I have been reading through your story
in short bits. Your words hurt
my heart. It is so much work for some
people to survive from day to day. They
don’t deserve their painful realities, and my
opportunities are so apparent,
under my reading lamp.
.
.
#firstnationsauthors #indigenousauthor
.
.
.
.
.
(ignore WordPress ads)
.
.
.
.
.
.
“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”
~Madeleine L’Engle
How profound is this? And what a truth! Some of the most powerful literature is written for kids. It challenges thinking and shines a light on what the world is like, encouraging them to question the status quo and make changes to improve society.
Here’s a Moxy Früvous performance for those spouses whose loved ones always have a nose between pages…
.
.
Most of a publishing house’s marketing budget goes to its most popular, A-list authors. You know: the ones least in need of the promotion. If you have found a mid-list or new author whose work you enjoy, you can become a crucial, and very appreciated, part of his/her success. What’s more, your enthusiasm may encourage him/her to keep writing! Here’s how.
1. Leave honestly positive reviews everywhere you can: Goodreads, Amazon, Kobo, your library, iBooks. Tell people what you really liked about the book’s characters, themes, setting, style, and the genre on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, and anywhere else you can think of. Reviews are key for a new reader to take a risk on an unknown author.
2. Tell your friends! If you have a friend who likes the genre, recommend the book. But, do the author a favour. If your friends read romance, don’t recommend a horror book, because it will probably lead to a one star review somewhere. Some people shouldn’t read the book. The more often someone sees a name, the more likely they are to eventually pick it up, so talk about the book on social media, and link to the author’s profile.
3. Submit a book acquisition request at your local library. This can often be done on your library’s website. When the book is in, take it out, and encourage your friends to take it out. Personally recommend the book to strangers in the library. If you see it hiding on the shelf, turn it facing out, or set it on a table where it will catch the eye of someone who might otherwise not notice it.
4. Offer to be part of the author’s street team or to be a beta reader for future projects. You may get early release copy of future books in exchange for your review. There may be other perks, like a mention in the acknowledgements of the author’s next book. If you’re doing the 5 things on this list, the author would love to know who you are, so be sure to introduce yourself on social media.
5. Give the book as a gift! Buy several copies of the book to share with people you think would love it like you do. If you know the author, get the book signed for your friends or relatives. Author signed books are cool birthday or Christmas gifts. If you are far away, some authors (like me!) will mail you signed book plates to put into your copy or are on Authorgraph so you can download a pdf.
It’s all about sharing the book love!
Sometimes you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book. And then there are the books…which you can’t tell people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like a betrayal.
(John Green, The Fault In Our Stars p. 33)
Obviously for me Outlander is the book series that fills me with evangelical zeal. I’ve been trying to think what the special and rare book is for me, that I’d not want to share with anyone. I can’t think of one. Then again, I’m not a very private person, and as a librarian, I’m kind of into the whole sharing books, though I try to match the book to the right person, of course. How about you? Do you have a rare and special book that you hold close to your heart?
PS. If you haven’t read the amazing book I’m quoting from above, you really should check it out. I think it was one of the best books I’ve read in the last year (and I read over a hundred books in the last year).
Here I am again, planning on an early night, and before you know it, it’s midnight. Tyrion Lannister has it right in Clash of Kings. He says,
Sleep is good.
Books are better.
~George R. R. Martin
Will grinned. “Some of these books are dangerous,” he said. “It’s wise to be careful.”
“One must always be careful of books,” said Tessa, “and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us… Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry.”
Cassandra Clare in Clockwork Angel (p. 86)
I’m always so sad when I hear from kids boasting that they’ve never read a book. They miss so much opportunity to learn and grow! Readers live thousands of lives, experience diverse perspectives, and make emotional connections with worlds far apart from their own.
What literature and poetry have influenced you?
Someone said,
“Books are a hard-bound drug
with no danger of over-dose.”
Lies.
I am an addict.
I have clutched my paper-bound
or hard-bound drug until
my hands are frozen claws,
I have lost hours of my life
in the blink of an eye,
I opened the cover for
just a few pages before bed,
and blinked up at the dawn light
as the birds mocked outside my window.
I turn pages until my eyes
can not focus,
my lids rasp close,
my arms tremble,
my fingers numb,
my neck kinked,
but still I read on, until
my eyes
close.
I stagger in a stupor
to my bed.
When I am lost to consciousness,
my dreams are vivid,
I wake with an aching head,
the morning after.
I am a book addict.
I know over-dosing
is a danger,
but
the paper smells so good,
the rustle of the pages
is music,
the story is magic,
and I am helpless in
its thrall.
That’s all.
My name is Shawn,
and I am addicted to books.
Each day she enters the library
trailing behind her friends to sign out a book-
one they suggest or something near that’s fat
and impressive.
“I could never read a book that thick!”
“I heard that author is great!”
She settles into her seat, and
during silent reading
she opens to the middle and flips pages
occasionally looking at the cryptic shapes
arranged on the page to find words she knows,
but mostly her eyes are elsewhere as she turns
the page, stealthily,
wondering what others see when they read
wondering if they are pretending,
wondering if anyone notices.
At the end of each class,
its mysteries too deep to decipher
she drops the book into the library bin.
“Are you done already?”
“Yes. It was really good.”
Shawn L. Bird 