Nora Roberts and the Writing Life
Posted: May 13, 2012 Filed under: Books, Writing and Writers | Tags: book, books, fiction, J.D. Robb, Janet Evanovich, Nora Roberts, read, reading, write, writing 2 Comments »
“If I wasn’t talking to you, I’d be working.”
— Nora Roberts
by Dick Loftin.
Among all the pages on investments, bankers, and stocks, you will find wonderful articles about books and writing in the Wall Street Journal. On April 13, the Journal published “Keeping the ‘Noraholics’ Happy,” an excellent piece by Alexandra Alter, on the writing life of fiction writer Nora Roberts. This woman is remarkable. She has just published her 200th book. That is not a typo—her 200th book. My wife loves her books. Ms. Roberts writes so much, she needs to write under another name to cover them all. J.D. Robb is a pen name she uses for what the Journal called her “futuristic romantic suspense series.” My wife loves these books, too. Women flock to her books, gobbling up these volumes by the millions. “In 2011 alone, (Roberts) sold nearly 20 million copies” of her books. Twenty Million. In one year. But it gets better, and bigger. The Journal article goes on to say Nora Roberts has “become one of America’s biggest commercial authors, with close to 450 million copies of her books in print.” Four-Hundred And Fifty … Million. I’m leaning back in my chair, just trying to take in the number. Four-Hundred and Fifty Million. Astounding.
I like her style. She started writing after being trapped at home in a blizzard in 1979. She published her first book two years later and has been blazing along since then. She works six to eight hours a day, cranking out five books a year. She doesn’t use a ghostwriter, a co-writer, or even an assistant. I like her reason: “Then I’d have to talk to somebody, and I’d rather not.” I so get this woman. My wife anxiously waits for Roberts’ next book (she loves Janet Evanovich, just as much) and even at five books a year as herself and J.D. Robb, her fans can’t get enough. They want her to write faster. It’s true. My wife can’t wait for the next book and is thrilled when she finds it. Roberts’ release schedule for 2012 includes 23 books. It’s only May, so there is a lot more to come from Nora Roberts.
Take a few moments and read the Wall Street Journal piece by Alexandra Alter. It is amazing and inspiring. You can read it here. There is a video profile of Nora Roberts within the piece in the Journal.
One more thing: Nora Roberts is working on her next book… her 204th.
Sources: Photo of Nora Roberts from nora-roberts.co.uk. Nora Roberts was profiled in the New Yorker in 2009. Read it here.
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Book Review: “Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books”
Posted: April 29, 2012 Filed under: Books | Tags: authors, book review, book reviews, books, bookshelf, bookshelves, photography, reading, review, Unpacking My Library Writers and Their Books, wordpress, write, writers, writing, yale, yale press, yale university Leave a comment »
by Dick Loftin.
We read books for different reasons: for pleasure, to learn, to go somewhere else and return home again. But there are other books we own for the pure joy of owning them—photography, art, vintage cars, collectibles. We spend time with these books when we want to relax and let our mind rest—they are companion books.
If you love buying, collecting, reading and keeping books as much as I do, you will enjoy a great little book I recently discovered. “Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books,” edited by Leah Price, and published by Yale University Press. It is a follow-up book to “Unpacking My Library: Architects and Their Books,” published in 2009 and edited by Jo Steffens.
The orderly bookshelf of Steven Pinker and Rebecca Goldstein / brainpickings.org
Imagine being able to browse through the libraries of thirteen writers of fiction. “Unpacking” features interviews with each writer, a Top Ten list, and great color photographs of the writers in their libraries. Some of the libraries are straight and orderly—like they are barely used—while others are helplessly piled, cluttered, smothered with books. The cluttered folks are my kind of people. They clearly can’t help buying and keeping books. The most fun about looking in the bookshelves of other people is finding books you have in your own shelves. Let the bonding begin.
Philip Pullman in his cluttered study. /yalebooks.wordpress.com
Some of the writers were unfamiliar to me, but this is part of what makes “Unpacking” so great. Being introduced to a new writer–anyone, for that matter–through their books is what reading is all about—enlarging your book view. Their collections, and their Top Ten lists especially, will have you headed to the nearest bookstore.
