Monthly Archives: November 2015

Fact or Fiction?

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It’s all over the news. It’s about people and events in the news. It’s about the news itself and how we get it. Exalted and maligned, beacon of truth and perpetrator of lies. In the 24/7, money/power-influenced, free-for-all world of media – both traditional and the wild, wooly internet – we’re bombarded with “fact-laden news” that is often moderately to totally false. We endorse the false information when we innocently share it with others (as I see several times a week on Facebook).

When news seems empirical, I become skeptical, regardless of the source. These times, perhaps more than any other, demand that all of us be skeptical first, inquisitive next and willing to challenge our preconceived notions before passing judgment on what we perceive as “truth”.

We can learn a lot about liars and the media from fiction and non-fiction literature. Go back to the Bible to see the original liar: Satan. Such an interesting character, he continues to appear throughout history in various forms and with all manner of motivation. You’ll find other memorable, usually seductive, liars in such enduring literature as:

The Tempest – Shakespeare (Prospero)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis (Edmund)
The Great Gatsby — F. Scott Fitzgerald (Jay Gatsby)
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen (Mr. Darcy)

Now I come to media and our response to it. The recently released movie, Spotlight, like the 1976 movie, All the President’s Men, started as a series of newspaper articles that became bestselling non-fiction books and acclaimed movies. They show news media at their best, when information was verified and facts beat out financial interests. Yet even in the good old days, news had the potential to be manipulated and the power to create chaos. The journals of James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) complain about newspapers misreporting the run-up to the Civil War. You’ll find similar accusations lodged against the media relating to the Spanish American War, Vietnam War and Iraq War.

We can’t stop false news but we can stop falling for it or passing it along by understanding how the media really work. These books will enlighten you and arm you against naivete:

The Brass Check: A Study of American Journalism – Upton Sinclair
The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America — Daniel J. Boorstin
Between Fact and Fiction – Edward J. Epstein
It’s Not News, It’s Fark: How Mass Media Tries to Pass Off Crap As News — Drew Curtis

Entertainment doesn’t rely on facts but making wise choices does. Understanding the difference, in the “news” that is fed to us 24/7 in all media formats, will keep the liars at bay.

Recommended

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December 5th will be your last chance to experience all the fun and deliciousness of BOOKS ‘n’ BOTTLES™ this year. We’re excited to welcome award-winning bestselling author Joe Meno who will autograph his recently released novel Marvel and a Wonder from 3-5 p.m. at TASTE Food & Wine, 1506 West Jarvis Avenue in Chicago. As always, the selected quality wines will reflect aspects of the book. “Bonus Buy” tickets will once again be available at the event for neat mementos and a 10% discount on wine purchases. The Book Cellar will handle on-site book sales.

About this wonderfully insightful book featuring the evolving relationship between a grandfather and his grandson, the New York Times Book Review said, “Meno, whose previous novel was Office Girl, has a knack for giving small happenings emotional weight… Meno knows how to make you love his characters, want what they want. ” The Wall Street Journal calls Marvel and a Wonder “(A) rugged page turner….” In a starred review, the Library Journal said, “Talented Meno has penned a wise and touching novel of love, loyalty, courage; an extraordinary book not to be missed.”

Feast on These

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Time to loosen those hooks, belts and zippers, folks. We’re heading into the feasting season, from Thanksgiving (in the U.S.; Canada got a jump-start last month) through the various winter holidays right into the New Year. We use the holidays to feed our bellies and our spirits but it’s also a great time to feed our imaginations. When the hoopla has died down and the meals are luscious memories, the coming days are perfect for curling up and seeing how food plays so well in great books. Here are some tasty suggestions spanning 1873-2012 (several so delicious they were adapted to film):

The Belly of Paris – Emile Zola
Remembrance of Things Past – Marcel Proust
Babette’s Feast — Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen)
A Moveable Feast – Ernest Hemingway
Heartburn – Nora Ephron
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Café – Fannie Flagg
Like Water for Chocolate – Laura Esquivel
The Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan
Chocolat – Joanne Harris
The Hundred-Foot Journey – Richard C. Morais
White Truffles in Winter – N.M. Kelby
Pow – Mo Yan

Recommended

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BOOKS ‘n’ BOTTLES™ is excited to round out its 2015 season by welcoming award-winning bestselling author Joe Meno who will autograph his recently released novel Marvel and a Wonder at its December 5th wine tasting. The free event will run from 3-5 p.m. at TASTE Food & Wine, 1506 West Jarvis Avenue in Chicago. As always, the selected quality wines will reflect aspects of the book. “Bonus Buy” tickets will once again be available at the event for neat mementos and a 10% discount on wine purchases. The Book Cellar will handle on-site book sales.

