The Literary Life

From the staff of BookSwim.com

Month: February, 2009

Silly Survey (Alpha-Numeric mysteries)

In a stunning come-from-behind victory, last week’s Silly Survey, which asked how you felt John Grisham’s new book, The Associate, stands up to previous Grisham The books, our readers voted in a staggering 32% victory that they were just glad it wasn’t another book about pizza (or playing for it, for that matter).

Well, this week, we’re back with the goods here at The Literary Life and we want to know, of the most popular alpha-numerically sequenced mystery/thriller series, which one most has you shivering with antici…

…pation for the next enthralling edition.

Vote to the right or in the sidebar to let us know. Is your pick losing? Feel like venting about your perturbment? Is perturbment even a word? Wanna yell at me ’cause it’s not? Comment below!

Also let us know what you think of the new layout and the Silly Survey in the sidebar, as well as making sure to nominate your favorite cheesy romance for this month’s Top Ten.

1 Comment by Eric on February 17, 2009
filed in Silly Survey, The Literary Life

The Literary Life podcast – (with guest, Kim Harrison)

Hello, hello, hello out there in internets land, from Chip & Eric! Check out our new outfit! Yes indeedy, The Literary Life is brand spankin’ new, with the Silly Survey in the sidebar (try saying that ten times fast), brand new icons to pop out and download the podcast, and even a new podcast player just in time for this week’s episode with our very special guest, author Kim Harrison!

BookSwim’s own Chip and Eric continue the onslaught of awesomeness that you, our eager listeners, have come to know as The Literary Life podcast. Though shiny and new on the outside, our podcast retains the same full-force, in-your-face rad-factor. Booooooks!!!! Aaaaarrrgggghhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!1

Also be sure to nominate your favorite cheesy romance novel for this month’s Top Ten by Friday. And tune in next week for The BookSwim Minute’s interview with Supernatural writer, Alex Irvine

2 Comments by Eric on February 16, 2009
filed in The Lit Life Podcast, The Literary Life

ABC 15 Phoenix: “Smart Shopper” by Daphne Munroe

No Comments by bookswim on February 15, 2009
filed in Press & Media Clippings, VIDEO CLIP!

February Top Ten (last week to nominate)

It’s February and you know what that means, right? No, not frostbite or hypothermia. Love!

This February, we’re asking you, the BookSwimmers, to come up with your list of the best (read: cheesiest) romance novels of all time. Whether it’s classic literature, paranormal, Danielle Steele, or honest-to-God cheddar, we want to know your favorite cheesy romance book.


Next week, we’ll take your top ten submissions and put them to a vote, letting you, our faithful readers, rank the titles you love to be embarrassed caught reading the most.

Nominate below, in the comments section, and take a moment to vote in this week’s Silly Survey, as well.

1 Comment by Eric on February 13, 2009
filed in The Literary Life, Top Ten

Sound and Fury by Chip: Darned Paranormal Romance

Want to know the greatest thing about comic conventions, and why you should go even if you’re not a comic-readin’ fool? The vast amounts of swag showered upon you by the hundreds of vendors in a space the size of three football fields. I began ComiCon snatching up every free book someone offered to me, and as the weekend went on, my backpack filled too much. I started to be more selective: no Weddings from Hell for me, thanks, I’m all full up with Devil May Cry (Dark Hunter 11) by Kenyon and The Outlaw Demon Wails (The Hollows, Book 6) by Harrison. (Incidentally, why are all fantasy novels part of long involved series? I always get the feeling I’m missing out on half the book’s details.)

I’d thought there was an unwritten rule that guys were forbidden from specific activities: walking into Victoria’s Secret unaccompanied; driving Miatas; and reading, or at least getting caught reading, romance novels. Werewolf romance novels included.

To my surprise, the less-fair sex was well-represented in the autograph lines for Sherrilyn Kenyon, Carrie Vaughn, Jeaniene Frost, and the other venerable authors of the vampires-and-love-triangles genre. So, having received these free books anyway, I swallowed my prejudices and gave the books a try.

