The Book that Broke the Three-Year Streak

Three years ago, my wife gave birth to twins. Fatigue followed Joy followed Excitement followed Anticipation followed Fear and so on. Cute kids, huh?


I know. But my reading habits changed (as did many other parts of my life, of course).

After a year or so of denial, we let the wasted New Yorker subscription lapse. I read more non-fiction, especially books with short chapters. I started but didn't finish more and more books. To be fair, I more or less gave up on movies, too--only one-hour episodes of The Wire or such could be squeezed into a day.

And for three years, I did not read a single book in one sitting. No book could keep me from turning off the light at a reasonable hour, knowing the "alarm clock" sleeping in the next room would go off every morning at or before 6:00 am whether I stayed up late or not.

But last week, I saw this review on the front page of the New York Times Sunday Book Review. When a Finnish first novel in translation merits the front page of this revered rag, I pay attention. And when the novel is short, I grab it right away. So I did.

And a few blessed hours later, I exhaled and finished The Book that Broke the Three-Year Streak: When I Forgot by Elina Hirvonen.


It's terse, gripping, intense. I humbly suggest you stop depriving yourself and buy a copy at the locally owned independent bookstore of your choice. Here's mine. Or here are some others.

The Author Photo

"If you have an attractive looking author, there's a better chance that your book will get reviewed." - Nicholas Latimer, Knopf's director of publicity, quoting a People Magazine editor (via NPR).

I'll be frank, this post's origin lies in a shamelessly shallow conversation between store employees on Sunday night. Yes, shocking as it may be, it's true: we occasionally descend from the literary empyrean to discuss matters less profound than the existential foreshadowing apparent in Dostoevsky's Crime & Punishment or the influence of the nouveau roman on early 21st century Bosnian poetics. Last night, we were trying to come up with a list of attractive authors (and yet remaining vigilant in our service to you, the book-buying public), which led to the ever-so-slightly-less-shallow topic of The Author Photo. (Pictured above, Marisha Pessl, author of Special Topics in Calamity Physics.)

What makes a good Author Photo? Are they necessary? Do you even notice them? Have you - ahem - ever bought a book based on an author photo? I'm fully prepared to admit that I do pay attention to author photos, if only in a casual way. It's often a pleasant or at least amusing distraction on the job. While I'm not an aficionado or savant, I will offer up some memorable author photos, with the invitation to suggest some of your favorites/least favorites or simply remarkable for a certain Je ne sais quoi.

Roberto Bolano, real casual like

To reiterate: Zadie Smith writes books

Norman Mailer, perhaps a little too casual

William Vollmann wrote a 7-volume treatise on violence

Rita Mae Brown wouldn't be complete without her cat

Sammy Beckett could work on his intensity