I wanted to share a great blog from Amber Kizer, author of the terrific YA novel Meridian:


http://www.teenreads.com/blog/2009/10/amber-kizer-on-real-life-bits-and.asp

In today's guest blog, Amber Kizer --- author of ONE BUTT CHEEK AT A TIME and GERT GARIBALDI'S RANTS AND RAVES --- shares a family anecdote passed down from her grandparents that inspired elements of her latest novel, MERIDIAN.

As a reader, I’m always intrigued to learn of an author’s experiences influencing the writing of a book --- the autobiographical or “real life” bits and pieces. Everything in our lives as authors is fair game --- it all goes into the creative well, though what we pull out might not appear that way to readers. Not all ideas translate directly from life to a story, but for me this particular one worked exactly as it’s been in my family for generations. THE special code.

Meridian is a girl who shepherds souls to the afterlife and the story reflects a battle of good versus evil. I have lots of connections to parts of this book --- I quilt like Auntie. I’ve sat vigil like Meridian. It’s a story about death, but maybe more importantly, it’s about hope for the after. But it’s also a love story, and that’s what I’d like to talk about today!

Meridian is a Fenestra --- a race of angel/human beings who act as windows to the Afterlife. Tens is a Protector --- guardians for Fenestras. When possible, Fenestras and Protectors are soul mates. There’s a special code in this story that I took directly from my family’s history and tradition. 1-4-3. Think about it. Know the hidden meaning? I love you. I (1) love (4) you (3). Now, here’s where it came from.

My grandparents met while attending Texas Christian University in the 1940s. They lived in dorms directly across a large open space, so each could look out their window and see the other dorm and room windows. I’ve never seen these buildings or photographs of them, but in my mind’s eye they’re tall, boxy, brick apartment-like buildings. And the open space between them is about a football field of grassy space with paths cutting through it. Who knows what reality really is? As my grandparents became more serious in their dating, each night before going to bed they’d use a flashlight and blink it toward the other’s window. 1-4-3. Whoever was waiting would do it in return. An “I love you” before sleep. Usually my grandfather started and my grandmother responded in the same manner.

They thought they were pretty sneaky and didn’t tell anyone they were doing it. But one night, my grandfather blinked his 1-4-3 across the quad and my grandmother’s entire dorm blinked back. Every girl, in every window, had a flashlight! Imagine it --- the whole dorm flashing 1-4-3 right back to my grandfather! I can almost hear the girls giggling, then dissolving into full-out laughter from here.

I can see my grandfather walking to class the next morning and girls smiling or giggling when they saw him. Or his dorm mates ribbing him about it because they’d seen it or heard about it or were dating a girl who’d done it. I can hear my grandmother saying, “Oh, Joe, don’t be so embarrassed.”

Even fifty years later when my grandfather told the story, he’d turn red and sputter. My grandmother always insisted that she had nothing to do with it, but she was such a rabble rouser it wouldn’t surprise me if she’d helped the idea along. She did so love to make my grandfather blush with embarrassment.

They married in 1944 and were still together when my grandfather died in 2006. What they started continued with their children, and then to my generation. Cards and letters may be signed with 1-4-3.

In MERIDIAN, it’s a code that Charles and Auntie pass on to Meridian and Tens. Today, I’m passing it on to you. Make it your own!

Yesterday, the Huffington Post website featured an editorial by William Petrocelli on the effect of the recent on-line "price wars." Mega-retailers Amazon, WalMart and Target have elected to reduce the on-line price of 10 hardcover bestsellers to $8.99, or less. This blatant grasp for market share by de-valuing books has the potential for far-reaching and dire consequences - not just for independent bookstores but the entire publishing industry. Mr. Petrocelli eloquently explains the dangers of these practices in his piece, which I've reproduced verbatim here:

What looks like a simple price war between Amazon, Target, and Walmart over a handful of bestsellers is symptomatic of a much deeper problem in the book business. The larger fight is really over what you get to read.

The price war began Oct 15 when Walmart.com dropped its prices drastically on several bestsellers. Amazon.com and Target.com quickly followed suit, and within a couple of days the prices were down to $8.99 and heading lower. At this point, these behemoths were clearly selling those books below cost and engaging in an illegal form of predatory pricing.

