Ellen Elow-Mintz

It’s a marathon, not a sprint – Book Expo Part 1

Book Expo may have started last Wednesday but my preparation began long before. Every day I read several newsletters about upcoming book releases, literary awards and what’s hot in the world of books. I have my eye out for titles I’ve been hearing about or favorite authors with new or upcoming releases. A month in advance, Book Expo releases online listings of more than 500 authors who will be autographing their books at the event. There are hundreds of exhibitors with thousands of new titles they are looking to bring to the attention of the attendees, so developing a plan is really key.

Before leaving home, I built an agenda with the authors/titles I wanted to bring home, knowing that many were at the same time or required tickets. Of course, all these plans play a distant second once it’s time to navigate the show floor. This is a view from above of a section of the exhibition area. As many of the big publishers have consolidated (think Penguin and Random House), their booths have become larger. Some small/independent presses are finding it too costly to attend or share booth space with others. There are also consortiums, smaller presses who band together for purposes of marketing and distribution. And the best information really comes from the seasoned professionals who really know their titles and will take the time t o share their knowledge.

The big guys have a lot going for them – high traffic locations on both sides of the aisle creating a showroom rather than a booth. And they have carpeting with padding. That may not sound important but each day attendees walk miles from booth to booth AND spend as much as an hour at a time waiting for a signing. Comfort underfoot is a real draw. And of course, there are the books. The larger publishers give away more titles and have big authors signing in their booths. They often have ridiculously long lines as well.

It takes great restraint to turn down free books when they are offered, but it is vital for survival. I know I won’t be reading dystopic fiction or most graphic novels, and the “all romance, all the time” booths hold little attraction. While my tastes run more to literary fiction, memoirs and narrative history, I do love a good mystery and an occasional thriller. I only pick up young adult (YA) titles and children’s books if I plan to gift them. I try to be critical as I place the books in a (branded) tote, knowing that I have to either carry them or ship them home. I flew Southwest to Chicago in anticipation of filling a small duffle with my Friday afternoon gatherings and dropping them at curbside check-in. The books I sent by UPS will arrive tomorrow.

Next up is the post on the Adult Book and Author Breakfast.

By Friday, look for “What the heck is Book Group Speed Dating?”

Please let me know if there are books you are just waiting to see published. You never know, I may have a copy!

Chicago through different eyes

I love Chicago. My first visit was on a college exploratory tour and I was hooked. My undergraduate years were spent at Northwestern and I seized every opportunity to explore the city and use it as my classroom. And my spare time was taken up with explorations of ethnic neighborhoods, unfamiliar foods and head-spinning music and culture. Even today, a chance to revisit this long-time friend is filled with anticipation.

When you attend a big convention in Chicago it takes real effort to see anything of the city at all. McCormick Place is an enormous complex sitting as an island on the South Side. It’s really not far from the science museums but you can’t get there from here, even if you were to have the time. To get here you need to take a taxi or a conference bus – like I said, it’s on an island among highways.

I arrived Wednesday just after the fog lifted enough for air traffic to move. My flight, and countless others, was delayed living up to the reputation of airport chaos. A fairly quick ride from Midway dropped me into familiar turf in a new locale: Book Expo America 2016, Chicago style.

Book Expo America is the largest annual conference of publishers, authors, booksellers, librarians, bloggers and all the ancillary industries that work to bring books to the attention of readers. Huge banners hang from the ceiling and cover large surfaces in the massive corridors, hawking upcoming titles.

Snake-like lines of attendees wait to enter the convention floor to find unreleased treasures. Booth after booth of different genres and audiences, primarily in English but with international pockets here and there. Everyone is carrying (or picking up) large tote bags to bring books home. While e-books may be huge, here paper is king.

Hour-long lines form to get 15 seconds and a signed galley/ book from a top author. Debut authors are introduced, ” if you enjoy xxxx, s/he will appeal to a similar audience with this twist.” Faces of other attendees become familiar as you stand in the same lines and periodically compare notes on what portion of the book world you inhabit.

For many, a periodic stop is the shipping room where you can fill boxes and ship them home for an exorbitant service fee. A carefully filled box may contain 30+ titles and enough cloth totes for a week’s supply of groceries. So if you would buy 3 or 4 of the books anyway, it seems a fair deal.

I was prepped before my first BEA 7 years ago so I know the right shoes are key. Think Keens or Merrills if sneakers are too casual. Even with hours in endless lines, 5 miles on concrete crisscrossing the aisles is normal. So between that and carrying heavy bags of books, ibuprofen is my friend.

It’s Friday morning and I’m in line for my final day on the floor. Having set the stage, I’ll tell the stories over the weekend. Thanks for listening.

Rain Delay Book Club

It is now 11 days of rain and counting. I love baseball and I’m no fair weather fan. I also take public transit to the park and read en route. In the ten plus years I’ve been a frequent attendee at Washington Nationals games, there have been many rain delays. After all, this IS Washington. Fortunately, the team is on the road so this week’s ceaseless slosh hasn’t affected my viewing. But I do like to have a Plan B.

So what’s a book-loving baseball fan to do? Find other readers who are waiting for the game to resume! It’s a much better option than trying to get a signal so you can peer at weather radar for an hour.

