Limboland: Guest Column Reprint by "bluegill"

Alfred Lubrano is a Columbia-trained journalist and author. He’s also the son of a bricklayer. His book, Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams chronicles the feelings and experiences of those who move from one social class to another and the ever-present uneasiness of not fully belonging to either that accompanies that journey.

Having grown up with a shovel in one hand and a book in the other, it’s a feeling I well understand. Certainly, it’s one I’ve been struggling with more than usual as of late, owing to the fact that the notion of revitalization applies to one’s person as much as it does to a city. Self-reinvention can be a tough business, especially if one leads a dualistic life to begin with.

It’s likely a product of some logical fallacy whose name I don’t have the energy to summon at the moment, but it occurs to me that the reverse is true as well. If my own revitalization process resembles that of a city, then the city’s process must resemble that of mine, thousands of mes, all going through some sort of loosely collective, simultaneous experience, passing from one way of being into another.

Lubrano from Limbo:

We didn’t know it then, but those days were the start of a branching off-a redefining of what it means to be a workingman in our Italian-American family. Related by blood, we’re separated by class, my father and I. Being the white-collar child of a blue-collar parent means being the hinge on the door between two ways of life. With one foot in the working class, the other in the middle class, people like me are Straddlers, at home in neither world, living a limbo life. It’s the part of the American Dream you may have never heard about: the costs of social mobility. People pay with their anxiety about their place in life. It’s a discomfort many never overcome.

What drove me to leave what I knew? Born blue-collar, I still never felt completely comfortable among the tough guys and anti-intellectual crowd who populated much of my neighborhood in deepest Brooklyn, part of a populous, insular working-class sector of commercial strips, small apartment buildings, and two-family homes. I never did completely fit in among the preppies and suburban royalty of Columbia, either. It’s like that for Straddlers, who live with an uneasiness about their dual identity that can be hard to reconcile, no matter how far from the old neighborhood they eventually get. Ultimately, “it is very difficult to escape culturally from the class into which you are born,” Paul Fussell’s influential book Class: A Guide through the American Status System quotes George Orwell as saying. The grip is that tight. That’s something Straddlers like me understand. There are parts of me that are proudly, stubbornly working class, despite my love of high tea, raspberry vinaigrette, and National Public Radio. Born with a street brawler’s temperament, I possess an Ivy League circuit breaker to keep things in check. Still, I’ve been accused of having an edge, a chip I’ve balanced on my shoulder since my days in the old neighborhood.

Listen to Lubrano’s interview with Liane Hansen from NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday, October 26, 2003, and let me know what you think.

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Thanks, bluegill, for permission to reprint your posting from March 20, 2007.

Limboland by Alfred Lubrano
ISBN 9780471714392 John Wiley & Sons Feb. 2005 (Paperback) $16.95 248pp.
Originally released in hardcover in Oct. 2003.

If you’d like to read more by “bluegill” (the nom de plume of New Albanian Jeff Gillenwater) and his colleague at NA Confidential, click that link. The permanent link to Jeff’s posting and its associated comments is http://cityofnewalbany.blogspot.com/2007/03/limboland.html.

I’ll tell you that NA Confidential is essential reading. Ann and I read it every day. Its editors are literate and provocative, and the blog is always a pleasure to read.

These are the comments of Randy Smith, proprietor of Destinations Booksellers in New Albany, Indiana.

Johnson Agonistes

Every author goes through a unique process in bringing his or her book to fruition. Keeping a novel on track is perhaps the most difficult. Plot points may come easily, but the writing lags. An author may be a tremendous writer, but a horrible juggler of the plot points that constitute a narrative. For most, it is a solitary undertaking and, lacking the resources to fact check, proof, and edit can make writing a novel the hardest of professions.

This weekend we are honored to host the book launch for a debut novel and its author, Robin L. Johnson. His book, James Christens, is set in Louisville, but I hope that it’s not set in any kind of Louisville you are familiar with.

I won’t give away a lot of the story, but here’s a brief description. The metro police are stymied by a baffling series of unsolved killings. After years of investigation, they still have not been able to stop the terror of a serial murderer. It’s not for a lack of clues – in fact, each crime scene is overloaded with evidence of a truly twisted mind. And yet, still no arrests.