The authors affected by this price-slashing were not amused. James Patterson said "Imagine if somebody was selling DVDs of this week's new movies for $5. You wouldn't be able to make movies." John Grisham's agent added, "I think we underestimate the effect to which extremely discounted best sellers take the consumer's attention away from emerging writers." (N.Y. Times, Oct. 17, 2009). The American Booksellers Association saw things the same way, saying in a letter to Christine Varney, Head of the Anti-Trust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, that these companies are using books as loss leaders to sell other kinds of merchandise. "The entire book industry is in danger of becoming collateral damage in this war." (Bookweb.org, Oct. 22, 2009)

Predatory pricing is a means of driving other booksellers out of business. When this happens, the choice of books is one of the first things to suffer. Some readers think that if their favorite store closes they can always buy the book they want somewhere else. But that's a dangerous delusion -- the books they want may not be there at all. In fact, these types of disruptions in how books are sold or distributed has a profound effect on what publishers decide to publish in the first place.

Think of the book business as a giant funnel, in which millions of authors are trying to reach tens of millions of readers. The image is a telling one, because the literary life of America has to go through two very narrow choke points: publishing and bookselling. Both of these choke points have become more and more constricted in recent years as a result of economic concentration and market manipulation.

Publishing is now consolidated in the hands of a few large conglomerates that control most of what is published in America. There are, to be sure, many booklovers in the publishing divisions of these giant corporations, but they are outnumbered and out-maneuvered by the bean-counters. Sadly, many of these publishing divisions could probably be shutdown entirely without having any significant affect on the bottom-line of the parent corporations. It is not an atmosphere that favors innovation or literary discoveries. In many cases the attitude seems to be to hold on and hope that declining sales and stagnant readership doesn't cost you your job.

Concentration at the retail level is now becoming even worse. The chain stores had been doing their best to squeeze out the independent stores over the last 20 years or so, and now they in turn are being squeezed by the mass merchandisers. According to retailing expert Stacey Mitchell, big-box mass merchandisers, like Wal-Mart, Target, and Costco, have taken over 30 percent of the book market. These mass merchandisers are now selling as many books as Barnes & Noble and Borders combined. (Death of the Category Killers, June 28, 2009)

It's hard to exaggerate the consequences of this mass-merchandiser dominance. These outlets carry, at most, a few hundred titles at any given time. This means that a handful of books -- far less than 1% of all the books published -- are probably accounting now for more than 30% of all sales in America. Price wars in this segment of the market only make matters worse, driving more customers to these merchandisers in search of quick bargains on a handful of big-name books. Publishers are under more and more pressure to subsidize these new, ruinous prices, and they will probably end up pushing more and more of their resources in that direction. But it's a devil's deal. The time may not be far off when publishers decide they can make more money by shrinking their breadth of titles and concentrating even more on just a few bestsellers.

How does a new author break into this landscape? It's never been easy. The key has always been diversity at the retail level. There's a big difference, say, between 500 buyers all buying for their own stores and one chain-buyer purchasing for 500 outlets. Buyers for independent stores tend to cancel out each other's mistakes; no single error in judgment can sink a prospective literary career. But when the system is dominated by a small handful of powerful buyers, their decision can make or break a book. Often, there is no appeal from such a decision. One of the dirty little secrets of the book business is that publishers often check in advance with the buyers for the chain stores and mass merchandisers before agreeing to publish a book. If the answer they get is no, the book may never see the light of day.

One of the ironies of the current price war is that it includes The Lacuna, the latest novel by Barbara Kingsolver. But Kingsolver wasn't always a best-selling author. When her first novel The Bean Trees was published in a modest print-run in 1988, independent booksellers recognized it as a literary treasure and sold thousands of copies. After that the chain stores climbed on the band-wagon, but without that first push from independent booksellers Kingsolver's career might never have taken off.

Anyone who loves books should worry that the doors seem to be closing on the Barbara Kingsolvers of tomorrow.

October is National Reading Group Month

Learn more about National Reading Group Month, their mission, and their 2009 Great Group Reads at http://www.nationalreadinggroupmonth.org/ggr_selections.html

And for those who are on the lookout for superior book group selections, Reading Choices has an excellent website http://readinggroupchoices.com/

Happy reading!

Who wrote The Best of the National Book Awards Fiction?

For the past 60 years The National Book Awards have honored great American writers, and to celebrate this milestone The National Book Foundation is asking the public to choose the best of the best in fiction.

The following six finalists were selected by 140 writers from across the country:

The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
The Stories of John Cheever
The Collected Stories of William Faulkner
The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor
The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon

Now it's up to us to determine who wins. Voting is underway and ends on October 21st. Go to www.nationalbook.org to cast your ballot.