_____
Source: Cover image from mediagallery.usatoday.com
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So Far …
Posted: April 22, 2012 Filed under: Books | Tags: biography, book, books, fiction, history, non-fiction, poem, poet, poetry, read, reading, Writer, writing Leave a comment »
The "E" key from a 1946 Underwood manual typewriter. Courtesy: EndpaperReview.com
by Dick Loftin
Endpaper Review is a blog and website about my passion for books, reading and writing. It is an endless love for the writers who write, the publishers who publish, and the readers who read. We all share a common appreciation for all things books, which bonds us together for a variety of reasons. We love the words, we love the binding, we love the graphics on the slip cover, we love the cover. We love the pages, whether deckled or straight-cut. The bottom line is we love books. And Endpaper Review is a labor of love for the book and everything that makes it what it is.
I started Endpaper Review less than a year ago, and I have been impressed with the growth of the site in this very short time. It has all been word-of-mouth, or, word-of-web. Just over the past few days, people have read Endpaper Review in Italy, Australia, Germany and all over the United States. Endpaper Review has 339 people who want to get post updates in their email. This is particularly amazing to me because we all get a lot of email. A lot. But these wonderful 339 people want just one more–one–from Endpaper Review.
In the past week alone I have heard from individuals and publishers who want to send me books to review. This tells me two things: 1.) They have taken the time to read a couple of posts and 2.) They like what they read. Send the books. I’ll treat your words with the utmost care and appreciation of the work it takes to write them.
While I am working on a new post, I just wanted to say Thank You. Thank you for reading what I write on Endpaper Review. But most of all thank you for writing your book, reading the books that have been written, and sharing your interest and love for them with the world.
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Barter Books and the Keep Calm poster
Posted: April 7, 2012 Filed under: Books | Tags: barter books, books, england, history, keep calm, keep calm and carry on, posters, reading, world war 2, world war two 2 Comments »
The Keep Calm poster from Barter Books, Northumberland, England
by Dick Loftin
You have probably seen the “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster. You have also probably seen variations of the Keep Calm theme such as “Keep Calm and Eat Cupcakes,” “Keep Calm and Make Coffee,” and what has to be the favorite of men all around the world, “Keep Calm and Put Bacon On.” But where did the “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster originate? It is an icon of World War Two. One of three posters specifically created to keep spirits high during one of the most dangerous periods in world history. The posters became an iconic symbol of faith and determination then, and again in 2000, after their discovery in a box acquired among a collection of books purchased at an auction by Barter Books in Northumberland, England.
Watch the video of the Keep Calm poster story and Barter Books here.
Read a profile of the Keep Calm poster and Barter Books from JournalLive.co.uk here.
Visit the Barter Books website here. After seeing the video and browsing the website, I have now added Barter Books to my bucket list!
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Do Some Real Writing… With a Fountain Pen
Posted: March 20, 2012 Filed under: The Pen Page | Tags: books, collecting, John Lennon, pens, reading, santa fe, typewriters, writing 1 Comment »
The Endpaper Review logo features an Italian made Marlen fountain pen. Courtesy: Endpaper Review.com
by Dick Loftin
John Lennon used to say, “Everything’s connected.” It is certainly true for my passion for the written word. I love everything to do with the writing craft: the books, the authors, and the tools of the trade. I have a particular affection for vintage typewriters. I have several and use them to write my longer posts. I like the idea and the style of the “first draft.” I like getting a colored pencil [some use red, some prefer blue] and mark up the pages with corrections. I like “living” with a piece of writing. I love the little “burst” of an idea that comes while revising a paragraph. It’s the craft. It’s the effort. It’s the reward.
I also have a great affection for writing instruments and have recently started collecting mechanical pencils. These are usually the retro pencils found at flea markets and antique stores. I look for pencils with advertising on them or used for promotional purposes. The pencils I have generally date from the 1950′s. They are fabulous: Companies that sell brakes, television repair shops, oil companies, gas stations, banks and shipping companies. I have one that belonged to my Dad. It was a “special reward for achievement,” from the Dale Carnegie Course. Who knew my dad took Dale Carnegie? The things we learn.
