Several authors for whom we'll be hosting events have popped up in the press these past few days.
You've probably seen the Janet Maslin review of James Frey's Bright Shiny Morning. I'm happy to report that Bright Shiny Morning is a much better read than Ms. Maslin's review. James Frey will be at the Whisky A-Go Go Thursday night at 7:30, along with metal band Black Tide and author Josh Kilmer-Purcell. Vroman's and Book Soup will be selling Frey's newest novel. Come check it out. (You may also want to check back here for some special Frey-related content. Hint hint.)
The new episode of Titlepage is up. It doesn't feature any authors with upcoming events at Vroman's, but one of the panelists is Nam Le, who I had the pleasure of knowing when I lived in Iowa City (and who is one hell of a card player). While checking out the episode, I was psyched to see that Daniel Menaker, host of Titlepage, recommends The Drunkard's Walk, by Leonard Mlodinow, who will be at Vroman's on Wednesday, June 11 at 7 pm. This book looks fascinating, as it examines chance, probability, and the role of luck in life. Check it out.
On odd Q&A that results from writing a memoir: "One gentleman asked if my mother had “jungle fever” and whether I’d be angry if my biological father (whom I know nothing about) were black."
Doing a little research for some upcoming events, I came across a trailer for Willy Vlautin's new book Northline. It's another good one:
It's simple, really well photographed, and it gives you a perfect impression of the book's mood and atmosphere. To be fair, Vlautin has an advantage, since that's his music in the background (He's in the band Richmond Fontaine). Still, it's another example of a simple, cheap (I'm guessing) and effective trailer.
Book trailers are a source of fascination right now in both the publishing industry and the blogging world. Publishers like them because they're internet-friendly marketing devices for books, which were previously pretty tough to represent online. Bloggers like trailers, I think, because they give them some moving pictures and sound to jazz up their otherwise fairly static, text-heavy sites. And, occasionally, something to mock.
Most often, the book trailer acts as a platform for the author to talk about the book in a straightforward, interview style. This is by far the most common type of book trailer, and, I think, the least effective. Trailers of this style fail for a number of reason, not the least of which are unintentionally humorous background scores or unwanted secondary "messages." Take this trailer for Tom Rob Smith's new thriller Child 44, which is a favorite new book of many here at Vroman's, but which got a merely okay review from Janet Maslin in the New York Times today (I'm having some trouble embedding this video, so if it doesn't appear follow this link to watch it):
The author sits in his apartment with a drab yet beautiful view of some European city and more or less tells you what the book is about. Okay, except that what he's saying isn't as interesting to me as his apartment (which probably says something about me?). Sweet digs! This video plays like porn for aspiring authors: Work hard on your novel, and someday people will watch a video of you as you sit in your shabby-chic leather chair in your minimalist apartment and intone meaningfully about your atmospheric thriller. Since I imagine all novelists spend two hours each day writing and four hours imagining themselves on Charlie Rose, I suspect that authors secretly like this kind of book trailer quite a bit (although, when asked on Charlie Rose, they'll say it's just part of the business, and that they're not really into the whole "branding thing").
A more successful strategy is to make a sort of clever short film out the trailer. The gold standard for this sort of trailer is the fingers-as-legs short film promoting Sloane Crosley'sI Was Told There'd Be Cake:
Clever, right? It says something about the book in a memorable way, and yet doesn't have a single talking head. Talking heads are boring, no matter how interesting or attractive they are. [I have to stop here for a second and go on my Sloane Crosley rant. About two weeks ago, every single publishing industry-centric blog ran like twenty stories about Sloane Crosley, talking about how she was everywhere and wasn't it amazing and how would she deal with the backlash...What I gathered from these posts, whether it was intended or not, is that a lot of bloggers think Sloane Crosley is really cute. Was that the primary message of those posts? No, but it was definitely there. I'm not saying any of this to be critical of Sloane Crosley, who is, let's face it, cute, and whose book seems funny, and who is obviously, judging from her book trailer and her dioramas, way more creative than the average bear. But enough already, bloggers! Show a little dignity. I mean Tom Rob Smith is kind of dreamy in a Hugh Laurie-meets-Chris Martin kind of way, but you don't see people sending him virtual teddy bears on Facebook now, do you? And if I see one more post that starts with "I Was Told There'd Be [A Launch Party, A Blog Post, An Interview]," I will go on a three state killing spree (or curse silently at my desk, whichever is more convenient at the time). Okay, that felt good. Back to the post.] Is it a coincidence that Sloane Crosley is a publicist and that her book trailer is a little more savvy than the others? I think not.