About this wonderfully insightful book featuring the evolving relationship between a grandfather and his grandson, the New York Times Book Review said, “Meno, whose previous novel was Office Girl, has a knack for giving small happenings emotional weight… Meno knows how to make you love his characters, want what they want. ” The Wall Street Journal calls Marvel and a Wonder “(A) rugged page turner….” In a starred review, the Library Journal said, “Talented Meno has penned a wise and touching novel of love, loyalty, courage; an extraordinary book not to be missed.”

Grand(parent) Stories

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It seems every list of newly published novels includes at least one book based on a parent-child relationship. We’ve all been children and most of us have been parents so we understand the inherent life drama (and, often, comedy) of this complex relationship. It’s ripe for the picking and telling.

Finding great books about grandparent/grandchild relationships is harder, at least for adult readers (although they abound in children’s literature). There’s no good reason for the dearth of novels exploring these formative relationships. You’ll see how good they can be if you check these fine examples:

Marvel and a Wonder – Joe Meno
Northern Borders – Howard Frank Mosher
The Summer Book – Tove Johansson
Bird – Crystal Chan
The Blue Mountain – Meir Shalev
Imaginings of Sand – André Brink

Recommended

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BOOKS ‘n’ BOTTLES™ is excited to round out its 2015 season by welcoming award-winning bestselling author Joe Meno who will autograph his recently released novel Marvel and a Wonder at its December 5th wine tasting. The free event will run from 3-5 p.m. at TASTE Food & Wine, 1506 West Jarvis Avenue in Chicago. As always, the selected quality wines will reflect aspects of the book. “Bonus Buy” tickets will once again be available at the event for neat mementos and a 10% discount on wine purchases. The Book Cellar will handle on-site book sales.

About this wonderfully insightful book featuring the evolving relationship between a grandfather and his grandson, the New York Times Book Review said, “Meno, whose previous novel was Office Girl, has a knack for giving small happenings emotional weight… Meno knows how to make you love his characters, want what they want. ” The Wall Street Journal calls Marvel and a Wonder “(A) rugged page turner….” In a starred review, the Library Journal said, “Talented Meno has penned a wise and touching novel of love, loyalty, courage; an extraordinary book not to be missed.”

And don’t forget the November 21st BOOKS ‘n’ BOTTLES™ with acclaimed author Christine Sneed signing her beautifully drawn novel, Paris, He Said, while you enjoy classic Burgundy wines and an opulent French white sparklet. From 3-5 p.m. at TASTE Food & Wine. Find out why the Chicago Tribune book review said, “If you love the City of Light or have always wanted to travel there, Paris, He Said is worth a visit.”

Oh, The Places You’ll Go

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My cousin Ron has been posting photos on Facebook as he travels to places many of us only dream of visiting. I’m envious. Those photos remind me of my own travels to other countries, of days soaking in the sights, sound, smells and even the feel on the skin that comes with the otherness of far-away lands. One really feels the shift of consciousness when returning home and finding that once-familiar things seem new.

For all the technological advances, today’s travel is chock full of frustrating inconveniences for most of us. Fortunately, we can still crack open a good book or fire up an e-reader and roam the world from the comfort of an easy chair. Where would you like to go next? If cities are your thing, I suggest these wonderful contemporary novels to transport you to some memorable places:

Paris, He Said – Christine Sneed (Paris)
NW – Zadie Smith (London)
Angels and Demons – Dan Brown (Rome)
Who is Mr. Satoshi – Jonathan Lee (Tokyo)
The Foreigner – Francie Lin (Taipei)
The Dog – Joseph O’Neill (Dubai)

Happy trails!

Recommended

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For those who want to let their imagination take them to a far-away city, you can’t go wrong with Christine Sneed’s latest bestselling novel, Paris, He Said. The Chicago Tribune review of the book noted, “Sneed allows readers to revel in Paris’ celebrated light while walking its wide boulevards and cobblestone streets. If you love the City of Light or have always wanted to travel there, Paris, He Said is worth a visit. You’ll come for the story but stay for Sneed’s painterly homage to the city’s art and culture.”