If you really want to broaden your writing horizons, and experience some real writing, let me suggest you invest a little money in a nice fountain pen. I took the plunge on a vacation trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2010 and bought a proper, slightly expensive [$150.00] Marlen fountain pen. It is Italian made, has a heavy feel and a brilliant “write.” It’s not like writing with a ball point or roller ball. It takes commitment to use a fountain pen. It is not like writing with anything else. It took six months of writing before it felt “normal.” You write with a nib [the tip] which distributes the ink flow according to the pressure you put on the pen. A note here: if you buy a fountain pen, be sure to tell them you have a “light” or “heavy” hand. It matters. The pressure you put on the nib–if it’s too much–could damage it. Like I say, it’s not like writing with a Bic. There is a certain amount of joy writing with a fountain pen. The same kind of joy that comes with writing with a vintage typewriter. It’s old-fashioned. It’s historic. There is a sweetness to the scratch of the nib gliding along the paper, similar to the clacking of the typewriter and the ring of the bell. It’s romantic. It’s nice. It’s soul-settling.
While my budget is somewhat restricted, there are people who will spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars on a nice fountain pen. Some of them are highly collectible and people buy them to keep them, unused. I understand. I really do.
While on Facebook today, I came across a post from Fox Business.com [posted on the Fountain Pen Hospital's Facebook page] about how some people are chucking the note-taking feature of their smart phone for a fountain pen. There are some things that need to stay with us. The practice of writing with a pen, particularly a pen you love, is an experience all its own. Maybe history is repeating itself. I hope so.
Resources:
Read “Yes, People Do Spend Money on Pens!” from Fox Business.com, Here.
Here are some highly recommended websites to purchase pens and learn more about them: Fountain Pen Hospital … Fahrney’s Pens … Richards Pens … Levenger. Take some time and find a nice pen for yourself. You can spend as much as budget will allow, into the thousands for collector pens, but generally you can find a nice fountain pen for around $100 or less. A favorite pen of mine, purchased for $40.00, is the Kaweco Sport. It is a nice, compact pen that is great for making notes, shopping lists, and light writing. I like writing poems with it. It is German-made, takes cartridge ink, and comes in black or blue. A nice little pen I truly enjoy, available at Levenger.com.
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Encyclopaedia Britannica: Off the Shelves
Posted: March 18, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: books, college, education, Encyclopaedia Britannica, online, reading, school, write, writing 1 Comment »
Photo Source: The New York Times
by Dick Loftin
One thing I fondly remember about growing up in Oklahoma is the row upon row of Encyclopaedia Britannica books lined up in the shelves at home. Aside from needing one to finish a homework assignment, they were fun to simply look through and learn something. Now, after 244 years, the print edition of EB is being discontinued. Not a surprise, really, being that we all have a library in our hand thanks to the iPhone and other devices. But it is sad to see another tradition fade away.
The New York Times did a nice piece on the end of print for Encyclopaedia Britannica. Read it Here.
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The Art of Letters
Posted: March 1, 2012 Filed under: Books, Writing and Writers | Tags: books, EB White, John Lennon, letters, Ronald Reagan, typewriters, writing 1 Comment »
Collected Letters. Source: Endpaper Review.com
“My baby, she wrote me a letter.”
– The Box Tops, 1967
by Dick Loftin
Years ago, I came across a copy of the Letters of E.B. White. It was a thick, 700-page collection from 1908 to 1976, the year the book was published. The only thing I could think of was, “Why in the world would anyone want to read someone else’s mail?” When the White collection was published, editor Dorothy Lobrano Guth, lamented in the introduction about how people never wrote letters anymore because of “the intrusive urgency of the telephone.” The comment seems almost quaint today. But people continued to write letters, and many more collections of letters and journals appeared, but today, Ms. Guth’s worry seems valid. [A revised edition, published in 2006 was edited by his granddaughter, Martha White, and features a fine introduction by John Updike. It contains White’s letters up to his death in 1985.]
