Busy Summer Days

Not to make excuses, but when you're helping plan a wedding, it doesn't leave a lot of time for things like blogging. I'll keep posting as often as I can, though. So without further ado, here are three interesting news items that caught my eye today. The first, from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is the suggestion that Harry Potter may not survive the series of books that bears his name. (LINK). At csmonitor.com, Amazon's list of bestselling books among US Military Personnel (LINK). And, from the Guardian UK, John Updike tells the Brits that they don't have to be jealous of American novelists any more because those Brits are pretty good after all (LINK).

- C. Max Magee @ 6:55 PM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

This and That

Attention prospective authors: not to discourage, but the number of books coming out each year is getting out of hand. According to Bowker, a company that compiles and distributes bibliographic information, approximately 175,000 different books came out in 2003, a rise 19% from the previous year. Many believe this "book glut" is at least partly to blame for the financial woes of many publishers. Here's the full press release with all the facts and figures. Following up on the comment that Edan left under yesterday's post. Missing novelist, Helen DeWitt, author of The Last Samurai, has been found in Niagara Falls. Here's the article. Look for Dan Chaon's first novel, You Remind Me of Me to be a hot read this summer. Janet Maslin gets the ball rolling with her warm review in the New York Times.

Bookspotting

When: Evening 05/26/04
Where: The gym at George Washington University
Who: A girl on one of the stationary bikes
What: Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
Description: "Catch-22 is like no other novel we have ever read. It has its own style, its own rationale, its own extraordinary character. It moves back and forth from hilarity to horror. It is outrageously funny and strangely affecting."

When: Late 05/26/04
Where: At the bar at Cantina Marina on the waterfront in downtown Washington, DC
Who: A man in a suit, puffing a cigar, sipping his drink
What: The Prince of Providence by Mike Stanton
Description: "Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stanton tells the incredible story of Buddy Cianci, America's most colorful mayor, in this classic story of wiseguys, feds, and politicians riding a carousel of crime and redemption."

- C. Max Magee @ 1:31 PM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

The Big Bug Invasion

Even though this blog is devoted almost exclusively to books, I would be remiss if I did not mention the remarkable natural phenomenon that has been going on around me these past few days. The 17 year cicadas have emerged en masse from underground. Everyone, I'm sure, in their lifetime has had an encounter with a swarm of one type of bug or another, termites, bees, mosquitoes perhaps. In one of my grungier apartments in Los Angeles I once walked into to the kitchen to find more ants than one ever likes to see in one place. But the cicadas, they are something completely different. Brood X, as the scientists call this particular population, inhabits highly localized spots in the mid-Atlantic and Ohio River valley, and in some areas, like where I live, there are as many as 1.5 million per densely forested acre. The bugs themselves are large, larger than nearly any bug I've encountered, but they are oddly non-threatening. They are so dumb as to be barely functioning organisms. Walking through my yard, I'll see a cicada approaching at a distance of fifty feet, and it will continue to fly in a straight line until it plows into me and then falls to the ground, dazed or unconscious. Each morning there are hundreds of them in piles against the side of the house, which they were unable to avoid during their night time travels. We sweep them away and an hour later there are dozens more. They give off this high pitched drone, and when you get a million or so together you can hear them from inside the house. Combined with the ungodly humidity, the noisesome, gigantic bugs have lent a prehistoric feel to the summer, not unlike the dinosaur simulation I remember from Epcot Center when I was younger. I half-expect a giant plastic animatronic T. Rex to be lurking behind my house. But they'll be gone in a month, not to return for another 17 years, and I'll be able to put away the plastic whiffle bat that I use to beat them back every time I leave the house.

Vladimir Nabokov, of course, adored a more likeable sort of bug, the butterfly. In yet another fantastic "Second Reading" column, Washington Post book reviewer, Jonathan Yardley revisits Nabokov's memoir, Speak, Memory. If this all sounds familiar to you, you may recall that a New York Times article about Nabokov inspired me to write about this book a few weeks back.

And in non-bug news, E. L. Doctorow, whose new book Sweet Land Stories came out recently, comments in the Washington Post on the heckling he received during his controversial commencement speech at Hofstra University last weekend.

