Good News/Bad News

Here's the good news: there is no Barbaro related book on USA Today's list of "picks" in this coming publishing year.

Here's the bad news: no new news from anyone interested in taking a chance on mine.

To be fair, it is still probably too early to expect to hear anything from the latest publisher, Globe Pequoit, to which we submitted the proposal right before Christmas. I am still holding out hope for them to come through and enjoying my respite in Florida (where it is actually beautiful but very cold....).

The USA Today list is intriguing for its lack of animal related titles. In our dog-infatuated culture, I did expect a plethora of puppy titles but spied only two animal tomes that look mildly intriguing. One is due out in late February: Nim Chimsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human, the story of the chimp who learned American Sign Language and communicated effortlessly with his trainers. This chimp recently passed away at a ripe old age and I heard his trainers interviewed on NPR. It is an interesting story of animal intelligence and probably a fascinating read for anyone who doubts that we are related to the species.

There is another novel due out in March, The Labrador Pact that touts itself as a story of a family with a fiercely loyal canine. Sounds like much more of the same dog related mystery genre that has seemed to populate book stores recently.

One book I am looking forward to reading is Michael Pollan's newest, In Defense of Food; An Eater's Manifesto, currently in stores. The Omnivore's Dilemma, which he authored and I actually had to read for a class, was one of those life-changing books. He writes clearly, humorously and manages to make subjects like corn (the basis of The Omnivore's Dilemma) fascinating. If you haven't read it, do so. It may change the way you decide what to eat.

As for me I'm currently enjoying, Loving Frank, an excellent novel about Frank Lloyd Wright (with one son an architect, I need to be able to converse with him....) to be followed by A Three Dog Life by Abigail Adams, a master in the world of literary nonfiction.