free???? book events

it finally happened like i knew it would. the death of the free celebrity book reading. i went to barnes and noble's in union square tonight intending to see katie couric speak about her new book and there was a barricade in front of the book event space. the guard said that there was priority seating for those who bought books and those who didn't buy  books could wait in the stand by  line to be seated later. this is a first . i don't know it if was just because it was katie couric's book event, or if this is the new policy. either way it sucks. i admit that i don't always buy the book when i attend a book event, but there are many times when i do end up buying the book  after hearing snippets of the book during the book event . i thought that this was one of the ideas of a book event.
lots of people attend book events and do not buy the book so i understand why they want to have priority seating for book buyers at these events. however, if i have to wait in a stand by line before a book event i won't bother attending the  event unless i know for sure before hand that i wanted to buy the book. the store will be missing out on me buying a book only because i attended the book event because if i can't get a seat unless i buy the book, im not going to bother attending at all. this is why i said that these book events are no longer free. if i must buy the book to get a  seat the book event  is no longer free.
i have the feeling that the priority seating will only be for big name book events because few will want to buy a book buy an author they are unfamiliar with before attending their book event.
if i would stand in a stand by line to get a seat at a book event i would on principle not buy the book.
im so glad i have taken advantage of attending all the book events i could possibly attend in the past ten years because now the party is over  .

the demise of the bookstore

one of the most sad events in current history is borders bookstore filing for chapter eleven. a lot of borders bookstores in manhattan are closing including one branch that was/is  near where i work. i am despondent. i loved their book events. i loved being able to run there for a seven o'clock book event on nights i worked late and still be able to get their on time because it was so close by . i loved browsing the books during my lunch break from work.
alas, i too am the owner of an e-reader. so even sad as i am about the bookstore closures i am part of the reason bookstores are closing. i don't buy as many print books as i used to.
another reason bookstores are closing is due to the internet. many of us are buying books online. its usually cheaper to buy a book online even if its from a website that has a physical bookstore.
of course now that everyone is buying almost everything online what are we all doing in all of our free time??
libraries are still open. i like libraries, but i've always liked bookstores better because bookstores always have the new releases quicker than the library does.
i recently attended a book event at barnes and noble . it was incredible. the place was filled with swarms of people. im sure that there were  many people who bought the book, but it seemed like there were less people who bought the book at this event then at events years ago. the event that i was at recently was for the younger crowd. the younger crowd is much more tech savvy so they might not be as likely to buy print books than the older crowd.  perhaps more bookstores should have book events that target the older crowd that  is more technologically phobic and more likely to buy a print book.
p.s. the above photos were taken at the borders at columbus circle which actually is still open. i just didnt have any photos of any other borders bookstores.

naomi ragen

i have always found that reading naomi ragen's books has been a guilty pleasure. you want to hate them but they are just too much fun to read.
the first naomi ragen book that i have read was jephte's daughter . though i enjoyed the book very much i regret to inform you that i have no recollection of it because i read it so long ago. naomi ragen was to me the first of a genre of writers who write about frum people because this is how they grew up, and they don't hate frum people and they dont have everyone throwing off the yoke of torah at the end of the book like an erica jong, belva plan or howard fast book.
naomi ragen isnt afraid to confront social justice issues in the frum community . people don't always agree with her conclusions but i think its good to voice awareness. she criticises to provoke change not to merely air dirty laundry.
naomi ragen recently came out with a new book the tenth song. i haven't read the book yet but i plan to. its already on my kindle.
a few days ago i went to borders for a book reading with naomi ragen. i had to go. i was not disappointed. she  is conservative middle aged  modern orthodox woman who possesses extreme fiestiness.
there was a small crowd at borders for her book reading which i found sad for such a well known author. its always fun to meet a favorite writer. it adds a whole other dimention!

the gong show

on june third there was a book reading at borders bookstore in the city with chuck barris. chuck barris was the creator of old tv game shows such as the dating game ,the newlywed game , and the gong show. i realize many of my readers have never seen any of these shows, and im dating myself by mentioning them,but they are classics.

