Happy Birthday Bryan Lee O'Malley!

Send dude your well-wishes here.

Costumed Heroes Can't Help But Look Silly

Or: An Out of Context Excerpt from The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard by Eddie Campbell & Dan Best

To read Joe McCulloch's stunning review of this book, click here.
To view Bookslut's video interview with Campbell, click here.

Inkwell Interjects

I know I just criticized the Christians yesterday, but this little bit of b.s. was just too insane to pass up. Self-publishing magnets, Xlibris, recently put out a press release listing 5 Tips for Successfully Publishing a Christian Book. The tips range from the ultra-obvious to the Jesus-Christ-why-am-I-even-reading-this?! ridiculous. In lieu of posting a Book News full of layoffs and bankruptcy notices, I decided to reprint it below, adding my own antagonistic interjections where applicable.
Enjoy!

Successfully Publishing a Christian Book
Christian books are written for a specific purpose, for a specific audience. Knowing how to go about it will ensure your success in publishing a book on Christianity.

Writing a book that caters to a particular audience – like the Christian community – is a direction taken by a writer to ascertain that they have applied not just a holistic approach towards successful distribution but also targeting it to the right market. The best part about writing a Christian book is getting them published and seeing it make a difference in readers’ lives. The following guidelines will help you along the way when writing your Christian book.

First, try to conceptualize the kind of book you are writing. Penning a Christian book does not mean you can just babble off religion like it is daily fodder for the rumor mill. Christianity basically means living a life based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and holding true to the Christian faith. If you are to write a book with these essential elements, then you are already headed in the right path. Your book will be as lively as it is entertaining; inspiring as it is educating.

Inkwell interjects: In other words, if you're going to write a quote/unquote "Christian book," make sure it's about either Christ or Christianity. Thanks for the clarification, Xlibris!

Second, your interaction with the Christian community adds to the foundation of your Christian values. Living the Christian lifestyle will always give you credibility as an author of a book on Christianity. However, communicating with a community of fellow believers will provide you with more knowledge and information on the Christian life that will be valuable for your written work. The truths that you glean from others will strengthen your book’s trustworthiness. Anecdotes will also give your book a personal touch as do quotes from real people.

Inkwell interjects: My, these motherf**kers are wordy. Perhaps it's because they charge by the page for their publishing services and are trying to set an expensive precedent for their potential customers? Anyway, here's the CliffsNotes version: 'Practice what you preach' was good enough for the original Christ, but for his biographers, that's simply not going to cut it. To steal a page from the Jews (Hey, they stole Jesus!), better you should schmooze.

Third, pray. Ask for guidance, focus and inspiration. If you are writing a book on divine matters, then you are going to need divine inspiration. Once you receive direction and guidance for your book, you can then begin your outline.

Inkwell interjects: Pray for 'divine inspiration'? Priceless! Oh, and your editor's gonna love this, too. As your completed manuscript will be, in effect, The Word of God, they won't have to fix a thing. (And if they try? You know they're doing the Devil's work.)

Fourth, be resourceful. Do not just rely on the Internet to help you with your content. Books about Christianity from published authors also are good content aids. Organize your materials and set a writing schedule. Add flavor by placing in your own experience with Jesus Christ – nothing beats personal encounters with the Lord in conveying your message to your audience. A detailed but not too lengthy testimonial will help you connect with your readers more.

Inkwell interjects: Yes, simply copying information from other sources may not be enough when writing your own book. You may have to resort to -- gasp! -- using your own ideas and experiences. (Of course, this would seem to contradict the 'waiting for divine inspiration' mentioned in tip 3, but whatever...)

Fifth, find a publisher. Once your manuscript is all set, search for a publisher and comply with their submission guidelines. Make sure they have services that will help you target your book to the right audience.

With these guidelines, you are well on the way to a becoming a successful author of a Christian book.

Inkwell interjects: Wait, what? "Find a publisher"? Isn't that supposed to be a pretty tough thing to do? I mean, why would they be on a self-publishing website if finding a publisher seemed in any way possible?

(Prays, waits, prays again.)

Ohhh. I get it, Xlibris. You're just testing their faith.

