Meadowdale H.S. graduation 2012
Middletown H.S. graduation 2012
Dunbar H.S. graduation 2012
Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2010 > August
August 2010
“The Tea Bagging of America”
It seems like every time you turn around there he is ~ Glenn Beck. Here he was over the weekend at a Tea Party rally in Washington, D.C.
He put out his first novel this summer (a bestseller) to go along with his numerous best selling non-fiction titles. He has another book due out on October 26 (right before the election). That book is called “Broke: The Plan to Restore Our Trust, Truth and Treasure”.
And as the election approaches the political books will be piling up like autumn leaves…
Former congressman Dick Armey just published his book “Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party Manifesto”.
Sarah Palin has her new book; “America by Heart : Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag” coming out in late November.
And as you might expect, the Glenn Beck/Tea Party/Sarah Palin/Fox News juggernaut has inspired a cottage industry of books about Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and Tea Party politics.
There’s Kate Zernike’s “Boiling Mad: Inside Tea Party America” which will be published on September 14.
On October 4th Jill Lepore will publish “The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party’s Revolution and the Battle over American History”.
And Dana Milbank is getting set to publish his book “Tears of a Clown: Glenn Beck and the Tea Bagging of America” in early October.
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (37) | Post your comment | Categories: The melting slushpile
TweetMad Men down under
My recent piece on the book Mad Men Unbuttoned was just picked up by some newspapers in Australia. The book is a collection of essays about the mega-hit TV series Mad Men.
To read my review click HERE:
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: confessions of a galley slave
TweetAre you still eating eggs?
The recent recall of over half a billion eggs that were produced in massive factory farming operations has some consumers worried about eating eggs. Are you concerned? Have you reduced your consumption of eggs? Have you changed your egg shopping habits in light of this scare?
Jonathan Safran Foer wrote a book called “Eating Animals”. It is just coming out in paperback. It contains some enlightening information about those immense egg operations.
Foer writes: “While most people know the vague outlines of the cruelty of factory farms-the cages are small, the slaughter is violent-certain widely practiced techniques have eluded the public consciousness. I had never heard about food and light deprivation. And after learning about it, I didn’t want to eat a conventional egg ever again.”
Foer goes on to assert that even so-called “free range” egg production is a term that is often misused.
I realize that eggs are not on every menu and that some consumers don’t eat them regardless of any health scares or adverse publicity. But for those of you who do consume eggs I’m wondering; have you altered your egg use since this egg recall has taken place?
I obtain my eggs from some neighbors. Today I went over to their place and bought a dozen. It gave me an opportunity to chat about eggs and this current news story. My neighbor told me that she has heard so-called free range eggs are now selling for around 4 dollars a dozen in some places as a result of this egg scare. My neighbors charge me a buck and a half a dozen-their eggs are fabulous.
She told me that her husband has been going up to the orchard just down our lane where another one of my neighbors has hundreds of apple trees. Her husband picks up the drops, the apples that have dropped off the trees, and brings them home for their chickens.
She told me that their chickens absolutely love eating those apples. How do you like them apples?
I’m thinking this dozen eggs will taste even sweeter than usual….
Vick Mickunas
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TweetComparing the US Postal Service with Fed Ex
Books are important to me. I rely heavily upon the service provided by UPS, Fed Ex, and the US Postal Service. Publishers send me books. I buy books on-line. All those packages enter what I call the “book delivery funnel.” So I have made a number of observations in regard to the various levels of service provided by these entities.
As most of you know, the USPS is in deep financial trouble. There are discussions of making drastic changes in the level of service the USPS provides. On the other hand, Fed Ex is known as being ultra efficient and they are in a position to “scoop the cream” so to speak by selectively delivering packages and charging premium prices to do so.
Allow me to share a couple of delivery experiences that I have had with the USPS and Fed Ex. (I’m leaving UPS out of this comparison for the moment. And let it be noted that I’m very pleased with the level of service I get from all my carriers at UPS, USPS, Fed Ex, and Fed Ex Ground).
I make a distinction between Fed Ex and Fed Ex Ground, too. They are very different in the way that they are run. I’m talking about only Fed Ex here (not Fed Ex Ground) and the USPS.
