a swift kick to the bookshelves

31 reasons why my worklife sucks less

2008-05-06T15:39:00.000-04:00

so i'm bored at work, but even a boring day is better than the days i used to have at my old job.

therefore, let's pen an official unofficial list of reasons why i like my job.

1. no dress code, aside from clean and tidy.
2. massive windows that make up one whole side of my cube.
3. i have an ottoman.
4. RESOURCES! (oooooooh....aaaaaaaah)
5. i get to continue working on an iMac.
6. i get to ignore phone calls from annoying PR firms and no one yells at me for it.
7. i'm second on the masthead *vanity*.
8. Visible tattoos and piercings are okay here.
9. it's a FREAKING magazine!!!!!!!
10. free coffee.
11. vacation days can be rolled over year to year.
12. nice people.
13. i get to work on layouts, which i perversely enjoy.
14. the cafeteria downstairs has really good (and healthy!) food.
15. dunkin donuts is in the lobby.
16. i like my boss.
17. i am MUCH less stressed.
18. no stupid busywork projects.
19. my boss is a qualified journalist that understands the usage of semi-colons, commas, and hyphens.
20. the hallways have TONS of amazing artwork on the walls.
21. the company has a museum.
22. the ladies room has nice soap in it.
23. the health insurance is decent.
24. they have an annual catered xmas party.
25. did i mention i like my boss? she laughs at my jokes.
26. i make $8k more than i used to at the old crap job.
27. i can take public transit into the city...which means less driving.
28. whenever they have big meetings, they feed people.
29. you get stuff done in meetings.
30. they recycle.
31. did i mention a lack of a dress code?

tmabb

2008-04-23T11:50:00.002-04:00

ray has decided to retire from taco man and burrito boy for a number of reasons. though it makes me sad, i support him 1 million percent. not just because it frees up more of his time and we can begin brewing together, but because he really thought it out. though he has a great story to share, he's realized that he wants to have the time to do other things: learn the bass, brew, paint, write a fiction blog, do a journal comic.

these are all great projects to look forward to, and i'm excited to see what comes of them. it would be a completely different story if he retired from tmabb so he could sit on his butt. but he's not the type to do that (plus he doesn't sit much anyway).

it's been a hard few days for him because a lot of fans are coming out of the woodwork and telling him how sorry they are to see tmabb go, but they support him. it would have been nice if they had been a bit more supportive BEFORE he retired, but that's my opinion and i'm leaving it at that. ray has really grown as an artist and i'm proud of him. the things he can do with photoshop and a tablet blow my mind. and he's not too shabby with an ink pen either!

so ray, i love you, and i expect great things to come of this: great creative endeavors...as well as a couple great brews.

when the cat is gone, the mice will play

2008-04-23T11:32:00.003-04:00

so it's quiet here at work since we're waiting for the ad breakdown and editorial count, but even so, I can't do a ton with the layout since my EOC is out of town on a photo shoot. speaking of which, i just had one of my own so we can update the editorial staff page, so good times there. the photographer, elliot, even said he could remove the nasty little blemish that decided to make itself comfy by my eyebrow. little bugger.

work has been going well...my first issue has already printed and looks great, and we are on to june, which is the first issue that will have my writing in it (a book review of the green marketing manifestoby john grant...pretty decent, if not frighteningly thorough). we have been hunting for “green tips” for businesses, since our focus for the month is sustainability (hey senge, have you FINALLY finished the necessary revolutionyet?)

i'll be writing another review on a book about landing pages (oh that's gonna be a fun one) and then in september i'm slated to work with the EOC on the cover story. eek!

hmmm...i think there are better picks out there

2008-04-09T08:25:00.004-04:00

sooo...when i went to check my e-mail on the grand yahoo, i was greeted by this. at first glance it intrigued me, but as i scanned the article, i was a little bummed that there weren't more interesting titles...luckily to kill a mockingbird and catcher in the rye were represented, but i dunno. i have definitely read many more books that have moved me and entertained me more than gone with the wind. unfortunately, since it's not even 9:00 AM yet, i can't think of any. gah...zombie brain.