Famed criminologist Robert Brampton is called in. The supremely confident Brampton approaches each case the same way – with assurance that his analytical techniques will unearth the killer. And the local task force finds itself now being directed by a dispassionate sleuth whose “rules” for solving a crime don’t always rub the locals the right way.

I have to tell you, the killings in this novel rival those of Thomas Harris’s character, Hannibal Lecter. But unlike in Red Dragon or Silence of the Lambs, this book takes us much more deeply into the backstory of the killer. I’ll let you be the judge as to whether Johnson intends you to empathize with the killer, but then I doubt you’ll be anything but terrified by everything you read. It’s a good read.

We first encountered Robin in 2005. The story of how he reached this point is pretty interesting. Over the course of several months, Robin released chapters of James Christens by blogging it. That’s right. Many of our early readers were privileged to read parts of this book more than two years ago.

Johnson used the interactive nature of the Internet to refine his storytelling and engage the reader in a way few authors are able to. One of the engaging methods he used was to run an online contest for readers who could solve plot-driven puzzles as each “chapter” was released. He buried a capsule of prizes somewhere in this very region, a capsule that could only be found by solving the puzzles. Because readers logged in from all 24 time zones, Robin ran a virtual contest for people around the world who couldn’t possibly come to Inditucky to search.

The much-missed Bill Kenney, the Georgetown blogger and polymath who passed away last year, was the grand prize winner, but that’s the least part of the story. Bill’s encouragement and feedback were, as Robin tells it, an important part of Robin’s progression from story idea to finished book.

Please consider joining us on Saturday, March 31, at 4 p.m. Robin will sign and discuss his book during a book launch party at Destinations Booksellers.

These are the comments of Randy Smith, proprietor of Destinations Booksellers in New Albany, Indiana.

Rich of Malaprops on Chains (DRAFT)

From: Rich Rennicks To: sibamembers@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2007 12:43 PMSubject: Re: [sibamembers] what does this mean for us indies?The impact of Borders Group’s new strategic plan isgoing to take some time to fully digest, but afterbeing home sick for a few days and probably spendingmore time thinking about this than I needed to, Ibelieve it adds up to one huge admission: the chainsuperstore is dying! I think Borders has admitted through its words andrecent actions that the expense of running a chain ofsuperstores is simply not economically viable in thepresent times. That’s the reality that they’ve seen inBritain, and I think they are taking corrective actionin the US market. What does this mean forindependents? Possibly several things, but mostly:huge opportunity.The no-brainer: Renewed discount pressure onbestsellers, including category bestsellers – themoney saved by closing 300 Walden stores will go to(re)building borders.com to compete directly withAmazon & B&N.com, the only meaningful way they can dothat is compete directly on pricing. Not good forthose of us who are trying to compete directly withchains, and really probably a negative for the marketas a whole as it furthers the “cheapest is best”philosophy. The Opportunity: It was strongly signaled that Borders& Waldenbooks stores will cut the depth of theirinventory by 25%. I’m reading between the lines here,but if they aim to increase turn from 1.6 to 2, thequickest way to do that is by cutting thebottom-performing 25% of their title base. That’llpresent big opportunities for independents to furtherdistinguish ourselves on selection through judiciousbacklist selections, giving high-visibility to stafffavorites, and probably in regional titles andnumerous other “specialist” categories also. In my humble opinion, the only reason to havesuperstores is in order to offer a vast selection. Ifselection is not going to be their key selling pointthen Borders and possibly the other chains are in bigtrouble – as they are in Britain. They will beshackled by the expenses of maintaining big storeswhich they don’t need because we know people willhappily go online (or to the grocery store/Wal-Mart)in search of the best price. We are already seeingthem attempting to sublease some of their big (and Imean huge) Chicago stores – the market which was thejewel in their crown just a few years ago – and Ithink this will be a continued and expensivedistraction for them for years to come. We could see aphase of downsizing to smaller stores, vastdiscounting pressure and a revamped web price war allat the cost (to the consumer) of service andselection.Remember how ‘The Long Tail’ talked about consumerswanting filters to cut through the huge volume ofpossible purchases and present them with the cream?Well, looking at it through that lens, this representsBorders positioning itself to bring readers thebest-selling selection (or most mainstream) of allpossible titles. So, it’s another opportunity forindies to get the message out that we’re different,more relevant to our communities, the place to findthe unexpected and receive personal service, etc…Minutia: I also detected the implication that coop orpaid placement opportunities will only be expanded inthe revamped Borders stores, which could be positiveor negative for indies. Positive if many smaller pubsreject the charges for these placements and look toindies to grow their sales, but negative if theprogram is priced right and smaller pubs see it as agood and logistically simple opportunity to grabdisplay space in Borders stores nationwide –something I think we can counter in part through abetter use and wider support of Booksense.More minutia: Some niches that Walden excels at areromance and manga, so if anyone is losing a Waldensmake sure you have a sense of whether those categorieswere successful for that store or not. You might evenpick up a knowledgeable bookseller or two along theway. (Do you research now: staff at stores to beclosed are given very little notice, usually justdays.)Full disclosure: I worked for the original Borders.comand in various corporate positions for Borders Groupfor many years, before coming to the independentbookselling world.Caveat Emptor: I’m still running a temperature, sotake my fevered ramblings with a large does of salts.Bottom line: Chain superstores are dying! Pricecompetition on the bestsellers is going to get worse.Title selection in chains may shrink dramatically.Indies can distinguish themselves as bastions ofservice, selection, taste, community values and localinterest dramatically opposed to the narrow selectionand services of chains. This is probably some of thebest news indies could have received – as long as yourstore is not trying to be a corporate bookstore in allbut ownership.Rich RennicksBookseller – Malaprop’s Bookstore/CafeAsheville, NC

