Exploring Books, Life, and Writing
This week we hold our annual off-site, all-day meeting for everyone in the company. It’s something we’ve been doing for almost twenty-five years. We close down the reception desk and warehouse, shut off the phones, put emails on automatic reply, and bring in employees who work in other parts of the country.
What do we do?
Continue reading “Celebrating Who We Are”
Those who know me, know that I think Zinsser’s On Writing Well is the Bible of advice to authors. I even talk about Zinsserizing a manuscript–an mischievously ironic term, since Zinsser abhors such neologisms.
In the book, Zinsser self-consciously makes an apparent contradiction.
Continue reading “The Myth of Wider Readership”
I’ve been a runner for over twenty-five years. I ran cross-country in high school but gave it up in my twenties. As thirty approached, I realized my body was not serving me well, so I took up the sport again.
Over the years I worked my way up to three miles, then five and then seven. Eventually I ran a couple of Chicago marathons. But now each year I settle for one modest 10K in western Michigan in which I try to beat my age–setting my goal at one minute for every year.
I’d always heard about the runner’s high and the greater energy levels that carry you through the day. I’ve never experienced either.
Continue reading “Getting Exercised”
I just came across an excellent and important article the old fashioned way–someone pushed a piece of paper in front of me. (Actually, the paper got stuck in my in-basket for a few months, and I just unearthed it. Is that an argument for digitization? Not necessarily. I lose things on my computer all the time. But I digress.) Malcolm Gladwell writes a tour de force review debunking Chris Anderson’s new book Free: The Future of a Radical Price (retailing for $26.99!).
Continue reading “The Future of Free”