in other book related news, i hope to have a review up of inside steve's brain soon. i am so close to finishing it, but i have been distracted by other more enticing reads. i can say this now: it's jam packed full of interesting things about jobs and apple, but the organization is horrendously piss-poor, with a lot of repetition. it is simply a book that must be read cover-to-cover in order to glean all the information from it (not that you shouldn't read books cover-to-cover). i guess it just annoys me to read a paragraph that seems hauntingly familiar...simply because the same core idea was in a paragraph 15 pages prior.

oh well.

oh...and i made a job change, which is amazing. now i'm calling a magazine home, and really enjoying it. yesterday afternoon, my editor in chief and i approved the editorial for the may issue...when only a week and a half ago i was assigned the layout. my first real magazine layout...given to me 3 days into working here. woo-hoo!

speaking of which...i think i have an article to content edit. onwards and upwards!

it's here!

2008-03-05T16:55:00.002-05:00

it's finally here!

Taco Man and Burrito Boy Books 1 and 2

go buy it! now! now! now!

oooh!

2008-02-13T14:00:00.000-05:00

this one looks good too...

ALL THE WORLD’S A GRAVE: A New Play by William Shakespeare
(August, Drama)

In ALL THE WORLD’S A GRAVE, John Reed takes Shakespeare’s plays, with a primary focus on Hamlet, Othello, Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, King Lear, and Henry V, cuts them up and recombines them into a new play. All the language is Shakespeare’s, but it has been rearranged and reassigned, creating a new story for these characters to act out their fatal loves and flaws, jealousies and betrayals. Shakespeare often sourced his plays from existing plays and this book takes this practice a step further creating an exciting and innovative new work.

John Reed received his MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University. His fiction and non-fiction has appeared in journals, newspapers and magazines nationwide.

hodgman lives!

2008-02-13T13:52:00.002-05:00

so this one will be of special interest to ray...and maybe someone else out there that reads my blog.

i got a hold of the upcoming penguin catalog, and found the following entry:

MORE INFORMATION THAN YOU REQUIRE
(October, Humor/Reference)

MORE INFORMATION THAN YOUR REQUIRE picks up exactly where John Hodgman’s previous book left off—down to the continuation of the page numbers—and consists of brief articles, overlong lists, frighteningly complex charts, and beguiling narratives on such new and familiar themes as the past, the future, cryptogeography, sword canes, and the mole men.

John Hodgman is the author of THE AREAS OF MY EXPERTISE. He has written for the New York Times Magazine and Men’s Journal. He is the “resident expert” on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and has been seen in the nationally televised Mac ads as “PC”.

gods behaving badly

2008-02-03T17:32:00.000-05:00

i found out about this book by marie phillips in one of the reviews in entertainment weekly. the cover caught my attention (i love it! the color is great) and then the brief synopsis drew me in. i knew i would be spending some of my xmas money on this hardcover (though i tend to be a paperback girl).

now, i've read a few not-so-favorable reviews of the book, mainly on amazon, that made me a little worried (that stuff always worries me, especially when i'll be spending a fair amount on a book). more than once i shelled out the cash for a title that, well how should i put it, should have only been library book material. those are always a disappointment, and usually end up on half.com.

but i digress. i enjoy phillips' story-telling technique, and it probably helps that i'm a big fan of mythology. her characters are clever, the story is engaging, and we have two mortals that are a nice blend of sweet and "normal." not gorgeous or popular or trendy. and that is awesome.

i highly suggest this book...though i have to say an early sex scene (well-written) was a little of a "whoa." not because i'm unfamiliar with sex scenes in the book...but because it's between a specific god and goddess, who are technically aunt and nephew. there's a little bit of an eww factor there but at the same time, anyone who has studied mythology knows that's how they rocked back then. in egyptian mythology osirus and isis are siblings and husband and wife. that's what happens when you don't have a lot of partners to choose from.

