10 Ways to Keep Books You Love in Print

There are books you love, books that change your life, books that make you realize that you aren’t alone. But sometimes, those books go out of print and are no longer available. You gnash your teeth and curse the vagaries of publishing. You feel helpless and frustrated, but you know that there’s nothing you can do about it.

Not so! You can do something! Publishing is a capitalist enterprise, driven by sales and profit (as well as a love of books). But even if you’re too broke to buy a paperback book, you can influence book sales and affect a publisher’s profits.

What can you do?

#1 Review the book you love online in a newsgroup, on a webzine, on an e-commerce site, or on a personal web site. This is an easy way to tell a lot of people about a fabulous book. People pay attention to reviews. Hey—authors read reviews. With a good review, you can make an author’s day.

“Of course I read my reviews on Amazon.com. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help myself. When readers write and say they loved my work, I’m ridiculously happy for days.”—Pat Murphy, author of There and Back Again.

#2 When asked what you want for your birthday, or Hanukkah, or Christmas, or any other gift-giving occasion, answer with your favorite author’s current book.

“Ask for books as presents! Not only do you get a present you like, you get bonus karma points because you’ve been a decent human being and haven’t forced your friends to rack their brains and run all over town looking for some gift for you that you probably wouldn’t have liked anyway.” —Michaela Roessner, author of The Stars Compel.

#3 Give books as presents. If someone has a favorite author, buy that author’s latest title. If the gift recipient doesn’t have a favorite author, buy a book by an author you like. If your friend likes the book, you’ve done the author a big favor by creating a new fan.

#4 Ask for books by your favorite author at your local library. If the library doesn’t have a book, request it. Checking a book out of the library helps establish that there’s a demand for that author’s work. Demand leads library systems to buy books.

#5 Tell writers how much their work has affected you. Go to readings—even if you can’t afford to buy the book. Urge your local library bookstore or your school to invite the writer to do a talk, a reading, or a class visit. Sometimes writers just need to know that someone is listening.

“I remember the first time anyone ever made a comment to me about a published story. Since writers aren’t allowed to carry Tip Jars, this kind of validation is quite meaningful.” —Leslie What, author of “The Cost of Doing Business.”

#6 Talk about books and authors at work, among friends, and in other not-necessarily literary environments. If you belong to a writing group, recommend your favorite authors to the group. If you add a book to your reading group, tell your favorite bookstore what you’ve done and buy your books there. The bookstore may put them out front on display.

“I named my dog Rhodry after a character in Katharine Kerr’s Deverry novels. This has led directly to at least a dozen people reading her books, including my sister, who has now read most of them twice. (‘That’s an interesting name, where does it come from?’) My truck is named Tesah, after a starship in Rebecca Meluch’s first novel. I got a couple of people to read her work as a result, but you don’t call your truck as often as you call your dog—at least I don’t.” —Susanna J. Sturgis, editor of The Women Who Walk Through Fire: Women’s Fantasy and Science Fiction.

#7 Point to good books in the bookstore and tell people, even total strangers, “That one is great.” If you see someone looking at a copy of a book you like, encourage them to buy it.

“I like to turn waiting time (especially in airports) into a guerrilla act—I find my favorite authors’ books in the bookstore and turn them boldly facing out. Then I run for my plane before a clerk catches me.” —Ellen Klages, author of “Time Gypsy.”

#8 Carry around a copy of a book you love. Read it on buses, in waiting rooms, and in other public places. Be prepared to wax eloquent about it—spontaneously or only when asked; that’s up to you.

“Ooh ooh, I’ve got a wicked idea! Make book covers out of your favorite titles and put ‘em on whatever book you’re reading!” —Susanna J. Sturgis.

#9 Just because a book is out-of-print doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t get it. Lightning Print Inc. is currently asking for suggestions for books to reprint. You can vote now at their web site: . Then from their “Resources” menu select “Nominate titles for POD and eBook”, then tell them what books you’d like to see reprinted!

#10 Nominate your favorite authors for awards. Any year that you are a member of the World Science Fiction Convention, you can nominate and vote for the Hugo Award. Nominate gender-bending works for the James Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award and works with gay or lesbian content for the Lambda Literary Award. If you subscribe to Locus Magazine, you can nominate works for the Locus Poll and Survey. And yes, it’s worth taking the time—awards make a difference to an author’s sales and that helps keep books in print.

Above all else, keep reading!

Read more books!

