tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495380435811982562024-03-12T21:27:12.697-04:00PilgrimageZoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-44731941388046937672015-08-10T19:06:00.002-04:002015-08-10T19:06:31.203-04:00The Hunt for the Pyxis Begins!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dHZvNhpx51Q/VcfL4HqHI6I/AAAAAAAAAW4/wJSvjvVkqBE/s1600/pyxis%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dHZvNhpx51Q/VcfL4HqHI6I/AAAAAAAAAW4/wJSvjvVkqBE/s400/pyxis%2Bcover.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
I am extremely delighted to announce the publication (finally!) of my new children's book, <i>The Hunt for the Pyxis. </i>This is the first in the <i>Galaxy Pirates </i>trilogy, an adventure story for ages 9 and up. School Library Journal says that it’s “absolutely action packed…this first in a series will keep kids reading!” <br />
<br />
I discovered yesterday that one young reader on Amazon wrote "I want to live in this book!" I think this is the highest praise a writer can receive -- thank you, anonymous 12-year-old, you just filled me with indescribable glee! <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Galaxy-Pirates-Hunt-Pyxis/dp/0385392168/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439157852&sr=8-1&keywords=hunt+for+the+pyxis"><i>The</i> </a><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Galaxy-Pirates-Hunt-Pyxis/dp/0385392168/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439157852&sr=8-1&keywords=hunt+for+the+pyxis">Hunt for the Pyxis</a> </i>is set in an outer space you've never seen before, where big ships ply the intergalactic waterways and the constellations inspire fantastical creatures. It evolved from a fantasy world I first imagined as a child. I think of it as Star Wars meets Patrick O’Brien.
<br />
<br />
For those of you who aren't familiar with the way books are made, publishing a book generally happens at the speed of Dutch Elm
disease. But now, reading that book is just one click away! You can purchase it as hardback or ebook at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Galaxy-Pirates-Hunt-Pyxis/dp/0385392168/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439157852&sr=8-1&keywords=hunt+for+the+pyxis">Amazon</a> and plenty of Indie booksellers. My favorites are <a href="http://www.greenapplebooks.com/ebook/9780385392181">Green Apple</a>, <a href="http://www.booksinc.net/ebook/9780385392181">Books Inc</a> and <a href="http://www.keplers.com/ebook/9780385392181">Kepler's</a>.<br />
<br />
I also want to give a huge thank you to my agent at Inkwell, Charlie Olsen, for doing the impossible and actually SELLING the book. Another massive thanks to my editor at Crown Books, Phoebe Yeh, for actually BUYING it. You guys, this is still a miracle to me. Even more thanks to all the readers, family and friends who were involved in this project - or rather, who read the book countless times and then put up with me wanting to have conversations about things like the shape of a dragon's snout or whether or not Queen Virgo has children. I love you all.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">On the night Emma Garton’s
supposedly boring parents are kidnapped, she is forced to face the truth:
they’ve been lying to her about many things, including the Pyxis, a mysterious
amulet that holds the key to saving another world. Worse yet, her parents aren’t even
from planet Earth. <br />
<br />
To find her parents, Emma and her best friend, Herbie, must leave Earth and
enter the Strands—the waterways of space, where huge galleons ply the
intergalactic seas. But a journey through the constellations won’t be easy—not
with evil Queen Virgo and every scoundrel in the galaxy determined to find
them. <br />
<br />
In this interstellar adventure, YALSA Alex Award–winning author Zoë Ferraris
transports young readers to a vast, magical universe filled with fantastical
creatures, merciless villains, and fearless heroes.</span></i>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<br />Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-7111087824632938712015-08-09T19:09:00.000-04:002015-08-10T19:18:23.776-04:00What I'm Reading This Week<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>74</o:Words>
<o:Characters>426</o:Characters>
<o:Lines>3</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>523</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>11.1539</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->In keeping with the new look of my blog, I’m taking a pilgrimage into old territory, going back to subjects and interests that have occupied me for years but which I've been neglecting because I've been writing fantasy for kids. <br />
<br /> What I’ve just finished reading and can highly recommend:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zDuVUuAEGj0/ULUVMj9xDSI/AAAAAAAAAO0/LVD-T47P2Nw/s1600/Edge_Realms_Cover_A.preview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zDuVUuAEGj0/ULUVMj9xDSI/AAAAAAAAAO0/LVD-T47P2Nw/s200/Edge_Realms_Cover_A.preview.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>15</o:Words>
<o:Characters>87</o:Characters>
<o:Lines>1</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>106</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>11.1539</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment--></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Edge-Realms-Consciousness-Dimensions/dp/1583944885">Exploring the Edge Realms of Consciousness</a> (edited by <a href="http://realitysandwich.com/161432/exploring_edge_realms_consciousness_introduction/">Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan</a>): An eclectic series of essays handling just what the title says. There are many ways to look at consciousness, but delightfully this book ranges all over the map - including things like lucid dreaming, DMT, jhana states, synchronicity, and even gems like "the proper uses of stage magic." I loved the wide sampling here, just enough on each subject to keep my interest and stir up some unknown and uncomfortable areas in my own consciousness. <br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GOBPaPLnguA/ULUVVScq2_I/AAAAAAAAAO8/Hqv5QsOp6KU/s1600/gibson+shadow+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GOBPaPLnguA/ULUVVScq2_I/AAAAAAAAAO8/Hqv5QsOp6KU/s200/gibson+shadow+cover.jpg" width="136" /></a></div>
<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Walter-Gibson-Shadow-Thomas-Shimeld/dp/0786423617/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439248392&sr=1-5&keywords=walter+gibson+and+the+shadow">Walter B. Gibson and the Shadow</a> (by Thomas Shimeld): A straight-up biography, although Gibson’s life makes for remarkable content. He wrote so much that even he didn’t know how many books he had published, and his primary occupation was the paranormal. He wanted to write it into the Shadow novels, but was forced to take a lot of it out of his fiction under pressure from his publishers. Gibson is my great-great uncle and I don’t profess to have anything like his creative output, but I do share his love of the unexplained, of finding what is truly mysterious in life, and of course of heroes, whether they’re super or not. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bVlwh411Juc/ULUVZ3fHcNI/AAAAAAAAAPE/APbUjXQSByo/s1600/chief+marin+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bVlwh411Juc/ULUVZ3fHcNI/AAAAAAAAAPE/APbUjXQSByo/s200/chief+marin+cover.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chief-Marin-Leader-Rebel-Legend/dp/1597140538/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439248428&sr=1-1&keywords=chief+marin">Chief Marin</a> (by Betty Goerke): It is pretty rare to find a good book about California Indians -- and by "good" I mean one that wakes you up and makes you feel that for a moment you are back in the past, seeing the world as it was then. "Good" also means transcending the goofy romanticism so many books about Indians have. This story of Chief Marin, the Miwok leader who defied the Spaniards, is obsessively researched and pretty damn good.<br /><br /><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>61</o:Words>
<o:Characters>353</o:Characters>
<o:Lines>2</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>433</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>11.1539</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jaU81ZZ1Ygo/ULUVeewguLI/AAAAAAAAAPM/JSCUsj9SBBw/s1600/witches+of+eastwick+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jaU81ZZ1Ygo/ULUVeewguLI/AAAAAAAAAPM/JSCUsj9SBBw/s200/witches+of+eastwick+cover.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Witches-Eastwick-John-Updike/dp/0449912108/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439248473&sr=1-1&keywords=witches+of+eastwick">The Witches of Eastwick</a> (John Updike): I loved this twenty years ago, and all I can say now is god bless this man, he is still completely awesome. Even if he is not politically correct. Even if he is a bit wordy at times. He can get away with anything. His prose, his characters, his odd little asides serve up some kind of alchemical magic of their own. When he puts a Rhode Island winter on the page, by god you are there, like it or not. <!--EndFragment-->Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-64527512121449175892014-08-26T15:16:00.000-04:002014-08-26T15:17:13.580-04:00The Patron Saint of Ugly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XUsF06Y66kk/U_ph1FQxCtI/AAAAAAAAAUI/4fZ3VQPC7fw/s1600/Patron%2BSaint%2Bof%2BUgly%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XUsF06Y66kk/U_ph1FQxCtI/AAAAAAAAAUI/4fZ3VQPC7fw/s1600/Patron%2BSaint%2Bof%2BUgly%2Bcover.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I am delighted to round-off <a href="http://zoeferraris.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-silver-tattoo-interview-with-laura.html">my celebration of three writer friends</a> who have published novels this year with the third of the trifecta, Marie Manilla's <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Patron-Saint-Ugly-Marie-Manilla/dp/0544146247/ref=la_B003VFL39I_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408917899&sr=1-1">The Patron Saint of Ugly</a></i>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I may be especially biased by the fact that her main character is named Ferrari, but I feel a deep kinship with Garnet, an outspoken yet intensely private woman who seems to witness a lot of unusual things. However, the similarities end with the fact that Garnet is being judged for a Catholic sainthood. Her story, told to Father Archibald Gormley via recording device, details her remarkable life and her skepticism about the miracles she supposedly performs. As hordes of followers descend on her home, begging for cures, Garnet's story unfolds, giving the reader what Booklist calls "a captivating reminder of the blurred lines between myth and reality." </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.mariemanilla.com/">Marie</a> graduated from the Iowa Writers Workshop and her short stories have been published, well, in almost every prestigious literary journal this side of the Atlantic. For a sampler, try her brilliant and eclectic collection <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Still-Life-Plums-Short-Stories/dp/1933202602/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408917809&sr=8-1&keywords=still+life+with+plums">Still Life With Plums</a></i>. You may also want to check out her first novel, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shrapnel-Marie-Manilla/dp/1579660843/ref=la_B003VFL39I_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408917835&sr=1-3">Shrapnel</a>,</i> which won the Fred Bonnie Award for Best First Novel.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Here Marie answers my questions about the novel and its delicious blend of Southern gothic and magic realism.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>1499</o:Words>
<o:Characters>7649</o:Characters>
<o:Lines>131</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>13</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>10498</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>11.1539</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p-D_v8eQSWc/U_pmcbhfYsI/AAAAAAAAAUw/zTCoL06GF3g/s1600/saint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p-D_v8eQSWc/U_pmcbhfYsI/AAAAAAAAAUw/zTCoL06GF3g/s1600/saint.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">This novel is such a fascinating blend of elements. How did
magical realism come together with Southern gothic and the Sicilian malocchio?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I’ve always been a fan of magical realism, particularly the
works of Garcia Marquez, Isabel Allende, and Salman Rushdie. I was fascinated
by the way they created worlds grounded in reality, but where magical
occurrences were presented in such a way that I believed them entirely. This
may harken back to my love of folklore, Aesop’s fables, and Grimms’ fairytales
that terrified and delighted me as a child. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">When I created the fictional Sweetwater Village in <i>Patron
Saint</i>, I drew maps and named streets and created a robber baron who developed
the area. Then I added this girl covered in port-wine birthmarks who may be
able to perform miracles. Hopefully I’ve painted the world so thoroughly that
readers will be able to accept that it’s a typical immigrant village that just
happens to contain magical elements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I’ve also always been a fan of Southern gothic, especially
the works of Flannery O’Connor, Eudora Welty, and Carson McCullers. Their prose
chronicled a defeated South peopled with rich, colorful, horrible, hilarious,
unconventional characters. Much of their work is infused with humor, even in
the face of evil. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uxOj6uuX55o/U_poYjIKqxI/AAAAAAAAAVU/DlGDf3QsJkE/s1600/Italian-horn-pendants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uxOj6uuX55o/U_poYjIKqxI/AAAAAAAAAVU/DlGDf3QsJkE/s1600/Italian-horn-pendants.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">There are a number of colorful characters in Patron Saint,
some quirky, some horrible, not the least of which is Garnet, whose birthmarks
are an evolving map of the world. She’s also an irreverent smartass whose voice
adds humor, even in the face of tremendous family tragedies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">At times, in both magical realism and Southern gothic, there
is the question of malleable truth. Readers get different versions of events
depending on who is doing the (tall) telling. Because <i>Patron Saint</i> is delivered
as tapes Garnet makes for a Vatican emissary, it’s possible that some of her
stories are hyperbolic or outright fiction. This question of truth is
heightened when Garnet’s grandmother, Nonna Diamante, steals the tape recorder
to set the record straight, as does Garnet’s aunt Betty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The malocchio slipped in quite naturally, since Sicilian
Nonna Diamante not only believes in the evil eye, but she’s trained in the art
of warding off the jealousy of <i>jettature</i>. I had such fun infusing the novel
with details from Nonna’s hybrid blend of Old Religion and Catholicism.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7T_FvT1v0gA/U_poHfqxAoI/AAAAAAAAAVM/oiKNsWo0hYQ/s1600/canal-map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7T_FvT1v0gA/U_poHfqxAoI/AAAAAAAAAVM/oiKNsWo0hYQ/s1600/canal-map.jpg" height="176" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">This book is about Garnet, a would-be saint and reluctant
miracle worker who is totally fierce and funny. Can you talk about how you
developed her character? Where did she come from? Does she have a real-life
double? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I was born with port-wine birthmarks on my left hand that I
always thought looked like North and South America, including the Panama Canal.
When I was young, kids would screw up their faces and ask: “What’s wrong with
your hand?” My answers matured with my age: heat rash, rabies, syphilis. That’s
where the seed of the novel sprang from. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I’ve carried Garnet’s voice inside me for years. She’s the
smartass I would be if I didn’t have an internal firewall to keep me in check
(mostly). She’s also braver than I am. If you stripped away the magical
elements of the novel, Garnet is just a girl trying to negotiate a
dysfunctional family. All she wants is to be loved by her father, who is so
put-off by her port-wine stains that he just can’t give her the love she needs.
I think this speaks to many children, male or female, raised by parents of the
Greatest Generation, especially the fathers, who were taught to keep their
emotions in check. Public displays of affection were a no-no. Even I love yous
were rare. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Garnet is also every homely child who has been overlooked or
overshadowed. Though Garnet ultimately comes to embraces her “stained” self,
what’s more difficult is accepting her “sainted” self—and I think we’re all
both sainted and stained. Part of Garnet’s journey—and all of our journeys—is
learning to accept that duality.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f65h81zT9tA/U_pj35_tpvI/AAAAAAAAAUU/n9gTVnhRfVQ/s1600/talismans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f65h81zT9tA/U_pj35_tpvI/AAAAAAAAAUU/n9gTVnhRfVQ/s1600/talismans.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Garnet does witness miracles, but like a lot of people she
isn't sure how to fit the strange and the unexplained into a rational view of
the world. In writing this book, did anything strange happen to you? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Initially, Patron Saint was simply about a girl born with
port-wine birthmarks, but they weren’t geographic, nor was Garnet a miracle
worker. She was just a child ostracized by some and adored by others who were
trying to protect her. I got about halfway in and realized the novel was flat,
but I didn’t know how to fix it. I posed the question to my subconscious: How
can I give the novel that added oomph? Not long after, I was walking in the
park and came upon a recently dead squirrel. There were no marks on its body.