so, who can't love a book where aphrodite is a phone sex operator and dionysus is a night club owning dj? i've already suggested the book to my professor friend to teach in her classical literature class (she likes throwing in modern adaptations to shake up her students' trees from time to time).

so on a scale of 1-5, i give it a solid 4. good book, good fun.

october `08 will be a good month

2008-01-31T09:16:00.000-05:00

so i was just looking through my catalog of knopf fall 2008 titles, and at the very end i saw something very exciting:

breakdown: portrait of the artist as a young %@&*! by art spigelman

all right, maybe it's really exciting for just me, but i really loved maus I and maus II.

while some people may find it very hard to read these graphic novels, i found it to be completely necessary for me (aside from the research i was doing for a graduate paper). were they tough to read and look at some times? yes. do i shun other people who don't want to have that experience? no.

having read them, i learned things about the holocaust i was not aware of, things that disgusted me, as well as things that opened my eyes. i highly recommend them to anyone interested.

but i digress...spigelman is a great artist and now he is putting out an autobiography via the confines of a graphic novel. this fascinates me.

it's here!

2008-01-22T23:36:00.000-05:00

no, i'm not dead...i've just been *busy*. nevertheless, here is a video podcast from the talented mr. ray of tmabb fame. go to his site. read his webcomic. enjoy the humor.buy the book!

in other news...i have been reading up a storm and plan on posting some book reviews one of these decades...maybe 2020.

until then.

2007-09-24T09:34:00.000-04:00

cool book. seriously

pissed off

2007-08-09T13:42:00.000-04:00

read this: jane dies

umm...so when were they going to tell me? i mean, maybe i need to go back read the letter from the editor, but i've received nothing in the mail about this...and i'm still due some issues.

the thing that really pisses me off is that i really enjoy the magazine. i like the mix of content, and its overall style. hell, i wanted to work there.

this makes me sad.

shamless plug...because i can

2007-08-06T17:54:00.000-04:00

go out and support my illustrating boyfriend galore. maybe if enough support is rallied, i'll actually get back to blogging about books.

in other notes, i just laid the foundation of a shelfari page for my company...it's not hard work getting the books in there, but adding content/rating the books/joining discussions will take some time and dedication. dear publishing god, send me a little intern to sculpt and warp as my own.

what else what else? i can't think of much...it'll be nice once i'm settled into my new apartment, because that means i can unearth all those ARCs i scored from the BEA and start reading. FINALLY!

the journey has come to an end

2007-07-31T21:34:00.000-04:00

***do not read this if you have not finished the seventh harry potter book. if you are foolish enough to read this post despite this disclaimer, and you find out things you didn't want to know, then it's your own goddamn fault.***

i have finished harry potter and the deathly hallows.

i am also sobbing.

i already know that there are some that will read my second sentence and their upper lip will curl in a sneer...who cries over a kids' book?

i do. i cry for the end of a long journey...for a story of love and family, courage and honor. i cry in relief that j.k. rowling realized that she had to let good triumph over evil.

but it was not an easy thing...characters i have liked, and even loved, were casualties. flaws were exposed. trials and tribulations were wrought.

but it all made for a great story...in book 7, as well as the preceeding books 1-6.

but i cry for another reason. an unexpected story turned children's lit legacy has come to an end. harry, ron, hermione, fred and george, luna, and the rest of rowling's cast of characters can be thanked for increasing reading amongst children and young adults, as well as a number of other quality books. but who will bear the torch now? what other talented writers will provide children with stories, stories that will teach the love of reading, growing it into a life-long love affair.

