Midge Raymond's Blog, page 63

Not to beat a dead horse, but …

I know I spend way too much time bemoaning the state of publishing — but hey, it's my life, after all. And it worries me quite a bit. I'm quite literally trying to decide whether to go back to school and get into, say, nursing, or whether to keep writing. So far, I'm still writing (but that's mostly because I'm squeamish and the sight of blood makes me feel faint).

So I'm finally reading last week's edition of The Stranger, and I loved Paul Contant's article on BEA, with the sadly apt subhead "He

What's in a Title?

Today's New York Times' piece on book titles is about capitalizing on trends in the hopes of creating a(nother) bestseller … and about the often absurd titles that result (Obamanomics and Slackonomics appearing after the original Freakonomics, for example).

But this attempt to capture readers by trendy title "has a long pedigree in the publishing industry," the article notes, and it traces several examples, going as far back as the eighteenth century. "Essentially it works until it doesn't work,"

Will You Sign My Kindle?

Today's New York Times has an article about one of the potentially awkward aspects of reading via Kindle: What does a Kindle-using fan do at a bookstore reading?

Well, she asks the author to sign her Kindle (as David Sedaris did at one recent event, writing "This bespells doom" before signing his name).

Sedaris was, apparently, kidding — and he's signed far weirder things (iPods, an artificial leg, an actual leg) — but it does pose an interesting question for those who are making the transition.

It's Time for Beach Reading

'Tis the season for beach reading … and here are a few recent reading lists for you:

- First, of course, I must mention the Seattle Books Examiner's Best Beach Reads for Summer list, as Forgetting English is included (no bias here, clearly). I also love this list for including two other collections of short stories: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout and Love Stories in This Town by Amanda Eyre Ward (again, no bias here at all).

- The Washington Post has asked authors to name the characters they

Join the Club

I had the pleasure of joining a Seattle book club meeting last night, having been invited by a group of professional, downtown-area Seattle women who chose Forgetting English as their June read. It was wonderful to hear their impressions of the book, what resonated with them, their favorite (and least favorite!) stories. Most of all, they do it right: amazing food, good wine, and excellent company (the initial group has been together seven years). Thanks to all for a fabulous evening.

Speaking of

Mini-Interview with ABC

I loved doing this mini-interview with Andrew Scott of Andrew's Book Club.

And while you're visiting the book club, stay a while and check out ABC's previous selections, as well as many other author interviews, among them Josh Weil, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Robert Boswell, Tracy Winn, Kevin Wilson, Paul Yoon, and Antonya Nelson.

And, as always, remember the rules of Andrew's Book Club! Here are the first two:

1) The first rule of Andrew's Book Club is you should talk about Andrew's Book Club.
2) The sec