Blurble blurble blurble

I have, on my desk, two requests to read books in galleys and write blurbs. They both seem worthy books but I am having to say no.  There was a time when I wrote occasional blurbs...one for "The Golden Compass" which certainly needed no help from me!...one for Alice Hoffman's "Incantation"...Alice is a friend of mine and I truly thought the book was terrific; it went on to win awards...and occasional others.   But it turned into an overwhelming onslaught of manuscripts and galleys; clearly I couldn't read and comment on them all, and which, then to choose?  I decided simply to say no to every one.  Having made that decision, I then had some difficult moments---when, for example, I had to say no to a friend, not long ago.  But I'm glad I made the decision I did.  It had become something of a burden, the choosing, the reading, the weighing; and I don't, actually, think the blurbs make a difference.  I kind of chuckle at them, myself, on adult books, picturing two writers having coffee together and saying to each other:  "I'll do yours if you do mine."

***

A comment following my previous post makes clear that the blogger remarks I alluded to were not, actually, waspish but quite benign.  I'm almost sorry because not only did it give me the opportunity to use "waspishly" as an adverb, but also it provided a segué into the Garrison Keillor piece where he uses "weaselish, piggish, and buzzardly," a wonderful triumvirate of descriptors.

Here's the view from my son's law office window in Portland, Maine. If you have to be in a law office, weeping over a divorce or seething about an injustice,  (or groaning about an injured back, in this case, since Lowry Legal Services specializes in disabilities) there is certainly something to be said for a great view.

Comments

[Anne]

I understand the concept of the lightweight blurb, as I often interpret them in such a light, but there are still occassions when I unwillingly fall under the spell of an admired author's words.

The Portland view makes me regret that I never paid a visit to my aunt's ninth floor Portland apartment with a view over the harbor before she moved to Scarborough. I still miss the visits to Portland's Green Grocer shop that were the preparation for a week of island time in Cascc Bay. Now we tend to
go farther down east, but still miss those Portland supply stops.

[Karin]

I somehow ended up being the person to pick out my husband's books from the library, and I actually use the blurbs to discover new mystery authors. It is surprisingly useful.

[Caroline]

Ms. Lowry,
At school, we just finished reading the triology The Giver,etc. We are now doing a report on you. On of the requirements is to name something you think know one else will know about you but you. I would like to know one fact about you that is relativly unknown.
Thank you,
Caroline

[rhonda]

at school we are doing a report about you.
do you have anything funny to share with us

[Lois Lowry]

Something funny? Hmmmm. Once I was a contestant on the TV show "Jeopardy. They made us go and get make-up put on. When the make-up lady was doing me, she got a phone call and forgot to do my second eyebrow. So I was on the show with one (fake) brown eyebrow and one (real) blond eyebrow.

Does that qualify as something funny?

[rhonda]

yes that qualifies as something funny