Newest Addictions To My Bookshelf

While i was in London at the London Book Fair this month, i also did a load of sightseeing in the city as we went for a few extra days.

We did all the usual hotspots, such as Big Ben, the Shard, and Trafalgar Square, but we also had a list of bookshops to visit as well!

Our main choices were Foyles and Waterstones Piccadilly! I think we spent about 5 hours in these shops in total, all in one night! I really love that these shops are open so late, especially with Waterstones Piccadilly being open until about 9pm and having 5 floors of books! We were in book Heaven!

I came out of Foyles with:

The Horologicon – Mark Forsyth

And i came out of Waterstones Piccadilly with:

“Moranthology” by Caitlin Moran, “Is It Just Me?” by Miranda Hart, “Warm Bodies” by Isaac Marion, and “The Perks Of Being A Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky.

Got most of them on special offer so only spent about £30 on all 5, which is good considering 3 of them are hardbacks!

So, i have got lots to reading through in May!

The London Book Fair 2013

Last week i made my 3rd (and now my annual) trip to the London Book Fair 2013!

The London Book fair 2013 at Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre

This year i didn’t really have an agenda: on my first visit in 2011, i went with uni during my MA in Publishing and so it was spent at seminars, networking and researching for my dissertation; and last year on my second visit, i spent it attending seminars and researching translated literature.

This year i just did what i wanted to do and attended seminars i was really interested in with my friend and fellow graduate from the MA course. We must have been the only ones of our course there as we didn’t see anyone else there, and it felt a little bit sad as we are the only two people without a job in publishing yet!

The Books Are My Bag campaign stand

We only attended the Fair on the Monday and Tuesday as there wasn’t anything on the Wednesday which we wanted to see and we had to get trains home at lunchtime anyway.

Monday Seminars:

• “Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover… but we all do, especially Children!” - Very interesting, saw some examples of bestsellers and their covers, and a few dodgy covers that we’re surprised are so popular!
• “Reading and Health: A new Library Books on Prescription Scheme” - Great concept, library books on prescription will help people deal with anxiety and depression through helping themselves through the form of specially chosen books. Also gets more people into their local libraries.
• “How To Get Into Publishing” – Useful information for applicants, from gaining useful skills to researching the company’s market and products.
• “How To Get Ahead In Publishing” - More useful information for people in publishing, they gave us a 10 point plan on how to advance your career!
• “New Adults, Steamies, Crossed Genres – Reinventing Teen Fiction” - Interesting talk on the new genre called New Adult, which is like Young Adult but with readers from teens to sixties, thanks to Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey.

During the Gamification of Publishing seminar

Tuesday Seminars

• “What People do Publishers need?” – Information for applicants and existing employees in publishing, how publishers need people from different sectors with different and transferable skills, and newly created jobs because of digital’s impact on the industry.
• “Gamification of Publishing” - Discussion on how games affect publishing. Everything in life is like a game now, from earning “likes” and followers on social networking sites to coffee shop loyalty cards. If reading was like a game then more people would do it because games set goals and give you rewards.
• Social Networking: Authors Have Their Say” - Social networking helps authors to reach and engage with their widespread audience, build up a rapport with them, and is good for the more introverted author.
• “Brazil – Country of the Moment?” – Discussion about Brazilian books being translated and brought over here.
• “How To Set Up A Publishing House” - Guide to all the things you need to know, from knowing where you want to be in the future, to using Google Analytics for market data, to finding outside help for other jobs when you want to focus on your own particular skill advantage.

The Fair was really interesting and i learned a lot from the range of seminars i attended! I found myself not too bothered about attending the Turkish seminars, although i did get some leaflets about the Turkish theme.

LBF13′s Turkey Theme sign over the Turkey Zone.

Hopefully, the notes i made will help me learn more useful skills and make my job applications much more successful!

I really enjoyed attending the seminars and the atmosphere at the Book Fair is always amazing! I really want to go back again next year!