30 Second Book Review:The Pirate's Daughterby Margaret Cezair-Thompson

Cezair-Thompson’s novel conjures the glitter of Hollywood and the rich history of Jamaica through the bittersweet coming of age of teenager Ida Joseph, and the legacy she leaves for her daughter, May. It is set on Jamaica where the “roguish” Errol Flynn maintained a home during the 1940’s. With Flynn’s arrival came the lure of Hollywood and its temptations for the young women of Jamaica. The Pirate’s Daughter is a romantic pageturner, and the author, who was born in Jamaica, effortlessly captures the essence of the island throughout this engaging novel.
Reviewed by Charlotte

Book News, In Brief

In the past few years, the only artist putting out more posthumous product than Tupac is Tolkien. Via the AP: An early, long-unpublished work by J.R.R. Tolkien is coming out. The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun, a thorough reworking in verse of old Norse epics that predates...The Lord of the Rings trilogy, will be published in May by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Perhaps the worst promotional gimmick ever, via The LA Times: To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the New International Version of the Bible, the publishing house Zondervan is inviting people across the country to copy a verse in their own hand. Still, if any of y'all are planning to participate, I'd suggest checking out Cracked Magazine's list of The 9 Most Badass Bible Verses first. 2 Kings 2:23-24 is nuts!

Semi-related: A group of Minnesota monks spent 10 years and $5.5 million to create a seven-volume, hand-lettered, 'illuminated' Bible. And you thought your donations were going to molested choirboys and 'church renovations.' Via The Baltimore Sun: At a time when books can be written and distributed to millions by high-speed computer, there is no earthly reason why anyone would need to spend $5.5 million to create an illuminated manuscript of the Catholic Bible, featuring calligraphy applied by hand on calfskin parchment and other bookmaking methods dating back to the Middle Ages. And yet, that may be exactly why such a project was launched in 2000 by monks from St. John's Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minn. They're not doing it because they have to, but because they want to, for the glory of God and the enrichment of those who view the work.

The Strangest Watchmen Merchandising You're Going to See (today)

Secure your jaw, then click here.

Just Breathe

Cash-strapped writers can breathe a little easier. The Guardian UK has the writer's guide to surviving the recession.


Cash-strapped readers can breathe a little easier, too. The Precocious Curmudgeon has tips for selling your manga on ebay.


Cash-strapped widows can breathe a whole helluva lot easier -- provided that their dearly departed were famous writers with unfinished manuscripts. Tessa Dick, the last wife of Philip K. Dick, spills the beans on 'reworking' and self-publishing The Owl in Daylight, the novel Dick was working on at the time of his death.

Stop the presses! This just in:
Cash-strapped Kennedeys can breathe infinitesimally easier (at least until their inevitable, untimely demise). JFK's missing library book has been found, and the late fees waived.

This Is Why He's Hot

Haruki Murakami on accepting the $10,000 Jerusalem Prize, Israel's highest literary honor for foreign writers: "When I was asked to accept this award I was warned from coming here because of the fighting in Gaza...I asked myself — is visiting Israel the proper thing to do? Will I be supporting one side. I gave is it some thought. And I decided to come. Like most novelists, I like to do exactly the opposite of what I'm told. Novelists can't trust anything they haven't seen with their own eyes or touched with heir own hands. So I chose to see. I chose to speak here rather than say nothing."
To read what Murakami chose to say, click here.

Related: Wendell Edwards' review of Murakami's Norwegian Wood.

Go, Look!

