Perigee Bookmarks

People Who Deserve It

Posted by Meg Leder

While living in New York City can be a wonderful, diverse, vibrant experience, it also has its challenges. Mainly: All the other people living here.

Take my morning commute: There are the people who push their way through everyone trying to get off the train because they can’t wait to board. There’s the strange woman clipping her fingernails in the subway car. There’s the guy who likes to spread his legs so wide he takes up the width of three seats. And don’t forget the over-the-shoulder nosy reader or the teenager blaring her iPod on such a high volume we all get treated to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.”

When confronted with these insensitive displays, you can’t do much; the crazy quotient in NYC is so high, you don’t want to risk antagonizing a potentially psychotic subway mate. Instead, you scrunch your way into a sliver of a seat, duck from flying pieces of fingernail, try not to get “Poker Face” stuck in your head, and simmer in silence.

Which is why as soon as I heard about it, I wanted to publish Casey Gordon and Tim Rand’s People Who Deserve It: Socially Responsible Reasons to Punch Someone in the Face.

With razor-sharp observation skills, honed by twenty-some years of living with fellow human beings, Casey and Tim have compiled entries describing some of the most terrible people on the planet: Overly Self-Righteous Vegan, Super Snorer, No Umbrella Etiquette Lady, Obviously Hot Compliment Fisher, and more. They even include non-human entries, and yeah, I agree, E. Coli definitely deserves a punch in the face.

The recognition I felt on reading the book was a relief: I’m not alone in hating Two Spot Parkers or Office Food Thieves! It would be absolutely delightful to throw a right hook in the face of a Passive Aggressive Emoticon User :)! Finally, I had found a safe avenue for my anger, and the reassurance that comes from shared recognition.

So the next time you notice yourself gritting your teeth in barely-contained rage at the quirks, foibles, and flaws of your neighbors, be they in NYC or anywhere else on our fair planet, pick up a copy of People Who Deserve It and imagine giving a quick uppercut to No Cleanup Nail Clipper or Impatient Subway Boarder. It’s a healthy channel for some of that rage, and it won’t land you in jail.

 

People Who Deserve It will be available November 2.

The Value of Literary Gossip

Posted by author Bill Peschel

I can’t help it. I love gossip. That’s why I wrote Writers Gone Wild: The Feuds, Frolics, and Follies of Literature’s Great Adventurers, Drunkards, Lovers, Iconoclasts and Misanthropes.

But gossip gets a bad rap. The Talmud warns wise men against gossiping, not even with their wives. George Eliot called gossip “a sort of smoke that comes from the dirty tobacco-pipes of those who diffuse it.”  Erica Jong has her heroine, Isadora Wing, call it “the opiate of the oppressed” in “Fear of Flying.”

But at the core of its rapidly beating heart, what is gossip but stories? We love to tell stories. We’re social creatures. We want to gather in groups and talk. Those who don’t get cabin fever, move to the woods, and either write dull tracts or build bombs.

We’re better off together, where we can keep an eye on each other.

And if the stories are really good, is it fair to expect us to keep it to ourselves?

 Take this story: you’re at a dinner party with a Notable Guest, someone respected and well-known.

A young man walks in, sees the NG, drops to one knee before him and kisses his hand.

During the dinner, the guest calls out to the NG "How does it feel to be a great genius, sir?" and "I am so excited at seeing you, sir, that I could weep." At the end of the evening, the guest climbs out the window and threatens to jump unless the NG’s wife said she loved him.

Great story, right? It’s even better when you’re told that the Notable Guest was James Joyce, and the young man was F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Now it’s not gossip anymore. It’s literary history.

Those are the stories that drew me to writing Writers Gone Wild. The fights, like the one-punch knockdown between recent Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The dramatic debuts of iconoclastic works, such as the performance of “Howl” that launched Allen Ginsberg’s career (brilliantly recreated by James Franco in the recent biopic). The interest Franz Kafka showed in pornography, which leads one to wonder what else is in that stash of manuscripts that was the subject of a recent court fight in Israel.

Even Jong couldn’t resist the lure of gossiping. In one memoir, she revealed how an eminent, unnamed “lizard” New York publisher seduced her with the help of a first edition of Whitman’s Leaves of Grass.