Here are my experiences: about 2 weeks ago I bought a very important item on eBay. I needed it for taping an author interview on WYSO. I needed it ASAP. Unfortunately, the item in question was in Australia. I was informed that it would be posted by air mail and I could expect it in 3 weeks.
It arrived 10 days later in the US Mail. My carrier had me sign for the package and I was thrilled to have it almost 2 weeks before I expected it to arrive.
And here’s my Fed Ex story: one day I saw my Fed Ex guy out on his route. I asked if he had any packages for me. He said that he did not but that he would have one for me tomorrow. I wondered; how does he know I’m getting something tomorrow?
OK, so he made his delivery the following day. I asked him how he knew that I would be getting something that day? He explained that there had actually been a package that had arrived for me the day before but that he had not been allowed to deliver it because the customer had only paid for delivery on the next day after that.
I was floored to hear this. Apparently this is common practice at the ultra efficient Fed Ex. You only get what you paid for. If a package moves through their system and arrives before the date that the sender paid for it to be delivered then they hold the package. It just sits there.
Imagine that. Can you picture the USPS doing that? No, they would bring the package out as soon as it arrived in their facility. Unless it was on a Sunday.
As I said~I was floored. And I admire this Fed Ex driver for explaining how their system really works. You apparently get just what you paid for and nothing extra.
Do you have any anecdotes you would like to share about the various levels of service that you have experienced from the USPS, UPS, or the two Fed Ex systems? I’m curious to know what has happened to you. War stories, please.
(p.s. My UPS delivery just arrived. I asked my driver if they ever sit on packages in the way that I understand Fed Ex might. He looked at me with astonishment and said they would deliver whatever had arrived at their facility. He said they would not sit on a package that arrived before it was supposed to arrive-it would get delivered regardless of the level of service the sender purchased).
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (39) | Post your comment | Categories: clearing the cobwebs
TweetKill the dead (zombies)
Publishers seek publicity. They want to get our attention. Sometimes they will resort to bizarre methods to get you to notice what they are doing.
Here’s an example; I just opened my mail and was puzzled to find that one package contained a couple of shotgun shells. They were empty shells-they bore a message on them as you can see in the photo.
Apparently Richard Kadrey’s publisher is trying to create some early buzz for his forthcoming novel Kill the Dead: A Sandman Slim Novel. These shotgun shells were the first early blast across this reviewer’s bow.
The message being: notice this book, remember this weird mail, consider a review.
Okay, consider it noticed~boom…kaboom. The book comes out on October 5.
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (9) | Post your comment | Categories: booms and busts
TweetJames Patterson is still raking in the cash…
The publishing industry is like almost every other industry these days; under stress; in trouble. Even so, some authors are still raking in the cash. Authors like James Patterson.
According to tabulations for the publishing year that ended on June 1 Patterson earned 70 million dollars last year. Sure, he works hard, he seems to publish a new book every 3 minutes but 70 million smackeroonis?! Wow! That’s some cash.
Here’s the rest of the list of big earning writers over that period:
Stephenie Meyer ($40 million)
Stephen King ($34 million)
Danielle Steel ($32 million
Ken Follett ($20 million)
Dean Koontz ($18 million)
Janet Evanovich ($16 million),
John Grisham ($15 million)
Nicholas Sparks ($14 million)
J.K. Rowling ($10 million) and she didn’t even publish any books over that period.
Wow! There’s still some money to be made in book publishing, at least for some.
Vick Mickunas
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TweetA bizarre coincidence…
There are millions of books being published in a constant cycle. I opened my mail and did a double take. A couple of new books arrived and I had this deja vu feeling when I saw the covers.
Very different books. Different publishers. Published at almost the same time. With very similar covers. Odd. Amusing. Strange.
It gives me butterflies…
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: confessions of a galley slave
TweetMockingjay soars
Every day I check the list of best-selling books on Amazon.com. The hottest book on the chart these days is “Mockingjay” (The Final Book of The Hunger Games) (Scholastic) by Suzanne Collins.
This is the third book in a trilogy of young adult fiction by Collins and apparently demand is high for this title. It has been #1 on Amazon all week based on pre-orders. The book will be published next week.
Coincidentally, Scholastic was the US publisher for the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. After that series ended Scholastic has been searching for another series that would have the appeal (and the sales) of the Potter books. Their 39 Clues series of young adult books performed well but it certainly wasn’t at the levels of the Potter books.