With the introduction of digital communications, the traditional letter, the one with an envelope and a stamp, seems lost. Texts, emails, Facebook, Twitter, and any number of social media platforms are quick hits of our lives. We don’t write about our lives in letters, we write about them in Tweets. Very public Tweets, which are shared and shared again around the world. Unlike letters, there are no carbon copies, or files where duplicates are kept for future reference. Sure, there are places on your email where a copy can be “saved,” but even these are heavily thinned out over time, or deleted altogether with just one click. It has historians such as David McCullough worried over the future of history and especially biography. Historians in the future, it is feared, will have less and less primary source material to study because of fewer and fewer actual letters being written and saved.
I lost my first copy of Mr. White’s letters years ago and was thrilled to find it—in hardcover—at a flea market in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I also found a copy of the Letters of Ronald Reagan. On another visit, I found the Letters of Carl Sandberg. The Reagan letters were published in 2003, the Sandberg letters in 1968. Finding these books at a time when digital composition has taken over our way of writing made me appreciate them even more. It made me realize why we should still be interested in reading the exchange of letters from these individuals. It is the firsthand history of a public figure’s life.
Letters are generally personal. A private message from one person to another, usually written for no one other than the recipient. The letters are private, but they can be funny, serious, testy, sweet. They can be heartfelt, horrible, or sensational. They are always interesting. The sensitive letters between John Adams and his wife Abigail are some of the most beautiful letters ever written. The Adams’ understood the critical times they lived in, and saved every one of their letters—well over a thousand. The Adams’ letters are collected in a fine volume edited by Margaret A. Hogan and C. James Taylor called “My Dearest Friend—Letters of Abigail and John Adams,” published in 2007. Another important John Adams-related collection is that of his correspondence with Thomas Jefferson. After a decade of estrangement, they renewed their close friendship in 1812. “The Adams-Jefferson Letters,” edited by Lester J. Cappon, contains their complete correspondence from 1777 to 1826. Both Adams and Jefferson died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Just imagine these letters being lost to a hard drive crash or the careless deletion of an associate.
Letters can contain much needed advice, some appreciated condolences after the passing of a loved one, some family information, some good news. They could also contain a literary kick in the pants. In his excellent book, John Adams, David McCullough writes of a letter sent by Abigail Adams to her son, John Quincy Adams, upon learning the young man was getting a little too impressed with himself. She warned of “Watchfulness over yourself,” and wrote:
“If you are conscious to yourself that you possess more knowledge upon some subjects than others of your standing, reflect that you have had greater opportunities of seeing the world, and obtaining a knowledge of mankind than any of your contemporaries. That you have never wanted a book but it has been supplied to you, that your whole time has been spent in the company of men of literature and science. How unpardonable would it have been in you to have been a blockhead.”
Priceless. I can only imagine what John Quincy thought upon receiving the letter from his very straightforward mother.
Letters are guarded and unguarded, elegant and not so elegant. They are most of all, a look through the window of history from the pen of the people living it, and taking the time to write about it. Many people of Adams’ time would end the day with reading or catching up on their letter-writing.
Letters, like any great literature, will take you back to a time when history was alive and in the moment. A discovery of a shoebox in a musty attic can take us back fifty years into someone’s life. We hear the voice, we engage the hope, and feel the despair of the writer.
The joy of opening the mailbox and finding a letter from someone special hasn’t changed. It could be a note in crayon from a grandson or daughter. It could be a reply from someone we respect, a letter from an admired author or other public figure. Emails are so frequent and many times so intrusive, they have become throwaways; we just want to wade through them. Letters are special because we get so few of them. Part of the joy of Christmas is receiving an “annual letter” or card from a friend or loved one. The cards have nearly vanished. Holiday greetings come in our inboxes now. It isn’t the same, is it?
Volumes of collected letters are still being published. “Rub Out the Words: the Letters of William S. Burroughs, 1959-1974,” has been recently published by Little, Brown. A collection that will be particularly interesting to me will arrive in October. The Lennon Letters, a collection of the cards and letters written by John Lennon to friends, family and others around the world, is expected on the fiftieth anniversary of the release of “Love Me Do,” by the Beatles. It is also being published by Little, Brown.