It most assuredly was not breathing. I bent down to take a closer look, and
suddenly the thing sat up, shook itself off, and scampered away. I looked
around to see if anyone else had witnessed this miracle. (Okay. It was probably
stunned from a fall). Immediately, a question popped into my mind: What if
Garnet could perform miracles? That’s all it took to set the book on a course
that would include Nonna Diamante, the evil eye, the sixteenth-century St.
Garnet lore, the evolving birthmarks, the miracle-seeking pilgrims, the
Vatican, 60 Minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Shortly after I made the decision to infuse the novel with
miracles, evil-eye lore, and the myth of the Pining Nereid, I started finding
relevant talismans on my daily walks: blue-eyed marbles, seashell buttons, holy
medals—confirmation that I was on the right path. I collected those and other
Patron Saint totems with the hopes that they would bless the endeavor and get
the novel into the right hands. Here’s a photo of the collection on the windowsill
in my office. Given that Patron Saint found such a wonderful home with Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt, I’m inclined to say the charms worked!<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VECjbQqPH5M/U_pn8AV25cI/AAAAAAAAAVE/oVkEc5-DDk8/s1600/italy%2Bpendant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VECjbQqPH5M/U_pn8AV25cI/AAAAAAAAAVE/oVkEc5-DDk8/s1600/italy%2Bpendant.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The novel is dedicated to your own Sicilian grandmother, and
you say she has haunted you for your entire life. Can you talk about her?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Like Garnet, I’m half Italian, and though one of her
staunchest allies is her nonna, my Sicilian grandmother, Concetta Ferrara
LaPelle Manilla, died sixteen months before I was born. <a href="https://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3149538043581198256" name="_GoBack"></a>Still,
I have always felt a connection to her. Even as a kid I loved working with my
hands: planting vegetables, embroidering pillowcases, making mud pies. More
than once my mother, Concetta’s daughter-in-law, said: “You’re just like
Grandma Manilla. She always had some project in her hands.” I’ve also always
been an experimental cook, tossing in spices and random ingredients. Again Mom
said: “You’re just like Grandma Manilla. Grandpa always said she could even
make shit taste delicious.” These comments made my kid-self wonder if I was her
reincarnation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">My paternal family was tight-lipped about their ancestry,
particularly about Grandma, who was always a mysterious figure. This red-haired
spitfire became a hero to me when I learned that she supposedly escaped an
arranged marriage in Sicily by selling some of the family jewels and hopping a
ship to America. I adored her bravery, even if it contradicted other family
lore, which was that she silently suffered Grandpa Manilla’s bullying. There
are various versions about how many husbands she had, and how she wound up in
West Virginia. That’s why there are several accounts in Patron Saint of how
Nonna Diamante and Grandpa Ferrari came to be man and wife. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3gEks2Y0IFA/U_pj5CjxkqI/AAAAAAAAAUY/Ulz6hT4b_Rg/s1600/Marie%2BManilla%2Bauthor%2Bphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3gEks2Y0IFA/U_pj5CjxkqI/AAAAAAAAAUY/Ulz6hT4b_Rg/s1600/Marie%2BManilla%2Bauthor%2Bphoto.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">What's next for your writing? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">My novel-in-progress, <i>Blood Orchard</i>, is also a blend of
magical realism and Southern gothic. In it I explore the luck of fate: how
one’s life and future, and the future of one’s heirs, can be determined by not
only what century one was born in, but what gender and race and particular
patch of dirt. I chronicle the rise and fall of the fictional boomtown of
Waller’s Ferry, Virginia. The novel calls racism, sexism, and classism into
question, since the town-founding Wallers swapped skins and genders and
birthrights to survive. Some men are women, some whites are black, and those
who should be rich have been stripped of their fortunes, and at times their
very lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pSbeM6QKFI0/U_ppduYvtNI/AAAAAAAAAVg/y5FUQmxHqj0/s1600/dragonfly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pSbeM6QKFI0/U_ppduYvtNI/AAAAAAAAAVg/y5FUQmxHqj0/s1600/dragonfly.jpg" height="293" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Structurally, I’ve set an ambitious task for myself, in that
throughout the eight generations the novel spans, the cast remains virtually
the same. In addition to a succession of malevolent aunties, grifters named
Asa, fallen preachers, and idiot Jebs, the two central characters are a string
of Portias and Doo Flys. Their birthrights were robbed from them in the
nineteenth-century, swapping what would have been a cushy Waller lifestyle for
one of poverty, prostitution, and addiction. But all those Portias and Doo Flys
are drawn to the Waller home and name. They understand on a cellular level that
they were meant for something better. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The present-day of the novel, the “over story,” follows the
final, twenty-first century Portia whose mother saved her from the cycle of
drugs and whoring by putting her on a train where she is rescued by Cherry.
Throughout the years, Cherry receives mysterious packages on her doorstep, which
contain artifacts that will inform both her and the found child about the truth
of her heritage, and who the Wallers really were. The artifacts include a scalp
from the French and Indian War, a Civil-War peg leg, a Gilded-Age dragonfly
brooch, a 1920s lotus earring, and more. Cherry’s trance-like “interpretations”
of these artifacts are how the history of Wallers Ferry is delivered to
readers. When the found child is old enough, the artifacts will send her on a
journey back to Wallers Ferry (now West Virginia) to claim her birthright for
good. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you so much, Marie, and congratulations on all your success! For more about the author, check out her <a href="http://www.mariemanilla.com/">website</a>, or find her on <a href="https://twitter.com/mariemanilla">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Marie-Manilla/e/B003VFL39I/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1408923455&sr=8-1">Amazon</a>. </span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<!--EndFragment-->Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-15892097906785300042013-11-01T17:54:00.000-04:002013-11-01T17:54:07.895-04:00No Woman, No DriveAlaa Wardi is at it again, this time funnier than ever!<br />
<br />
<br /><object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/aZMbTFNp4wI?hl=en_US&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/aZMbTFNp4wI?hl=en_US&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-4229023595167384262013-10-07T23:02:00.001-04:002013-10-07T23:02:54.711-04:00We Need More Spooky<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6y4SBHwh3uY/UlM3H1lxIcI/AAAAAAAAASg/dDPeuoUKLLs/s1600/bending+space.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6y4SBHwh3uY/UlM3H1lxIcI/AAAAAAAAASg/dDPeuoUKLLs/s320/bending+space.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
You know how physicists say ludicrous things? For example: An electron can be in two places
at once. Or: With enough gravity, you can bend space. We fiction writers rely
on this stuff. (Thanks guys.)<br />
<span style="font-family: Times;"><br /></span>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>8</o:Words>
<o:Characters>46</o:Characters>
<o:Lines>1</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>56</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>11.1539</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, do you ever notice how biologists DON’T do this? In 2001, Nobel prize winner Paul Nurse predicted that <a href="http://io9.com/5688941/biology-is-about-to-get-seriously-weird-says-nobel-prize-winner">biology was about to go through a revolution</a> similar to the one experienced in physics a hundred years ago. </div>
<br />
And here we are in the much-vaunted century of biological revolution. So where are the kooks?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3X-JETbC7Vo/UlM3nn1LcHI/AAAAAAAAASo/IukKeZOiBbY/s1600/PrimordialSoupPPR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3X-JETbC7Vo/UlM3nn1LcHI/AAAAAAAAASo/IukKeZOiBbY/s200/PrimordialSoupPPR.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>62</o:Words>
<o:Characters>358</o:Characters>
<o:Lines>2</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>439</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>11.1539</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Biology has some deep, dark problems at its core: it still
has to explain how the complexity of life arose from a chemical goulash. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It also has to explain how the component parts of
a single cell in the body manage to find one another. The currently
accepted answer is that <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enzyme#.22Lock_and_key.22_model">enzymes just
go bumping into everything until they stumble into the right partner</a></span>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gosh, if these were physicists, they'd be talking about twelve dimensions and quantum tunneling. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A group of enterprising
scientists, led by one Dr. Steven Benner, have <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/science/space/a-far-flung-possibility-for-the-origin-of-life.html?ref=microbiology&_r=0">recently proposed that life may have formed on Mars</a>. Not too shabby. And a team of British
scientists seems to have <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/the-truth-is-out-there-above-cheshire-that-is-british-scientists-claim-to-have-found-proof-of-alien-life-8826690.html">found proof of DNA coming into our atmosphere from outer space</a>. We're getting closer to an alien theory, but seriously, where is all the weirdness in the world of the small?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Will it matter?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-te3KXBQf3Sw/UlM4enXH9lI/AAAAAAAAAS4/Piwzh8H9sJg/s1600/biophoton3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-te3KXBQf3Sw/UlM4enXH9lI/AAAAAAAAAS4/Piwzh8H9sJg/s320/biophoton3.jpg" width="272" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One guy, Dr. Fritz Albert Popp, dared to <a href="http://transpersonal.de/mbischof/englisch/webbookeng.htm">propose that DNA produces photons</a> and that this creates a "dynamic web of light" inside the body. This web of light may be responsible for orchestrating the behavior of cells, tissues, and organs. Essentially, this is saying that DNA is like CENTCOM, a
command station that talks to -- and controls -- many far-flung parts.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Einstein was disturbed by quantum mechanics, in particular
“the problem of the total renunciation of all minimal standards of
realism." Your disturb-o-meter might hit the same mark with biophotons.
They are light. And energy. Little packages of stuff. But they are not thinking beings. And they certainly do not have the
complexity of mind to run CENTCOM. The idea that they’re not only talking to
one another, but sending out precisely the right information to thousands of
different receptors, hundreds of thousands time a day… It all starts to sound,
well, spooky.</div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>86</o:Words>
<o:Characters>494</o:Characters>
<o:Lines>4</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>606</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>11.1539</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dr. Popp, you rock! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TUFSX346Uzw/UlM4P0gXpHI/AAAAAAAAASw/NMOiaDOriLQ/s1600/biophotons2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TUFSX346Uzw/UlM4P0gXpHI/AAAAAAAAASw/NMOiaDOriLQ/s320/biophotons2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>158</o:Words>
<o:Characters>904</o:Characters>
<o:Lines>7</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>1110</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>11.1539</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But where is he? Why isn't his science all over the news?
Wikipedia politely describes his claim as “controversial.” People have
speculated that understanding biophoton behavior could help us cure cancer. That biophotons are related to
why acupuncture works. That they may even help explain the emergence of consciousness. Wikipedia
filed this last one under the stunningly condescending title of “Esoteric
Claims”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What is “esoteric” but an insult? A mainstream way of saying
that the poor schlump who proposed this idea is clearly on the fringes. And
yet, isn’t that where scientists ought to be? Isn’t that where string theory –
now decidedly in the realm of popular physics – dared to tread? And how is it
that physicists can claim twelve dimensions, and while people may scoff, they
ultimately accept that this is what science does. But when biologists claim
that photons may play a role in understanding the emergence of consciousness,
they get called “esoteric” by a mainstream website that <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view">supposedly
has rules against slanted points of view</a></span>? <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zWimNxiD0QM/UlNYxlN1CVI/AAAAAAAAATk/efFyCLFlyDc/s1600/schrodingers+cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zWimNxiD0QM/UlNYxlN1CVI/AAAAAAAAATk/efFyCLFlyDc/s1600/schrodingers+cat.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Schrodinger that!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dr. Popp's science is fascinating (there's a great article <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://www.viewzone.com/dnax.html">here</a></span>), but the Wiki page
for Dr. Popp is currently under dispute for “neutrality” issues. The dispute
seems to have arisen because of <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Fritz-Albert_Popp">comments like
this one</a></span> from the Wiki moderators: “Popp is only known in
esoteric circles and new-age.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This man has a Ph.D. and was a professor at a major German
university. He was also head of numerous research groups, an invited member of
the New York Academy of Sciences, as well as founder of an International
Institute of Biophysics. He is credited with discovering the presence of
photons in the body. It does not seem that this man is “only known in esoteric
circles.” But shoot, how dare he prove his own theories, going so far as to
create an <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://www.biontology.com/international-institute-of-biophysics/">institute
with 19 research groups in 13 countries</a></span>? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Energetic Places<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pUUdcAg4tFg/UlNZgejqFgI/AAAAAAAAATs/z36lJGHIJJo/s1600/richard_dawkins_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pUUdcAg4tFg/UlNZgejqFgI/AAAAAAAAATs/z36lJGHIJJo/s320/richard_dawkins_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the other side of the biology spectrum stands the field’s
most public thinker: Richard Dawkins. The <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dawkins">Wiki page for Dawkins</a></span> is
long, detailed and solidly invested in sharing his philosophies. And to read
this quite carefully, it is apparent that all of this Wiki love points to a
consistent theme in Dawkins' career: his skepticism. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dawkins…<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
“has consistently been sceptical about non-adaptive
processes in evolution”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“is particularly sceptical about the practical
possibility or importance of <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_selection">group selection</a></span> as a basis
for understanding <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altruism">altruism</a></span>”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“has also been strongly critical of the <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis">Gaia hypothesis</a></span>”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“was highly critical of fellow biologist <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.O._Wilson">E.O. Wilson's</a></span> 2012 book <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Social_Conquest_of_Earth">The Social
Conquest of Earth</a></span>.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“is a prominent critic of <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creationism">creationism</a></span>”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c83YyLEktJM/UlNON3XD70I/AAAAAAAAATY/yTrCnObqW9g/s1600/angry+god.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c83YyLEktJM/UlNON3XD70I/AAAAAAAAATY/yTrCnObqW9g/s320/angry+god.jpg" width="320" /></a>“has ardently opposed the inclusion of <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_design">intelligent design</a></span> in
science education"<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“became a prominent <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_religion">critic of
religion</a></span>”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“has been a critic of <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoscience">pseudoscience</a></span> and <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_medicine">alternative
medicine</a></span>"<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He’s even critical of debate:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“…[Dawkins] refused to participate in formal debates with
creationists because "what they seek is the oxygen of respectability""</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Dawkins also regularly comments in newspapers and <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog">weblogs</a></span> on
contemporary political questions; his opinions include opposition to the <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_invasion_of_Iraq">2003 invasion
of Iraq</a></span>... the <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Trident_programme">British
nuclear deterrent</a></span>, and the actions of US President <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush">George W. Bush</a></span>"</div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>69</o:Words>
<o:Characters>395</o:Characters>
<o:Lines>3</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>485</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>11.1539</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>61</o:Words>
<o:Characters>348</o:Characters>
<o:Lines>2</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>427</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>11.1539</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is this a list of accomplishments? This looks more like a
love poem to an idol of destructiveness, one that manages to tell us everything
Dawkins <i>doesn’t believe in</i>. The most famous figure in biology today is someone
who appears to have become famous for disputing everything. What’s odd is that
when 95 percent of the world believes in some kind of god or another,
viewpoints like Dawkins' are by definition “esoteric.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HiUDgk3gpaA/UlM7nAwrm2I/AAAAAAAAATE/chznZeFQ_qI/s1600/Fox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HiUDgk3gpaA/UlM7nAwrm2I/AAAAAAAAATE/chznZeFQ_qI/s200/Fox.jpg" width="140" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sorry, somebody needs a little Fox. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>68</o:Words>
<o:Characters>390</o:Characters>
<o:Lines>3</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>478</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>11.1539</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mmty-l4zvqw/UlM2JsKjPyI/AAAAAAAAASM/4WPWvoxs6lk/s1600/einstein+bohr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mmty-l4zvqw/UlM2JsKjPyI/AAAAAAAAASM/4WPWvoxs6lk/s320/einstein+bohr.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Einstein and Bohr: enemies chilling.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dawkins's first, and arguably most famous work, <i>The Selfish
Gene</i>, postulates that evolution occurs through the survival of competing genes.