for me, those books were the chronicles of narnia, which my mother read to me when i was 5. yet again, another magical journey, where good versus evil drove the plot line. i don't care that c.s lewis was a hardcore christian, or that christian allegory can be found throughout the chronicles. they are good stories that have stood the test of time, and i can point to them as the seedling of my reading habit.

for children today, it will be harry potter. but what about children 10 years down the road? or 20?

i digress...

it has come to an end. i now know what happened to harry, and that at least is uplifting. a bit different from what my mother suggested, but nonetheless. his character has served us well, and perhaps it is a good thing that the books found their closure. in fact, it is a good thing.

i am not ashamed of my tears. it is the sign of a good story if it moves you to great emotion.

brillance

2007-07-18T15:41:00.000-04:00

some days i seriously feel like flinging off the 40-hour work week chock full of stress and do this...

from page to screen

2007-07-16T12:23:00.001-04:00

so last friday, the ominous 13th, i saw harry potter and the order of the phoenix on the IMAX at KoP. it was entertaining, despite the concern of sitting behind 19 children and their parents, but once the movie started they hushed.

the IMAX experience was interesting (i haven't seen anything on an IMAX in years), but the 3D battle in the ministry of magic was well...all right. like, seeing it on a regular screen would have been perfectly fine by me. plus the main complaint in my group of friends was that the glasses fit funny and the whole experience was a little distracting.

but no biggie. we'll just see it again and make emma watson and daniel radcliffe a little richer (ha, who am i kidding? i meant we'll see it again and make warner bros a little richer!).

so. the movie. i was a little bummed about what they left out (don't worry, i won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet), but then i had to remind myself this: the book is over 800 pages long. the movie is just over 2 hours, and it's the shortest movie of them all (whereas the book is the longest). was stuff left out? yes. were some details changed, most likely to make things more affordable for the production of the film? yes. however the most important question is this: does the movie still tell a good story?

yes.

my initial problem was that i had finished reading the book for a second time a day before we went to see it, so things were very fresh in my mind. that, and i'm a purist. the class i took in grad school on film adaptations of literature nearly killed me, in the sense that i would get all huffy when stuff was drastically changed or left out. i'm getting better though.

so all in all, it was a fun way to spend a friday night after work. but...i can tell you one thing: you are going to find the complete harry potter book series on my shelf before you find the complete dvd series...not just because the last book comes out this saturday, but because in the end, the books are the stories that i really enjoy.

and now for something completely different

2007-06-24T21:50:00.000-04:00

i bought tickets to see lewis black when i'm in vegas on vacation.

can i tell you how frickin' awesome this is???

this is frickin' awesome!

the plagiarist speaks!

2007-06-22T17:07:00.000-04:00

so, i took the time this week to write to the plagiarist and basically told him to make sure the door didn't hit his ass on the way out. here are a couple excerpts for your enjoyment:

[mr. plagiarist]-

i am writing to you about a serious matter. i just finished our upcoming publication, which had your most recent reviews. while the review of [author 1's] book was fine, i was dismayed to find that almost two-thirds of the review of [book 2] was copied from the book, nearly verbatim. the first two paragraphs were gleaned from the book flap, while the paragraphs about reed hastings and netflix were taken from the first two pages of the first chapter. i then discovered that the last paragraph came from page 131 of the book.

you do realize this is plagiarism and is unacceptable. i would like to know why this occurred. it is sloppy work, and if it had not been caught, could have jeopardized the integrity of this publication.

if you have any further questions, or wish to discuss this matter, you may contact me by e-mail.

thank you for your previous work, and good luck with your future endeavors.

his response had him practically prostrate on the ground, apologizing about his oopsie. i had also called him out on his sloppy work, how other assignments had been riddled with typos. he had the gall to say: "Regarding [assignment], I read through my copy last night and could not find the typos you mentioned."

perhaps you shouldn't be a professional writer then!!!

i didn't respond to him. there's no need. so now, my kind readers, this saga has come to a close...until some other idiot thinks i'm stupid.