Could letter-writing return? Young people, particularly those under 30, are discovering the joy of writing with vintage typewriters. While roaming around a flea market recently, I watched a man buy a Hermes 3000 typewriter for his daughter, who was all of 16. There could be a whole generation of people coming up who may be overwhelmed by technology, and yearn for something simple, something Grandma and Granddad used to use: a dusty old typewriter. And writer Stephen Elliot has started a grass roots campaign, “Letters in the Mail,” to get people to write letters. I have started a little campaign of my own to write a letter to a friend once a month.
Who knows? Young people start a letter-writing revolution with typewriters, Elliot’s campaign catch’s on, historians can relax, and maybe even the post office will be saved.
It could happen.
Source Material: Stephen Elliot’s “Letters in the Mail,” profiled on CBS This Morning, February 29, 2012. Watch video Here.
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Q&A: Jeff Martin of Booksmart Tulsa
Posted: January 30, 2012 Filed under: Book Publishing, Books | Tags: Blake Bailey, books, Booksmart Tulsa, David McCullough, David Sedaris, Harry Truman, John Cheever, reading, Richard Yates, writing 1 Comment »
by Dick Loftin
There are few things I enjoy more than going to book signings. I love the opportunity to interact with the author of a book and having it signed is a particular thrill for me. I love books for their art, the feel of the pages, the knowledge they hold. I love authors for their ability to create careers out of words and I am particularly admirable of writers who can create a heavy volume of work, collected in one-thousand page bricks. I am a fan of books and authors and was absolutely star struck when David McCullough signed my copy of “1776,” after his speech at the Harry Truman Presidential Museum and Library in Independence, Kansas, in 2007. I practically chased him up a flight of stairs to ask him to sign my book. He said, “Sure, but, let’s step inside [the library] where it’s a little cooler.” It was summer and had to be a hundred degrees. He signed my book, I shook his hand, and from that moment, signed books became a passion. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, we have Booksmart Tulsa, operated by Jeff Martin. Jeff and his team have presented several readings by celebrated authors. The readings are fun, not too formal, the authors are polite and take the time to visit with you, sign your book and take a picture if you want. Blake Bailey signed my copies of “Cheever” and his biography of Richard Yates, “A Tragic Honesty,” but I can’t believe I forgot to have my picture taken with him. Maybe he’ll come back for his next book. I wanted to know more about Booksmart Tulsa so I asked Jeff if I could send him some questions. Here is his response.
Endpaper Review: Define your role in the book business. What do you do?
Jeff Martin: I started at the lowest possible level, working part-time in a bookstore. I eventually took an interest in book-related events and worked my way up the chain until I handled book events and began bringing in all sorts of authors to Tulsa through the bookstore. Everyone from Mike Huckabee to David Sedaris and every possible variety between, and that is a big gap. In the spring of 2009, after leaving the retail world, I started Booksmart Tulsa and since then we have made it our mission to turn Tulsa, perhaps even Oklahoma, into a more literary and literate place.
ER: With Booksmart Tulsa, are you finding the market changing for books? [Larger crowds for certain types of books, smaller crowds for others? Are you surprised by the turnout for some books? Are people asking about “e-book versions” of books you present?]
JM: It seems that with my audience, the focus remains heavily focused on the traditional book. Although, we do have the occasional person have their e-reader case signed with a sharpie.
ER: Do you think e-books will take on an “introductory role” in book selling by offering an avenue for emerging writers to be introduced to the book buying public? Could e-books be the appetizer, with a traditional book follow-up release being the entrée?
JM: I honestly feel that e-books will become more than just an “appetizer.” When you factor in the interactive possibilities (audio, video) the real question becomes, is this a book at all. In my mind, books will always be books. These are something else. We just haven’t figured out what to call them.
ER: How is social media impacting the book business? As e-books grow in popularity, could “online author chats” replace book signings?
JM: I think about this often. In much the same way that musicians have had to refocus their efforts on live performance and getting out on the road, it is my belief that authors will more than ever be forced out of the shadows. Booksignings, or at least public events of some sort, will become more important in making that connection to an audience.
ER: How do writers stay current as the culture of book buying and selling changes?
JM: While it’s not always the case, because some things do get lost, for the most part I believe that good is good no matter the format or time. New, original ideas and voices will find a way into a marketplace, via the printed page, the screen, or whatever else may come along.
ER: How can books stay current with the number of entertainment choices available today [iPhone, online games, web surfing]?
