From Our Beau House To Yours – Chicken and Steak (Together) Or Not

Having spent this past summer acquiring news friends with unfamiliar eating habits, and old friends with new found tastes, I thought I’d better brush up on New York diets/ways of life/spiritual eats/yoga etc. Coincidentally there’s a lot of information online and in book stores about this subject.

Whether you’re vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, raw foodist, fruitarian and there’s many others, there’s a lot of disagreement about the definitions of these varying lifestyles. Some of my friends think it’s stupid, others vehemently opposed or vehemently for it. To avoid definitional entanglement I’ll steer clear of the O.E.D but a quick track of common arguments for or against include:

– Good on you man, I respect you’re way of life. Tell me more.

– Yay for vegeterians! Yay for vegans! Yay for environmental responsibility! Let’s save the world!

– That’s cool but not recession proof. I’m too poor and it’s too hard to be a vegetarian et al in the recession.

– I think tofu tastes like flavorless rubber cement.

– I’m mentally eating chicken and steak (together) as we speak because it makes me feel better having to listen to you. I’m an American, darn it.

– I think you’re a masochistic narcissist for controling so much of your diet and believing your body to be such an important political message that it controls every facet of your life.

Whichever way you’re inclined (and none of these views necessarily represent my own), chances are you better be buying organic free range eggs or suffer the guilt on your conscience. If you go on a “raw food cleanse for 5 days” tread carefully at die-hard raw food restaurants (death by orange pulp suffocation while noone is looking, if you know what I mean).

-Nikki-Lee

From Our Beau House To Yours – Etiquette for Name Tags

As I sat on the subway today trying to figure out the Ken Ken puzzle (“The puzzle that makes you smarter!”) on the back of A.M. New York, I worried about a discussion I had with some friends about elevator etiquette. This discussion the previous night turned into a heated debate, one friend insisting on how long you hold the doors open, another on how many floors is socially acceptable to use the elevator and so on. An environmental argument was eventually added. Somebody finally suggested to look it up, a suggestion I scoffed at (like when someone google maps on their iphone after I give them the correct directions from my non-html brain). To my great chagrin there actually are etiquette ebooks on elevators (and I didn’t just write that for the alliteration).

In fact, there are etiquette books and online material on everything. A few subjects include: etiquette for men, women, girls, boys, Christian wives, golf, dogs, cats, bikers, graduation speeches, wedding cancellations, Serbians, name tags, “etiquette for emails in 2009,” outlaws and so on. I was seized with a sudden fear that my etiquette was grossly misinformed. I’m 20 years old and my etiquette is simultaneously naive and outdated!

-Nikki-Lee

From Our Beau House To Yours – Shakespeare

Tonight I’m off to see Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Iago in Othello. The circumstances? A friend gave me a ticket last minute. This coincides with the Shakespeare course I’m currently taking, and of course, in the past 2 weeks I’ve become completely, utterly, bodily, irreconcilably obsessed with the great bard. This isn’t too uncommon for me to become obsessed with a writer, I only wish everyone felt this way about reading. When I read Virginia Woolf seriously for the first time 3 summers ago, I read every book she wrote, including her unabridged journals. I rented every film version of Mrs. Dalloway, and saw a version of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in a high school theater. Twice. It’s not just literary characters either. When I was writing the next Great Research Paper on John Adams last fall I started to think like John Adams. All of sudden his problems became my problems, his interests my interests. I spend 48 consecutive hours watching the HBO series once I discovered it existed.

What kind of effect is Shakespeare having on my life? Apart from uttering the odd “my mistress’s eyes are nothing like the sun” on the subway, or when I’m brushing my teeth a burst of Hamlet just happens to scare my roommate, or our cat Francois suddenly looks at me with disdain when I’m calling to him in iambic pentameter. And just when there was a collective lamenting throughout the city that “Shakespeare in the Park” finished with the summer (and also the just as good “Shakespeare in the Municipal Parking Lot” with the slogan “the Bard Doesn’t Need a Park.”) Never fear, I hope everyone braves monetary and geographic boundaries to see Seymour Hoffman in Othello and also Jude Law’s Hamlet, 2 wonderful productions to remind us that Shakespeare still reigns as our eternal poet.

