Litquake Does It Again

You all know how much I enjoy Litquake.  Well, it took place this past Sunday at the JCC in Palo Alto.  And it had its usual mix of big name authors, interesting salons/panel discussions, and meet and greets. Here are just a few pics of authors of interest.

Keith Raffel 

Joyce Maynard

Alina Sayre 

J. Kenji-Lopez Alt

Keith and Alina are RBC authors.  Kenji-Lopez Alt is a food scientist.  He's got an amazing cookbook.  And Joyce is a nationally prominent author who has written 8 fiction, 4 non-fiction, and has been part of 4 anthologies.  AND, her novel Labor Day is a movie from 2013 starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin.  BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, Joyce lives in the East Bay.  I spoke to her Sunday about the RBC.  She didn't make a commitment, BUT I know she will consider it.  It may come down to how many people I can commit to being there.  We may need to do an RSVP for that one.

In addition to these authors, I also met Linda Gray Sexton.  She has written several books, but the one I picked up is Searching for Mercy Street:  My Journey Back to My Mother. Some of you might remember that we had Katie Hafner for our book club.  Her book, Mother, Daughter, Me, was a memoir too.  But that was over a year and a half ago.  It might be time for another one.  I'll keep you posted. 

NOTE1:  Henry Winkler (The "Fonz") will be at Montclair Presbyterian church in Oakland, sponsored by A Great Good Place for Books.  He'll be there Friday, March 18, at 7:00.  In case you don't know, Winkler is ALSO a children's book author.

NOTE2:  And speaking of children's books, check this out.  Hicklebee's, a renowned children's book bookstore in Willow Glen, San Jose, will have an adult story time!  You may want to pop in.  It's Tuesday, March 29, at 7:00.  

Copyediting vs. Editing - Taylor Stevens Tells Us the Difference

Have you ever wondered what a copyeditor does?  How about an editor?  And what's the difference? This is something that I think a lot of us don't know.  Taylor Stevens, an author who has graced this blog in the past, clarifies these questions.  I've got the whole article below.

But I've got a couple of other things to tell you first.

1.  My buddy Steve sent me this link to Amazon's 1st brick-and-mortar bookstore.  It's in Seattle (not surprisingly, since that's where Amazon's headquarters are).  They just announced that they've picked San Diego for their 2nd location.  And they intend to open a bunch more across the country.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/12/business/media/a-virtual-trip-through-amazons-physical-store.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share

2.  I announced this on social media.  But let me announce it here.  About 4 years ago, I asked for, got, and posted guest blogs.  I want to do that again.  Whether you are officially connected to book world (blogger, author, editor, publisher, etc.) or not, I would welcome your input.  If you've got something to say about books (print, ebooks, audiobooks), let me have it.  And if you want to connect  with me, go ahead and send me an email at lloydrrussell@gmail.com.

