December 2009
15 posts
Big News
I’ve moved! (Virtually, that is.) Check out the new home of Julia Reads here. Bonus: the new blogini will feature more of my kitchen skills.
0 boxes. 0 sore muscles from lugging 0 boxes. No need to supply pizza/beer to the friends movers.
Virtual move > Actual move
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Quick News Bites (before you start your weekend):
»Follow the Reader: “Three Bloggers Who Pair Lit with Their Other Loves”
»Book Bench: “Behind the Writing: Greetings, Friends!”
»GalleyCat: “Simon & Schuster CEO Bashes ‘Cheap Digital’ Marketplace”
»GalleyCat: “4th Generation iPhone Will Have Lots of Room for e-Books”
»SLJ: “And the 1 YA Book I Will...
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News bits:
»HarperStudio: Let your books play dress up (or suit up…there’s a HIMYM joke in there somewhere)
»Omnivoracious: Daily Crush: “little blue and little yellow”
»GalleyCat: Marketing guru, Gay Vaynerchuk offers quick advice to short story authors
»GalleyCat: “Nancy Paulsen to Helm Her Own Imprint at Penguin”
»SLJ: Librarian Preview!...
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The ULTIMATE 2009 Children's Gift Guide:
To: Any and all With Love: One part-time nanny with a penchant for adventure and imagination. Happy Holidays!
10 Pre-Naptime/ bedtime picture books that will inspire cool dreams:
1.) 14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy and Thomas Gonzalez and Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah (Peachtree Publishers): After reading Nicholas Kristof’s review, I sped right over to B&N and spent a few minutes in...
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List o' Links:
»GalleyCat: Natalie Portman to star in P&P (Zombie version)
»Penguin: Happy Birthday to Miss Jane Austen!
»BBC: “Dickens toothpick fetches $9000 in NY auction”
»GalleyCat: NYer drops 2nd fiction issue…
»NYT Diner’s Journal: NYU grabs the 3500 cookbooks left in Gourmet’s research library
»SLJ: “Twitter, Texting, Enhance...
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Weekend Update:
»Guardian: J.G. Ballard as remembered by his daughter…
»Chicago Tribune: “No, seriously…Playboy changed the world”
»NYT: The 10 Best of 09’…
»Dr. Syntax: Discussing Prepub (realizing the impact of Kirkus)
»Book Bench: “What David Sedaris Read this Year”
»GalleyCat: “The Twittersphere Ponders Book...
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Sunday Picks:
»Abigal Adams by Woody Holton (Free Press) Reviewed by Virginia DeJohn Anderson: “Holton, a professor of history at the University of Richmond, provides a fresh perspective that invites readers to do more than just remember this remarkable lady.”
»Interesting Times: Writings from a Turbulent Decade by George Packer (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) Reviewed by Franklin Foer:...
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Morning News Links:
»NPR Books: [Audio, Morning Edition] “Librarian Nancy Pearl shares her under-the-radar picks”
»GalleyCat: A little holiday cheer! Publishing’s brightest moments of 2009
»Book Beast: On the e-book delay…
»SLJ: Social networking sites might be good for young writers…
»GalleyCat: Bill Clinton’s to-read list (found this while cleaning...
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News Links (12/8 and 12/9):
»Penguin: Penguin debuts new radio show “Penguin Classics on Air”
»GalleyCat: “Apple Tablet Rumor of the Day: 30/70 Split With Publishers”
»Guardian: Travel Books, the king of genres
»Schoken: Pres. O reads Elie Wiesel
»GalleyCat: “Publishing’s Darkest Moments of 2009”
»Dr. Syntax: “What e-Readers Will Never...
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Gift guides for one and all:
Check out these gift checklists from Knopf. Simple shopping on a whole new level.
»Books for the Theater Lover
»Books for the Armchair Traveler
»Books for the Music Lover
»Books for your Mama
»Books for your Dad
»Books for the English Major
»Books for the History Buff
»Books for your Sister
»Books for your Office-mate
»Books for the...
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“Grammar is a piano I play by ear. All I know about grammar is its power.”