-Nikki-Lee

From Our Beau House To Yours – An Ancient Secret About Dan Brown

Tomorrow a lot of people will be reading the new Dan Brown novel, but I will be reading the infinitely more suspenseful Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. And since everyone (I’m not going to specify who falls into this category) will be blogging/reviewing/emailing/conspiring about the new Dan Brown novel, I have a few words for my symbologist-historian-romantic-world-do-gooder-extraordinaire: Goethe.

While this may sound elitist, that is a common misconception — Goethe is for everyone, a hero for everyone who transcends genre. A hero who braves history, critical theory (a.k.a a special kind of symbology), the great mysteries, evil villains, evil Roman Catholic Church (Goethe was a Protestant), and yes, the secret affairs of the heart. Goethe himself (unlike Dan Brown) travels to far and distant European centers to brave the great mysteries of the world and discover the (surprisingly) always-surprising power of love. He even came up with the concept “World Literature.” And unlike Dan Brown, Goethe doesn’t write with so many italicized words and sentences that even serious characters sound like Miley Cyrus.

So think twice before running off to pick up your pre-ordered Lost Symbol at Barnes and Noble, because (and I’m going to let you in on this ancient secret) Goethe would beat Dan Brown’s sensationalized, made-for-movies, MTV video, literary posing in a duel any day. And while this may seem harsh, since Dan Brown is a millionaire, the only sympathy I have is for Tom Hanks’s forehead.

-Nikki-Lee

From Our Beau House To Yours – Fox is Watching Out for Your Kid’s Mind

As many of us returned to school last week, we now find ourselves lining up at the university bookstore buying books that we’ll read for four months and 1. turn the book into a Kwanzaa/Christmas/Hanukkah gift in December 2. keep around to make you look smarter 3. change your life and be kept in the back pocket of your corduroys.

If you were like me and spent Labor day weekend with your very-conservative-older-distant relatives, you may have watched Fox news a lot, and Fox has a few important warnings about university textbooks. The top back-to-school story was the radically democratic indoctrination in most, if not all, college textbooks. Unfortunately as a (18-25 voter) student you cannot do anything about the textbook but you can petition to get the professor fired, or bring the book’s liberal brainwashing content to the attention of the dean of studies–or my personal favorite–ask your campus religious authority for advice and suggestions on reading alternatives.

Politics aside, what’s worse? The right to publish without censorship, or the right for everyone to get an “unbiased,” fair education (if you can pay for college that is). Fox believes that if anyone can spot bias when they see it Fox can, and that these textbooks are bad for America.

The solution though not apparent at first, is obvious: they should just make me editor of all college textbooks.

-Nikki-Lee

Thank you Publishers Lunch for my LOL moment of the day…

(Via Publishers Lunch)

Amazon Bought Two Locks to Keep LOST SYMBOL Secure

The New York Times won’t be obtaining any copies of Dan Brown’s new book from Amazon, where the e-tailer’s home page carries a note promoting the new release from Jeff Bezos–who insists that “even inside Random House, only a half dozen employees have been allowed to read The Lost Symbol in its entirety.” (Is it supposed to be reassuring that almost no one at the publisher worked with the author on preparing his book for publication?)

Amazon has “agreed to keep our stockpile under 24-hour guard in its own chain-link enclosure, with two locks requiring two separate people for entry.” All they know about the book is that “it takes place over the course of twelve hours” and features Robert Langdon. Of course if you want to pre-order it for delivery to your Kindle the morning of release, go right ahead. The print version is No. 1 at the site; the Kindle pre-order is currently No. 64 on the Kindle list.