In other words, by applying the “macro” concepts of evolution to the
“micro” world of the gene, he seems to have co-opted the entire realm of
biology. But what if our cells are not Darwinian monsters? And <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14962620">what if they can do all the weird shit that quantum particles can do</a>? </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>180</o:Words>
<o:Characters>1027</o:Characters>
<o:Lines>8</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>2</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>1261</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>11.1539</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Imagine if Einstein had gotten famous for telling priests
that they were stupid for believing in God. Imagine the quantum geniuses of his
day cast to the fringes of respectable academia, their theories being treated
as if they were nonsense. Did this happen to Bohr? To Heisenberg? No. In fact <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohr%E2%80%93Einstein_debates">the debates
between Einstein and his peers</a></span> are legendary examples of scientists
attempting to solve their problems together, despite their radically different
points of view, and their mysteriously contradictory evidence. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Science-Set-Free-Paths-Discovery/dp/0770436722" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yM9az2-1NMw/UlNdb74z8wI/AAAAAAAAAT4/AVoEt5Y1Gj8/s320/science+set+free.jpg" width="211" /></a>Einstein spent his career searching for a unified theory of
physics that would draw all of these contradictions into a sensible picture. He
failed. But his openness of mind and his ambition helped set physics on the
right path. Physicists have spent decades and billions of dollars attempting to
comprehend the dark center of this mystery. And out of this drive comes some
remarkable stuff: superstring theory, M-theory, causal sets, and the quest to
understand dark matter and dark energy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It seems that the most public, energetic places in biology today are
those places where Dawkins is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/science/20dawkins.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0">accusing his fellow scientists</a> of being traitors and "compliant quislings" for agreeing to talk to religious folk. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So off I go in quest of a little more spooky. First stop: <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Science-Set-Free-Paths-Discovery/dp/0770436722">Science Set Free</a></i> by Rupert Sheldrake - another radical biologist who, in speaking about his book, was banned from TEDx when their <a href="http://blog.ted.com/2013/03/14/open-for-discussion-graham-hancock-and-rupert-sheldrake/">"Science Board" deleted his talk from their site</a>. Interestingly, Sheldrake seems also to have done some intellectual heavy lifting with a physicist, David Bohm. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This quote from Sheldrake's first book, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/New-Science-Life-Hypothesis-Resonance/dp/0892815353/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381199507&sr=1-1&keywords=new+science+of+life">A New Science of Life</a></i>, encapsulates the kind of Spooky I think more biologists should be exploring:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>69</o:Words>
<o:Characters>397</o:Characters>
<o:Lines>3</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>487</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>11.1539</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Most biologists take it for granted that living organisms
are nothing but complex machines, governed only by the known laws of physics
and chemistry. I myself used to share this point of view. But over a period of
several years I came to see that such an assumption is difficult to justify.
For when so little is actually understood, there is an open possibility that at
least some of the phenomena of life depend on laws or factors as yet unrecognized
by the physical sciences.”</div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>69</o:Words>
<o:Characters>395</o:Characters>
<o:Lines>3</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>485</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>11.1539</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment--><!--EndFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<!--EndFragment-->Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-24846637799134739272013-10-06T16:47:00.000-04:002013-10-06T16:47:22.866-04:00Song for Chance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gsjk73qrJ9I/UlG_8MhxScI/AAAAAAAAARU/RQhz-fiHwro/s1600/song+for+chance3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gsjk73qrJ9I/UlG_8MhxScI/AAAAAAAAARU/RQhz-fiHwro/s320/song+for+chance3.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
As I mentioned in <a href="http://zoeferraris.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-silver-tattoo-interview-with-laura.html">an earlier post</a>, I am celebrating a bunch of writer friends who are publishing debut novels this year.<br />
<br />
The second of these is the remarkable <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Song-Chance-John-Van-Kirk/dp/1597092673/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381088992&sr=8-1&keywords=song+for+chance">Song for Chance</a> by <a href="http://www.johnvankirk.net/">John Van Kirk</a>, which garnered a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/books/review/the-measures-between-us-by-ethan-hauser-and-more.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0">New York Times review</a> this week. It's the gritty tale of rock legend, Jack Voss, who shot to fame in the 70s for his rock opera, <i>The</i> <i>Enchanted Pond</i>. Inspired by a doomed love triangle, the rock opera ended with a triple suicide -- and even inspired fans to mimic the violence.<br />
<br />
Decades later, Voss's mellow life is shattered by the news of his daughter's death, which appears to be another <i>Enchanted Pond</i> suicide<i>. </i>How does an aging, self-absorbed rock star face the effects of his own tragic mistakes? With music, naturally (including liner notes, bonus tracks and a discography.) With incredible skill, Van Kirk brings you right into the center of the sex, drugs and rock-n-roll culture, but Voss's story is the most melodic bit of all: unsentimental, thought-provoking and raw. <br />
<br />
Van Kirk, an O. Henry Award and <i>Iowa Review </i>fiction<i> </i>prize winner, answers some questions about music, writing and being a navy man:<br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>750</o:Words>
<o:Characters>4278</o:Characters>
<o:Lines>35</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>8</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>5253</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>11.1539</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>First of all, can you describe the moment of conception
for this book? When did it first appear in your mind (or your ear)? And how? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oPpjxratRKI/UlHJPg2KJhI/AAAAAAAAAR0/LccOb_hsLq8/s1600/sheet+music.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oPpjxratRKI/UlHJPg2KJhI/AAAAAAAAAR0/LccOb_hsLq8/s1600/sheet+music.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Years ago I wrote a short short story about a pianist who is
suddenly inspired with a new piece of music—the problem is that he is actually
in the middle of a public performance of a concerto for piano and orchestra at
the time of his inspiration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does
he keep performing and let the inspiration go, knowing that in all likelihood it
won’t come back?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or does he risk
professional disaster and abandon the sheet music before him, ruining the
concert, baffling the other musicians and the conductor?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That character is the forerunner of
Jack Voss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(The story, called “Concert(o),”
was published in 2011 by The Sonora Review and is <a href="http://sonorareview.com/2011/08/04/john-van-kirk/">available on their website</a>.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The second thing happened several years later when I was
dipping into Ovid and challenged myself to come up with a myth of my own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was thinking about love charms, and
how they always go wrong—there’s a great John Collier story about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway I came up with a magical pond which
would confer unending love on partners who bathed in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I asked myself how that could go
wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was the seed of Jack
Voss’s rock opera “The Enchanted Pond.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The rest was writing the novel to see how things turned out.<br />
<br />
<b>"Song For Chance" contains song titles and lyrics and even liner
notes, and the book's attention to past and present music scenes creates such a
vivid and authentic world. What real-life characters inspired the story and the
creation of Jack Voss? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xkNNK4sUa0c/UlHItdbKi9I/AAAAAAAAARk/2KqDwqIlBkI/s1600/lennon-mccartney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xkNNK4sUa0c/UlHItdbKi9I/AAAAAAAAARk/2KqDwqIlBkI/s320/lennon-mccartney.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I always wondered why people who could make beautiful music
together so frequently ended up in acrimonious feuds, mutual denunciations,
ugly partings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think of Lennon and
McCartney, Roger Waters and David Gilmore, Levon Helm and Robbie
Robertson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not that any of my
characters were based on those specific people, but the novel is my way of
exploring that dynamic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for the
music itself, it’s the soundtrack of my generation.<br />
<br />
<b>Jack Voss is a rock god, and yet beneath all the sex, drugs and rock and
roll, his story is about redemption and loss. I'm curious about how writers
create their novels: did anything in particular draw you to these themes, or
did you choose your setting and characters first, and let the themes
emerge....?</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m an ex-Catholic, educated by nuns and priests through the
12th grade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That early training in
the cycle of sin, atonement, and redemption sticks with you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for loss, isn’t that the theme of
all writing in some way?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Robert
Haas puts it in his poem “Meditation at Lagunitas”: “All the new thinking is
about loss. In this it resembles all the old thinking.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br />
What music did you listen to while you were writing the book? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HDqhwJ6AdVs/UlHJraMUa9I/AAAAAAAAAR8/jG3ehT6m43s/s1600/thelonious+monk+epi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HDqhwJ6AdVs/UlHJraMUa9I/AAAAAAAAAR8/jG3ehT6m43s/s320/thelonious+monk+epi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t usually listen to music while I’m writing—it
interferes with the music of the prose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That said, I listened to a lot of music when I wasn’t actually writing,
especially pop music from the 70s and 80s, some for enjoyment, some to make
sure I remembered it accurately.<br />
<br />
<b>Could you give us a playlist - something you think we should listen to while
reading "Song for Chance"?</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The book is full of titles, as you know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d probably start with something from
Thelonious Monk—“Epistrophy” would be a good choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jack hears Monk on the second page of the novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next would be Bruce Springsteen’s “Drive
All Night,” which Jack is trying to record in the second scene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After those two, I’d turn off the
stereo and just read. <br />
<br />
<b>Do you compose or play music yourself?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’d call myself an amateur musician.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which is more than I could say when I
started the novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that time, I
was just a listener.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I had to
become at least a bit of a musician to write the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I took piano and guitar lessons, and I
started playing the harmonica again, which I had played a little in high school
and college but hadn’t touched for more than 20 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still take a guitar lesson once a
week, and the poet Art Stringer and I have worked up a few tunes together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I call it “home-made music,” and it’s a
little rough around the edges, but we have a lot of fun.<br />
<br />
<b>You teach writing, and yet you started a career in the navy - how did you
come to writing from that? Did the navy give you any good writing tools? </b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLeD7-Psk38/UlHI2kK17eI/AAAAAAAAARs/mkSZojT8654/s1600/jvk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLeD7-Psk38/UlHI2kK17eI/AAAAAAAAARs/mkSZojT8654/s320/jvk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was writing before I joined the navy, while I was in the
navy, and after I left the navy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In a sense the navy period of my life was the detour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I imagined a career for myself as a
writer/professor about halfway through college.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spent a year and a half as a graduate student at
Washington University in St. Louis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One of my teachers was William Gass, and when I could I sat in on
classes taught by Stanley Elkin and Howard Nemerov.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It looked like a good life, teaching and writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I didn’t yet have the maturity to
teach, the experience to write, or the discipline to get through the graduate
program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The navy helped me in all
those areas.<br />
<br />A huge congratulations to John! For more on the <a href="http://www.johnvankirk.net/">author</a> or his writing, check him out on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17738637-song-for-chance">Goodreads</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/John-Van-Kirk/e/B00CRKYUFM/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">Amazon</a>. </div>
Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-32938544462536562342013-06-04T20:58:00.000-04:002013-06-04T21:28:43.577-04:00The Silver Tattoo: an Interview with Laura Bentley<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bv6_TIIQC5M/UawFsNAcPvI/AAAAAAAAAPo/3LKkNu4Wll0/s1600/silver+tattoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bv6_TIIQC5M/UawFsNAcPvI/AAAAAAAAAPo/3LKkNu4Wll0/s320/silver+tattoo.jpg" width="212" /></a>Between 2000 and 2004, I belonged to a writer's group, the Rogues, that had a dramatically positive influence on my writing. So it delights me to announce that this year, three of the writers from this group have books coming out. I am so proud of my fellow writers, knowing the work that has gone into their novels and the struggles everyone has faced to get their work published. Congratulations all!!<br />
<br />
The first of these novels, Laura Bentley's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Tattoo-Laura-Treacy-Bentley/dp/1482545276/ref=la_B002OVKNU0_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370229945&sr=1-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The Silver Tattoo</a>, has just been released. It's a literary thriller. Dark and brooding, its poetry forms vast, gorgeous and harrowing themes. It tells the story of Leah Howland, who is visiting Ireland to escape being caregiver to a comatose husband. She's been doing the martyred wife thing for too long, and she wants to start fresh. But the fog-bound, homey comforts of Dublin soon turn nasty when a stalker starts leaving his calling cards, and Leah finds she can't separate her own guilt and fears from the increasingly dangerous reality around her. With a magic realist edge, psychological suspense, and a true poet's eye for detail, this book delivers its frightening world <i>in toto</i>.<br />
<br />
This is Laura's first novel. She is also a poet with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Laura-Treacy-Bentley/e/B002OVKNU0/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">an impressive list of accomplishments</a>, including some serious <a href="http://www.oprah.com/spirit/O-Magazine-Readers-Original-Poems">recognition from Oprah</a>, and a published book of poetry, <b style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lake-Effect-Laura-Treacy-Bentley/dp/1933964057">Lake Effect</a>.</b> She's accomplished enough for Ray Bradbury to exclaim: "Laura Bentley, I dub thee poet supreme."<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
I think that poetry and thrillers are secretly kissing cousins, and this is deeply true about Laura's work. For this post, I asked her to answer some questions about the book, the writing, and what it was like making the leap from poetry to novels. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jf7z-9I0Kwc/UazVETEpVbI/AAAAAAAAAP4/9F1SRUKdTSI/s1600/grafton+street+ireland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jf7z-9I0Kwc/UazVETEpVbI/AAAAAAAAAP4/9F1SRUKdTSI/s400/grafton+street+ireland.jpg" width="285" /></a></div>
<b>Tell us about the inspirations for this book. Was it a single moment of experience or a build-up of ideas? </b><br />
<br />
A poem or a story often begins with a particular image for me. In the case of <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Tattoo-Laura-Treacy-Bentley/dp/1482545276/ref=la_B002OVKNU0_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370229945&sr=1-1">The Silver Tattoo</a></b>, I had taken a magical photo of a busker on Grafton Street in Dublin, Ireland, back in 2000, and it lingered in my mind, kept pulling me back to that enchantment. It eventually became the genesis for the opening chapter. The scene had some foreboding to it, so I started thinking in terms of a mystery or thriller and discovered what the “rules” were for those genres.<br />
<br />
I always take many photos when I go to Ireland and keep detailed journals, so I was doing research without really realizing that one day I would create a novel. Another image that was powerful and breathtaking was The Cliffs of Moher. I was writer in residence for a month on the West Coast and stayed near The Cliffs, often walking there every day. The majestic cliffs, the surging ocean below, and the stunning beauty and intensity of this Eighth Wonder of the World got into my blood. So some key scenes from my novel take place at The Cliffs.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mWjmpwJNnfU/UazVehlO6sI/AAAAAAAAAQA/hLgK42n0CNk/s1600/CliffsOfMoher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mWjmpwJNnfU/UazVehlO6sI/AAAAAAAAAQA/hLgK42n0CNk/s400/CliffsOfMoher.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b>This is a dark literary thriller, and I can see how the thriller genre might appeal to a poet. There are a lot of short, focused scenes. Plot-wise, you could almost write a thriller as a series of poems. But I'd like to know why you were drawn to this genre? </b><br />
<br />
It’s back to the idea of image again, and I think a literary thriller suits me. It values character-driven stories and plot-driven ones---a literary page-turner. Since poetry is literary and I’m a poet by nature, this genre combines my love of vivid scenes and compelling plots. I want to enter the landscape of a book, mine or others, and feel like I’m there. I also like to include “short focused scenes” in my work to change the pace or slow down a scene into a tableau of image before moving back into the stream of action.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dQXrwsM1qSM/UazV1oYCd3I/AAAAAAAAAQI/NsPXC8cN2KU/s1600/spooky+ireland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dQXrwsM1qSM/UazV1oYCd3I/AAAAAAAAAQI/NsPXC8cN2KU/s320/spooky+ireland.jpg" width="320" /></a>I’ve recently come to the realization that many of my favorite books are written by triple-threat authors. That is, they write poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Margaret Atwood, Truman Capote, Jill Bialosky, William Golding, Stephen Dobyns, and Sylvia Plath, among many others, are all remarkable triple threats. And, of course, Ray Bradbury was a quadruple threat: poetry, short stories, novels, plays, and more!<br />
<br />
<b>Do you approach your writing in the same way as your poetry? (i.e. Do you follow the same writing habits?) And what are those habits? </b><br />
<br />
My poetry is often created from a journal entry where I have rapidly sketched a moment or a feeling. I can spend days, weeks, months, or years on one poem and the same holds true for fiction. My writing habits are different when I write fiction, though, because it becomes much more expansive.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wvlEYVSfU2s/Ua6LS2FVUJI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/bclCStHV6no/s1600/ireland+-+laura.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wvlEYVSfU2s/Ua6LS2FVUJI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/bclCStHV6no/s320/ireland+-+laura.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
I discovered that I could write the draft of a novel in a month last November during NanoWrimo (thanks, Chris Baty!). It’s a mess right now and waiting to be revised, but the story came pouring out of me. It was gratifying and scary to set that challenge for myself.<br />
<br />
<b>How long did it take you to finish <i>The Silver Tattoo</i>?</b><br />
<br />
I had a very rough draft after a year or so in 2003 or 2004, and then I was lucky to have some early interest from agents. I’d revised for one and then another. Each time the story got stronger, and I was hungry for feedback and acted on the insightful comments and critique. It was a long rugged journey of hope, despair, joy, and depression. I’d stay up late at night sometimes for weeks revising and polishing. Finally in 2008 I had two agents interested in representing my novel, and I decided to sign with Foundry Literary & Media. I revised once more for a little over a year before it went out on submission. My wonderful former agent Kendra Jenkins worked intensely with me and championed my novel.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y9FCFrHAHEM/UazYCoZsMwI/AAAAAAAAAQU/u2Ex2mtIiRk/s1600/laura+and+ray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y9FCFrHAHEM/UazYCoZsMwI/AAAAAAAAAQU/u2Ex2mtIiRk/s320/laura+and+ray.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Can you describe your relationship with <a href="http://www.raybradbury.com/">Ray Bradbury</a>, who has been such an amazing supporter and mentor?</b><br />
<br />
My friendship with Ray began in 1993 when I sent him a heartfelt fan letter, and he wrote back. That began our long correspondence, sharing books we liked, poems, cartoons, good times and bad. The first time I sent him one of my poems, he wrote "Send it somewhere (The New Yorker? The American Scholar?) to be printed!" His enthusiasm was contagious. He used exclamation marks more than me, and I loved that about him. His letters were always signed with an exclamation mark: "Love! Ray," and I've kept all of our correspondence, emails, and Christmas poems that he wrote each year and shared with his friends.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SFvYtoI5G5Y/Ua6KWqMbZWI/AAAAAAAAAQk/Znv9oNd6pJ0/s1600/laura+author+shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SFvYtoI5G5Y/Ua6KWqMbZWI/AAAAAAAAAQk/Znv9oNd6pJ0/s320/laura+author+shot.jpg" width="163" /></a>He introduced me to Eureka Literary Magazine and its editor, Loren Logsdon, who published a number of my poems. And, to Redbud Magazine, which published my longest poem on record which is a wild tribute to Ray. It’s called “Rendezvous with Ray Bradbury.” I got the idea after reading Margaret Atwood’s great tribute poem to Raymond Chandler.<br />
<br />
In 2003, we did a wondrous poetry reading in Beyond Baroque in Venice, California. He suggested that the four readers, including Ray and I, read their poetry Round Robin.
