You are reveling in CultureWag, the best newsletter in the universe, edited by JD Heyman and written by The Avengers of Talent. We lead the conversation about culture: high, medium and deliciously low. Drop us a line about about any old thing, but especially what you want more of, at jdheyman@culturewag.com “If you aren’t reading the Wag, you’ll never get anywhere when it comes to quantum electrodynamics.” —Richard Feynman Hello, Sharpies, it's Your BookWag!Dolen Perkins-Valdez, T.C. Boyle, Fae Myenne Ng, Yummy Pavlovas and More ...
Dear Wags, Last week I received a couple of pieces of good news about my upcoming memoir in the media. I’m so grateful for these placements. But a placement for my book—for any book—means space isn’t being given to another book. There is no global manifesto that includes the right to have my book reviewed. As a book reviewer, I am frequently asked by other authors how they can get their book reviewed. The answer: 1. Write a good book. 2. Have an excellent publicist. I can only vouch for #2. I’ll be honest: I got one glowing advance review, and one tepid advance review. The truth about my writing lies somewhere in between. Will either of those reviews affect sales of my book? Probably not. Book reviews — aside from maybe those in People — don’t move the needle. I’m fine with that. If selling thousands of books were my primary goal, I probably would have self-published, or worked with a hybrid publishing company. I’m not averse to profits. But I also wanted the support and credibility still found in traditional publishing. I wanted to work with seasoned professionals who had deep networks of other seasoned professionals. Not every good book gets the attention it deserves. Your book might be better than mine and still not get picked up by an agent, acquired by an editor, and released with a respected colophon on its spine. Publishing isn’t an arts collective. It is a creative business, and businesses choose to sell products that suit their needs. In some seasons, that may mean political manifestos. In others, Amish romances or books about environmental issues. As an author, you can write with an eye to the market — or not. Many successful writers do the former and make peace with it. Their fans eagerly await their frequent publications. There’s nothing wrong with that. But other authors can’t work that way. Unfortunately, too many writers believe they can write whatever they want and still earn attention and sales. None of us gets to have it our way, all the way through. If you don’t believe me because I have a book coming out, then believe the hundreds of authors I’ve interviewed over the past 20 years, all of whom have faced challenges. We write and read for different reasons. Even the finest examples of our literature aren’t for everyone. (With the exception of Toni Morrison. Read Toni Morrison. Go out now and buy a Toni Morrison novel.) My book—certainly not among the finest examples of our literature—getting attention means other books will be passed over. The opposite will happen, too. That’s part of the bargain. The best way to make peace with it? Lift up other writers when you can. Until next time, happy reading! Bethanne Patrick
PLUG OF THE WEEKI promise: these plugs won’t always be about events that I’m involved in. It just happens that I’m taking part in several great collaborative festivals, launches, and conferences this month. The Washington Independent Writers Conference, held by one of the best and longest-running groups for writers in the nation, runs May 13-14. I’ll be on a morning panel with writers Tara Campbell, Leeya Mehta, Diane Parsell, and Mary Kay Zuravleff in the morning and leading the keynote conversation with superstar novelist Dolen Perkins-Valdez about her novel Take My Hand. At this point, the only registration available is at full price, but that includes three agent-pitch sessions. Aspiring authors might want to hit D.C. and make that investment. Our cherry blossoms have disappeared, but we’ve got plenty of other blooms (my irises alone are worth a trip). Have a writing event or publication you’d like to submit for possible Plug? Drop a line to intern@culturewag.com while we busily set up our BookWag accounts. BEST NEW BOOKS
The Leaving Season by Kelly McMasters This memoir-in-essays charts a woman’s journey from city to country to city as she makes wrenching decisions about marriage, motherhood, and creativity. McMasters (Welcome to Shirley) looks deep within to understand why she couldn’t stay in the marriage that brought her to rural Pennsylvania. Instead, she took herself (and her kids) to New York. An artist’s reawakening that will open everyone’s eyes.
Blue Skies by T. C. Boyle Boyle’s latest is billed as an eco-thriller. It is, but it’s also so funny and important you’ll put aside those Carl Hiaasen books —no shade to Hiaasen, but Boyle is a deeper writer. Here he takes us to a climate-ravaged American coastal community in the plausible near future, where a would-be social-media influencer named Cat decides ease her loneliness by getting a Burmese python for a pet. Wildfires, droughts, and catfish, oh my!