Did You Know (DYK)?

I don’t know about you, but I read to learn. The enjoyment of reading is inextricably tied up with the joy of learning. Even with fiction, I require that the author provide me with new information, or new perspectives on information.

When I recommend a book, then, it is because something in that book has met my “edification quotient.” The EQ is a stable and useful, if not quite fully developed measure of the depth of a person. I won’t go so far as to say it improves the character or quality of a woman or man, but I will venture that an improvement in one’s EQ is a cause for celebration and any efforts to share the tool (the book, article, film, or song, the painting, sculpture, lecture, or photograph) that caused that improvement is an imperative.

Whew! That’s the long way around to share with you a very brief tidbit from The Iron Whim. You’ll recall we touched on it in yesterday’s rather lengthy posting. Darren Wershler-Henry has compiled a very readable history of typewriting. It’s not entirely a history of the machine itself, but rather, tries to capture the sociological and economic impact that the whole process of typewriting has had on our society, and in particular, our literature and culture.

You may think all of the above is boring, that it sounds like a lot of work. Nope. It’s hardly breezy, but it is completely enjoyable and you’ll feel your EQ rising with the turn of every page.

Here’s a few of the DYK moments…

William S. Burroughs, he of The Naked Lunch, is an acknowledged master of 20th Century avant-garde literature, much of which was semi-autobiographical. The typewriter was an integral part of his ouvre, so much so that when director David Cronenberg brought The Naked Lunch to film, his Kafkaesque touch brought the typewriter into the ranks of horror icon. But did you know that William S. Burroughs was the scion of a major office machine family? We oldsters remember the Burroughs Company mainly as the makers of adding machines (soon to be seen at New Albany’s Museum of Trade and Industry?). But Burroughs made a pretty fine typewriter for several years, and the younger Burroughs came to his fascination honestly.

Henry David Thoreau, the civilly disobedient transcendentalist philosopher and no mean writer himself, spent much of his career working in his family’s business, which produced the finest pencils in 1840s America. But get this: “In drafting a list of essential supplies for a twelve-day trip into the woods (remember Walden?), Henry David Thoreau (pronounced like ‘thorough’) neglects to include the pencil with which he composed the list, and conducted his extensive journal-keeping…even though he had worked with his father at Thoreau & Company.”