– Joan Didion (via karigee)
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Monday Morning News:
»Guardian Books: “Will e-books spell the end of great writing”
»Copyblogger: “10 Surprising Books That Will Transform Your Writing”
»Publicity Hound: “Offer 30-second spots featuring ‘how to’ tips for local radio”
»WSJ Books: “Sesame Workshop Plans Children’s E-Books”
»GalleyCat: “David Foster...
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Mid-week news:
Should have one foot out the door. Luckily, I have just enough time for a little copy/paste action:
»Cityroom (via Book Bench): “Dickens Edits Dickens”
»Galley Cat: “Rick Moody Story Generates Twitter Backlash”
»Conversational Reading: “More Notable Books You Son’t Find in the Times”
»Guardian Books: “No individual...
November 2009
40 posts
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Back in Blogging Action:
After a whirlwind week of turkey, birthdays, and cooking with heavy cream, I am back and ready to blog. When I opened up my Google Reader this morning I read this number: 1,157.
…
1,157 UNREAD messages. After skimming, reading, and bookmarking up a storm here are a few from the past two days:
»The Book Bench: Books sold big on Black Friday
»Book Club Girl: Cyber Monday Book...
“One reads books in order to gain the privilege of living more than one life....”
– Garrison Keillor
((via Litwit))
this is my running list of women writers who...
walkwhilereading:
meaghano:
joan didion
marilynne robinson
alice munro
mary gaitskill
grace paley
anais nin
Who else?
(I don’t think Lorrie Moore is a badass, but that is certainly up for debate. I’m not even sure what I mean, but I just don’t think BADASS when I think of her.).
Runners up include: Carson McCullers, Dorothy Parker
I tend to agree with an earlier reblogger that...
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A Monday Suggestion: Flashlight Worthy Books
I am a person who loves books. I am a person who loves lists.
Considering these two facts, it should come as no surprise to you then, that I regularly consult Flashlight Worthy Books when looking for a gift, a beach book, or something to add to the pile on the bedside.
The premise: to cut through the Amazon excess (“We don’t list 6,072 results when you search for John Irving,”)...
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Newish News:
»Omnivoracious: The 2009 National Book Award Winners. (In case you’ve been hiding under a rock, here is a cheat sheet from Omni to you.)
»The Second Pass: “The Bad Sex of Writing”
»PEN America: Cheers, Colum!
»Paper Cuts: Malcolm Gladwell v. Steven Pinker
»Book Bench: “Laughter in the Dark”: A tale of Google and the Natl. Book Awards
...
Seth Godin's November Reading List →
brittanybelt:
Do click through - his notes are worth the read. Looking forward to 3, 4, and 8.
Makers
Bad Monkeys: A Novel (P.S.)
Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur
THE TRUE BELIEVER
Eating the Big Fish: How Challenger Brands Can Compete Against Brand Leaders
Indexed
Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About...
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Link Catch up:
Today (11/17):
»Book Bench: “Fantasy Literary Smackdown: Foer vs. Palin”
»Guardian Books: “Andy Warhol’s children’s books go on sale”
»Omnivoracious: “Old Media Monday: Reviewing the Reviews”
Yesterday (11/16):
»Wired: “Google Submits Second Proposal for Library of the Future”
»Guide to Literary Agents: 10...
FACT CHECK - Palin's Book Goes Rogue on Some Facts... →
peterwknox:
Expected, but still awesome.
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Weekend News:
»Books returned to AZ library…50 years late!
»NPR Books: [Audio, All Things Considered] “Twilight Craze Inspires Manuals for Toothy Teens”
»WSJ Books: “Jane Austen’s Lessons for the Modern World”
»Omnivoracious: The listing continues: Atlantic’s Top History Titles
»Bookninja: “Chick Lit Strikes Back”
...
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Good afternoon, here are a few links:
»Bookseller.com (via Book NInja): UK Publishers up (if only by a little)
»Editorial Ass: Tom’s Glossary of Book Publishing Terms (HI-LARIOUS)
»3 Quarks Daily (via Book Bench): Zadie Smith’s affinity for Lil Wayne
»Guardian Books: “Glenn Beck: The Oprah of right-wing fiction”
»PR Newser: Edelmen launches twitter tool to measure influence, where...