So when your publicist wants you to sit down for an interview for the book trailer, and you're in a conference room at Simon and Schuster with a bottle of Volvic water and there's a big poster of your book behind you, rather than thank god you wore your tweed jacket, think of the fingers. If your people insist on the talking head format, maybe you can demand that you appear shrouded in shadow, like a corporate whistle-blower, or that you be animated, Waking Life style. That might be fun. Anyway, I'm curious to hear from others what book trailers they like and why?
Who else read Eric Schlosser'sOp-Ed piece about corporate spying in the NY Times today and felt like, I don't know, never eating at Burger King again? As if anyone needed further incentive to avoid the King's "food," he apparently sent his minions to infiltrate non-profit groups who were trying to improve labor conditions for migrant farm workers in Florida. Well, not the King himself. I'm sure that dude with the big head in those creepy commercials is totally cool, but the guy who signs his checks? Not so much.
And while you're at that farmer's market, if you choose to buy only veggies, that doesn't make you weird or some kind of insufferable food elitist, it just means you don't eat meat.
There's a really fascinating back and forth happening at the Millions these past few days. It started when someone asked for some book recommendations, and it's morphed into a discussion of taste as it relates to reading lists. People take a long time deciding what to read, much longer than they typically take deciding which movie to see, where to eat dinner, or whether or not to watch The Hills (to watch, definitely). Some of this is natural, since it takes a good deal longer to read a book than watch a movie, eat a meal, or to watch a TV show. But that's not the only reason. Books are a signifier for being smart, and certain books are a flag, a symbol that the reader is of a certain sect. Toting around Infinite Jest, as I saw one young woman doing during the blast furnace heat of the LA Times Festival of Books, says something very clear about what that person hopes to accomplish. It says that reading isn't mere leisure. I think this becomes ingrained in us very early on, when we are made to read certain books for school. Reading at all becomes associated with knowledge, and certain books get a stamp of approval while others don't.
But how many of us construct our reading lists solely along high-brow or low-brow divides? I don't think I do. I've read Gravity's Rainbow and Europe Central (I even liked Europe Central), and I'm a regular watcher of The Hills (Do not get me started on Justin Bobby's new look!). I would rehash my entire reading list since the new year, but as I moonlight as a book critic and often read books I wouldn't choose, I don't think that'd be very enlightening. Rather, I'll ask the question of you: when reading, do you tend to choose books you know will challenge you or do you look for a great story? Are you reading with a knowledge of literary theory or is it a more passive act? Do you read Michael Connelly and also Junot Diaz? Let me know. I'm the curious type.
The NBCC "Good Reads" list for spring is out, and, not surprisingly, people are up in arms. The comments on the NBCC's Critical Mass blog run the gamut from supportive to vitriolic (and really self-righteous). We all know I've been critical of these lists in the past, so I'm sure you're all waiting to hear what I think of the lists (I imagine everyone in the NBCC offices huddled around their computer waiting for the Google Alert to come up), so let's get to it.
The Fiction List features a few "usual suspects," such as Lush Life by Richard Price and Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri, but I was pleased to see the list branching out a little bit. It sent me off in search of a few books I hadn't heard of (including Brian Hall's Fall of Frost and Roxanna Robinson's Cost), and considering I work in an independent bookstore, that's got to be a good sign.
The Non-Fiction List offers fewer surprises, but I think still represents a great selection of books on a variety of topics. There's a memoir, a work of criticism, and a few histories thrown in, as well.
Are these lists perfect? No, of course not, but I would say they show an improvement from the previous efforts, which championed the same three books at the top of consecutive lists. I suppose we'll have to see if the summer list is the same as this one before pronouncing the process fixed, but this is definitely a step forward, regardless of what a few of the commentators think.
Okay, folks. Have at it! If you want two free tickets to Mamma Mia! at the Pasadena Civic on May 7 (that's this coming Wednesday), please post your email in the comments area. Drawing will be open all weekend. We'll choose a winner Monday morning. Good luck!
Vroman's Bookstore was founded in 1894 and is Southern California's oldest & largest independent bookstore. This is our blog of literary issues, events, and happenings.
Apparently Barbara Walters has a new book out. Nobody told me. (She'll be at Vroman's to sign Audition: A Memoir on Wednesday, May 14 at 7 pm. Check out our website for a complete rundown of the event's guidelines).