Suzanne Collins is drawing some comparisons to JK Rowling. I have not read Collins yet but I plan to do so.
Does anybody have any thoughts on Collins and this series of books? Are your children interested in these books?
Vick Mickunas
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TweetWish Ray Bradbury a happy 90th birthday…
Science fiction legend Ray Bradbury is turning 90 years old. Bradbury is probably best known for his classic novel “Fahrenheit 451”. He has produced an impressive number of books and short stories over the course of his long career.
You can wish him a happy birthday by clicking HERE:
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: clearing the cobwebs
TweetThe 590 pound burger…
Did you hear about the guy who cooked the 590 pound burger? His name is Ted Reader. He’s a Canadian chef. He cooked that burger in an attempt to break the record for the biggest burger listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. Unfortunately, his burger got disqualified. It would have won easily except for one small detail, they require that the burger be commercially available.
I can see it now; I walk into the burger place and say yeah, give me the 590 pound burger with everything, and a side of fries.
Reader seems to know his way around a burger. He recently published “Napoleon’s Everyday Gourmet Burgers” (Key Porter Books).
The book contains his recipes for such delicacies as the Better Butter Burger, the Brulee’ Cheeseburger, the Ludicrous Burger, the Planked Beerlicious Baseball Burger, the Hot Diggity Dog Burger, the Orgasmic Onion Burger, the Great Canadian Moose Burger, the Fajita Burger, the Peanut Butter and Banana Burger, and the Butter Tart Cheesecake Burger with Double-Smoked Bacon and Caramel Sauce.
Roll out the grills…
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (10) | Post your comment | Categories: secret passions
TweetYou say tomato and I say delicious…
What a long week this has been. So hot. So muggy. But as they say in Iowa, it is good for the tomatoes (or something like that).
As you might have noticed, I’m a potato lover. I’m also rather fond of the noble tomato. In fact, the marriage of these two (I’m picturing perfect french fries with exquisite ketchup) has to be one of the most decadent and sublimely delectable get togethers that I can imagine.
Which brings me to a tomato. One in particular. Yesterday I saw that someone had brought a tomato to someone who I know and had presented it as a gift. How thoughtful. This was clearly an heirloom variety of the luscious fruit. It looked like it weighed close to two pounds. It had those seams on the sides that looked ready to burst with sun fed ripeness.
They left that tomato unattended for a few moments. It was all I could do not to abscond with that red treasure and take it somewhere private to get to know it better (sigh).
But I did not. So I picked up a copy of “It’s a Long Road to a Tomato: Tales of an Organic Farmer Who Quit the Big City for the (Not So) Simple Life” (The Experiment) by Keith Stewart and filled my mind with some thoughts and knowledge of this bountiful fruit instead.
I do love a good tomato. This rapturous literary tribute is almost as fun as eating one. I said almost.
This Saturday morning I think I’ll head to the farmer’s market to procure some of those luscious beauties for closer inspection. That is the one good thing about this weather; tomatoes prosper in this steamy heat.
mmmmm!
Vick Mickunas
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TweetThird time was not the charm
Larry McMurtry has enjoyed a long career as a best selling novelist-he has published a pile of books over the past 50 years. He has also had a lucrative career as a Hollywood screenwriter. And he has led a third parallel career, a lesser known one, as a book collector and book seller.
McMurtry is at that point in his life where he is now taking the time to look back, to reflect upon his many endeavors. In July of 2009 he published “Books-a Memoir” (Simon & Schuster). For 259 pages McMurtry shared his memories of his true passion; book collecting.
He looked back and remembered how he became a reader, then a collector of books. He is an expert in the book trade, buying and selling the contents of bookstores and libraries many times over. He has bought and sold thousands of rare books. He describes the thrill of the chase and many of his book collecting coups. I loved it. It was one of my favorite books of 2009.
Of course that book didn’t get into his writing career too much or his Hollywood experiences. In December of 2009 he published “Literary Life-a Second Memoir” (Simon & Schuster). This was the book about how he became a writer and how he came up with so many ideas that became bestselling novels.
