Today is a contemplative day for me, but I did receive some good news: A book I edited is on the NY Times list and the USA Today list. The author is wonderful to work with, and I know she’s got to be over the moon about this. Yay!
more glee
The book I mentioned last week has made the New York Times list of best sellers! Huge congratulations to the author.
ETA: It’s on the USA Today and Publishers Weekly lists too. Yay!
Joy!
Book four in a series I’ve been editing was just released, and it’s on the USA Today bestseller list. Hooray! I’ve really enjoyed this series, and I’m thrilled for the author.
what I’m reading redux
A couple of weeks ago I posted about a book called Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa, by Peter Godwin, which I enjoyed both for the writing style and for the insights into the history of Southern Africa (specifically the transition from Rhodesia to Rhodesia Zimbabwe and ultimately Zimbabwe).
I just finished reading the sequel, When A Crocodile Eats the Sun. It starts in 1996 when the author returns to Zimbabwe during a family health crisis. This again is a memoir, and it tells the parallel stories of the declining health of the author’s father and the declining health of the nation of Zimbabwe.
Crocodile, much more than Mukiwa, is a book about politics. The story is being told by a white man who was politically aware during the events he recounts, and who has seen his family suffer as a result of the political and economic situation in Zimbabwe. That being said, it’s not a polemic. The author is a white African, but he makes clear that everyone outside of Zimbabwe’s political elite is affected, black and white. The primary emotion is not anger or even bitterness, but sadness, a profound sense of regret and “it didn’t have to be this way.”
Happiness
It’s been a good day all around. I just found out that an excellent local chain delivers to my complex, so I had a delicious pizza for lunch. Their salads are good, too. Whenever possible I prefer to support local businesses (restaurants, bookstores, games stores), so I was very happy to find this place.
The book I mentioned last week is still on the NY Times list, always exciting. Also, the Romantic TImes book awards nominees have been announced, and some titles I worked on have been nominated. I’m very happy for the authors! It’s fabulous that they’re getting recognized for their hard work.
::jumps up and down with glee::
I’m currently working on the fifth book in a series. It’s so much fun to be on board for a series and be able to see it through from the beginning. I feel like I know these people (the characters), and I think it probably helps the editing as well that I’m familiar with the characters and the settings, the back stories, all of that. I don’t know if it helps the author, or at least causes less trepidation, to hand over a book to someone who knows what’s going on, but I’m always excited when I hear that the next book is in!
It’s chilly here in Austin today, which means I’ve had a warm, purring kitty curled up close. Hard not to smile under such conditions!
Weekend
Joy, for it is Saturday. Fingers crossed that my boys play well tomorrow
First the way cool news: Book three in a series I’ve been editing has just been released, and it’s on the NY Times bestsellers list! How cool is that?
Second: Reporting of the Cassie Edwards plagiarism “incident” is gaining steam; there’s an article about it in The New York Times.
I would like to see this turn into the catalyst for discussion among readers of what plagiarism is and why it’s wrong. Unfortunately, from what I’ve seen, many readers are choosing instead to attack Nora Roberts for speaking out, saying that since she’s not involved in this she should have kept her mouth shut.
Sidebar: Quite frankly this astonishes me, because Nora Roberts has herself been a victim of plagiarism (Google Nora Roberts Janet Dailey plagiarism if you’re not familiar with this). Cassie Edwards’s publisher had initially issued a statement brushing off the plagiarism claims; it was not until Nora Roberts went public that the publisher backed off and announced it was going to review all books by Edwards. Why is this important? Because Edwards and Roberts have the same publisher, and you can’t have it both ways: it can’t be plagiarism when someone steals from your author, but fair use when your author steals from someone else.
But yes, I think it would be wonderful if more readers were aware of what plagiarism is and why it’s wrong. So many readers seem to think it’s perfectly okay to quote nonfiction sources verbatim without attribution because “it’s just saying a fact.” The irony here is that while most of these people seem to think that using an academic source without attribution in a work of fiction is fine, academia is the setting where plagiarism is perhaps the worst possible sin.
What I’m Reading
I just finished reading Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday. I started reading it the day I began the Project of Doom last week, and every night I had to force myself not to read it until the project was done (eyestrain was a very real concern).
This is a wonderful book. It’s the first book by Paul Torday, and it combines satire and romance and hope and belief . . . and fishing.
A sheikh approaches Britain’s National Centre for Fisheries Excellence to help him achieve his fondest dream: introducing salmon, and salmon fishing, to the Yemen. A ridiculous scheme, yes, but impossible? Perhaps not.
zomgYAY!
The book reviewers for an Australian newspaper have listed their favorite books for the year, and a romance novel I worked on made the list! Whee!
Book geekery!
The January issue of Romantic Times magazine is out. Two books I edited are reviewed. One is a top pick and got 4 1/2 stars, and the other got 4 stars. This makes me very happy. I enjoyed working on both books and the authors are very cool. I hope the sales are good too! Whee!
incentive!
Everyone in my family reads, and even though we live all over the place, we often read the same things (the Economist being a big favorite).
I recently sent some books to a sibling (including A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, which I recommend), and lo and behold, in return I received Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, by Paul Torday, and A Dirty Job, by Christopher Moore.
I’m looking forward to reading them–once I get through the pile of manuscripts on my desk.