Of the many coffee-spitting phrases I loved from this article the best, in my humble opinion, is the editorial commentary: “Is it supposed to be reassuring that almost no one at the publisher worked with the author on preparing his book for publication?” No, no it is not. I must admit- the attitude in the industry on this one is, of course they aren’t printing advanced copies or showing it to anyone before publication: it’s Dan Brown, it’s the follow up to The Da Vinci Code and even if it is as horrible as most people I’ve spoken to are predicting, it will still sell 200,000 copies minimum in its first month.

Happy Labor Day all- especially to the 6 people at Random House who have had to hold their tongues for the last 10 months. It’s almost over.

And in the name of full disclosure: I will of course be reading it at some point- Dan Brown is the perfect airplane read- and this will be out just in time for my 8 hr trip to Frankfurt next month.

Placement I would pay the Big Bucks for

As I was trying to think of a justification to buy the Amazon kindle when I already have a perfectly good Sony Reader, I noticed three excellent placements- The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, The New York Times, and Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers were each given a screen shot in advertising the kindle on Amazon.com, and I had to wonder- how much did that cost them?

Paid placement these days can be a tricky business- a celebrity carrying around your product to your standard newspaper or magazine ad. Prices range from cost per impression to mass one time payments for period long associations. A Facebook ad is going for more than a Google ad, but can be better targeted (women who have religious views as Christian, between the ages of 25-42, living in the Midwest is completely doable). Personally, online ads annoy me. I skim over, minimize, and scoff at them regularly, but the genius of placement in the kindle ad should be applauded.

Whether it was placement given gratis as a co-advertising venture, or they are being charged a onetime fee for inclusion for the length of the campaign, I would love to even be up for consideration. No matter what you think of the kindle, or any of the products highlighted in its ads, you have to admit- love it or hate it- the placement is brilliant.

If anyone is looking to have a cover shot of a book in their next ad campaign- call me, I will find a way to work something out. The placement that people don’t think you are paying for is always the most effective. And though I tend to stay away from the Oprah book picks until the initial dust storm has settled I must admit, having seen that Edgar Sawtelle cover everywhere these last few months has returned it to my reading list. Repetition works- its finding the right location that presents the challenge.

From Our Beau House To Yours – Little Deaths of Summer

As the summer draws to a close anxiety about your summer reading list is normal. While some of us suffered through the heat of August in an unairconditioned apartment in Brooklyn, others were victims of the city heat in various shared experiences: cab driver roadrage, red-faced tourists, physical altercations with MTA staff and/or MTA property, sweaty gallery openings in the lower east side and so on.

Naturally throughout all of this chaos your reading list can be neglected. So I didn’t get to that new translation of Ovid? Nor did I read Jonathan Safran-Foer’s only follow-up to Everything is Illuminated, the one nobody remembers the title of. And no, I’ll admit it, I didn’t read David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest (because the joke’s on you, mate). Procrastination is a common side effect in the last days of August, the little deaths of summer; instances where books aren’t read, emails unsent, not even a french film makes the leisure list. One find’s oneself watching Law & Order episodes set in winter.

But not to worry, September is around the metaphorical corner, next week we have a new month. Fall is here, school starts (refamiliarize yourself with required reading), the city’s refugees from the heat return to their offices, your work messsages are checked, and there’s no more vacation voicemails that almost always seem to say “Hi, we’re on the Almafi Coast right now. Enjoy August, suckers.” Rejoice, there is always next summer for the now extended reading list. On September 1st, instead of thinking bad thoughts about MTA on the subway platform, you will indeed start pulling out that small, friendly volume in your bag and keep reading.

-Nikki-Lee

From Our Beau House To Yours- The Greatest Mega-Seller of All Time

As a few colleagues sat down in the office yesterday to celebrate an important occasion, the conference table conversation got talking on books (and talk show mathematics). As we all contemplated the sense of impending doom with the new Dan Brown novel coming out, I thought about what would make the greatest mega-seller of all time.

