On the business of books...

The WSJ has an article today on the current investigation by the Justice Department on allegations of price fixing on e-books by Apple and some Publishers:

U.S. Warns Apple, Publishers

Justice Department Threatens Lawsuits, Alleging Collusion Over E-Book Pricing

 

Mike Shatzkin, of The Shatzkin Files, weighs in here:

If the government makes agency go away

 

Scott Turow, author and President of the Authors Guild:

Letter from Scott Turow: Grim News

 

John R. MacArthur, publisher of Harper's Magazine:

John R. MacArthur: Internet con men ravage publishing

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I think it would be great if the big six publishers opened up retail centers, or thought about underwriting some independent bookstores. It seems to me to be a natural.  

What I'm reading...

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, PH.D. - 

As a writer, and an independent contractor, I need to adjust my attitude from time to time. Everyone faces disappointments; what is it that keeps you pushing onward, despite the setbacks? Dweck, a professor at Stanford, brings over twenty years of research trying to understand the way people respond to challenges. The way we look at the world often determines how successful we will be in it. Her research shows that a growth mindset gives us a greater chance to reach our full potential. It's a fascinating area of study.

 

Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up by Patricia Ryan Madson

Someone recommended this book to me. I'm currently writing a novel and one of the characters is an actress. She gets stuck, and to get unstuck she decides to take some improv classes. I've been reading a lot of Chicago improv greats, but I'm glad to have Madson's book, too. Madson taught in the theater department at Stanford for over thirty years. This is my week for Stanford professors! 

 

 


The Heart of Haiku, by Jane Hirshfield

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Jane Hirshfield's, The Heart of Haiku, is given a well deserved mention in an article by Dwight Garner in today's New York Times on Kindle Singles. A Kindle Single* is a new form that has found its readers: longer than an essay and shorter than a book, the Single is something that can usually be read in one sitting and savored forever -- at least, that's the case in Hirshfield's work on the poet Basho and the form he is famous for, the Haiku.

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*Kindle singles and e-books can be read on your computer; your smart phone; or other e-readers. You can download the free application software on Amazon.

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Here's my recommendation from the Amazon site:

I first encountered Jane Hirshfield's poetry in The Atlantic; it was June of 1996 that I read "Three Foxes by the Edge of the Field at Twilight" on my computer and then heard her reading her poem on RealAudio -- the technology was new -- what a joy to hear a poem read by the poet in your own home! I was entranced, and thus began my journey. I found The Lives of the Heart: Poems and fell in love with her work. The true test of a poet's strength, for me, is if lines of their poetry come back to me unbidden -- I know, then, that the poetry has taken root. Hirshfield's poetry can make that claim. I have purchased several copies of Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry to hand out to friends; it is a book that I consider essential. We took turns reading poems from Women in Praise of the Sacred: 43 Centuries of Spiritual Poetry by Women at the bedside of a loved one; those poems, those ancient voices, provided vessels for our grief. I will always be grateful that they were so thoughtfully woven together and made available in this anthology.

The essay on Basho is a gift of thought about form. There is nothing to do but accept the gift and bow to the generosity. It is wonderful.

 

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Hirshfield priced The Heart of Haiku at 99 cents -- a gift to the reader -- you owe it to yourself to buy one and send one to everyone you know.

 

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Hirshfield's newest book of poems, Come, Thief is available at Amazon.

Two of her poems are in the current issue of the Harvard Divinity Bulletin:

Two Poems

Three Mornings

Runner

Poet Christian Wiman on Love, Faith, and Cancer - Bill Moyers

 

The Harvard Divinity Bulletin (Winter / Spring 2012)  features a wonderful essay by Christian Wiman:

By Love We Are Led to God

 

as well as Two Poems:

Every Riven Thing

This Mind of Dying

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His books are available on Amazon:

Every Riven Thing: Poems

Ambition and Survival: Becoming a Poet 


Kindle Daily Deal

The Kindle reading application can be used on all computers and mobile devices without the need to purchase an actual Kindle. With the application, you can download and read any Kindle book. Amazon offers a deal a day; todays offering is the Best American series. This is from Amazon:

Kindle Daily Deal, February 25

Today only, a set of seven "Best American 2011" anthologies is available for just $1.99 each (77% off yesterday's price).

Each day, we unveil one Kindle book at a specially discounted price. Check back daily to see what's next. Deals go live at approximately 12:00 a.m. Pacific time and run for 24 hours.

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I love this series. I'm buying The Best American Essays 2011; and The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2011. I may wind up buying more before the deadline. 

 

 

What I'm reading...

The Screenwriter's Problem Solver by Syd Field

I was reading this at the library and I just had to buy it. It was talking to me! I'm in the middle of a rewrite on American Gothic Chicago. I let the work sit for a few months and then thought about rewriting it as a screenplay. The screenplay treatment brings the work down to its essence, allowing me to see some of the narrative problems.

I remembered Field from the first screenplay that I wrote, so I updated my Final Draft software and I've been working on this project. Field's book is exactly what I needed right now. I recommend it to all writers. I have his other books, too.


Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck, PhD

I read the first chapter as a preview on my Kindle and I ordered it from the library. It has a lot of great reviews on Amazon and it was recommended by a screenwriting instructor. I'll see if I make it a part of my permanent library. I tend to be persistent in my creative approach. I really love what I'm doing, so it all becomes part of the process.