In my searches I came across this very old article from the Atlantic regarding “
Caring for Your Introvert.” In 2003 (March) Jonathan Rauch wrote about Introverts or “people who find other people tiring.”
Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay, you're okay—in small doses."
Now, I’ll be the first one to tell you that I’m an introvert, but I do think everyone needs a little alone time sometimes, especially with a book…and perhaps with a cup of tea. Although you had better watch out because apparently tea makers have been lying to us! A recent i09 article states: “
High school scientists discover "undisclosed ingredients" in tea.”
What did they find? A kettle full of deception! Although the teas that were not flavored mostly kept honest, with only about four percent having extra plants mixed in, over a third of the herbal teas had unlisted ingredients. The main additives were bluegrass, which grows on lawns, and white goosefoot, which is a relative of spinach. There was also parsley, and a lot of extra chamomile.
That’s right, there might be newspaper lurking in your green tea and undisclosed bluegrass in your chamomile! The article prompted the following conversation with my roommate:
Roommate: …all the more reason to avoid herbal teas
Me: yep. I'm sure some of the paper could be from the tea back itself. I expect a little paper dust because of the bags
Roommate: yeah. I would want to read their paper and evaluate their methods
Me: but damn it, would have totally done that for a high school science class
1 Comments on Links for tea drinkers and introverts and whinos (or tea drinking introvert whinos), last added: 8/4/2011
Courtney Milan talks the future of agents in a self-publishing world in “An open letter to agents,” the first of (what sounds like) two columns. Milan, whose self-published novella Unlocked is currently sitting at spot # 102 in the Kindle store, has an amazing mind, and her dissection of agents and their role in a world where author’s don’t need them to publish raises some very important points. She writes:
Agents, I don’t think you have any idea how much your writers are talking about you right now. Seriously. I don’t think you have
any idea. I am getting multiple e-mails
every day from writers who are worried about what their agents are doing, and who are worried about how to handle agents, and who want to be fair to their agents but also don’t want to pay them a percentage when there’s little to no work involved, and/or the agent handles little of the risk.
If you haven’t already, I would suggest adding her to your feedreader of choice. (Link via
Kalen O’Donnell)
For you SciFi fans looking for out of print lost loves there is good news – “Gollancz, the SF and Fantasy imprint of the Orion Publishing Group, announces the launch of the world's largest digital SFF library, the SF Gateway, which will make thousands of out-of-print titles by classic genre authors available as eBooks.” Check out the
Book Trade Announcement pressrelease for more information. (Link via
io9’s Charlie Jane Anders)
“…the happy symbiosis between the ebook retailers and Apple, by which the retailers got access to customers they would not otherwise have had and Apple was able to readily deliver their customers content they hadn’t otherwise aggregated, appears to have come to an end.”
Flavorwire highlights Christian Jack
If only this were true:
Or is it? Yes, Hipsters, come to Portland. Find out what it
is all about.
I thought I would catalogue these even if no one is still around.
- Kassia Kroszer of the ever wise Booksquare discusses the demise of the Los Angeles Times Book Review and what that really means to readers in: Once More With Feeling: The LATBR Publishes Its Last. (You may have also seen her last night discussing this on News Hour with Jim Lehrer.)
New search site of interest:
http://www.cuil.com/ was created by former Google engineers. I have no idea if it actually has a better or more accurate search function, but for an author (or anyone else) here's another way to find out what people are saying about you.
(For example: Here's what it looks like if you search Bookseller Chick)
- Deidre Knight of the Knight Agency has been named Agent of the year by the Romance Writers of America (info: GalleyCat.) Congrats to a wonderful woman who definitely deserved it.
- From A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy comes a thoughtful discussion regarding the New York Times article: Literacy Debate: R U Really Reading? To which I say, "What she said." I've known some incredibly literate fanfiction writers with Ph.Ds as well as some incredibly illiterate ones.
- For your amusement: A pictorial editorial on the people who say they have read Stephen Hawking's A Brief History
And if you are in the Greater Portland, OR area and you are looking for Tuesday night entertainment, then you might want to check out these
free movies:
I see that some of you are having fun with Google Analytics. Good for you. I’ll put up the information regarding the other programs on the column soon. In fact, renovations and redecorating sound like something to do in between sending out cover letters and resumes. While I’m focusing on that, and lining up more goodness for this blog, here’s something to keep you occupied.
The Smart Bitches have a very informative interview up with three authors on the subject of making and using book trailers to advertise your book. Though the authors are all represent the Romance genre the advice they pass along and their thoughts on the book trailer subject are applicable to all. I especially agree with Tony McGee Causey’s advice to make use of the lower cost options around you, such as using grad students in theatre and film programs or connections through friends. Within two degrees of my friend group I know several actors, graphic designers, directors and film editors and I also happen to live a little over ten blocks away from the Art Institute where many budding artists attend. We’re all trying to make a name for ourselves doing something, and I know many people are willing to do something for less money if it allows them to build their portfolio.
Speaking of book trailers, don’t forget about Marta Acosta’s contest for the Best and Worst Book Trailer of a Classic Novel, which now has a trailer all its own. The deadline has been extended to September 15th. First prize is Adobe Creative Design Suite 3 Premium Pro.
Nephele Tempest of the Knight Agency breaks down Best-sellers vs. bestsellers.
Booksquare has a post up relating to book trailers, word of mouth and all other forms of reaching a reading public in, “Reaching Readers: The Door-to-Door Theory.”
Jessica at the Written Nerd posts her own thoughts on America’s reading habits.