- C. Max Magee @ 1:31 PM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

Recommendations from Friends

My friend Edan writes in to remind me about the latest issue of McSweeney's. Typically I find that McSweeney's are fun to look at, a mishmosh of interesting design and writing that doesn't stick to your bones, but I'm genuinely excited about this McSweeney's in a way that I haven't been excited about any previous issue. This one is their comics issue with a cover designed by Chris Ware and comics by R. Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Daniel Clowes, Lynda Barry, and others as well as essays by Michael Chabon, Ira Glass, John Updike, Chip Kidd, and others. These are all favorites of mine in the world of comics and books. I'm looking forward to reading it. Edan also told me to have a look at The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture, which she describes as "awesome and big." I would have to agree. Go here and click on "look inside" to check it out.

I also got a note from my friend Emre who really wants me, and everyone, to read Italo Calvino. He is a most trusted fellow reader so I feel confident when I pass along his Calvino recommendations: "pick up a copy of The Baron in the Trees and indulge in it. The Nonexistent Knight is pretty good too, Invisible Cities is ok, or maybe I couldn't get into it because I read it on the subway." Thanks Edan and Emre!

- C. Max Magee @ 9:21 AM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

Keegan, Library, and Amber

Yesterday I mentioned John Keegan's latest book, The Iraq War. The book is meant to be an overview of the conflict, yet in the eyes of most people the Iraq War is still brewing. Yes, large scale military operations have long been over with, but, with breaking news coming from the region daily, one suspects that the history books, looking back, will not describe this conflict as being finished. As such, it is difficult to look at Keegan's book as a definitive overview of this war. This is Janet Maslin's take in today's New York Times (she also thinks that Keegan's angle is too Western and "snobbish.") My suspicion is that this book was rushed to completion and into book stores by the publisher in order to get in on the brisk sales of Iraq-related titles. Undoubtedly, a little temporal distance from the subject matter would have improved Keegan's effort.

Lovers of architecture and books alike are raving about Seattle's new Central Library, a graceful steel and glass structure designed by the Dutch architect, Rem Koolhaas. Here's praise from the Seattle Times, and here's the official website with pictures. One of the more interesting aspects of the new library: the stacks are laid out on continuous, unbroken shelves that spiral through the center of the building.

A few months ago there was an interesting article in the New Yorker about one of the world's lost treasures, the Amber Room, "an entire chamber paneled and ornamented in amber presented to Peter the Great of Russia in 1717 by King Frederick William of Prussia as a gift to seal the friendship between their two states." The New Yorker article described the search for the room, thought to have been hidden in Germany by the Nazis during World War II, as well as the construction of a costly replica of the room that was being built in Russia. As with much that occurred behind the Iron Curtain, there was much doubt about the true fate of the Amber Room. Now, in a book entitled The Amber Room: The Fate of the World's Greatest Lost Treasure by Adrian Levy and Catherine Scott-Clark, new evidence is revealed that solves the mystery once and for all. Read an edited extract from the book.

- C. Max Magee @ 8:11 AM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

The End of the Road

And just like that, my Los Angeles chapter has been brought to a quick and frenzied close. After a marathon of packing and a lot of time spent trying to make all of the junk we acquired over the last few years disappear, Ms. Millions and I set off east through the desert, nine and a half hours behind schedule but determined to make up the time. Unlike four years ago when we spent three weeks driving five thousand miles, pausing often, here and there, when we found a place that held our interest, this trip was a delirium of driving, hundreds of miles between stops, trying to keep the needle of the speedometer above 90 as we traversed desolate stretches of highway in New Mexico and Texas. But now I am in Washington, DC, which will be my base of sorts for the summer, leading up to and beyond my wedding until it is time to move to Chicago. I no longer have a fantastic book store at my disposal, but I am hoping to offer some insight, now purely as a reader, even though my bookselling days are behind me. Another thing I would like to do this summer, between wedding planning and hopefully a little traveling, is work. If anyone out there knows of or can offer me an internship for the summer, preferably in journalism, let me know. I don't need to be paid much or at all, really; just looking for some experience and for something to do. Email me if you can help. But enough of that, on to some books.