These are the stories ─ all of them are in the book, of course ─ that define the writers’ character, strengths and their weaknesses. They show the sources of their inspiration. They’re cautionary tales. In Writers Gone Wild, I wanted to show how they struggled, what they valued and what they rejected.

I wanted you to see them as human beings, warts and all, because it contrasts so well with what they accomplished on the page from the wellsprings of their imagination and creativity.

But also, because it’s great gossip.

 

Writers Gone Wild will be available November 2.

Happy Extreme Halloween

Posted by Marian Lizzi

Here at the Penguin Group, we take Halloween pretty seriously. I’m talking decorate-your-office, coordinate-costumes-with-your-department, see-the-sales-guys-dressed-in-tights seriously. (OK, that was just one guy…but the memory will last a lifetime.)

This means that once a year, Perigee author Tom Nardone is the toast of Hudson Street (we’re toasting warm beer in a conference room transformed into a zombie saloon, but still…).

Calling Tom a pumpkin carver is like calling Tim Burton a guy who plays with puppets. Tom is a power-tool-wielding force of nature. His three Halloween books are filled with over-the-top creations like the Puking Pumpkin, Crime-Scene Pumpkin, Blood-Filled Pumpkin (which is more of a prank, really), Full-Diaper Pumpkin (every dad’s nightmare)…you get the idea. He’s also great with tricks, such as the Talking Trashcan (I dare you not to laugh at this demonstration photo).

 

So as another October 31 approaches, I hope you’ll get into the spirit. Think big. Think weird. Think simulated bodily fluids. Think extreme!

 

 

 

Extreme Pumpkins

 

 

 

Extreme Pumpkins II

 

 

 

Extreme Halloween

 

In the Book

Posted by Marian Lizzi

There’s a lot of talk these days about the future of the printed book: Will it survive? Will it become a rarified commodity, like fine wine? Will our kids’ kids even know what they were?

While these big questions get sorted out by the publishing industry and the vast and voracious reading public (and yes, I believe the reading public is more robust than ever), I’d like to take a moment to celebrate a book about a book.

OK, it’s a book about the phone book.

Are you still with me?

Ammon Shea, author of Reading the OED, has turned his considerable curiosity, good humor, and nose for history to that ubiquitous doorstop that everyone owns but no one reads. The result, in my undoubtedly biased opinion, is a delightful read that perfectly suits this strange moment in the long history of the printed word.

Shea’s romp through the colorful life of the phone book features U.S. presidents and Supreme Court justices, turn-of-the-century immigrant communities, circus strongmen, encyclopedic collectors, and of course Thomas Edison, among many other colorful characters. It’s an expansive, engaging read—and a fitting tribute to books-as-books.

So as the internet buzzes with rumors of the demise of the bookstore, the publishing industry, and even the book itself, I ask you this: What are the big, long tomes that you like to keep around?

Are they souvenirs of leisurely reading experiences past? Or trophies that let others know you made it to the end—since, after all, in the new world of e-readers, no one can hear you title-drop? Or are they reference books that you might be able to find online but you just can’t part with (like the Oxford English Dictionary, the subject of Ammon Shea’s previous book)? Or maybe, like many a phone book, they prop up your computer monitor, or help your toddler reach his dinner plate.

Drop me a note with your big-book thoughts. (And yes, I’m in the book.)

 

Look for Ammon Shea on the Penguin blog this week.

Ammon Shea and The Phone Book were also was featured in The New Yorker.

The Phone Book is available now.

Six Ways to Unify People for a Common Goal

Posted by Chris St. Hilaire. Originally published at The Women on the Web (wowowow.com)

I’m on a mission to change the way the world views persuasion. Despite the fact that we use persuasion in nearly every conversation – at work, at home, with friends, in stores and restaurants – this basic communication skill has gotten a bad rap. Say "persuasion" and people think "used-car salesman." Yet whether you’re trying to convince your teenager to drive safely, your spouse to take a few days off work or your colleagues to try your latest strategy, you’re using persuasion all the time. And chances are, you’d like to be better at it.

True persuasion isn’t about arm-twisting or manipulating. It’s not about tricking people or bullying them. It’s about unifying people around a goal. Unity is the key, and the way to get there is by looking Eastward, toward the Buddhist concept of the ego. According to Eastern thought, inside each of us is a constant struggle between the ego that says, "I’m different. I’m special," and the spirit that knows we’re all the same. The ego wants to separate from others; it’s fear-based. The spirit wants to unite. When you’re trying to persuade, coming from the spirit – from a place of unity and inclusion – is the most effective approach. The following six New Persuasion strategies will make your listeners feel safe, included, and eager to unify around your goal.

