Last night I had the place to myself and fired up the first two episodes in the latest season of Fox’s long-running, melodramatic, completely unrealistic counter-terrorism show 24. And I loved it.

I resisted the adventures of Jack Bauer for a while, despite the claims of friends and family that I’d eventually come to not only enjoy the show, but also yell at the screen in joy, anger, or pure, raw emotion. A friend said, “Trust me, if you watch it, you’ll find yourself screaming out Jack’s name.” He was completely correct.

24 is not art. Let’s get that straight right away. In my DVD collection, the seasons I own are hidden away behind things of more merit. And to be honest, it hasn’t been great since Day 5. But what can I say? I enjoy it.

We all have our guilty pleasures. (more…)

I’m an avid sports fan. How avid? Well, I used to contribute content for a fantasy football website. I shared partial season tickets for the Philadelphia Phillies before moving to NYC. I subscribe to ESPN the Magazine. I was even once a mediocre athlete, earning seven varsity letters during my high school career. There’s more, but I don’t want to terrify you.

Given the above revelations, it should come as no surprise that I’d love to find sports books for children. But not just any sports books for children: I want books that are fresh, intelligent, and about more than just the games on the field. (more…)

(Crow and Companion shopping during the holidays in high-tech Spend Bucks store packed with people.)

From next aisle over, Voice #1: Yo! What’s the name of that talking pig in that movie!

Voice #2: What movie? What pig? What are you talking about?

Voice #1: You know, that movie with the pig that talks—what’s it called? Babe. What was the name of the talking pig in that movie, Babe?

Over the holidays, the Crows took some time away from the fire of agenting to read things other than manuscripts and contracts. (I know, I know—who knew there was anything else? But it turns out the world of print is far bigger than just our little grimy corner of the bookstore. Will the wonders never cease!?) Some of us lost ourselves in the fat new Stephen King novel; others laughed their asses off over a Bill Bryson book (a helluva way to lose weight); still others turned for inspiration to that magazine of national record In Style to see just what it is we should be reading.

What books can the stars not put down? (more…)

As news of J.D. Salinger’s death spread across the internet today, I couldn’t help but feel deeply saddened. Yes, he hasn’t published new work in 45 years. Yes, his reclusive ways may have overshadowed his literary talent. But goddam could the man write.

Say what you want of him: Many call him overrated or think his books are too dated to hold up to today’s standards, and accounts of Salinger the man paint him as everything from ornery to completely nuts, but there’s no arguing his brief time spent in the limelight of American publishing had a great impact on books and writers for years. Some even claim that The Catcher in the Rye paved the way for what would become Young Adult literature. I think that’s probably stretching it a bit, but there’s no doubt the novel has influenced the lives of countless teenagers.

Like me. (more…)

In 1974, one of the great editors in the history of children’s books, Susan Hirschman, launched Greenwillow Books. She had left Macmillan (a long-ago and vastly different company from the one that exists now) for reasons of principle, and was asked by William H. Morrow (a long-ago and vastly different company from the one that exists now) to create a new children’s line.

The name of the imprint came from a picture book by Elizabeth Coatsworth (called Under the Green Willow); the logo was inspired by the book and created by art director Ava Weiss; and the inaugural list, in 1975, included many of the giant talents Hirschman had published elsewhere—Ezra Jack Keats, Anita Lobel, Tana Hoban, and others—making Greenwillow’s debut one of the richest and most fully-formed the industry has seen before or since. (I am cribbing freely from the masterful Minders of Make-Believe by Leonard S. Marcus, which, if you care at all about the history of children’s books, you should go out and read. Seriously, it’s worth the ducats.)

And the publishing program hasn’t slacked off since that first list. (more…)

So at long last, the Apple iPad has been announced and demo’d, and you can find a photostream of the presentation at Engadet. Is it a game changer? Or did Jobs—as Michael Grant writes below—punt the reader? I disagree, but then, that’s my nature—contrarian. Especially where Grant is concerned.

The iPad will probably kill the Kindle, but I don’t think it really laid a glove on Amazon. The book reader interface is a steal from some other guy and not in any way revolutionary.

And judging by the pricing used on their mock-up, Apple has fallen into a trap with the legacy publishers. Also, there’s no enhancing capability.

And since the iPad takes all iPhone apps it means Amazon can sell Kindle books to the iPad as of day one.

Kind of looks like Steve Jobs punted on e-books, at least in terms of retailing and publishing.

But what do you all think?

No, I’m not talking about the indentured servitude contract Chris Richman and I agreed to when we booked passage here from the Old Country. We’re still in thrall to our master and doing dishes to earn our room and board. Rather, I’m talking about a little piece of shareware called Freedom. It forcibly stops users from accessing the internet. (That little clock to the right is its desktop icon.)

If you’re anything like me, then you find it hard to stop yourself from checking things throughout the day. Your four email accounts, your Twitter feed, internet messenger windows, that time-suck called Facebook, Goodreads, this blog, and a bazillion other inveigling things worm their way into your serene office and distract you from the Work That Must Be Done. Some of you have self control and practice “restraint.” (What is that?)

Well, bully for you. Me, I got no self control. (more…)

Oh, Jeff Bezos. There was a time when I was a true believer. I bought the first generation Kindle relatively early on—March or April of ‘08, thereabouts. I was impressed (or flattered, anyway) by the letter from you that came with it, complimenting me on being a daring early adopter, one of the few, the proud—

The ripped-off.

Mind you, it did work for just over a year. Sure, the back came off all of the time, and the clumsy design meant I was always turning pages by accident (seemed like every edge of the damn thing had a page flip button). Sure, reading off of a gray screen is nowhere near as fine as reading off of a crisp page, but hey, it’s a new technology! It’s trailblazing of the sort that heralds a new era! It’s—well, how the future looked back in 1982! Sure it’s a homely little device, but who besides Steve Jobs ever said technology should be pretty and appealing?

For my four hundred bucks, I got about thirteen months of use out of it before the screen froze up. (more…)

It feels natural to follow a post about what books I really enjoyed in 2009 with a post about the sorts of books I’d love to sign in 2010. And yes, I am actively seeking new talent! In other words, GIMME GIMME GIMME.

Ahem.

My interests as listed on the Upstart Crow website serve as a general outline of my tastes. Yes, I like books for boys. Yes, I’m crazy for middle grade. Yes, my tastes get a little more specific when it comes to teen. No, I’m not interested in signing the next Twilight, even though I’d love to swim through piles of money like Scrooge McDuck. No, I don’t currently represent picture books (please hold your rotten tomatoes until the end of the post).

If you really want to send a project that will make me drool, the following list should provide some guidance. I’m seeking books that are:  (more…)