Around the Web: Silent Book Clubs, Author Finances, Writing Through Trauma
Hello again, readers! It’s Friday once more, which means that it’s time for Around the Web. This week, I’m sharing a twist on traditional book clubs, an author’s experience with finances, an addition to the discourse on writing and trauma, and a podcast in which the hosts take reading recommendations based on their age.
Silent Book Clubs
There are many kinds of book nerds, and if you’re the introverted variety, a twist on the traditional book club structure may be for you. Silent Book Club began with two friends in San Francisco and has now grown to seventy chapters. The concept is simple: members meet up, a bell rings and designated silent reading starts, a bell rings again and readers can go on to discuss whatever they like. NPR has more details.
Author Finances
Image: HeatherDemetrios.com
Although strides are being made, money is still a subject that many are uncomfortable discussing. But when you don’t know what to expect when it comes to finances, it’s easy to make mistakes. Author Heather Demetrios knows this from experience. In a recent Medium post titled, How to Lose A Third Of A Million Dollars Without Even Trying, she chronicles how she wasn’t prepared for the reality of publishing advances and subsequently wasted a lot of money. She shares what she’s learned about author finances as a result, and while maybe not the cheeriest view of publishing, it may have important information for those dreaming of huge book deals.
Writing Through Trauma
In Map to the Door of No Return, Dionne Brand articulates this absence in the metaphor of the Door of No Return.
Shazia Hafiz Ramji adds to the ongoing discussion about writing about and through trauma in a recent Open Book column. In it, she explores how memory, and the absence of memory, allows her to revisit the site of trauma and reclaim it.
Books for the Ages
Back in June The Washington Post published an article giving book recommendations based on age, from one to one hundred. The hosts of Literary Disco, a podcast from Lit Hub Radio, read the books selected for their age and discussed whether there is a right time to read a book or if a good book is good no matter your age.