Ray Bradbury’s support and encouragement affected every aspect of my life as a writer. He was a mentor. An inspiration. A life force. He made me feel that what I wrote was important. His zest for life was contagious, and he always let me know that he believed in me. I couldn’t have asked for more.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Thank you, Laura! For more information on the <a href="http://www.lauratreacybentley.com/">author</a> and her <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Laura-Treacy-Bentley/e/B002OVKNU0">books</a>, check her out on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/64324.Laura_Treacy_Bentley">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laura-Treacy-Bentley-Author-Page/346251688825114?sk=info">Facebook</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/LauraTBentley">Twitter</a>.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>221</o:Words>
<o:Characters>1261</o:Characters>
<o:Lines>10</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>2</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>1548</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>11.1539</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:UseMarginsForDrawingGridOrigin/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
</b>
<!--EndFragment--></span><br />
<!--EndFragment-->Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-59104929031841632152012-05-14T12:34:00.000-04:002012-05-14T12:34:01.662-04:00Mamma Mia!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Cz1V3xOWgnk/T7Ezy-uDC3I/AAAAAAAAANk/TuO94Z5_VlY/s1600/puzo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Cz1V3xOWgnk/T7Ezy-uDC3I/AAAAAAAAANk/TuO94Z5_VlY/s200/puzo.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
This morning <a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/05/14/150733894/mamma-mia-a-mother-tougher-than-the-godfather">I recommended a book on NPR</a> -- "The Fortunate Pilgrim" by Mario Puzo. If you've ever wondered why there are no good women in "The Godfather", it might surprise you to discover who inspired Don Corleone.<br />
<br />
I love this book. It sits up there with "The Leopard" as all-time favorite novels that evoke Italian history and culture -- in this case, a hard-bitten look at the Italian ghetto in Hell's Kitchen in the 30s. In fact, it sets the stage for "The Godfather" and somehow surpasses it with passion and brutality. Maybe because it feels more real.<br />
<br />
If you have a favorite literary matriarch, go to the comments section of the NPR piece and let me know who it is. We'll get our matriarchs together and see who rules.Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-66128132474824557032011-12-11T01:45:00.001-05:002012-05-14T12:35:29.727-04:00Just When You Thought You Were Prolific<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A recent conversation I had with myself on Twitter got me thinking about those ultra-prolific writers. Well, two in particular: <a href="http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Author.aspx?id=4929">Patrick O’Brian</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_B._Gibson_bibliography">Walter Gibson</a>. You know, guys who write like ONE BILLION words and one HUNDRED novels in over SEVENTY years of churning it out – mostly with good old fashioned pen and paper. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zupMgwZdMMk/TuRT50xIdrI/AAAAAAAAANE/2J6H9YGb68U/s1600/patrick_obrian_1551747c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zupMgwZdMMk/TuRT50xIdrI/AAAAAAAAANE/2J6H9YGb68U/s320/patrick_obrian_1551747c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jK_Ah6Qqg9k/TuRT4eVCtUI/AAAAAAAAAM8/I_42XhL_LqY/s1600/Walter_Gibson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jK_Ah6Qqg9k/TuRT4eVCtUI/AAAAAAAAAM8/I_42XhL_LqY/s320/Walter_Gibson.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">actually, Gibson used a typewriter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the same time, I stumbled – literally – across <a href="http://writerunboxed.com/2011/02/25/you-really-hate-your-writing-that%E2%80%99s-a-good-sign/">this article</a>. (It was on my laptop, which was on the floor. My TOE found this
article.) It’s called “You Hate Your Writing? That’s a Good Sign!” In it, Jane Friedman argues that “you have to produce a lot of crap…before
you can produce anything good.” Therefore, if you hate your writing, you’re “probably”
on your way to good.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Risky concept. Because you could so easily be on your way to
more crap.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DNqRLLs2upM/TuRVdLKf11I/AAAAAAAAANU/LZWbBibn5LE/s1600/shadow49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DNqRLLs2upM/TuRVdLKf11I/AAAAAAAAANU/LZWbBibn5LE/s320/shadow49.jpg" width="223" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Part of me thinks: Why yes, it’s true. You have to write a
lot of crap. But strangely every molecule in my body is gearing up for a
revolt. Because then you have guys like O’Brian and Gibson who didn’t agonize for years about their "crap". They just dove right in. Shit, O’Brian got his first positive reviews for a book
he published at AGE 12. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
SO I can’t help thinking that these guys just <i>figured out
something essential</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, what other people take
years and years to get. What was it? How to tell a decent story? How to make
mistakes while you’re being watched?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not to say they didn’t get better over time. I would
hope to hell they did, after 70 years, look back and say, yeah, I evolved. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But I think, too, that they found something good and stuck
with it, squeezing every last damn little thing out of it. And the things they
“found” were things they loved. Gibson was obsessed with the paranormal, and a
good half of his hundred books were about that. His big fictional contribution,
<a href="http://www.shadowsanctum.com/index.html">the Shadow</a>, was deeply influenced by the occult. O’Brian loved the natural
world so much that limiting his characters to a single country was always going
to be tricky. They would travel the globe! On ships! For twenty books!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TS2EOu5XeKo/TuRVzejEw4I/AAAAAAAAANc/NrALAjVI5Dw/s1600/patrick+obrian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TS2EOu5XeKo/TuRVzejEw4I/AAAAAAAAANc/NrALAjVI5Dw/s400/patrick+obrian.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hating your work sounds like a coy tool: a
self-policing mechanism to make you strive to be better all the time. To keep
you from getting arrogant and thus lame as hell. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But then you have these writers who seem to be dwarfed by their
passion for something. They don’t hate their work. It’s not about their work.
It’s about their sprawling, obsessive love for something that carries them
way beyond self-conscious agony. It reminds me of Virginia Woolf
saying of Jane Austen that her “mind had consumed all impediments.” And “for
that reason we do not know Jane Austen” - but we know the world she loved. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think that means that Austen didn’t mope around hating her
work, she fell in love with it, and kind of lost herself in it. Not in the bad, domestic-violence way but in the I’m-not-the-center-of-the-universe kind of
way. Something else is happening here, not me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Funny that this came out of a Twitter conversation I
had with myself, ye olde ultimate example of self-absorption. But there it is.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-62705582966196123072011-07-14T20:33:00.002-04:002011-07-14T20:34:00.786-04:00Frankly my dear, you don't give a damn.People are always asking me what my favorite books are, and for some reason I feel like answering that today.<br />
<br />
With certain exceptions, I dislike books where the author has ever posed with a cat.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8MEe6e_HCKE/Th-CAwXddKI/AAAAAAAAAL4/JY27pXa-O0c/s1600/capote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8MEe6e_HCKE/Th-CAwXddKI/AAAAAAAAAL4/JY27pXa-O0c/s320/capote.jpg" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He who resembles Hannibal Lecter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZMsvXOi-kaM/Th-CBPvuAmI/AAAAAAAAAL8/zou7OV_ex9I/s1600/Doris-lessing-cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZMsvXOi-kaM/Th-CBPvuAmI/AAAAAAAAAL8/zou7OV_ex9I/s1600/Doris-lessing-cat.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lessing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cYmfGB3J2Lk/Th-CBb0u-FI/AAAAAAAAAMA/EMxgWuSKBAo/s1600/hemingway-cats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cYmfGB3J2Lk/Th-CBb0u-FI/AAAAAAAAAMA/EMxgWuSKBAo/s1600/hemingway-cats.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ye Olde Windbag</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vQdVzR9bA9g/Th-CBk7zkuI/AAAAAAAAAME/I1YNmyWIyGY/s1600/huntersthompson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vQdVzR9bA9g/Th-CBk7zkuI/AAAAAAAAAME/I1YNmyWIyGY/s320/huntersthompson.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thompson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CcK3UAQvS8o/Th-CB6se3PI/AAAAAAAAAMI/yGanw3DRwVc/s1600/juliocortazar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CcK3UAQvS8o/Th-CB6se3PI/AAAAAAAAAMI/yGanw3DRwVc/s320/juliocortazar.jpg" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cortazar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XkrNQ6rF_ig/Th-CBwuwI3I/AAAAAAAAAMM/noRgRRSlpPE/s1600/kerouac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XkrNQ6rF_ig/Th-CBwuwI3I/AAAAAAAAAMM/noRgRRSlpPE/s1600/kerouac.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kerou-whack</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hNJ4X-7UhP0/Th-CCUiaz8I/AAAAAAAAAMU/cTpKUub_sQs/s1600/twain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hNJ4X-7UhP0/Th-CCUiaz8I/AAAAAAAAAMU/cTpKUub_sQs/s320/twain.jpg" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Twain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aOCOXkBfXFU/Th-CAgO7RAI/AAAAAAAAAL0/68pBrNmPMpU/s1600/burroughs%253F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aOCOXkBfXFU/Th-CAgO7RAI/AAAAAAAAAL0/68pBrNmPMpU/s320/burroughs%253F.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burroughs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Anyway, I don’t usually ask about favorite books unless I’m curious about the individual.<span style="font-style: normal;"> Or if someone recommends a book that I fall in love with, then I’ll ask them for recommendations later, but mostly to see if, by some miracle, our tastes match up on more than one title. Tastes are so subjective, it’s crazy to think that someone could like all the same favorite books as me – or even all the same books.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
And yet…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
Some books just appeal to a high percentage of everyone, even if a lot of them won’t admit it. (“Yes, I read the Da Vinci Code. SUCH bad writing. How on earth did he get published? I mean, the clichés! I almost couldn’t get through it. But it was interesting!”)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tEOiVzETdeA/Th-IkErV8JI/AAAAAAAAAMs/Q9w0Fc62dP0/s1600/dance+with+dragons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tEOiVzETdeA/Th-IkErV8JI/AAAAAAAAAMs/Q9w0Fc62dP0/s1600/dance+with+dragons.jpg" /></a></div>
Anyway, I’ve also had <i>this</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> discussion a lot lately – what makes a bestseller? I don’t mean paperbacks where the girl gets the dream guy and the CIA nabs another terrorist and two weeks later you can’t remember a single character. I mean books that get HUGE and turn into cultural icons, like Twilight and Harry Potter and The Da Vinci Code and George RR Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire – or going further back: Clan of the Cave Bear and Lord of the Rings and the Wizard of Oz. B</span><span style="font-style: normal;">ooks that not only sell millions of copies but which also inspire a kind of dogged, even <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/04/11/110411fa_fact_miller">twisted loyalty</a>. People read these books because they’re in vogue, but then they fall in love with them and talk about them for years. It seems like everybody and their mother loves them, has read them, is talking about them....you start to feel that they'll never go away. You know what I'm talking about. What makes that kind of book?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
Some random answers from various conversations: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
1 - Most of those books are fantasy. They involve the creation of other worlds that readers enjoy inhabiting – worlds you wish were real and that you could be a part of. So it takes a fantasy novel to make people fall in love, kind of like it takes airbrushing to make a Victoria’s Secret model…. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
2 - Corollary to the above: there’s <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-secrets-of-storytelling">something hardwired in the human brain</a> that makes people appreciate fantasy. Witness the fact that every culture’s main artifacts are their myths, and we still listen to – and tell - and in some cases believe those stories today.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6P30mlize9E/Th-F0kOtSiI/AAAAAAAAAMg/26jYa-RTYbQ/s1600/ents.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6P30mlize9E/Th-F0kOtSiI/AAAAAAAAAMg/26jYa-RTYbQ/s200/ents.jpg" width="166" /></a></div>
3 – Another corollary: Someone claimed that this was Tolkien’s answer, but whatever: that there’s something about the modern world that is essentially offensive to people’s souls. We live in the realm of the Lorax <span style="font-style: normal;">and we want grass and trees, so we look to novels or films to provide us with gratifying dramas set in magical landscapes with stories that involve the destruction of worlds and the desperate struggle to preserve those worlds. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
4 – Each of these novels did something unique and fresh. (My personal argument here is that each of these novels did MANY things unique and fresh, as well as many things OLD AS HELL, but they did them with alchemical intelligence. And I'm not sure how much of that was even conscious. If you're following me this far, you'll understand when I say I want to write a book called "Breaking Dawn: or When the Author Accidentally Shows that They Had No Idea What They Were Actually Doing." And one for screenwriters called: "Lost.")</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
5 – Each of these writers was slightly mad and had a gripping, all-consuming passion for their art. And everybody knows that tortured artists are better. (When they're dead.) Which I think is not even remotely true.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R-bExwCUNPw/Th-H3NMWQ6I/AAAAAAAAAMk/_C1HSN7hvAE/s1600/da+vinci+code.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="145" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R-bExwCUNPw/Th-H3NMWQ6I/AAAAAAAAAMk/_C1HSN7hvAE/s200/da+vinci+code.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">there has to be a key!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
6 - Number one answer I hear from anyone in the publishing business: this kind of book is never made, there is just a magic conflux of events that blessed their literary souls: proper timing, cultural readiness, and good storytelling. And if anyone could please figure out the recipe for that magic conflux, please notify my publisher. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
7 – Sheer dumb luck</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
8 – Voodoo<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
9 – A conspiracy of dumb readers, peasants with disposable income who could never be expected to appreciate the true genius of David Foster Wallace, David Mitchell or ye, any author named David (apologies to Sedaris). You know, those authors who say “screw you!” to basic ideas of, I don’t know, plot and character. If more readers appreciated this kind of butt-crack-of-the-bell-curve fiction then there wouldn’t be enough space left for books like Twilight to infect the planet. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
(I think, as punishment for their vanity, all the Butt-Cracks who make this argument should be forced to sign their favorite authors’ books at Walmart in hell for however long it took each dissatisfied reader to grapple their way through the tedious fiction.) </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
10 – I’m sure I left something out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BL7MXNrTLPk/Th-JlHcPYMI/AAAAAAAAAMw/NqOv_eOS2rw/s1600/lee_child_covers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BL7MXNrTLPk/Th-JlHcPYMI/AAAAAAAAAMw/NqOv_eOS2rw/s320/lee_child_covers.jpg" width="251" /></a></div>
I think the whole idea of a mystery series is that it's the long road to this phenomenon. For example: Lee Child, Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovitch. It’s like, if you write enough pages about this guy, or that girl, or this small town, then eventually you will have a full-scale fantasy novel on your hands – an utterly complete world that someone can slip into and stay in for years and know every nook and cranny of. One Lee Child book is fun, twenty is...hell, by then you’ve developed a frickin relationship with Reacher. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
You know how there are 5 or 6 flavor receptors on the tongue? Well, I feel like there 5 or 6 taste receptors in the storytelling brain, and apparently fantasy is a big one. Sometimes you taste the finest thing in the world, but if you have too much of it.... You people who are into zombie romance right now, you're like the Big Gulp gang of the literary world. You need to stop. </div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gn8MDfRp414/Th-FnmmSQlI/AAAAAAAAAMc/jDif32xuk90/s1600/HermioneHandUp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gn8MDfRp414/Th-FnmmSQlI/AAAAAAAAAMc/jDif32xuk90/s200/HermioneHandUp.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
