Coyotes Roundup: TELEX FROM CUBA

For our October discussion of Telex From Cuba, we were lucky enough to have author Rachel Kushner join us for a Q&A session. Here's a quick rundown of some of the things the group discussed and some of Rachel's answers to the questions we asked her.

Several readers agreed that the setting -- American-owned plantations in 1950s Cuba -- was just as fascinating as (and for some, even more than) the specific characters themselves. We asked Rachel: "Which came first: characters or setting?" She said the characters, but then she said she knew she wanted to write about Americans in Cuba in the 1950s. So it seems that they were intricately linked from the beginning. Some of the most evocative writing was her depiction of the cane fire near the beginning of the novel. I felt covered in sweat and soot as I was reading, and I felt recognition. I'm sure the cane fire wasn't so different from the brush fires we experience every year her in Southern California. The way the light is eerily orange and the air takes on new qualities...

An interesting tidbit that came up is that the biographical info on the hardcover is different from the paperback. On the hardcover, it mentions that some of Rachel's relatives lived in Cuba in the 1950s. That information was removed on the paperback, and Rachel explained. The historical fact may have led her to the topic, and it may have provided her with some great research sources in Cuba and elsewhere, but the novel is not a retelling of her family's experiences. It's a fine line between giving the reader useful info and leading them to make assumptions that may not be true. She mentioned Rivka Galchen's Atmospheric Disburbances (the next Coyotes selction) as another example where the biographical info on the jacket copy may skew the reader's perception of the novel.

We asked her about the characters in the novel that ARE based on actual historical figures. For me, the Castros were a necessary presence, but the other cameos (Hemingway, Lucy and Desi, etc) felt a little distracting. Rachel said that they weren't meant to be meaningful characters -- they were there to lend authenticity to the setting. Perhaps the most interesting coincidence is that Rachel K., the dancer in Havana, was NOT a foil for the author (a tendency that pops up in fiction a lot these days). There was an actual dancer/spy in Cuba who went by the name Rachel K. They considered changing the name to avoid confusion, but instead, they decided to honor the coincidence by keeping the name. As a reader, however, I just assumed the author inserted herself as one of the more powerful and interesting female characters (no shame in that). I don't often delve deeper into research when reading fiction, especially when the novel is as readable and immersing as this one.

Curiously, a majority of the group members felt that the voice of K.C. Stites, the only first person narrator, didn't feel particularly "male." Some thought it was the diction and syntax, others cited his role in the family, still others his observations and thoughts. Rachel said that she hadn't heard that critique before. She said that readers must fight the urge to put the author's identity behind the "I" in a novel (and authors must remind them). I think this links back to our discussion of biographical information as well.

Finally, I asked Rachel where she was when she heard about the National Book Award nomination. The announcement was made at noon in New York, so it was morning in LA when the phone call came, breakfast time for her son. When he started fussing, her mother who was visiting said, "This is your life now! Don't ignore him for more phone calls from New York!" So the announcement was quick. Did it change things for her? She wished she could say it didn't. After all, who writes just for recognition? But after the announcement, she got invitations to speak much more often. She said you can enjoy the recognition when you get it, but it isn't why you write. She also sees the danger in getting a nomination so early. As a writer, you have to steel yourself to make sure you don't go looking around for it the next time. She seems to have a very level-headed approach, and it was great to hear more about the book and her POV as a writer.

Afterwards, she stuck around and chatted and signed people's books. It was pretty cool. I love my job. :)

Book Trailer, featuring Skylight

Above is a book trailer for author and publisher Tod Davies. Expect to see more of these: clips of writers talking about their projects. The writing and publishing world is changing. Promotion has become key.

Tod Davies--a delightful woman--came to Skylight to talk about her work. Skylight is interspersed in the trailer, but you begin to recognize our walls (and tree) in the first 30 seconds.

Happy Book-mitzah Skylight!

It's lucky number 13 for Skylight Books this weekend. Holy smokes, just think about that for a sec. THIRTEEN YEARS! Since that fateful day when we took the newspapers off the windows and opened our doors for business we've seen three Presidents take office, voted out a governor and voted in former action star Arnold Schwarzenegger to replace him, had the dot.com burst, seen our tax increase to 9.75%, had the housing bubble burst, seen the complete disintegration of Lindsy Lohan, took the newspapers off our second store, watched sadly as Dutton's and Midnight Special closed their doors and witnessed the rise of the internet and Amazon.com.

And in those 13 years we've seen Skylight grow in ways that we couldn't have imagined all those years ago. We've hosted events with Wilco, and James Ellroy, and Found magazine, and David Foster Wallace (RIP), and Cornel West and Chuck Klosterman, and Amy Goodman and Aimee Bender and so many talented writers and artists that it would take me 13 days to try and list them all.

