The New Homestead

One thinks of the word "homestead" primarily in the context of Laura Ingalls Wilder, so I was surprised at my closing yesterday to be given a document entitled "Declaration of Homestead." Along with a mere $35 to the Commonwealth, I have established that I own it and am possessed by it. I am sure most new homeowners will agree about the "possessed by" part!When I drove over for the first time as a homeowner, I will admit it was a bit intimidating. The house was dark; I don't know where the light switches are; and I wondered if a killer lurked within. I hoped the neighbors wouldn't call the police on me but figured burglars probably remove items, rather than bring them at 10 pm, and it is a very safe neighborhood. I left the headlights on so I would have light as I fumbled with the key. There were no killers inside (have I been reading too many thrillers?), only one intimidating centipede in the kitchen sink which I drowned. Don't tell my favorite professor, Gary Francione!

With the Big Red Dog

Suitable for a former Scholastic rep to pose with Clifford, the Big Red Dog . . .

Meeting Joan Aiken

In December of 1998, the Greater NY Betsy-Tacy Society (or representatives thereof) went to Books of Wonder where Joan Aiken (seated, center) signed books and chatted with fans. It was such a thrill to meet her, and as you can see, she graciously posed for a picture with the group. I think she was pleased to hear I was also a fan of sister, Jane Aiken Hodge.* I am so glad not only that I met Joan just a few years before she died but she encouraged me to write to Jane (more on that another day).

In this photo, left to right, front row: Laurie, JA, Elizabeth; left to right, back row: I am blanking on the woman on the left, then I, Linda, and Ilene. Joan signed several books for me including the only hardcover I had with me, below:

It took persistence but Books of Wonder has supported Betsy-Tacy, albeit never with the quantities I suggested (and, of course, I was their Scholastic/Penguin rep, not their Harper rep).

By the way, I am distressed that Houghton Mifflin does not appear to be reprinting Joan's books as needed. I had great difficulty obtaining a copy of The Cuckoo Tree, which I do not own, for my niece's birthday. Boo!

* I do not understand how a poet like Conrad Aiken could have had so little imagination as to name his daughters, Jane and Joan!  His son was John, which is practically the same name.

Universal Truths

I found this while I was packing. Apologies to the cartoonist: I must have cut off the signature.

B&N at Lincoln Center

Having spent many years working with Barnes & Noble, several of my closest friends are people who were or are employed there and my years in NYC are inextricably connected to it and them. Even if I didn't love books and worry about their future, I would be concerned about the tumult going on in the industry and at B&N in particular. But I wasn't prepared for the acute pang of distress I felt several days ago when I heard the Lincoln Center store will close in January.

It is a store I have spent a lot of time in, and where I have met many authors, including Philip Pullman. I was there the night it opened on Oct. 20, 1995 (with Karen Patterson, and I think our friend Helen), and I remember I saw one of my worst enemies coming up the escalator and hoped she wouldn't ruin my night (she left quickly, too cheap to buy anything). I found a faced out quantity of some classic book on tractors published by Motorbooks, and complained indignantly that whatever car book I had at that time was woefully underrepresented. That was when I learned that tractors are very popular in New York! I never figured that one out - could they all have been gag gifts?

It makes me very sad. Am I the only person up late and worrying about books?

Miss Manners

Dear Miss Manners:

What is the proper response to someone who asks, "What do you do every day? What do you do with your time?"

This is an unfortunate attempt to start a conversation, as it implies that the person being queried might be useless. Should you not be willing to overlook this, Miss Manners recommends, "I lie on the couch and read trashy novels and eat bonbons."

I love Miss Manners - like Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, she always knows!

I'd Know You Anywhere (review)

I was a fan of Laura Lippman even before I read her books. How can that be, you ask. She had written a delightful article for a Baltimore newspaper (which I saved but cannot find at the moment) some time around 1995, about her favorite children’s books, among which were the beloved Betsy-Tacy series. I had shared the article with the New York Chapter of the Betsy-Tacy Society. I was working at Avon Books at the time, and sitting in a monthly new title meeting when gifted editor Carrie Feron described a first mystery called Baltimore Blues. I recognized Laura’s name instantly and knew she must be the same person who had written the article because of the Baltimore connection. After the meeting, Carrie told me how much I would like Laura’s book and, as I tucked a manuscript under my arm, I persuaded Carrie, who had a toddler at the time, to read the first Betsy-Tacy book. It was my job to introduce Laura's books to Barnes & Noble. Baltimore Blues was the beginning of a great series, and my sister prefers the books about Tess Monaghan. I like Tess but also enjoy the bigger, standalone suspense that Laura has been writing most recently. I’d Know You Anywhere, Laura's brand new book, moves back and forth from the present, where Eliza is a competent mother of two, to 1985 when as a teen she was kidnapped by Walter Bowman. Now Walter is on death row for the death of another girl he kidnapped and when he contacts Eliza her carefully rebuilt world threatens to fall apart. This book has a has a different feel than other Lippman books because it is more of a psychological novel than an suspenseful thriller. It is primarily about Eliza’s recollections of the summer she spent with Walter, and at times one can’t help thinking she almost enjoyed the adventure despite her constant fear and obviously before the violent acts that ultimately result in Walter’s arrest. Eliza becomes haunted by the girls who did not escape from Walter and years later she cannot stop wondering why she alone survived. It is not just the serial killer in this novel who is unnerving: Lippman creates minor and major characters that are memorable and somewhat creepy. In particular, the mother of one of the murdered girls is heartbreaking. However, the intended suspenseful conclusion did not quite deliver.

I recommend I’d Know You Anywhere, which I read for the TLC Book Tour, but you should also go back to the Baltimore Blues and become acquainted with feisty Tess Monaghan. Here is a fun link to a Washington Post interview that my friend KC Summers did with Laura several years ago, exploring Baltimore. I also liked this link from Laura's website which describes some of Laura’s favorite children’s books (I love Edward Eager too and am glad my college remembers him with an annual creative writing prize). Laura usually mentions a kidlit favorite in her books, and here it is the Oz books.

Laura also wrote the introduction to the new 2-in-1 edition of Heaven to Betsy-Betsy in Spite of Herself. If you are an adult who has never read Betsy-Tacy, this is where you should start.  Late breaking news: congratulations to Laura - I'd Know You Anywhere debuts at #16 on the 8/27/10 New York Times list.

Anne Belinda by Patricia Wentworth (book review)

In 1917, John Waveney, recently released from the hospital and headed back to the trenches in France, goes to visit the part of England his ancestors came from. He encounters a girl of 15, and when she learns he is all alone in the world, she tells him she would be sorry if anything happened to him.

Somehow John survives the war, and some years later he learns he has inherited the ancestral home. Wondering about the girl he met long ago, he learns she is a cousin but is mysteriously missing: no one will mention her name and he is warned not to discuss her. Even her own twin sister refuses to do anything but sob when Anne Belinda is discussed. John feels a strange sense of loyalty to the one person who sent him off to war with a kind word, and he becomes determined to find out what kind of trouble she is in and find a way to assist her. Of course, once he meets her he falls in love with her courage and the humor she is nearly always able to maintain, despite great trials. Not the least part of Anne’s appeal is her determination not to be rescued.