Now, let’s just appropriate the following excerpt:

Consider the sentence “Amaranath sasesusos Oronoco initiation secedes Uruguay Philadelphia.” (Not quite “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”) The meaning of this sentence has nothing to do with the normal logic of syntax and everything to do with the logic of how letters appear on a typewritten page. It was usually the first thinng ever typed on each new typewriter, and its sole function was to check the alignment of a typewriter that had just rolled off the production line before it was shipped. Unlike most sentences, it was rarely spoken, (duh!) and no one particularly cared what it might mean in the conventional sense.

How does it work? “Amaranath,” the misspelled name of an imaginary flower, checks the alignment of the vowel “a” between a number of common consonants. “Oronoco” checks the “o” key, while “secedes,” “initiation,” and “Uruguay” check three vowels that are among the most commonly used of all letters, “e,” “i,” and “u.” “Sasesusos” not only compares four of the five vowels in the same word against the baseline of the letter “s,” but also “includes several of the most common letter combinations in twentieth-century business English.” “Philadelphia” checks the horizontal alignment of “i” and “l,” the narrowest letters on the keyboard.
How’s your EQ now?

The Iron Whim: The Fragmented History of Typewriting by Darren Wershler-Henry
ISBN 9780801445866 March 2007 Cornell University Press (Hardcover) $29.95 331pp.

These are the comments of Randy Smith, proprietor of Destinations Booksellers in New Albany, Indiana.

Oprah’s Made Her Pick

and it is (drumroll, please)…The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. This brilliant storyteller (from Knoxville originally) weaves a disturbing story of a post-apocalyptic West.

I’ve ordered conservatively, so if you want the book right away, please call the store early to be sure you get it now.

This paperback edition had been scheduled for release in September of 2007, but the lure of a March boost must have proved to be too tempting to Vintage, the publisher.

ISBN 9780307387899 (Quality Trade Paperback) $14.95

These are the comments of Randy Smith, proprietor of Destinations Booksellers in New Albany, Indiana.

Oprah’s Made Her Pick

and it is (drumroll, please)…The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. This brilliant storyteller (from Knoxville originally) weaves a disturbing story of a post-apocalyptic West.

I’ve ordered conservatively, so if you want the book right away, please call the store early to be sure you get it now.

This paperback edition had been scheduled for release in September of 2007, but the lure of a March boost must have proved to be too tempting to Vintage, the publisher.

ISBN 9780307387899 (Quality Trade Paperback) $14.95

These are the comments of Randy Smith, proprietor of Destinations Booksellers in New Albany, Indiana.

So Many Books

Crippled by a balky Internet connection, I’ve been forced to use “work” time to keep the blog going on a daily basis. The other option is to run the risk of not getting anything up until later in the day. Recognizing that most of you will be looking for new content in the a.m., I’ve been posting in the evening when I can to make sure something new is up by the time the store opens. So, sometimes you’ll be able to read “tomorrow’s” posting today.

I continue to invite you to contribute content and commentary, whether by e-mail or by using the handy “comment” button at the end of each post. You might find that you like it.

A new books season is upon us, and the good ones are coming in faster than I can possibly cover them. Today I’m going with quick hits. I may come back to some of these later with a fuller preview. So here goes.

First up is The Iron Whim: A Fragmented History of Typewriting, by Darren Wershler-Henry. Populated with characters as diverse and separated in time as Bram Stoker, Jack Kerouac, and David Letterman, the book is an “intelligent, irreverent, and humorous history of writing culture and technology.” ISBN 9780801445866 Cornell University Press $29.95 321pp.

Next is Jan Pienkowski’s The Fairy Tales. This is a lavishly illustrated (color and black-and-white) telling of four classic tales from Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Hansel and Gretel. It’s of such high quality it’s sure to be a treasure handed down from generation to generation. ISBN 9780141382241 Viking $19.99 186 pp.

