Books Archive

Memo to Stephanie Meyer: Put the Internet Down and Slowly Back Away

In July I was in New York at a friend's house and picked up a copy of an Entertainment Weekly from his coffee table because, yes, the young actors of the upcoming Twilight movie were on the cover. I'm no band wagoner. My niece, Ramie, turned me onto Stephanie Meyer's vampire series back in 2006 when Meyer was only on book number two, and, well, I was on my own book number one and in desperate need of an engaging read on a flight back to California. I typically do my best writing on the plane, but my laptop was experiencing epic problems the Memphis Apple store refused to address. (That's another story, read my vicious Yelp review here if you care. Scroll down to "Sarah L.")

I opened my niece's well-worn version of Twilight as soon as I got in my seat. The next thing I knew: "Ding! Flight attendants prepare the cabin for arrival." It was an utterly captivating and engrossing read that I immediately told everyone I knew about, addicting a good number of my adult friends.

Recently, as the press was crowing Meyer the new JK Rowling, an un-initiated friend asked me how furious I was as a writer that someone writing stories about Vampires would make so much money. "Not at all," I answered. I admired Meyer for following her dream and her ability to weave a narrative that sucks you in and destroys all space and time. I take writing cues from all sources-- as Katie Hafner lovingly pointed out, classic AP style isn't necessarily my favorite. (In fact, I think it kinda sucks the life out of a story, but shhhhhh! Journalists are all supposed to pretend it's awesome and people love it.) The ex-English major in me was fascinated by technically how she did it as the writing didn't seem particularly sophisticated on the surface, and the tired-of-thinking-about-business-and-tech side of me just wanted to be entertained. I couldn't be happier for her mainstream success.

So, I was sad to read in that E. Weekly about all her struggles with the Internet and the very, um, nuanced breed of rabid love and hate fans that come with it.

Barack Obama Is My New Couch that Finally Arrived

Just a plug for Mat Honan's new book Barack Obama Is Your New Bicycle and his launch party tomorrow. Mat is an awesome guy and most important, he's in the Gotham family! We share the same editor in fact.

I first saw his site (by the same name) when I was deep in line-editing doldrums and it delighted me almost as much as LOLcats. So if you're in SF, come out for a fun party; if not, buy the book!