Let’s say some of the above ten commandments are true. Then I want to know: What is it about people that makes them like fantasy so much? What is it about fantasy that appeals to people so much? What about all the great fantasy novels that DON'T get big? What are they failing to do, if anything? What sins have they committed? What vanities? What ignorance? Can someone answer that?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
Good lord, this is long. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
And where is sci-fi in all of this? Why, the movies and TV. Star Wars, Star Trek, Avatar, the Matrix. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
Anyway, I’ve been sneaky. I’ve just told some favorite books and movies, except my favoritest of all, the answer of which is embedded in here in the most un-subtle way, if you care to notice. (How much do you really want it??? Ahh see, you don’t. More proof of the Zen mantra that I just invented: asking questions is a cheap man’s way of finding answers. Next time someone asks me what my favorite book is, I’m going to say paper.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DhbzBGcXxfY/ThPyHB7MPdI/AAAAAAAAALY/vJo5FWfkW6M/s1600/margaret+mitchell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DhbzBGcXxfY/ThPyHB7MPdI/AAAAAAAAALY/vJo5FWfkW6M/s1600/margaret+mitchell.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">i said there were exceptions</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-11398042179952142562011-07-14T19:55:00.000-04:002011-07-14T19:55:11.686-04:00It's Always About That<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K57DH9KkD9E/Th9_ufyqdtI/AAAAAAAAALg/AUxZ5uWYMUI/s1600/frickin+commando%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K57DH9KkD9E/Th9_ufyqdtI/AAAAAAAAALg/AUxZ5uWYMUI/s320/frickin+commando%2521.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I've had the craziest deadline for my next novel, <i>Kingdom of Strangers</i>. I mean CRAZY. And actually, I love it. Aside from doubling my caffeine intake and Twitter usage, and halving my sleep, it has prompted me to marvel at just how much quality writing can be accomplished when you put your mind to it. I'm a frickin commando! Already I am fantasizing about writing six more novels this year. And then of course I wake up.<br />
<br />
Fittingly, I stumbled on this <a href="http://epicblackcar.wordpress.com/2011/01/15/why-are-all-writers-lazy-bums/">post</a> by epicblackcar which asks the question: why does writing take so damned long? Because even when you're churning out 4,000 words a day, it still Takes. So. Damned. Long.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XZJSSZC4CQ0/Th-BnxcoQjI/AAAAAAAAALs/SBAzUU3fifQ/s1600/thick-book2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XZJSSZC4CQ0/Th-BnxcoQjI/AAAAAAAAALs/SBAzUU3fifQ/s320/thick-book2.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
Here are the facts: If a novelist writes one novel a year, that comes to about 2,000 words a week. However, most novelists - I know I do - write about 2,000 words a day. So holy shit, people! Where did all those extra words go? That'd be roughly 400,000 words you wrote down the toilet. And that's just in one year. I've been writing for ten!<br />
<br />
Epicblackcar suggests, in his <a href="http://epicblackcar.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/part-two-of-why-are-all-writers-lazy-bums/">second post</a> on the topic, that our primary failing is structure. If we knew exactly what we were going to write, we would write it. But we're more like construction workers who gleefully build a set of stairs, and then realize it leads nowhere. (I encourage you to read his post. It's epic.) I agree that a lot of the slowness comes from the disability we all have to keep the contents of an entire novel in your head all at once. And the fact that you can certainly get carried away.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M9lkPx4EuMA/Th-BH_uu4zI/AAAAAAAAALo/0FiD9Jtob24/s1600/Romantic-Kiss4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M9lkPx4EuMA/Th-BH_uu4zI/AAAAAAAAALo/0FiD9Jtob24/s200/Romantic-Kiss4.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I also think it's more than that. There's some rhythm involved in how much you write and how quickly you create scenes, something deep and penetrating and psychological and mysterious, and you can surely change the rhythm, but you must respect that there is a rhythm and that it is biological. Writing is like any other bodily function. If you're not in the mood, then doing it can usually put you in the mood, but sometimes not. And don't be silly, you can't do it ALL the time. You'll get chapped. And of course if someone tries to critique your performance, they'd better be kind and loving and wise or you'll never really forgive them, even if they make you something to be proud of.<br />
<br />
Anyway, back to my 2,000 words.Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-771140618549416492011-05-27T16:52:00.000-04:002011-05-27T16:52:30.305-04:00The World According to Bakheet Al-AnziThe humor trail here is familiar: what starts out funny turns quite appalling. A condemnation of some of the hypocrisies of the religious police.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nvm8hezEeW0" width="480"></iframe>Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-34586368848382821282011-05-20T23:32:00.000-04:002011-05-20T23:32:10.997-04:00And then I'll shut upIt’s probably weird that the Arab world is going through a massive upheaval, Osama bin Laden is dead, and America has gone to war with Libya, and I haven't said anything. But honestly, I haven’t had much to say that hasn’t already been said in the millions of opinions floating around, so I’m listening – and trying to avoid reading about Bin Laden’s <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/13/osama-bin-laden-porn_n_861664.html">Porn Stash</a>.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Randomly, on the night of Sept 10, 2001, I was reading this book: </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o29VubWL9SU/Tc4YVbfEJCI/AAAAAAAAALE/E1MJ8MPIDTQ/s1600/bodansky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o29VubWL9SU/Tc4YVbfEJCI/AAAAAAAAALE/E1MJ8MPIDTQ/s320/bodansky.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Yes, I know, I know. I must have felt a great disturbance in the Force. Actually, it was published in 1999, 2 years before I picked it up, so I already felt I was coming late to the game when I opened it. From what I remember, Bodansky argues persuasively that OBL was a threat, and that Clinton-style responses to terrorism weren’t working, and it was only a matter of time before the big one struck. I fell asleep on the sofa with the radio alarm beside my head, and woke the next morning to voices – not the rock station I was used to hearing, but panic, a sense of emergency. I lay there and listened, and then jumped up in shock.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It's not hard to remember how this was a horrifically new kind of malice. We’d seen hijackers before so we knew about terrorism, and we had Pearl Harbor, but this was kamikaze terror on a whole new level, and it had happened in New York City. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It also introduced the idea that someone hated Americans enough to kill them indiscriminately. Or rather, that someone hated American ideology/government/foreign policy enough to start taking their rage out on ordinary people. (Back in the early days, nobody knew which.) </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UcZyTAA0_fk/Tc4o6QHnbmI/AAAAAAAAALU/iWBTto93f-U/s1600/bunny-with-carrot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UcZyTAA0_fk/Tc4o6QHnbmI/AAAAAAAAALU/iWBTto93f-U/s320/bunny-with-carrot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sorry, it was time for a bunny. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Anyway, we were gobsmacked. Because normally, we’re that country that has to turn people away from our teeming shores because we know we’re awesome and everyone wants to live here. But we’re also that country whose citizens routinely travel abroad and claim they’re Canadian. Because everybody hates Americans and we know that, too. We just didn’t know they hated us THAT much. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past decade, it’s that there isn’t much out there – not much that we have done – that has healed the pain from that event. War in Iraq? Afghanistan? Drone attacks on al-Qaeda? Sorry, still feeling shitty. Some of that war has been necessary in regards to al-Qaeda, but no war, no matter how necessary, is going to heal pain. It’s just going to (hopefully) get rid of the potential for more future pain – while attempting not to create too much of its own. A contradiction kept in uneasy balance. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6PhzsmcJJmQ/Tc4ZBJ4HCYI/AAAAAAAAALI/MCnlRihxphQ/s1600/abu-ghraib-tm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6PhzsmcJJmQ/Tc4ZBJ4HCYI/AAAAAAAAALI/MCnlRihxphQ/s320/abu-ghraib-tm.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Or not</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">So the pain is still there. I don’t<span style="font-style: normal;"> think about September 11 much, but when it does come up, it still has the power to make me cry. For example, just this week in the Economist:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8T-6LMvDtvY/Tc4ZdK0HaRI/AAAAAAAAALM/bZuZAyLfm24/s1600/twin+towers+2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8T-6LMvDtvY/Tc4ZdK0HaRI/AAAAAAAAALM/bZuZAyLfm24/s320/twin+towers+2011.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World Trade Center</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Idealist in me feels a missed opportunity now that Bin Laden is dead. I wanted to see him come around. Watch old age make him decide that porn was all right after all. An apology would have been nice, maybe a few regretful tears. Because you know that no matter how fervently you believe in something, there's always the potential to believe the opposite, and sometimes the more vehemently you believe..... (Sorry. Idealist.) </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Realist: quit cryin' about stupid shit and start worrying about <a href="http://zoeferraris.blogspot.com/2010/05/bull-sheikh.html">the next one.</a> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-10uDW3DbtnQ/Tc4ekhI0H5I/AAAAAAAAALQ/jO-tQfAFBws/s1600/Anwar-al-Awlaki_1555336c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-10uDW3DbtnQ/Tc4ekhI0H5I/AAAAAAAAALQ/jO-tQfAFBws/s320/Anwar-al-Awlaki_1555336c.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coming soon to an airplane near you</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">Of all the things that have happened in the past ten years, the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia have been the biggest slap in the face to al-Qaeda’s ideology of violent jihad. Although not bloodless, they were consciously non-violent. They’re a “screw that shit” to the fantasy of bringing back a religious caliphate. And every time someone demands a greater female presence in the fledgling Egyptian government, they are twisting the “take that, MF” knife in the chest of al-Qaeda and its fundamentalist corruptions of Islam. Yes, I just used violent imagery to explain non-violence. What can I say? Never lacking for tact.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Egypt, Tunisia, you are rocking the world. Every time you step forward, you’re not just healing your own countries, you’re helping heal some old pain over here, too. (Qaddafi, take a frickin lesson.) </div>Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-14458880402649489262011-05-20T23:28:00.010-04:002011-05-21T14:08:32.455-04:00Alaa Wardi - MaqoolSome beautiful music that also manages to be "instrumentless" (if you don't count using your whole body and then some computer mixing.) Not to mention the awesome-est use of a beard on all of YouTube.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/l0rCS8qpq20" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
And for another treat, check this out: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUaIswblpSA">a cover of Fi Hagat by Nancy Ajram</a>.Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-38545063544475497712011-05-14T01:49:00.000-04:002011-05-14T01:49:05.197-04:00Danish Crime FictionI think it's a little weird that Sweden and Norway are making such a splash in crime fiction and Denmark is the quiet sister. But Denmark has plenty of its own writing greats, and a few of them are soon to be published in English, so you Scandinavian crime lovers out there, put these on your to-read list!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3S3bbN3kKyc/Ta9_wUXr7yI/AAAAAAAAAKw/DgZPZu8JP1I/s1600/adler-olsen-51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3S3bbN3kKyc/Ta9_wUXr7yI/AAAAAAAAAKw/DgZPZu8JP1I/s200/adler-olsen-51.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="http://www.jussiadlerolsen.com/">Jussi Adler-Olsen</a>. Olsen writes a bestselling crime series - about inspector Carl Mørck in "Department Q" - that has been published to high acclaim in 25 countries. Earlier this year, six of his books <a href="http://bookblog.scandinavianbooks.com/what-the-danes-read-in-2011-bestsellers/">were on the bestseller lists in Denmark</a>. Only one book has been translated into English so far: <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mercy-Jussi-Adler-Olsen/dp/0141399961/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1/277-8309932-4036046">Mercy</a> (at Amazon UK), which will be published this year in America as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Keeper-Lost-Causes-Jussi-Adler-Olsen/dp/0525952489/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1303347330&sr=8-1">The Keeper of Lost Causes</a>.<br />
<br />
Olsen won the prestigious <a href="http://www.scandinavianbooks.com/crime-book/award-prize.html">Glass Key award</a> in 2010.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SYqLdcI2SaE/Ta-EBWAqhFI/AAAAAAAAAK0/XLt4U8vaKrE/s1600/sara-blaedel3-530x353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SYqLdcI2SaE/Ta-EBWAqhFI/AAAAAAAAAK0/XLt4U8vaKrE/s200/sara-blaedel3-530x353.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="http://www.sarablaedel.dk/">Sara Blædel</a>, aka the Danish Queen of Crime, is another hugely successful author with a crime series that's been published in numerous countries. Her six-book (and counting) <a href="http://blog.sarablaedel.dk/?page_id=11">series</a> is set in Copenhagen and features Chief Inspector Louise Rick. <br />
<br />
Her first American translation, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Call-Me-Princess-Sara-Blaedel/dp/1605982512/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1303347914&sr=8-2">Call Me Princess</a>, will be published by Pegasus Books this August.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ClWM1mkYxeM/Ta-IFcxlFeI/AAAAAAAAAK4/Uu5n6wxK6JU/s1600/elsebeth+egholm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ClWM1mkYxeM/Ta-IFcxlFeI/AAAAAAAAAK4/Uu5n6wxK6JU/s200/elsebeth+egholm.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><a href="http://www.elsebethegholm.dk/default.asp?lang=en">Elsebeth Egholm</a>. Author of the popular 'Dicte Svendsen' series. Her first book in English, <a href="http://www.borders.com.au/book/next-of-kin/24248156/">Next of Kin</a>, tackles some meaty issues: interracial relationships and the tensions between a largely homogenous society and its ethnic minorities. From the description:<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Fear and anxiety have spread to Denmark in the aftermath of the London bombings. Late one evening, journalist Dicte Svendsen receives an anonymous package containing footage of a brutal murder and beheading carried out by a sabre-wielding figure dressed in black.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
Frustratingly, Egholm's English-language translations are only available in Australia at the moment, but you can protest by emailing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_language_book_publishing_companies">any of the following publishers.</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z2Uqstg3kac/Ta-LV4GMkmI/AAAAAAAAAK8/wn1zvBArIwM/s1600/christian-jungersen_s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z2Uqstg3kac/Ta-LV4GMkmI/AAAAAAAAAK8/wn1zvBArIwM/s200/christian-jungersen_s.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.christianjungersen.com/">Christian Jungersen</a> has one thriller in English and it looks amazing: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Exception-Christian-Jungersen/dp/1400096650/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1303349967&sr=8-1">The Exception</a>. An "intense page-turner," according to Publisher's Weekly. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Iben, Malene and Camilla work in Copenhagen for the Danish Center for Information on Genocide. Even before Iben and Malene receive death threats with Nazi overtones, the three friends had been ostracizing the new librarian, Anne-Lise. Though evidence suggests Serbian war criminal Mirko Zigic has been sending the death threats, the paranoia and fear of the three friends converge to make Anne-Lise the target of rising suspicion. Victimizing is part of human nature, Anne-Lise's doctor tells her when she seeks advice, and the novel hauntingly pursues this idea to its deepest implications.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-63247662327983648812011-04-20T17:47:00.016-04:002011-04-20T19:27:13.208-04:00The Charms of DenmarkUntil two weeks ago, I could take all the things I knew about Denmark and fit them into my suitcase. That would be Hamlet, Ophelia, Gertrude, Claudius, fish and Muhammed cartoons.<br />
<br />
Then, thanks to my Danish publisher, Audioteket/Mrs. Robinson, I went to Denmark to support the release of FINDING NOUF - DEN SIDSTE SURA in Danish - and now I know a whole lot more about the place, including the fact that their annual crime writers' conference kicks butt. If we're comparing to similar events in America, I'm afraid we've got some catching up to do.<br />
<br />
First of all, it was held in a prison.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cJBiCsmEBG8/Ta9LTg5vtEI/AAAAAAAAAKY/1vxVeOeV3WA/s1600/IMG_0654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cJBiCsmEBG8/Ta9LTg5vtEI/AAAAAAAAAKY/1vxVeOeV3WA/s320/IMG_0654.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
(Already, they win.) The conference took place in the countryside, in a town called "Horsens", yet on the first day, 5,000 people came. (Five. Thousand.)<br />
