You pays your money and you takes your choice.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Nikki & Rich are big and skinny (and soon to be rich, I'm sure)
Pop-soul is big, and Nikki Leonti is literally the "son of a preacher man" (daughter, whatever) and sings some wicked neo-pop-soul accompanied with Rich Velonski boutique beats. They even sample the Shangri-Las on their first single "Cat and Mouse." You can see them free next Tuesday at the Highline, courtesy of Giant Step, rsvp'ing here.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
What's the deal? Your weekly Publisher's Lunch deal snark: New Year's Roundup Edition (plus: Jane Austen Must Die!)
Since I'm just now getting my snark back after the deep freeze, we're going to take a long trip down What's the Deal? lane. You won't miss a thing!
February 2, 2010
Publisher's Lunch says: Jojo Moyes's THE LAST LETTER FROM YOUR LOVER, searching her newspaper's archives for a story, a woman is surprised to discover a letter from 1960, written by a man asking his lover to leave her husband; despite, or perhaps because of her own romantic entanglements with a married man, she can't help but investigate; in 1960 a different woman wakes up in hospital after a car accident; she can't remember anything - her husband, her friends, who she used to be; and then, when she returns home, she uncovers a hidden letter, and begins to remember the lover she was willing to risk everything for, to Pamela Dorman of Pamela Dorman Books, for publication in summer 2011, by Sheila Crowley at Curtis Brown UK (NA).
Indichik says: Seriously, guys? Amnesia? We're talking about a plot point that even the writers for "Days of Our Lives" would dismiss as "too big of a cliche."
Publisher's Lunch says: Cindy Jone's debut I'LL FIND YOU IN MANSFIELD PARK, about a young woman who flies to England to re-enact scenes from Mansfield Park at a Jane Austen Festival and must confront whether she is a protagonist in her own life or merely a secondary character repeating foolish mistakes, to Lucia Macro at Avon, at auction, for publication spring/summer 2011, by Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (NA).
Indichik says: You know, I don't even know what to say about these anymore. I'll continue running them because it's becoming too hilariously awful to resist. But I'm at the point where, if you could see me, I'd just be pulling a John Stewart, by putting up a portrait of Jane Austen in the upper corner of the screen and making a face.
Also: the long-awaited(?) Tucker Max sequel.
January 20, 2010
Publisher's Lunch says: Bloggers and journalists Andrea Bartz and Brenna Ehrlich's STUFF HIPSTERS HATE, based on their popular Tumblr site, an anthropological guide to the buzzed-about subculture, featuring analysis of the mating habits, habitat, theology, grooming practices and preferred entertainment of the modern-day hipster, with helpful graphs and charts to understand the elusive character of the trendy beast, to Kelly Reed at Ulysses Press, for publication in Fall 2010, by Jason Allen Ashlock at Movable Type Literary Group.
Indichik says: The people writing this are not hipsters. The people who will read this (if any) are not hipsters. Where are the hipsters? Tsk. You have to ask?
Publisher's Lunch says: Laura Spinella's BEAUTIFUL DISASTER, in which a sheltered college girl's life is forever altered by the motorcycle-riding stranger who blows into town followed by a trail of secrets, to Leis Pederson at Berkley, by Susan Ginsburg at Writers House.
Indichik says: Motorcycle-riding strangers ceased to be edgy around oh, 1956 or so, so for her sake, I'm really hoping Spinella has something else up her sleeve.
And finally, going back even another week, to January 12, 2010 and making this a true New Year's Roundup:
Publisher's Lunch says: Founder of www.myparentswereawesome.tumblr.com Eliot Glazer's MY PARENTS WERE AWESOME, an anthology of humorous and endearing writings from children about their parents -- before the fanny packs and Andrea Bocelli concerts -- when they were fashion-forward and super awesome, to Ryan Doherty at Villard, by Hannah Brown Gordon at Foundry Literary + Media (NA).
Indichik says: Blog books. Feh. But more relevantly -- seriously. If your parents really were awesome, why would you need to go on the Internet to share that fact? And run the risk finding out that somebody out there has parents that were even cooler than yours? Seems foolish, personally.
P.S. Apparently, the Y2K bug hit Publisher's Marketplace after all, albeit 10 years late. Today's blast was dated February 2, 1900. Here's to a capital 20th century, good sirs.
Publisher's Lunch says: Laura Spinella's BEAUTIFUL DISASTER, in which a sheltered college girl's life is forever altered by the motorcycle-riding stranger who blows into town followed by a trail of secrets, to Leis Pederson at Berkley, by Susan Ginsburg at Writers House.
Indichik says: Motorcycle-riding strangers ceased to be edgy around oh, 1956 or so, so for her sake, I'm really hoping Spinella has something else up her sleeve.
And finally, going back even another week, to January 12, 2010 and making this a true New Year's Roundup:
Publisher's Lunch says: Founder of www.myparentswereawesome.
Indichik says: Blog books. Feh. But more relevantly -- seriously. If your parents really were awesome, why would you need to go on the Internet to share that fact? And run the risk finding out that somebody out there has parents that were even cooler than yours? Seems foolish, personally.
P.S. Apparently, the Y2K bug hit Publisher's Marketplace after all, albeit 10 years late. Today's blast was dated February 2, 1900. Here's to a capital 20th century, good sirs.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Sunday: We're all fans
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thursday: Release party for Haiti
Friday, January 15, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
We just have to keep the memoir debate going until I finish mine
I'm devastated to have missed Ben Yagoda, author of Memoir: A History on Wednesday at Freerange Nonfiction Reading Series (see previous post) but on Poor Your Soul, Freerange proprietor Mira has a breakdown on the lecture he gave, in which he assigns and subtract points to various memoirs for criteria like "Dialogue" and "Rips on People", revealing that St. Augustine is currently beating Sarah Palin by around 40 points (surprisingly?) He also sets out to explain the insatiable current hunger we as a society have for "true stories" (translation: "untrue stories"). It's worth reading.
Labels:
Ben Yagoda,
books,
events,
Freerange Reading Series,
memoir,
Mira Ptacin
Northern Sky
So Flavorpill has "The Ultimate Hipster Reading List," which is, yes, about as obnoxious as it sounds. It's a list about of dozen white male writers you have heard of (Keith Gessen, Nick Flynn, et al. plus Miranda July thrown in for color) recommending about 50 white male writers you haven't heard of. I don't know whether FP thinks that there are actually people out there who will take these recommendations seriously, or whether it's all some elaborate, ironic joke. I'm not sure FP themselves want to know. The truth would probably horrify them, at any rate.
Oh, and also I'm in the frozen north right now, and have been for weeks, and will be for another week. All of my NYC information is coming from Facebook, mailing lists, and press releases, and I don't go anywhere. Which means that on Sunday I will unfortunately be missing the Improv Everywhere No Pants Subway Ride, so if you do go, make sure to take off an extra pair of pants for me. (Also, for my peace of mind when I come back, please don't tell me which train these people were on. I already don't like to think about who's occupied those hard plastic seats before me).
Labels:
blogiana,
books,
events,
Flavorpill,
Nick Flynn,
No Pants Subway Ride,
self-promotion
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