Category Archives: Book Column

Book Column, Book Talk

Stephen King’s Money (kind of)

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One of my favorite new-to-me blogs is Emily Schultz’s Spending the Stephen King Money, where she is journaling what she buys with the money she makes every time a Stephen King fan accidentally buys her book.  You see Schultz’s book Joyland came out almost 9 years ago and in 2013 Stephen King released a book titled Joyland as well.

Emily_Schultz_Joyland_cover

King’s book is not available in eBook, but anxious Stephen King fans searched online stores and clicked on the first Joyland title they saw… which was Schultz’s. Whether it was their error or not, a disappointed rabid fan is an irate rabid fan. So after weathering the trolls Schultz decided to have fun with it all and air everything she does with the money she makes. Plus, she weighs in trying to figure out if Stephen would like the purchase.

So check out what Emily Schultz is buying. It is shaping up like she will be having a really fun time with it. It’s just one of those things that reminds us how quirky, weird and fun the book world is.

Book Column, Book Talk

New Jane Austen Scrap Discovered

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Go ahead and list this discovery in the “could never happen with an ebook” column. Earlier this week the Jane Austen museum purchased a book about Austen that was written by her nephew. Inside the book they found a five inch by one inch piece of paper with writing on it.

Scribbled on the scrap, in Jane Austen’s handwriting, is the following:

“Men may get into a habit of repeating the words of our Prayers by rote, perhaps without thoroughly understanding – certainly without thoroughly feeling their full force & meaning,”

jane austen mansfield parkWhat is so neat about this, is the insight it could possibly give to how the thoughts and development behind now-classic book Mansfield Park came about.

Jane Austen experts say:

  • the scrap was written in 1814, which is the same time Mansfield Park was released
  • the words seem to be from a sermon Jane Austen’s brother was preparing.

So they are not her words, but they certainly echo much of her thinking put forth in her book. So did the whole Austen family feel this way too? How heavily was Jane Austen’s book influenced by her brother? Or (was it the other way around) how heavily did Jane Austen influence her brother’s sermons? Or was Jane writing a note in church and got caught? (Just kidding… I’m no Austen scholar.)

Book Column, Book Reviews

Judge a Book by Its Lover – Book Review

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Lauren Leto’s book Judge a Book By Its Lover is one of the fastest reads I’ve read this year… And it’s all about books.

juding-a-book-by-its-lover

The book feels like it’s collected from a bunch of blog posts, which it may be I haven’t checked. The first half of the book focuses on the “social” part of books and reading. Lots of pieces in the vein of “how to pick someone in a bookshop” kind of thing or “what you’re reading says about you”.

It felt like it was aimed at female readers and I was close to putting it down and giving it a 2-star review, but I stuck it out and am glad I did.
Once I hit the single largest section of the book “How To Fake Reading An Author” the book really got good. Leto is very well read and funny as well.

That section alone of How to Judge a Book By Its Lover was worth my time with the book. It was crammed with smart conversational observations about well-known authors and their works. And then I got to the essay about leto’s family and her grandmother. It was fantastic. (Ms. Leto, if by chance the Google long-tail-search-algorithmic-gods every bring you to this site, my choppy review can be summed up simply – more like this essay please. I’d buy that.)

I’m recommending this book to my female friends who like books and reading. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Authors, Book Column, Book Talk, Events

Four Southern Book Festivals

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If you live in the South then you know the value of sweet tea and front porches. It’s those values that the following four book festivals, no matter how big or small they are, has in spades. Plus, you get to meet authors, listen to readings, buy books, and get your books signed. Did I mention there are books there? Check out what these four Southern book festivals have to offer in 2014:

Alabama Book FestivalAlabama Book Festival  Saturday, April 19, 2014 – for its 9th year, it will be held in Montgomery, AL’s, beautiful Old Alabama Town . It’s a wonderful venue, with walking paths between period buildings filled with authors giving talks and books to be bought. The Alabama Book Festival also has a great Children’s area with costumed characters and free books for kids. All those front porches in Old Alabama Town also mean that you never have to fear the rain as there’s always a place to gain cover.

Decatur Book FestivalDecatur Book Festival August 29th – August 31st, 2014 – this is a pretty large event, in Decatur, GA, and worth making the trip, if you don’t mind crowds. They have yet to publish a schedule or list of authors who will be attending, but they always have a list of big names that are fun to see (and have sign copies of your books!).

Southern Festival of BooksSouthern Festival of Books October 10th – October 12th, 2014 – this is another big event, in Nashville, TN. They always have 250+ authors, plus the added bonus of hosting a special venue for readings, literary performances and music (hey, it’s Nashville). I’ve heard that the hotel rooms are already all booked up. But they’re also planning an Authors in the Round Dinner, where you can buy a ticket to eat and chat with 40 visiting authors. That sounds kind of neat.

Mid-South Book FestivalMid-South Book Festival September 27th, 2014 – this one is a bit of a dark horse… a start up… a black swan, maybe? Held in Memphis, TN, this will be the inaugural year for Literacy Mid-South’s new book festival.  I don’t know what to expect, but I’m excited, because the folks organizing sure seem excited. It’s 2014, everyone should be in start-up mode, right!? I can’t wait to see what these folks put together to promote books and a life-long love of reading.