What’s in My Bookbag: Benny Morris’s just-published 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War (Yale Univ.), in honor of Israel’s 60th anniversary (celebrataed yesterday). To some, it might seem a strange celebration to read a book that relates horrors committed by Israelis as well as Pal-estinians. But for me, this tale embodies. But Israel’s conflicted story is deeply ingrained in me. 

T...Read More

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We're looking for a few good readers here at the Bookroom.  Here's our ad on Mediabistro.

Reviewers

Publication or Company  Publishers Weekly Industry

...Read M

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It goes without saying that I spend a lot of time thinking about what makes a good book re-view. In general, it requires a smooth blend of description and evaluation. But, like most readers, I don’t want a review—especially of fiction—to tell me everything that happens. When I ask what a book is about, even (perhaps especially) a novel, I’m asking not who did what to whom but the meaning of those events. I want to know about the author’s voice, style and worldview.

A good nonfiction review must also assess the author’s information and analysis, the organi-zation and presentation, and whether the author has something new to say. In the case of an oft-told tale, say, a history of the California gold rush, does the author render it in a fresh, ex-citing and stylish narrative that might bring the story to a new audience?

Finall...Read More

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After an article in the NY Times detailing a new openness in discussing personal finances, I feel ok in not letting the topic go.  Here's a slightly different tack.

Tell me about the publication of your first book.  Did you pay for it? Did the publisher?

And if you've finished a manuscript but haven't published it yet, what's your goal, money-wise, as you assess the options?

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The Junot Diazes of 2028 are already honing their literary skills in high schools around New York City. And I might have just read a short essay by one of them.

I’ve had the privilege (and it is a privilege) of serving as a judge in the memoir category of the Random House Inc. Creative Writing Competitioin for NYC Public High School Seniors, meticulously and enthusiastically organized by Random House’s Melanie Fallon-Houska. More than $100,000 in scholarship prizes will be awarded to the winners on June 9. (Above: pictures of last year's winners.)

Reading these brief memoirs opens a window onto a world I have no first-hand knowledge of. Actually, it opens windows onto...Read More

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Recall, friends, that The $ Question is an occasional feature here on Notes where we talk about how writers support themselves.  (Here's the inaugurative installment, with Joan Silber.)

I was standing before the stack of mass market galleys in the bookroom the other day with Jordan Foster, an editorial assistant here who, among other hats, is working with me as an assistant editor of the mass market reviews.

We were kind of awed by the sheer number of books.  (We were so dumbfounded, that we didn't even take a picture or count them! All thoughts of blogging were obliterated by the sheer bulk of the stack!)

W...Read More

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Even normally obscure scholarly books can benefit from a blast of publicity. Witness anthropologist Nadia Abu El-...Read More

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Blistering Ange Mlinko on National Poetry Month:  "De rigueur jokes about T.S. Eliot's 'cruelest month' notwithstanding, the National Poetry Month FAQ web page explains why April was chosen for the honor: 'February is Black History Month and March is Women's History Month, so April seemed a logical choice.' Let's get this straight: logically, this would mean that poets are an oppressed group on a par with groups who have overcome the legal status of chattel. Needless to say, the ability of poets to interrogate their own earnest metaphors seems to have plunged in tandem with their prestige."

Can't imagine a better April essay than this.

As an alternative to the heavily-granted lay...Read More

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I just got in the review for Invisible Fences, a debut horror novella by Norman Prentiss. My reviewer noted that Cemetery Dance is publishing it as a 170-page, $30 "deluxe hardcover" as part of their novella series. That's roughly 17.6 cents per page. By way of comparison, Stephen King's Duma Key, a 592-page $28 hardcover, costs only 4.7 cents per page (and that's before the Amazon discount, which drops the per-page price to 3.1 cents). Stephen King is easily the best-known horror writer in the world, a bestseller many times over. Norman Prentiss is apparently a short story writer, and I only know that because I searched around a bit, as the galley and publicity letter contain absolutely no information about him.

David Niall Wilson, an author and reviewer who's usually pretty in touch with the horror writing community and has himself contribute...Read More

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Our April 21 issue will have a q&a with E. Fuller Torrey about ...Read More

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Read with a smile our Soapbox this week from an anonymous flack.

Let me recount a similar anecdote from the other side.

I finish a profile; we get ready to page it.  At 6pm, I email the author's personal publicist for a hi-res .jpg of the author's headshot, and another of the cover art for the author's forthcoming book.

By 10am the next morning--today--there's nothing in my inbox.  Assuming the author's publicist doens't have the files sitting on her hard drive, I call the house, which is a venerable independent, hoping to get someone in publicity on the phone.

The phone rings; the house has its own switchboard.  I identify myself; the operator puts me through to publicity.

The phone rings, and a young, uncer...Read More

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Thanks for all your fascinating comments on last week's "Strictly for the Fans" post! It sounds like readers mostly end up in one of these categories:

"Straight through" readers, who read every series in order, first book to last book. The extreme version of this is to avoid reading any books in a series until all of them have been published and are simultaneously accessible. Pros: Read it as the author intended. Cons: Takes a fair amount of time and/or money to track down all the books.

"Laissez-faire" readers, who are willing to start a series in the middle or read it out of order, acknowledging that there may be some confusion or catching-up. Pros: Less work looking for books. Cons: More work understanding books.

"S...Read More

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