JM: Following up with what I was saying earlier, books don’t need to be current, they just need to be. The biggest mistake is thinking that books need to change at all. They’ve been around much longer than almost any piece of technology we have. There has to be a reason for this.
ER: While e-books may be a more convenient way to read and enjoy books, there is no true “product” to buy and own. There are no books to shelve, no book “collection.” Do you think we will still be able to buy a “book” in ten years, or do you think the book as we know it will go the way of the vinyl record?
JM: The vinyl comparison is one I make often. I was recently at Best Buy and was pleased to see a nice collection of new vinyl for sale. Not a huge amount, but decent. And this was not just old reprints of Dylan and The Beatles. These were new records by Jay-Z, etc… If there weren’t a market of some size for these, Best Buy wouldn’t be selling them. If you had asked me 5 years ago if this would be happening, I would have said you were crazy. But these things find a way. So books, may have a moment of panic, but they will come back and always be around.
ER: Is there anything you would like to add?
JM: People talk about the “death of books” as if books, like the Mayans, will simple vanish. But books, because they are a physical object, are all around us. How many books are there in this world for each of the now 7 billion people on the planet. I would guess at least a few. If we were to never print another book again, there is no way that books will cease to be a part of our lives in this tactile world. It’s not going to happen.
ER: Thank you.
Sources: Booksmart Tulsa website Here. BooksmartTulsa.com image from Booksmart Tulsa.
Your Past, Relived in Your Books
Posted: January 23, 2012 Filed under: Books | Tags: Ariel Durant, Bennett Cerf, Bill Clinton, Billy Graham, biography, books, business, C.S. Lewis, christopher hitchens, Conrad Hilton, David Crockett, Davy Crockett, Diarmaid MacCullough, Donald Trump, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Edgar Allen Poe, Empire State Building, essays, Gerald Ford, Harry Truman, Hilton Hotels, history, J. Paul Getty, John F. Kennedy, John Kenneth Galbraith, Julian Sumons, Langston Hughes, Martin Luther, Michael Wallis, poetry, Random House, reading, Richard Nixon, Robert Lowell, Rockefeller, Stock Market Crash of 1929, Teddy Roosevelt, Thoreau, Wallace Stevens, Will Durant, Will Rogers, Winston Churchill, writing 1 Comment »
Winston Churchill at his desk. Source: maritimequest.com
by Dick Loftin
Winston Churchill once wrote if you don’t have time to read all of the books you buy, at least be acquainted with them. While cleaning out some bookshelves—to move out some impulsive purchases at book fairs and yard sales—I discovered some lost treasures. It is fun to be surprised by a book you forgot you had. Buried deep in the bookshelf is a forgotten volume, rediscovered like an old friend. “Oh, there, you are!” it shouts to you.
My main interests are history and biography, so finding books that I had purchased months or years ago in the back of a bookshelf was like taking a walk down memory lane. There was, “As I See It,” an autobiography of J. Paul Getty, the great oilman. I learned from Getty that thinking is probably the most important skill to develop in business. Bennett Cerf’s “At Random,” a book about his time at Random House, is a great book about the book business and his relationship with the authors he published. I lost my first copy of it years ago, but was overjoyed to find it online.
There are biographies of the Rockefellers, and a couple of books about the Empire State Building in New York. The Empire State Building was built in the middle of the depression by men glad to have a job and a hand in building an architectural icon. It is quite possibly the greatest building in the world.
I find some political figures interesting. I have several books by and about Richard Nixon, a couple by Eisenhower, there are books on Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton (an avid reader and fascinating figure no matter what your politics.) There are books by and about by JFK, Teddy Roosevelt, and one of my favorites, Harry Truman.
Faith and one’s “inner life” is interesting to me, so I have several books by C.S. Lewis (I found myself saying, ‘Yes!’ out loud numerous times while reading ‘Mere Christianity.’) I have a few by Billy Graham and a collection of Martin Luther’s writings. There is the massive “Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years,” by Diarmaid MacCullough, which I was pleased to discover was on the bookshelf of the late Christopher Hitchens.