the gong show was the only chuck barris show where he actually appeared as the host. at the time he was in his late forties and had curly seventies big hair. the gong show was a spoof of variety shows. it was a talent contest with alot of really bad talent which was much more authentic than american idol. if the contestants were really bad they were gonged with an actual gong. it was a really silly show and it looked like chuck barris and company really enjoyed doing it. they pushed the censor envelope alot, but i have to admit that when i watched it i was too young too get that there was anything risque involved.

chuck barris wrote several books. i know that i read one of them . it was called you and me babe. i found the book at a used book shop in israel .

it was strange seeing chuck barris as an older man. i remembered him being so much younger. he still has the same sense of humor, but has an aura of maturity that was not present in his gong show years. its strange seeing someone aged without having seen all of the stages in between.

and the plot thickens....

for years ive wanted to attend a free gotham writers workshop at barnes and noble but i never managed to get to one. perhaps this is because they are free. anyway, a few weeks ago i attended a book reading at barnes and noble at lincoln triangle and i saw a big ad for the upcoming gotham writer's workshop featuring the author diana spechler whose book who by fire i read a few months ago. well... need i say more? i was an attendee. meeting authors of books i really dig is on my ten most favorite things to do list.

the gotham fiction writing workshp was amazing. though it was a teaser class, alot of solid writing exercises were featured.

since diana spechler was giving a fiction writing course instead of a book reading it was even more interesting. she spoke of her style of writing fiction instead of the plot of her fictional book. very cool. she said that her writing is very heavy on character development. i would agree.

after the writers workshop diana spechler fielded questions about the class as well as signed her book. im not sure if i was the only one in attendance who had read her book but i did tell her that i had read her book and that i liked it. normally i don't mention to authors that i write a blog, but in this case.... after taking a writers workshop i was compelled.... so i did. well folks ... my next few posts will include a book review of who by fire as well as a blog interview with diana spechler. TO BE CONTINUED....

cool jews

there's a new book out called cool jew by lisa klug. i find the title kind of funny because though i love being jewish , i dont think being jewish equals cool. i guess that was the idea of the book. to make jewish people feel they too are cool.

though i have only flipped through the book, i dont find the book to be all that original. there are several kitschy jewish books around like judaikitsch by jennifer and victoria traig and jewish holiday fun by barbara rushkoff. lisa klug is the only orthodox jew who has written this type of book.

thursday there was a book reading of cool jew at the jcc, which included several performance artists lisa klug knew. though the author read excerpts from the book, i think that these kitschy concepts are more fun to read on paper, than heard .

the musical performances and comedy acts were quite special. the book reading / artist showcase lasted about 2hrs. and it was FREE. very cool.

the most standout singers at the event were michelle citrin and chana rothman. both are dynamic and have excellent voices. yisroel campbell , comedian and convert to judaism was hysterically funny.

its always fun to check out who attends a jewish event. there was a mix of religious and non-religous jews as well as a mix of ages. i suspect many of the performers friends populated the audience.

shalom auslander

foreskin's lament came out in paperback, thus a great excuse to have another book reading at borders. after reading foreskin's lament i have wanted to see the author in person. in general i like meeting authors , and due to the content of his book, i especially wanted to meet shalom auslander.
well.... in person he is a little older than the photo on his book jacket. though i read the book, i was quite taken aback by how hardened he is. he told the audience that giving up judaism was like removing a tumor , but if you ask me it didnt really help him. he doesnt appear to be the relaxed, or at peace . he got rid of a tumor, or so he thinks. hes not a practicing jew in any way shape or form, but its not like this has made him a calm , happy , zen -like individual.
a woman who had been married to shalom's relative years ago, was at the book reading. she applauded his book and was so happy he had gotten out of the clutches of his abusive family. if you ask me, his deviant family is the reason he is ranting.
as usual, this book event proved to be an insightful affair.

jules feiffer

two thursdays ago i went to the most amazing book reading at the strand. the author who spoke was jules feiffer . im embarrassed to say that i had never heard of the pulitzer prize winning cartoonist and satirist. however time out magazine had advertised that a gentle cartoonist who also was a satirist as well as political satirist who had written a cartoon for the village voice for 4o something yrs was going to be at the strand for a book reading... well that definitely peaked my interest.

