What struck me while reading his book was the importance of a speaker conveying his or her passion about their topic. I’ve heard countless presentations, in numerous places, but the ones that had any impact on me were those where I felt the speaker’s connection with what he or she was selling.

I think that sometimes, with the aim of making our presentations polished, we risk editing that element of natural honesty which strikes a chord in listeners and is usually what makes those speeches/ presentations memorable.

What also makes them memorable, and not in any positive sense this time, is the inappropriate joke. Or the joke that flops. I usually laugh at the jokes that flop (a pity laugh is counted!), I figure I owe them as much for trying to enliven their talk. The inappropriate one – well I just try to get as much distance as I can from those.

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favourite things.”

The box cuter slits the packing tape open and the generic brown cardboard box springs open and releases bright coloured confetti and streamers. Ok  maybe there wasn’t confetti and streamers when I opened the case of The Jewels of Sofia Tate, which arrived from the printer’s this afternoon, but there should have been. Every book deserves to be celebrated – it took a lot of work, patience, and time – from manuscript submission to copy-editing to final checks and every step in between – to get it to this place.  Despite the many, many boxes of newly arrived books that I have cracked opened I still get excited when a new book arrives. It’s neat to see a book in it’s final form especially if you’ve been dealing with galleys or ARCs of them, which are often not in the same format as the final book and have different cover treatment. One of the best parts of my job is presenting an author with their book. Often, if an author is local, they will drop by the office and pick up their author copies, and the look on their face, especially the first time authors, is priceless. 

So what happens after I open the boxes? Well after digging through way too much packing paper I take out the books and do a walk around the office and give one copy to each staff member. One of the neat things of distributing the books is seeing everyone’s reactions, which range from delight that the book has come in on time to “oh another book” to a mini debate erupting about the cover and our thoughts about it. One copy is put on display in our reception area and the rest are shelved in our storage cabinets for, mostly, publicity to use.  These extra copies will be mostly used for media requests, prizes for contests, and for reference. Today, my copy of Sofia comes into my slightly messy office and joins  Dancing in the Sky, Grave Doubts, Outside the Line, Hat Trick, and Outcasts, which are on display on the top shelf of my desk.

When I’m not working on a book — as is the case right now — I still have to keep my tools sharp.

READING – One way to keep my tools sharp is by reading; I read the New Yorker Magazine religiously and recently picked up James Wood’s How Fiction Works, Drew Gilpin Faust’s The Republic of Suffering, and John Updike’s The Centaur and In the Beauty of the Lilies.

WRITING – Another method is to write other things — diary entries, a log, letters, or, as I did for a number of years, book reviews. Although I don’t do it anymore, I used to write reviews for Books in Canada and the Kingston Whig-Standard Magazine. The advantage of writing reviews is that it forces you not only to analyze another writer’s work, but to articulate that analysis. Writing about writing can be very instructive.

EDITING – A third way is to edit other people’s writing: at the moment, I am reading my son’s novel in manuscript; he hopes, as all writers should, that an objective eye will help him improve his book. A long-time friend of mine, Roderick Jamer, who was for many years a staff writer with TV Guide, has asked me to take a look at his murder mystery-in-progress; and I am also participating in the evolution of a film script by another friend, Peter Blendell; the script involves a Stanley Cup victory by the Toronto Maple Leafs (some of you will suggest that this project be categorized as fantasy), and Peter hopes that I will be able to help with the scenes that deal with hockey itself. (I have a long history in the game, first as a player — my career peaked when I was 13; it’s been all down hill since then — and as a fan — the Leafs are what I have instead of religion, or more correctly, they are my religion; sitting down to watch a game is, for me, what going to church is for other people. And although I may bleed blue, at least I can say that the only violence associated with my religion is restricted to the arena.)

TEACHING – Although not all writers have the opportunity to teach, those who do know that teaching another writer’s work is an edifying experience. I taught Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises at least thirty times over my 25-year career as a high school English teacher. I know the book like the back of my hand — its strengths, its flaws — and may even have become more familiar with it than Hemingway himself, who wrote it in nine weeks. Hemingway said that studying a still life by Cezanne taught him as much about how to write as anything he read, and, similarly, I have learned as much about how to write from teaching The Sun Also Rises as I have from anything else.