3.  Here is Taylor Stevens on editing/copyediting:

A Report from the Author Trenches: Copyeditors One of the things we talked about way-back-when is the difference between editors and copy editors. A brief recap: when most people outside publishing say “editor” what they’re really referring to is a copyeditor—the person who cleans up a manuscript for grammar, typos and word usage, and does small fact checking. Editors are the guys and gals who acquire the manuscript for the publisher, guide the book through the production process, and work with the author on big picture details like plot, characters, pacing, and what’s working/ not working in the story. Editors don’t typically do much in the way of copyediting. I’ve mentioned before that not all copyeditors are created equal and how the good ones have caught some horrific bloopers and saved me from looking really stupid. An example of that kind of blooper was in THE INFORMATIONIST when I’d somehow mixed up all my latitudes and longitudes. Maybe most readers wouldn’t have noticed but it would have created credibility issues for those that did. Odds are pretty slim that the copyeditor spotted my mistakes just by looking at them, which means s/he double checked the details and that’s how the errors were caught. I’ve made mistakes throughout every book in this series, sometimes due to using outdated sources, sometimes just due to my own lack of attention to detail. I’ve gotten populations wrong and descriptions wrong, I’ve made mistakes when comparing one thing to the next, screwed up the way I referenced GDP and other statistical details, not to mention that every page I write is riddled with punctuation errors. Needless to say I need copyeditors and am grateful for them. But some copyeditors are smarter than others, and some take a lot more pride in checking the details than others do. I thought it might be fun to share a few of copyeditor bloopers. Now, to be fair, I must preface with this: copyediting is a pretty thankless job. Every book needs copyediting which makes copyeditors critical to the publication process, but copyeditors are mostly outsourced, which makes them necessary as whole and keeps them expendable and interchangeable as individuals and that’s really gotta suck. And, since their job is to point out all the things that are wrong, it’s not like anyone rejoices in getting their work. Copyeditors are the kind of like the dentists of the publishing world. What defines a “good” and “bad” copyeditor probably varies from author to author and book to book. And it’s possible, maybe, that a fantastic copyeditor for one person has a bad day for the next. It’s all relative. I’m not bashing anyone here—that’s the point I’m trying to make. Personally, I have two copyediting gripes—only two—and if a copyeditor manages to avoid both of them, that copyeditor is AWESOME in my esteem and I will request to have him or her again if in any way the publisher can make that happen. If the copyeditor manages to avoid at least one of these gripes, I still consider it a decent experience. But hit them both and I will be giving side-eye glares and thinking less than generous thoughts. My first gripe is ignorance/ unawareness when amplified by slothfulness. A lot can be told about the quality of the work by the specific things the copyeditor queries the author on, and what the copyeditor lets slip through without querying or checking. Here’s an example from an original (not copyedited) text: “[Logan] stepped back to cover the clerk while Gideon zip tied the man’s hands behind his back.” The copyeditor highlighted “zip ties” and noted, “not sure what this is.” So the copyeditor didn’t know what a zip tie was. That’s a little unusual seeing how zip ties are used for so many things that it would be nearly impossible to have lived a college-educated life in the United States without ever having come across one, but okay, no biggie, moving right along, right? Actually, this is kind of a quality-related issue because the same person who didn’t know what a zip tie was is the person whose job it is to make sure that words are used correctly in context *but they didn’t bother to look up and/or Google the unfamiliar*. (Sadly, this happened a number of times in the same manuscript.) “I don’t understand what this means” and all its variants is a very important query, but its best used when the copyeditor finds a sentence, paragraph, or scene to be unclear. Unfamiliar terms really should be looked up, in the same way other details are looked up, to make sure they are being used correctly. It’s been my experience that when a copyeditor queries on the easy stuff without double checking, bigger things tend to get missed entirely—possibly because they’re so focused on the little stuff they are oblivious to what matters most (but I honestly don’t know why it is). I’ve only twice experienced blatant errors escaping the copyedit process and both times it came at the hands of those who focused on the “zip ties” of the manuscript. Thankfully, in these instances the big mistakes were caught by someone else before they went to print. Here is my all-time favorite example of that first copyediting gripe: The original (non-copyedited) text said: “They settled again into small talk, then gradually into silence as Logan, lulled by the peace of her presence, the rhythm of the wheels against the tracks, and fighting three days awake, drifted into the oblivion of sleep.” The copyeditor wrote: “Is this an old fashion train? Trains these days don’t have wheels.” Let us pause a moment for reflection. And then maybe do a brief search through Google images? My second copyediting gripe is when the copyeditor is tone deaf and so grammatically correct that s/he destroys all cadence and author style by inserting every he, it, that, was, she, and were that had been deliberately omitted from the text. Gratefully, I have only experienced this twice. Not surprisingly, this too was at the hands of the “zip tie” copyeditors. Salt in this wound is when the copyeditor insertions are (carelessly?) placed between the wrong two words. As I said above, copyediting is a mostly thankless job and even though it’s easy to roll eyes and poke fingers at the less than stellar copyediting experiences, the truth is they still put a

Rare Mettle -Ann Bridges' sequel to Private Offerings

As is often the case, I want to start this review with a blurb from the back cover of the book:

Rare Mettle is Ann Bridges' sequel to debut Silicon Valley novel Private Offerings (B7, 2015), and presents a no-holds barred depiction of a modern-day reality:  America's reliance on China's processing of a core ingredient for high-tech devices and state-of-the-art military weaponry.  When the supply of rare earth is deliberately halted, economic chaos ensues, igniting a race to take back control, led by a monumental collaboration of unlikely partners-high-tech innovators and covert government agents-the only parties who realize the lethal potential of this new world order.