While on the road, I received an email from Steve from Virginia containing a couple of recommendations. First, noting my interest in the books of the British war historian, John Keegan, he suggested that I endeavor to read The Mask of Command as it is, in his opinion, Keegan's best. Also of note: Keegan's latest, The Iraq War, will be released soon. It will be interesting to see how a man of Keegan's expertise analyses such a modern and non-traditional conflict. Steve also wrote in suggesting that I take a look at Nicholas Rankin's Telegram from Guernica, a book about George Steer, the South African war correspondent who broke the story of the firebombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. Thanks for the recommendations, Steve!

As I was packing up to go, I heard on the radio an interview with the author of a new book called, Hideous Absinthe: A History of the Devil in a Bottle. Jad Adams, the British journalist behind this book, wanted to explore the curious hold that this beverage had on generations of artists and writers who were looking for inspiration.

Finally, I caught this amusing little story about the intersection of fiction, marketing, and copywrites. The cover of Tom Perotta's Little Children will be switched from goldfish to cookies sometime soon.

- C. Max Magee @ 8:26 AM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

Goodbye, LA

And now it is time to go. After more than three and a half years in LA, a city I knew nothing about, hated, grew to love, and still kind of hate, Ms. Millions and I are hitting the road. First there will be a wedding and then a new start in Chicago where I will attempt to be a student again. I fear that the culture shock I experienced upon arriving in Los Angeles will pale in comparison to the culture shock of leaving LA now that I have grown so accustomed to its inherent weirdness. Still, I managed to carve a niche for myself here and perhaps I can do that again somewhere new. Funny that I didn't figure it out at the very start, but this "niche," this sudden feeling of comfort in a bewildering place would have a lot to do with books.

First, some history. I have always read a lot. Early on it was to combat my chronic insomnia, and I guess it just took. But there was a time here in Los Angeles during my first year that I would find myself without a book. This had never really happened to me before. Whereas I used to have a stack of books next to my bed ready for devouring, I had now resorted to fishing out old Entertainment Weeklies from under the coffee table. I was distracted, profoundly so. I was in a new place trying to be good at jobs I didn't care about, lacking ambition, and devoted to those twin goddesses of self-diversion, television and video games. But then things happened, too numerous and predictable to mention here, and I found myself unemployed again and ready to try something new. So I said the hell with it and walked into a little bookstore on the Sunset Strip. Moments after I got the job I remembered (how had I forgotten?) how much I love books. And soon my hunger for words became insatiable, like that of a beggar who suddenly has daily access to feast worthy of a king. Soon I felt guilty. I had to share.

My friend Derek, always a step ahead, had begun blogging. I pronounced it to be silly and a huge waste of time and then promptly started my own blog. I realized after a month or so that it had to be about books and nothing else, since that's the only thing that really moved me at the time.

And plus, I had so much material: a constant torrent of new releases and a cadre of coworkers and customers with whom I discussed books eight hours a day. (This was when I discovered, by the way, that LA is an obsessively literary place, and it doesn't care if anyone knows it, so it doesn't bother to tell anyone.) And then there were the authors, constant visitors it seemed, nearly all of them willing to chat with the folks who hock their wares. I felt I had to share: Julie Orringer, Jocelyn Bain Hogg (a photographer), Felicia Luna Lemus, George Plimpton, Nick Hornby, Rick Atkinson, Pete Dexter, DBC Pierre and Dan Rhodes, Michele Huneven, A. Scott Berg and Jeff Bridges, Ron Chernow, and of course, one of my heroes, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Unbelievable.

My last day at the bookstore was yesterday and my last day in LA is tomorrow. I never thought I would live here. I never, ever thought I would love it. It has raised the bar, in my mind, that other cities will have to live up to. But I figure: if I keep seeking out the little bit of LA that no doubt resides in other places, I'll get along just fine. Goodbye, Los Angeles.

I'll be back in a week. Read a book while I'm gone!

- C. Max Magee @ 7:15 PM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

Quick Notes

I made mention of a young writer named Ben Mezrich in my poker post earlier this week. Well, it turns out he's got another high-stakes book out, but this time international finance, not poker, is the focus. Ugly Americans is about an Ivy Leaguer who follows a nebulous job offer to Japan where he ends up pulling off "a trade that could, quite simply, be described as the biggest deal in the history of the financial markets." And it's a true story. Kinda makes ya curious, no?

