, just out of the question. And I never resented that, it was just the way things were and it was a good life lesson, too. It's okay to ogle new laptops or cookware, and it's okay to walk away with a sigh. What I really need, I get, and that makes me far more fortunate than a lot of people.
Once we did a group discussion with a lot of parents about what we wanted in a perfect school for our daughter. The discussion leader asked us to name those qualities that we most encouraged and wanted for our kids. For me it wasn't hard. I value generosity above almost everything. Generosity of spirit and the more direct, share what you've got (time, energy, money, stuff) kind. It's a goal I set for myself.
Lynn Viehl at Paperback Writer doesn't talk about generosity, but she sure acts on the principle. I've been watching her give away books for a year. She gives books away like other people give away advice. She sends them to soldiers stationed overseas (something I've done once, but really should do more often). If you're reading this, well heck, there's a good chance she sent you a book.*
Somebody suggested I talk about those causes and charities that I support. I can do that, as I concentrate on a short list and it wouldn't be hard to put together. But really this is not about what or how much, it's about living with your hands and spirit open to the world. And remember me: I'm the agnostic. No belief in a higher power. No spirituality (the word even makes me cringe). But a determined belief in the possibility of good.
*Full disclosure: Lynn has taken a liking to my books and gives them away too. Which is very, very good of her, of course, but irrelevant to the point I'm trying to make. But this isn't: Lynn doesn't accept anything in return, not even a signed book for herself. See? Generosity.
It's a little scary, the way I can lose myself in technological mumbledeegoop. The problem-solving aspect of it is hypnotic, or maybe narcotic. I get all wound up in pixels and css and background images. I roll around in hex values until I'm all dusty. My guess is that the combination of technical problem solving and the aesthetic of the graphics works on my neural transmitters like a huge dose of serotonin.
At any rate. If you signed up for the newsletter, you should get the first issue sometime in the next five or six hours. If you don't, please check your junk folders and filters. And if you can't find it anywhere, then email me and I'll see if I can sort things out. Make sure to let me know which email address you used when you signed up.
Assuming for a moment you do get the durn thing, here's a question: any suggestions? Things you'd like to see included in the sporadically provided newsletter? I'm open to your ideas.
If you click the 'writ by my own hand' link in the upper navigation bar, you'll end up at Amazon. More specifically, you'll end up at a little corner of Amazon where all my in-print novels are sitting together.
Now, I encourage everybody to support local booksellers, okay? That clear? On the other hand, it's not my business to lecture you on how to spend your money. Twenty-six bucks for a book is way more than most people can spend, after all.
So let me pass on one of the little tidbits Amazon is always sending me as an author who set up an A-Store:
Friday, December 15th is the last day your site visitors can get Free
Super Saver Shipping to receive Amazon.com orders by December 22nd.
This is, sorry to say, limited to purchases being delivered in the U.S.
Edited to add: You can get stuff other than my books and still use this free shipping promotion. If you need some gift ideas, I've included lists of some of my favorite books and movies.
Questions first: How did it get to be the ninth of December? And do I have to make cookies this year? How about sending out cards? Do we need to have the neighbors over? Could we just hang out at home in front of the fire with the puppy boys and some eggnog? And by the way, why is it taking so long to get this novel off the ground? Why is Carrie standing in my way with that look on her face? You think maybe she'll give me a break for Christmas? Does anybody else have trouble coming up with stuff to put on a holiday wish list? Everything that occurs to me is either mundane or unachievable. I want to have the back yard landscaped, but what I want would cost like, fifteen grand. So, nope, not going to happen. A cruise from Spain to France to Italy to Greece would be great too, but only if the cabin has a balcony. Otherwise, why bother? And the third thing on my non existant list: see the bottom of this post. You know what that is? Heaven.
Sketches. I've had some email from people who have asked for more sketches and sent some of their own, which I enjoyed seeing. I think a lot of people must draw but keep it to themselves. I have four or five other sketches I will put up as soon as I can get around to scanning them.
