Happy Easter!

How true, how true!

An Unexpected Gift

How nice to return from nearly a week in DC to find a present from my dear friend Karen Caswell!

The perfect thing for a book lover: a tote bag designed of famous first lines!   How many famous first lines do you know?  Try this quiz from Buzzfeed - it's hard: I only got 8 of 17!

How I Met Ray Bradbury

Back in May 1995, I was working for Avon Books (since purchased by the News Corporation and now part of Harper Collins) which was in the midst of launching a hardcover imprint with many noteworthy authors.  That year the annual booksellers’ convention was in Chicago and it was a fun few days meeting authors and booksellers from all over the country.  I also managed to attend the Bulls NBA Championship game, thanks to my brother-in-law.  Another evening Avon senior management (and I) took author Susan Elizabeth Phillips out to dinner at a fabulous Italian restaurant.   This was fun for me because I had read all her books and had been a big fan since Jennifer Enderlin gave me the manuscript of It Had to be You, the first in the Chicago Stars series (when she and I were both at NAL).  Susan was and is delightful.

The next night Ray Bradbury, who died earlier this month, was our guest of honor. For some reason, it was suggested that I as the sales manager for Barnes & Noble and Waldenbooks should sit next to this illustrious author. Although editors often relied on me, as an enthusiastic reader, not to let them down with authors, I am embarrassed to admit that I had never read any Ray Bradbury. I tried to explain this to my boss discreetly (not to mention that anyone in the group would have been honored to sit with Ray) but she was not someone who ever lost an argument. “Just don’t stop talking,” Debby admonished me, “I don’t want to see any awkward silences. Tell him what we are doing to sell his books.”

Ray was warm and very entertaining. He told us a couple stories, including one about a convention where an avid fan made so many trips back to his car for memorabilia for Ray to sign that other attendees were lingering just to see what this man had amassed over the years. He told us about his lifelong obsession with magicians. He also asked us lots of questions about the evolving book business. I took my instructions seriously and talked nonstop during dinner. Whenever I paused for a mouthful of food or something to drink, I could see my boss glaring at me from across the table. It was unclear if she objected to the topics or my occasional need for sustenance but I soldiered on until at last the nearly four hour dinner was over (I ate well at that job and it was a talkative group so meals were never speedy). As we made our adieus I (hoarse from my efforts) told Ray what an honor it had been to meet him and he twinkled at me and said, “Next time sit on the side with my good ear. I’m afraid I couldn’t really hear a word you said!”

Several years later, I saw that Ray had written a book for Morrow called Let’s All Kill Constance.  Startled, I asked his editor for a copy but there was no hidden message although Constance is running in fear from something she dares not acknowledge….  I wish I had met him again to get it autographed but it has a nice place of honor on my shelves next to Tolkien!

Going to the Great Library in the Sky

Two obituaries caught my eye this morning as I read my Boston Globe on the way to work because both women's love of books was highlighted:

Joanna Griscom spent years volunteering at the Cary Memorial Library in Lexington, MA (where my former author Cynthia Johnson is a librarian - I keep meaning to call her) among other activities. The library director was quoted in the article, describing Ms. Griscom as unsung hero for her work on the board of the library foundation.

Another obituary, for Candy Jenkins, a historical preservation professional and Smith alumna, stated that she was "[a] voracious reader. . . [she] had three library cards, for Belmont, a statewide network, and libraries on Cape Cod." Books "came in and out of [her home] in wheelbarrows."

It is comforting that the friends and family whose memories inspired these obituaries recognized how important books were to these women. I hope when it's my turn people can describe my books without mentioning messy piles on the floor (perhaps by then they will be shelved with beautiful Dewey Decimal precision).

Carriers of Civilization

Tonight I attended the 40th Anniversary celebration of David Godine Publishing, and David read a quote from historian Barbara Tuchman I really liked:

"Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill."

I have always been a big fan of Barbara Tuchman, who like me, majored in History and Literature at Radcliffe. Now I see she may have cribbed this quote from Henry David Thoreau, which is not proper historian behavior (although it is not unknown historian behavior)! Perhaps the quote was simply wrongly attributed to her.

"Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. I think that there is nothing, not even crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay, to life itself than this incessant business." Thoreau
(1817 - 1862)

Seriously, is anyone going to say her Kindle is a carrier of civilization?

B&N

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Literary London

Doesn't this article on literary London make you want to hurry to the airport and jump on the first plane? Although at first I thought she was going to tell me where to buy books, and I must admit I have had no difficulty finding such opportunities on any of my visits. As some of you know, on one trip to England I actually pilgrimaged to Hay-on-Wye, the book town in Wales. I was actually in the beautiful cathedral city of Hereford, right on the Wales border, the day Diana died, and learned of her death watching the BBC in a shabby B&B.

Christmas books

I try to give books for Christmas presents, and found something for nearly everyone in the family:

King of Lies by John Hart for my father, who also got the new Joseph Finder (I was amused that his comment was not, “Oh, New York Times bestseller whose other books I have read,” but “Oh, he spoke at the Harvard Club recently.” Well, maybe he hasn’t read Finder’s other books but I have, since back when a company I worked for published the Moscow Club. They are uneven but some are quite good (not sure about this one or the last one – they are probably misses).

Bess of Hardwick by Mary Lovell (author of the book about the Mitford sisters) for my mother, courtesy of my friend John. I read most of this before I wrapped it and really enjoyed it. I also gave her a paperback for her vacation, What Angels Fear.

Anastasia Krupnik for my niece Alexa, which it turned out she had already read. I had Ophie Out of Oz as a backup but hesitated. It is a cute little book about a girl who switches schools a lot and doesn't always make friends as fast as she would like. However, Alexa will be switching schools soon and I didn't want to precipitate any angst... So it is still in my apartment. I also began reading the nieces Skating Shoes and gave them one of my copies to bring home with them. Here is a picture of me with my nieces at Dillon Field House:

I gave The Princess and the Hound for my niece Victoria, which has a sort of Robin McKinley-esque element (she also received The Keeping Days from my sister-in-law, which I didn't realize Samantha had ever read). Harry the Dirty Dog for Nicholas, Goodnight Boston for Xavier, and several for the nephews in NYC whose books are still waiting to be sent. I decided Christopher was ready for Laura Ingalls Wilder, and James got The Happy Lion, recommended by Kelly.

I received City of Shadows, written by Diana Norman under a pseudonym, which I had been looking forward to for months. I also ordered for myself the new WEB Griffin and the new bio of Alice Roosevelt.

I forgot the most satisfying gift - I found the four books my brother in law was missing from his collection of Three Investigators! He has already begun reading book one, The Secret of Terror Castle to my nephew.