In case anyone is feeling very generous as you read this. I found two things today that I really want: George Plimpton on Sports and The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus Megaset. (They're on my wishlist.)

Coming soon: "Goodbye, Los Angeles!"

- C. Max Magee @ 10:55 PM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

Public Radio Roundup

I listen to a lot of Public Radio, perhaps too much. And while I probably shouldn't be scheduling my days around radio shows devoted to cooking or news quizzes, there are some Public Radio personalities that do deserve my devotion (and you probably yours too.) One of these is Ira Glass, host of This American Life. Glass was recently in the news for his vocal protests of FCC crackdowns. In this essay from the New York Times Magazine he takes up for Howard Stern and criticizes the absurdity at the center of the decency battle. And the Houston Chronicle explains that Glass isn't just a public radio host, he's also a sex symbol. Often considered one of the funniest voices on radio, David Sedaris is a frequent contributor to This American Life. His fans are already clamoring for his latest book due out this June. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, another of Sedaris' collections of humorous, autobiographical essays, is previewed here in the Sydney Star Observer. And then there is Terry Gross, master interviewer and host of the long running show Fresh Air. A collection of Gross' famous interviews will be coming out this fall, titled All I Did Was Ask. Here's an interview with the queen of interviewers at the Detroit Free Press.

- C. Max Magee @ 1:54 PM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

Ask a Book Question: the Nineteenth in a Series (The Case of the Missing Sequel)

Christian writes in with this question:

What ever happened to the sequel to Harlot's Ghost that Normal Mailer was to write at some time?

Only a personality as audacious as Norman Mailer would have the brazenness to end a daring and ambitious 1400 page novel with the words "To Be Continued" without knowing whether or not he would ever write the second part. In fact, most writers would have the sequel in the bag, so to speak, before they would ever dare to make such a claim. Mailer, however, has always played by his own rules, and one of these rules is that if he doesn't want to write the sequel, he doesn't have to. A bit of research revealed that this is indeed the case; according to this interview that he gave last year, anyway. Says Mailer when asked when he will complete and publish the novel:

Probably never. I was about to start the second volume about two years ago, and something happened that never happened before, which is a new muse came into the room just as I was on the altar. And said, "Come here." And I left the second volume of Harlot's Ghost at the altar and ran off with the new muse. I've been working on a novel that I'm going to either finish it or it is going to finish me, because it's a long book that will come out in pieces. But I don't think I'll ever get back to Harlot's Ghost. Also, the CIA has changed so much that I'm not sure that what I was interested in is still there.

Mailer, it appears, has moved on. But as long as I've got you here, Mailer has a lot to say in this very entertaining interview. To my mind, the highlights include his description of an unnamed female New York Times critic (who is undoubtedly Michiko Kakutani): "I know one reviewer who is possessed of a power tool up the posterior aperture whenever she has to review one of my books." And also, on his fisticuffs with Gore Vidal, "it was very mean to take a heavy tumbler and bounce it off his head." Classic. One final note: I was rather shocked to discover that Harlot's Ghost is currently out of print. Someone ought to remedy that.

- C. Max Magee @ 11:12 AM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

Lipsky Chats

There's been a lot about soldiers in the news recently, both good and bad, and suddenly all us civilians are struggling to understand military culture. For the curious it might be worth taking a look at David Lipsky's Absolutely American (I'll be reading it sometime soon since it's on the reading queue). The book is about the four years that Lipsky spent following a class of cadets through West Point. Lipsky is not a military guy, and his outsider's perspective helps explain how the military fits in to our heterogeneous society. Of special interest to those who might have read the book already, here's the transcript of a chat with Lipsky that follows up on a lot of the cadets that are in the book. Nearly all of them have been stationed in Afghanistan or Iraq.

- C. Max Magee @ 3:19 AM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

Ask a Book Question: The Eighteenth in a Series (Showing Your Cards)

My good and old friend Hot Face, I mean, "Larry 'Boom Boom' Delvechhio" writes in with this question about going for broke and laying it all out on the line.