<br />
They even brewed their own <i>beer</i> for the event.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Rs7lAPCo84/Ta9LjeRy2QI/AAAAAAAAAKc/iziY7E93fP4/s1600/IMG_0660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Rs7lAPCo84/Ta9LjeRy2QI/AAAAAAAAAKc/iziY7E93fP4/s320/IMG_0660.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And yep, pink donuts.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The interviews I gave had me situated in front of the old prison guards' office, where someone had left the original wall decor in place:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kCGMBqcOGi0/Ta9MDWUhwOI/AAAAAAAAAKg/44e8NVWvxuE/s1600/IMG_0653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kCGMBqcOGi0/Ta9MDWUhwOI/AAAAAAAAAKg/44e8NVWvxuE/s320/IMG_0653.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
So I talked about women in burqas in front of that. Gotta love a place that's comfortable with such a striking clash of elements.<br />
<br />
They even did a <a href="http://www.dr.dk/K/Kultur/Programmer/Ordkraft/Forside.htm?play=rtmp%3A%2F%2Fvod.dr.dk%2Fcms%2Fmp4%3ACMS%2FResources%2Fdr.dk%2FNETTV%2FTVK%2F2011%2F04%2F7df0cb42-2759-4e6b-8547-46cf0b131a97%2Fee6271d2bd744a59bfa18cd8e1be90f4_1000.mp4%3FID%3D905011">television interview</a> with me for a public show called Ordkraft that regularly features writers and the arts. (Go on! Really?)<br />
<br />
Not to mention that it's always a thrill to see your publisher so enthusiastic about your book:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cZesdzhh3dc/Ta9MOXeQj5I/AAAAAAAAAKk/UZ6XvZ71KOg/s1600/IMG_0661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cZesdzhh3dc/Ta9MOXeQj5I/AAAAAAAAAKk/UZ6XvZ71KOg/s320/IMG_0661.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Bouchercon, Bouchercon, are you listening? Do you see this? I'm not sure St. Louis can top it, but alas, we will try.<br />
<br />
I should have seen this coming. About a week before I left, I received my gratis copies of DEN SIDSTE SURA in the mail. They were some of the most beautiful versions of my novel I've ever laid my hands on. I sat around feeling them. I wish I could convey just how solid they feel, how when I touch the pages I get a quasi psychometric flash of paper traveling over drums, ink rollers happily at work. And the cover has a gorgeous Sistine Chapel feel.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mHchFs7HfgM/Ta9QSxABIwI/AAAAAAAAAKo/LxpVJ_bnNXI/s1600/IMG_0645.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mHchFs7HfgM/Ta9QSxABIwI/AAAAAAAAAKo/LxpVJ_bnNXI/s320/IMG_0645.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
So a huge thanks to Mrs. Robinson for the amazing trip to Denmark and the support of my book. You rock!Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-9988465701102974652011-04-20T17:45:00.002-04:002011-04-20T17:45:42.627-04:00How Books Used to Be MadeAside from the silly intro about authors, this is fascinating:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hBztGX-2i1M" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe>Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-68081954770847407302011-04-20T15:39:00.001-04:002011-04-20T18:52:56.972-04:00The Invisible Hero<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cTeqNy3Hfw4/Ta9iTKA3AkI/AAAAAAAAAKs/hAr0M3NA8mk/s1600/david.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cTeqNy3Hfw4/Ta9iTKA3AkI/AAAAAAAAAKs/hAr0M3NA8mk/s200/david.jpg" width="155" /></a></div>Recently, I had a conversation with author <a href="http://www.davidcorbett.com/">David Corbett</a> about his concept of the Invisible Hero. These are protagonists who are "stigmatized, demonized, or dismissed." Both his Latino-Americans and my Arab investigator fall into this category. The conversation took some lovely, surprising turns. So check it out <a href="http://www.mulhollandbooks.com/2011/04/04/the-invisible-hero-a-conversation-between-zoe-ferraris-and-david-corbett/">here</a> at Mulholland Books' blog!Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-47230263867638461962011-02-24T12:39:00.000-05:002011-02-24T12:39:41.201-05:00Revolution!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FfmHlsM78YA/TWaXkCYemwI/AAAAAAAAAKU/UWb8zArZrA8/s1600/twitter-revolution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FfmHlsM78YA/TWaXkCYemwI/AAAAAAAAAKU/UWb8zArZrA8/s200/twitter-revolution.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>It's really exciting to watch the news about the Middle East right now, but Twitter is really the place to be. Some suggestions for people to follow/watch with the best news and updates:<br />
<br />
@monaeltahawy - Mona Eltahawy, Egyptian columnist and blogger (http://www.monaeltahawy.com/blog/)<br />
<br />
@shadihamid - Shadi Hamid, Director of Research at the Brookings Doha Center<br />
<br />
@sandmonkey - Mahmoud Salem, blogger<br />
<br />
@SultanAlQassemi - Sultan alQassemi, commentator on Arab affairs from the National<br />
<br />
@abuaardvark - Mark Lynch, Foreign Policy<br />
<br />
@weddady - Nasser Weddady, Middle Eastern civil rights activist (http://dekhnstan.wordpress.com/)<br />
<br />
@AJEnglish - Al Jazeera in English, lots of good tweets!<br />
<br />
And for some humor: @alqaeda "Working to expel the infidels..."Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-80475977781845532532011-02-24T08:26:00.001-05:002011-02-24T12:43:43.903-05:00Inforum Event With Resa AslanHere's an INFORUM event I did recently with Reza Aslan, Wajahat Ali and Najva Sol at SF's Commonwealth Club. We're "bridging the Middle East and America through culture".<br />
<br />
<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YjEFnc4fdes?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YjEFnc4fdes?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-6314555366994647002010-12-13T16:36:00.001-05:002010-12-13T16:36:39.150-05:00What Goes Around...May Come Back to Shake Your Hand<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">If I may paint a sweeping, if somewhat general picture to illustrate a developing twist: in the 80s, we paid a bunch of mujahideen to fight our proxy war against Russia. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TP8mf0GcagI/AAAAAAAAAJs/vaxuojKj-ok/s1600/bin+laden+early.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TP8mf0GcagI/AAAAAAAAAJs/vaxuojKj-ok/s1600/bin+laden+early.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">We paid them to humiliate and destroy the Russians, which they did. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TP8nHl5odUI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/0FXN0-mqUxQ/s1600/soviet-union-russia-invasion-afghanistan-1979-history-pictures-images-photos-afghan-jihad-mujahideen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TP8nHl5odUI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/0FXN0-mqUxQ/s320/soviet-union-russia-invasion-afghanistan-1979-history-pictures-images-photos-afghan-jihad-mujahideen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">But lo and behold, in this century our mujahideen have come to the full fruition of their radicalism</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TP8scsbwoQI/AAAAAAAAAKA/_qx5koV8NHI/s1600/Apples_iPhone_and_Afghanistans_Taliban_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TP8scsbwoQI/AAAAAAAAAKA/_qx5koV8NHI/s320/Apples_iPhone_and_Afghanistans_Taliban_1.jpg" width="282" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">Oops -- what's that, an Iphone?? Jeez. Mullah Zaif, you really <a href="http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2009/02/022713.htm">shouldn't</a>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">Anyway, the full fruition of their radicalism: </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TP8utAUuSkI/AAAAAAAAAKE/bTDHOLEBtAc/s1600/492377-osama-bin-laden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TP8utAUuSkI/AAAAAAAAAKE/bTDHOLEBtAc/s1600/492377-osama-bin-laden.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(moderates must be)..."fought and toppled"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">So full that they were able to export the violence right to our teeming shore</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TP8nM0TDXMI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/qU9pL_2fvFI/s1600/sept+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TP8nM0TDXMI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/qU9pL_2fvFI/s320/sept+11.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">At which point we went in to crush them, sort of -- and now, yes today, who do we turn for assistance in that crushing? Why....</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TP8n6zLZgbI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/StuG6bNCXTQ/s1600/obama_medvedev.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TP8n6zLZgbI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/StuG6bNCXTQ/s320/obama_medvedev.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://www.economist.com/node/17572625?story_id=17572625">Russia</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">!</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">"</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'MS sans serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">In their first ever joint operation in October, Russian and American forces crushed a huge amount of poppy plantations in Afghanistan. This was the first time, since their ouster, that Russian forces stepped on Afghan soil. In another supportive gesture at Lisbon summit of NATO, Russia has allowed transit of armored NATO vehicles from its territory, apart from transportation of food and fuel." (quote <a href="http://news.myjoyonline.com/features/201012/57198.asp">here</a>.)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'MS sans serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=QmjE0Lwre4cC&pg=PA97&lpg=PA97&dq=prins+chicken+soup+for+the+soul&source=bl&ots=RPrGGKm5F8&sig=_mof0AZbx0TPT1Ju3itafSSF8dg&hl=en&ei=EzX_TLHgCIu4sQOboN2vCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false">Grandma</a>, i</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">f you could come back from the grave to see this, you'd think that the politics of your lifetime were just a historical blip. And </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">I know what you'd say: </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">Good grief, they went to war with the poppies? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TP8ymEUDbDI/AAAAAAAAAKI/VaPK2Q_rPMg/s1600/grandma26348656.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TP8ymEUDbDI/AAAAAAAAAKI/VaPK2Q_rPMg/s200/grandma26348656.jpeg" width="145" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">Just kidding. You'd say: My goodness, what's next!</span>Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-71983268731948125642010-12-13T16:29:00.000-05:002010-12-13T16:29:07.519-05:00Very Nice!!!<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="font-size: medium;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; width: 574px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 7.5pt;" width="10"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img height="12" id="_x0000_i1025" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/body_topl_000000.gif" width="10" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 7.5pt;" width="10"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img height="12" id="_x0000_i1026" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/body_topr_000000.gif" width="10" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img height="1" id="_x0000_i1027" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="5" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #292929; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; width: 550px;"><tbody>
<tr><td colspan="3" style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img alt="iBookstore Spotlight: Best Books of the Year" height="290" id="_x0000_i1028" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Features/ef/1f/94/dj.sefoousu.jpg" width="550" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 7.5pt;" width="10"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td colspan="3" style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable"><tbody>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 4.5pt;" width="6"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img height="1" id="_x0000_i1029" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="9" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 400.5pt;" width="534"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
It's been a memorable year for the iBookstore. Not only did we open for business, but 2010 was jam-packed with compelling new releases in a variety of categories. Our favorite books include<i>The Emperor of all Maladies</i>, Siddharta Mukherjee's exhaustive study on the fight against cancer, and <i>Matterhorn</i>, Karl Malantes' unforgettable Vietnam War novel. Our fiction top-seller list was topped by Jonathan Franzen's highly anticipated, Oprah-endorsed <i>Freedom</i>, while Justin Halpern's hilarious <i>Sh*t My Dad Says</i> was our bestselling nonfiction title.<br />
<br />
Download the iBooks app for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch and browse our collection of the year's best books.</span><o:p></o:p></div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 3.75pt;"><td colspan="3" style="height: 3.75pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 15pt;"><td style="height: 15pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=BtQhcXs5bg9x%2Flbb%2FB090PE18IR%2BoxdPxnGBTN3OauzBnAaMECQGS4eA304ZSSO1y4vDjas1SwMt42ln68iu85K%2BMDMsNieI3EMICPatbkx8Reinolo5dgL3AZwwQaWW" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Get the Free iBooks App Now</span></b></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 15pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 4.5pt;" width="6"></td><td style="height: 15pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=BtQhcXs5bg9x%2Flbb%2FB090PE18IR%2BoxdPxnGBTN3OauzBnAaMECQGS4eA304ZSSO1y4vDjas1SwMt42ln68iu85K%2BMDMsNieI3EMICPatbkx8Reinolo5dgL3AZwwQaWW" style="color: white;"><img alt="Go" border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1030" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/arrow_r_ffffff_000000.gif" width="12" /></a><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 4.5pt;" width="6"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1031" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="9" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6.75pt;" valign="top" width="9"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1032" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_botl_000000.gif" width="9" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 400.5pt;" width="534"></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6.75pt;" valign="top" width="9"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1033" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_botr_000000.gif" width="9" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6.75pt;" width="9"></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 399pt;" width="532"></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6.75pt;" width="9"></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.3pt;" width="0"></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="8" id="_x0000_i1034" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1035" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="5" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #292929; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; width: 550px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1036" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_topl_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1037" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1038" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_topr_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1039" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11.5pt;">Best of the Best</span></b><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1040" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 534px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=vQRZZW8sQVs4zI0uUOSH2ehKWRTN8duhGCtofW1FSQF5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="The Emperor of All Maladies" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1041" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/53/05/bd/mzi.ckejjmos.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=vQRZZW8sQVs4zI0uUOSH2ehKWRTN8duhGCtofW1FSQF5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">The Emperor of All Maladies</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Siddhartha Mukherjee</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1042" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=36l%2FDZgGsro86hFzouzZ4%2F28vksfXoSkP7zb1kJIjzXHy288L2LpU%2BOG3pcqNacOkbgfvNXFX7gOe7kyolaMj4PoJRPu63Lk0pK8T79G03i2o6k5xJlFqHyQor6P2uW2" style="color: white;"><img alt="Matterhorn" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1043" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/13/b8/51/mzi.bodzewpj.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=36l%2FDZgGsro86hFzouzZ4%2F28vksfXoSkP7zb1kJIjzXHy288L2LpU%2BOG3pcqNacOkbgfvNXFX7gOe7kyolaMj4PoJRPu63Lk0pK8T79G03i2o6k5xJlFqHyQor6P2uW2" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Matterhorn</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Karl Marlantes</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1044" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=WdZ1zSPk2H97kgU6j67hvMmRrmzjv6wbUS%2Bi8O5aAvJ5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="Packing for Mars" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1045" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/9f/dd/64/mzi.blkhwlap.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=WdZ1zSPk2H97kgU6j67hvMmRrmzjv6wbUS%2Bi8O5aAvJ5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Packing for Mars</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Mary Roach</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1046" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=9vtO5pqDownqG22Cq%2BpVrcZhyjSkrT6fXaU59tAs4nkw%2FaOyU7LLC8eHSZZYiIdRL6eo7YDvE6kJtJqqZFzZgpHkLYovupLQGUNCmCPrF3cEGjfxHpmxq%2Bmiw3tB%2Fcd1" style="color: white;"><img alt="The Solitude of Prime Numbers" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1047" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/5b/d4/c0/mzi.fvalqoir.