The second book is shorter than the first one, at only 175 pages, and it is essentially bloodless. While there are a few points of slight animation, McMurtry seems to be essentially bored with it all. Where the first book was filled with excitement and an almost cloak and dagger sense as McMurtry pursued his quarry; rare books, the second memoir reads like a rote fulfillment of some contractual obligation. He sounds bored so how can he expect his readers to feel any different?
I reserved the hope that he might get a bit more excited for the final book in the trilogy; “Hollywood-a Third Memoir” (Simon & Schuster) which comes out this week. This one is even shorter, only 146 pages.
And after reading the first two books I didn’t feel right to spurn his third one. So I soldiered on and read it in just a couple of sittings.
In this one McMurtry talks about his lucrative career as a screenwriter. His most recent success was the screenplay for “Brokeback Mountain”. He talks about all the movie stars he knows. He recalls some fabulous meals and exclusive restaurants. He remembers the dealmaking and the high powered agents. Yada Yada.
So, OK, I have read all three now and here are my ratings for each book:
“Books-a Memoir” earns an A+. I admire the author’s passionate pursuit of rare books and this account of his book collecting zeal resonates deeply and fully with this reader.
“Literary Life-a Second Memoir” gets a C-. The one thing that struck me about this book was that McMurtry actually spends some time whining about how his books don’t get reviewed very often. Well, Larry, you can do better. Telling this story seemed to bore you but try to imagine how your boredom was interpreted by your fans because these are the readers who will bother to read your memoirs. We deserve a wee bit ’ passion, right? Yawn.
“Hollywood-a Third Memoir” gets a thin F. The only positive thing I can say about this book is that it seems somehow appropriate and right that the author’s reflections on his film career are even less interesting than his memories of writing all those books. I thought the book was better than the movie~haha!
OK, Larry, you got your memoirs out of the way. Now write another good novel. Please.
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment | Categories: confessions of a galley slave
TweetAuthor still recovering from gun battle….
Ten years ago I interviewed an historian named Michael Bellisles on my radio show on WYSO. He had just published his book “Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture.”
That book went on to receive the prestigious Bancroft Prize for history. Bellisles was living in Yellow Springs at the time and he was riding high. Then everything fell apart.
The National Rifle Association and others went after him - they disputed some of his findings in the book. It turned out that some of the material was dubious. The author’s research was eventually discredited. Ultimately he was stripped of the Bancroft Prize-he has spent the past decade in a form of academic exile.
I often wondered what had ever become of him? Now I know. He has a new book coming out. There’s an interesting article about him that appeared this week in the New York Times.
Check it out by clicking HERE:
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (19) | Post your comment | Categories: you never know who you'll meet in Yellow Springs
Tweet“Potato Chip Science”
The mail just arrived and I was astonished that somebody had sent me a bag of potato chips.
On closer examination I realized that it was actually a book that had been cleverly packaged in a potato chip bag.
Got my attention. It contains: Potato Chip Science-Book and Stuff (Workman) by E.A. Kurzweil & Son.
The front of the bag trumpets that it will help us “explore major branches of science:
Physics: Fire off a propulsion pipe and mix up a batch of spud crud
Chemistry: create a CSI detective kit and analyze the acid content of chips
Biology: carve a shrunken spud mummy and grow “hair” from a Spuddy Buddy
Earth Sciences: find your way with a chip lid compass and build a chip bag kite
plus: one edible project”
Spudology can be fun!
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: confessions of a galley slave
TweetThe chocolates of Oakwood
Here’s what you missed: tonight I gave a speech at the Wright Memorial Library in Oakwood. I had anecdotes to share. I talked about my encounters with people like John Glenn, Buzz Aldrin, Larry King, Amy Tan, Pat Conroy, Dave Barry, Bill Bryson, Janet Leigh, Peter Ustinov, Charlton Heston, Ann Coulter, Ted Turner, and Gene Hackman.
I can understand how you could pass that up. But here’s what I cannot comprehend; how could you pass up the chocolates of Oakwood? Plate after plate of luscious chocolates were there for the sampling.
Oh my. They were fabulous!
Vick Mickunas
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TweetWill I see you tonight??
Tonight is the night. I will be speaking tonight (Wednesday) at the Wright Memorial Library in Oakwood at 7pm.
If you are in the area stop by. Seating is limited so try to arrive before 7 tonight.
I’ll be talking about authors I have interviewed over the years. It should be fun.
I hope to see some of you there.
Vick
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