At Book Expo America

I attended Book Expo America this year, if for no other reason, to get a glimpse of the publishing industry’s changes. Publishing endured some wrenching upheavals in the previous 12 months. There have been consolidations among companies, staff reductions, and title suspensions to name a few. There has also been an increased presence of the electronic readers such as Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s reader. Still, there are plenty of paper books out there. Here I am at the Spanish publishing pavilion where some fine examples of printing could be seen.

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A Spanish printing company displayed their version of medieval texts, printed and bound seemingly as they were several hundred years ago. It was impressive, but no photos allowed. Books have been growing in popularity in Spain, and I look forward to seeing my own work translated into Spanish soon. Many of my characters are Spanish speakers, from Colombia or elsewhere in the Spanish-speaking world.

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That’s me up there, grinning like a fool to be among the printed pages. Couldn’t help myself, really, standing in the middle of so many books and people interested in the same. Trade shows are a natural opportunity to network, do business, and gauge trends. At the same time, it’s simply fun to be among like minded souls. Relax and enjoy it.

John Irving, at BEA

While at Book Expo America, I attended a little talk that included John Irving. I’ve read several of Irving’s books, and with rare exception, find them insightful and enthralling. Here you see Irving on the video screen.

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The Cider House Rules and A Widow For One Year are at the top of my list of Irving books. I’ve read both of them twice, although it has been a long time since those readings. Listening to Irving talk about story telling and his take on the content of his own books was fascinating. It’s a rare opportunity to hear an author speak in person and thus get their opinions unfiltered by the likes of reporters or TV talking heads.

Keep reading. It’s good for you.

Published in: on May 31, 2009 at 1:43 pm  Comments (2)  
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Castillos (con encanto)

Previous posts here at The Bent Page mentioned a few castles in Spain. In the process of planning my next stay, I rediscovered a book called Castillos con encanto, which I had purchased in Spain. This book is one of a series of books published with the con encanto tag.

castbookThis book provides plenty of useful information, not to mention dozens of great photographs. There is also a map section, which works well when doing general trip planning. You will need Spanish skills as the book is written entirely in that language. However, it is an opportunity to further your involvement in the culture as you work out your plans.

Saludos!

Published in: on May 14, 2009 at 1:07 pm  Leave a Comment  
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One Small Room

Imagine yourself living in one small room. This is your bedroom, your bathroom, your kitchen, your laundry… every function of your existence, with the exception of your employment, takes place here. I forced myself to consider this possibility while working on a new character for a story idea that’s been rattling around inside my head.

There are stories of such people, sometimes many people, crammed into a room in dire circumstances. However, in the course of this story, the character chooses to live this way. He has a room in a building and he makes it his home with all the functions described above. Furthermore, he has the place crammed with odd things he collects from time to time. There are books, slips of paper, pieces of cartons and boxes, a few bottle caps, a few glass bottles, a broken necklace, various torn shoelaces… on the list goes. All these things from building blocks of this character, revealing different things about him in his pursuit of someone else.

This has been a fun exercise, considering what it would be like living in not much more than a box. What you could do without, what you wouldn’t give up. Give it a try. It will make you think.

Published in: on April 21, 2009 at 12:38 am  Comments (1)  
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