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=9vtO5pqDownqG22Cq%2BpVrcZhyjSkrT6fXaU59tAs4nkw%2FaOyU7LLC8eHSZZYiIdRL6eo7YDvE6kJtJqqZFzZgpHkLYovupLQGUNCmCPrF3cEGjfxHpmxq%2Bmiw3tB%2Fcd1" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">The Solitude of Prime Numbers</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Paolo Giordano</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1048" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=j%2BHpXM5ZVeMd4BaeDptYp0A%2BoH3AwC9S7qLJ74Qz1%2Bww%2FaOyU7LLC8eHSZZYiIdRL6eo7YDvE6kJtJqqZFzZgpHkLYovupLQGUNCmCPrF3cEGjfxHpmxq%2Bmiw3tB%2Fcd1" style="color: white;"><img alt="No One Would Listen" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1049" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/88/7f/c0/mzi.azzkmxyv.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=j%2BHpXM5ZVeMd4BaeDptYp0A%2BoH3AwC9S7qLJ74Qz1%2Bww%2FaOyU7LLC8eHSZZYiIdRL6eo7YDvE6kJtJqqZFzZgpHkLYovupLQGUNCmCPrF3cEGjfxHpmxq%2Bmiw3tB%2Fcd1" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">No One Would Listen</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Harry Markopolos</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1050" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_botl_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 400.5pt;" width="534"></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1051" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_botr_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="8" id="_x0000_i1052" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1053" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="5" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #292929; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; width: 550px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1054" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_topl_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1055" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1056" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_topr_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1057" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11.5pt;">Top Sellers: Fiction</span></b><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1058" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 534px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=6rjImQZ2qOnosK7i%2FSWhNXzUVZzNh7BH4k7oGPdfPwK6V%2FR7YtvVZr%2FaStmBY8csK1XgGBNLmaozbTjGxuvubmLQc1H3U0gHyCeqhH5wDG0%3D" style="color: white;"><img alt="Freedom" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1059" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/6a/01/7c/mzi.bearjqhk.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=6rjImQZ2qOnosK7i%2FSWhNXzUVZzNh7BH4k7oGPdfPwK6V%2FR7YtvVZr%2FaStmBY8csK1XgGBNLmaozbTjGxuvubmLQc1H3U0gHyCeqhH5wDG0%3D" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Freedom</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Jonathan Franzen</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1060" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=8wv2Q2D%2Ft5z2GwdBUqzMdwUPB1Z09OavEjkrugjMFlww%2FaOyU7LLC8eHSZZYiIdRL6eo7YDvE6kJtJqqZFzZgpHkLYovupLQGUNCmCPrF3cEGjfxHpmxq%2Bmiw3tB%2Fcd1" style="color: white;"><img alt="The Postcard Killers" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1061" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/8b/cf/fe/mzi.fperhsin.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=8wv2Q2D%2Ft5z2GwdBUqzMdwUPB1Z09OavEjkrugjMFlww%2FaOyU7LLC8eHSZZYiIdRL6eo7YDvE6kJtJqqZFzZgpHkLYovupLQGUNCmCPrF3cEGjfxHpmxq%2Bmiw3tB%2Fcd1" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">The Postcard Killers</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
James Patterson & Liza Marklund</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1062" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=aKGQZrzVUHibzSOmJGINtktm9f7wqgC7rdrNVLJTnWC6V%2FR7YtvVZr%2FaStmBY8csK1XgGBNLmaozbTjGxuvubmLQc1H3U0gHyCeqhH5wDG0%3D" style="color: white;"><img alt="Private" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1063" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/0e/1a/d7/mzi.efyoczdq.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=aKGQZrzVUHibzSOmJGINtktm9f7wqgC7rdrNVLJTnWC6V%2FR7YtvVZr%2FaStmBY8csK1XgGBNLmaozbTjGxuvubmLQc1H3U0gHyCeqhH5wDG0%3D" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Private</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
James Patterson & Maxine Paetro</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1064" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=QQJ4xeaRAe%2FxWXyrHbXOCXW6zZz8KKjHLxbeVGafqPA3d4P7vFEa9M4iTh8Tj51qT4VDuaJn3vM9pfr7xVSLxn25GGs%2BXpZ5ZSlH98ISOhf6yqSaWtzelvYOrQuN5QCC" style="color: white;"><img alt="The Lion" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1065" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/6f/4e/09/mzi.mqrrtezd.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=QQJ4xeaRAe%2FxWXyrHbXOCXW6zZz8KKjHLxbeVGafqPA3d4P7vFEa9M4iTh8Tj51qT4VDuaJn3vM9pfr7xVSLxn25GGs%2BXpZ5ZSlH98ISOhf6yqSaWtzelvYOrQuN5QCC" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">The Lion</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Nelson DeMille</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1066" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=t9TJrOssoXhotJRb8XNDQ7d18uOkj4qGrQONleMBvfR5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1067" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/c9/46/d1/mzi.dptfnnkd.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=t9TJrOssoXhotJRb8XNDQ7d18uOkj4qGrQONleMBvfR5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Stephenie Meyer</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1068" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_botl_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 400.5pt;" width="534"></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1069" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_botr_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="8" id="_x0000_i1070" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1071" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="5" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #292929; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; width: 550px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1072" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_topl_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1073" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1074" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_topr_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1075" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11.5pt;">Top Sellers: Nonfiction</span></b><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1076" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 534px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=WfSHW4JWGX0Ff%2FsX8h%2BikygKuXr6ctrCaFMJTwlU%2FaJ5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="Sh*t My Dad Says" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1077" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/32/e9/54/mzi.ihagltkf.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=WfSHW4JWGX0Ff%2FsX8h%2BikygKuXr6ctrCaFMJTwlU%2FaJ5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Sh*t My Dad Says</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Justin Halpern</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1078" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=lac%2B0IVIREJFa3CnNUZ4SzbpW0Z%2BkaTr86KVaqtB9YJ5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1079" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/9b/d0/bd/mzi.pzjduvme.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=lac%2B0IVIREJFa3CnNUZ4SzbpW0Z%2BkaTr86KVaqtB9YJ5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Chelsea Handler</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1080" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=erCury67%2FpwK43RphknuOpxSzxM3JOjFRwe5xHpxU6N5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="The Big Short" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1081" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/41/39/98/mzi.jslyyeuz.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=erCury67%2FpwK43RphknuOpxSzxM3JOjFRwe5xHpxU6N5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">The Big Short</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Michael Lewis</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1082" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=fy48%2FX7ITOUUUn29E6i5IWsXHoq23YfYjIza63PBzdUT9ztGlcu9s1EXfRV24Ez44nnWWQTf73Nv5iegjTERK%2FElQ%2BB3Gni6be6MdVWh3QE%3D" style="color: white;"><img alt="WAR" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1083" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/6b/19/99/mzi.gxydrfny.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=fy48%2FX7ITOUUUn29E6i5IWsXHoq23YfYjIza63PBzdUT9ztGlcu9s1EXfRV24Ez44nnWWQTf73Nv5iegjTERK%2FElQ%2BB3Gni6be6MdVWh3QE%3D" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">WAR</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Sebastian Junger</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1084" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=D3ulb7alemKpXRKIui2mhupxo2%2BU97CcDvWAa1hzlgTHy288L2LpU%2BOG3pcqNacOkbgfvNXFX7gOe7kyolaMj4PoJRPu63Lk0pK8T79G03i2o6k5xJlFqHyQor6P2uW2" style="color: white;"><img alt="Medium Raw" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1085" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/e0/de/0c/mzi.ffceqqvq.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=D3ulb7alemKpXRKIui2mhupxo2%2BU97CcDvWAa1hzlgTHy288L2LpU%2BOG3pcqNacOkbgfvNXFX7gOe7kyolaMj4PoJRPu63Lk0pK8T79G03i2o6k5xJlFqHyQor6P2uW2" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Medium Raw</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Anthony Bourdain</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1086" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_botl_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 400.5pt;" width="534"></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1087" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_botr_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="8" id="_x0000_i1088" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1089" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="5" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #292929; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; width: 550px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1090" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_topl_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1091" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1092" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_topr_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1093" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11.5pt;">Enhanced</span></b><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1094" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 534px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=NUAdZkpjQAfTvBhOmdu9sMC1c%2BRYmS1VdzQgxWhHJO55EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1095" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/c1/da/88/mzi.eevmgdcq.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=NUAdZkpjQAfTvBhOmdu9sMC1c%2BRYmS1VdzQgxWhHJO55EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">The Voyage of the Dawn Treader</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
C. S. Lewis</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1096" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=BoO7CDLTQ5v7DyvHvfFXxWi8DxfyeXzrmhxAjF7AKgl5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="Reckless Road: Guns N' Roses and the Making of Appetite for Destruction" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1097" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/c4/97/f6/mzi.fipzoemy.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=BoO7CDLTQ5v7DyvHvfFXxWi8DxfyeXzrmhxAjF7AKgl5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Reckless Road: Guns N' Roses and the...</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Marc Canter and Jason Porath</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1098" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=7DRPBe3lMXNVWXX6HA9cHJch2rcPXBt1FqHtGcw2cZJ5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="Nixonland" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1099" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/bc/49/4f/mzi.ikcpxnsy.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=7DRPBe3lMXNVWXX6HA9cHJch2rcPXBt1FqHtGcw2cZJ5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Nixonland</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Rick Perlstein</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1100" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=eeuEGuuJRr%2FW8Bm%2FCwMqpHbtZDJhFJRBivl%2B3qxr71J5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1101" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/70/5e/b3/mzi.lkabfbao.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=eeuEGuuJRr%2FW8Bm%2FCwMqpHbtZDJhFJRBivl%2B3qxr71J5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Eric Gower<br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1102" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=1zcgHVLr4b95%2B5OCALCyn7aMeFOAvhZEyxQYaouaONB5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="Louder Than Words" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1103" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Features/82/4a/8a/dj.usfmfwib.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=1zcgHVLr4b95%2B5OCALCyn7aMeFOAvhZEyxQYaouaONB5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Louder Than Words</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Joe Navarro</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1104" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_botl_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 400.5pt;" width="534"></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1105" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_botr_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="8" id="_x0000_i1106" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1107" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="5" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #292929; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; width: 550px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1108" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_topl_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1109" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1110" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_topr_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1111" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11.5pt;">Mystery & Thriller</span></b><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1112" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 534px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=EfyZ9V3tg2%2ByTtDWLr8gJb1mEvENby7tD%2FPxvKlu2Yt5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="The Glass Rainbow" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1113" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/29/e4/e6/mzi.btgqxgus.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=EfyZ9V3tg2%2ByTtDWLr8gJb1mEvENby7tD%2FPxvKlu2Yt5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">The Glass Rainbow</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
James Lee Burke</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1114" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=7GLo99AlxxO3mkD%2F8QXma8u0alsxHLijgVZ%2F7%2FpPa3t5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1115" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/4f/c9/67/mzi.dukilnla.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=7GLo99AlxxO3mkD%2F8QXma8u0alsxHLijgVZ%2F7%2FpPa3t5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Tom Franklin</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1116" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=XdEgDJDPfY4AHwN9Zo8qs1ulv93wbJ0MVyteFN7Xn9Z5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="City of Veils" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1117" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/55/e4/e6/mzi.tbwvacux.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=XdEgDJDPfY4AHwN9Zo8qs1ulv93wbJ0MVyteFN7Xn9Z5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">City of Veils</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Zoe Ferraris</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1118" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=rHd1%2F%2BeiuMF4FS1otfX%2B%2FcuXNjwENTvCBKrUdlC9LoQ3d4P7vFEa9M4iTh8Tj51qT4VDuaJn3vM9pfr7xVSLxn25GGs%2BXpZ5ZSlH98ISOhf6yqSaWtzelvYOrQuN5QCC" style="color: white;"><img alt="Innocent" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1119" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/f5/d0/ee/mzi.rxnofqpc.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=rHd1%2F%2BeiuMF4FS1otfX%2B%2FcuXNjwENTvCBKrUdlC9LoQ3d4P7vFEa9M4iTh8Tj51qT4VDuaJn3vM9pfr7xVSLxn25GGs%2BXpZ5ZSlH98ISOhf6yqSaWtzelvYOrQuN5QCC" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Innocent</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Scott Turow</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1120" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=hMaJXE5LTa4SMvcsDR8dWpDM%2B7fiymqa7qbu2hySsYx5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="Three Stations" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1121" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/34/ac/65/mzi.wzkezrnm.