Book Review: How To Be A Woman

I’ve just finished reading “How to be a Woman” by Caitlin Moran. This is going against the usual type of book i read because it’s “part memoir, part rant” as it says on the back cover, not something i usually go for. However, i saw Caitlin Moran being interviewed at the London Book Fair and was inspired to go and read her book.

How to be a Woman - Caitlin Moran (via Amazon)

The blurb on the back cover reads:

“It’s a good time to be a woman: we have the vote and the Pill, and we haven’t been burnt as witches since 1727. However, a few nagging questions do remain… Why are we supposed to get Brazilians? Should we use Botox? Do men secretly hate us? And why does everyone ask you when you’re going to have a baby?”

Women (in the Western world at least) can hardly complain about equality so much these days, so is there still a need for feminism? Yes, there is, but there is a new kind of feminism now, and that is what Moran is talking about. She ponders the things women all go through as they hit puberty and beyond, from the more intimate and physical changes we go through, to the universal questions every woman has.

We discover how she herself coped through puberty and discovering who she is, and wondering what things mean to her and to others. As she grows older, new problems arise and we see how she coped with them, from first loves to marriage to babies. She rants about all the things which affect women, especially our appearances and the ongoing maintenance needed, while annoyed that men don’t have to worry about it.

Obviously one of the biggest things about being a woman is the baby question: When are you going to have a baby? Moran points out that once you hit a certain age, people start asking you this, and she discusses the pros and cons of having children. She tells us about her experiences of pregnancy and childbirth and how very different they both were for her. It’s refreshing to hear the truth about what really goes through your head while experiencing these things!

Moran is very frank about the things she thinks and feels, and while sometimes it might be a bit too much information, you can’t deny that you yourself have had these thoughts from time to time but won’t admit it to others. I found the section on abortion a little difficult to read, being against abortion myself, but i’m glad that she had the guts to tell the world what it is like, after all it is quite a taboo subject.

I give this book 8/10 because it is funny and honest, and you can totally relate to her experiences and thoughts as a woman, because she is basically describing everything you are thinking and you realise that we are all the same underneath, no matter how much we pretend to the world! I really recommend this book to every woman to read, and i’m sure men should read it too if they want to understand women a bit more! I really enjoyed this book!

A few great quotes from the book:

[On periods] – “At this juncture, it seems there is absolutely nothing to recommend being a woman. Sex hormones are a b**** that have turned me from a blithe child into a bleeding, weeping, fainting washerwoman.”

[On Feminism] – “It is really important that you say these words out loud.  ’I AM A FEMINIST.’ If you feel you cannot say it – not even standing on the ground – i would be alarmed. It’s probably one of the most important things a woman will ever say: the equal of ‘I love you’, ‘Is it a boy or a girl?’ or ‘No! I’ve changed my mind! Do NOT cut me a fringe!’”

[On strip clubs] – “Are we really saying that strip clubs are just wonderful charities that allow women – well, the pretty, thin ones, anyway: presumably the fatter, plainer ones have to do whatever it is all the male students are doing – to get degrees? I can’t believe women supposedly in further education are that stupid.”

[On motherhood] – “Women are so frequently scared about their biological clocks – ‘YOU’VE ONLY GOT TWO YEARS LEFT TO HAVE A BABY!’ – that they never get the chance to consider if they actually care or not if the damn thing grinds to a halt…. there’s a risk of women panicking and having a baby, ‘just in case’.”

[On celebrity women] - “A ‘sign of weakness’ for a woman…. can be a single, unflattering picture.”

London Book Fair 2012- belated bits and pieces

I know it’s been a whole week since the LBF (woah, that flew by!) but i thought i’d share some stuff.

Firstly, the amount of leaflets and newspapers which i gained from the LBF:

LBF12 leaflet collection

It’s a bit less than last year, mainly because i wasn’t on a mission to pick up as many bits of interesting leaflets as i could get!

In all the seminars i went to, i was Tweeting and taking notes simultaneously! My handwriting just gets worse and worse these days! Not all of us were lucky enough to have iPads or tiny laptops and had to resort to good old pen and paper!

