READ ALL ABOUT IT
Since 2012, I’ve been writing about books. And the act of reading. And the importance of story and narrative. But, mostly, the underlying theme of all I write is how taking a moment to stop and digest some longform text — instead of scrolling, instead of watching a video, instead of multitasking — can be one of the most grounding things we can do for ourselves. Here’s the one-stop online home for all this writing.
You can read more about me and my work by moseying over here. Want to peruse periodic “essay drops” — excerpts from my work-in-progress essay collection about Homesickness? Here ya go.
Special Books
What makes a book (meaning, the object itself) special?
Taylor Swift and the Publishing Industry
A book depository, a book wishing well, a land of forgotten books?
Here’s a supposedly click-bait-y article from The Atlantic — I mean, with Taylor Swift as the focal point, how can it not be? — that is actually a look at some of the pitfalls of the publishing industry as it stands today. And a booster of sorts for not just raiding your own books (both read and unread) but for checking out used bookstores as well.
The Editor, Having and Being Had, Slow Productivity, The Work of Art
Here’s Part 2 (of 4?) of a roundup of nonfiction I’ve read lately. Some of these I’ve read with an eye toward my own writing (style, subject, etc.), some were just for fun.
I Love LA
Recent headline in the NYT: “Why the LA Public Library Acquired a Book Publisher.” The owners of Angel City Press — a small, 32-year-old shop dedicated to LA-specific books that are “drenched in nostalgia but undeniably cool” (yessssss!) — were ready to retire so offered up the whole shebang to the local library system.
Graywolf Press
Once in a while I post about the publishing industry. (Most recently Aug. 3, July 7, July 17, June 29…) To sum it up rather simplistically: There are 5 (maybe one day 4?) dominating publishing houses that put out so much of what we read. Publishing has a “diversity” problem. And there are definitely people trying to make things more accessible.
Stephen King Testifies in Publishing House Merger Trial
Stephen King testified yesterday for the Department of Justice in its antitrust trial regarding a merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster. He volunteered to testify.
America’s Next Great Author
I’m conjuring the teaser theme music and possible lasers as I type this. America’s Next Great Author is being pitched as a show in the same vein as Project Runway, American Idol, and X-Factor. Kwame Alexander has come alongside Arielle Eckstut and David Sterry (The Book Doctors) to bring it to life.
The Other Black Girl
A couple of years ago, I read a popular book and mused that I would have liked it better if it had been released as serialized fiction, à la Dickens. With that book, what I was probably thinking in the back of my head was: This would be better on screen — like a miniseries. I liked the book “ok.”
Can Books Start a New Chapter?
Excellent cover story in Sunday’s NYT Magazine. “Can Books Start a New Chapter? For generations, America’s major publishers focused almost entirely on white readers. Now an effort is underway to open up the industry.”
Plagiarists Keep On Keepin’ On
We heard about this on ‘Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!’ yesterday while driving, but here’s a screenshot of a blurb about it from the New York Times.
Measuring the Wrong Things: Machine Learning, Human, Learning, and AI
What do you think? This morning, my husband sent me this article that posits that “male characters are four more times more prevalent in literature than female characters.” (As an aside, Matt’s commentary with the link was “Ironic since men don’t read books.” He’s being funny. But let’s for sure save space for a post about how reading is seen as a “women’s activity” for another day!)
Margo Jefferson and Guilty Pleasures
I always love the “By the Book” column in the Sunday NYT. And I especially love the question “Do you count any books as guilty pleasures?” This past week, Margo Jefferson, literary critic and author of the memoir Constructing a Nervous System, had a zinger answer:
