Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly, “The New York Four”

By the dude who did “DMZ” and from the DC imprint Minx. A shy girl starts college in Manhattan and balances having friends for the first time with a txt-based relationship.

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2008, 176 pp.
Obtained via: Library
Date started: 12.29.08
Date finished: 12.29.08
What I liked: I am all about Minx. Good comics for real girls.
What I didn’t like: Wasn’t sure if this is to be continued or not.

PS: This was No. 50 for 2008!

“Rejected,” edited by Jon Friedman

Comedy writers and other funny people share stories rejected by SNL, the Onion and Comedy Central, as well as stories of general disapproval. Absolutely hilarious.

(“Rejected” is slated to be released Jan. 27, 2009. Gotta love preview copies!)

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2009, 272 pp.
Obtained via: Free table at work
Date started: 12.4.08
Date finished: 12.20.08
What I liked: I was especially fond of the stories from Kristen Schaal, Wendy Spero, David Wain and Michael Ian Black, Joel Stein and Janet Ginsburg.
What I didn’t like: There were only one or two stories I wasn’t cracking up at.
What I learned: Sometimes the outtakes are funnier than the main act.

M.T. Anderson, “Feed”

In the not-so-distant future, everybody’s hooked up to the feed—like internet 4.0 incorporated directly into your brain and navigated with your thoughts. Everything’s possible: anything you dream of can be delivered to your house within minutes, trips to the moon are commonplace, mind-to-mind chatting replaces direct conversation. A teenage boy starts to question America’s instant culture after meeting a girl who doesn’t buy into the consumerism.

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2004, 300 pp.
Obtained via: Pat
Date started: 11.26.08
Date finished: 11.30.08
What I didn’t like: My main issue with this book was the protagonist, a douchebaggy teenage boy. I was dying to know more about the life of his romantic interest and her father, who teaches ancient languages (like Basic and proper English).
What I liked: I do appreciate that Anderson did a slightly different take on the dystopian novel. Most of them focus on an outsider or someone who becomes disenchanted with the system. They fight the system and get crushed, the end. The protagonist in “Feed” completely buys in.
And although I dislike the main character, the story imprinted itself in my brain—I’ve thought about it very frequently since reading it. Although it’s set in the future, it captures the Zeitgeist in a way I haven’t encountered in novels recently. It plays on our concerns about the environment, consumerism and the effects of the internet and instant communication on our intelligence and empathy.
What I learned: Apparently this book made a lot of best-of lists… and although I wasn’t initially impressed, “Feed”’s staying power is remarkable.

Barrelling towards 30,000 words

Talked to more awesome crafters, and after copying and pasting integrating their quotes, I am very near my Dec. 1 goal of 20,000 words!

Current word count: 19,843 (out of 30,000)

My to-do list is still very long, but I feel positive about where the book’s going as the deadline creeps ever nearer. The manuscript is due Feb. 10, and ideally I’d like to be able to turn in something in really good shape, so maybe I’ll aim to hit 30,000 words by January 1 so I have a few weeks to revise and edit.

Probably the biggest thing on my list is contacting the organizers of major indie craft shows. I’d been waiting on that because craft show season is in full tilt right now. But if I wait too long, I’ll be hitting the holiday season when (presumably) people aren’t going to want to be doing interviews. Conundrum!

Rutu Modan, “Exit Wounds”

Koby, a young man in Tel Aviv, hears from a soldier who believes his estranged father—her lover—may have been a victim in a suicide bombing. Together, they try to track down his whereabouts.

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2007, 174 pp.
Obtained via: Library
Date started: 11.10.08
Date finished: 11.11.08
What I liked: The drawings are simple but beautiful, with a good sense of color. The story is straightforward and heartfelt.
What I didn’t like: No real dislikes, though I wish the story would have dug a little deeper.
What I learned: A little about life in Israel.

Malcolm Gladwell, “Blink”

Malcolm Gladwell is a writer for the New Yorker, and he cracks me up.

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2005, 280 pp.
Obtained via: Library
Date started: 10.12.08
Date finished: 11.10.08
What I liked: The question he asks in this book is how do we know the things we know? Why are first impressions so often, and so immediately, accurate? He explores the concept of thin-slicing—picking out the details that matter from the chaff our senses generate. The examples come from everywhere—the music industry, law enforcement, psychology, art history. Totally fascinating.
What I didn’t like: No complaints!
Oh, also: Seriously, listen to this episode of This American Life.

Alan Corey, “A Million Bucks by 30″

Reminds me quite a bit of the dishwasher book and the red paperclip book in that it’s written by a dude with an amazing story who isn’t really much of a writer. See the last item for more…

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2008, 224 pp.
Obtained via: Library
Date started: 11.2.08
Date finished: 11.2.08
What I liked: This guy, broke and straight out of college, decides he’s gonna make a million bucks by the time he’s 30. He’s got some good tips on being really frugal. And I read the whole thing in a day.
What I didn’t like: He went into real estate to make his money. Boring!
Oh, also: He relies really heavily on two jokes: “Jesus H. [random word]!” and “What the [celebrity's name that starts with F]?” This gets old real fast.

my book has a title!

Crafty Superstar: Turn Your Crafts into Extra Cash, Keep Your Day Job, and Basically Have It All will be released in November 2009! And I have even more exciting news:

Current word count: 14,953 (out of 30,000)

I powered through today, integrating tons of quotes from interviews to try to hit my goal of 15,000 this weekend, and it worked! After hitting the halfway point, I just have to write about 5,000 words in November, December and January to hit my manuscript deadline (with a week or two for revisions in there, too).

I’ve been talking to so many amazing people for this book, and my list of crafters I want to talk to still keeps growing! If you happen to know a biz-savvy part-time crafter, let me know. :)

book update

Current word count: 9,400 (out of 30,000)

I’m not as far along as I’d like to be, but I’m making progress. I’d hoped to hit 15,000 words by the end of October… that’d take a miracle at this point, I think.

But really, I’m not terribly behind. I’ve started interviewing a ton of awesome crafters, but I’ve integrated relatively little of their information into the book. So once I start doing that, it’ll write itself. (Or so I keep telling myself.)

In any case, I’m almost a third of the way there with about four months to go.

The title meeting for my book was the week before last, but so far there’s still no final decision. I pitched a few ideas, as did my editor, but there are many more people in on the discussion—the publisher, salespeople, marketing managers. I hope there’s a decision soon… I think the book will start feeling more real when there’s a title attached.

Steve Martin, “Shopgirl”

I love Steve Martin.

THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2000, 144 pp.
Obtained via: Library
Date started: 9.29.08
Date finished: 10.3.08
What I liked: In this story of a shy glove saleswoman, her slacker friend with benefits and her older admirer, Martin acts as an omnipotent narrator, describing their lives in detail without ego or judgment.
What I didn’t like: This book was much more about description than dialogue, and although it worked, I felt like I wanted to hear the characters more. Maybe I’ll be satisfied with the movie.
What I learned: Steve Martin can really do fiction.