Best-Selling Author A. J. Jacobs Speaks at St. Luke’s

• Date/Time: Tuesday, March 2 at 7:00 PM

A. J. Jacobs is the bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically, and St. Luke's is pleased to welcome him to Indianapolis to speak about his experiences during our Lenten focus on "Spiritual Spring Training." Jacobs speaks with humor and candid insight about his journey during a year of trying to live by and sort through hundreds of Biblical edicts. Purchase tickets online.

A.J. Jacobs’ book, The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, is a New York Times bestseller and has garnered rave reviews around the country. For this book, he attempted to abide by the hundreds of rules in the Bible, from the famous (the 10 commandments, be fruitful and multiply) to the often neglected (stone adulterers and avoid wearing clothes of mixed fibers). Jacobs manages to find humor in his attempts to comply with the more arcane strictures, but also, somewhat unexpectedly, finds comfort and meaning in both the rituals and the meaning of the Old Testament. The book has been optioned by Paramount Pictures.

Jacobs is the Editor-at-Large at Esquire magazine, where he writes feature articles and Universal Studios has optioned his 2006 article “My Outsourced Life.” For the piece, Jacobs hired a team of assistants in Bangalore, India, to do everything for him, from answer his e-mails to read bedtime stories to his son. His most recent book, The Guinea Pig Diaries – My Life as an Experiment, includes that experience along with others, such as living a month of radical honesty. His first book, The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World, a memoir of the year he spent reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z, all 44 million words of it. The book was also a New York Times bestseller.

Jacobs has also written for The New York Times, New York Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, among others. He has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Fox News, CSPAN, as well as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. For two years, he was an occasional correspondent for NPR’s “Weekend Edition.” Jacobs was also senior editor at Entertainment Weekly, and was a staff writer for MTV’s animated show Celebrity Deathmatch. For more information on A. J. Jacobs, visit www.apbspeakers.com orwww.ajjacobs.com.

Tickets are $15/person and are available for online purchase at www.stlukesumc.com, as well as at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church beginning January 24. Credit cards accepted online; cash and check only in person. The event begins at 7PM; Mr. Jacobs will sign books following his presentation.

Purchase tickets online.

From Jim of The Mystery Company Bookstore:

Sisters in Crime meets tomorrow; Phil Dunlap speaks at noon

Indiana's Sisters in Crime chapter will meet tomorrow, Saturday, February 27, at the Carmel Clay Public Library. The speaker presentation begins at noon, and is open to all regardless of membership in the chapter. The library is located at 55 4th Ave SE, across from the high school. (Click here for a map.)

Our friend Phil Dunlap, author of five historical novels set in the American West, will talk about the 1900 double killing in Carmel concerning a deputy constable and a radical itinerant preacher named "Cyclone" Johnson. Phil adds: "I've entitled my talk 'Bloody Revenge' because, as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that the deeply divided community had an axe to grind over the preacher's condemnations of various citizens. It's a pretty good story and gives a good overview of what small town life was like at the turn of the Century." For more on Phil, visit his website atwww.phildunlap.com

The Sisters in Crime day also includes a critique group, a business meeting and a book discussion. For more information, please emal chapter secretary Michael Dabney at mbdabney@yahoo.com, or feel free to come to the business meeting at 11:30. SinC is a great group, offering lots of great programs and support for Indiana's literary community.

Muncie, Ind.-- Midwest Writers Workshop will conduct a free mini-conference, "Getting Serious About Your Writing," Saturday, March 13, 9 a.m.-noon at the Ball State University Alumni Center in Muncie, 2800 W. Bethel Avenue.

Three writers will be presenters at the mini-conference, which will include talks about getting published, participation in break-out groups and a panel question-and-answer session.

Although the mini-conference is free, registration is required by March 5. Light refreshments will be served. The mini-conference is a service project of the Muncie-based writers group, now in its 37th year.