But here's where I depart from my normal review pattern.  I want to quote Ann's AUTHOR'S NOTE at the end of the book.  Although it has one small spoiler alert, it will not affect your reading/enjoyment of the book.  Ann says:

In 2010, China did indeed threaten Japan with its lock on purified rare metals, in retaliation for a territorial dispute, later resolved.  In the meantime, commodity prices for various rare earth elements shot up in the worldwide marketplace.  While American politicians discussed the implications on our economy long-term and ordered the Pentagon to come up with solutions, they failed to make any policy changes.  And Silicon Valley companies, while concerned, continue their dependence on these purified minerals, with no better alternative.

Once again, Ann has given us a book with her unique knowledge of world affairs as they relate to both Silicon Valley and Washington D.C.  How often do we get to read an insider's viewpoint while still being entertained?  Barry Eisler did it recently with The God's Eye View. But, still, it doesn't happen very often.

Did you guys see the movie The Big Short?  If you did, then you all know that you had to pay close attention to what was happening in order to understand it.  The same is true with Rare Mettle.  It's not confusing or dense.  But you need to stay somewhat focused in order to fully appreciate what is happening in the rare metal world.  And that's a good thing.  It's no fun to feel like a book (movie, TV show, lecture, et al) has been "dumbed down."  Better that we should follow along and learn something.  Well, if you do that here, you will learn a lot.  I guarantee that.

There are some passages in the book that really resonated with me.  Here's one of my favorites:

"...War has always been a violent tilt towards a new economic equilibrium.  What we're experiencing today is a radical evolution instead, and the Pentagon's career bureaucrats are unwilling to accept this new reality.  It's just like boiling frogs-raise the heat slowly, and they never realize the danger they're in until they're too lethargic to jump free."

And how about this one:

"Paul swallowed back the guilty acid that bubbled like a science experiment in his belly."

Did you feel that?

And, of course, I can't get through a review without bringing in some personal elements:

1.  The Peter Principle was mentioned.  Of course that was a popular saying quite a few years ago.  I hadn't heard it in a while.  If you don't know what it is, look it up.  It's a pretty right-on expression.
2.  There is a reference to a taiko drum.  I had never heard of that until about 4 months ago. It turns out that a new friend of mine plays one.  I got to see her and her group play live in a concert.  It's very cool.
3.  One of the ancillary characters in the book is Gideon Weinberg.  One of my mom's sisters married a Weinberg.  I still have a male cousin with that last name.  It's just not a name you see very often.

If you want to learn about this very real worldwide issue from someone who knows what she's talking about, then Rare Mettle is for you.

P.S.  How great is the title?  Very clever, don't you think?

Announcements of Upcoming Events

There will be little discourse, snark, or humor in this email.  It is a cut and dried list of upcoming events that I think you will want know about (or be reminded of).  Here we go:

1.    Harlan Coben will be at Book Passage in Corte Madera on Friday night, March 25, at 7:00.  We will be going even though it's about a 2-hour drive there with Friday night traffic. I've already seen him on 3 other occasions, but I will NOT miss Harlan.  He's like a stand-up comic besides being one heckuva author.  And this is his only NorCal appearance.

2.    John Hart is also coming to Book Passage.  He will be there on Saturday afternoon, June 4, at 1:00.  I have never seen him, and I am a huge fan.  His 3rd and 4th books - The Last Child and Iron House - are both 4/4 for me and sit proudly on my rec table.  I am really excited to see him!  (He will also be at Copperfields in Santa Rosa on Friday night, the 3rd.)

3.   This Sunday, Litquake is happening at the JCC in Palo Alto, from 3:00-8:00.  As usual, there will be a bunch of big-name authors.  Here are just a few - Joyce Carol Oates (the keynoter), Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket), and Joyce Maynard.  At the end of the event, there will be a social hour where we plebes get to meet and mix with the authors.  It's a very cool event.

