Beware the Vagaries of Holiday Postings

Since August, I've been consistently posting here on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday because of my teaching schedule. I became so comfortable with my routine that I must admit I'm a bit lost without it. My husband, who teaches at the high school level and therefore has a few more days to go, was confounded when I announced my plan to start the day at my usual time and not sleep in (today being the first day I might have done so). Still, I'm happy to be up and about and at the desk. However, beware, dear & kind readers, I cannot predict with what irregularity you will find me here, or perchance with what verboseness, it could go either way.

Today, there is much to say, all culled from the wonderful blogs I follow. You'll see my blogroll to the left. If you have favorites not listed there, please recommend.

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This short, memoiresque post from Saeed Jones' for southern boys who consider poetry reminded me that a well crafted piece of writing, no matter how brief, creates a satisfaction that is felt almost bodily upon completing the read.

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For all fans of the place where poetry and James Bond intersect, Linebreak features a poem "James Bond Suite" by Amit Majmudar read by Amy Watkins. There's playfulness here and yet a real commitment to poetics as well, which can sometimes be lost to pop culture, I think.

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Thanks as well to Johnathon Williams of Linebreak for the link to this article in The Huffington Post. I'm coming into this conversation midstream, but the article is by John Oaks, co-publisher of OR Books, a new publisher that seeks to eliminate the middleman in publishing. Oaks and his fellow founder of the press, Colin Robinson, plan to print-on-demand and sell only direct to the consumer via their website. This eliminates wholesalers and bookstores. I could care less about the wholesalers, but the elimination of my local, independent bookstore is a thing I fear. On the other hand, the OR Books publishing model would be a great leap forward for environmental concerns...no massive number of books stored in large warehouse spaces (think of the savings on paper and energy to heat/cool/humidity control the warehouses). Print-on-demand requires intense marketing because it eliminates the ability to browse, of course. There are lots of issues here, but something to ponder, definitely.

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With glee, I announce that I won a free copy of Nate Pritts' book Sensational Spectacular from Goodreads. 200 people registered, and only 5 were chosen...lucky me!

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With glee & glee & glee, here is a list of the three books that I ordered through Inter-Library Loan at school and that came in yesterday, just in time for the break:

Ruin by Cynthia Cruz, Alice James Books, 2006
A Brief History of Time by Shaindel Beers, Salt Publishing, 2009
Lie Awake Lake by Beckian Fritz Goldberg, Oberlin College Press, 2005

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On a totally non-poetry related note, I'm going to have something daring, for me, done with my hair today at my hairdresser's. I need some new luck in 2010 and thought this might spur it on. If I'm brave, I'll post a picture.