Fans of feminism, bondage, and the outsider art of Henry Darger will want to check out The Hooded Utilitarian's two-part piece on Wonder Woman creator, William Moulton. In it, blogger Noah Berlatsky playfully details the ways in which Moulton's 'particular fetishes and fantasies' have made the Wonder Woman character so troublesome for comics writers in the sixty-some-odd years since.
An excerpt:
Whereas Superman, Batman, Spider-man, etc., are to some extent just interchangeable adventure heroes, Wonder Woman stories were much more like something by Tom O’Finland or R. Crumb — that is, Moulton had an idiosyncratic vision based on his fairly explicit sexual kinks (basically strong woman, bondage, control, submission — that kind of thing). [...] Moulton made his stories about those fetishes and fantasies; that’s what he wanted to talk about, and in that context WW’s appearance (girly, uncovered), her tools (the magic lasso, the bracelets), and her contradictory image (powerful, but always being dominated), all make at least a kind of sense. His weird blend of feminism/misogyny (“I love strong women — tie them up so I may love them more!”) means you can’t get the feminism without the misogyny, but also means you can’t get the misogyny without the feminism.
Seriously, this is a wonderfully funny and informative piece. If you've never read any of Moulton's Wonder Woman stories, it will have you scouring ebay, looking for cheap, used comics. And for those of you already familiar with the mind of Moulton, it will offer added insight into the super-talented super-freak and his contradictory creation.
Click here for part one and part two.
Go, look!

Book News, In Brief

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy 20th birthday dear fatwa against Salman Rushdie. Happy birthday to you!


It's happened to all of us: A favorite book is reissued...with a cringe-inducing movie still replacing the original cover art. The Australian commiserates.


Considering how the economy is doing these days, I don't know if this is a list to avoid, or a list to mimic: The Top 25 Books that Corporate America is Currently Reading.


China is in the midst of a literary renaissance, with hundreds of thousands of new novels and novelists popping up in the past few years. So what's fueling the book boom? The internet, of course. CNN reports: "In America, people have the American dream. In China, people have the online dream."


The release of an unauthorized biography about New York Yankee, Alex 'A-Rod' Rodriguez, has been bumped up a month in an effort to capitalize on recent revelations regarding the batter's bouts with steroids. Whether Hit and Run: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez will include the syringe-shaped bookmark I recommended to the publisher remains to be seen.

Book News, In Brief

Okay, so here's the deal. I'll give all of you self-published authors this l'il bit of false hope on the condition that you promise not to call us up this weekend asking if we sold any copies of your poorly edited erotic-memoir. Via PR Web: Outskirts Press, the fastest-growing full-service self-publishing and book marketing company, today announced that its top-five earning authors combined to gross over $60,000 in royalties in the fourth quarter of 2008. To read the whole thing, click here. But remember, you promised...

The Christian-Science Monitor has gathered up all of the major Kindle2 reviews, listing them by point of grievance and/or praise. This quote from The Silicon Alley Insider seems to sum up the summaries: For now, we still see the Kindle as an expensive toy for reading enthusiasts, frequent travelers, and gadget lovers — and not yet a mainstream device. Today’s improvements will make new Kindle buyers happier than they’d be with the old one. But they alone won’t do much to dramatically drive adoption.

The Reporter-Times has an article in praise of science fiction magazines. Remember those? An excerpt: Nearly forgotten in the world of science fiction media is the role of the great science fiction story magazines. Many of the great science fiction novels were first published in some shape or form in a magazine...The Skylark and Lensmen books by E.E. “Doc” Smith...Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey...(and) Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles.
Editor's note: Bookmark this one -- you'll be able to re-run it as an epitaph soon enough.

The old expression, 'Publish or perish,' has been updated. It's now, 'Publish and perish -- thanks to your publisher!' The Globe & Mail reports: "The publisher now seems to feel his duty to the writer is fulfilled when the writer has his book in hand. After that, the book must find its way in the world, like the seed off a poplar tree blowing in the wind." Another, a novelist, sees a "steady erosion of [publishers'] services toward creators. ... [They] no longer edit or proofread as they once did, buy advertising, employ a sales force ... and tour authors as they once did" - and this at a time when the books they publish have climbed in price to "the edge of affordability for most readers."

Grim Times Bring Great Art...Right?

Hip hop and punk rock once inspired in me a theory: That one of the few positive side-effects of a frightening political climate and/or an economic crises is the emergence of new and inspired artforms. Well, this theory was pretty much proven false during the eight years of George Bush vs. The Axis of Evil, and if all that the current economy has to offer us artistically is the rise of the Auto-tune, then my theory is well and truly dead. That said, Jennifer de Guzman has written an article matching some of the major moments in comics to the socio-economic disasters that were simultaneously taking place in the real world. So maybe I wasn't so dumb after all...

