Avid Reader: A Life | 
My Kindle went with me on my vacation to France and Switzerland. My friend teased me for reading while on the ferry with all this beautiful scenery. I can multitask! I did look around between pages. She said if anyone questions my dedication to books, I can show this picture.
pickWow can Gottlieb gossip—& dish the book dirt on EVERYONE from Bill Clinton & Joseph Heller to prima ballerinas & Katharine Hepburn. All of which is to say this is mostly an entertaining book by someone who was at the center of the literary world for decades. By the end, however, Gottlieb‘s conviction he was always right, the name dropping, & constant commentary on peoples‘ appearances, drinking problems, mood swings & so on was a little tiresome.
My current nonfiction read offers a fascinating glimpse into the world of publishing from an editor who worked with some really big name authors—Joseph Heller, Chaim Potok and countless more. It‘s gossipy and fabulous and while I‘m sure it would be amazing and highly entertaining to meet Mr. Gottlieb, I‘m not entirely convinced I would like him...which probably means his memoir is well-written and, perhaps, more revealing than he realizes.
Today‘s #bookmail is curtesy of spending a little time exploring the publishing side of the book world. No particular reason, just curious. I saw this book mentioned a couple of times and it‘s easy to see why when you see some of the authors this editor has worked with—Toni Morrison, John Cheever, Doris Lessing, John Le Carré, Michael Crichton and Miss Piggy to name a few. I expect it to be a very interesting book.
pickI enjoyed this for the most part — Gottlieb‘s memoir focuses almost completely on his life and career in publishing and perhaps intentionally less on family. I liked his insights on authors (several may be more familiar to older readers like me) and books he worked with. Added a few to the TBR!
It‘s hard to imagine that Catch-22 almost was Catch-18 or another number, but here‘s the story of how it happened.
“Jane Austen had pinned me to the wall.”
Book editor Robert Gottlieb tells us how he discovers “some kind of moral compass “ after reading Emma and other novels. (page 11).
Staff Picks for August are now up! Took me awhile, but I got it done.
Have you read any of these fine choices my colleague made?! The one on the top-right is Diana Athill‘s “Stet”.
#LitsyLovesLibraries
“To know anything you have to know everything..” Robert Gottlieb
Not sure where the lit quizzes are that everyone is posting, so I just went online and picked one. Obviously it isn't the same, but I like the result (and the graphic) 😊.
"I felt then, and still do, that readers shouldn't be made aware of editorial interventions; they have a right to feel that what they're reading comes direct from the author to them." *cough* Go Set a Watchman *cough*
...this was a milestone in my education about publishing--grasping the fact that the act of publishing is essentially the act of making public one's own enthusiasm." Thrilling to read about how some of the great novels of the last 50 years came to life.
...and here are the books I bought myself the past few weeks. I'm thinking of limiting my purchase of books to a mere 24 in the new year so I'm going a little crazy. I really need to conquer my huge tbr pile but can I really stop bringing books home?
panThis book disappointed me. It's a gossipy memoir of venerated editor Robert Gottlieb and I enjoyed his stories about legendary books he edited. But his insistence of describing the beauty and charm of every women, his supposedly intimate relationships with a staggeringly unreal amount of people, and the noticeable lack of his wife and children make this is a strange read. At the very least, this great editor needed more editing in this book.
Well, you all understand of course, but sometimes I feel like printing this on a t-shirt for the rest of the world. 😊❤
"Professionalism. Again and again I've bored young hopefuls with the unexciting news that though you can't legislate talent into yourself, you can legislate efficiency. It certainly helped my early career that I turned manuscripts around overnight or over a weekend ... you're going to have to do it sooner or later, and it doesn't take more time to do it right away after putting it off for whatever neurotic reason."
"But my problem with religion didn't stem from these misadventures. I've simply always lacked even the slightest religious impulse--when people talk about their faith, I can't connect with what they're talking about. This isn't a decision I came to, or a deep belief or principle; I'm just religion-deaf, the way tone-deaf people hear sounds but not music. I suppose my religion is reading."
pickPure catnip for book lovers, Knopf groupies, and the generally literate (a rapidly evanescing population). Some score settling, some "setting the record straight", but mostly great anecdotes about his authors, many of which are my favorites: John Updike, Robert Massie, John Gardner (who remembers him?), Raymond Carver, Thomas Bernhardt, and on and on. Great book.
I am loving this book!! And today, I'm thankful for many things, including books, reading and sharing both with the wonderful people of Litsy. This community is so amazing. Thank you all!!
It sits, taunting me, daring me to get my work done so I can get back to the more important work of avid reading. If I'm a good person in this life can I be reincarnated into Robert Gottlieb during the golden age of publishing? Please?
In 3 hours the library opens and I can pick up my copy of Avid Reader 😍🍾🙌.....
Dwight Garner of the NYT wrote today: How bookish was Mr. Gottlieb? At summer camp, as a child, he arranged to have The New York Times delivered to him daily. His family-- they lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan-- read books rather than converse at the dinner table. "Only later did it occur to me that this was not normal."