BLOGS – Writing this blog also helps me keep my tools sharp, because I can write about whatever interests me, and I can do it whenever I feel the urge — every writer’s dream. Now if I could only make it pay …

Next Installment – Salvaging a Novel I Wrote in 1983

As well as being a writer of consummate style, Updike was prolific. Compelled to write, he tried to produce at least one book a year. In the end, he wrote almost 30 novels, more than a dozen books of short stories, nine collections of poetry, as well as books of essays and criticism and autobiography. During 2008 alone, he published two short stories, a memoir, and three book reviews in The New Yorker Magazine. Especially poignant are his musings on getting old  in “A Desert Encounter” (20/10/08); and in his powerful short story “Outage” (07/01/08) he flexes his muscles one last time on the subject of sexual tension in suburbia. His last short story (26/06/08) was — ironically and wonderfully — called ‘The Full Glass.’ He was a writer to the end.

What Updike gave me (aside from lessons in the craft of writing: he was a master and mentor, a guide and father-figure) was this: his subject matter, as sordid as it sometimes was — the bedroom society of Couples (1968), for example — was about ordinary human behaviour; he always dealt with it candidly and non-judgmentally. He was a chronicler of our time. When I learned of his death, I felt a personal loss, as if a close friend or relative had died. And that is exactly what did happen. Although he never knew me, I knew him (or at least I believed I did, and still do) through his writing, and I loved him for his candour — for showing me that he saw the world much the way I did, and for reassuring me that despite our weaknesses as human beings, we are all still capable — as he and his characters were — of noble deeds.

See Jeet Heer’s piece in The National Post (28/01/09) and M. T. Kelly’s piece in The Globe & Mail (29/01/09) by clicking here and here.

Next Installment: My next project: Men in Groups.

I’m not saying that how one person interacts with people is precisely how he or she would interact with a books, but it’s a fascinating way of thinking to see the pattern:

Reading books can be very similar to meeting people — and to some degree, the similarity is brought to light through the frequently-used expression and analogy “don’t judge a book by its cover”.

More importantly, books and people, have influence over your thinking (even the most absolutely boring ones) and have an impact on your life.  How many books have you read that have changed your life or the way you think?  Similarly, how many people have you met that have made an impact on you?  How have they influenced the way you live and think?

To some degree, books have a life-span (not age wise) that is very similar to individual people.  Just as we read books and gain knowledge or understanding, we also gain to some degree — almost the same from a particular perspective — from interacting with other people.

In terms of differences, the content of books rarely change — only the interpretations change; while people are pretty dynamic — our opinions change — what we think of an issue, how we feel about one another, where we want to be in the future, etc.

What we find in books is very much what we discover hidden in every individual — both require time to unravel and unveil.  Perhaps one (of the many proposed) future of books is not just simply bringing content electronically and allowing universal access regardless of device, but providing a platform where the content can become dynamic … a story with characters that change not just across pages, but over time with a reader’s interaction.

Just for the record, I’m not suggesting a form of Wikipedia or anything that currently exists.  I just wanted to muse about the similarities between books and people.

Having had the opportunity to work at Dundurn for nearly three years has been both challenging and a pleasure.  With the help and support of the many people I’ve been lucky enough to work with from day to day; share ideas and enthusiasm with, and learn so much from — it has almost always been a pleasure.  Thank you.  Unfortunately, this will be my final blog post here at Defining Canada.  I will be passing the torch over to Erin Winzer when it comes to the matters of blogging.  She blogs more than I do these days anyways…

Thank you as always for dropping by.  I’ll be watching from the sidelines (with a little online participation) as the evolution of  the book continues to occur around the world.

Well, if you’re not able to make it to the El Ateneo Bookstore in Buenos Aires, Argentina, here’re some things we’ve stumbled across (thanks to the many people that shared them with us over twitter) that perhaps you may want to try out … when you’re not reading:

Construct Something With Your Books … a house, staircase, maybe even a bookshelf?

Line up your book spines and see if there’s a connection

Sculpt from books

Turn the books into a masterpiece work of art

Arrange all of Your Books according to colour

We’ll be closed for the holidays until January 5th 2009 so if you happen to visit us and begin wondering if we’re still around. Don’t worry, we’ll be back … or perhaps we’re just in the midst of laying out the schematics to actually constructing a castle out of books…

An excerpt from Thomas Chambers’ 4 star (out of 4) review of late historian The Firebrand:

William Kilbourn was a first rate historian and a gifted storyteller. Using a combination of primary and secondary sources, he takes the reader back to Upper Canada in the 1820’s and 30’s. In his hands, Mackenzie and the Family Compact members come to life. We sense, as a result, Mackenzie’s frustration at the slow pace of political reform and sympathize with him as he, a veritable David, takes on the Family Compact Goliath. That the reader becomes a strong Mackenzie fan is proof of Kilbourn’s skill as a writer. (Those who start rebellions are often portrayed in another light.) Kilbourn’s book could be used as a text or for recreational reading. Originally published in 1956, it has a new introduction written by historian Ronald Stagg who helped co-edit a book of documents on the 1837 rebellion.