Howyadoin'. I was recently in beyootyful Atlantic City--business trip--and I'm thinkin', geez, this crap is fascinatin'. Is there any, like, books on the subject of gambling/casinos/slots/A.C./Vegas youse might know about? I'm thinkin' like a New Yorkery piece of joinalism with an eye for the math and the drama of the whole thing.

Mr. Delvechhio, fresh off celebrating his swiftly disappearing bachelorhood, must have caught the gambling bug in Atlantic City last weekend. I know because I had a similar experience during my celebrations in Vegas about a month ago. Remember? At the time I discussed a number of books that are related to Sin City in one way or another, but I left out books about gambling. Nonetheless, I can recommend three that might serve Mr. Delvechhio's purposes, though I'm sure there are countless others. The first is one that I have read, or rather listened to as an audiobook. In 2000 James McManus arrived in Las Vegas to cover the World Series of Poker for Harper's. He would leave a lot richer and with a seed for book to be called Positively Fifth Street planted in his brain. A poker player his whole life, McManus couldn't resist jumping into the fray. He used his advance to pay the entrance fee for the tournament. Remarkably, McManus, an unassuming family man, makes it to the final table of the tournament, and in the process is able to give a great insider's view of a grueling tournament that features bizarre personalities and incredibly high stakes. He also weaves into the narrative the intrigue and murder surrounding the Binions, the family whose casino hosts the tournament. It's a fantastic, quick read that will get you hooked on poker if you aren't already. Another poker book is called The Biggest Game in Town by the mysterious A. Alvarez. This book also focuses on the World Series of Poker, though it hails from an earlier era. Though I haven't read it, I've had this book recommended to me dozens of times since I started working at the book store. By all accounts it is a very quality book; in fact, large portions of it originally appeared in the New Yorker in 1981 or so. And finally, a blackjack book: Ben Mezrich uncovered a pretty remarkable story last year when he wrote about the M.I.T. blackjack team in his book Bringing Down the House. I haven't read this one either, but I heard Mizrach several times on the radio last year. The revelation: apparently, for years, there has been a highly secretive blackjack team at M.I.T. Created, recruited, and originally bankrolled by a professor, the team used their considerable math skills to make a killing counting cards in Vegas. Before the operation was permanently blackballed from the casinos, they racked up millions. It got to the point where they were traveling with suitcases full of cash and sitting next to NBA stars at the blackjack table. If you see yourself as a money-making, mathematical genius, this might be the book for you. Oh, and, Delvechhio, I'm looking forward to the nuptuals.

The Hype Continues

More news in a story that is sure to dominate the book-related headlines for months to come: it has been announced that former prez Bill Clinton has completed his a 900-page manuscript for his memoir due out this June, putting an end to fears that he wouldn't finish on time. They have also released the cover photo, which is just a standard portrait. The remaining intrigue surrounds how revelatory this memoir will be and the timing of the memoir's release, with some conspiracy theorists claiming that Clinton's stealing of the spotlight is meant to sabotage John Kerry in an attempt to clear the way for Hillary in 2008.

- C. Max Magee @ 4:22 PM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

Dissing Doctorow

The New York Times' Michiko Kakutani shows her extreme distaste for E. L. Doctorow's new collection, Sweet Land Stories, as well as movies based on Doctorow's books. (LINK) "Several of E. L. Doctorow's novels - Ragtime, Welcome to Hard Times, The Book of Daniel and Billy Bathgate - have been turned into plodding, overproduced movies. Here, in his latest collection of short fiction, "Sweet Land Stories," he seems to be trying to turn old movie ideas into stories with equally little success at recycling," Kakutani says. I personally enjoyed both of the stories from this collection that originally appeared in the New Yorker, "A House on the Plains" and "Jolene: A Life," so I will probably get some more opinions on this one before I declare it a dud.

A New Lunch

I noticed that Kevin over at LA Observed occasionally reports on publishing industry deals listed in something called "Publisher's Lunch." Intrigued, I used my book industry credentials to sign up for these weekly newsletters, and so now, from time to time, I will pass along to you publishing industry news that may be of interest to you. For example, Dave Eggers' new collection of stories, entitled Visitants, will be published by McSweeney's (of course) this fall, and J. Robert Lennon's next book will be called Happyland and will be put out by Norton.

