It’s very hot here. Well, not hot really, humid. It’s day 6 of this weather and I am ready for it to end. But you didn’t come here to listen to me complain (or did you?). Reading is the only activity that doesn’t cause me to sweat, except when I turn pages. I’ve trained one of the cats to do that for me. I am in the middle of Pretty Birds by NPR personality Scott Simon. It’s the story of Irena, a teenager in Sarajevo, who is forced to flee her home with her parents when the war breaks out (one of many spare, but brutal passages in this book). Eventually, she is recruited by Tedic to become a sniper. This book is nothing what I expected, which is a good thing. It’s like when you read about the Holocaust in WWII. You expect darkness and misery and suffering. But those that live through it are probably want nothing more than moments of lightness and they will take those moments when they can. So we see many scenes of laughter with Irena and her parents. And the absurdity of the situation, which even she realizes. I am eager to see where Simon is going to take this book.

I also finished The Scar by China Mieville. Writing a decent review of this book would take much work, as the book is very involved. Suffice it to say, I enjoyed it almost as much as Perdido Street Station. Both books are amazing. And I don’t think you need to be a sci-fi enthusiast to enjoy them.

The next question is what to read next? Rupert Thomson’s The Insult is next. But I have some great choices after that. I just read Carrie’s post about The Historian, and even though I have a copy sitting next to me, I am not sure if I want to read it now. A copy of Sarah Hall’s Booker nominated The Electric Michelangelo just crossed my desk as well. Or The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell. And there is Rebecca Solnit’s A Field Guide to Getting Lost. Too much to choose from (I have more), but I know there are much worse problems.

Both Kelly Link and Steve Almond read at my store last night. I’ve got a bit of a head cold, so I didn’t take notes or anything, but will try to recap the evening. If you ever get a chance to hear them, do it. You won’t regret it. Kelly started by asking if we wanted to hear the happy zombie story or the not-so-happy zombie story from her new collection Magic for Beginners. The crowd of 50 or so opted for the happy one. It was about zombie contingency plans and had elements of mirth and solemnity. Steve then from his recent collection The Evil B.B. Chow. The story he chose was a beautiful and sexy reminiscence of a summer fling. He also promised candy bars to those who asked questions afterward.

The question/answer portion of the night was just as informative. Topics included the genesis of story ideas to how much work went into them to autobiographical elements of their stories. I asked them both about their publishers. Kelly Link and her partner Gavin Grant started their own publishing house Small Beer Press. She likes maintaining control of her work throughout the publishing process. And Steve decries the publishing industry. He has no agent and even said that he sent his work to many presses, but Algonquin was the only one who wanted him. They got his work, which he stresses is the most important thing when trying to get your work published.

I waited in line to get them both to sign copies of their books. Kelly and Gavin had attended the Litblog Co-op party in NYC a few weeks back, but I didn’t get a chance to meet them. They were both extremely friendly and Small Beer Press has some great looking books coming up. Steve was also very nice and charismatic. I know not everyone loves him, but he is passionate about writing and literature. And it’s hard to disagree with that. So that was the evening in short. Stay tuned for next month, when I will attend a reading by Kevin Smokler, who is promoting Bookmark Now: Writing in Unreaderly Times.

Replace Richard and Judy with Oprah and Waterstones with Barnes and Noble and you get the US version: “‘They rely on Richard and Judy Page-Turners, the main prizes, three-for-two and that’s about it,’ he says, citing a client of his whose novel has been well reviewed across the broadsheets but is not stocked by Waterstone’s.”
This article has some interesting points. What is the purpose of book review pages? Who’s side is it on? Is it to sell books (on the publishers’ side) or to promote new books to the audience (on the readers’ side)? Are more people reading Dan Brown because that is what they really want or because that is what the publishers are giving them with the help of media?

This guy refuses to by Da Vinci Code in hardcover. He’s been waiting for the paperback for over 2 years. Keep waiting, friend. They will bleed that damn book dry. You know they will issue several new editions for the movie whenever that comes out. I am so sick of Da Vinci, Da Vinci that. I’m with Michael Schaub (I stole these links from him), who says that Stacy Schiff is his new hero. “But ‘The Da Vinci Code’ is not a work of nonfiction. If one more person talks to me about Dan Brown’s crackerjack research I’m shooting on sight.” It sends shivers down my spine.