Let’s read Edith Wharton’s THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY. It’s one of my favorite books and I’m dying to reread it.

This book is delightful, you’ll love to hate the main character and you won’t be able to put it down.  Shall we discuss September 9th?

As many of you are probably aware, it is no longer enough to spend months and often years writing a book. Today an author must help sell the book, and by sell, I mean she must make each and every person in the northern hemisphere aware of obsessed with the book. She must make them understand that they need the book in order to survive in today’s world. She must make them wake up each morning and ask, “if not now, when? If not me, who? If not the …”

Wait, I’m not sure those are the questions.

The point is, like many businesses, publishers are struggling these days and they like it if their authors will pitch in and help. I regret not doing more to push my last book, but never mind, today I got to help my friend Julie Klam with the book trailer for her delightful forthcoming memoir, You Had Me At Woof.

Julie asked me several weeks ago if I would direct her book trailer and of course I was wildly flattered and within minutes of hanging up the phone with her I had launched myself on yet another fantastical voyage of delusion.  I decided that the Julie Klam book trailer would be such a smash that authors would say to each other, at cocktail parties, “You have a book coming out?  Is Ann Leary doing your book trailer?  You have to get Ann Leary to do your book trailer.  She did Salmon’s! She just did Elmore’s! She did Nora’s”  Yes, I would be the Annie Leibowitz of book trailers. Julie Klam is cut from the same cloth it seems, because she told me that within minutes of hanging up the phone with me she was tearfully rehearsing her acceptance speech for the book trailer award (we wondered if there must be such a thing and it turns out, there is).

Julie had been wowed by some of my recent work, but I had to confess to her that I only really know how to use a FlipCam, and so we decided that my son Jack, an actual film student who is working on a television crew, would be the co-director/cameraman/guy-who-does-everything-but-talk.  We discussed a few ideas, but Julie’s hysterical book is all about how out of control her dogs are; how they’ve destroyed her house, upended her relationship with her husband, scarred her daughter for life, etc, so we decided that her yappy, outrageously naughty terriers would be enough to carry the film, just by being themselves.

Here was the hitch: Julie’s terriers are so bad, so utterly devious that they will do the opposite of what she wants, NO MATTER WHAT. So today they conspired to be the most well-behaved dogs ever filmed.  Just to make fools of us. They couldn’t possibly have been more angelic. They made Cesar Millan’s dog, Daddy, look like a thug.  They made Lassie look like a crack whore.  I have never seen three more well-behaved dogs in my life.  Did I mention that they’re terriers? Boston Terriers?

Still, we managed to get some funny antics and we had a blast.  I must admit, I regretted wearing a sleeveless black top, because Julie also wore a sleeveless black top, but she has the arms of a ballerina. And though her dogs are mostly black, they manage to shed only their white hairs.

Anyway, as soon as it’s all edited it’ll be on YouTube where you can see it and tell all your friends. And then it’ll go viral. Next, there’ll be calls from Oprah, network and studio heads. And, of course, Julie and I will be offered our own television show.

Looking for something nice to do this upcoming steamy Saturday? Well, if you live in or near Litchfield County, CT, I have a lovely plan for you.

First, arrive in Washington Depot at around noon and enjoy a tasty lunch at either The Pantry or Marty’s. Then, at 2:00, make your way over to the Hickory Stick Bookshop, where my friend Wendy Burden will be signing copies of her book Dead End Gene Pool until 3:00. I’l be there with her! It’s air-conditioned and, in my humble opinion, the nicest independent book store in New England.

After you’re done meeting Wendy, browsing, and perhaps purchasing a book for yourself or a loved one, hop into your car and head on over to Roxbury’s 36th annual Pickin’ and Fiddlin’ Contest – a really fun outdoor music festival to benefit the Roxbury Volunteer Fire Department. There are banjo players, fiddlers, and other strummers and pickers, young and old, from all over the country playing great bluegrass and country music all afternoon and evening. Bring the kids. Pack a picnic basket. It’s a blast, and for a great cause.

