Archive for March, 2010

It’s not every year that two such wondrous events happen on the same day, but this year the 16th annual Virginia Festival of the Book occurs on St. Patrick’s Day. If you’re not already in or en route to Charlottesville, what are you waiting for?

What am I waiting for, since I’m not leaving until tomorrow? Drat these deadlines. I’m missing a bunch of great programs today, including Culbreth Wednesday Night with three of my favorite authors: Lucinda Franks, Dara Horn, and Kaylie Jones. (I’ve either interviewed or reviewed the books of all three — and Kaylie has become a friend. Go see these fantastic women!)

While today I’ll be stuck at home working, tomorrow I’ll kick off my own experience of VA Book 2010 by taking Shenandoah National Park’s Skyline Drive  south to Charlottesville. If I don’t get waylaid by the scenery (I’m not promising anything!), I should arrive in time for my pal Bella Stander’s singularly titled evening panel. 

What are you looking forward to at this year’s VA Book Festival? I’d love to hear…

Today I’ll be filling my online “book bag” with all of the events I plan to attend at VA Book 2010. I can’t leave until late Thursday morning, alas, so I’ll miss the Festival Luncheon with Michael Malone. I think tickets are still available, so if you can leave earlier or will already be in Charlottesville, think about going…Malone is a wonderful author whose latest novel “The Four Corners of the Sky” is the quirky tale of a pilot named Annie and her quest to learn her mother’s name.

Of course, I’ll also be missing plenty of Wednesday programs, including Memoir: Wtinesses to History. One of the books to be discussed is David Newsom’s “Witness to a Changing World,” presented by his wife, Jean Newsom. I’d like to give both Newsoms a special shout-out. David Newsom, who served in Naval Intelligence and the U.S. Foreign Service, taught at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service for many years before retiring to Charlottesville and teaching at The University. 

It was while Newsom was teaching in Washington, DC that I met his wife Jean, who was the head of the Editorial Office for the School of Foreign Service’s Center for Strategic and International Studies. She hired me as an intern, and was probably one of the best bosses I’ve every had — she even offered to help me get a scholarship to the School of Foreign Service to earn a master’s degree while continuing to work in her office. 

When I did return to the Center to work during a winter break, I was supposed to be staying with some young alums from my college who were in the Foreign Service. Unfortunately, one of their colleagues had to leave a conflict zone quickly — and there wasn’t a room for me. 

I was all set to leave and return to school — but Jean and David Newsom were having none of it. They installed me in their Georgetown home’s guest room for three weeks so that I could complete my internship and finish my graduate school applications. They shared dinners with me and treated me like a family member, even though as an awkward undergraduate who had no idea what she wanted from life I could not have been a particularly gracious guest.

What I remember most about those days is being amazed at what a team the Newsoms were — while both were consummate professionals in their careers. David and Jean Newsom convinced me that it was possible to have a long, happy marriage in which both partners retained and maintained strong, separate identities, even while serving their country.

In retrospect, is it any wonder I eventually declined the offer of a scholarship to Georgetown for grad school in order to marry my West Point cadet boyfriend? He’s now my husband of many years. Thank you, Newsoms, for allowing me to be a witness to your own history.

I’ve used today’s subject line as a blog feature before, but I’ve always wished it could be used for an actual event somewhere. Why not get a bunch of book reviewers together and make it musicale-ish?

OK, OK, I kid. Very few critics can carry a tune, let alone sing and dance at the same time. My point is, we need to get critics talking more often if we want to keep the art of book reviewing alive in these challenging times for literature and reading. That’s why panels like “The Business of Book Reviewing” are a good thing. 

Some of you (critics and others) might disagree. You might think that critics should be busy reading and thinking and writing, not chit-chatting. You might think that none of this matters, anyway (although in that case you probably aren’t reading this). 

I believe that the craft of book reviewing needs to engage in professional dialogue if it is to remain relevant to the public discourse. What do YOU think? I’d love to hear from you — and I hope that if you make it to this panel during VA Book 2010 that I get to speak with you in person.

Every time I turn around, there’s another connection in my bookish world to Charlottesville and/or the Virginia Festival of the Book.

The latest one came yesterday, when I went in to National Geographic’s Books Division to talk with a couple of editors about a new assignment. It just happens that both editors are UVA alums and one still lives in the area full-time. Our talk naturally turned to Charlottesville, and when we started talking VA Book, another colleague mentioned that National Geographic author Jag Bhalla would be appearing.

Well, I know Jag Bhalla, author of “I’m Not Hanging Noodles on Your Ears” as @hangingnoodles on Twitter! I’ve been corresponding with him for months now, but had no idea he’d be a VA Book panelist, too.

Now I’m ready to look through the entire author list and see who else I might know…I definitely encourage you to check out the amazing group that VA Book has gathered this year!

I’ve been coming to and participating in the Virginia Festival of the Book for many years, now. Eleven, to be exact. I’m sorry that I missed the first five, but I don’t intend to miss any more of them! There’s always something or someone new at VA Book.

This time around, the “new” thing will be appearing as an author. Last November a book I co-authored with Charlottesville resident John Thompson came out from National Geographic Books. “An Uncommon History of Common Things” is a popular history of all sorts of everyday items, from the safety pin to ketchup to the ATM machine and high-heeled shoes. It was a great deal of fun to write, and I hope it’s a fun read, too.

I’ll be one member of a panel called “The Uncommon History of Many Things.” While I’m chuffed that the title gives a nod to my book, by far the most significant book on the panel is “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot — more on that in another entry. Rebecca and I will be joined by Jason Vuic, author of “The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History.” (I’ve just finished reading “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea” by Chelsea Handler, and Yugos play an important role in that book…I think I’ve got some questions for my fellow panelist already!)

I can’t wait for that panel, but I’m really knocked out by the idea that this year, at the Author’s Reception I’ve attended many times, I’ll be…one of the authors! It’s a special feeling to have started out as a Virginia Festival of the Book spectator, then to have been a Publishing Day vendor (for PAGES magazine), then to become a moderator, and now to appear as an author. Since I’m also a UVA alum (GSAS ’92), this is a true honor. Thank you, Festival Committee!