Next: I am pleased to report that both contests are going great guns.
1. The what-was-your-favorite-book-of-2006 pile-o'-books contest
I'm thinking this was a good idea, because there are at least a dozen books mentioned that I didn't know about that sound great. And now I have to add them all to my towering stack of books to be read. Which is good. Really, it is.
So if you haven't done so yet, go leave a comment telling us your favorite novel published for the first time in 2006. Sometime next week I'll be drawing the names of the two winners who will each get a big ole pile o' books.
2. The trial-sporadic-newsletter-sign-up.
I just checked. There are 79 people who have successfully signed up. Another 11 people are almost signed up -- they just have to respond to the confirmation email. If you signed up but didn't get your confirmation email, the first thing to do is to check your junk mail filter. If you did that and you still didn't get the confirmation email, hold on one more day. Tomorrow I'm sending out the trial newsletter. That will be the real test, and I'll deal with anybody's sign-up problems after that.
Oh and, if you haven't signed up for the newsletter, why not go ahead and do that? I promise it will be more entertaining than those letters from Nigerian princes who need to use your bank account to deposit millions of dollars. And on top of that, I'll be pulling a name out of the hat over there on the newsletter, and that person will get a signed first edition of Queen of Swords.
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Here's the best thing about an Italian Christmas:
Interested in a signed first edition of Queen of Swords? To put your name in this particular hat, please use the new form in the right hand column (or, if you're using IE, the form might be at the bottom of this page someplace, but it will still work) to sign up for my experiment in newsletter-land.
Everybody is eligible for this giveaway, no matter what you've won in the past.Let me know if you have any problems with the sign up process, which isn't complex but does require a couple steps. To protect you from the dreaded undead spammers.
I have a free sixty day trial thing going. If enough people sign up before the end of the trial, I'll keep it going.
Just had a comment from someone who couldn't find the signup box. Here's a screencap with green arrows pointing to where you should see the box. Please comment if you don't see it anywhere at all.
UPDATE: Some people seem to still be having trouble with the newsletter sign up form, so I've put another one on this page, which works just as well.
You know how the other day I posted the words now that things have quieted down around here? I should have known better. Maluch.
So for those of you who have sent me books to sign and/or are waiting for me to send you something, I will get to the post office today. I promise. I'll also be going to Village Books to sign books, as I hear some of you have been busy ordering from them directly. For which many thanks.
Now about the Pile o' Books. I made an effort to include books across genres and so the pile grew and grew and then split itself in two. I'm going to run one contest with two winners.
Before I give you the specifics of how to get your mitts on the books, a couple comments.
My goal was to be eclectic. These are all books I really love, keepers every one of them. There's one historical novel about the second world war in Italy (A Thread of Grace); there's the science fiction novel that won me over to the genre (The Chrysalis); then you've got Stephen King's second (and in my opinion, best) book of short stories, which includes "The Mist" and "The Reach" among others. Lynn Viehl's Stardoc is the first in a very satisfying series with a focus on the sci-fi medical; and just as entertaining but absolutely down to earth is Jenny Crusie's Welcome to Temptation which I would call possibly the best contemporary romance out there. Wrongful Death is one of those excellent, worthwhile books that deserved a huge readership and just didn't get one, for whatever combination of reasons. I keep giving copies away in the hope that it will still rise up and conquer the world of readers. The Magician's Assistant has a few things in common with The Time Traveler's Wife but only in terms of theme. The characters in these two books were so strongly written that I still think about them, as I think about old friends I haven't seen in a while.
So here's what to do: Leave a comment to this post and tell me what's the best novel you read in 2006 that came out in 2006.
Let me repeat that: a novel published for the first time in the year 2006.
That is, no old favorites or classics, okay? And my books aren't eligible for mention. Just give me the title, the author, and one sentence on why you liked the book, along with your first name and a valid email address. EDITED TO ADD: One sentence minimum. If you are so moved (and I am looking at you, Rachel), you can certainly provide a whole review.
