Nathan Bransford

I have been a big fan of Nathan Bransford's daily blogs for some time. As an agent with Curtis Brown in the US, and an author in his own right, his entries are entertaining, insightful and really useful for all those budding writers out there. And his Friday wrap-up of the world of publishing's weekly events is my favourite.

So I was, along with everyone else, pretty surprised when Nathan announced a career change.

Dear Library-of-my-dreams,

I have been collecting books for years with the intention to one day have floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in my dream library. It is a common dream for voracious readers and bookbuyers, and even among those who don't read so much but like the status or feel of a library.

Until that far-off day, I struggle to squish my collection onto the shelves I do have, regularly culling books, storing them in boxes and selecting which ones can stay another day on the shelf in prime position. Or which ones get hidden in stacks at the back where shameful books on self-help, astrology and pulp romances lurk.

Reconstructing My 2010 Reading List (to date)

Neglect of BookFuzz has resulted in an incomplete record of my 2010 reading list (to date). I started the year, knowing there were lots of life hurdles ahead, with the unusual resolution to read less. I was giving myself the year off from reading for the first time in my life while I focused on other things, like new jobs and new cities to settle into.

Move to reading ebooks

Now that I am not swamped with advance proofs and an obligation to prioritise the books published by my old employer, I'm having a lovely time reading whatever I want (largely YA it turns out), whenever I want, and in whatever format I want.

Now that I have returned to public transport for my daily trek to work, I'm finding the Kindle app on my iPhone is the most convenient way to read a novel as I struggle with staying upright on a crowded bus as it tears around the corner.

READING PARALYSIS

It is 11.37pm at night, a time when I usually am happily ensconced in bed with a good book, and instead I am starting a blog entry, fuelled by guilt at not having written one in some time and using the same late-night inspiration that got me through school and university (just). My guilt would be overridden easily by my interest in the plot of a good book, but lately I find myself unable to pinpoint exactly what type of book I want to read next.

US Literary Escorts

New York Times, 16 July 2009: In Praise of Literary Escorts
This is a really fascinating essay by author Joe Queenan on the US phenomenon of the Escort, the person who meets authors at the airport and takes care of them for the day. They basically do the role of the publicist -- the tour guide side of the job, that is. I've heard plenty of stories from authors about their US book tour adventures and the characters who are their companion for the day. I think this sounds like a cool job!

The BOOK I MOST WANT today is by Sophie Dahl

Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights, available August. I love it already. I want it immediately. I will have to wait like everyone else.

I love this sort of publishing -- delish food, elegant advice, sophisticated style, and impossible cool people. I call it Chic Publishing. Another book of this type I heard about today and will also be snapping up when it's out in October: Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire, by Mireille Guiliano, she of French Women Don't Get Fat fame.

Homer & Langley

Ah, Homer & Langley by the magnificent EL Doctorow. He has this fluid writing and story-telling style that is utterly timeless, which I first enjoyed when I read The March.

Inspired by the real-life Collyer brothers, the eponymous Homer and Langley, Doctorow weaves a stunning 20th Century tale of New York through two brothers, one blind but with great insight (Homer, the narrator), the other a war-scarred genius.