Around The Writing World
The New York Times has named the 100 Notable Books Of The Year. Uh-huh, page through that list and see how many you’ve read. Notice all the nonfiction choices. Kind of makes me wonder why people keep saying nonfiction is dead. Looks like it’s alive and kicking at the NYT.
Somehow the NYT missed two compelling books when putting this list together. I am, of course, talking about the competing works of Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton. According to Entertainment Weekly, Hilton’s book Your Heiress Diary has the following stellar quote: “One of my heroes is Barbie.” Not to be outdone, Richie’s book The Truth About Diamonds includes this: “I always thought Lanny was nice to a San Andreas fault.”
Wow. What were the NYT editors thinking in skipping these two.
November 29th, 2005 at 5:57 pm
“VERONICA. By Mary Gaitskill. (Pantheon, $23.) A novel that ruminates on beauty and cruelty, told by a former Paris model now sick and poor.”
Hey look, Mary Gaitskill’s on there, she may be broke, but dammit, she’s on the list. I can see her now jumping for joy and singing Hit Me Baby One More Time with her roomie. Happy sigh.
November 30th, 2005 at 8:40 am
Gaitskill seems to be one of those writers who the critics love, but who the readers don’t buy with abandon. I remember reading that she lives in student housing at Syracuse University. As someone who lived in SU dorms for 2 years, all I can say is that I wanted to send her a check. Yowza. Good news is that, according to Publishers Lunch, she continues to sell so maybe better housing is around the corner:
NON-FICTION: POP CULTURE
Mary Gaitskill, ed., and Daphne Carr, series ed.’s DA CAPO BEST MUSIC WRITING,
to Ben Schafer at Perseus, for publication in fall 2006, by Jin Auh at The Wiley
Agency (representing Mary Gaitskill) (world).