Happy Birthday Mark Twain, born on November 30, 1835. Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, the legendary wit wrote Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as well as many short-stories. Twain shares a birthday with Jonathan Swift, the adventure classic author of Gulliver’s Travels, born a mere 168 years ahead of Twain.
Since July 2015, booklovers have had a new, fun place to meet authors and buy books – at BOOKS ‘n’ BOTTLES™ http://www.bookedwebcast.com/booked_books-n-bottles.html. Now in its second season, the monthly events are held at two venues, one in Chicago and one in suburban Northbrook, IL. Each venue offers a different convivial atmosphere for lovers of books and wines. Guests enjoy conversing with authors while enjoying quality wine tastings. The quality wines are as diverse and delicious as the books and both are available for sale. In season two, we also added the Bonus Buy concept: mementos, merchant discounts and professional photos with the author, among other goodies. For season three, to begin in the spring of 2017, we expect to add a third venue. Three venues, three different settings. Something for every taste. Stay tuned!
BOOKS ‘n’ BOTTLES™, hosted by Book●ed, are monthly events connecting authors and their books with booklovers who also enjoy great wine. Check out the Book●ed website and click on BOOKS ‘n’ BOTTLES™ for details of the upcoming events.
Regardless of the genre, it has been said that no story is wholly original. Each one has been told before in some form or fashion. Researchers at MIT recently demonstrated the truth behind the theory that one of only six core plots form the building blocks of complex narratives. You can read the MIT explanation at the MIT Technology Review.
It’s never too soon to let our children (boys as well as girls) know about the important contributions made to our world by women. There are plenty of wonderful books for young readers that adults can also learn from. Here are four to get you and your favorite child started:
Remember the Ladies: 100 Great American Women – Cheryl Harness
Here Come the Girl Scouts! – Shana Corey
Rachel Carson and Her Book that Changed the World – Laurie Lawlor
Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project – Jack Mayer
See photos of the “20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World”.
Literary agent Tina P. Schwartz welcomes queries at The Purcell Agency. She will discuss Top Five Questions Writers Most Frequently Ask at the March 24th Off Campus Writers Workshop.
One of the hundreds of writers and other artists who were caught up in the infamous Hollywood Blacklist of 1947-1960 was Nelson Algren. One of the best known literary writers in America in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Algren won three O. Henry Awards for his short stories but is most widely known for his 1949 novel The Man With the Golden Arm, winner of the National Book Award.
To honor the writer whose work was largely influenced by his growing up years in Chicago, the Chicago Tribune has run the Nelson Algren short story contest for 30 years. The contest has helped launch such noted authors as Stuart Dybek, Louise Erdrich and Joe Meno.
The deadline for entries to the 2016 Chicago Tribune Nelson Algren Short Story Award contest is January 31 at 11:59 p.m. CST.
You probably have your own favorite first lines from books you’ve read. You can check The Atlantic magazine’s article “This Did Something Powerful to Me”: Authors’ Favorite First Lines of Books to see what some of your favorite authors thought makes an inviting and memorable opening sentence.
Independence is the word that best represents a concept launched in Dallas recently: an independent publisher is establishing an independent bookstore. Deep Vellum Publishing is about to open Deep Vellum Books. The store will sell books from independent publishers around the country “to celebrate the independently published written word,” says Deep Vellum’s owner Will Evans. The concept could catch on … and should!
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.
Looking for books and magazines to guide your writing skills and aspirations? Here are a few I like:
Magazines:
Writer’s Digest
Poets & Writers
The Writer’s Chronicle
Books:
The Elements of Style – William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft – Steven King
Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer – Roy Peter Clark
On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction – William Zisser
Stein on Writing: A Master Editor or Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies – Sol Stein
We all know how beautiful it can be to read a book. Brit + Co shows ingenious ways to make books look beautiful in other ways.
The title of Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman comes from the King James Bible, Isaiah 21:6: “For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.” Lee’s longtime friend, Baptist minister and historian Wayne Flint, said that in this passage Isaiah is prophesizing about the downfall of Babylon. “Nelle (Harper Lee) probably likened Monroeville (her Alabama birthplace and the inspiration for fictional Maycomb) to Babylon. The Babylon of immoral voices, the hypocrisy,” “Somebody needs to be set as the watchman to identify what we need to do to get out of the mess.”
One of the books listed in Letter Perfect is only available through mail order: Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power includes some wonderfully written letters by the renowned screen idol, his famous stage actor father and others. It’s part of a candid and fascinating biographical memoir about an extraordinary man who was King of the Box Office during Hollywood’s Golden Age. For more information, contact Tyrone Power First Edition.
It’s not surprising that authors are inspired to write about animals. Most of them have had pets. To read about famous authors and their pet muses, see my April 14, 2013 post, Amusing Muses. For more fun, check Photos of Famous Writers with Their Pets.
In last week’s Boston Bound post, I recommended some great books with stories based in Boston. It should also be noted that the city produced great authors for more nearly 400 years. In addition to Hawthorne, James, Alcott, and Plath (mentioned in my Boston post), others include Benjamin Franklin, Phillis Wheatley, Edgar Allen Poe, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Robert Frost, Jack Kerouac and Dennis Lehane. When you’re in Boston, check out the stately Boston Public Library. Founded in 1848, it is the second largest public library in the United States, behind only the Library of Congress.