- C. Max Magee @ 9:29 PM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

Bribing the Retail Set

I was rather astounded by this article in The Guardian today about publishers taking retailers on lavish trips to promote their latest books: to Pompeii for Robert Harris' Pompeii, to New York for Hillary Clinton's Living History, and to Madrid for David Beckham's Beckham aka My Side. Before I get into how unsavory this practice is, can I first say that if such thing are going on, why was I never invited on an overseas publicity junket to promote a bestselling book? In fact, I must admit that before today I had never heard of this practice in the publishing world. In the film industry, pushover movie reviewers are routinely wined and dined in exchange for positive press, but I never noticed the general manager of my store jetting off on an all expenses paid trip to Pompeii. Of course, it's possible that such perks are reserved for the folks who make the decisions at the big chains. A happy regional VP translates to prominent displays in 300 stores and a frontlist order of 30,000 copies. Then again, perhaps this is more of a British phenomenon than an American one. The odd thing, to me, is why bother spending all that money on a book that is already going to have prominent placement due to public interest. This is what those midlist authors are bemoaning when they say there's not enough publicity money to go around.

Back to Virginia

I was born in Albemarle County, I returned their for four years of college at the University of Virginia, and I'll be heading back there again this summer for my wedding. But it's more than all the history that I have there that makes it a special place for me. It's beautiful country, peaceful, serene, and full of history. And for those who share my feelings on Albemarle County, there is now a lovely coffee table book about the place called Albemarle: A Story of Landscape and American Identity. Here are some sample pages.

- C. Max Magee @ 11:09 AM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

Quick Notes

A new book about a largely forgotten civil rights battle is getting good reviews. One Man's Castle by Phyllis Vine tells the true story of an African American doctor in Detroit in 1925 named Ossian Sweet. The day he moved his family into a white neighborhood, his house was surrounded by an angry mob throwing rocks. Attempting to defend his family, Sweet fired on the crowd killing one of them. This AP review continues: "in a remarkable civil rights victory for the time, two all-white juries refused to convict them -- recognizing the principle that a man's house is his castle, regardless of race." It sounds quite interesting.

Everyone will be rushing out to see Troy this weekend, but you may want to flip through The Iliad if you want to get the real story.

- C. Max Magee @ 1:49 AM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

Broadway Bashing

In today's Public Editor column in the New York Times, Daniel Okrent takes the opportunity to mercilessly bash the Tony Awards as well as the Times' lavish coverage of them. The only productions eligible for Tony's are ones that take place "on" Broadway as opposed to "Off," despite the fact that "the various Off or Off Off Broadway houses ... launched all but one winner of the Pulitzer Prize for drama in the last decade (the exception originated in a nonprofit theater in Florida)." Meanwhile back at the Times, Okrent claims that there will soon be better coverage of theatre: "the Times is on the brink of a long-planned, apparently expensive and unquestionably overdue renovation of its cultural report, scheduled to premiere in the fall."

- C. Max Magee @ 1:53 AM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

Big Brother or the Wave of the Future

There's been much discussion lately, some of it bordering on hysterical, about radio-frequency identification devices or RFIDs. The idea is that the barcode will be replaced by a tiny radio transmitter that will allow computers to monitor inventory in real time as it sits on the shelves. It would also make things more efficient at the cash register. Since hundreds of the transmitters can be "scanned" at once, the checkout process can be completed almost instantaneously. RFIDs are meant to streamline the retail process and prevent theft. Walmart has already begun requiring its suppliers to include them in certain products, and privacy advocates have been registering their concern. If an all-seeing computer inside the Walmart can track the tennis racket that you're carrying around, what's to stop them, or anyone, from tracking that tennis racket home with you? I don't know why anyone would want to track a tennis racket to your home, but still, the idea of all your belongings being embedded with trackable transmitters is a bit unsettling. Privacy concerns aside, anyone responsible for a large and complicated inventory has to look at RFIDs as the holy grail of inventory management. And that includes librarians. Librarians have, especially in recent years, been vigilant about monitoring privacy issues, but in the case of RFIDs, it appears as though the convenience outweighs the risks. On Thursday the San Francisco Library Commission approved the use of RFIDs, and the deciding factors seem to be ease of use and lessening the risk of injuries to library workers. According to this San Francisco Chronicle article, "San Francisco librarian Susan Hildreth has said the technology will make it easier for library staff to check books out to library patrons. She said the chips would also cut the cost of repetitive stress injuries, which have totaled $265,000 at the library in the past three years." (An open letter from Hildreth was published in the Chronicle on Thursday to allay the fears of San Francisco's library patrons.)

