I’ve been working on stuff all week. On Wednesday I didn’t have to leave the house at all, and it was quiet and I got so much done. I thought to myself that agoraphobia might not be so bad for me, but I know the opposite is closer to reality. I was thinking back to a year ago when the old site broke and the post I’d made on my blog about being kind of depressed. It was right after Christmas. Maybe that’s just something that happens to me every year? If we’re all still around in 12 months, we’ll see how I feel. I am having a better sex life now than last year. Better wet than dry, I always say. Vulgar? Yes.
On the main page we were talking about marketing Harry Potter and I said that I didn’t know much about marketing, but that wasn’t precise. I’ve learned a lot over the past couple of years. The rule for getting review copies out for a new book is four months ahead, though when you’re pretty small with an even smaller budget, that doesn’t always happen. And for poetry, we rarely get the book completely ready to go more than a month out. We have some truly excellent poetry planned for this year. And we just opened up our submission window again and there was a big old stack of proposals in the mail. So we must be doing something right. Today we sent out fifty media kits with review copies. For 2007, it’s five books of poetry, three memoirs, two novels, and our anthology. It’s half of what we did in 2006, and I think I’ll be twice as happy. For those of you who are keeping track, my partner was there working all day. We had a good talk. That seems to be the most I can hope for and maybe he’ll get back in the swing of things.
In the TV realm, I am not watching American Idol anymore and I feel okay about it. We’re watching DVDs of Boston Legal and Veronica Mars and Nip/Tuck. Nip/Tuck is fucking gruesome and those characters are the biggest narcissists I’ve ever seen. I know a few real life physicians and some are mildly jerky, but nothing like the ones on this show. I like Liz, the lesbian anesthesiologist. (Am I deliberately choosing words that are hard to spell?) We’re in Season Two and she just taught this Nigerian woman who had her clitoris reconstructed after genital mutiliation to masturbate. The woman was crying and elated after her first orgasm ever. I am pretty sure I’ve never cried after an orgasm, out of joy or sadness either.
Book club tomorrow. I’ve been told that the women have read the book. It’s A Passage to India, which was chosen out of deference to my seething anger that people had stopped reading so I said, “Why are we still calling ourselves a bookgroup,” and yet they want to say we’ll read. So we’ll see. I didn’t read it because I’ve already read it three times and wrote some good papers about it, so I feel set.
I’m still reading Nicholas Nickleby. That was my planned book for December, but I didn’t get very far. Now I’ve read about 300 pages. Nicholas has just joined the theater troupe after leaving his sister to be a governess and they are all quite miserable. I love the character Smike, who is a typical Dickens stock character, the lovable, downtrodden waif who is so loyal to the main character that it is a simple and beautiful kind of love. Doesn’t the name Smike just ring with the right amount of life hitting you in the head?
I have a memory of watching some TV mini-series of Nicholas Nickleby starring Roger Rees, and I remember the portrayal of smike as more affecting than anyone else.
I am enjoying The Moonstone a great deal. I owe that to you.
And have you tried working with Blogcritics.org for reviews? Or do you stick with mostly local organizations?
Rosa, I’m glad you’re enjoying The Moonstone!
We haven’t used Blogcritics.org yet, but it sounds like a good resource. Mike emailed me about it. We’ll be sending out our spring poetry and novel review copies in March, and I’ll check it out further.
Today’s bookgroup discussion was good. Everyone read. I feel much better.
Smike always makes me cry, the jonathan rhes version of NN is fabulous
speaking of orgasms…
A medical school professor was teaching 1st year med school students a course on the human nervous system. They were on the topic of the autonomic nervous system, and the involuntary muscular responses. It’s dry stuff, and in an effort to keep the students’ flagging attention, the prof pointed at a female student and asked, “When you experience an orgasm, do you know what your asshole is doing?”
Scrunching up her facial features, the young lady responded, “Probably at the bowling alley with his buddies!”
I’m glad you’re communicating with your partner. It’s really frustrating sometimes - it’s like being married to another person, with all that entails.
R
i have decided that the best working environment for me is one where i’m the boss and i don’t work with anyone else. i can dream.
On the “working with others” issue - I just finished It’s Called Work for a Reason, by Larry Winget - Far and away the best business/personal development book I’ve ever read. I’m getting every staff person their own copy. I highly recommend it.
R
Maddie played Fanny Sqeers and a troupe member in Nicholas Nickleby…it was one of the few Dickens novels I had not read when they did the play. I still cannot recall whether I read the book then or not… poor old brain
oh and our little Smike created a wonderful hunch and limp. He really did a great job in the pathetic yet hopeful friend role
Why exactly is your sex life better? Do you have any tips for me?
Porky! I have a tip for you! And more!
I’m sure mine pales in comparison to yours, tb.