The speakers will be as follows: Dr. Dennis E. Hensley, who has written six novels, coached dozens of fiction writers, is author of The Power of Positive Productivity, and directs the professional writing program at Taylor University; Kelsey Timmerman (BookChoy pal - yay!), whose debut book, Where Am I Wearing, released in 2008 and was represented by the agent he snagged at Midwest Writers Workshop; and Cathy Shouse, who has written for The Saturday Evening Post, Family Funand Focus on the Family and whose first book Images of America: Fairmount releases this fall. Moderator will be Alan Garinger, author of Alone: The Journey of the Boy Simsreleased in 2008 and also workshop coordinator of special events.

Each mini-conference attendee will receive a $20-off voucher for their registration for 2010 Midwest Writers Workshop scheduled at Ball State University, July 29-31. (Attendees will register for the July MWW as usual and bring the voucher to on-site registration for reimbursement.)

To register or receive further information contact Director, Jama Bigger at midwestwriters@yahoo.com or 765-282-1055.

From Barb Shoup, Executive Director of the Writers' Center of Indiana:

Dear Members and Friends of the Writers' Center of Indiana

We can't give you spring on this snowy February day, but we can give you...our new, vastly improved website! Designed by WCI member and instructor Victoria Barrett, the site provides all the information the old one did and more in a contemporary, easy-to-navigate format.

Joining the Writers' Center and registering for classes has been streamlined, and the new site has a wealth of resources for writers, as well as useful tips for teaching creative writing and classroom-ready curriculum for teachers.

My favorite feature of the new site is the Members-Only network, which will allow members to showcase their writing, share resources, form writing groups, and chat about books and ideas. Members, watch your e-mail in the next few weeks for an invitation to join the network, along with directions to set up your own page. If you're not a member, there couldn't be a better time to join our ranks.

_________________________________

Inspired by Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules for Writers, the Guardian asked a bunch of writers for their own rules.

Here are a couple of cuts:

- Take something to write on. Paper is good. In a pinch, pieces of wood or your arm will do. (Margaret Atwood)

- Do not place a photograph of your favourite author on your desk, especially if the author is one of the famous ones who committed suicide. (Roddy Doyle)

- Have more than one idea on the go at any one time. If it's a choice between writing a book and doing nothing I will always choose the latter. It's only if I have an idea for two books that I choose one rather than the other. I always have to feel that I'm bunking off from something. (Geoff Dyer)

- The first 12 years are the worst. (Anne Enright)

And, finally, from AL Kennedy:

- Remember you love writing. It wouldn't be worth it if you didn't. If the love fades, do what you need to and get it back.

WANTED: A designer to build a simple, personal web-site for me.

WILL PAY: well, not in cash, per se, because at the moment I don't, um, own any. But maybe we can barter. Here are the things I am good at:

• Picking up heavy shit.
• Destroying things.
• Singing harmony on Sly and the Family Stone songs.
• Making deep dish pizzas.
• Writing & editing, esp. fiction
• Teaching, writing, or talking about picking up heavy shit, destroying things, singing about deep dish pizzas, etc.

If you are a designer who could use any of these services, please contact me to work out a deal at furuness(at)gmail.com.

In Praise of Mean Reviews: Nobody cares about your life

By mike (from Barrelhouse)

In her New York Times review of the documentary “Phyllis and Harold” — a movie about the filmmaker’s unhappily married parents — Jeannette Catsoulis raises a point that any sort of writer or storyteller would be well-served to keep in mind when mining their own experience for their work:

The problem with these my-family-was-messed-up-and-I need-to-share projects is that they require an audience of complete strangers to give a damn. And while we sometimes do, it’s usually because the material is inherently compelling (“Tarnation”) or the filmmaking uncovers truths beyond the template of family therapy (“51 Birch Street”). Sadly, “Phyllis and Harold” fulfills neither requirement.

A little acidic, yes, but also very, very true. And, as I’ve said before, the real purpose of a mean review is to instruct: to turn a piece of bad art into a model for what good art should be, to warn people away from common artistic missteps, to give a reader the tools of criticism.

Frederick Barthelme, in his “39 Steps: A Primer on Fiction Writing,” made basically the same point Catsoulis makes, though in a pithier way: “Remember: Many things have happened which, to the untrained eye, appear interesting.”