An excerpt from: Life in Comics: Can Creativity Save Comics from Troubled Times?
In the 1930s, while people were struggling with poverty and confronting the looming threat of fascism, Siegal and Shuster invented a (Super)man who did not have to struggle and who used his power for the benefit of humanity. In the early 1980s, when the economy was failing but the country had no clear moral battle on the horizon, alternative comics began to take on, as Charles Hatfield writes in his book Alternative Comics: An Emerging Literature, "the exploration of searchingly personal and at times more political themes."...What will troubled economic times bring us this time around?

To read the entire article, click here.

Inkwell Michelle's 30 Second Book Review

The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
Those who’ve read Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, are familiar with his virtuoso writing style - it’s smooth, yet meaty - witty, but tender. He’s a natural and creative storyteller. In his latest novel, the sentence structure is consciously shorter to mimic the noir mystery genre - think Raymond Chandler. In Chabon’s foray into the pulp, hardboiled mystery featuring the down-at-heels detective, Meyer Landsman, we are introduced to a very different world, one in which the Jews after WW2 lost Israel and were forced to settle in Sitka, Alaska. Using the framework of a mystery opens a panoramic window to see into the private moments of a people whose very existence is threatened by deportation. Landsman bridges all levels of society as he investigates the death of a chess prodigy and son of the local, Orthodox mob boss. The murder is a thread that wends through the story, revealing and illuminating the secrets, fears, and bravery of an isolated and displaced people. Chabon is funny and melancholy, often in the same sentence, and the result is a literary treat that has an appeal across genres and genders.

It's A Small World After All(Or: I Hope The Russians Love Their Bookstores Too)

A recent report from Russia's Institute for Globalization and Social Movements tried to put a positive spin on its country's current economic crises, claiming, "The crisis has forced millions of Russians to search for a new meaning of life, and the discussion of social problems, as well as radical political and philosophical literature are very likely to cause an intensive interests on the part of readers now."
This was, of course, total chush' sobach'ya.
According to the Itar-Tass News Agency, "Experts who deal with the book publishing industry do not share this viewpoint. They claim that, on the contrary, the readers will now turn their eyes massively to the easy and entertaining genre. One way or another, the crisis has already affected the bookstores, and 30% to 45% of them are now facing the prospect of a shutdown."
Sound familiar, comrades?
For a sobering summary of Russia's bookselling woes, click here.

Gift Tips for the Bookish:Toys Action Figures Collectible Figurines

Okay, if you're still shopping for Valentine's Day gifts at this point, you're either a super-devoted lover looking for the absolute perfect gift...or you're a procrastinating punk undeserving of love. Either way, we've got a few new book-related gift ideas, this time for the child in all of us. (Well, the Richie Rich-ish child in all of us. Just wait 'til you see the prices on some of these things!)













Homemade Mark Twain figure $50.00
Hand made Edgar Allan Poe-t Doll $175.00













Where The Wild Things Are bobble heads $11.99 each
Horton Hears A Who 9" vinyl figure $59.99













Hunter S. Thompson's Dr. Gonzo figure $80.00
Alice In Wonderland 4 figure set $38.99


Special thanks to Super Punch for 3 of the links!

Book News, In Brief

The MOCCA is currently running an exhibition celebrating the art of Harvey Comics, home to Casper the Friendly Ghost, Richie Rich, and Hot Stuff. For those of you not versed in The History of American Graphic Storytelling, these 'comics'* are noteworthy in that they eschewed literary pretensions in favor of fun. Très outré!
*Editor's note: 'Comics' was the crude term cro-magnon man used to describe graphic storytelling in the pre-Maus era.



To hell with all those haughty booksellers patting themselves on the back for carrying The Catcher In The Rye. This is the sort of bookseller we ought to be celebrating during Banned Books Week: Polyester Books owner Paul Elliott has had books “stolen” by police, his store vandalised by feminists, books hurled across the room and received threatening phone calls...“I just think people might not agree with (the) content of books, but we are supposed to be living in a democracy,” he said. “Especially drug-orientated books. You can’t eat a book and get high.” LeaderNews.com has a brief bit on the badass bookseller.
Related: Polyester Books has a webpage.