The Biographer

Yesterday I met Ron Chernow, whose biography of Alexander Hamilton is receiving praise from all corners these days. As we discussed the promising sales of the new book, Chernow expressed concern about the many headline-grabbing political books that threaten to drown out his new biography. According to Chernow, the folks at Penguin, navigating the crowded release calendar, deliberated over the "street date" and took special care to avoid overlapping with Bob Woodward's Plan of Attack. Before there was any release date to worry about, Chernow spent years researching the book and sifting through the voluminous papers of the prolific writer. He even uncovered some previously undiscovered writing that Hamilton had done as a stringer for newspapers in New York. I asked Chernow what he's reading at the moment, and he said, almost sheepishly, that these days he feels obligated to keep up with books about Hamilton's era because he is always asked about this or that new book at his many speaking engagements. Among his favorites from the recent crop are An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America by Henry Wiencek and "Negro President" : Jefferson and the Slave Power by Garry Wills.

It Begins Again

It was inevitable. It looks like The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason may succeed The Da Vinci Code as the next pseudo-religious, conspiracy theory, mega-blockbuster bestseller.

- C. Max Magee @ 11:27 AM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

Nabokov and His Butterflies

This morning I read this bittersweet story in the New York Times about the auctioning of Vladimir Nabokov's personal effects by his son Dmitri. As Dmitri has no heirs, it was agreed before the elder Nabokov's death that it would be best to sell the collection before the death of the younger Nabokov. Reading the story, with its descriptions of invented butterfly drawings for Nabokov's wife Vera -- "They have variegated colors, delicate artistry and fanciful names. Only on these pages appear the blue 'Colias verae' or the dark 'Maculinea aurora Nab.'" -- reminded me of how much I enjoyed reading Nabokov's lyrical memoir, Speak, Memory, when I was in college. I read it for a class called Transatlantic Identities, taught by the dandyish Professor Tucker (who was most of all devoted to John Ruskin). We read a dozen or so memoirs penned over the last 150 years on either side of the Atlantic. Among these, Speak, Memory, was transcendent, inspiring an interest both in lepidoptery and Nabokov's expressive prose. As I read the book, Nabokov, in my mind, was transformed from the scurrilous author of the scandalous Lolita to the quiet emigre with a fascination for butterflies, and whose expertise with these brightly- winged insects landed him the curatorship of the butterfly collection at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard. Now that these butterflies have been scattered throughout the world, one can only hope that the hands that now hold them will cherish the butterflies as much as the hands that created them.

- C. Max Magee @ 1:11 PM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

Another Brit Prize

The shortlist for the Samuel Johnson Prize was announced today. The prize, run by the BBC, "aims to reward the best of non-fiction, from biography, travel and popular science to the arts and current affairs." The winner will be announced on June 15th. Here are the shortlisted titles:

• A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
• Gulag by Anne Applebaum
• John Clare: A Biography by Jonathan Bate
• Stasiland: True Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall by Anna Funder
• The Zanzibar Chest: A Story of Life, Love, and Death in Foreign Lands by Aidan Hartley
• Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic by Tom Holland

All in all, a pretty solid group of books

In other news, the cd from the little record label that my friend Derek and I run is now available at Amazon. It's by a band called The Recoys or you can buy it through the Realistic Records homepage.