So much fiction falls into this trap. I teach undergraduate creative writing workshops, and it often strikes me that people are not very good judges of their own lives. The trick, I think, is to at some point in the writing process, truly make yourself — if you’re writing about yourself — into a character, and to think of that character as a character (if you start jotting down notes about the story that refer to the main character in the third person, that’s a sign that you’re on the right track). And, similarly, to start thinking about the story as a story, instead of an anecdote. Mess with the facts. Give it a shape. Play around with the point of view. At every turn, ask yourself: Why should anyone give a shit?

I call it the So what? factor, and I would expand its bailiwick waaaaay beyond undergraduate attempts at memoirs. At Booth, we get a lot of fiction that is technically proficient, but leaves me thinking, "Who cares?"

A while back, I tried watching Battlestar Galactica on the advice of a friend who was sick of hearing me rave about The Wire. I gave it a game effort. I got about halfway through the first season before I stopped. I didn't stop out of anger, or because I thought it sucked; I just got distracted by other stuff and never went back to finish the season. In other words, nothing compelled me to keep watching. But what was it missing? Why did I fantasize about The Wire like I was carrying on some illicit affair, but let the Battlestar DVD's collect dust on the end table for a month before sending them back to Netflix?

Here's my theory: shit happened in Battlestar, but I didn't care about the people it happened to. Early in the first season, the President faced a horrible choice: either risk the entire fleet to try and rescue a ship with, like, four hundred people on it, or abandon that ship and safeguard the fleet.

They abandoned the ship. Those people died. I did not care.

I'm not some hard-hearted s.o.b. I'm a guy who cares, probably too much, about fictional characters. A grown-ass man should not spend his lunch thinking, "Man, I can not believe Omar is dead. I just cannot believe it," and secretly hoping that the next episode would start with Omar coming out of brain surgery. The reason I didn't care about four hundred dead people on Battlestar was because I didn't know any of them. These weren't characters, they were abstract constructs; the President's dilemma was a philosophy problem. The genius of The Wire is that it made you get really close to a character before tearing him away (R.I.P. Omar. I loved you, man).

So with all due respect, Barrelhouse and Jeannette Catsoulis, maybe it's not so much about what happens in a story, or the truths that are revealed. By that equation, Battlestar should have been really compelling— the events were hugely important within the universe of the story, the stakes could not have been higher, and interesting questions were raised about the human condition—but it wasn't. In the end, what matters most are the characters. Make me love them, in all their flawed complexity. Make me miss them when they leave. Make me care. And I'll never say so what?

Hey, this is lit-related, right? I've never seen this film, but I loved the McMurtry novel.

THE LAST PICTURE SHOW

Friday, February 19 » 7-9 pm

In this lustrous black-and-white adaptation of a Larry McMurtry novel, restless teens in a 1950s Texas town come of age against a backdrop of bravado, romance and regret. Jeff Bridges (The Big Lebowski) plays a young stud who lusts after rich tease Jacy (Cybill Shepherd, in her film debut). Pool hall owner Sam the Lion (Ben Johnson) acts as the town’s conscience and keeper of long-kept secrets. The film was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Shown in 35 mm. Introduced by Matt Socey of WFYI. (dir. P. Bogdanovich, 1971, USA, 118 mins., R)

Winter Nights promotional support provided by NUVO Newsweekly.

Looking ahead, next week will feature readings from Edwidge Danticat (at Butler) and the poet Patricia Smith (at IUPUI). Check out the Lit Calendar (I've built it, now you must come) for more details.

And, whoa . . . did anyone know this was coming up?

Writer Aleksandar Hemon reading Wednesday February 24, 2010 7:30 PM Thompson Recital Hall Green Center for the Performing Arts

Aleksandar Hemon is the author of a novel, The Lazarus Project, finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and three books of stories, Nowhere Man, The Question of Bruno, and most recently, Love and Obstacles. Born in Sarajevo, he came to the United States—Chicago—in 1992, intending to stay for a matter of months. While Hemon was there, Sarajevo came under siege, and he was unable to return home. He wrote his first story in English in 1995. His work now appears regularly in The New Yorker, Granta, The Paris Review, and Best American Short Stories. Hemon, who in 2004 was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and a MacArthur “Genius” Grant, lives in Chicago.