A brand-new series of games has just been released by Dr. I.B. Wrongo that makes learning fun. Yeah, that’s a cliché, but wait until you hear about this. That’s Right, That’s Wrong! This trivia game awards points for correctly identifying the wrong answer. “Where is Des Moines? Iowa or Indiana? If you said Iowa, that would be right. But in this game, we’re looking for the wrong answer. No points for you!” Alan Katz is the author and the game actually makes you smarter by giving you additional facts to help you remember why the answer is wrong. We’re rolling out the first sets for grades 1-4 right now (the above question was for second-graders). ISBN 9781416906728 Little Simon $9.99.

Remember Being Dead is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies’ Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral? It was a huge hit here and everywhere. Part recipe book, part etiquette book, and a gut-bustingly funny book all around, the sequel from Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays is here – Somebody is Going to Die if Lilly Beth Doesn’t Catch That Bouquet: The Official Southern Ladies’ Guide to Hosting the Perfect Wedding. ISBN 9781401302955 Hyperion $19.95 258pp.

Also just released or back in stock:Randy Wayne White’s Hunter’s Moon, a Doc Ford/Sanibel Island thriller. Doc saves the life of an ex-President vacationing on Florida’s Gulf Coast, but that’s just the start of the mystery. ISBN 9780399153709 Putnam $24.95 377 pp.

Finding the Next Starbucks: How to Identify and Invest in the Hot Stocks of Tomorrow, by Michael Moe. A top research stock analyst shares his tips for identifying those companies who’ll grow from tiny acorns to giant oaks. ISBN 9781591841340 Portfolio (Penguin) $26.95 374 pp.

Infidel, the autobiography of the Islamic woman who became a Dutch parliamentarian, only to become a target for Islamist terrorists. Her honesty is called unpalatable by millions, and lauded by equal numbers. ISBN 9780743289689 Free Press $26 353 pp.

American Bloomsbury by Susan Cheever is back in stock. It’s subtitle reads Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau: Their Lives, Their Loves, Their Work. ISBN 9780743264617 Simon & Schuster $26 223 pp.

Recently featured on WFPL’s State of Affairs was Elizabeth Hickey’s The Wayward Muse. The Louisville-educated author has put forward her second art-themed historical novel after The Painted Kiss. This time, it’s Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Morris and the story of their love triangle with Jane Burden. ISBN 9780743273145 Atria $24 293 pp.

Previously on the marquee:
The Power of a Positive No by William Ury (say not, but still get to yes)
Blackwater by Jeremy Scahill (world’s mercenary army)
Evolution for Everyone by David Sloan Wilson (science and religion)
When the Light Goes by Larry McMurtry (more from Last Picture Show country)
Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride by Michael Wallis
Deep Economy by Bill McKibben (a durable future)

These are the comments of Randy Smith, proprietor of Destinations Booksellers in New Albany, Indiana.

Just the Facts, Ma’am

Isabel “Izzy” Spellman is good at her job. She might be a disaster at love and other pursuits you and I would call “normal,” but she genuinely likes her job and shows great talent for it.

But then, why wouldn’t she? It runs in the family.

The Spellman Files, by Lisa Lutz, is the first in a hilarious series about Spellman Investigations – mom, dad, brother, sis – they spend more time spying on each other than on their clients’ jobs. The chaos wends from case to case, and Lutz has organized the book thusly.

The author, who wrote the screenplay for the 2000 film Plan B (which, by coincidence, features friend Ruthanne Wolfe’s niece Traci Ann Wolfe, previously mentioned on this blog), shows great skill at quick character development. In fact, this seems more like a tryout for a weekly TV series along the lines of Monk or House.

Here’s an excerpt from The Snow Case:

As Uncle Ray bit his tongue and entered the Wax Museum, I knocked on the door of Joseph and Abigail snow’s house on Myrtle Avenue in Marin County. When Mrs. Snow opened the door, I was blasted by an overwhelming fragrance that emanated from the home. I would later learn that the scent was potpourri, but there were too many other effects offending my sensibilities at that moment for me to investigate the odor.

