Round Up Day

Round up time, with Laura visiting from Combreviations:

Look me in the (metaphorical) eye, reader types, and tell me you don't want to become a writer, at least in part, for the celebrity. Selfish, selfish ends. But then you can join the ranks of Evangeline Lily and her children's book, or Peaches Geldof and her not-children's book. You could score Bridget Jones' Diary like Lily Allen, or revel in cliches like Kazuo Ishiguro. You could talk fiction, like Jeffrey Eugenides, or rank 20th century gothic fiction, like Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Your senior thesis could be published, like David Foster Wallace! Or you could encourage college students to be nice, like Jeff Bezos. Hell, you could be popular for all time, like James Bond.

Now, to be fair, most writers don't become famous (not like Laurell K. Hamilton, who gave a great interview). But sometimes you can still get access to the secret Vatican archives, or respond to Israeli news. And you're always free to judge the New Yorker's list of writers under 40, or make your own list of writers over 80. Or discover yourself as an element on the periodic table of writers. And even if you never make it, don't be sad—you can still be part of storytime with B&N.

Plus, hey, if you're here, you're probably literate, which says that you had good access to books as a child (and maybe no live music in your library). So don't go fret to your therapist, especially if it turns out reading poetry is more beneficial than therapy. Everything is probably your sister's fault anyway. So read your Guns N' Roses vook, pull out your e-bible, become the mayor of your local bookstore, be sure to retitle your book for maximum click through, and we'll see you next week!