Hello Friends. It is February and you know what that means? Of course, it means the brutally cold weather accompanied by the ritualistic animal cruelty committed in a small town in Pennsylvania and the end of the American Football season where people sit around together to watch incredibly expensive television commercials.
It’s also time for everyone’s favorite holiday. The one where you think long and hard about your loved ones and give them a special gift that shows them that you really, truly thought about them and what makes them happy. That’s right, it is time once again for International Book Giving Day!
When you give a person a book, you are saying to that person, “Hi, this story is important to me and it says something that reminds me of you” OR “there is something in this book that means something to me and I hope it means something to you” OR “this book is just good fun, please enjoy.”
The best thing about books is that they last and last (I mean that literally and metaphorically). Think about it. Before you really know what a book is, you know that when some older person in your life opens it, something magical happens. The words that come out of that person’s mouth when they tell you the story come to life in your head. The book is an idea as well as an object. Even if you never physically hold the object yourself, you could fully live the story. When you eventually figure out the code and start reading on your own, you realize that book magic is something you can possess forever.
I have a copy of The Scarlet Letter that was printed in the 1800s. Granted, if I want to read The Scarlet Letter, I will get out a different copy, but if wanted to read that particular book, I could. The book, despite being over 150 years old, is in really good shape. Unlike many noisy, shiny objects that have been given as gifts, Hawthorne’s masterpiece still works (I mean that literally and metaphorically).
Yes, it is nice to receive a cool gadget or game, and at the moment, you will be really thankful, but do you honestly see yourself turning that copy of Grand Theft Auto 357 into a family heirloom? Will you think of the person who gave you that cool new iPhone every time you send that Gif where the cat does that totally funny and/or wacky thing? I suppose anything is possible, but the odds are neither of those things will be true.
However, if you give someone you love a book this year, in 20 years you could pick that book up again and remember the person who gave it to you and the reasons why. Reading the book can bring all of that back. Maybe, in 75 years, your grandkid will give that same copy of the book to their sweetheart because that story has resonance and that object has permanence. It is totally possible that in 150 years, some member of your family could have that exact same book on a shelf that reminds the family that one simple act you did all those years ago had a ripple effect that added branches to the family tree.
Yes, it just so happens that this glorious holiday coincides with another made-up holiday that lands on February 14th. Let’s just all agree that most holidays are total nonsense and we can decide which ones we want to celebrate. I for one, think that International Book Giving Day is the one that deserves all of the fanfare. I hope this year, you will celebrate with me.
Notes from my Bookshelf
It has been a pretty eclectic month. I ended January with 30 books finished and due to some heavy traveling and obsessive reading habits, I’ve read 39 books so far this year. I finally got around to reading John Wyndham’s classic The Day of the Triffids. It was amazing and there are a lot of modern-day science fiction and horror writers who owe Wyndham a royalty check.
Cecelia Ahern’s collection of short stories Roar is absolutely magnificent. Generally, short story collections have a few duds in the bunch, but not this one. After you are done reading it, you should check out the show as well.
Kevin Wilson’s Now is Not the Time to Panic is almost perfect. I feel a bit bad for not getting to it sooner, but boy, is it special. I would share with you what it is about, but honestly, you just sort of need to experience it.
In non-fiction news, John V. Petrocelli’s The Life-Changing Science of Detecting Bullshit lives up to its name. I can think of quite a few folks who need to give it a read. Consider giving it to that one crazy uncle. He needs it. After he reads that, make sure you send him Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar’s The World Record Book of Racist Stories. Be sure to send the audiobook because Amber and Lacey read it themselves and it takes some of the edge off the horror stories they tell in there.
Notes from my Keyboard
I wish I could say that it has been a super-productive month, but work has been very demanding and so my word count on the second Austen Chronicles book has not increased at the rate I would hope. Still, I am well on my way to meeting my deadline of the end of July.
The final blurb on the first book, Welcome to Mansfield, is done and I should be getting a finalized cover and a galley from the typesetter soon. I am so excited to be able to share more of this as we get closer to release day in May.
I have joined together an amazing group of writers to create a new show called The Sonic Salon. Every fortnight, there will be an original short story, essay, or collection of poetry delivered free to your ears. Some will be written and read by the author and others, like mine, will be read by an actor. Please rate and subscribe on your favorite podcast catcher.
Finally, there should be big news about a collection of essays I’ve been pitching in next month’s Newsletter. I don’t want to totally jinx it (only partially jinx it apparently). Watch this space people! It should be very cool.
Once again dear friends, thank you for subscribing,
ARF
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