Put your ego aside and focus on the egos of others. In order to persuade, you must first make sure your listeners feel safe and included. So use the first five minutes of any meeting to put others at ease, not to impress them with your own wonderfulness. If it’s your coworkers, thank them for taking a few minutes out of their hectic day to meet with you. Ditto if you’re calling on a new client – and mention something positive about their organization or their personal accomplishments. (You’ve researched them first, of course.) That teenager? Bring food. No one’s too old for ice cream, and they can’t argue if their mouth is full. At least for a few minutes.

Focus on the goal, and let others define it. Confusion and discord make people feel anxious and threatened, and unity makes them feel safe. People unify around a goal. Positive persuasion means letting the goal evolve from the group, not simply presenting your idea. To do this, ask, "What’s our goal? What are we trying to accomplish here today?" Let people give you the answer, and repeat what they say to make sure you’re all on the same page. Give people choices (first making sure you’ll be comfortable with either choice). Use their points to support your goal, and tie points together using other people’s suggestions. Finally, boil the goal down into one or two simple sentences that everyone agrees with. Now they’re invested – it’s their goal too.

Aim for the undecideds. Most people think of "undecideds" in terms of politics, where undecided voters often make the critical difference. There are undecideds in every group, and they are always important when you’re aiming to persuade. Undecideds typically see both sides of an issue to a fault – they truly cannot make up their minds. Winning them over requires subtlety. You can’t just go around the room urging the undecideds to take a stand. Instead, you must let them witness the action from the sidelines, especially the way you handle people who disagree with you. The more inclusive and evenhanded you are when dealing with your opposition, the more the undecideds will trust you because they’ll see that you can listen to all sides. You may never win the support of every single person in the room, but you don’t need to. You just need to win enough undecideds to sway the majority in your direction.

Validation to bolster your plan. If you’re making a presentation, third-party validation will help your listeners overcome their natural fear of being the first to support your idea. The validation can come from a colleague ("Marissa over in sales was especially excited about this product"), clients ("The reason we have so many good quotes on our website is …") or statistics ("According to the Times, this sort of promotion can increase sales by 25 percent in the first month"). Risk makes people feel vulnerable, and third-party validation makes your idea less risky.

Don’t say no; say, "Let’s try this." There are plenty of bad ideas out there, often bursting from the lips of your colleagues or clients (or family). Understandably, none of them wants to hear you say no. No is a rejection. It makes people feel threatened. Buddhism advises never to swim against the tide, but instead, to redirect it. Rather than nixing a bad idea, make sure you and the other person agree on the goal, then suggest other ways to achieve it. Add to their plan, don’t destroy it. If your client wants you to run an ad touting exaggerated claims for his product, don’t say no. Instead suggest an ad with quotes from satisfied customers. If your husband wants to have a party and you can’t stand the thought of all that prep, redirect the idea and add to it. First, agree with the goal ("I’d love to see those guys!"). Then, redirect it ("How about if we all go to the game together that night?"). Open up the discussion and keep adding ideas until you find one you both like.

The New Persuasion is all about recognizing that other people have egos, points of view and great ideas that will make your idea stronger. Learn to persuade through unifying, and your life will become less stressful and a whole lot more satisfying.

Chris St. Hilaire is the author (with Lynette Padwa)of 27 Powers of Persuasion: Simple Strategies to Seduce Audiences and Win Allies (Prentice Hall Press). He is an award-winning message strategist who has developed communications programs for some of the nation’s most powerful corporations, legal teams, and politicians. The first marketer in the courtroom, Chris is the founder o f Jury Impact, a national jury consulting firm, and M4 Strategies, a California-based messaging firm. Chris’s persuasion advice has been featured in Investor’s Business Daily, and he has provided legal and political commentary in USA Today and on national news broadcasts, including NBC, C-SPAN and Fox News. He lives in Long Beach, California.

