Here at The Publishing Spot, we won't judge you by your books. You can read whatever you want--from pulp fiction to deconstructed literary fiction to comic books--and we won't make fun of you.
I will alert you to situations where somebody might be judging your bookshelf. Jeff (one of my favorite writing-world reporters right now) reminded me of a couple New York Times articles that you must read.
Don't let your next literary date sneak attack in the bookshelf battles. Save the college-epiphany books for the first-year anniversary:
"Judy Heiblum, a literary agent at Sterling Lord Literistic, shudders at the memory of some attempted date-talk about Robert Pirsig’s 1974 cult classic 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,' beloved of searching young men. 'When a guy tells me it changed his life, I wish he’d saved us both the embarrassment,' Heiblum said, adding that 'life-changing experiences' are a 'tedious conversational topic at best.'"
I won't judge, and neither will our special guest journalist Jeff Gordinier (check out our interview about interviewing).
What's more, if you are looking for some free entertainment this evening, he's reading at the Tribecca Barnes and Noble at 7 p.m.--feel free to discuss any pop culture book you want with his fans.