If you haven't read these wonderful works, then the time is now. Stop into the store to pick-up a copy.

Reluctant Readers

Jeff Rivera has a wonderful blog where he has been interviewing independent booksellers on what YA and middle grade books are selling, and how we face the challenges within the publishing/bookselling industry. I encourage you to check it out http://jeffrivera.typepad.com/jeff_rivera/2009/09/index.html

P.S. I was fortunate enough to participate on September 2nd.

Book Bites

Book Bites, our book talk with area book groups, is always an exciting and challenging event. The challenge stems from having to select only a few books from the abundance of worthy candidates. So, I ask myself – what exactly makes a good choice for book groups? I suppose, ultimately it is subjective, based upon who is in the group and what the group as a whole wants from their selections. But, for me, a good reading group book is one that is thought provoking, easy-to-read, and rife with conflict.

Books resonate differently for each reader – we all take away something unique and personal. And, of course, our tastes vary, but one hopes that personal taste aside, a good book can stir-up some food for thought. It’s really not enough for a book to simply be “enjoyable” – it needs to stimulate ideas, and hopefully, get one to see the world anew.

So, me being me, I tend to recommend those books that would otherwise be overlooked. I enjoy the unusual and horrific – this includes vampires, zombies, werewolves, aliens etc. And though I know these types of books are not compatible with the tastes of some book groups, I feel they are valuable and can lead to meaningful discussions. It’s not easy, always being the odd-one-out, the gal who always pushes the boundaries of palatability. But I have an abundance of optimism and hope, and refuse to be quelled. So, I’m going to put it out there for the rest of you.

Here is my personal favorite selection for book groups. Enjoy:

World War Z by Max Brooks – a wowzer of a story that chronicles the survivors of “The Zombie Wars.” For me, this is one of the best examples of stretching the genre boundaries. It’s a thoughtful, relevant, timely and gripping book - the zombies are an embodiment of a viral pandemic that sweeps the globe. What makes this an utterly brilliant piece of fiction is how real every single character seems. How plausible they are and how completely human – from our deepest fears and transgressions, to our most profound ability to reach out to one another and help each other survive. I cannot praise this book enough.

My Favorite YA Books

I wanted to take a moment to list some of my favorite recent YA books and authors. This list is in no particular order, nor is it complete - there are simply too many wonderful books to name here:

Twilight (duh) – the story of Bella, Edward and Jacob, and the many forms of love, is simply some of the best storytelling I’ve encountered in years.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson – one of the best books I’ve ever read, period. Anderson has a way of beautifully expressing the agonies and ecstasies of adolescence. I highly recommend her novels. Don't miss her latest smash, Wintergirls.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman – quite possibly the most moving book I’ve read in ages. This story of a family tragedy had me laughing and crying without ever feeling overwhelmed. The writing is understated and sincere. READ THIS BOOK!

Artichoke’s Heart by Suzanne Supplee – what a gift this book is. It addresses an array of “issues” (self-esteem, illness, single parenthood, first love) with an authentic, charming and hopeful perspective. It’s a perfect selection for Mother-Daughter book groups.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie – a devastatingly raw and humorous look at life as an outsider. Alexie is one the greatest writers around and his first YA novel is astonishing and brilliant.

Sarah Dessen has written some of the best teen books of the past decade. Her books plumb the depths of the teen experience with honesty and profundity. Don’t miss Just Listen and the soon-to-be released paperback edition of Lock and Key.

Susane Colasanti is another author who has a way of capturing adolescence with pitch perfect dialog and understanding. When it Happens and the forthcoming Waiting for You are terrific.

Please, feel free to comment and share your own favorites.

For more selections and reviews, I highly recommend:
http://www.teensreadtoo.com/

Young Adults and Twilight

Recently I’ve immersed myself in the world of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga. I’ve lived there for the past two weeks, no kidding, and I can’t seem to pull myself away. This current obsession has gotten me thinking about the clamoring throngs of tweens, teens, and yes, grown women who have succumbed to the lure of Bella’s story.

I turned to my book buddy/sister-in-law extraordinaire, Karen, for some insight – it was her recommendation of Twilight, after all, that broke the proverbial camel’s back (I’d resisted it for a long, long time). Here are her thoughts:

“I think that what Twilight captures is that no matter who you are, in adolescence EVERYONE has an outside-looking-in feeling. Everyone also thinks that they’re fairly ordinary, but secretly believes that there's something spectacularly special and different about them ... special enough to captivate EDWARD. And in the meantime, you're remembering the awkward first kiss/first date/first infatuation kind of stuff ... and it's presented in a PG kind of way that you'd be comfortable reading with your own daughter or your mom."

