Tag: books

Weekend Roundup–Read, Eat, Drink

by Maria

Read:
I happened to find myself completely book-free this week (due to a crappy packing job on my way to NYC). So I also found myself scanning a bookshelf for something to read on the train and at nights. And I found C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity, his classic book that explores the underpinnings of all Christian faiths.

CS

I read all seven books of The Chronicles of Narnia series as a kid, and I’m pretty sure Aslan is still the coolest talking lion I’ve ever read about. And The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is still one of my favorite titles of all time.

But Mere Christianity is nothing like those books (although, if you read deeper into Narnia it actually is, but I won’t get into that). Yet it’s every bit as wonderful as expected.

It’s a short read (just over 200 pages), and I love both how quaint and 1950s-esque his voice is, and how timeless and straight-talking it still remains. It’s a book for nonbelievers and believers alike—even if you don’t have a scrap of interest in any form religion, it’s an incredibly compelling philosophical exercise. And it’s just fascinating to watch him unwrap each little box of his argument, holding it up for you to inspect that it is good.

If you missed the Narnia boat (sorry, Dawn Treader pun!), pick up Mere Christianity. It’s a  great starting point into Lewis’s adult oeuvre and, considering that he’s known as the most important writer of the 20th century, it’s a must-read.

Eat:
Confession: I’ve been neglecting my kitchen for the past two weeks! We’ve been moving and unpacking and traveling and shopping and working and adjusting to our new neighborhood, and I haven’t even been on a proper grocery run in weeks. I’m ashamed of myself. But even more, I’m just craving walking through the grocery aisles, meal planning for a normal, non-crazy week, and getting into my kitchen after a long day of work, with music and a glass of wine, to make something yummy.

And on top of it all, I’ve been having digestive issues, so  the past few days I’ve been cutting sugar, carbs, and dairy from my diet. So I don’t even know what to eat any more. But that hasn’t stopped me from fantasizing about food all day. As soon as I’m feeling better, this will be my dream, go-all-out, cook-like-a-maniac menu:

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Muffaletta Pasta Salad.
All my dreams in life involve muffaletta. Just call me Muffaletta Maria. (Actually don’t, it sounds weird.) Recipe here.

Grilled-Asian-Sweet-and-Spicy-Chicken-Skewers
Grilled Asian Sweet and Spicy Chicken Skewers.
Don’t tell me that picture doesn’t make you drool. Recipe here.

Pecan Pie Bars
Salted Caramel and Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars.
Everything amazing in the world, in one bar. Recipe here.

Drink:
I’m calling in my personal mixologist for a drink this week. Here’s Jarrett with a recipe for a different kind of gin and tonic:

Gin and Tonic. Gin & Tonic. G&T. The first mixed drink I truly learned to love.

But there’s a new variable to the G&T game: gourmet tonic. The Jack Rudy Co. makes small batch tonic that’s nothing like the clear stuff you buy at the store.  This tonic is what tonic was always meant to be: slightly sweet, fragrant, with subtle lemongrass and orange peel flavors. All of this makes the drink taste less like pure gin in a glass.

small-batch-tonic

G&T purists may be surprised by how different this tonic is, but I say they should find some room in their lineup for the Gin & Rudy Tonic. I have come to like this recipe way more than just a traditional G&T!

Gin & Rudy

  • Add ice to an on-the-rocks glass (a.k.a. an Old Fashioned glass)
  • 2 oz. of your preferred gin (I’ve recently been enjoying “Jack Pine Gin” from Northern Latitudes, a distillery in Northern Michigan)
  • .75 oz. of Jack Rudy Co. tonic
  • 4 oz. of soda water
  • A slice of lime

Combine ingredients and stir. If you want to get fancy, shave off a thin piece of the lime’s rind, heat it up with a lighter for a few seconds, and rub it on the rim of the glass before dropping it in the drink as a garnish.

If you do decide to try the Jack Rudy tonic, check out the Jack Rudy Co. website–they have a great list of drink recipes to make with their small batch tonic and grenadine.

Happy reading, eating, and drinking this weekend!

The Hope in the Query Pile

by Maria

Mountain

We’ve all heard the hilarious stories about crazy query letters—the ones written from jail, the ones that start “Dear Sirs or Madams,” the ones that include nothing but 3 pictures of purses made from jeans and an assurance that “this book will sell millions.” (My personal favorite of the year.)

But I think sometimes agents don’t talk enough about the encouraging query letters. Not necessarily the queries that get a request for more material, or the ones that are ultimately picked up by an agent and sold to a publisher. I don’t mean the successful queries, but the encouraging ones—the ones that give us back a little faith in humanity.