Maybe it’s because the last novel I read was Love in the Time of Cholera, which combined the worst elements of the inane ridiculousness of romance novels with the torturously long descriptions and verbiage of classic literature. Maybe it’s because fantasy and horror were my genres of choice when I broke into adult novels at the tender age of 12 and I left them in pursuit of more highbrow pastures.

…but Devil May Cry and Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty and the Midnight Hour went down like candy. Quick, light, sweet, requiring little brain power and some serene suspension of disbelief, these books were the literary equivalent of popcorn. While occasionally contradictory (one moment, Protag and Manly Love Interest will be kissing; then they’ll be standing apart and Manly Love Interest says “Don’t touch me! I don’t need your pity!”; and then they’ll start kissing again, with Manly Love Interest cautioning Protag that “This doesn’t give you any power over me”), who doesn’t want to read about Sumerian gods running Las Vegas casinos? Or werewolves hosting talk radio shows?

I must conclude that paranormal romance, while unlikely to earn a Nobel Prize in literature any time soon, deserves its current surge of interest for the enjoyable escape it offers. Don’t worry, though– I have no plans to buy a Miata.

No Comments by Eric on February 12, 2009
filed in "Sound & Fury" by Chip, The Literary Life

I Should Probably Read More – by Eric (More Cake!)

As I mentioned last week, I’m currently reading Sloane Crosley’s book, I Was Told There’d Be Cake. In the vain of I-Should-Probably-Read-More, I probably should have finished this books days ago, since it’s such a quick and easy – not to mention enjoyable – read.

But, alas, I do my best.

I read on the train to and from work each day (with a commute that ranges from 40 minutes to nearly two hours, depending on where I catch the train, where I’m headed, and what day of the week it is (weekends have no express trains…booooo). Though admittedly, and this week specifically, I’ve found myself caught in conversation for many of my train rides which, though perhaps more enjoyable than reading in crowded but solitary silence, is not conducive to finishing a book with any specific degree of expedience.

However, I will tell you this: Crosley’s rhythm of speech (or, rather, writing) and turns of phrases have left me the annoying guy, laughing on the train during what is, for many, a 6am commute. My fellow passengers may hate me, but I’m really loving this book.

Has a book ever made you laugh out loud so heartily that you disrupted those around you without a care?

No Comments by Eric on February 12, 2009
filed in "I Should Probably Read More" by Eric, The Literary Life

MarketWatch.com: “E-books finally gain momentum with Kindle” by Therese Poletti

Read the full article at MarketWatch.com

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Amazon.com Inc. and its Kindle electronic book reader finally are creating a real market for e-books, a tech business on the verge of blossoming for years but never quite ready for prime time…

…Eric Ginsberg, vice president of marketing at BookSwim based in Newark, N.J., agrees that pricing is key…..

No Comments by bookswim on February 11, 2009
filed in Press & Media Clippings

Review o’ the Week: So Brave, Young, and Handsome

This week’s review comes to us from one who wishes to remain… anonymous. S/he provides a delightfully literature review of So Brave, Young and Handsome by Leif Enger:

I’m mystified by those who find this novel dull or somehow not up to snuff. I am totally enthralled by it, and find myself re-reading paragraphs because of Enger’s uncanny ability to get the language “just right.” He is a master when it comes to the turn of a phrase. The story is full of tongue-in-cheek, humorous observations by the main character that make me chuckle. Enger’s characters are fully developed and unique in personality … but still very believable. Perhaps the naysayers are used to reading something more Stephen King-like: page-turners that in the end come off as rather shallow … certainly, not great literature.

This book is one to savor slowly.

A hit, a veritable hit! Thanks, strange masked man, for the perceptive review.

No Comments by Eric on February 11, 2009
filed in Review of the Week, The Literary Life

Betanews.com: “Amazon Kindle: not a gamechanger…yet” by Tim Conneally

Read the full article at betanews.com

Digital distribution has infiltrated media. We saw it happen with the music business and we’re seeing it happen with the film business, but will it happen to the book business?….

….”It will get to that point eventually,” said Ginsberg, “But right now, the e-book market is so young that it will be at least five years before it becomes something we’ll seriously need to consider.”