Karen’s take spurred further thoughts about the Young Adult (YA) genre in general. One might argue that because YA novels are stories for teenagers and about teenagers, there is little in them that resonates with adults. But let’s not forget that we’ve all been there and just because we have crossed the invisible line from adolescence into adulthood doesn’t mean we have to dismiss the experience. Our teenage years are crucial ones and can be brutally intense. Life then is immediate and riddled with angst, change and a lack of control. It’s a time of discovery and false starts and hesitant steps – particularly when it comes to relationships – with friends, first loves, parents, and one’s own self.

It seems obvious to me that YA novels rarely garner the attention they deserve, with a few notable exceptions, like Meyer’s books, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, and the phenomenal Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Maybe it’s because adults “rule the school” – they are the authors, publishers, marketers, booksellers, etc., of the YA genre – and the problems of teenagers can seem trivial in a world of pressing adult issues like the economy, family responsibilities, all the varied and constant concerns that accompany adulthood’s status.

But to me, that’s viewing life through a narrow lens. Reality is not so different when one enters adulthood; it just becomes couched in “bigger” pictures, “greater” obligations, and “more” responsibility. Life doesn’t get easier as we grow older. We have to learn to endure more, make harder decisions, factor in the needs of others and weigh the costs carefully. Is this why so many of us get stuck – bogged down in a quagmire of responsibility and indecision that when we finally do move it’s defined as a “crisis” rather than a release?

Here’s another thought from Karen:

"Lots of people dismiss YA literature, but I think that there are some really original and interesting stories to be found there. And it's kind of cool to be reading the same thing as the teenager I hired to watch my three kids. Makes me feel like I've still got it and forget that I'm stretch-marked, crow-footed, and driving a minivan like a loser."

So maybe the take-away here is that it’s not a requisite that we see ourselves in these YA stories, but that they can serve as timely or poignant or funny reminders of what others are going through right now…and that, to them, these issues matter. After all, teenagers are people, too, and their voices deserve to be heard not just by their peers but by all of us.

Books on Television

On Sunday HBO debuted The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, based on novels by Alexander McCall Smith. And while it's only just begun, there is little doubt of their maintaining the integrity of the characters and the storyline with which we are familiar. If it is anything like the phenomenal hit series True Blood then we are in good hands. Their adaptation of the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire mysteries by Charlaine Harris was nothing short of brilliant.

I've been a fan of Sookie and her quirky, dangerous world for years. So, I was excited to hear that HBO was developing it as a series - although, there was an accompanying sense of dread. When watching film or television adaptations of beloved books, it's rare to find a dramatization that compares to the written word - indeed there are only a handful of what I would term "faithful" renditions of books to screen. So, it was with trepidation that I first tuned in to True Blood, but I was pulled into this fantastical world from moment one.

The show managed to present the entire first book – piecing it out week after week during the season, and I think this was the best choice they made. All too often, adaptations fail because of time constraints. How does one condense a four hundred-page novel into a two-hour movie? Inevitably something must be left out. Not so with True Blood. Plus, they managed to expand the world that Charlaine Harris created by giving some of the secondary characters from the books stories of their own - and they did it seamlessly. They managed to flesh-out these characters while remaining true to the personalities established in the novels. It added to the excitement and anticipation of watching the show from week-to-week. Plus, it’s fun to know what’s coming in the main storyline and seeing it realized on screen.

I’m glad I’ve read the books already – I can see the ways they’ve changed things and I can appreciate it in a unique way. Those unfamiliar with the books are missing-out on half of the experience. Not that there isn’t value in watching the show for its own sake. But I’m a book lover, as well as a television viewer. So, there is pleasure to be had from both for me – particularly when the two so flawlessly blend together. Now, I look forward to seeing how the The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency fares. And, of course, I eagerly await the return of True Blood.

A New Adventure

This is my first foray into the world of blogs and I'm in unfamiliar territory. So, I'm simply going to say that The Open Door is a wonderful place to be eight hours a day. I am fortunate to be a part of this unique bookshop and gift gallery, not only because I believe in the virtue of supporting local businesses, but because I work with some of the most amazing women I've ever met. Over the course of the next few months, I will have each of them introduce themselves here, as well. In the meantime, I look forward to posting reviews of new and interesting books, chronicling our store events, and introducing the beautifully crafted pieces featured in our gift gallery. Until next time...