I have Thoreau’s “Walden,” (who doesn’t?), a sad biography of Edgar Allen Poe, written by Julian Sumons in 1976, called, “The Tell Tale Heart.” I was delighted to find some old book reviews and other clippings tucked inside the book. There was an Associated Press story about the individual who left a bottle of cognac and roses on Poe’s grave in Baltimore, and had done so for 33 years. It is a tradition that continued for decades, but I read in the Wall Street Journal, that the person who held up the tribute to Poe failed to show up for the third year in a row. The “Poe Toasters,” as they are called, now believe this great literary tradition for a giant of the written word, is over.* But, finding the clippings took me back to the time when I bought the book. Try that with a Kindle!
Michael Wallis’ fine biography, “David Crockett, The Lion of the West,” is a great read. Early in the book, Mr. Wallis makes clear, it is “David,” not “Davy” Crockett. I have several of Mr. Wallis’ books. He is a terrific writer and historian. I have Richard D. White, Jr’s., well-received “Will Rogers: A Political Life,” a new biography of the beloved Oklahomans life as a political humorist and writer.
The classic business book by John Kenneth Galbraith on the Stock Market Crash of 1929, which I found at a book festival, is among biographies of Conrad Hilton and the early books of Donald Trump, when he was more interested in real estate than being a celebrity.
I rediscovered various memoirs, several volumes of poetry (Robert Lowell, Langston Hughes, Wallace Stevens) and essays I absolutely love. They come from everywhere, book fairs, flea markets, antique shops, estate and garage sales, and I will haunt every bookstore in every town I visit. I once bought a book by Christopher Hitchens and Billy Graham on the same night. The young lady behind the counter gave me a puzzled look as I paid for them. I had to smile at the irony.
It is very easy to get attached to your books. They are your history. They provide a background and a place for the memories of your life. You remember when and where you bought them, who your friends were at the time, where you lived, who you loved and who loved you. You remember what you thought and how your thinking has changed over the years, quite possibly by the books you read. Your books are about your life as much as the person who wrote it. Your books are your “relivable past.”
Books are quiet reminders of who you were, and could very well represent what you are today. I bought the eleven volume “Story of Civilization” by Will and Ariel Durant when I was in my late twenties, fully intending to begin reading when I was fifty. I’m several years behind schedule. But that is the beautiful thing about books. Even as the years pass, the books remain. And books, better and more reliable than some friends, will wait for you. Whenever you are ready to get reacquainted. Which proves Winston Churchill was a wise man. Very wise.
* Here is a nice write-up on the apparent end of the “Poe Toaster,” from litstack.com
One.
Posted: January 1, 2012 Filed under: Books, Writing and Writers | Tags: 2012, books, David McCullough, happy new year. one, Harry Sinclair Drago, new year, reading, resolutions, writing Leave a comment »
All you need is One. Source: Etsy.com
by Dick Loftin
One is a beginning. The First. It’s new, it’s fresh, a place to start. One is a way to hit the delete button of our life and start over. What is left in the prior year remains there.
One begins with promise and resolutions. Like losing weight, calling our parents more, making peace with a friend where something important a year ago seems silly now. One means a new hobby, new clothes, a new outlook. One is all we need to get started toward a new adventure. One is a day, an hour, a minute. One is a kiss, a memory, a poem, a friend, a spouse. One is sometimes all we need.
While reading the paper this morning, I came across many of the resolutions from famous people to regular folk and was interested in the number of them that involved writing or reading. Some wanted to read one more book, or write the one book they always wanted to write. Or finish the book they started, but somehow set aside for this reason or that.
I have resolved to add more reading and writing to my new year. Technology makes that easier with e-readers. I got a Nook for Christmas. I expect it to help me read more in 2012. I also have resolved to get more books into my life by listening to them in the car to and from work. More books make a richer life. I also resolve to write more in 2012. When I think about my writing resolution, I am reminded of a conversation author David McCullough had with the writer Harry Sinclair Drago, an author who had written over one hundred books. McCullough was amazed by the accomplishment and upon meeting him, asked him how he did it. Drago said he did it by writing four pages a day. Four pages. Every day. McCullough said it was the best advice for an aspiring writer. He is right. Four pages. But on this first day of the new year, I would be happy with one good page of writing every day. One.
Happy New Year.