And finally, do you want to read MOBY DICK, but just don't have the time? Try this.

Good Times

my daddy has paid the rent and the insurance man is gone and the lights is back on and my uncle brud has hit for one dollar straight and they is good times good times good times my mama has made bread and grampaw has come and everybody is drunk and dancing in the kitchen and singing in the kitchen of these is good times good times good times oh children think about the good times RIP, Lucille Clifton

This is weird. Elle magazine starts a . . . lit blog?

Geez, is the neighborhood getting gentrified? Does this mean my domain name rates are going to go up?

This morning's Q&A with Junot Diaz was a good reminder that no matter how big you get in the literary world, you will still face tardo questions like, "Uh, who are you?"

Diaz answered that question like he answered most of the others: with grace and fierce intelligence on the surface, and an undercurrent of subtle hostility (maybe it was the cold, maybe it was the early hour, maybe it was the cringe-worthy questions. I don't know).

I don't really blame him—I wouldn't have blamed him even if he had bristled more openly—but I guess I was hoping for a better performance from both Q's and A's.

Sarah Skwire fell hopelessly in love with John Donne at age 14. She has been writing poetry since she learned to print when her major subjects were puppies, candy, and the unbearable suffering of grade school. These days she uses a computer instead, and is preoccupied with sex, gardens, family life, and poems about poems. She has published work in a wide range of small poetry journals, in The New Criterion, and in the Vocabula Review. Other publications include academic work on subjects from 17th century poetry to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and a college level writing textbook that has just reached its 11th edition.

For this Valentine's Day reading, she's promised to read poems about love, sex, tomatoes, and killing people with icicles because winter's much too long.


The MC for Evening with the Muse is Rohana McCormack. For additional information, please contact her via phone: 317-259-7900 orRohanamccormack@sbcglobal.net

Last call from The Mystery Company Bookstore

Last call!

Tomorrow, Saturday, February 13, we'll be open 10:00 am to 2:00 pm for our last open hours.

We're selling our remaining used books by the pound: $1 per pound, hardcover or paperback.

Our remaining new books will all be at 50% off suggested retail prices.

We've sold a lot, but there are still lots of great books that need new homes!

You can still order online; visit mysterycompany.com/clearance.htm, though this page is increasingly out of date as books are moving quickly.

These discounts apply to everything in the store except for Jeff Stone's latest,Dragon. We have a few signed copies left of this last book in the Five Ancestors series.

News from Butler's Visiting Writers Series

From Nonie, Czarina of the Series:

"I have good news and bad news… Unfortunately poet Lucille Clifton has cancelled her visit scheduled for February 22^nd due to illness. She anticipates a full recovery but it will take time.

In her place, we have rescheduled Edwidge Danticat! Thus, Danticat will offer a reading and book signing on Monday, February 22, 2010 at 7:30 pm in the Reilly Room. Between now and then she will be visiting Haiti.

Please join us later this week when Pulitzer Prize-winner, Junot Diaz, addresses us on Thursday night at 7:30 pm in the Reilly Room."

The Lit Events Calendar has been adjusted accordingly.

And if you're looking for a little pre-reading taste of Diaz, here's an interview he did with Bookslut. Man, this reading is going to be fun.

And here are some details from The Mystery Company Bookstore, which is closing up shop.

The process of closing the store is difficult, emotional and, inevitably, slow. We've sold lots of books, but we still have lots more in the store. Most of our remaining new book stock is now listed on this page:

www.mysterycompany.com/clearance.htm

For online orders, we're offering 40% off everything listed here, and free shipping to any address in the US. In store, we're also offering 40% off everything for payment by credit card or 50% off for payment by cash or check.

We also still have lots of used books on our shelves. We are continuing to excavate our back room, and have added several hundred "new" used books to our shelves. Lots of good titles that you just don't see every day; hope you'll have a chance to come in and see for yourself.