So thank you all for supporting us, and loving us and nurturing us through all these years. To help celebrate we're throwing a party with cake and discounts and a kitty. So stop by on October 31 and November 1, and eat some delicious snacks and drinks some delicious drinks and have a fun time with us. And if you stop by on Halloween between 3-5 pm you'll have an extra fun time when we hold our reception party where toasts will be made, and champagne will be drunk and possibly some hugs will be given out.

Kobe Bryant just wants to build models

I feel pretty confident that if you were somehow able to administer truth serum to the entire Los Angeles population and asked who their favorite sports team is, the answer would undoubtedly be the Lakers. While all of the different sports teams in LA have their fans, it seems that the Lakers are loved by all. Even those who are not sports fans by nature get into it during the playoffs. So to help gear up for the upcoming season here are two books to get you ready for the awesomeness that is basketball.

The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac by Freedarko.com (Bloomsbury). Freedarko is a basketball blog for people who like things that are both awesome and basketball. My words will never be able to replicate the power of Freedarko so I will just give a quick excerpt here describing the book.

"Within the pages of this tome, NBA hoopery collides with Japanese noise-rock, municipal politics, experimental zoology, Belgian surrealism, and behavioral economics like never before."

Finally, the artwork in this book is phenomenal. It includes this picture of Kobe Bryant and other pictures like this and this and this.

The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons (ESPN books). Bill Simmons is a columnist for ESPN, and is also known as the Sports Guy. He often combines his love of pop culture, with his passion for sports (references to the Shawshank Redemption, MTV's the Real World and Mad Men come up in his columns.) Simmons also feels like the type of guy that you could sit down with at a bar, knock back a couple of drinks and talk about whatever happens to be on the tv. Now take all of that information and imagine stuffing it in a 700-page book about basketball and voila, you got the Book of Basketball.

And like DeNiro said to Ray Liotta in Goodfellas after the Luftansa heist, here's "just a little taste," of Bill Simmons from a recent NBA column.

"Remember in 'Shawshank,' when Red was describing how Andy burrowed through the walls thanks to 'pressure over time.' The same goes for NBA players and knees. Pressure over time. You pressure your knees over time, and eventually, they don't work as well. For big guys, they lose three things once their knees start going: explosiveness (self-explanatory), quick hops (the ability to quickly jump up for a rebound or a block without setting their legs and bending their knees first) and auto-start (the ability to quickly start moving from a standing position)."

Oh, Man, Our Cat is Being Cute Today!

An update on our little furry friend Franny: She got fixed last week! So we don't have to worry about her getting knocked up! She's healing well, and she is just as crazy and just cute as ever. Look!

Man, that cute hurts!

She's totally giving me the ear right now.

"Do what you must, just don't bother me. Turn the flash off."

Bianca

We've got a lot of regular customers at Skylight Books. Book worms, book geeks, book sluts, book nuts, bookies, bookers, book babes, book studs, book wrestlers, book builders, book binders, book addicts, book finders, book lovers, book writers, book eaters, book cats, and book dogs. We are like Cheers but instead of beer we've got books (you can figure out who's Sam and who's Norm). For many years now Bianca (pictured above) and her pal Steven have been the best kind of regulars, coming by, teaching us a little Italian, visiting, and letting us get a little petting in our day. But now we are saddened by the news that Bianca has passed away. Bianca, big and white and full of poise, was known to trot up to the office to get a rub and share some of Lucy's cat food and water. Steven says her two favorite places to visit were Skylight Books and Action Vacuum. Everyone here at Skylight was touched and awed by Bianca and her majesty. She was friendly, patient, sweet, a little rock and roll, and a little regal with wonderful eyes. She will be missed and our thoughts go out to Steven.

Mini-comics - Small Package, Big Punch

While I'm as big a fan of superhero comics as the next guy, sometimes I need a little variety in my comic diet. A little humor, a dash of drama, a pinch of surrealism, and a big helping of DIY. It makes for a more well rounded palette and as an added bonus I get the satisfaction of knowing that my purchases are helping out independent artists and publishers and not a gigantic corporation.

Anyways, we got a whole batch of new mini-comics from Global Hobo Comics as well as Parcell Press so come check them out. In the meantime here are a couple of my recent favorites.

Papercutter edited by Greg Means - a comic anthology series highlighting young, and upcoming comic book artists. Stories can range from autobiographical high school stories, to long fantastical tales, to short one page pieces.


Jesse Reklaw's Ten Thousand Things to Do by Jesse Reklaw - Jesse is a busy guy. He's doing book tours, having parties and trying to make sure his cat doesn't throw up. Oh yeah, he's also documenting everything in his comic diary. Fun and fanciful.

Ivy, Chapter One by Sarah Oleksyk - While I definitely, definitely, definitely do not want to go back to high school, it's pretty interesting to revisit much of the angst, confusion and joy that accompanies being a teenager. Beautiful and clean art.