I'll let this contest run for a week or so, and I'll give you a day's warning before I end it. Then I'll draw two names, and I'll work out some interesting way to divvy up the pile.
Rules:
1. One entry (comment) per person.
2. Only novels that appeared in print for the first time in 2006.
Others will be deleted.
Edited to add: Examples of books that did not come out in 2006: A Breath of Snow and Ashes; Flowers from the Storm; Gone with the Wind.
3. Not my novels.
4. If you've won a pile o' books in the past, please feel free to tell us about your favorite book of the year -- but you won't be eligible to win this time. Everybody else can enter, even those who have won an ARC or a signed copy.
5. All decisions of the judge (me) will be final.
So get to it. Looking forward to hearing about your favorite novels.
And here are the covers of the books in the pile (not including my books or the non-bookish good things):
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So I'm watching tonight's episode of Studio 60 and may I say: fantastic. From every angle. Funny and moving, politically sharp, heart stopping romantic banter. Three of the primary characters in this promo shot: the producer Danny Trip (Bradley Whitford), the head writer Matt Albie (Matthew Perry), and Jordan McDeere, the newly appointed network president of the National Broadcast System, a maverick at heart, single, and pregnant (Amanda Peet).
Thus far Aaron Sorkin has been writing all the episodes (sometimes with a co-writer). Sorkin is the guy who wrote the best episodes of West Wing and Sports Night. Studio 60 makes it evident that he has not lost his touch. It probably also helps that Studio 60 is primarily about the writing and producing of a television program and one of the main characters is apparently based in part on himself.
Sorkin is the king of banter and he's not too shabby at monologue, either. From tonight's episode (he character Danny finally speaks his mind to Jordan):
I've been married twice before and I'm a recovering cocaine addict, and I know that's no woman's dream of a man or a father. Nonetheless I believe I'm falling in love with you. If you want to run I understand, but you better get a good head start. Because I'm coming for you, Jordan.
This is definitely a keeper of a television show. Let's hope Sorkin sticks with it.
...she said cautiously, and in an attempt to get into the swing of the season, I will be giving away another pile o' books. Which books, when, how: all that information tomorrow, or maybe the day after. I can tell you a few things:
The pile o' books will contain a few of my novels. It will contain books by other people. And some not-books, too.
There will be some small task to perform to sign up. Don't worry, no costumes will be required, no signing, no writing of poetry. Something simple. Really.
So watch this space.
Who can enter? You can, unless you've already won a pile o' books in the past. If you are one of those people, could you leave a comment to say how those books worked out for you?
A couple years ago, when spam was making my life difficult, I went and got a pobox.com email account. The way that works is, you write to me at the pobox addy, and the email goes through a portal where it is screened. The good stuff is forwarded to my superdupersecret email address which is not publicized anywhere (except for family and close friends). Eventually the spamworld will probably find my superduper hide-out and I'll have to relocate -- but pobox should remain constant.
Except in the last six months or so pobox has been a little wacky. Some spam has been coming through, which I then report to them. Worse, I have this sense that real mail is not always coming through. Every day I get a discard report with a list of someplace between fifty and a hundred spam emails that have been rejected that day. I usually just run my eyes down the list in case something obvious jumps out at me. A neighbor, for example, sent me something and got stuck in the pobox filter. So I whitelisted her.
But there is a class of emails that might be real, but have been bounced. So the point of this post (finally): if you have written to me at one of the pobox email addresses, and you haven't heard back, it might be because I'm too distracted to give it the attention it deserves, or it might be because you've been caught up in the clutches of an overly conscientious filter.
The question is, what to do about that. I am loathe to give up pobox because while one or two good emails may get lost, fifty or a hundred offers for Nigerian bank deposits, sexual aids and hot chix are kept away from my inbox every day.
I do have one other idea, which I need to test out before I tell you about it. It may take some time. Until then, please be aware that if you have written, I may have seen it, but then maybe not.
I am taking dictation from the Girlchild:
==============
I'm tired.