Just a heads up to all you interested in the Bookselling World, the ABA (American Booksellers Association) has a blog called the ABA Omnibus, “a regular update on bookselling, retail, authors, culture, technology, and…”
Also of interest, Bookselling This Week has an article on Booksellers Who Blog highlighting the aforementioned Written Nerd among others.
In “Me, Me, It’s All About Me!” news, I’ve seen my name in print (and it is a glooooorious thing that will probably never happen again). I received my copy of The New Writer’s Handbook 2007 from Scarletta Press, in which my blog essay “Your Gateway Drug” appears. The book also contains essays from amazing folks like Neil Gaiman, Rosina Lippi, Jane Yolen, Erica Jong, Lynn Viehl, and Linda Sue Park (among others who are old hands at seeing their name in print). Now that all the visiting members of my family have left town, I’ll hopefully get a chance to sit down and read it.
My precioussssssssss.
Bottom Shelf Books, a site that looks at “picture books from a somewhat grown-up perspective,” has a really amusing two-part interview up with the characters from Punk Farm by Jarrett J. Krosoczka.
Chronicle Books has a blog, and I know I’m probably the last to hear about it, but I thought I’d pass the information along to the rest of you. Go over and see pictures of their new offices, get recipes from upcoming cookbooks, and giggle at their customer letters.
This is old news from July 30th, but it bears rereading: Jean Marie Pierson talks “Getting Published: Insights from a Book Contracts Insider.”
If you didn’t make it to ComicCon you can read, watch and hear all about it from this collection of bloggers, podcasters, videos and message boards.
Bookselling This Week talks book displays with the good people of BookPeople.
Oh, Amazon rankings, it appears like any system you can be manipulated. Not surprisingly you were spoken over and over again at DPI as a way to gage interest in a book after a big interview or article has hit the public.
Chick Lit Review has their new online issue out.
The Man Booker Longlist is out too.
And proof the Oregon Trail game continues to live on in people’s hearts and minds.
So I’m sitting in my cubicle the other day, just surfing away on the internet when my phone rings. “Thank you for calling X, this is Linsey. May I have your name and account number please?”
“Oh, thank goodness. I got the right number,” an elderly gentleman says on the other end of the line.
“Sir?”
“I called Y racetrack to get the number for your service and they gave me 1-800-XXX-XXXX. Have you ever called the 1-800 version of your number?”
“No, sir. I haven’t. What happened?”
“Well, this woman’s voice came on the line and she said if I was interested in a hot call I should enter in my credit card number for just $0.61 a minute. And I didn’t want a hot call! I wanted a hot horse!”
…And that, my friends, is when I learned to control my immediate impulse to laugh and where you get your bang for you buck. Or in this case your phone sex for $0.61.
Oh dear.
Now in book news, the NY Times highlighted different computer programs to help you keep track of your characters and motivations when writing your book. Interestingly enough, they didn’t highlight any Apple programs that do the same thing (and I’m pretty sure they’re out there). Part of me feels that the article read more like an extended advertisement for Microsoft than comparative journalism, but that didn’t stop me from coveting the Microsoft Project program despite not being a writer. What can I say, I’m weak. I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts on it.
The Times also launched its own book blog this week, run by Dwight Garner, a senior editor of the Book Review. Does this mean that the NY Times Book Review now supports the idea of lit bloggers or not?
The always entertaining Ms. Weinman of Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind linked to this article. It appears that the ten-year-old real life mystery that Tony Hillerman used as a plot base in a recent novel may actually have been solved, though probably not as Tony solved it. We can compare and contrast real life and fiction if anyone knows the book I’m talking about.
Frequent commenter on this blog, Marta Acosta, has blogged over at Fresh Fiction with some thoughtful ideas on being part of the paranormal fiction pack and why it appeals to readers. I have nothing to add really other than the following image from I can has cheezburger might represent the next wave of paranormal fiction: vampire cats.
Don’t tell me that Stephen King has done it already, I refuse to listen.
In honor of my first regular blog post over at Romancing the Blog, I give you Bully’s Ten of a Kind representation of romance comic book covers. It seemed only appropriate since most of the women on these covers look seriously put out with their male counterparts.
I found Ironic Sans through an article on Galleycat on the topic of covers that look alike (we’ve all groaned and/or worried over the topic a time or two). Be sure to read the comments for an enlightening look at the cover art process.
The Written Nerd has her BEA recap post up to go with the pictures she posted last week. If you are not BEA-ed out, you might want to take a look.
Now, if those weren’t enough links to keep you busy, please check out this post that’s chock full of more links at The Inkwell Bookstore Blog.
Otherwise have a lovely day. I’m off to do homework in the sunshine.
I'm deep in pony-land (the land of people who do not listen and get angry about for no reason--not to be confused with My Little Pony Land, the place of sparkles and giggles), but I thought I'd post this news while I have a chance.
Kris Reisz posted on his site that Simon Pulse is offering ARCs and free novels to teens in return for getting their opinion. If you know a teen who might be interested they can download the application form here. Unfortunately it does not look like adults who like to read YA novels are allowed to apply.
Phooey.
Back to pony land I go.
Since this video has been out for over a month (and already received 1.5 million hits) I'm sure some of you have seen it, but it loosely (don't ask me how) ties into our Writer as Blogger, Blogger as Writer discussion. The discussion itself continues to get some interesting answers both here and other places around the internet, so please, continue to add your thoughts.
Meanwhile, here's Web 2.0...The Machine is Us/ing us. I wish my professors had created things like this when I was in college.
A friend of mine showed me this and since it has to do with words I thought I would pass it on.
Warning: This is not work safe, and yes, you do need the sound on.
Here you go: Pulp Fiction as Typography.
cool picture ))