The maxibooks are all very self-conscious about being just that: books. With footnotes or typography or a steady stream of literary references and allusions, they’re always reminding you that what you’re holding in your hand is an artifact, something made up. The Souped-Up, Knock-Out, Total Fiction Experience
As evidenced by our lame attempts at headlines, we are title-impaired. Truly. If an excellent should happen to cross our path, we might trip over it, but won’t recognize it for what it is. The police report will read something like “the mysterious object appeared before the subject but disappeared before it could be identified. We cannot assist the victim in locating the culprit.” Only in police jargon. Stuart Woods had a great title. Such a great title that he refused to give it up. Nothing would sway him. He was resolute. Then a little issue called publisher support came
We are not much for reading between the lines, so may have misinterpreted this: There will be no original content on Beatrice today (from me, that is), as I am out on personal business all day. In a related matter, the Significant Other will henceforth be referred to on this blog as Mrs. Beatrice. On the off chance we’re interpreting the various letters and such correctly, congratulations Ron and Mrs. B! Too Busy Thinking ‘Bout My Baby (I Ain’t Got Time For Nothing Else)
Okay, here’s the deal. We have a secret weakness for television. Sure, we make fun of it, but we believe television is our generation’s, well, television. Despite the fact that TiVo, that glorious invention, has made time shifting our new hobby (previously shape shifting, but we do so love food), we make it a point to watch Arrested Development every Sunday night. As a rule, shows we enjoy are inevitably cancelled. Naturally, Arrested Development has been on the edge for as long as it’s been on the air. We do not have warm fuzzies about signing loyalty oaths, but, if
Where we expected white smoke, we got a black spot. Darn that Happy Booker for crushing our aspirations. We know she’s trying to figure out where we park the Booksquaremobile after we’re done fighting crime. It’s so hard being a blogger of mystery. You’re stuck inside Fahrenheit 451. Which book do you want to be? This is the spinach versus french fries question. You know what’s good for you, but, man, salty snacks. So very fun. However, in the interest of preserving the printed word for all eternity, we must choose To Kill A Mockingbird. It is our signature book.
We have been uncovered: cranky blogger by day, mild mannered student by night. What started as an innocent foray into the world of academia became an experience we can only describe as all Tod Goldberg, all the time. You know things are weird when we start inventing games* — ours was how many connections we had to make between an event and Mr. Goldberg. Our longest stretch was three. They say it’s a small blogosphere. Who knew that they were actually right? Needless to say, things are going to change around here. No more long, rambling posts about whatever catches
Remember when life was simple? That golden era when you merely had to worry about the books on your shelves, the magazines cluttering your coffee table, the CDs in your player, the clothes you wore, the car you drove, the cell phone you used, the coffee your drank? Yes, it was a simpler time. We long for those days, back before people made judgments based on our playlists (for the record, we have one gigantic mess and the iPod set on random; this shouldn’t surprise anyone). Yes, this story is part of our continuing series chronicling technology and how it
Very few literary agencies receive the Booksquare Seal of Approval. Setting our rigorous screening criteria aside, we have been bogged down in the Seal’s design process forever. Who knew that drawing stick figures was so hard? However, when the seal is done, we will seriously consider The Knight Agency for the honor. Deidre Knight, Pamela Harty, Nephele Tempest are doing great things for their clients; so much so that we didn’t need to read MediaBistro’s profile to know the scoop. Heck, they didn’t even mention Deidre’s blog, part of the newest trend to catch our fancy: Literary Agents Who Blog.
It was only a matter of time before the big guns realized this Internet thing was more than a passing fad. Last week, Rupert Murdoch got religion; this week, it’s the venerable Associated Press. As always, this type of epiphany (which we learned, much to our surprise, is a concept invented by James Joyce. Also run-on sentences.) was accompanied by a gaggle of financial forecasters. The first human on Mars will be part of a marketing team looking to develop its rich resources. Most of you are smug in your comfort zones. You play by the rules of “fair use”.
It strikes us that today could be a Theme Day. It also strikes us that we don’t have the right outfit, so this will likely be our final Dan Wickett-related post of the day (he had a very busy weekend). Building on his previous interviews of litbloggers and editors of literary journals, Dan braves the heat of the South to discuss labels. Included in this great panel are two Booksquare favorites, the always white gloved Tingle Alley and Shaken & Stirred. The group looks at their region and the (sometimes) preconceived notions it invokes, even among themselves. To quote Gwenda
