On Tuesday, February 21, the Strand Bookstore will host the Critics Circle: Inside the Oscars event. The event will feature such esteemed film critics as David Denby (The New Yorker), Michael Musto (Village Voice), Andrew O’Hehir (Salon), Dana Stevens (Slate), and NYU film professor Deborah Reinisch as they engage in a lively pre-Oscars discussion.
Today is Valentine’s Day, and on this day you’re supposed to give gifts to those you love. Well, Dear Readers, my Valentine is … YOU! That’s right, all of you!
And so as a token of my affection, I’d like to give you all the opportunity to read the very first chapter of my upcoming debut novel GUESTLIST. You do know I have a novel coming out soon, right? I’m sure I’ve mentioned it once or twice. Ha!
You can read the first chapter of GUESTLIST below.
For months now, you’ve all been seeing photos of me toting around physical copies of my debut novel GUESTLIST. They were ARCs, also known as “advance reader copies,” which boasted a completely black cover and the novel’s title. I know that many of you thought that’s what the actual cover would look like, but no, Dear Readers, that’s not the case. Above, I am revealing, for the first time, the actual cover to GUESTLIST.
As you can see, it depicts a typical scene in the word of nightlife. The photo is slightly blurred, giving one the perception of looking at the bacchanal through an alcohol or drug-induced haze. One thing does stand out clearly, though—the disco ball. If there’s one thing a disco ball signifies, baby, it’s a party.
My disdain for e-books and e-readers is well known. As a writer, I recognize that this is the direction publishing is leaning toward, I get that, but I still don’t like them shits. Give me a good old fashioned paper book anytime. Word to Jonathan Franzen.
That’s why I was highly amused by this parody of Amazon Kindle commercials, which touts the benefits of actual, physical, normal books.
Literary magazine The Missouri Review found and posted this instructional video on how to read a book you don’t want to read. Hey, it’s exactly what it says on the tin, folks.
Reading a book you don’t want to read is like cutting down a large tree tucked between three houses; it’s best done piece-by-piece, chapter-by-chapter. Here’s how to do it, from Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook.
Author, relationship guru, small business owner, and reality TV personality Tionna Tee Smalls has released a new book entitled Men Love Abuse. While the book has been available as an e-book since the beginning of the month, yesterday (Friday, January 28) was the official release date for the paperback version.
Though Men Love Abuse is the first in what Tionna is calling The Pocketbook Series, it is not her first book. She’d previously written Girl, Get Your Mind Right, which was published by HarperCollins Publishers.
From Amazon:
Men Love Abuse is the hot new book from TV Personality/Author Tionna Tee Smalls. Smalls appeared on the VH1 hit series, What Chilli Wants (Season 1 & 2 in 2010 and 2011) as the Relationship Advisor for TLC’s pop star, Rozonda Chilli Thomas. In 2011, Tionna Tee Smalls released the award winning book, Girl, Get Your Mind Right! (HarperCollins Publishers). Book Description: Are you tired of being the nice girl? Do you believe that nice girls finish last? If you do then Men Love Abuse is the book for you. This honest book help women lose the nice girl image and get the man they want by following the rules. Smalls tell the readers her simple rules to dating a man and getting the things they want in a relationship.
Yesterday, I visited one of my favorite places in New York City, The Strand Bookstore. Located a stone’s throw away from Union Square, The Strand houses over 18 miles of books—new, used, rare, and even out-of-print. As its website states, it is a book lovers’ treasure trove.
One of the unexpected treasures I came across yesterday were a series of garments boasting artwork from classic novels. They included Capote’s In Cold Blood and Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (as seen above) as well as Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, among others. Featured items included men’s and women’s T-shirts and sweatshirts. Very cool.
For the past month or so, you may have seen me post some mysterious tweets or Facebook status updates with the hashtag #GLIST attached. One reads, “A bunch of beautiful people doing some very ugly things.” Another one says, “People will talk about it. People will be upset. People will be shocked. People will hate. Hey, don’t look at me. I only wrote it.”
Rest assured, I’m not sitting at my desk punching “submit” each time you see these. This is an automated process. But I’ve been doing it because I’ve been trying to pique your curiosity. Judging by some of the responses I’ve gotten, it looks like I was successful.
I’ve been threatening promising that my debut novel would be arriving soon. I’ve been doing this for, oh, about the past two years. Believe me when I tell you that I thought it was ready back then. Things did not work out as initially planned, however, so my novel had to be placed on the back burner. During that time, I learned a lot of things, met a lot of people, got a ton of feedback, and made significant changes. It was all worth it.
That’s what #GLIST is all about, Dear Readers. #GLIST is the hashtag I’m associating with my debut novel. It’s already a somewhat popular hashtag as it’s used by party promoters the world over. If you haven’t figured it out yet, #GLIST is short for GUESTLIST, which is the title of my novel.
