Thoughts on writing, living, and believing…
Not about publishing, but about reading. To be fair, this isn’t so much of a dissent as it is a caution.
Albert Einstein was, by all accounts, a voracious reader. And not just mathematics and physics, but also philosophy, theology, biology, the Bible, and other subjects.
[Side note: as a Jew, he was very impressed with Jesus, but we’ll save that one for another day.]
Anyway, I heard this quote yesterday:
What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.
~ J.D. Salinger : Catcher in the Rye (1951)
Do you feel like that when you’ve just read a good book? And by “good book”, I 
mean one you really enjoyed. It doesn’t have to be great prose, it just has to say something to you. It has to challenge you, or tickle you, or even just keep you company. You know it when you read it.
I once had a conversation with a friend about what makes good beach reading. My friend asserted that the best book in that situation is one that’s a little fluffy, one that doesn’t make you think too much. A book you can pick up and put down as you please. I get that, but I prefer a meaty book in that scenario. On the beach, you presumably have the free time to engage your mind without worrying about a thousand other things. But never mind, it’s all personal preference.
I think that the author who writes about what speaks to him or her personally, whether it be what fascinates, delights, or challenges, is an author that will have many unknown friends.
I’m stealing this from Ace. When life is hard and uncertainty about the future gets you down, there is one man whose mere voice can make it all seem okay. Especially when you throw in baby animals!
Some day I need to tell you about Bob, but we’ll save that for another stressful day…
The following is an email I received on this morning’s post, The “Published” Author. Since it’s really too long for a comment, I asked permission to post it. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Some content has been redacted for the author’s privacy:
Since the candidates are hard at work cramming for the debate this evening, I thought it would be a good idea if we did a little debate prep of our own. So without further ado…
There were some interesting questions at the last book signing. One person asked if being from Chicago—nobody knows where Naperville is—and having my novel set in Chicago, meant that I intended for the book to speak to the rising tide of violence in the city and if so, how?
Wonderful question! I gave as good an answer as I could given the time constraints, but the short version is, “No, but…” and “Read the book” respectively.
After being humiliated in prime time the last three Saturdays, it was good to have one of my teams show up in a meaningful game before a national audience. Last night’s thumping of the hated Cowpokes, made me feel a little better…for now. You see, I used to be a rabid, unhinged football (and basketball) fan, especially on Saturdays…
Hey! Stop laughing!
Hey everybody!
My next appearance will be at the Joliet Public Library Author Fair. This year the fair will be at the Black Road Branch, Saturday October 13 from 11 am to 3 pm. Check the link for details.
This will be your chance to meet a bunch of Chicago-area authors eager to talk about their books with you. Of course, you’ll be able to buy books and have them signed too! So if you’re in the neighborhood, c’mon over! I’ll be at the Barnes & Noble table so stop and say hi.
And since some of you have asked, yes, I’ll be doing another online book signing in the near future. For those of you who couldn’t make the last one, it was quite an event! Stay tuned for more details…