4.    This is a good time to tell you about our scheduled RBC authors.  We're currently booked through June.  Here's the lineup:

Tuesday, March 29 - Cara Black, Murder on the Champ de Mars
Thursday, April 28 - Vanessa Diffenbaugh, The Language of Flowers (in my top 12 all-time!)
Wednesday, May 25 - Marina Adair, A Taste of Sugar
Wednesday, June 29 - Paulette Boudreaux, Mulberry

5.    We've also got 3 Sunday morning book signings lined up too.  The authors come from about 9:15-12:15 during the Farmer's Market.  Here they are:

May 1 - Paulette Boudreaux
May 22 - Betty Auchard
June 26 - Ruchi Rai

ONE NON-LITERARY NOTE:  Do you guys know about Cinequest?  USA Today readers picked this movie festival as the best in the country.  It goes from March 1-March 13.  There are tons of movies and a lot of post-movie visits from directors, producers, actors, etc.  Joni and I will be seeing at least 2 movies (maybe 3) this coming Saturday.  Can't wait!

A Conscious Peace, My iPhone Journal, by Ruchi Rai - a very unique book

Local author, Ruchi Rai, has written a very interesting memoir.  Here is the back-of-the-book blurb:

Ruchi's life was unfolding exactly as she might have planned it when she was a young girl. A respected teacher at a prestigious school, she had a successful, supportive husband, an outstanding thirteen-year-old son, and a dear little puppy who all loved her more than anything.
And then Fate intervened.  A careless driver cut across her and set off an avalanche of life changes that threatened to disrupt all of life as she knew it.
As she struggled to come back from the chaos Fate had dealt her, she faced the most difficult choice of her life:  give in to the bleak circumstances she found herself in, or stand up to Fate and fight back.

This is a very interesting book on a number of different levels.

First, I don't know if any book has ever come from an iPhone journal.  That is really unique.

Second, A Conscious Peace mostly looks at the ramifications of a very serious car accident.  Something that this book made me realize is that a severe accident can have effects similar to PTSD.  I had always associated that disorder exclusively with soldiers in combat.

Third, let me quote what Ruchi entered on her iPhone Tuesday, October 21, 2014 12:44 PM:  "There's nothing like looking at what life has meted out to another to change our frame of reference, to make us thankful for what we have, to be happy...."  My father-in-law, Irv, used to always say that if everybody sat in a big circle; and we all put our troubles in the middle of that circle; we would pull our own troubles back.  I guess he and Ruchi are in agreement on that one.

It took courage for Ruchi to expose herself to all of us like she does in this book.  She has given us at-that-moment feelings and thoughts.  She is to be commended for this.  She had the option to keep this journal to herself.  I daresay that most of us would have done exactly that.  Ruchi, you have made us feel just a very small part of what you had to go through. Your title page for section II (page 89) is CHOOSING TO BE FREE.  I think that sums up your attitude.  Bravo.

Some Very Short Reviews

I have a number of books lately that just haven't done anything for me.  One is a 2.25, one a 2.5, and one a 2.75.  And even the 2.75 I didn't really enjoy.  So I'm going to give you a sentence or two about each book, along with a picture of the book cover and the artist. That's it.

1.  Back on February 13, 2011 (less than a month after my very 1st blog post), I wrote a blog about B-Listers.  These are authors who always write readable, enjoyable books that rate somewhere between a 2.5-3.0.  Occasionally one will step up to 3.25.  One of those authors on that list is Phillip Margolin.  In this case, his latest, Violent Crimes, is on the weaker end of his voluminous play list of 20 books.  It's his 6th book about Amanda Jaffe, a veteran lawyer in Portland, OR (where most of his books take place, since that's where he lives and where he practices criminal law).  It was just okay.  2.5

2.  The Arrangement, by Ashley Warlick, is our March Books, Inc. (Palo Alto) 4th Tuesday Evening Book Club selection.  I was very excited when Margie assigned this book to us at the end of our last meeting (Feb. 23) because it's about MFK Fisher.  Even though I didn't know who that was, she evidently was a very famous food critic back in the 30s and onward (she passed away in 1992).  Unfortunately, by the time I finished the book I realized that my hopes had been dashed.  The book only talks about her writing in conjunction with the story about her husbands (yes, it's plural, but, no, it's not polygamy).  No offense, but shouldn't a book about a world-famous food critic talk about her food-critiquing?  2.25