The answer: a group of teenage vegetarian vampires, “day walkers,” go to a hidden school for magic in north England to hone their exciting magical powers. There is a good vampire society along with their evil counterparts, and they can pro-create. Most of the plot lines involve adventures at school or to major western cities where the dark secrets of Christianity come face to face with magic. (There would also be subtle parallels with today’s society). The main characters, a trio of loyal friends, maintain the balance between good and evil while learning the real power of love, morality, and most importantly, themselves.

-Nikki-Lee

From Our Beau House To Yours

As the new intern for Beaufort, my first creative task was to come up with a title for my posts on this blog. Of course I take this too seriously, it’s a lot of pressure, you know? It must be smart, witty, engaging, and abound with intelligent literary references. After worrying about this for quite some time, I’ve come up with “From Our Beau House To Yours,” which fits, alas, none of the above criteria.

It does use part of Beaufort, and is french so at a cursory glance it seems I may be on the way to fulfilling “smart” or at least clever. However, the second definition of beau is “dandy,” and the third “boyfriend,” so naturally I worry about the kind of message this might send. To continue, house seems fair, but I realized I don’t know the difference (if there is any) between publishing house and publishing company. Problem. Lastly, instead of an intelligent literary reference, beau house really (if we’re going to be honest) is a pun on Bauhaus, my favourite English cult punk band from the eighties.

I also thought of “Holding Down The ‘Fort,” but that implies way more responsibility and it is only my second day. Perhaps “Updates from the Fall Intern” is better, certainly safer, but (since someone else came up with it) I wouldn’t be an innovative intern for this innovative publishing company.

Regardless, I look forward to writing the next post, but mostly, I look forward to informing my one million plus readers on all-things-literary-and-cool in the coming months.

– Nikki-Lee

Updates from the Summer Intern – What are you reading?

Today is my last day as the Beaufort Books intern. I’ve been here nearly 3 months and can now re-enter the pool of job applicants with the confidence of actually having work experience! No more scrounging through my high school experience to dredge up something that sounds productive and professional.

I’m going to close this brief venture into blogging the same way I began it: what are you reading?

I just finished The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. While I was recently watching the second (third?) season of The Wire, a prison book group reads The Great Gatsby and one of the members has a monologue about Jay Gatsby that I knew was rich with foreshadowing and parallels that I wasn’t understanding because I hadn’t read the book. So, obviously, I had to read it.

The book wasn’t what I was expecting. It has a delicate mood and a calm, organized approach to the material that I found appealing, if underwhelming. It certainly lends some insight into D’Angelo Barksdale of The Wire, if nothing else.

Update from the Summer Intern — Mad Men

Only five more days until the new season of Mad Men! When I was lamenting the end of the school year, I consoled myself with the idea that Mad Men would be on all summer and that I would have something to look forward to every Sunday. Alas, it was not to be, and the premiere date was set for middle of August. In despair, I even went to Banana Republic to try on their line of Mad Men clothing.

For those who don’t know about Mad Men, it’s an AMC series focusing on the employees of a small Madison Avenue advertising agency in the early sixties. More broadly, it’s a look at the changing culture of the early sixties.

The summer has blown by, and finally the next season is upon us. I approach it with some trepidation; the directions the show might take offer a depressing, perhaps too timely, array of ideas. The delicate, elegant culture that the characters inhabit has a limited lifespan. Pop culture and politics of the time are approaching an upheaval: the Hollywood studio system is essentially over, The Beatles are coming(!!!), along with assassinations, riots, and Vietnam.

All current parallels and philosophical ramblings aside, dramatically the show could become very, very interesting.

Updates from the Summer Intern – EBooks

Like everyone else, my college started to panic about the failing economy this year. In the spring, they released a proposal to eliminate about 10% of the operating budget in order to preserve the rapidly diminishing endowment. The largest budget-cut, and certainly the one that sparked the loudest din and debate, was the closing of one of the libraries.

