Tweeting Backwards

Paris Review No. 181 Cover-Norman Mailer

Paris Review No. 181 Cover-Norman Mailer

Some criticize Twitter for being too brief and even superficial. However, those critics lack an understanding of what Twitter is often best at–aggregating news and other information.

Five minutes on Twitter Sunday morning allowed me to read a tweet linking to a terrific interview with the late literary icon, Norman Mailer. The interview with Mailer, from 2007, was one of The Art of Fiction series, No. 193, from The Paris Review, conducted by Andrew O’Hagan. Continue reading

2013 Booklist

Another year, another 32 books.

Another year, another 32 books.

There was a public service campaign using the acronym, RIF; Reading Is Fundamental. The purpose of that effort was to promote reading, especially among poor children. I remember seeing their public service announcements on television, most likely during the 1970s.

Reading was a central components of my own reinvention. It was reading, and books like Gregg LeVoy’s, Po Bronson’s, and Scott Peck’s that got me up and out of my corporate prison at Moscow Mutual. If I wasn’t a reader, I’d still be stuck, probably not there, but someplace just like it, if not worse. Continue reading

Getting Closer

I admire people who complete projects. Completion is much harder than it appears from the outside. This is coming from someone who had to learn how to finish, one tentative step at a time. Later, I learned how to combine these steps and began hitting some major deadlines. Reaching and crossing the finish line, while never easy, is now something that happens regularly for me.

Books are tools that I think more people should commit to writing. If you are someone who is a thought leader, or who has some ideas that others have demonstrated an interest in, then you are a prime candidate for authoring a book. I’ve indicated that books are much better than business cards—everyone has a business card—not many people have a book. Commit to getting yourself into the latter category.  It’s empowering for one thing. It’s also another way to differentiate what you do from everyone else doing similar things. Continue reading

Five Years in a Row: Boston Book Festival 2013

In 2009, a cohort concerned that a city like Boston with its rich literary history and tradition no longer had a major book festival, got together and relaunched a major festival focused on the book, in Beantown. The Boston Book Festival became the city’s new, reconstituted festival celebrating books and the writers that write them. I’m glad they did.

Families develop and celebrate various traditions. Sports, art, railroading; for my son and I, attending Boston’s Book Fest in the fall is one of ours. 2013 was our fifth consecutive one, as we’ve been at every festival since the relaunch.

A plethora of writer/book panels to sample.

A plethora of writer/book panels to sample.

Continue reading

When Things Unwind

George Packer: The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America."

George Packer: The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America.”

Anyone born around 1960 entered the world in the midst of America’s longest-running period of prosperity. This economic boom began after World War II, extending out for another 25 to 30 years and ended in 1973.

American economic cycles have always been characterized by boom and bust periods. Even during what some call “The Golden Age of Capitalism,” the time frame between 1945 and 1973, there were recessions during 1945, 1948, 1953, 1957, and 1960. There are a variety of explanations and theories about why these fluctuations occur. Continue reading

Know Your (Moxie) Audience

If you’re sick of me talking about Moxie, just plug your ears and go, “la-la-la-la-la.” It’s been awhile (two months) since I mentioned New England’s most iconic drink, and Maine’s official state soft drink.

Moxie as a subject has been a gift that’s given much more than I anticipated back in 2008 when I got the idea to pursue this intriguing subject. It seemed like a great follow-up to baseball. At the time, however, I never thought I’d sell out two printings and then, have Down East Books commission me to write a second book about this distinctly-different beverage. I certainly didn’t think I’d still be talking/writing about it five years later. Continue reading

Owning a Home

Foreclosures in America are at a crisis level.

Foreclosures in America are at a crisis level.

We can debate whether or not owning property is an American birthright. Home ownership, however, is part and parcel of a dream that we’ve all been sold on since before we could walk.  What does 10 million foreclosures say about that dream?

Most anyone reading that number is likely to have a couple of reactions, I’m guessing. One, where did the 10,000,000 number come from? I’ll get to that in a moment. By the way, 10,000,000 is a number that represents the number of people making up the population of the state of Michigan, America’s 10th most populated state. Continue reading

The 8-Week Book Project

I’m meeting a brand new group of writing students on Tuesday night. Many if not all of them are likely asking themselves three questions. Can I really write a book in eight weeks? Am I capable of writing one at all? Do I have what it takes to finally get that book of mine out of my head into narrative form?

The answer to all three of those opening questions is a hearty, “hell yes!” Continue reading

Forgotten Writers

When I first got serious about writing, I was especially interested in people and the geography that defines who they are. This was particularly germane to Maine, my home state, and the first book I ended up writing, about the history of town team baseball. Those small towns where baseball was played on  warm July evenings, the lights rimming the diamond burning brightly somewhere in the middle of a small village, drew me back to the place and time, capturing the memories of the men who inhabited similar patches of grass and dirt across the Pine Tree State. Continue reading

Freedom

Freedom may be the most indeterminate word in the postmodern American vernacular. Freedom, freedom, freedom—everyone talking about freedom. It’s almost a fetish for some. What is freedom? Is it merely the absence of the unpleasant, and if we had the freedom we’re always pining for, would our lives suddenly take on a new luster and enhanced quality? Continue reading