Brain Bleach About Books Not The Election Even Though I Am Very Scared
Or, Coming Home to Books.
In college, I got interviewed for an internship at Yale University Press. No, I did NOT go to Yale. I did live in New Haven, though. I went to the inexpensive state school on the other side of town, and it was the BEST EXPERIENCE.
It was one of the most comfortable interviews of my life. The women who interviewed me were so kind and relaxed. They complimented my cover letter in which I wrote, “I can unjam a copier with patience and finesse.” They liked my cover letter because it was amusing, and also because, they said, it seemed like I had an actual grasp of what being an intern at a Publisher would be like.
They told me, by way of contrast, that other applicants seemed to believe they’d be lunching authors and going to conferences. They referenced a different cover letter where an applicant wrote, “My love of books is carnal.”
Ultimately, I didn’t get the internship, and I wasn’t mad about it.
Anyway. I have allllways loved books. I love to be inside book stores and libraries. I love to read books and touch them and smell them. I have still not adopted the life of an e-reader reader because I am so fond of holding physical copies. I do love audio books, though.
I am comforted by the presence of books—I own a lot of books.
And I have been a very lackluster reader these last several-many years. Really since I became a mom. The first few years it was about being in Baby Jail. Then after that it was about having TV in my life again and a partner who liked to watch stuff together.
TV Ruins Brains. But I love it anyway. 15-year-old April would be SO disappointed.
I read a good amount during grad school, but then fell off the wagon again after that, despite joining book clubs and buying many books I have not read (and a few I have).
And while I am not a terribly superstitious person, it seems like the universe is bringing me back to my bookish and writerly roots. The following things have happened.
I was shopping at Otto Book Store, the nation’s oldest independent book store, and they have a new manager, a colleague who has worked in publishing, specifically in graphic novels and comics, and he brought me this tote that says, “WILL WORK FOR BOOKS,” and i laughed, and he handed it to me, and then, he offers me to check out the ARCs for the purpose of doing reviews for the book store’s website.
ARCs, in case you don’t know, are Advance Reader Copies (or Advance Reading Copies) of books that *will be* published soon. They are sent around to book stores and newspapers that publish book reviews and similar.
I have recently gotten work with a publishing house for whom I used to proofread and copy edit romance novels. I think I intentionally *stopped* taking those jobs. But the other week—remember when I was freaking out about money?—they were like, “hey we have this project, wanna help?”
If you are curious about freelance editing work, join one of the many excellent groups for freelance editing on the social media. Most publishing houses have a process on their websites if you wanna freelance. It’s a matter of writing an email and usually passing an editing test.
I got an email that one of my favorite authors is putting out a new book in March, and I was SO EXCITED that I could probably score an advance copy of it and write a review! AHHH!
I’ve been writing with intention again, and you folks are encouraging me by continuing to read these posts, and continuing to subscribe. So thank you. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for this community and all of your support.
I love being bookish. I love being a person who reads and talks about books and ideas. I love writing. Obviously.
I can’t help but have a little hope, even as life as I know it may end in a few days.
So, Loves, stay the course. Be hopeful. Tell everyone you know to go vote for Harris/Walz on Tuesday.
I’ll see you next week, after we’ve elected our first woman president.
If you’re interested in reading book reviews, which I’ll also be posting here around or on the date the book gets published, please subscribe! If you choose a paid subscription, you give me the gift of time to read and write more, but I love all subscribers, regardless.
Of course, if you want to say your favorite book, discuss your relationship with reading, or recommend your favorite author to me and anybody else who reads this, don’t be shy! I love to hear from you.
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Senior editor Boris Kachka offered this advice to readers of The Atlantic today...
"If I were to assign one book to every American voter this week, it would be Alexei Navalny’s Patriot. Half memoir, half prison diary, it testifies to the brutal treatment of the Russian dissident, who died in a Siberian prison last February. Still, as my colleague Gal Beckerman noted last week in The Atlantic, the writing is surprisingly funny. Navalny laid down his life for his principles, but his sardonic good humor makes his heroism feel more attainable—and more real. His account also helps clarify the stakes of our upcoming election, featuring a Republican candidate who has promised to take revenge on “the enemy from within.”
I plan to take Kachka's advice, although it won't be before the election. I previously decided to read Navalny's book after hearing his widow, Yulia, interviewed by Rachel Maddow, and because Alexei was a rare exception to the fact that I generally don't cry when hearing about the death of someone I never met.
Being only halfway through the incredible work of research by Brian Muraresku, "The Immortality Key - the Secret History of the Religion With No Name" and with a brain that prefers one book at a time, Patriot is next in my book queue.
Those are my "about books not the election" thoughts.
About the election:
Consciously - I just finished writing the RDA newsletter about the election; it will publish on Sunday. Unconsciously - I keep being startled to discover I've been holding my breath.