Val Ken Lem on Christopher McCreery’s The Beginner’s Guide to Canadian Honours:

Despite its brevity and noted shortcomings, the volume provides a valuable service in introducing young readers to the world of Canadian honours. It could find a home in a library’s reference or general circulating collection and should be in all public and middle school libraries.

Deborah Mervold on our reissue of Andrea Spalding’s An Island of My Own:

The novel contains rich language which is descriptive and full of imagery…The characters are realistic for their ages and situations. They are believable, from Rowan who misses her parents and is concerned for their safety, to the twins who are always pulling pranks and playing games…An Island of My Own, a reprint of the 1998 original, would be a great addition to a school, public or personal library. It would also be a great choice to read out loud for small groups, class or individuals. It would appeal to many readers in the intended age group.

Last but not least is Joanne Peters’ enthusiastic review of Valerie Sherrard’s latest Shelby Belgarden Mystery, Searching for Yesterday:

After the incredible suspense and downright terror of Eyes of a Stalker, Searching for Yesterday is in many ways, a kinder and gentler story. Nevertheless, it is a story which deals with some real-life issues faced by real-life teens: the search for identity (and birth parentage), the consequences of bad choices, and the rewards of facing difficult situations. Valerie Sherrard’s telling of Annie’s story is compassionate and insightful about the challenges faced by foster children…Highly recommended for all Shelby Belgarden fans, and really, a good “starter” for those who have yet to meet her.

Two significant things have occurred over the past year that demonstrate we are moving in that direction:

1.  Adobe has released Acrobat 9 which now allows for the ability to embed video or flash animation within a PDF.

2.  E-ink has shown its new product which allows for animation (via Teleread.org)

Combine the two technologies and we have the ability to begin to introduce animation into books. Now all we need is a little bit of colour…

Suggested Future Implications?

I think long-term and big picture — so from my perspective, the introduction of such technologies are quite fascinating as the introduction of e-books and the ability for print-on-demand can reduce the cost of actually printing the book. However, with the trend of moving into the realm of interactivity and multimedia, the production costs of books may actually increase due to technical and labour requirements.

Another way of looking at this evolution is by comparing it with the evolution of the video game. Video games have evolved from a simple goal (i.e. Pac Man) to a slightly more complex set of objectives (i.e. Super Mario) to an extremely in-depth storyline-based set of goals, objectives and achievements. Video games have turned into a massive projects combining and utilizing the skill sets of many different people from a diverse number of fields from writers to 3D modelers to physicists.

By no means am I suggesting that all books will be integrated with a “video game” — I am simply noting how we might end up interacting with text content and other related media, changing the way we enjoy a book. Don’t worry folks, there will still be books that will be pure text.

Now add some multiplayer or social networking to these books and we’ve got a drastically different story.

For now… enough dreaming.

What if we could connect people to books via a salad dressing that they enjoyed? Just for fun, I took a look at office fridge and this is what I found:

Renne’s Gourmet Vinaigrette: Spring Herb Italian

Kraft Signature Balsamic Vinaigrette

Kraft Signature Greek with Feta & Oregano

Kraft Italian

Newman’s Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette

Litehouse Organic Raspberry Lime Vinaigrette

I then asked people around the office what book, that we publish, they would associate with each particular salad dressing and here are a few results:

Renne’s Gourmet Vinaigrette: Spring Herb Italian -> Suggestions: Canadians at Table and For the Record

Kraft Signature Balsamic Vinaigrette -> Suggestions: To Timbuktu for a Haircut, and The Dells

Kraft Signature Greek with Feta & Oregano -> Suggestions: The Footstop Cafe

Kraft Italian -> Suggestion: Angel in the Full Moon

Newman’s Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette -> Suggestions: Doug Lennox’s Now You Know and To Timbuktu for a Haircut

Litehouse Organic Raspberry Lime Vinaigreete -> Suggestions: Porcelain Moon and Pomegranates

Perhaps at another time, we’ll take a more in-depth look at how our tastebuds just might be connected to what we read.