the message

Yesterday I finished Markus Zusak's I Am the Messenger, and it completely blew me away.

Now, I love a lot of books. In fact, it's rare that I dislike a book at all. But there are some that just strike you on a whole different level, and I Am the Messenger is one of those.

It wasn't because of the plot. For example, a few books before this I read Ben Mezrich's Busting Vegas. Now, I'm not knocking this book in any way. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, and literally grinned the entire time I was reading (when I wasn't cringing-- things get dicey, no pun intended). But even if Mezrich didn't have a mastery of storytelling, I was already predisposed to love it, just like I was predisposed to love Ocean's 11, even it wasn't the greatest movie ever made. Trying to beat the casinos? Perfection. But even though I Am the Messenger, the story of underachieving, underage cab driver Ed Kennedy, whose life is turned upside down when he begins receiving mysterious messages forcing him to act in his community, had a completely engrossing storyline, it wasn't that that affected me so deeply.

It wasn't the characters, either, though they were quirky, complex, entertaining, and real. While there was no passionate crush this time, I certainly had a favorite character, and during this character's climax I literally welled up with tears of happiness. Yes. My favorite character literally made me cry tears of joy, and it still wasn't the characters that kept me reeling all day with the power of the novel.

It was the writing. Writing that lets you know you're in the shadow of true genius. Writing so phenomenal that you miss subway stops because you can't pull yourself out of the story. Writing so beautiful that you're emotionally on edge the rest of the day. Writing so amazing that you (I) realize all over again exactly why being an author is the most important thing in the world.

I could go on for pages about it, of course. I could write about how unique his style is; how I love that the senses are used in unconventional ways for stunning description, like tasting joy; how the carefully placed breaks only emphasize the power of the words themselves. But I won't, because, as you may have guessed by now, this isn't a book review.

Even if you hadn't guessed, you may have been thinking that the titles I mentioned sound familiar. Well, you're right.

Ben Mezrich is a New York Times bestselling author of many books, including Bringing Down the House (another great read), the basis for the movie 21, and The Accidental Billionaires (on my to-read list), the basis for the movie The Social Network.

And, of course, there's Markus Zusak. I Am the Messenger won several awards, but you're probably thinking of The Book Thief, another stunning read (and incredible bestseller) about a girl growing up in WWII... narrated by Death himself.

You may be wondering what's going on here. After all, isn't this a blog about saving mid-list authors?

Technically, yes. Absolutely. But it's more than that, too. Because specifically, it's not about contracts, or sales, or the business of publishing, or even the mid-list and the writers who reside there. It's about the written word, and the power it can hold. It's about those beautiful moments of clarity when your life is personally affected by a book. When a manuscript grabs a hold of you and doesn't let go for years. And it doesn't matter whether the writer is bestselling Richard Adams or mid-list Hilari Bell. The point is that even after reading Adams' Watership Down 15 times (the hailed "modern classic" and "modern epic" is one of my all-time favorites),my heart still beats faster with nerves every time I get to the chapter "Fear in the Dark" -- even though there shouldn't be any suspense, because I not only know what happens, I can quote it. The point is that I couldn't read another book for two days after finishing Bell's Player's Ruse, because the ending was such an emotionally charged whirlwind involving a character written so well I have a bordering-on-unhealthy crush on him.

So the point of this blog is not to fight for an abstract, the vague "mid-list." The point is to make sure that the books that affect us don't fade into oblivion. And sometimes they don't need our help, because they sell like Harry Potter books. Sometimes, they are Harry Potter books.But sometimes these books are on the mid-list, which is suffering. So we have to make sure that they survive to touch someone else's life, and we have to make sure the category of mid-list survives, so that more authors are given the opportunity to change our lives.

And that's why I made this blog. I'm going to continue reading whatever strikes my fancy, both best-seller and mid-list, but I'm only going to review mid-list books. Not only that, though-- the mid-list books that I really stand behind,the ones that really made me laugh, or think, or feel.

The ones that really deserve it.

And remember, you can help too: support your favorite mid-list authors, spread the word, follow me on twitter, and email an original review to doingitwrite@gmail.com for a guest spot on my blog. And keep reading. As nerdy as it sounds, having your eyes fill with tears of joy is everything it's cracked up to be.

inspiration, and more things i find on the internet

So, once again, I was all gung-ho about posting, before discovering that while the book I was writing about wasn't a bestseller, the author was, and she's going to be just fine. In fact, the book in question already has one sequel published and another in the works.

Which, don't get me wrong, is great. I plan on reading those sequels as soon as I can. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I have no problem with bestselling books and authors. Don't think I wasn't ecstatic when I discovered that Kiki Strike: Into the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller, my would-be post, had a sequel, or when I saw the new Artemis Fowl book displayed prominently at a Borders, or discovered more books from some of my staple authors on the Barnes and Noble website (and we don't have to get in my love for the Harry Potter books again). In fact, one of my biggest dreams is to be number one on the New York Times bestseller list someday. It's a feat, and an honor, and oft times very deserved.

What's scary is that all that's available for us are bestsellers and new authors, and if those new authors don't cut it on their first books, that could be it. Just as mid-list authors are struggling to keep their careers going (and their stunning books on the shelves for their fans who so desperately love them!), it's becoming harder and harder for new authors to build careers.

I'm rehashing all of this because in my attempt to find a mid-list book I've read and loved to post about (which is getting harder, and harder, and harder), I stumbled across this.

(Personality quiz: did you impulsively click on the link, or patiently wait for my explanation?)

As always, any links I post are the opinions of the authors, but this is definitely an interesting read. Novelist Holly Lisle is starting a publishing company of her own dedicated to the career of the writer. You can read all about it in her post (and here it is again, for you patient people), but it covers what she sees as the problems in the publishing industry (a big one being the decrease of author backlists, which is fully explained in her post), and what she plans to do about it in order to save mid-list authors, and help fledgling authors build the promising careers they deserve.

To me, this is so inspiring. It's wonderful that people are willing to put so much into helping writers, and, in turn, readers, who will have so many more phenomenal authors and books to choose from if the mid-list comes back.

So get inspired! This could mean doing something on your own, getting involved in Holly's project, spreading the word about mid-list authors and your favorite mid-list books, writing your favorite mid-list authors to tell them how much you love their work and seeing what they're doing (author websites are also a great place to see what authors are up to), or simply (plug? perhaps, but well intentioned-- this is my activism, after all) following this blog and encouraging others to do the same. The more who follow, the more people will learn about mid-list authors (and hopefully discover some new books), and perhaps go out and do something-- or at least support their favorite authors by spreading the word and buying their books. So in that same vein, write and email me an original review of your favorite mid-list book, because they're getting harder for me to find! It can be any genre, any style, as long as it's mid-list. I'll post it under a guest reviewer's section.