No Comments by bookswim on February 11, 2009
filed in Press & Media Clippings

Examiner.com: “February Freebie” by Anna De Souza

Read the full article at Examiner.com

Recessionistas rejoice! Move over Neiman Marcus– step away Barnes and Noble. Renting has certainly become the new “it” thing to do in order to afford the “it” things on your wish list…

…Be a literary and style aficionado this Valentine’s Day. Because sometimes we just need to indulge in the finer things in life — even if only temporarily…

No Comments by bookswim on February 10, 2009
filed in Press & Media Clippings

Silly Survey (Gritty Legal Thriller edition)

Famed author John Grisham is at it again with another book in his famous “The” legal thriller series. He’s written books like The Appeal, The Innocent Man, The Partner, The Broker, The Summons and The Last Juror, just to name a few.

And so, in the hopes of keeping the magic of this dubious series alive, Grisham has gone out on a limb and released, The Associate.

So what do you think? Will this new installment live up to the literary greatness that has been, for lack of any better description, John Grisham’s “The” series?

Also, make sure to nominate your favorite cheesy romance novel for this month’s Top Ten.

No Comments by Eric on February 10, 2009
filed in Silly Survey, The Literary Life

The Literary Life podcast (episode 11)

Wowwie! Chip and Eric just spent the weekend and NY ComicCon and had the opportunity to interview none other than famed paranormal romance author, Sherrilyn Kenyon, for the return of The BookSwim Minute weekly interview segment.

In addition to that bit of wonderfulness, Chip and Eric also talk about the fun stuff going on this week on BookSwim, as well as right here on The Literary Life, while maintaining the level of wry entertainment you’ve come to expect from the scalawags that host your favorite podcast (ever).

You can check out that ABC Phoenix broadcast mentioned in this week’s podcast here.

Oh, and if you haven’t taken the time yet, go nominate your favorite cheesy romance novels (or “loin-burners” as I’ve heard them called) for this month’s Top Ten, as well as voting for the best graphic novel ever in this week’s Silly Survey.

Also, we’ve got a stockpile of interviews for The BookSwim minute that we’re excited to air. Comment below to let us know whether we should broadcast Brian Michael Bendis or Kim Harrison next week.

No Comments by Eric on February 9, 2009
filed in The Lit Life Podcast, The Literary Life

ABC 15 Phoenix: “Smart Shopper” by Daphne Munro

Read the full article at ABC15.com (ABC Affiliate – Phoenix, AZ)

This past week I did a story on Bookswim.com. It is a website where you can rent books kind of like Netflix or blockbuster but for books….

No Comments by bookswim on February 9, 2009
filed in Press & Media Clippings

eHow: “How to Rent Books Online”

Read the full article at eHow.com

Can’t afford that Kindle? Refuse to pay $25 for hardcovers at Barnes & Noble because your library wish list is a mile long?…

….So if you’re on BookSwim’s 3-books-in-circulation “Light Reader Plan,” you can send back two and keep the third to read while your next two books are on their way to you.

No Comments by bookswim on February 9, 2009
filed in Press & Media Clippings

February’s Top Ten: In Honor of Cheesy Romance

Welcome to this month’s Top Ten. Here, we sit down with you, our readers, to figure out the definitive top ten list of various categories of books. Last month, you helped us compile a list of the top ten books that will help you meet your New Year’s resolutions.

This month, though, it’s the month of Valentine’s Day we’re looking for something a little more romantic. This month’s Top Ten will be…

(antici… pation!)

…the Top Ten cheesiest romance novels in the catalog!

What do we mean by cheesy? Could be many things: the one with the least believable characters, the hammiest dialogue, the most contrived plot, or the most outrageous love scenes. Everything that makes romance novels a guilty pleasure. Whether it’s the latest Nora Roberts or one of the latest vampire love stories that takes itself too seriously, we want to find the hammiest, cheesiest, most over-the-top love stories of our catalog!

Do you know a few titles that fit this description? Hit the Comment link below and tell us– we’re eager to know! After two weeks of gathering your nominations, we’ll compile a poll for everyone to cast their final votes and uncover… the ten cheesiest romance novels of all time. Or at least February.

Can’t wait for your nominations!

No Comments by Eric on February 6, 2009
filed in The Literary Life, Top Ten
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