In which I announce to the world what’s going on with some of the books I’ve been privileged to edit, some for publishers, some for individual authors. Here’s where I remind myself, and anyone else who happens to be looking, what a wonderful job I have.
I was riveted by this book. Vu Tran’s writing in Dragonfish is moodily cinematic, reminiscent of …
A Brave Man Seven Stories Tall, one of the most enjoyable books I’ve worked on in the last years, …
Even though this Dedalus Foundation video in the Paris Review inexplicably fails to include any footage of me hunched over my laptop, it still makes me proud to have been an editorial cog in such a grand undertaking as Motherwell Paintings and Collages: A Catalogue Raisonné, 1941–1991. (As Wikipedia reports, it “took 11 years to complete the three-volume catalogue raisonné of Motherwell’s work . . . with approximately 25 people contributing to the project.”) In the age of the Kindle (as excellent a device as it is), it’s heartening to see a celebration of the printing process as an art, and of the book as a physical object.
Little Known Facts
(Late-breaking news: I woke up New Year’s Day to see that Little Known Facts made British blogger booksaremyfavoriteandbest’s Top Ten Books for 2013. Way to go Christine!) I’m thrilled to see Christine Sneed’s Little Known Facts named in Flavorwire’s 15 Best Book Covers of 2013. The cover designer is Natalie Slocum. I’d like to encourage every author who plans to self-publish to take cover design as seriously as editing. Well, almost.
The best-of-the-year honors just keep coming! Elizabeth Graver’s The End of the Point, which was longlisted for the National Book Award earlier this year, made Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2013.
I’m very pleased to see David Vann’s Goat Mountain—the third novel I’ve copyedited for this masterful writer—listed in the San Francisco Chronicle’s 100 Recommended Books of 2013 as well as in the millions.com’s Great Second-Half 2013 Book Preview. I like this review in the Washington Post, too.
This beautiful photo, of a World War II bomber pilot who was later lobotomized by the US government, comes from the Facebook page—a rich source of poignant glimpses into military history—of journalist and author Louise Esola, a tireless advocate for veterans whose stories might otherwise be forgotten. I’ll be beginning work on her book American Boys: The True Story of the Lost 74 of the Vietnam War in late January.
Elizabeth Gilbert’s Signature of All Things finished out the year with a bang. After reaching No. 2 on the New York Times best seller list and being named Amazon’s Best Book of the Month for October, it made New York Times critic Janet Maslin’s list of her ten favorite books of 2013 (both fiction and nonfiction), Goodreads Best Historical Fiction list, Barnes & Noble’s Best New Fiction Books of 2013, No. 4 on Amazon’s Best Books of the Year: Literature and Fiction, and Time magazine’s “Best of Culture 2013.” I’m sure I’ve missed some. . . .
Mitch Albom’s First Phone Call from Heaven hit the ground running, at No. 1 on the New York Times best seller list its first week out.
I spent my early childhood on the Navajo reservation, and I’ve read all of Tony Hillerman’s novels, so working on Anne Hillerman’s convincing Leaphorn and Chee sequel meant a lot to me. I even made it out to the book launch party in Santa Fe—a great excuse to revisit the reservation. So I was super pleased to see Spider Woman’s Daughter at No. 10 on the New York Times best seller list soon after I got back home—the same week that The Signature of All Things was at No. 4. Things don’t get much better than that!