BOOKS ‘n’ BOTTLES™ is delighted to welcome award-winning author Christine Sneed at its November 21st book signing and wine tasting from 3-5 p.m. at TASTE Food & Wine, 1506 West Jarvis Avenue, Chicago. The featured quality wines, reflecting themes in Paris, He Said, will be classic burgundy in a white and a red, along with an opulent French sparkling white. The wine tasting is free. Optional “Bonus Buy” tickets, which proved very popular at the October BOOKS ‘n’ BOTTLES™, will be available again at this month’s event. Ticket holders will get a memento of the event and a discount on any wine purchases. For details, click the pull down tab at the Book●ed website or visit the Events page at Taste Food & Wine.

Labor Pains

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Your book is written. You’ve researched your options for getting it published. You’ve heard the good news and the bad news, which can be summed up in one sentence: Today, anyone who wants to get a book published gets a book published. This means there’s more competition in the marketplace than ever. In the past year, 328,259 new titles and editions were published in the U.S. and 206,000 new titles and editions were published in the U.K. That’s your competition.

The two paths to book publication are traditional publishing and self-publishing. Within the traditional arena, the choices are major publishing houses or smaller, independent publishers (including university presses). To understand the different types of publishing, check my past posts by going to the Categories list on my blog page and click “For Authors”. Regardless of the path you take, preparation is the key.

While writing is a solo first act, every subsequent act requires other players, anywhere from a duet to an ensemble. Because you may get only one turn on the publishing carousel and want to grasp the brass ring, your book should have a professional content reader and a proofreader before it is submitted to an agent for traditional publishing or goes to press with self-publishing.

Your book deserves the same diligence you would give in choosing someone to help you buy or sell your house. A flashy website with boasts of success is as easy to inflate in the publishing world as it is on an online dating site. Don’t automatically believe what you see; check it out independently. If a friend or colleague recommends an agent or publisher, look at the track record. I’ve heard some writers recommend individuals and companies they’ve used but, when asked how well their book was marketed and sold, the results were lackluster.

You wouldn’t hand your baby off to a caregiver and never look back. Doesn’t your brainchild deserve the same attentiveness from you? Ask questions to understand what the people handling your book will do. Who will be responsible for design, for distribution, for promotion? How will those services be paid for?

Before you sign any contract, have it reviewed by someone who is experienced in the field. Once you select the people and company to get your book published, follow up regularly to be sure your book doesn’t become lost in the shuffle and that the process continues as promised.

You can’t afford to sit and wait for your book to hit the market. Once your book is in production, you need to budget your time, money and other resources so you can hit the ground running, building up a ready audience waiting to buy your book. While professionals are handling various stages of your book prior to publication, research all the possible ways to market it. Whether self-published or working with a major publisher, your book’s success will rely on your own marketing. If this is a field you’re unfamiliar with, get professional help.

In a future, Book●ed Blog post, I’ll share some of the ways authors are breaking through the hundreds of thousands of new books each year to successfully sell their books.

Footnotes

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You’ve heard the phrase “Grabbing the brass ring.” Ever wonder where it originated? You’d have to go back to the 1890s when carousels had their heyday in the U.S. The inner rows of horses moved up and down but the outer rings were usually stationary. In order to build interest in riding the outer row, some carousels introduced the challenge and reward of trying to grasp a brass ring as the carousel turned. Rings, most made of iron and one or two made of brass, were dispensed from a pole that was suspended above the riders on the outer row. As the carousel rotated, outer row riders tried to grasp the ring. If they were lucky enough to get one of the brass rings, they were rewarded, usually with an extra ride on the carousel.

Recommended

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On Saturday, November 21st, from 3-5 p.m., the fifth BOOKS ‘n’ BOTTLES™ event of 2015 is proud to feature award-winning bestselling author Christine Sneed and her latest novel, Paris, He Said. The New York Times Book Review, called this beautiful book, “…an absorbing, original tale about the questions we all end up confronting as we grapple with the interplay between who we are and who we think we want to be.” Along with the book signing, we will be serving a trio of wines for the free wine tasting that reflect themes in the book: classic Burgundy in a red & a white plus an opulent French Sparkler. The “Bonus Buy” tickets that proved so popular at our October BOOKS ‘n’ BOTTLES™ will be available at the November event. If you’re in the area, come spend the afternoon with us at TASTE Food & Wine, 1506 West Jarvis, Chicago.