It's weird being seventeen. There's so much to happen that you don't know what's going to happen. It's right on the edge of home and not home. And decisions and not making decisions. Teenagers are funnier than adults. We laugh more. We're allowed to laugh more. There's more stuff for us to do. We can still go trick or treating if we really want to. We don't have as much to regret. We don't have as much as we feel we missed out on. Unless you're one of those teenagers who worries a lot that you will miss out. Like me. Teenagers are really attractive. We are at the peak of our attractiveness in our lives. Everyone knows that. Is this the first paragraph in your young adult novel, mom? You didn't write that. Uh. (laughter). What did you write? (laughter). Silly. You did this before when I did not say silly I said you're silly. I am not a grandmother I do not just exclaim silly.
You did this before in NY, when we were in NY. Because my feet hurt and I was running around the room saying my feet hurt and you were writing it all down because I'm rather hilarious.
I think COLLEGE is the peak of attractiveness. I think high for girls and college for guys, because college guys are much more attractive than high school guys. Can you actually respond to what I'm saying instead of just typing?
Guys hit their peak later. Why is that? Why isn't it at the same time? Mother?
--don't know.
Is nature sexist?
(laugh)
Why are you laughing? Obviously it is. Don't you think?
--It doesn't have a consciousness.
You're obsessed with this consciousness thing. You use it as an excuse for everything. The insect thing. Now you're using it for an excuse for whatever we're talking about now that I can't remember. Right! Nature. Nature is sexist. Wouldn't you agree?
--No.
Mom you can't use your consciousness thing. That is not a valid argument. If nature did have a consciousness wouldn't it be sexist?
(laughter)
Mom! Answer the question.
--I'm thinking.
My friends would not be so difficult about this. We'd have an interesting discussion. That's why teenagers are better than old people.
--You're calling me old?
That's right.
--Yes nature is sexist because nature is concerned with propagation and progagation has to do with the differentiation of the sexes so nature--
But that's not my point. Guys get everythign better. Taller. More athletic. More sexual. Aren't they more intelligent?
--NO!
In general?
--This is what's wrong with--
But they are more athletic and the other stuff. Why would intelligence be necessary. Where does that come in? Why would it necessary for females to have intelligence? It seems like nature just wants women to lay around having children and cooking. Nature is sexist, see? I guess you have to be intelligent to raise children. But then wouldn't it be scientific intelligence, it would be nurturing. Type faster! I'm such a superior typer to you. How did that happen? One parent types 80 words a minute, the other parent won't even time his typing and they produce a child who types 128 words a minute. How does that happen? That like if one parent is 5'1 and another parent' is 5'2 and they have a 6'7" kid. I'm so amazing, I'm 6'7". Is that a genetic mutation? Do I have a genetic mutation for typing? But then how does that happen?
--It's a question for the ages.
There's a relatively new weblog about language that I like called Mr. Verb. Mr. Verb (I do wonder about his first name. Auxiliary? Irregular? Modal?) has enough patience to keep track of the Language Police and thus serves as a buffer between them and myself. Long ago I gave up trying to read Safire's column on language, because really, why subject yourself to such drivel? But Mr. Verb does read Safire and then provides the comments I would provide if I had more patience and weren't so irritable on the subject.
The only problem over at Mr. Verb's place is that for some reason his blogger blog comment process doesn't quite work. So here's the comment I would have left to today's post:
My suggestion would be to carry on as you have been, no reason to get all dressed up. I myself tend to wander around the internet in bunny slippers.
How I found your weblog: I use Bloglines to keep track of the weblogs I read regularly, and at the same time bloglines tells me where my own name or weblog url has shown up. Which is how I found you, Mr. Verb.
I am glad to know that you have found English with an Accent useful. It was the crowning piece in my academic career.
I want to send a few books to a cousin in Western Australia. What online booksellers do y'all like down there? It makes more sense for me to arrange to buy the books that way and have them sent to her directly.
A quick look at the online resources doesn't give me much to go on. Any suggestions much appreciated.