Or, if you’re not up for a crowd, drive to Steep Rock Land Preserve, which is about three minutes away from the Hickory Stick. I would suggest you walk, but it’s going to be so hot out. At Steep Rock, it always feels about 20 degrees cooler than everywhere else, because you are hiking along the cool rushing waters of the Shepaug River, under the shade of towering hemlock trees. You can sit on the river bank and read your new book, or chat with a friend, or even go in the river for a swim.

After your Steep Rock meanderings, head on over to the GW Tavern, also in Washington Depot, for a nice cold beer and a burger. My friend Joy is the bartender. She’s also an EMT in training, so be extra nice!

If you are unable to do any of the above, why not order Wendy’s book from the Hickory Stick by calling their toll free number: 1-800-255-2665 and asking them to have Wendy personalize a book for you? That way, when we discuss the book with her in an upcoming live chat (to be scheduled soon, promise), you’ll already know what her signature looks like! Many people don’t realize that independent booksellers are happy to have authors sign books for individuals and then ship them out. Just try to get Amazon or Walmart to do that. They won’t. So go on the Hickory Stick website and if you see any upcoming author appearances, you can request a personalized, autographed book. It really makes a great gift.

Now, must study. Have a certain final exam tonight. Can somebody please tell me what to do to treat a priapism?

My good friend Wendy Burden’s book Dead End Gene Pool comes out today!  Wendy is a descendent of Cornelius Vanderbilt and had what some would call a “dysfunctional” upbringing which could have made for rather sad memoir  (some  very tragic stuff has happened to Wendy, unfortunately) but it’s not a depressing book.  Why?  Because Wendy is a) very, very funny, b) not a whiner and c) a great and engaging writer.

Dead End Gene Pool has been chosen as an Indiebound Notable Pick this month and I’m planning to do a chat with her in an upcoming month, for those who want to read ahead.

Just a reminder that this evening, at 8:00 Eastern time, we will be discussing Daphne DuMaurier’s REBECCA.

I’m so looking forward to this.  It’s supposed to be a stormy night here in New England, which will be the perfect atmosphere to discuss this moody tale.

I was going to post a link to a video clip from the Hitchcock film of Rebecca, but decided not to, as some of you have not seen the film.  If you want though, go over to YouTube and look at the clips.  Look at how Hitchcock used shadows so eerily, as he always did, but also the way he made everything at Manderley gigantically overscaled.  Everything of Rebecca’s was HUGE!  Her closets, her room, her brushes. Her house.  The young Mrs. DeWinter had to almost reachup to grab a doorknob, like a young child.

Okay, here’s a link to a clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxO68PacfxE

I hesitate to interrupt all the introductions with a new blog but I encourage people to keep coming out! I don’t want to say welcome, because many of you have been reading all along, but, it’s lovely to hear all the new voices.

I have been insanely busy, this week and so have many people I know. First, my friend Dani Shapiro has a new book coming out on Monday. The book is called Devotion and it’s a beautiful examination of her spiritual journey in what she calls “the afternoon of life.” Click on her link and have a look at her books and blog and introduce yourselves while you’re there.  I’ve already read Devotion and recommend it highly!

I have also been researching animal rescue organizations for my book and would like to call your attention to a wonderful contest that is going on at The Animal Rescue Site.  You can vote for your favorite  rescue organization and the group that receives the most votes will receive lots of $$$$$$$.  But you don’t have to give a penny.  I know everybody is giving whatever they can spare to Haiti relief organizations now, so this is a way you can help by just, literally lifting a finger and clicking on the “vote” link.  If you don’t have a favorite rescue organization, please vote for Hot Water Rescue New England.  This group has saved some of the neediest dogs in New England and could really use the support.  Here’s a gorgeous pup that they have saved and are trying to place:

So get out your vote!  You can vote once a day, every day.

Because so many of you have emailed me and commented here about how much you have loved reading Dan Chaon’s Await Your Reply, I decided to ask Mr. Chaon if he would be interested in doing some sort of Q & A with us.  He said that he would be happy to, and then I asked Steve Bennett, who owns AuthorBytes, my web design firm,  if he could find some way that we can do some sort of live chat right here on the blog and he said that he would be happy to.

