Happy December, Crassholes. 2013 is almost behind us! Continue reading
Books
74 posts
Like others, I have spent a decent amount of time browsing through OKCupid and the like, looking for the elusive date. And like others, I can be incredibly judgmental.
So, when reading a profile, there’s some things that make me just completely glaze over. Things like wine, jogging, and “the outdoors” tend to make me yawn. Continue reading
I wrote every single one of my papers in college the night/morning before they were due. Continue reading
Welcome to the latest attempt to get Crasstalkers talking about what they are reading: Book Pub. Once a month, check in with your fellows to see what’s interesting in their literary lives. And get smashed.* Continue reading
I adore a juicy read in the summer. I like to dumb it down a bit as well. It’s just too hot for me to get into the heavy stuff and magazines have less and less content these days. Plus, it’s harder to digest hard words when you’ve had a few cocktails. Therefore I choose this time to delve into several biographies/autobiographies that have been gleefully gossipy page turners. Here are some good ones that I recommend for your beach or poolside reading. Continue reading
Sure, your mom told them to take the prices off of any gifts that you give but what she didn’t tell you is that the rule doesn’t apply to books. Continue reading
Despite being an infidel non-believer, I celebrate Christmas. To me, it means spending time with family, days off, food, a tree, and a little gift giving. So to you fellow atheists, agnostics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Zoroastrians, I don’t mean to offend with this post.
Now, let’s get down to business. What did you get? Tell us. And a fonz from me if you post a picture of your gift. Continue reading
Far be it from me to tell someone not to write until their heart’s content. I maintain that putting pen to paper, or filling up a blinking cursor with type, can be as cathartic as anything else experienced. However, that doesn’t make it very good, or worth $3.7 Million. And it begs the question if Lena Dunham hadn’t struck a sort of millennial gold with her HBO show, Girls, would the world know about her musings on ice pops, celibacy, and diaries? Continue reading
I subscribe to Publishers Weekly (the bible of the U.S. publishing industry) and get a news feed every morning. Today there was some gobsmackin’ news to wake up to: E.L. James has been named Publishing Person of the Year.
Within the confines of the book industry, it’s a very big deal.
Let me refresh your memory. E.L. James is the penname of Erika Leonard. She wrote an erotic trilogy, the titles of which are Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed.
They are selling like shovels in a snowstorm, like handguns when the aliens invade, like toilet paper at a diarrhea festival. It is the fastest-selling adult (as against the categories of juvenile, or young adult) series ever. There’s going to be a movie. Continue reading
In the old days (from about the early-mid-1800s until the past 2 or 3 years) book publishing usually worked like this: the author wrote a book, and sent the manuscript to a commercial publisher, Random House, Faber and Faber, Akashic, there are thousands of them world-wide. The publisher employs professional editors to read the manuscripts and select (‘acquire’ is the usual verb used) ones with commercial possibilities. The author is then assigned an editor to work with to prepare the manuscript for publication. Continue reading