My LBF12 notes

In my bid to find some more useful stuff on translated fiction, i went around some of the foreign publishers and organisations to find some information:

Translated fiction stuff

A lot of it is Scandinavian because i like that sort of thing, so i’ve got Swedish and Norwegian book lists. A relatively new find of mine is Amazon Crossing, which is Amazon’s attempt at translated fiction. I also got a leaflet about the Göteborg Book Fair in Sweden, which is like the London Book Fair but is more open to the general public, and this is one Fair i hope to go to this year.

At Euston train station while i was waiting to catch my train home, i decided on a whim to buy the Times Literary Supplement for the first time because i was curious about what it contained:

TLS April 13th 2012

It was interesting but to be confronted with such a vast expanse of text when i opened it was a little overwhelming! I have to admit i didn’t find it massively interesting, although there were a few good bits. If i get into buying it more often, maybe i’ll find more reasons to appreciate it.

Also, at the station i popped into WHSmith, as it was the only bookshop i could find in the short amount of time before my train left. I was eager to buy “How to be a Woman” by Caitlin Moran after listening to her being interviewed at the LBF earlier that afternoon, so i found a copy of it. As there was a Buy One Get One Half Price offer on, i had a look around the shelves and found “Delicacy” by David Foenkinos, a title translated from the French language, and which has also been made into a film recently. I thought it sounded interesting and decided to try it (bonus points for being a translation!):

"Delicacy" and "How to be a Woman"

Still in the middle of reading “How to be a Woman” first, and i’m really loving it so far! Totally worth the money i spent!

Anyway, enough for now, i’m going to get back to reading it!

The London Book Fair 2012

I have just spent 2 days at the London Book Fair, having been for the first time last year and really enjoyed the experience, and decided to make it an annual trip!

Unfortunately i was only able to go for the Monday and Tuesday, as i couldn’t really afford to stay 3 nights in a hotel in London! Since i was travelling and staying in London alone, i decided that staying in a national chain of hotels was a better option than in some grotty dive like last year! Plus i wanted to actually get at least one decent meal during my trip!

Woke up on the Monday morning to glorious sunshine making London look a lot more attractive! After a big breakfast i hopped on the Tube to Earls Court Exhibition Centre:

The London Book Fair 2012 at Earls Court Exhibition Centre

Seminars etc which i attended:

Literary Translation Centre

• Publishers resources for National Literatures
• Back to Basics: Getting started in translation Q&A
• Gatekeepers
• Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
• World Literature: How much does it mean to us?

General:

• The Great Debate
• Your job in publishing: Recruitment and retention in the digital age

Author events:

• Caitlin Moran interviewed by Sophie Heawood

The seminars were all very interesting, and quite useful in some respects, especially the translation ones as i’m still interested in translated fiction since doing my MA dissertation on the topic. I also talked to a few foreign arts councils and organisations about their books being published into English and got a few lists of books to have a look at. Hopefully i’ll find some good books to read and review!

What i learned:

• That someone is FINALLY conducting some data research to find out what the status of translated fiction is in the UK market, after the supposed 3% figure which has been bouncing around the industry for years with no clue when or where it came from.
• That to get a job in publishing, i need to get more office work experience AND prove that my social networking skills are actually being put to good use (i.e. that i’m promoting my blog properly and in what capacity).

Books i will now read after hearing about them:

• After going to the discussion on the Monday about the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize shortlist, i decided to read all 6 books, and to finally get around to reading the one which i already have (“New Finnish Grammar” on my Kindle).
• “How to be a Woman” by Caitlin Moran – I saw the interview with her on the Tuesday and thought she was really funny, so i went out and bought the book when i left the Fair!