Are you in? Doesn’t require much. Post on Facebook or Twitter or even Instagram. Tag it #RainDelayBookClub and include the title of your book. Share your location if you wish, after all, you are already squashed up close and personal with 20,000 or more strangers. Here’s a chance to meet some kindred spirits. And you can join in whether you are at the park or not, or even at Wrigley or Fenway or Pac Bell.

For my part, I’ll pick a title or two each month of the season (hopefully, through October) and share it here and on Facebook. If you have suggestions, bring ’em on. And I’ll be happy to meet up with you at Nats Park and ask you, “So what are you reading?”

May titles: Fiction – Circling the Sun by Paula McLain; Nonfiction – Pumpkinflowers by Matti Friedman

Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier’s Story

IN A NUTSHELL Unknown - Version 2

Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier’s Story Matti Friedman (Algonquin Books, May 2016)
In 40 words or less: Friedman shares both his personal and journalistic views of Israel’s experience in Lebanon in the 1990’s with the outpost called Pumpkin as the focus. Heart-wrenching and informative, it reminds the reader that history happens one person at a time.
Genre: Narrative history/memoir
Locale: Israel/Lebanon
Time: 1994-2002

Two years ago I first learned that Matti Friedman’s next book would be about the little-mentioned experience of Israeli soldiers in outposts in Southern Lebanon. These fortifications and their platoons were protection from Hezbollah incursions into northern Israel. This is a personal story for him – it was in the Pumpkin that Friedman served during his time in the IDF in the late 90s. Pumpkinflowers goes beyond his story to tell of those who came before him, their families and friends, and of the women whose outcry led to the abandonment of these positions on the hills.

In Israel, all but the ultra-Orthodox are obligated to serve in the military. Leadership is cultivated early and the bonds of service continue beyond the time in uniform. Israel is a small country so troops are rotated from post to training with frequency and weekend visits home are a part of the culture. And when there are casualties, each wounded soldier (flower) or death (cyclamen) is a collective sorrow, invariably a distant relative or friend of a friend’s cousin.

The early days of the Pumpkin are given life through Avi, a writer by temperament, who was sent with his platoon to the Pumpkin in 1994. Friedman uses diaries and letters, interviews with Avi’s parents and others from the platoon, to paint the picture of life on the hill. Friedman lays out the routines, the boredom broken by fear when trying to ascertain whether a shepherd is merely looking for lost sheep or is actually a threat. The platoon members are from different backgrounds, religious to completely secular, though all are schooled in the Biblical history of the land. They are at the cusp of adulthood, intrigued by popular culture, keeping in touch with their friends, trying to figure out what is next.

Access to the outposts was difficult and troops were often conveyed by helicopter. In February 1997, poor weather conditions contributed to a tragedy that changed the direction of Israel’s defense in the security zone. Begun by mothers, slowly but surely pressure to bring the soldiers home from the outposts began.

And it was after this that Matti Friedman, at nineteen, was sent to the Pumpkin. Only after telling the story of the early years does Friedman share his experience.

Well-conceived narrative history can bring breadth in a very compelling way. In Pumpkinflowers Matti Friedman gives life to the Pumpkin and to the terrain that the platoons are charged with protecting. The difficulty in defending borders when combatants look just like their neighbors. The combination of bravado and naiveté among the IDF’s soldiers, and a country where each casualty is a tragedy within the family. Friedman also lays out the politics and resistance.

In the end, it is a very personal story, incomplete without Friedman’s visit back to where it all began. After the Pumpkin was the temporary home to too many young men lost, it is now a hill with scars. And the view remains essentially the same as it has for thousands of years.

Pumpkinflowers is well-documented and tightly written. Covering a rarely discussed period of Israeli history, this book is important for the gap it fills and the manner it which it is addressed. As he says, this period is the beginning of a new type of warfare in the Middle East and Hezbollah was its start. This book has appeal for readers of all genres and will be a great source of discussion.

Matti Friedman is a journalist and author. His 2012 book, The Aleppo Codex, was awarded numerous prizes, including one which afforded him the opportunity to turn his attention more fully to his experience in Lebanon. Friedman continues to write both narrative journalism and opinion pieces.

What I learned in my week at camp

Posting a blog is just the start of the process. I always wonder what your reaction is when I post a blog. And if you’ve read this far I do mean you!

Last week I participated in Blogging University Commenting Bootcamp. WordPress, the platform (underlying software) for my blog, offers free directed tutorials where many bloggers get together to hone their skills and receive feedback from others. The group was multinational in its makeup and the topics of the blogs were eclectic, to say the least. Blogging U.

Each day we were given assignments to comment on the blogs of others. To be successful required both writing something interesting and informative on the blogs but also encouraging people to look at what I am writing. Saying “Nice job!” just doesn’t cut it.

I write this blog for my enjoyment and to connect with other book lovers and wanderers. It makes my day when someone tells me they read a book because of my review or really enjoyed a particular post. But there is so much more that could be gained by expanding the conversation.

What I learned is that sharing a little bit of myself as a commenter helps move the conversation along. In the face of the horrible events last week in Brussels, a post about dealing with the news by reading encouraged others to react both to the news and the role books play in viewing the world. That opened up a dialog about novels that speak to the political reality even if set in a different time. Here’s that post.

Please take the opportunity to add to the conversation when you read a post. Disagree, offer additional thoughts or suggest a topic for the future. When we talk to one another, whatever the medium, there is learning.

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