Eat more cookies!

this blog post was re-blogged (read: stolen! but also shared like all good ideas and writing should be!) from the James Tiptree Awards Website at http://www.tiptree.org/

On getting new windows

So this morning I wake up to a layer of ice on everything. And the window guys are due at 8 am. This would have have been way less of a problem back in November when windows should have happened. Still, new windows are going to be wonderful. Imagine...real windows you can see out of and that open AND close. Oh wait, you probably don't have to imagine... you probably have had functional windows for years. This house, however, was built in 1918. And up until, oh,1940 or '50 had perfectly good double-hung sash wood-framed windows that went up and down. No screens or storms, but energy was cheaper then and you just opened your windows in summer and closed them in winter. Somewhere along the way a previous owner caulked most of the window shut, probably due to heating costs going up. And somewhere along the way the ones that did open developed warpage and leaks. In one window in the den there is a gap I can put a pencil through. Now I am worrying; will they be able to put in windows in the freezing icy rain?

A little after 9 am, three guys show up in a pick-up truck with the five big picture windows. And right off there is a conflict. These are single hung windows, but the paperwork says they should be double hung. Check in with the boss and they find the order was changed because the windows (62" wide) were too big to be doubles and had to be special made singles. In fact we had had the order changed twice (hence the not getting them installed until now). And so the project begins.

First I have to round up 4 very pissed cats who had their lives rearranged last night when we moved all furniture away from the windows. After encarcerating the cats on the 3rd floor in the library--with food, water and a litter box--we make coffee and put out gingersnaps for the workmen. Steve is running around like a kid at Christmas, watchng and asking all kinds of questions.

About 2 hours later the 3 big downstairs windows are in and more guys have shown up with the rest of the windows--straight from the manufacturer. The other thing that showed up was a brown (pitbull mix) puppy who thought he lived here. Men are going in and out of the house with windows and stuff. The dog who is wet, shivering, and trailing a very chewed up leash wants to get in the house, too. What ensues is a Keystone cop routine with Steve chasing the dog up down frozen steps.

On the leash now, Steve takes the dog around the block looking for the owner--no luck. Dog gets ensconced in the garage with a bowl of water, some cat food (better than nothing) and a pile of old towels. Dog wants company and so sets up barking like crazy. I call animal control and arrange for a pick-up. They will be around sometime today. . . maybe.

Workmen have the four bedrooms' windows in and are off to a late lunch. Eighteen windows to do and they have done 10 in 4 hours. I'm impressed. Oh, there is still caulking and wrapping the frames outside to do, but not bad. We turned the furnace off at the beginning of the job and despite the 33 degree weather with icy freezing rain outside the house, the temp inside has not dropped below 60. They pull a window out and replace it so fast it's like opening and closing a door.

Meanwhile I have made more coffee, cleaned up my email--which involves lots of phone calling to deal with a last minute change in meeting scheduling that no one told me about until today. Fortunately I had five whole hours left to fix the snafu before the university shut down entirely for break. Lucky me.

Dog is still barking. But down the street comes a kid looking for his lost dog. We happily reunite kid and dog, and immediately call animal control to cancel the pickup. Promptly 20 minutes later the animal control guy turns up at the door to take the dog away. No dog? Do we have any other problems? Stray anything? Must have been a slow day at the shelter.

Back to window guys. It's 3 pm and the siders have shown up. They begin wrapping all the window casements. Steve has now made up his own version of the "12 days of Christmas" that sums up the day:

12 guests soon coming,
11 rooms to clean up,
10 windows finished,
9 pots of coffee,
8 windows to go yet,
7 email crises,
6 plates of cookies
5 picture windows!

4 cats in the attic,

3 guys installing

2 siders siding

and a dog barking in the garage!

More coffee, more cookies. I am on my sixth cuppa today. The window job was supposed to take 2 days, it may only take a day and a half the workmen tell us. There is dust everywhere--not from the installation, rather from behind all the furniture that was moved. Ah well, a bit of vacuuming and we will be back to normal--better than before. Even the curtains have gone through the washer and look great. So some furniture moving and we will be ready for company at Christmas!

Well, we'll be ready once we finish the basement shower repairs that is. Oh and I still need to put a coat of paint on the powder room off the kitchen. No sweat. Really. We have two whole days next week to do that stuff!

Chai Spiced Cookies

Just in time for holiday baking, Gillianne has sent me a recipe she found for "Chai Spiced Cookies"!

Chai-Spiced Cookies (makes about 30 cookies)

Fragrant with the classic flavors of chai tea, these buttery, crumbly cookies are perfect for dunking in a cup of tea or coffee.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Beat butter with granulated sugar in a medium bowl until well blended. Stir in flour, spices, salt and vanilla until just combined. Scoop and roll dough into small teaspoon-sized balls and place about an inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake until lightly golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar and let cool completely on a rack. Store in an airtight container. (Recipe Courtesy Whole Foods Market)

Thanks, Gillie!

