Book Review: The Best American Mystery Stories 2008, edited by George Pelecanos

I love to read, but since I’ve started working in publishing my spare time is usually used on reading for work. I consciously try to carve out some time on the weekends to read other things so I can remind myself of what else is out there, and to make sure that my internal calibration of good writing doesn’t decrease (as it tends to when the majority of what I read is unpublished work from a wide variety of abilities). So when I get a chance to read something else, I want to really enjoy it.

The Best American Mystery Stories 2008 is a collection of short stories given to me by Food Guy for Christmas. I enjoy mysteries and spent a few months working through the library’s Agatha Christie series, but I’m always looking for new authors, and I by no means only like mysteries. It’s one of the many genres I enjoy.

My primary problem with this collection is that it really didn’t feel like I was reading mysteries. There were some great stories in here—I’ll find out if Rupert Holmes has published anything else after reading The Monks of the Abbey Victoria, and I got chills from Child’s Play before I saw that I already like the author of that story, Alice Munro. The book says mysteries on the front, but there is a quote from Pelecanos prominently featured on the back that says, “Though there are twists and surprises to be discovered, none of these stories are puzzles, locked-room mysteries, or private detective tales.” (They accurately predicted that people would feel a bit puzzled after reading these stories if there wasn’t a warning.)

I guess I missed the feeling of an actual mystery here, for though the stories were by and large interesting to me, I did not feel like I’d discovered new mystery writers, just writers in general. Which is okay, but not what I was expecting and I guess hoping for despite the disclaimer. If there’s no mystery, just a well-written story, why put it in the “Mystery” pile at all?

The Kindle

For Christmas I received the life-changing gift of a Kindle. I opened the box, and then I sat there and cried. And it HAS changed my life.

As an editorial assistant, I carry home approximately 200 pages a night. That usually means printing chunks of two or three projects that we are unlikely to buy for one reason or another, using our elderly printer, as well as ink and paper. And I carry it all back the next day to share my thoughts with the editors. And more on the weekends!

Since I commute three hours a day, having a giant bag stuffed with unwieldy papers is a real pain, figuratively as well as literally. I’ve never had back problems before, but lately there have been some serious twinges. So when my mom asked what I thought of the Kindle, and whether it would be useful to me, I thought about it.

But I was torn. I’m a book person. I love the smell of a book, the feel of a book, the whole experience of a book. Plus I use the library all the time, and Kindle books are expensive for someone who doesn’t really have that extra money to apply to something that I could get from the library for free. Plus it’s expensive itself, and this didn’t seem like the year for expensive gifts. So I said I’d have to really think about it, and let the matter go at that. And when they were sold out a month before Christmas, I mentally kicked myself and moved on.

My mom ordered one anyway, and I’m so glad she did. I can now carry a real person’s purse, instead of a publishing wench's giant bag. I’ve read a few books on it, all published before 1923 and therefore free. (Lots of free books available on the Internet, pre-1923 no copyright issues.) I can put documents on there and read them, so instead of taking 100 pages of a project home and knowing after 50 it isn’t right for us and still having to lug it around, I can close it and move on to the next thing, which I have with me on my handy-dandy device. I am also giddily imagining what it would be like to go on vacation without packing a suitcase full of books. If I’m going away for a week of relaxation, I need at least 5 books, and at that I’ll usually run out and have to buy some. So I can’t wait to buy a few titles and download some old free-but-good books, and take one small device along for the ride.

Do I think this will ruin publishing as we know it? I think it will change it for sure. There’s a lot of debate over whether e-books are priced fairly, for instance, although that’s a separate post altogether. And it is a different experience. But having words available at my fingertips without the downsides of my beloved books is pretty amazing, and I have to say I’m thrilled with my new Kindle.

Goals for 2009, Part 1

Professional Goals

Keep my job: There’s a lot of turmoil in the publishing world right now, and so my highest priority here is doing everything I can to keep my job.

Start a blog that draws on some of my new expertise: Publishing isn’t the only thing I’m interested in, but it is one of the many things I am interested in. And I think there are lots of people who don’t have the opportunity to work in this world who’d like to know more about it from the inside.

Be promoted: I’m on the lowest rung of the totem pole as an editorial assistant after a year of working in publishing because I switched houses halfway through this past year. There were lots of reasons to do this and it was the right decision for me, but this year I want to be promoted, with the long-term goal of signing my own authors.

To keep my job and be promoted, I’m planning on throwing myself back into the swing of things in 2009. I’m going to work on having a positive, confident outlook, and on getting my work done as well and quickly as it can be done to prove that I can take on more responsibilities. Since I’ve tried to get officially reviewed and just been told I’m doing well, I will look for ways to measure my successes and keep track of what goes well.

Starting a blog will give me some of my own writing training, as I haven’t done so much writing since college and I know I need the practice. It will give me a place to talk about publishing, budgeting, eating, and reading, all things I really love.