plagiarizers will be shot and sent to the western front

2007-06-14T16:28:00.001-04:00

all right, perhaps that's a play on words from what my modern american history professor wrote on the board the day of our first exam.

he had written "cheaters will be shot and sent to the western front." (he has an awesome sense of humor.)

so, plagiarism. i absolutely hate it. for anyone who has some integrity, especially someone who calls him- or herself a writer it is inexcusable. like hester prynne, the scumbags that feel it necessary to plagiarize should have a giant "P" emblazoned across their chests.

in high school if you plagiarized a paper, you failed that assignment, and could face other repercussions, depending on the teacher. in college, it was the same deal, though you might also fail the class and maybe even be asked to leave the school.

i remember back in school always hearing about "do NOT plagiarize" from my teachers, and in college, every syllabus had the school's anti-plagiarism message (and punishments) listed, usually on the first page. it's no joke. it's theft. it's dishonesty. for lack of a better word, it's just plain shitty.

so, imagine my surprise when i go over a book review for this month's publication for the first time to really edit (i prefer getting it settled into the layout first before i do my fine-tuning). i already had one of my editors go over the manuscript and she didn't notice anything amiss, and i can't blame her. however, for some reason i wanted to look something up in the book, and that's when i caught it. the very first page of chapter one contained the same paragraph that i had just read, located about 3-4 paragraphs down the first column of the review. i flipped out. i then discovered the first 2 paragraphs were gleaned from the book flap, and the last paragraph was from page 130.

did this freelance writer think i was stupid??? that i don't look over the books? true, i didn't catch it immediately, but i caught it nonetheless (thank god).

i was so insulted, pissed off, and about ready to drive out to where this man lived to personally give him a piece of my mind, though honestly, it's not worth the gas money.

i plan on e-mailing him and demanding answers. one person told me to send his name out to as many other publications and blacklist him. another told me to give him a serious slap on the hand. quite frankly, i want to confront him, ask why he did it, and then tell him that his past work over the last year has been shoddy, his book reviews have been sub-par, and i don't need him writing for me.

is this too harsh, or not enough? it's not like i'm NYT and i'm cool with that. but still.

if you take writing seriously, then you don't steal someone else's words and present them as your own. take pride in your work. don't be lazy. as a good friend told me after i mentioned the incident, "how would he have liked it if someone had plagiarized him?"

seriously man, how would you feel about it?

redundancy can work if your sentence is longer than 7 words

2007-06-08T12:14:00.001-04:00

in chapter 11, on page 309 of topgrading the following sentence starts off the second paragraph:

topgrading is a crucial component of topgrading.

oh really?! i am so glad that after 300+ pages of a 592 page book, author Bradford D. Smart, Ph.D shares this scintillating insight.

word to the wise: hire a better proofreader next time.

virtual bookshelves galore

2007-06-06T19:15:00.000-04:00

this reminds me of shelfari.

umm...wow

2007-06-05T12:55:00.001-04:00

just read about this in jeff gomez's blog. what about donating them to a library or a thrift store? sheesh!

s.o.s

2007-06-05T12:30:00.000-04:00

my desk is covered in book, publisher catalogs, pens, stickies, and small toys. i am strange. it's always been this way, but since bea, it looks like a small book bomb went off. quel désordre!

my online bookshelf is beginning to shape up, though i really need to sit in front of my book case with my laptop to be truly successful. that and somehow every library book i've read since 3rd grade.

i picked up the witch's trinity for a friend that teaches a graduate level witchcraft in lit class, since it looked interesting...of course while attending the expo. it comes out in september, which might work well for the next time she offers the class. i took it two years ago, and it was a great examination of the perception of witches throughout the history of literature, beginning with macbeth and ending with harry potter. it got me thinking about designing a class that would study the perception of the monster in literature...i was thinking frankenstein, grendel, dracula, and perhaps a few others.

speaking of books, i should get cracking and read some of the ones i picked up, that way i get some reviews out there. now i just need to find the time...and my desk.