It was the performing arts library – a collection of original musical scores, scripts, taped dance performances, reams of sheet music, and countless musical recordings. The administration hoped to distribute the collection among our neighboring schools, moving the bulk of it into the main library, and begin to put everything into electronic form.

Fuming and itching for a fight, the performing arts faculty began to plead for their course materials in class. Students bitterly recounted experiences with belligerent library staff at other schools. However, the most controversial aspect of the proposed change was the part about going digital.

While everyone was reliant on the internet for everything, everyone was reluctant to make that final step: we loved books, we loved holding them, we loved everything about them. The recent revelation that E-Books are subject to the whims of Big Brother only promotes the idea that nothing can replace the ownership of a physical book.

By the end of the year, the plan to close the library in my school was disbanded and the debates faded out, unresolved.

Updates from the Summer Intern – Commencement

I was going to list everything wrong with the Emmy nominations announced this morning in this entry under the reasoning that all pop culture happenings are interrelated and, therefore, television awards are totally relevant to a publishing blog. Instead, I’ll write about a book, and settle for telling everyone to go watch the first three seasons of Friday Night Lights.

The big thing with all my Smith College peers in recent days is the new book, Commencement, written by Smith alum J. Courtney Sullivan. We all went out and bought it and are in varying stages of readings and re-readings. I finished the book yesterday and was ultimately disappointed. It held the thrill of recognition – like the four heroines of Commencement, the phrase “freshman” has been entirely wiped from my vocabulary and I now accidentally say “first-year” when talking about ninth grade – but otherwise, it probably too broad and too sentimental. But it had it’s moments of insight, of genuine emotion, and it makes me eager for the beginning of another year at Smith.

Update from the Summer Intern – Blogging

I’ve spent the bulk of my time today linking, researching, listing, and now writing blogs. All this begs the question, does it work? Does it matter?

As a way to disseminate information – perhaps. A creative outlet, certainly. Validation, only if people read it. But in business?

Personally, I have followed just one blog. It was about Lost and I was heartbroken when it was closed. However, it didn’t really achieve anything concrete – I never bought anything (it didn’t sell anything), I watched the show religiously anyway, and I disabled pop-up ads. Such is the glory of the internet.

So, when I started interning, I was (and still am) bewildered by the emphasis on blogging in publishing. It makes me think that the internet will either be seized by corporations who force you to look at ads and pay for things, or that business will dissolve altogether and that the world will essentially evolve into Star Trek, where “the acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in our lives.”

Neither, however, seems very likely.

Update from the Summer Intern – RE Summer Reading

As I plowed through my little list of intern-type duties this morning, I began worrying about what to blog about. I spent last week visiting relatives in New England and the weekend watching the first season of The Wire, so I was going to have little new to say about the state of publishing.

Luckily, skimming through the blog entries written in my absence, I read the aforementioned list of “1000 novels everyone must read,” and have actually just read one of the books: Possession by AS Byatt. My best friend has been promising to lend me her copy since we were 14, but lent it to someone else when we were in high school and never got it back. At long last, I found an ungainly hardcover copy at my grandmother’s house that I lugged back to New York and finished at one this morning.

I had seen the movie when it came out (2002? 2003?) and was surprised that that modest, understated film came out of such a majestic novel. Even at such a length, and even with the density of all the very long Victorian-style fairy tales and poetry embedded within Possession, I loved it and would recommend it to just about everyone.

Now, I’m attempting to read Nabakov’s Pale Fire – another book on the list. After reading and loving Lolita a few years ago I wanted to read anything and everything Nabakov ever wrote – a desire that abruptly cooled when I tried to read Ada. After about ten pages of Pale Fire I’m pretty sure I’ll never finish it either, and will again be in need of something else to read. Any suggestions?

– Sylvia