3.  Earlier this week I blogged about seeing Emmi Itaranta at the Los Gatos Library last Saturday.  And I told you that I learned a lot about her and found her to be very interesting. But her book, Memory of Water, didn't really do it for me.  I've already told you that I gave it a 2.75/4.  It's a dystopian novel that takes place about 400-500 years (per the author) from now.  It's all about a severe world-wide shortage of water.  I gave it a 2.75 because it's well-written.  Otherwise, it would have been a 2.5.  And let me also remind you that I know quite a few people who really liked it (including Stacy at Recycle Books).  You are forewarned and forearmed.

I am hopeful that my next review(s) will be a bit more positive than these 3!

Looking for a Kiss - by Kate Walter

I'm going to start this review by quoting the back of the book:

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET OVER HEARTACHE?  In her debut memoir, Kate Walter-journalist, teacher, and chronicler of Greenwich Village life-explores her recovery from the sudden breakup of her long lesbian relationship.  With brave and revealing details, Walter confesses her grief and rage and questions her past choices.  Seeking answers and spiritual solace, she joins a gay-positive church, visits psychics, throws herself into yoga and chanting, and starts dating again at 60.  Like the urban landscape that serves as her backdrop, Walter's fast-paced dialogue has a raspy realness and soulful edge.  She describes loneliness and longing with humorous and poetic prose.  Readers are invited to share her journey to a more conscious life-or at least a hot kiss.

Let me 1st say that as a card-carrying heterosexual (never mind that I once cried during a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode - or that I am a huge Broadway musical fan - or that I am the final decision-maker on Joni's outfits - or that The Bachelor/Bachelorette is one of my favorite shows - or...well, you get the idea), I wouldn't automatically pick Looking for a Kiss. But I connected with Kate on Twitter and LinkedIn and told her I would be happy to read her book.  And I'm definitely glad I did.  This is a very good, very well-written book.  And you can talk about gay or straight, but here is a universal truth:  Finding love at 60 is tough.

There were quite a few things about Looking for a Kiss that I liked:

1.  The roughly 5-year period that Kate chronicles is well-spaced.  It's neither rushed not too drawn out.
2.  Kate gives us plain talk - dykes and queers and lipstick lesbians and beards. (I already knew this last term because a friend of Lauren's works for a movie studio.  A beard is a companion/mate of the opposite sex who is designed to make the world think that a person is straight, even though he or she isn't.)
3.  Kate regularly sees both a therapist and a psychic.  It was fun to see what each had to say.  Most of the time, they were in sync.  There's even one situation where Kate goes to a speed shrinking session. This is like speed dating, only with therapists.
4.  I enjoyed reading about how Kate got involved with the spiritual world.  She went to a conference hosted by Sonia Choquette.  And embraced the Law of Attraction.  Since Joni is a Reiki master, I understand the benefits of connecting with your spiritual side.
5.  I liked learning about the Middle Collegiate Church in the East Village.  Their motto is "Welcoming, Artistic, Inclusive, Bold."  The reverend, Dr. Jacqui Lewis, is very cool.
6.  I definitely liked learning how a lesbian goes about meeting other lesbians.  Many of the "mixers" are the same for gays and straights.  But since I've been with Joni for nearly 50 years, any memoir talking about "mixers" and "meet-ups" would hold the same fascination for me.
7.  And, of course, there were a few mentions that I could personally relate to; such as High Line Park in New York City, which we've been on twice while visiting Lauren and Joe; and Jersey Boys, which we saw in San Francisco; and East West Books, which we also have in Mt. View.  

Memoirs are inherently interesting, almost regardless of the subject matter.  And this one is no exception.  Kate does a very good job of telling her story and making us feel the journey she went on.  Since the book ends in 2010, maybe we'll get a sequel that gives us an update.  I'll look forward to that.