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=hMaJXE5LTa4SMvcsDR8dWpDM%2B7fiymqa7qbu2hySsYx5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Three Stations</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Martin Cruz Smith</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1122" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_botl_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 400.5pt;" width="534"></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1123" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_botr_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="8" id="_x0000_i1124" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1125" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="5" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #292929; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; width: 550px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1126" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_topl_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1127" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1128" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_topr_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1129" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11.5pt;">Biography & Memoir</span></b><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1130" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 534px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=1ODDjLTUGxFglRvoyMGX%2FKERUJeb0%2B8cY7XQU%2FjXdrFncPP27dhFEHMJ1KeVIhUjXGDmmuIKmQhq6gZXe4inCkL9GgUCrFggu6tkbie0c5tR2%2BcWK2eee49OUJzZkjCx" style="color: white;"><img alt="Just Kids" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1131" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/eb/59/d8/mzi.ofeewykx.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=1ODDjLTUGxFglRvoyMGX%2FKERUJeb0%2B8cY7XQU%2FjXdrFncPP27dhFEHMJ1KeVIhUjXGDmmuIKmQhq6gZXe4inCkL9GgUCrFggu6tkbie0c5tR2%2BcWK2eee49OUJzZkjCx" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Just Kids</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Patti Smith</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1132" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=Jj4FxUBkgfj27l4BAOLlPlof9pqQDC8muuRBSPY1BCVncPP27dhFEHMJ1KeVIhUjXGDmmuIKmQhq6gZXe4inCkL9GgUCrFggu6tkbie0c5tR2%2BcWK2eee49OUJzZkjCx" style="color: white;"><img alt="Cleopatra" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1133" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/bd/f4/7f/mzi.anevmbjh.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=Jj4FxUBkgfj27l4BAOLlPlof9pqQDC8muuRBSPY1BCVncPP27dhFEHMJ1KeVIhUjXGDmmuIKmQhq6gZXe4inCkL9GgUCrFggu6tkbie0c5tR2%2BcWK2eee49OUJzZkjCx" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Cleopatra</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Stacy Schiff</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1134" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=1kjc6IEog%2FEbXilnYXdP3pZHP%2B1Ou%2BMTiH5CUCa9ATp5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="The Memory Chalet" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1135" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/a4/a6/39/mzi.dueuncln.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=1kjc6IEog%2FEbXilnYXdP3pZHP%2B1Ou%2BMTiH5CUCa9ATp5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">The Memory Chalet</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Tony Judt</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1136" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=WwR8zCgAprtlweQH7hfKR8fx3nl%2FIoqoGErB%2BDFJnIAfPhSeqPf2hgxCxlzpqplg6E9icIeGL77gisLUWZru10%2BomtSw0QWF1BZJtODFxgw%3D" style="color: white;"><img alt="Life" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1137" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/d3/78/bc/mzi.fhtemdsh.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=WwR8zCgAprtlweQH7hfKR8fx3nl%2FIoqoGErB%2BDFJnIAfPhSeqPf2hgxCxlzpqplg6E9icIeGL77gisLUWZru10%2BomtSw0QWF1BZJtODFxgw%3D" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Life</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Keith Richards & James Fox</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1138" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=kIxhiJc0M3M81uJyxfPQbIcIXChWVnlCVnXJepr8qJp5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="The Secret Historian" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1139" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/42/a9/25/mzi.okyjtizo.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=kIxhiJc0M3M81uJyxfPQbIcIXChWVnlCVnXJepr8qJp5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">The Secret Historian</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Justin Spring</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1140" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_botl_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 400.5pt;" width="534"></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1141" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_botr_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="8" id="_x0000_i1142" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1143" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="5" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #292929; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; width: 550px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1144" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_topl_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1145" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1146" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_topr_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1147" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11.5pt;">Science Fiction & Fantasy</span></b><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1148" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 534px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=zY%2FOtdpFyksSLQ56yt%2FJCnccyJDOGrz7rMYJ3w8qN6R5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="The Way of Kings" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1149" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/55/5f/37/mzi.vaznyeqb.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=zY%2FOtdpFyksSLQ56yt%2FJCnccyJDOGrz7rMYJ3w8qN6R5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">The Way of Kings</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Brandon Sanderson</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1150" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=HyGiU2caIy6a4JTeBP7pRqyEGFQgx%2Br%2Fzn5qqU41K5a6V%2FR7YtvVZr%2FaStmBY8csK1XgGBNLmaozbTjGxuvubmLQc1H3U0gHyCeqhH5wDG0%3D" style="color: white;"><img alt="Changes" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1151" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/d7/0b/1c/mzi.fuzxqlby.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=HyGiU2caIy6a4JTeBP7pRqyEGFQgx%2Br%2Fzn5qqU41K5a6V%2FR7YtvVZr%2FaStmBY8csK1XgGBNLmaozbTjGxuvubmLQc1H3U0gHyCeqhH5wDG0%3D" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Changes</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Jim Butcher</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1152" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=y7r7W%2B1LcCveBtDA3C4hH5SlU%2FKRmkaaUvf0HTdL%2BF15EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="Out of the Dark" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1153" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/14/8b/7d/mzi.jqsegonv.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=y7r7W%2B1LcCveBtDA3C4hH5SlU%2FKRmkaaUvf0HTdL%2BF15EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Out of the Dark</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
David Weber</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1154" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=eRuWqkt%2Bn2cheGsOW4zS%2FUSF2A1%2FFsdAyQQDcr%2BW%2Fnd5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="Waking the Witch" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1155" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/03/26/a2/mzi.zmboqhdv.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=eRuWqkt%2Bn2cheGsOW4zS%2FUSF2A1%2FFsdAyQQDcr%2BW%2Fnd5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">Waking the Witch</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Kelley Armstrong</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1156" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="16" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 70.5pt;" valign="top" width="94"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=EdGsn40WkKk6vK66eYSG8Auo8sxKwuYxYvYfUEVdRWp5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><img alt="All That Lives Must Die" border="0" height="100" id="_x0000_i1157" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Publication/56/d9/a3/mzi.xnkzpcmo.100x100-75.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 4.5pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://newmusic.itunes.com/redir/cbx-cgi.do?v=2&la=en&lc=us&a=EdGsn40WkKk6vK66eYSG8Auo8sxKwuYxYvYfUEVdRWp5EfP%2FqD3YMHzG6YgKG0zFYVqqQ6nleihIXP3RPUwygU%2BFwwetsV9FxqpE%2BRD%2FucmPkUdtV6dKdnZ%2BZJOxjKBz" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;">All That Lives Must Die</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 8.5pt;"><br />
Eric Nylund</span></a><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1158" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_botl_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 400.5pt;" width="534"></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 6pt;" valign="top" width="8"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1159" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/box_botr_000000.gif" width="8" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="8" id="_x0000_i1160" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="1" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3" style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 550px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt; width: 10.5pt;" width="14"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1161" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="14" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt; width: 391.5pt;" valign="top" width="522"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 7.5pt;">The iTunes Store, iBookstore, and App Store are available only to persons age 13 or older and in the U.S. iTunes 9 or later, compatible hardware and software, and Internet access (fees may apply) are required. iBooks requires an iPad or an iOS 4 device, and is not compatible with original iPhone or iPod touch (1st generation). Full terms apply, available at <a href="http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/terms.html" style="color: white;">www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/terms.html</a>. For more information see <a href="http://www.apple.com/itunes/" style="color: white;">www.apple.com/itunes/</a>. Content prices and availability subject to change.<br />
</span><a href="http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/" style="color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 7.5pt;">iTunes for Mac and Windows</span></b></a><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt; width: 10.5pt;" width="14"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1162" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="14" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt; width: 10.5pt;" width="14"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1163" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="14" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt; width: 391.5pt;" width="522"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 7.5pt;">Copyright © 2010 Apple Inc. 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014<br />
<a href="http://www.apple.com/legal/" style="color: white;">All rights reserved</a> • <a href="http://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/" style="color: white;">Privacy Policy</a> • <a href="http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/service.html" style="color: white;">Terms of Service</a><br />
<a href="http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/sales.html" style="color: white;">Terms of Sale</a> • <a href="http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/" style="color: white;">iTunes Store Customer Service</a> • <a href="http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/" style="color: white;">Download iTunes</a><br />
<a href="http://new-music.itunes.com/subscribe" style="color: white;">Subscribe</a> • <a href="http://mynews.apple.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Subscriptions.woa?locale=en_us&subcode=nmt&pagename=unsubscribeemail&hashdsid=cfcd208495d565ef66e7dff9f98764da" style="color: white;">Unsubscribe</a></span><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt; width: 10.5pt;" width="14"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1164" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/images_shared/spacer.gif" width="14" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1165" src="http://newmusic.itunes.com/img/APPLE_EMAIL_LINK/spacer2.gif?v=2&a=A%2BydUYk4dXOxdc0DXV88nsfLbzwvYulT44belyo1pw6RuB%2B81cVfuA57uTKiVoyPg%2BglE%2B7rcuTSkrxPv0bTeLajqTnEmUWofJCivo%2Fa5bY%3D" width="1" /></span><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 7.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="10"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1166" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/body_botl_000000.gif" width="10" /><o:p></o:p></div></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"></td><td style="height: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; width: 7.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="10"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="12" id="_x0000_i1167" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/newsletter/000000/body_botr_000000.gif" width="10" /><o:p></o:p></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
<img alt="0" border="0" height="1" id="_x0000_i1168" src="http://metrics.apple.com/b/ss/appleuscdmclickmap/1/H.4-pdv-2/86312?%5bAQB%5d&pageName=-&r=D%3DReferer&v1=D%3DUser-Agent&v9=D%3DpageName&%5bAQE%5d" width="1" /></div>Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-6740067591805094312010-11-27T22:11:00.001-05:002010-11-28T18:55:44.971-05:00Ok, PilgrimsIt's pretty damn embarrassing that a country that was <a href="http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel01.html">founded on freedom from religious persecution</a> should engage in <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/17528070?story_id=17528070">this sort of thing</a>:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TPHDdf1hRSI/AAAAAAAAAJc/ERG7ickeK18/s1600/Islamic_Center_Murfreesboro-300x232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TPHDdf1hRSI/AAAAAAAAAJc/ERG7ickeK18/s1600/Islamic_Center_Murfreesboro-300x232.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Not Welcome" sprayed on a sign at the building site of the Murfreesboro Mosque</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
But I guess it's not unthinkable for a country with things like this in its past:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TPHDp7X9aQI/AAAAAAAAAJg/7F5WXTe64L4/s1600/wounded+knee+massacre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TPHDp7X9aQI/AAAAAAAAAJg/7F5WXTe64L4/s320/wounded+knee+massacre.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Massacre at Wounded Knee</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Our dark side's really showing with the Islamophobia lately.<br />
<br />
Murfreesboro protesters, it's Thanksgiving, time to remember:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TPHHkLaXyNI/AAAAAAAAAJo/xQcrI5zwYBo/s1600/who%2527s+the+illegal+alien+pilgrim%253F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TPHHkLaXyNI/AAAAAAAAAJo/xQcrI5zwYBo/s1600/who%2527s+the+illegal+alien+pilgrim%253F.jpg" /></a></div>Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-21758785793327646122010-11-27T21:07:00.000-05:002010-11-27T21:07:53.987-05:00Commonwealth Club<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TPG4EFRijCI/AAAAAAAAAJY/tXPn297qQMM/s1600/20101129-Reza-Aslan-m.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__jsj2lN6HgM/TPG4EFRijCI/AAAAAAAAAJY/tXPn297qQMM/s1600/20101129-Reza-Aslan-m.png" /></a></div>For those in San Francisco, I invite you to join me in a panel discussion at the Commonwealth Club this Monday, November 29th, with Reza Aslan:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://tickets.commonwealthclub.org/auto_choose_ga.asp?area=1">Bridging the Middle East and America Through Culture</a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><strong>Reza Aslan</strong></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">, Author, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><em>No God But God</em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><em>How to Win a Cosmic War</em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">, and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><em>Tablet and Pen</em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">; Contributing Editor, The Daily Beast</span><br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong>Wajahat Ali</strong>, Playwright, “The Domestic Crusaders;” Journalist; Attorney; Creator, Goatmilk: An Intellectual Playground Blog</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong>Zoe Ferraris</strong>, Author, <em>Finding Nouf</em> and <em>City of Veils</em></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><em></em><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><strong>Najva Sol</strong>, Photographer; Poet; Co-founder, the Lowbrow Society for the Arts</span></em></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"></span></em>In conversation with <strong>Laura Sydell</strong>, Arts Correspondent, National Public Radio - Moderator</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">American headlines about the Middle East often focus on terrorism, suicide bombings and escalating tensions. The mainstream media can create a massive American cultural blindspot around the literature, history and stories of the Middle East. A political commentator, <em>New York Times</em> best-selling author and an analyst on CBS News, Aslan is considered by some to be an American window to Islam. He is now looking to bridge the gap and share the best of the Middle East's literary leaders. Join the acclaimed author and contributing editor to The Daily Beast as he brings you the cultural luminaries from Iran, Pakistan, Morocco and Turkey and beyond.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hope to see you there!</span></div>Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3149538043581198256.post-51706038508652869052010-11-27T20:57:00.000-05:002010-11-27T20:57:58.163-05:00I am in a position to attestThat Siloism is in fact a beautiful movement. <br />
<br />
<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YARKCqZoR6s?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YARKCqZoR6s?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<br />
I'm sorry for the passing of this remarkable man.Zoe Ferrarishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07075189439577517904noreply@blogger.com0