Archives - Weekly Update

My younger son, Cory, typically rifles through my Netflix choices when they arrive and dismisses most as “girl movies,” “wildly boring” or “way serious.” Occasionally I score well with an action or adventure movie. But somehow last weekend I got him to agree that The Proposal was worth watching, probably because he, like me, is a Sandra Bullock fan. In fact, I think both my boys would pick her to be their mom if I were not available. Well, WHO KNEW that she played the head of a book publishing company in this film? Why did the previews not make THAT clear to me? Her character was over the top in the way that Meryl Streep overdoes Miranda in The Devil Wears Prada, but was endlessly fun. And if you have watched or plan to watch, note that we replayed the part with Bullock and the dog four times! You’ll know what I mean when you see it.

When I left you, I was in Boston attending the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting. I had a great time hearing about upcoming titles for spring and summer. Brace yourself as there are some great books coming up. Get to reading your present stack and clear the decks. Do not say I did not warn you. I had the pleasure of meeting Beth Hoffman, the author of SAVING CEECEE HONEYCUTT, who was just terrific. I also got a note from Cristina, one of our readers in Miami, who told me Beth did a terrific event at Books & Books this past Tuesday night, which made me smile. Love when you love the authors I love.

With all the travel that I have done through the years, I have done just two quick trips to Boston, each time doing one event or a speech and then ducking back out of town. Thus it’s nice to be here for a few days and get a chance to see something besides the convention hall and hotel. I purposely flew up yesterday to give me some time to do some poking around before the American Library Association Midwinter Conference starts this afternoon.

Thanks to all of you who wrote with holiday greetings and to tell us you missed us during these last two weeks. I shared your comments with the staff and they were much appreciated. As we start the new year, I wondered if I could ask you to forward this newsletter to any friends who you think might enjoy it. Consider it our “annual newsletter drive” to kick off the year/decade and a chance for you to “jumpstart” another reader. Thanks in advance for this.