Because I work in nonfiction, I see a lot of sad stories in my query pile, mostly from the memoir queries. There are stories of cancer, sexual abuse, drug addiction, human trafficking, divorce, death of children, infertility, homelessness—every horrible thing that can happen to us humans. But, without fail, at the end of every one of these query letters, there’s one word: hope. These memoirs are always about hope.

The very fact that these writers have suffered through all the crappy stuff life can throw at you, and then come out on the other side able to write about it, says a lot about the therapeutic power of writing.

That’s one thing I wish I could tell more writers: sometimes writing can be just for you. For the therapy, for the catharsis, and for the energy it provides. Getting all those words and emotions and memories out of your head can be its own reward, and chasing a book deal can be secondary.

Publishing is a crazy world, and it can be a full-time job to build the sort of platform necessary to successfully launch a book. But writing is, and will always be, just for the writer.

[Writers: I’m caught up on all queries through August 1, 2014. If you sent me a query prior to that date and did not receive a response, please re-send!]

Books on Books!

by Maria

Ereader

When we moved apartments a few weeks ago I realized that I have a book problem. (This should have been obvious, no?) But really–I didn’t quite realize that I had too many books. Way, way too many books. Right now I have boxes of books in two different storage units. And I want to keep them ALL.

I poke fun at Jarrett all the time for being a little hoarder-y about certain things (he owns 3 back-ups for his favorite hat), but I am a major hoarder about books. I have a problem. I have a clutter aversion to every single other thing, but books… You really can’t have enough, can you?

Yes, it turns out you can. And you don’t realize it until you have to pack all the darn things into boxes and lug them down the East Coast.

So. I’m trying three tactics in our new apartment in an effort to stop the madness:

1. Limit space: We had to throw out an old bookshelf that was bowed from too much book weight, so I’m tasking Jarrett with building me two new bookshelves. We’re using these plans from Ana White, and we’re so excited to try our hands at our first furniture build. (Also, she has a fabulous book called The Handbuilt Home, in case you need more books…) But I’m limiting us to only building two big bookshelves. One I’ll keep in my office space for author/agent copies, and the other will be for my non-work books. So if anybody wants some free books this summer, let me know! A big clean-out will be happening early- to mid-September.

2. Virtual bookshelf: I have certain books that I hold on to just because I think they’re wonderful resources, and I love to recommend them to others. Most of these are books about books–books about writing, publishing, and platform building. I’m now putting those here, on my Bookshelf page, so that they’re always there if someone’s looking for extra resources.

3. Ebooks!: I am probably the last literary agent on this green earth who doesn’t own an e-reader. I usually have 2-3 books that I’m in various stages of reading, and I stuff them in my too-big purse like a lunatic. It’s like I refuse to acknowledge that this handy device called an e-reader would solve all my problems. But no more! I am getting myself an e-reader before I give myself scoliosis. But Nook or Kindle? Anybody prefer one over the other?

So in my imaginary perfect life in our new, uncluttered apartment, we will not have a book problem. Let’s see how this goes…

The $50 Home Makeover out this week!

by Maria

This week was the official release of a book I’m so proud to have worked on—The $50 Home Makeover by Shaunna West!

The $50 Home Makeover

It’s a GORGEOUS book, all thanks to Shaunna’s stunning photography. She really has a talent for capturing bright light and pops of colors. She’s also an incredible businesswoman, who’s built her Perfectly Imperfect brand through her blog, online store, and her physical store in Alabama. If you’re not sure how to turn your creative passion into a career and eventually get a book deal, follow her!

She also had a lovely book launch party at her store (read about it here), which made me wish I could jet off to Alabama to buy pretty things in her shop and celebrate this fantastic book.

I acquired and edited this book when I was still an editor, and it’s exciting to finally see it in stores. There are a ton of projects I mentally earmarked to try when I was reviewing the page proofs.

I would love to try her idea for customizing affordable Ikea curtains, especially since we’ll need curtains when we move into our new apartment in September. All you do is buy plain curtains from Ikea and then fancy them up with a swash of gold paint. They look so elegant and timeless—like you spent big bucks on them!

The book also has a great tutorial for painting builder grade cabinets and making them look chic and expensive. And there’s an equally fantastic project for adding a pretty frame to a builder grade mirror, so that it has more personality.


BookLaunchPartyInvitationsPhoto by Shaunna West.

This is the perfect book if you’re feeling very stuck in your home and don’t have the budget or the time to take on big renovations. It’s amazing what a coat of paint and a few bucks can do if you have just the right inspiration.

Go pick up a copy of it, curl up on the couch, and start taking in all the pretty! You’ll be surprised how inspired and excited you’ll be to make your current home your dream home.