So, now I’m happy. Very happy!

The chat with Dan Chaon is scheduled for Tuesday, January 12, at 8:00 p.m. (EST).

It will be a “live chat” meaning that you will be able to ask Dan Chaon your questions and he will answer them live, but it will all be in text format.  You won’t be able to see anyone.   But once I have the live chat element up and running, I plan to do chats with all of the authors whose books we read.  And I’ll do occasional chats with performers, dog rescuers, maybe even members of casts of television shows.  In fact, in order to make sure there aren’t any glitches for our author chat, I’m planning to ask Denis if he’ll do a chat with you all next week some time.

Well, that’s the news.  Very excited about our future chattiness!

Okay, I took the liberty of choosing the next book myself (again), and I have chosen Await Your Reply, by Dan Chaon.

You may order it here, if you’d like.

Colleen has already read it and has endorsed it for us.

I have this fear that nobody read the book.  But just in case any of you did, this is the day that we had set aside to discuss it, so I’ll start.

I chose this book because it’s a favorite of mine and I hadn’t read it in awhile.  Often when I reread books, I pick up on flaws or contrivances that I missed in the first reading, but this book is better, for me, each time I read it.  First, the manner in which Muriel Spark so effortlessly carries the reader into the future and then into the pasts of the “Brodie set” is quite amazing to me.  This is a very difficult thing for a writer to do well.  Instead of describing the girls when they were little, then following them through high school and then revealing the way that each turned out as adults, we are able to view the girls with a sort of retrospective knowledge.  I also like the way Muriel Spark repeats the facts about each character (Mary died in a hotel fire, Rose was famous for sex) for two reasons.  One is a practical one – it helped me remember who was who in this book with many characters and a lot of jumping around.  But also, this is the way we often think about people in our lives.  If you knew a girl quite well in high school, and later learned that she died, in her 20s, in a hotel fire, you would think about that fire every single time you thought of the girl.  It also gave a sort of rhythm to the narrative, almost like a refrain, when referring to each girl.

Though it’s written from an omniscient point of view, the story is really Sandy’s story.  We never really see any of the characters unless they are with Sandy but we are constantly reminded that Sandy has a very limited perspective with those tiny little eyes that she’s always squinting through. I loved it when, later in the book, Miss Brodie tells Sandy to have her eyes examined, as it seems that she’s not able to see, the way she peers at people.  Sandy responds that it only appears that she can’t see people but she actually sees them quite well.  At this point she is already viewing Miss Brodie with a bit of skepticism.

I’m interested in what you all thought.  Feel free to weigh in even if you didn’t finish it or hated it.  What did you all think about the religious aspects of the story – about Sandy’s conversion to Catholicism, her book “The Transfiguration of the Commonplace” and most importantly, the idea of a woman having a “prime.”  I have always loved the character of Jean Brodie, I just love her, and when I love her the most is when she is describing her prime, as if it is a thing.  I have had a few Miss Brodies in my life – wonderfully charismatic and  lovable narcissists whom I once held in very high regard and then came to see as human, with flaws, like the rest of us.

Yes, we have a new feature here at the blog. If you scroll down a little, you’ll see it on the right.  It’s called “On the Nightstand”.

Originally I was going to just display the books I am reading, but now I have decided to show one book a month, give everybody a chance to read it as well, and at the end of the month, we’ll have a discussion.  Here.  On the blog.  It’s not going to be a live chat. I’ll just start the discussion and you all can weigh in throughout the day, commenting as often as you wish.  I think that’ll work best as we all have different work schedules and live in different time zones.

The first book I have chosen is Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.  It has been brought to my attention that this title is not on Kindle, but it should be available at any library, or you can order it here.

I have marked December 1st on my calendar as the book discussion day.

I would love to hear any suggestions you all might have for future books.

Yes, that’s my sleek nightstand pictured above.  There’s my beautiful bed where I recline in my organic pajamas and read, whilst my hired man Batman massages my feet.

Okay, this is what my nightstand really looks like.  I have photographed it exactly as I found it this morning.