I never suspected that I would get inundated by ARCs, but I have small stack that is quickly growing. And although I did promise that I would review several books on the Spanish Civil War, I have to put those reviews off for a bit because in today’s post, I received Adam Cohen’s Nothing to Fear: FDR’s Inner Circle and the Hundred Day that Created America. A very timely book, and it is next in line for review.
A couple of friends noticed I was copying and pasting full articles from other publications, which isn’t kosher, even with an acknowledgement to the source. I’ve corrected this error. Moving forward, I will offer the first paragraph of the article with a link that will take readers directly to the publications’ sites.
As promised, I am giving away a copy of Robert Goolrick’s A Reliable Wife. I changed the rules from a previous post and simplified them: You have to subscribe and follow the site and leave a compelling comment of why you want this book. I’ll have a drawing by the end of next week. Please leave your email address so I can contact you and get your mailing information.
A Reliable Wife
And she though of Truitt, of his simplicity and trust. And, oddly, she thought of his body, and the nights they had spent together. His body was not young, but richly scented and textured, and somehow familiar to her. He was a body of size without menace. He had never caused her pain. She wasn’t sure the nights had been a pleasure to her, she wasn’t sure she knew what pleasure was anymore, but she knew they had been something to Truitt, some kind of release from his private agony. A homecoming. And, as always when she had given pleasure, she was happy to have given it. She knew the cost of solace in this world. She knew its rarity.
I suppose this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone in the business of book reviewing that yet another newspaper is eliminating its stand alone print version thanks to the lack of advertising. This time it’s the Washington Post’s Book World. Below is the first paragraph to the article. To read the entire piece, click on the headline.
In another sign that literary criticism is losing its profile in newspapers, The Washington Post has decided to shutter the print version of Book World, its Sunday stand-alone book review section, and shift reviews to space inside two other sections of the paper.
By MOTOKO RICH The point may soon come when there are more people who want to write books than there are people who want to read them.
As one who is writing a novel, I have mixed feelings about self-publishing books. On one hand, there are too many people who think they can write and have an intriguing story to tell. Unfortunately that’s not often the case. However, sometimes you’re surprised and you come across a self-published book that’s remarkably good and you wonder why the hell was it rejected by agents?
For me, I’ll go through the traditional route. If I’m turned down too many times that my ego is completely shot, maybe I’ll self publish. Or I just might serialize it on another blog.
In any event, here’s some scoop to share from the New York Times. The title is linked to the original story.
Self-Publishers Flourish as Writers Pay the Tab
I’m obsessive about the news and I just saw the New York Times obit on prolific author John Updike. I’m ashamed to admit I’ve never read Mr. Updike’s novels, even the Rabbit series–although they’ve been on a list of books to be read. Below is the first paragraph of the obituary. To read the entire article, click on the headline.
John Updike, the kaleidoscopically gifted writer whose quartet of Rabbit Angstrom novels highlighted so vast and protean a body of fiction, verse, essays and criticism as to earn him comparisons with Henry James and Edmund Wilson among American men of letters, died today at a hospice outside Boston. He was 76 and lived in Beverly Farms, Mass.
Wow! That was my reaction when I read the headline this morning that Sara Nelson, the editor-in-chief of Publishers Weekly was ousted.Reed Business Information, the magazine’s parent company, is restructuring and this affects about seven percent of the staff according to the New York Times. Brian Kenney was named as the editorial director forPublishers Weekly and Library Journal. Below is the first paragraph, to read the rest of the story, click on the headline:
Brian Kenney has been named editorial director for Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and will continue to direct the day-to-day operations of School Library Journal. All three magazines are owned by Reed Business Information. The announcement was made yesterday by Ron Shank, group publisher of RBI’s publishing division. Kenney’s promotion came the same day that RBI announced companywide layoffs which were dictated by the downturn in the advertising market, the company said in a statement.
I apologize for the delay. I am still reading, writing, and tweaking the site. As you can see, it’s gone through a few layout changes. In terms of content, I will be adding articles about publishing that I think might be of interest. These will come from a variety of sources and will be duly noted.
Later this week (probably Thursday or Friday evening) , I will post Helen Graham’s The Spanish Civil War: A Very Short Introduction, followed by Robert Goolricks’s A Reliable Wife. I have an extra copy of A Reliable Wife and I am happy to host a contest and give away. Here are the rules:
Rebeca Schiller is the editor of Alvah's Books. She reviews literary fiction and non-fiction.