If you shop in store, we invite you to pick up one or two advance reading copies of recent, current and forthcoming titles. We've set these out in the middle of the store, and they're free with any purchase.

We'll be open at least parts of each day now through Wednesday; check our clearance page for specific times. It's possible that we'll need additional time beyond Wednesday; we'll keep you posted if we add any more hours. We're also selling fixtures, furniture and supplies, and will soon be putting together some kind of list of what remains.

If you still have a Mystery Company gift card, we hope you'll use it for an online, telephone or in-store purchase. But if you're not able to make a final purchase, please send it back to us, and we'll get a refund check to you.

So many of you have already helped us find good homes for so many of the books here, and we're also grateful for your all your support and your kind words and wishes. The comments on my blog -- at mysterycompany.typepad.com -- have been totally overwhelming. It's impossible to thank all of you for all of your many kindnesses, but I will express our gratitude to Linda Lugar for the wonderful farewell party she organized for us, and to Louise Penny for sending flowers and champagne. Pictures from the party are posted online. It was a lovely and spectacular way to celebrate our time here together.

Thank you!

Yours in mystery,

Jim

p.s. We will be at the Carmel Clay Public Library on Tuesday, February 9, for the launch of Jeff Stone's final Five Ancestors novel, Dragon. We'll email separately with details.

Nominations Open for Indiana Authors Award

Nominations are now open for the 2010 Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award. The Award is a program of the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library Foundation and recognizes the contributions of Indiana Authors to the literary landscape in Indiana and across the nation; it is funded through the generosity of The Glick Fund, a fund of Central Indiana Community Foundation.

The Indiana Authors Award invites participation from people around the state beginning with the nomination process. Participation then continues throughout the year with outreach to organizations serving readers and writers with an interactive website. The program culminates in a day of free public programs and a ticketed Awards Dinner on October 9, 2010 at the Central Library in Indianapolis.

The award categories are: National Author, a writer with Indiana ties, but whose work is known and read throughout the country ($10,000 prize); Regional Author, a writer who is well known and respected throughout the State of Indiana ($7,500 prize); and Emerging Author, a writer with only one published book ($5,000 prize).

In addition to a cash prize, each author's Indiana hometown public library will receive a grant of $2,500 from the Library Foundation.

Last year's inaugural Awards Program included a public program celebrating Indiana authors attended by 400 participants and an Awards Dinner raising over $40,000 for the Library Foundation. At the dinner, James Alexander Thom was presented with the National Author award while Susan Neville received the Regional Author award and Christine Montross received the Emerging Author award.

To submit a 2010 nomination or to learn more, contact the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library Foundation at (317)275-4700 or visit www.indianaauthorsaward.org.

Criminy, is it Friday already? I haven't posted much this week, maybe because most of the big news in Bookland is about the e-book wars—Amazon v. MacMillan, price points for books on the iPad, more legal wrangling about Google Books—which is just confusing. I should want to understand, I should care . . . but I don't.

Big week in the Indy Lit scene coming up next week. In addition to a blogging class I'll be teaching Wednesday at the Writers' Center, we've got the John Green workshop, and the Junot Diaz reading. Details can be found in the calendar of lit events, up there to your right.

Have fun building igloos this weekend, and remember, don't fall asleep in a snowdrift.

Two things made me happy today.

Some of you may know that at the beginning of the year I left the insurance world to do more teaching. Just today I finally figured out that I no longer have to tell people "I've got meetings" before sneaking into the library to write; that now I can actually JUST TELL PEOPLE I'M GOING TO WRITE. And, in fact, it's probably a good idea to tell my students why I'm not in my office at those times as a way of modeling a daily writing practice and blah, blah, blah.

I feel . . . oh, I feel like I've come out of the writing closet. I'm here, I'm writing without fear, get used to it.

Oh, and this also made me happy.

Sarah Palin has found a down-low way to stay atop the bestsellers' chart: she's quietly using her political action committee to buy up copies of her memoir.

The Federal Election Commission filings show that Sarah PAC sent $63,000 to Palin's publisher, Harper Collins, for "books for fundraising donor fulfillment."