Beowulf on the big screen

2007-06-04T14:30:00.001-04:00

all right, one of my favorite epics most certainly is beowulf because i totally dig old-school brit lit. now, as i flip through one of the harper collins catalogs, i find out that in november the grendel vs. the danes flick will hit the big screens. how do i know this? neil gaiman and roger avary worked on the script book! the "digitally enhanced live-action blockbuster" will be directed by robert zemeckis. holy hotness i cannot wait to see this!

cubicle monotony

2007-06-04T12:58:00.000-04:00

is it terrible that i'd rather be curled up in my bed reading interview or getting deeper into the almost moon than be at work? i think it's the dismal weather.

oh well. i still need to go through the latest catalogs i picked up from the bea. i'm excited about making a boatload of requests, as well as making note of some non-business titles that i might want to pick up in the coming months.

oooh...i just received a bounty of hc catalogs. yay, something new to look through.

i survived the bea...

2007-06-02T21:37:00.000-04:00

...and all i got was close to 100 pounds of juicy, juicy swag. aside from the heat, the blisters, and the crowd of heathens, er, um i mean industry professionals, book sellers, publishers and exhibitors, it was pretty freaking awesome.

i fully intend on reviewing some of the arcs i picked up, and passing on the goodness. i also managed to score a signed copy of tim gunn's latest endeavor, though i totally missed actually getting to meet him. oh well. he is still a god among many.

i also got a copy of alice sebold's the almost moon. thank god...she's signing the arc on sunday, but i left this afternoon. i snagged a copy about 15 minutes into the opening day, and pulled it out on my train ride back to philly. within the first few pages, i am happily assured that her distinct voice is as strong as ever. as i have said about the lovely bones and her memoir lucky, they are devastatingly good. i can't wait to dive further into this...and then by the time october rolls around, i'll pick up the hardcover.

such joys. such stuff. i need a pedicure, and a long night's rest. instead, i'm doing laundry, eating orange sherbet, and writing this. devotion.

please allow me...

2007-05-31T16:30:00.000-04:00

to introduce myself. actually, i have no interest in doing that. i also have no interest in gushing about who i am, or really much about me at all.

instead, this was born from a swift kick to my cerebrum after attending a few sessions today at the book expo of america. as i sit here in the jacob javitts center, i have made the divine decision to start this gig. of course, it very well might be due to attending three different (yet very similar) bea sessions on social networking for author brands, publishers rocking the digital age with digital media, and corporate social media platforms and why publishers need to jump on the band wagon.

yes, everyone is online. yes, starting a blog is touted as easy. and it is. but it's keeping up with the blog that is the challenge.

and here i am.

jeff gomez, the author of the upcoming print is dead said that "print is dead...and the internet killed it."

i'm not 100% behind that statement...maybe something more along the line of "print is ill...and the internet infected it."

don't get me wrong. i love the net. i grew up on it, back in the day of prodigy online, and i still spend hours cruising the world wide web. however, despite ebooks coming on the scene, i do not think that scanning text on a smallish screen is even remotely close to the experience of flipping through the pages of a book. the book provides an emotional experience.

think about it: you go to the bookstore, thumb through titles that catch your eye. books are tactile, they often have a crisp, papery scent, or perhaps it's the glue, and you will never get an error message from a book. your book doesn't need a power source (though, unless you want to hear your mother tell you that reading in the dark is bad for your eyes, you better turn a light on) and your book will never become corrupted (however, if you leave it out in the rain, it will get soggy and possibly get ruined--then again, so will an e-reader).

i love books. look at my cubicle some time, and you will see them on my bookcase, my desk, my cadenza, my shelves, my floor, and often i have to move them off my chair in order to sit down. the same goes for my home.

nonetheless, if books need to go digital in order to get new readers, then so be it.

but i'll still be going to the bookstore.