Abigail Snow, now in her early sixties, was wearing an outdated floral dress that looked like it came from the wardrobe of a 1950s sitcom star. Her hair, as well, was trapped in the past and in half a can of hairspray. She was probably about five foot six, but her stocky build, which was more sturdy than plump, made her seem taller and oddly intimidating. While her attire was (in my estimation) unflattering, it was kept in immaculate condition. When I entered the house, I would discover that this was a theme for Mrs. Snow – tasteless, but immaculate.

Back in November when I put my order in for this book, I knew it would appeal to fans of Stephanie Plum, although it’s hard to see Izzy having much of a successful romantic life.

Janet Evanovich, look out!

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
ISBN 9781416532392 March 2007 Simon & Schuster (Hardcover) $25

These are the comments of Randy Smith, proprietor of Destinations Booksellers in New Albany, Indiana.

Just the Facts, Ma’am

Isabel “Izzy” Spellman is good at her job. She might be a disaster at love and other pursuits you and I would call “normal,” but she genuinely likes her job and shows great talent for it.

But then, why wouldn’t she? It runs in the family.

The Spellman Files, by Lisa Lutz, is the first in a hilarious series about Spellman Investigations – mom, dad, brother, sis – they spend more time spying on each other than on their clients’ jobs. The chaos wends from case to case, and Lutz has organized the book thusly.

The author, who wrote the screenplay for the 2000 film Plan B (which, by coincidence, features friend Ruthanne Wolfe’s niece Traci Ann Wolfe, previously mentioned on this blog), shows great skill at quick character development. In fact, this seems more like a tryout for a weekly TV series along the lines of Monk or House.

Here’s an excerpt from The Snow Case:

As Uncle Ray bit his tongue and entered the Wax Museum, I knocked on the door of Joseph and Abigail snow’s house on Myrtle Avenue in Marin County. When Mrs. Snow opened the door, I was blasted by an overwhelming fragrance that emanated from the home. I would later learn that the scent was potpourri, but there were too many other effects offending my sensibilities at that moment for me to investigate the odor.

Abigail Snow, now in her early sixties, was wearing an outdated floral dress that looked like it came from the wardrobe of a 1950s sitcom star. Her hair, as well, was trapped in the past and in half a can of hairspray. She was probably about five foot six, but her stocky build, which was more sturdy than plump, made her seem taller and oddly intimidating. While her attire was (in my estimation) unflattering, it was kept in immaculate condition. When I entered the house, I would discover that this was a theme for Mrs. Snow – tasteless, but immaculate.

Back in November when I put my order in for this book, I knew it would appeal to fans of Stephanie Plum, although it’s hard to see Izzy having much of a successful romantic life.

Janet Evanovich, look out!

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
ISBN 9781416532392 March 2007 Simon & Schuster (Hardcover) $25

These are the comments of Randy Smith, proprietor of Destinations Booksellers in New Albany, Indiana.

One on One With the Author

Did you ever want to spice up your book club in a way you’ve never been able to do?

How about having a national bestselling author make a visit?

Ballantine Books is holding a contest to bring the author of The Good Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood to you.

A naturalist by trade, Sy Montgomery had always felt more comfortable with animals than with people. So she gladly opened her heart and home to a sickly piglet who had been crowded away from feedings by his stronger siblings. Yet Sy had no inkling that this piglet, later named Christopher Hogwood, would not only survive, but flourish – and through Christopher, she soon found herself united with the people in her small town community in ways she had never dreamed possible.

The Good Good Pig is a story about discovering the meaning of family, the value of community, our ability to love and be loved, and our relationship with all creatures great and small. Not only will this not-so-little piggy steal your heart, he’ll have your book club talking for hours.

Choose The Good Good Pig as your next book club selection and enter for a chance to have author Sy Montgomery attend one of your club’s meetings in person. The first 200 clubs to respond will receive a free hardcover copy of The Good Good Pig. Visit www.goodgoodpig.com/bookclub for full rules and contest details.

Thanks to Ballantine Books for making the above offer. The book is available in hardcover now and in paperback on April 17. Book clubs purchasing five or more copies can get the hardcover for the same price as the paperback between now and that date.

These are the comments of Randy Smith, proprietor of Destinations Booksellers in New Albany, Indiana.