Caitlin Moran interview

My Highlights

• The discussion with my fellow MA Publishing Alumni about J.K. Rowling’s new book due out later this year – We felt that the title (“The Casual Vacancy”) doesn’t sound brilliant and the plot sounds a little bit boring. But none of this matters because i suspect we will all buy and read it regardless, as will everyone else, meaning it will be a bestseller!
• The Great Debate: “In the fight for survival, outsiders and startups are taking on today’s heavyweights and will ultimately deliver a knock-out punch”. – Allen Lau (CEO, Wattpad) described how traditional publishers are going the way of dinosaurs and will be “driven into near-extinction”, and also how publishers are like the appendix because it exists but is useless. A little harsh, maybe?! The pre-debate poll revealed 88 for, 37 against, and 82 undecided (including me!), and closed with 41 for, 147 against, and 37 undecided. I admit i did vote for the resolution in the end, but now i’m not so sure!
• I loved the roof above the China Market Focus Pavilion, and wanted to take it home!

China Market Focus Pavilion roof

Slightly odd or amusing sights:

• The LBF Lobster!
• The weird girl sat in the English PEN Literary Cafe who gave me and a friend the evil eye as we walked past. No idea why!
• I spotted a publisher called Meyer and Meyer Sports, which is my surname!

Meyer and Meyer Sports at the LBF12

Things that bugged me:

• Constantly being asked if i wanted a massage from the red-shirted or white-shirted rival massagers dotted around the Fair.
• The photo of J.K. Rowling looked a little smug as she watched over us ( i do like her and Harry Potter but this poster just shows how much the publisher idolizes her).
• People aimlessly wandering into your path as you try to get somewhere.
• The food available at the exhibition centre is too expensive for what it is – cost me almost £5 for a bottle of water and a chocolate muffin! I walked up the road to Tesco because it was cheaper for lunch!

JK Rowling looking a bit smug

I quite enjoyed my 2 days and learnt a lot, even though i didn’t do so well at the networking – i just find it so daunting! Will definitely being going next year if i can, and hopefully i might actually have a proper job within  the industry by then!

London Book Fair 2011!

Earlier this week i went down to London for the London Book Fair 2011. it was my first visit and i really enjoyed it! It was just 3 buzzing days! Weather was gloriously sunny and hot when i arrived in London, as you can see in the photo below, but obviously we were inside this massive building for 3 whole days so didnt enjoy the weather much!

Outside the LBF at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London

It was really good to see the cream of the publishing industry all under one roof! So many people, so many stands, so many books! I like to think that, one day, i will be employed by one of those companies!

View over Earls Court 1

I went to lots of seminars and talks on things like Translation, Russian literature, and Digital’s effect on publishing. A good one was “Harry Potter and the Russian Orthodox Church” talking about how the Russians thought HP was evil because of all the magic in the story, and then they realised it has a strong moral background and has strong base in Christian beliefs, as well as being about the defencelessness of children and so on, so its not actually that scary a book. Was fascinating!

Harry Potter and the Russian Orthodox Church seminar

Me and some of the other girls on my course went a bit crazy on the later hours of the second day, as we developed “looter’s mindset” on the World Book Night promotional stand which had copies of all the WBN2011 titles, free to take away! I only took 7 of them, knowing that i would have to lug them all the way back home on the train, but the others all took loads, expecially one who took 21 books!

My stack of WBN books!

I definitely have enough books to keep me going for a few months, as i already had a pile by my bed waiting to be read! My personal library is growing by the month!

During the Fair, I found it really useful being on Twitter, as i could follow the updates by people at the Fair on my mobile, so i had a deeper experience of what was happening. No-one seemed to mind that people were on their phones on Twitter, in fact the people doing seminars even gave their hashtag name so we could keep up to date with their tweets!

Talking of Twitter, there was a seminar on “The Tweet Smell of Success” which me and many others tried to get into, but unfortunately the organisers hadnt anticipated that 4 times the amount of the room’s capacity would turn up, as you can see in the photo below:

The massive crowd trying to get into the "Tweet Smell of Success" seminar

It was insane how popular this seminar was, unfortunately we couldnt fit in the tiny room, so many of us decided to give up and go elsewhere, which is a shame because it sounded really good.

It was a good 3 days, and i managed to network a little bit, got some contacts for my dissertation research survey, and had a laugh with the people on my course.

I didnt want to go home! I definitely loved the excitement and buzz of the Fair, and i will definitely go back again next year!