Archives - Weekly Update

As I have traveled the country over the past couple of decades, I have enjoyed spending time in indie stores in sooooooo many cities. I count a number of indie booksellers as friends, and I love hearing about their experiences as small business owners, as much as I love hearing their book recommendations. Many of them are tastemakers, whose opinions on books are sought way before the time of publication. Some get very early copies of books, typically just beyond the final manuscript stage, to share their feedback for early praise. A few of them are “go-to” people for me when I am looking to discuss books for the upcoming seasons.

Through the years, I have met hundreds of authors in person, and others via their social media or virtual events. I have seen more speak in front of audiences at award shows or festivals. For some, I know lots about their lives --- their children, their spouses, their pets. For others, much less. For every author who I have read, there is a connection to them via the printed page.

Recently, two authors shared peeks inside their lives with unsettling information about their health.

On Monday night, I headed into New York City with our team and some friends to celebrate Simon & Schuster’s 100th anniversary with their “Author! Author!” night. The event featured more than 30 prominent Simon & Schuster authors on stage at The Town Hall. Each shared a story about what brought them to reading, how they feel about writing, what inspired a certain book or books, and other terrific musings. Each spoke for about 4-6 minutes, which kept the program moving along quite briskly.

Well, we are lucky that those of us in the New York area did not float away in the rain this week. Then this morning, for added excitement we felt the earthquake in New Jersey that rocked from New York City to Philadelphia. Mercury went retrograde on Monday and will be there until April 24th. (Longtime readers of the site know what this means; newcomers can read all about it here.)