Two new problems regarding Amazon's Kindle2 were revealed on Tuesday.
1. Europeans can't buy 'em.
Via IHT.com: Mobile operators in Europe, which are eager to generate new revenue from sales of "content" like books, may be holding out for a larger share of the proceeds of book sales than Amazon wants to give them.
2. That 'friendly robot voice' that reads your e-books for you? It's probably illegal.
Via Galleycat: "They don't have the right to read a book out loud," said Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild. "That's an audio right, which is derivative under copyright law."
Related: PC World's 5 reasons the iPhone trumps the Kindle

Valentine's Link:“Kissing,” as loosely defined by DC Comics' Heart Throbs, 1956-1961

The Near-Miss

The Chi-Town Chin Suck

Hungry for more? Visit Chris' Invincible Super-Blog. Dude is a genius. Oh, and while you're there, make sure to check out his post, Romance Special: Getting a Date the Batman Way! 'Tis hilarious.

Book News, In Brief

The Guardian UK has a unique take on why e-books aren't bigger: There aren't enough 'illegal' copies floating around the net yet.


Related: Amazon.com's Kindle2. For a brief encapsulation of yesterday's unveiling, head on over to Publishers Weekly...you traitorous f**ks.


Alright, enough about e-books. The 'coming soon' news that has me giddy is DC Comics' NYCCC announcement regarding their upcoming Lockjaw & the Pet Avengers mini-series. The world has waited far too long for an all-ages comic book featuring a teleporting bulldog, a dragon from another planet, and a frog Thor. (Well, I have, anyway.)


With their advertising dollars dwindling daily, newspapers and magazines are wondering if micropayments -- small payments made by readers for individual articles or other pieces of a la carte content -- will save them. Not likely, says Clay Shirky: The essential thing to understand about small payments is that users don’t like being nickel-and-dimed. We have the phrase ‘nickel-and-dimed’ because this dislike is both general and strong. The result is that small payment systems don’t survive contact with online markets, because we express our hatred of small payments by switching to alternatives, whether supported by subscription or subsidy. To read Shirky's whole piece, click here.


This might be the most extreme example of customer service...ever. The Dayton Daily News reports: When Wittenberg University professor Dan Fleisch read on Amazon.com that Michel Cuhaci of Ottawa had received a flawed copy of Fleisch's book A Student's Guide to Maxwell's Equation, he posted a comment, identifying himself as the author and promising Cuhaci he would try to send the book via overnight courier. The only problem was, it was Christmas Eve...His next thought — he'd drive to Canada and deliver the $26 book himself. "I looked at my iPhone and there was this massive blob (snowstorm) over the whole Northeast," he said...(But) it appeared there'd be a break in the snow by morning. At 6 a.m. Christmas Day Fleisch was sitting in a plane at the Dayton airport waiting to head north. "I'm sitting there. The plane is fairly empty, and I think, 'Am I nuts?'" Click here to continue.

Gift Tips for the Bookish: Board Games

Just in time for Valentine's Day: The Pride and Prejudice board game!

For ordering info, click here.

Book News, In Brief

Today's the day that Amazon is holding their highly publicized "secretive press conference," the topic of which is rumored to be the release of a new Kindle. I'll post any pictures and/or plot twists as they're revealed.

Just in time to make the new Kindle seem instantly outdated, Google has opened the e-book floodgates, offering 1.5 million downloadable books...free of charge! One wonders how Amazon -- once the proverbial 'cheapest game in town' -- will attempt to undersell free.

Good news for backlist titles! The powers-that-be have made their final decision regarding the safety requirements for kid's books, and it's good news for backlist titles. Via Publisher's Weekly: Consumer products for children 12 and under cannot contain more than 600 parts per million of lead in any accessible part, the Commission said it would "not impose penalties against anyone for making, importing, distributing or selling" a list of specified products, including "an ordinary children’s book printed after 1985." Shhh...listen closely. That sound you hear is the publishers of The Hardy Boys screaming in delight.