anyway, mr. feiffer was this adorable older man who outlined his career and described how he persisted in creating his own brand of satire. as bold as his vision was, he also maintained his integrity . he was a gracious team player for those he wrote for.

there was even a woman in the audience who thanked him for his contribution to an 80's tween magazine she had edited, and thanked him for how wonderful he was to deal with.

mr. feiffer spoke about his works and exhibited the most wicked and sharp sense of humor i have ever heard.

after the book reading i skimmed through his new book the explainers which is a compilation of all of his strips for the village voice from 1956-1966 and it really tickled my funny bone.

needless to say i purchased the book. i wanted to have this book signed by its author. as they say there is no time like the present.

there is nothing like a book reading to open up a world that one never knew existed.

the red leather diary

i went to another book reading this week. lily koppel was the author. she wrote the book red leather diary. i bought the book before pesach, but i havent read it yet. i really love book readings. i like hearing the author read from their book with their own inflections. often the book seems different to me than what the author had intended, which i think is so cool. though i havent read the red leather diary i will tell you a little bit about it. the book is about a young woman, lily koppel , who finds a red leather diary in a dumpster on the upper west side in manhattan, and how she goes on to find its author as well as featuring excerpts of the diary. i actually had seen a write up about this book in one of the women's magazine's which peaked my interest . lily koppel eerily looks like the young florence wolfson whose diary she found. at the book reading lily koppel not only recounted how she found the diary and eventually tracked down its author, also conveyed an appreciation for the elderly and the importance of telling the story of an 'average' person. to me this is so profound. i have alot of elderly relatives whose lives i have found enchanting. to me this was so important and so unusual for a young , hip looking woman to convey to an audience. every person is a world. this is so deep. the youth culture is so worshipped that its so nice to hear someone respecting an older person and finding meaning from her life. i really look forward to actually reading this book.

color me jewish

i attended a book reading at barnes and noble tonight featuring the author james mcbride who has just come out with a new book. for those of you who are not familiar, james mcbride is the author of the book 'the color of water' which is about a jewish woman from russia or poland who moves to the united states, marries a black man and passes herself off as black. i read the book years ago so i dont remember all of the details. it was a very interesting book because unlike 'turbulant souls' by steven dubner , which is about a man whose jewish parents convert out and eventually he returns to judaism , james mcbride does not,which makes it even more interesting. in 'the color of water' james mcbride does acknowledge his jewishness, but he doesnt identify himself as a jew. he prefers to be a black christian. what is most curious about mr mcbride is that a few years after i read his book there was an exhibit of photos of jewish writers at the center for jewish history and behold, there was a photo of james mcbride with his daughter and a siddur. for years ive wanted to hear him speak because though he isnt a member of the aish hatorah baal teshuvah of the month club, i do consider him a curiosity. he did not disappoint. i found him to exude a very warm personality, and though he doesnt consider himself jewish, he does acknowledge that those are his roots. he mentioned during the book reading that his first supporters of his firstbook were seventy year old white jewish women . he admitted to feeling the love when he was in the room with them because they reminded him of his own jewish mother. interestingly enough, other jewish celebrities who are black seem much more jewish than james mcbride does, seeing as other black jewish celebrities like lisa bonet or rain pryor grew up with jewish identities that shaped them , whereas to be fair, james mcbride did not.

persepolis

as a child i always had heard that iran was a good place for jews to live. then came the revolution and i then met lots of children who fled iran for america. i always had thought that the revolution had made it bad just for the jewish inhabitants of iran. apparently i was wrong. as an adult i met persian jews who filled in the blanks for me and let me know that iran after the revolution was not really good for anyone.
i read the books of persepolis by marjane satrapi about a two years ago. they were excellent. i even saw her at barnes and noble last year when her last book came out. she is a truly incredible person with a very sharp sense of humor. she isnt jewish and her books are about how the iranian revolution effected her life as a western thinking iranian. i saw the movie tonight. it was very good, but the books are even better.