Shakespeare Was a Woman by Elizabeth Winkler Winkler, a fine journalist, isn’t taking sides in an old debate. She analyzes all the arguments and reveals how partisans cling to different brands of ideological bullshit to confirm them in their beliefs. Most fascinating are scholars whose findings aren’t even about sex or gender, but the Bard’s occupation. Was Shakespeare a spy? A genius who hid in plain sight? As we bicker about identity in 2023, let’s accept that such questions are perennial.
Pieces of Blue by Holly Goldberg Sloan You need a beach book —or at least a Memorial Day Weekend book. Sloan’s Pieces of Blue fits the bill any time from now until Labor Day, especially if you loved Where’d You Go, Bernadette or The Rosie Project. Lindsey and her three kids have to regroup quickly after paterfamilias Paul’s death, and Lindsey’s decision to use the insurance money to buy a shack in Hawaii may be the family’s undoing—or its making.
Orphan Bachelors by Fae Myenne Ng The infamous Exclusion Act targeted Chinese immigrants, and in the 1950s, the Chinese Confession Program threatened the residency of those had managed to escape it. Ng’s parents ran a grocery store that served as a communal haven for orphan bachelors—men who had no wives or children as a result of discriminatory laws. The award-winning novelist brings the experiences of these men into sharp, bitter, but also humorous relief.
BOOKMAVEN’S BLESSINGSEarly Music: I made one of my regular trips to see the Folger Consort this past weekend. A new-to-me vocal group, The Kaleidoscope Choral Ensemble, took part in a program filled with Monteverdi, Uccellini, and more. The program was fabulous and nourishing, but the most amazing part was a modern riff on the Renaissance Nigra Sum Sed Formosa trope (translation: I am Black but Comely) in which verbal slights such as “When you stood I was shocked/You should play for the NFL” were sung along to soaring baroque melodies. Chills.
A perfect Pavlova: A new literary friend and I had a long lunch at BlackSalt in D.C.’s Palisades neighborhood, and decided to end with dessert. I couldn’t resist the Pavlova, which was made with both hard and soft meringue, plus the earliest strawberries and a smoosh of passionfruit puree. It’s the perfect dessert for a sweet season. Here’s my very favorite Mixed Berry Pavlova recipe, cribbed from the brilliant bakers over at Smitten Kitchen: Ingredients
Steps: Your Meringue Cake
You can make the meringue cake several days in advance. Store it in a cool dry place, in an airtight container. Once the whipped cream and fruit are placed on the meringue, the dessert should be eaten immediately as the meringue will start to soften and break down from the moisture of the cream and fruit. Smitten Kitchen’s Killer Raspberry Sauce
If you like your sauce thicker, add between one-half and one full teaspoon of cornstarch, potato starch or arrowroot powder to thicken it, stirring to make sure it’s fully dissolved. Whipped Cream
Mixed Berry Topping
Mix these with 1/2 cup of the raspberry sauce. Your Pavlova Assembly:
High/Low Fashion: In spring, I trot out my Missoni for Target cardigan and friends gasp (in delight, I swear!). Not only was it made for Target, I picked it up from a consignment shop. Stylish Wags are smarties who know huge price tags don’t always add up to great style. Plus, recycling fashion is an act of genius in a world with diminishing resources. On your Poshmark, get set, thrift! Questions for us at BookWag? Please ping intern@culturewag.com, and we’ll get back to you in a jiffy. CultureWag celebrates culture—high, medium, and deliciously low. It’s an essential guide to the mediaverse, cutting through a cluttered landscape and serving up smart, funny recommendations to the most hooked-in audience in the galaxy. If somebody forwarded you this issue, consider it a coveted invitation and RSVP “Subscribe.” You’ll be part of the smartest set in Hollywood, Gstaad, Biarritz, and Doi Moi in D.C., where Chef Wade Hoo Fat makes bao buns to die for. “Easy reading is damn hard Wagging.” — Nathaniel Hawthorne
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Hello, Sharpies, it's Your BookWag!
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