In follow-up news to my June 8th post, Burying the Hatchette?, there was much to be thankful for in late November with the news that Amazon and Hatchette reached a compromise to their long-running, nasty feud. It meant that booklovers’ voices were heard and books from the fourth-biggest U.S. publisher were once again accessible through the dominant internet bookseller. Each side of the battle can claim a degree of victory but the war is far from over. Stay tuned.
If you’re going to be in Los Angeles November 13th-15th, you have a last chance to join in the Centennial celebrations honoring movie legend Tyrone Power. Since May, celebrations have occurred around the U.S. to great response. For more information about events (and some photos of me with the Power children in Ohio), visit Movie Memories Foundation.
Collector’s quality limited first editions of Romina Power’s moving memoir/biography, Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power are now available. Please send an email to request a special order while quantities last. In film historian Matthew Hoffman’s book review of this handsomely produced book, he says it is “… a work of love that his fans will certainly love. Considering that Power himself was an avid collector of first edition books, this was a nice homage to him. Though it took years to see the light of day in this country, I can tell you that it’s been worth the wait. This is a beautifully written and compiled book for the global fans of Tyrone Power.”
On Mother’s Day, I honor the memory of my own mother, Gabriele “Gay” Eman. Like so many other mothers, she first introduced me to the boundless universe of literature by the loving act of reading to me. If you love a young child, read to him or her. It’s one of the best, most enduring gifts you can give.
After a smashingly successful Illinois launch of the nationwide Tyrone Power centennial events, featuring the debut of Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power by Romina Power, fans in Ohio are invited to red carpet receptions and movie screenings May 8th in Cincinnati and May 10th in Masillon. Tyrone Power’s three children will be in attendance, autographing limited first editions of Romina’s book. For details about those, and future centennial events, visit Movie Memories.
On October 5, 2007, Oprah’s Book Club announced Love in the Time of Cholera, a 1985 novel by Nobel Prize laureate Gabriel García Márquez as its selection. Not only was recognition of the author and book greatly enhanced in North America, but his translator Edith Grossman also gained much-deserved recognition. Another work by Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude, was a previous selection for the book club in 2004. On April 17, 2014, Gabriel Garcia Marques, a master of magical realism died at home in Mexico City at the age of 87.
Book●ed blog readers living in the Chicagoland area are invited to a very special event May 1st at the historic Pickwick Theatre in Park Ridge. Launching a nationwide centennial celebration of legendary actor Tyrone Power (born 1914), the theatre will host a double feature of In Old Chicago and Jesse James. Special appearance by actress Taryn Power-Greendeer and theatrical producer Michael Butler (daughter and godson of Tyrone Power and actress Linda Christian). And for booklovers, a collector’s quality Limited First Edition of Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power by Romina Power, will be available for purchase. This updated and expanded English-language version of Romina’s Italian bestseller will only be sold at centennial events. If you can’t make the Pickwick celebration, Taryn will appear at the Northbrook Public Library on May 2nd at 2:00 p.m. and Romina’s book will be available for sale.
The holiday season is behind us but there’s still a little time left to get a free copy of my short story, Santa Drives a Mini Cooper. As a post-holiday gift to my blog readers, I am offering a free download. Simply leave a reply to this blog entry mentioning “Evelyn’s Santa Story” and I’ll be happy to email this little holiday gem to you! I will use the email address you send me but it will not be posted or given to anyone else. The winter snow won’t last forever, and neither will this offer, so place your request now!
Another year older? If you are 50 years or more, AARP and Huffington Post believe you have an interesting story to tell about your life. They invite you enter their Post 50 Memoir Contest. The winner will receive $5,000 and have his/her work published by Simon and Schuster as well as excerpted in AARP The Magazine and featured on The Huffington Post.
Psychologytoday.com offers a lengthy list of lesser-known Thanksgiving-themed books in several genres for your reading pleasure.
Amazon’s latest generation of E-readers, the Kindle Fire HDX got a rave review at NYTimes.com, noting improved battery life, lighter weight and sharply defined images. PCMag.com takes you through a comparison of the current top eReaders.
Congratulations to 451 Degrees, the book club at Chicago’s Lane Tech High School that I mentioned in my March 31, 2013 blog. They recently won the Illinois Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Award for leading a protest after the book was banned from Chicago public schools and libraries. The clubs efforts via traditional and social media gained enough supporters that the ban was rescinded. 451 Degrees founder Levi Todd said, “A lot of books banned are really good books. They make for great discussions.”
There’s encouraging news for those of us who value our local independent bookstores. The American Booksellers Association, a non-profit industry association founded in 1900 that promotes independent bookstores in North America, reports that its membership rolls have gone up every year since 2009, from 1,401 four years ago to 1,632 this year.
At the same time, the National Endowment for the Arts reports that only 47% of Americans say they read a book for pleasure last year. Read my Spreading the Love blog post to learn how you can help improve this statistic.
Visit Sequels to find more successful examples.
Visit Books, A Documentary to find out how a vision evolved into a movie. To find movies about – or inspired by – books and authors, visit best movies about books.
The literary world lost another highly regarded best-selling author with the death of Tom Clancy on October 1st. His books, often translated into French, German and Dutch, elevated military and espionage thrillers to new technological heights. Several of his books were also translated into movies.