Ghosts and Cookies and Parents, Oh My!

My mother has gone round the bend. Totally.

Seems last night my mom called the cops because she heard "people in the house." Then she called my youngest brother, who called my sister, who wants me to come to Milwaukee right now and get my mother committed to a psych ward. Why any of this is a surprise to anyone I don't know. My mom is a drama queen. But today I thought I'd better call her and ask her what happened.

She tells me that ever since my dad went into the nursing home a couple weeks ago she's been hearing people walking around the house. And some times she sees them. Last night a whole crowd of them came up from the basement and went into my Dad's empty room and ate cookies in there and left crumbs on the bed. So she locked herself in her bedroom and stuck knives in the door frame to keep them from coming in. But then they looked at her through the windows so she called the police. Who (surprise!) found no evidence of people in, around, or near the house.

So I figure 1) she's just lonely and looking for company or 2) she's insecure and overreacting to house noises. So I tell her not to worry, it's just ghosts. She's always been fond of ghost stories. We have a whole family history of people who see ghosts. I suggest that she sprinkle salt on all the window sills and at the base of the doors to keep them out. She asks, "Will that work?" So I tell her it will if she "activates" it by standing in the middle of the house and saying the Lord's Prayer loudly 3 times after spreading the salt. She is relieved and says that she should have called me first and saved all the trouble . . . Because of course, I would know what to do . . . I'm the smart daughter after all.

I'm feeling a bit smug at this point and then she asks . . . Am I really certain this will keep ghosts out? So to cover my bases I say, "Well, only the bad ones. But you want visits from the good ones right? Like Aunt Evie, and Aunt Estelle, and Gramma? Salt won't keep them out. So if you hear any ghosts just remember they are just family ghosts." But, she then tells me, they make so much noise with their talking she can't sleep at night. So I tell her to go in the bathroom and turn on the water . . . just a tiny trickle, because everyone knows that ghosts can't cross running water, and that will keep them away from her bedroom so she won't hear them.

Now I am back to feeling smug, because I have given her a placebo. And some white noise. And with a little luck we will have no more phone calls to the police--at least until I can get out there and see how she is really doing. And, hell, if it is visitations from the spirit world, well, salt and prayers and running water fit in with the folklore of protection and certainly couldn't hurt. Mom's happy, I'm happy. . . and then she asks: "They see you through the screen, too, don't they?"

I'm thinking she's still talking about her ghosts, but, no, she's referring to the TV. Seems it is the weather people. She is certain they can see her. Because they smile at her. And when she smiles at them they smile back. "No, Mama," I tell her. "They smile all the time because they are on camera."

"No. I am sure they really see me," she says. "Watch this!"

I presume she is looking at a TV somewhere in her home in Wisconsin. I, however, am driving in my car in Ohio. "What am I supposed to be watching, Mom?" I ask.

"See that!" she proclaims in her "Ah Ha" voice--the one that she always used when we kids were caught raiding the cookies, or when she caught my dad with women's underwear in the backseat of his car. "I waved at the lady on the screen and she called over the man in the white shirt to look at me!" she announced proudly. "I'm sure they can see me. Do you think that's okay if they look at me?" she asked.

"Do you watch TV in your underwear?" I asked her. "No? Then don't worry about it, Mom."

So. My mother has lost it. Ghosts eat cookies in the other room keeping her up all night with their incessant chatter, and the TV weather people watch her through the TV screen.

Sigh.

I am so not looking forward to Thanksgiving.

Chai Meringue Cookies

CHAI MERINGUES

• 3 egg whites
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer at low until they get foamy, then at high speed until they form stiff peaks. You should be able to turn the bowl sideways without the egg whites moving. Your bowl and beaters must be grease-free for this to work properly! Gradually add sugar a little at a time while beating at high speed. When all the sugar has been beaten in, the egg whites will look shiny. Add the spices and beat in as briefly as possible. Drop the mixture into small mounds on baking sheets that have been covered with foil or parchment paper. Bake at 250 degree Farenheit for 90 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues to sit. Don't open the door! Let them sit overnight (preferable) or at least until the oven cools. Remove them from the foil and store in an airtight container.

Recipe adapted by Debby Lovell, originally posted on New Chai Ideas!

Holiday Eating Tips

The Holiday Season is upon us so listen up. . . .

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of the year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it! Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy! Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. Or better yet, cream. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost! I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, drink of choice in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

(author unknown, sent to me by a very wise-in-the-ways-of-pleasure friend, Catriona)