- C. Max Magee @ 6:04 PM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

New Books

My dad's family is from New Jersey, and they are proud of it. I lived there for a couple of years when I was younger. Folks from Jersey tend to have chips on their shoulders because New Jersey is the butt of a lot of jokes. They will strenuously claim that the state consists of more than just the Turnpike. They will describe the beaches and the countryside. Now they don't have to bother with the arguments, they can just leave the Encyclopedia of New Jersey sitting out on the coffee table. With nearly 3,000 entries and lots of entertaining factual tidbits like "did you know that New Jersey was once divided into two parts -- East Jersey and West Jersey?" perhaps this book will help Jersey join its rightful place among the states. Fittingly, the project was inspired by a classic case of New York envy. As this FOX News article recounts, Marc Mappen, head of the New Jersey Historical Commission, was perusing a popular encyclopedia of New York City and decided that New Jersey ought to have its own reference book. He worked with co-editor Maxine N. Lurie for ten years, and now the book has arrived. You can check out some sample entries here

My sources are telling me that The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler is turning out to be something of a surprise hit. Two largely positive reviews from the New York Times, one in the daily and one in the Sunday Book Review, are helping. This sort of meta-fiction has proven quite successful in recent years; The Hours by Michael Cunningham and Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair are two examples. And believe it or not, a book that centers on a book club is seen as perfect for book clubs.

- C. Max Magee @ 1:42 PM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

More Clinton

It is now being reported that an article in the June issue of Vanity Fair will describe Clinton's struggles to get his new memoir, My Life, completed on time. The reports also confirm fears that the memoir will not provide the deeper reflections that people were hoping for. As this Reuters report indicates, Clinton will have only spent about 5 or so months on the book by the time he is finished. And the AP is reporting "the book will include few mea culpas about Mr. Clinton's role in the Monica Lewinsky scandal or other matters, Vanity Fair said."

I wanted to quickly thank four outstanding blogs that have linked to me in the last couple of weeks: beatrice.com, golden rule jones (who will be my competition in Chicago), LA Observed, and largehearted boy. Check them out.

- C. Max Magee @ 11:30 AM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

A Presidential Appearance

In the back office of my bookstore, folks are already abuzz about this year's Book Expo in Chicago. Book Expo is probably the largest publishing convention in the world, but if you talk to booksellers, they typically bemoan the crowds and the hectic atmosphere of the Expo weekend. However, this year's keynote speaker happens to be former prez Bill Clinton who will be pushing his new -- and as of this writing, not yet completed -- memoir, My Life ("The president came up with the title," says attorney Robert Barnett, who handles Clinton's literary endeavors.) Also from this Washington Post article about the Clinton book: a first printing of 1.5 million copies and the first of what will likely be legions of sales comparisons with Hillary's blockbuster. Hillel Italie of the AP hopes that Clinton will depart from all previous presidential memoirs by providing readers and historians with some actual insights (LINK). I would rate the chances of this as extremely slim. And David D. Kirkpatrick of the New York Times believes that the timing of the book's release is purely political (LINK). Meanwhile, back in bookseller land, Book Expo attendees are bracing themselves for the media furor that is sure to accompany the book's unveiling.

- C. Max Magee @ 11:59 AM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post

 

Hollywood and Capitol Hill

Jennifer 8. Lee in the New York Times describes the "Washington read." A practice in which Washington insiders peruse the index of a current political best seller, Plan of Attack or Against All Enemies, for example, to see if they have been mentioned. It is sort of a test one's own importance inside the beltway, and many, prematurely certain of their own historical significance, are crushed to find that they have been omitted from history's first draft. Washington, however, does not have a monopoly on such practices. I lived in Washington D.C. for most of my life before moving to Los Angeles, and I have observed many times the similarities between the two cities' chief industries. I don't know if I coined this analogy, but I've always thought that politics is just Hollywood for ugly people. And so it makes sense that I discovered, over the last couple of years, that there is such thing as a "Hollywood read." It usually goes something like this: an older guy stands at the front of the store flipping through the latest Hollywood tell-all. He is deeply tanned and his shirt is unbuttoned to reveal tufts of silver chest hair. He is wearing ridiculously oversized sunglasses and smells of cigar smoke. He leans over to me and points to the book and says, "I used to work with this guy," and then he goes back to scanning the index to make sure his old buddy mentioned him. Samuel Fuller's posthumously published A Third Face generated this reaction. And those in the music biz went straight to the index of Walter Yetnikoff's Howling at the Moon. Last fall, a mention in Down and Dirty Pictures by Peter Biskind meant that you officially matter in today's Hollywood. But to have been mentioned in Robert Evans' The Kid Stays in the Picture indicates a special sort of notoriety.

- C. Max Magee @ 1:56 PM ~ comments: 0 ~ Links to this post