From-the-Editors-Desk

The Heart of the Book
January 10, 2010

My first two books of 2010 are proving to be of the “eh”-and-shrug” variety. That is, they were interesting enough to finish but not to re-read or to rave about. As I near the end of the second one, I am already searching for something that is going to grip me in a vise, hold me down, and compel me to sneak pages between assignments at work. The problem is that I don’t know what book will do that.

I’m debating between a re-read of Anna Karenina or War and Peace (winter seems to bring out the Russian passion in me), or taking a chance on a book that came in for review and is causing me some trepidation. Part of my unease about it is that I might not only not find it compelling but, worse, boring. However, the it is the subject matter that is making me queasy and uncertain about opening it.

I am a child of the Sixties, I guess you’d say. I was a teen during those years that in my view began with the Beatles and ended with  Nixon’s resignation. And I am glad I grew up during those turbulent, exciting times. Regardless of what it was—music, the hippie movement, feminism, environmentalism, politics, Vietnam, the anti-war protests, communes—or how one felt about it, the era termed the “sixties” was alive and vibrating with the sense that the world was changing for the better.

I have great affection for those memories. But for some reason I have yet to understand I have an aversion to books about those times. A strong aversion. Regardless of whether they have been fine art photography books, biographies, memoirs, or fiction I not only don’t want to read them, I don’t even want them in the house for one minute. It’s as if I want to recall the times, on the rare occasions I do, as if through a dusty window. I have no interest in watching movies, reading books, or seeing clips on YouTube. They are too . . . what? . . . clear, too “now,” too “in my face”? I do know they can make me feel nauseous. Why I couldn’t say. Is it because they are too clear? Or because they are someone else’s memories cutting into my own? Could it be simple embarrassment, a recognition of the naiveté I possessed in a greater degree than I want to admit? Honestly, I don’t know.

What I do know as I stare at the cover of Old Bears: The Class of 1956 Reaches Its Fiftieth Reunion, Reflecting on the Happy Days and the Unhappy Days is that I feel a distinct discomfort. Though 1956 is a dozen years before I would graduate high school (both schools being in then-golden California), and though I normally don’t mind books about the 1950s and earlier, this one’s focus on “from then and now” creeps me out. Over at Book Balloon, a discussion recently took place about reading outside one’s comfort zone. Most of those who had done so were glad they had for it had opened up new literary territory that proved to be interesting. Is this going to be one of those for me? Or will it be a book I end up tossing?

Whether I get through it all or not, I hope to write about it next week. I think it’s worth exploring my reactions as I read about others’ hopes and expectations, and their realities decades later. Because I see books, whether fiction or nonfiction, as microcosms of life. They recall, enlarge, promote, punish, smother, aid, care for, illuminate, destroy, motivate, and otherwise affect their readers. I guess my only question is: what will this book do for me?

Upcoming Book Festivals:
The Austin Book, Paper & Photo Show, which will take place on the weekend of January 16-17 in Austin, Texas. From 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on Saturday, and from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Sunday, nearly sixty dealers showing Used, rare and collectible books, literary ephemera, autographs, photographs, maps, prints, and postcards will gather at Norris Conference Center. Even if you are not looking to buy, the minimal entry fee ($5) will provide several hours of delightful entertainment.

The Pub House: 
Peachtree Publishers issues a wide range of topics in their books, but what they have in common is their geographical location. Their specialties include titles for children (picture and chapter books); young adult fiction and nonfiction’ self-help titles in education, parenting psychology and health; books about the South (including hiking, fishing, and walking guides); and occasionally cooking, gardening, gift books, and humor. The company began in 1977 and originally emphasized works exclusively by southern authors in the areas of adult fiction and humor. It was also the first trade publisher in the south to achieve national recognition with two books landing on the New York Times Bestseller List.

Among their current releases are All the Western Stars, an adult novel about  two men who break out of a nursing home and head west to avoid their pasts and find their futures. In the YA category, Death Mountain tells about Erin, a girl on her reluctant way to see the mother who abandoned her, and a friend Mac she meets on the way. Outdoor enthusiasts both, they join Mac’s brother for a hike in the Sierra Nevada mountains on a lovely day—until a sudden storm separates the girls from all other hikers and forces them to survive on their own over several days. Danger: Dynamite! is a great mystery story for younger readers (ages 7-10) that takes place in the Cascade mountains where workers are using dynamite to blast a train tunnel. When a case of it turns up near the schoolhouse, and then disappears again, ten-year-old Bill and his friend Finn idly want to know what happened to it. But when a sudden explosion rocks the camp, their investigation begins in earnest, leading them back thirty years to an even more dangerous mystery.

Of Interest: 
Literary games can be such fun! One that has recently come to my attention is Letterature, a site where you use blank tiles to uncover a book’s title. Earn winnings, which you can use to buy a clue if you like. But if you guess wrong, your opponent (which can be the computer) gets to try.

This Week . . . 
If you love detective fiction I have a great website for you: Thrilling Detective. (Pay attention, Janet Reid.) It has a “pulp-ish” appearance, and the founder has a wonderful sense of off-beat humor, but what you’ll mostly find here is darn good writing. Some are original stories, others reprints. You’ll also find excerpts from upcoming books as well as reviews, nonfiction essays, and op-ed pieces. They also have pages that list recent and upcoming hardcovers and paperbacks; anthologies and collections; DVDs and videos; comics and graphic novels; reference, nonfiction and true crime; movies; TV, radio, web, and podcasts; a P.I. calendar for conventions, and fan and other events; and something called “Drama, Activities, and Other Fun Stuff.” For those who enjoy the evolution of detective dust jackets, their gallery page currently holds images from 1998-2008. This is really a rather amazing site for any fan of the detective genre.

Until next week, read well, read often and read on!

Lauren

 


 

 
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