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Applicant: 11 Ways to Sabotage Your Job Search →
Full disclosure: At some point over the past few months, I have been guilty of committing each of these job search sins. This is certainly a great a reality check. Click the link above for extended explanations.
1. Start your day with social media
2. Sleep in
3. Never schedule anything
4. Eliminate goal-setting
5. Dress Code = PJs
6. Save your resume and cover letter writing until the last...
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Long time no link:
»GalleyCat: “Sharing Books with Soliders on Veteren’s Day”
»Guardian Books: “Don’t Patronise Popular Fiction by Women”
»GalleyCat: “Good News About the Future of Reading in NYC”
»NPR Books (by Maud Newton): ‘”Paris Reviews’ Author Interviews: 50 Years of Insight”
»The Digitalist: “The Third...
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World's Thinnest Books (According to Twitter)
thingsnstuff:
“Baby Names” by George Foreman
“Why I’m Relevant” by Nancy Pelosi
“Table Manners and Politeness” by Kanye West
“The Collected Wisdom of Sarah Palin”
“Lyrical Greatness” by Lil’ Wayne
“Retiring Gracefully” by Brett Favre and Michael Jordan
“Vocal Tonality & Inflection, Facial Expressions & Other Essential Elements of Acting” by Blake Lively
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Top 3 Publicity Links of the Day:
“Ariana Huffington to PR Pros: ‘The Press Release is Becoming Obselete’” - PR Newser
“How to Save Time in Book Publicity” - The Book Publicity Blog
“Facebook Event Invitations: Ur Doing it Wrong” - Peter Shankman
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Links and a Makeover:
Thank you for being patient. I’m swapping around a few html tags so my site may look a little disheveled for the next few days. For the time being, please enjoy the photos of my feet and the copy of The Emperor’s Children that I’m still reading.
The links:
GalleyCat: Nook pre-orders much higher than expected
GalleyCat: “676,900,00 Words in 9 Days” (Yup.)
Guide to...
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This morning, in links:
Omnivoracious: End-o’-the-week Kid-lit-Roundup (including the NYT Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2009)
Guardian Books: “Do women genuinely write different poems from men?”
Publishers Weekly: The fictions reviews are in…
HuffPo Books: “STRIP & REBIND: Why Publicists Love the Word ‘No’”
Maud Newton: [video] A New Lion for the NYPL
...
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Twitter & The Entry-level Job Search:
THE 5 BEST: ARTICLES, TOOLS & TIPS
One fateful day in April I began to tweet…
…softly at first, announcing events on campus and spreading happy thoughts. Then louder and louder, linking and re-tweeting all over the place. It’s been seven short months and a lot has changed. I now run two twitter accounts and my Tweet Deck alerts flash in the top-right-hand corner of my...
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Happy Sunday! Time for Reviews:
My favorites from NYTSBR:
Samuel Johnson—A LIfe, by David Nokes/ Reviewed by Harold Bloom: “I myself qualify as a common reader of Johnson, not a Johnsonian scholar, and Nokes is now part of a select company to whom I am indebted.”
Last Night in Twisted River, by John Irving/ Reviewed by Joanna Scott: “There’s plenty of evidence of Irving’s agility as a writer in...
50 Must-Read Novels from the 20th Century →
I’ve got 32.
Credit goes to the following: the PA public school system, Mrs. Semich (12th grade English Lit.) and her suggestions, and the entirety of my sophomore year of college.
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A few good (mid) morning links:
GalleyCat: The plot thickens in the PW Top 10 gender debate…
Guardian Books: Stephen King & Playboy…raise your hand if you never saw that coming
Guardian Books: “After Philip Roth, where next?”
PR Squared: “4 Ways to Build Relationships with Web Content”
Bookninja: And the gender debate continues…
Litwit: “The Divine Jane: Reflections on...
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11/5/09 News:
WSJ Books: Junot Diaz and Nicholson Baker instruct, “How to Write a Great Novel”
GalleyCat: John Irving worries about what the pub. climate is doing to young writers
GallyeCat: “Newspaper to Blog Exodus”
Jacket Copy: Isabel Rucker’s 400+ foot long memoir (literally)
Guide to Literary Agents: Kidlit’s Mary Kole is hired on as an Associate at Andrea Brown...