27 Powers of Persuasion is available now.

I’ll Have Mine with a Video and a Few Links

Posted by John Duff

I admit that I have sinned in my heart. Even as I hold my beloved Kindle I am having fantasies about the iPad. It’s not that I am being consciously unfaithful, but since it’s become part of my job to explore new ways to connect content with readers, I am faced with the reality that Kindle just doesn’t support all the functions that I’d like to use in this quest. Sure the Kindle is great for reading the standard eBook, but I’m being told that readers—content absorbers—want more: video, audio, links, and other interactive features. (Frankly I am not even sure what my current model of Kindle is capable of—or what the good folks at Amazon or a dozen other tech companies have in mind to unleash over the next month or year.)

But with visions of iPad in my head, I’ll plunge ahead even though I am painfully ignorant of much of the technological capabilities—and limitations—for enhanced or amplified eBooks and Apps, an ignorance which gives me the freedom to imagine what could be while my more tech-savvy colleagues (and the accountants) tell me what can’t be.

In the world of prescriptive non-fiction enhanced eBooks or Apps, there are not a lot of good role models yet. So, given certain financial constraints (yes, we still have to do profit-and-loss statements for these things), we’ll be as creative as we can and try to imagine what would make our self-help or reference books that much more appealing and useful to readers compared to the paper book or the standard eBook.

When once I was concerned with whether I could afford French-flaps, a second color, spiral binding, or a die-cut jacket (the answer was usually no), now I have to determine how much video can be imbedded without exceeding the capabilities of a reading device (or making for an hour of downloading time). How many color images will the device support? How many links can I use until the reader becomes completely distracted from the narrative? Can the beautiful design of the paper edition be adapted to the fancy new e-version? How much interactivity (fill-in-the-blanks, journaling, and whatnot) will really make this new product useful and irresistible? But we also have to ask how much more will consumers be willing to pay for these enhancements, if anything? And, if we created such an attractive product, will it cannibalize the sales of the other editions? (Do you hear echoes of the fears that standard eBooks would take away sales from the paper editions?) 

These are the questions on every publishers mind—or should be, I guess. But I have decided not to be dissuaded by the uncertainties and find the wisdom in them.

It has always been the role of publishers to try to figure out what readers want. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes not. (I was once told that the rule of thumb for success was akin to baseball: if you have a .333 hitting average you get to renew your multi-million dollar contract. So, if one in three books is successful, you’re golden. Like all rules of thumb, however, I don’t count on this one as a true measure of success.) Sometimes we lead the market and sometimes we follow it. But now, not only do we have to figure out what readers want and need (and develop strategies to let them know that they want it and need it), we also have to determine if our investment in the “extras” will be worthwhile.

The realities will reveal themselves in due course. But for now, my colleagues and I will proceed cautiously and creatively, with the support of our authors who are as keen to learn and explore the new mediums for delivering their respective messages as we are.

 

Mad Men

Posted by Meg Leder

Every Sunday evening, I settle down with some snacks on my comfy couch and I turn on AMC’s Mad Men. I love the show—love the costumes, the characters, the angst, the drama. But this season has been tough to watch. I worry that Don isn’t making the best decision when it comes to his love life. I’m concerned for Roger’s well being. I hate the sexual harassment scenes, and I feel as vulnerable and angry as Joan and Peggy when I watch them. And then there’s Sally! Poor Sally Draper!

It’s a stressful hour of television, and an anxious way to round out otherwise calm weekends.

But the darkness of this season is another reason I’ve enjoyed working on Dyna Moe’s Mad Men: The Illustrated World, out this week. In some of our sales copy, we’ve called the book a candy-colored advertisement for the 60s, and the phrase is apt. Everything in the book is bright: a drink menu from Sally Draper, stylish dresses for a Joan paper doll, Roger Sterling’s witty tips for conducting a workday tryst—there’s even a Cuban Missile Crisis Board Game. And while some of the underlying content is dark, the images make me happy, much like a commercial should, and I want to stay in the world of the book.

So during the next few weeks, when the fourth season of Mad Men comes to what will surely be a dramatic and stressful season finale, instead of biting my nails, I may just find myself dressing my Joan paper doll instead.

 

Check out Mad Men: The Illustrated World.

And read more in an interview with the author and illustrator, Dyna Moe.

 

Tawdry Knickers

Posted by author Alex Novak

 

At very long last, today is the on-sale date for my first book, Tawdry Knickers and Other Unfortunate Ways to Be Remembered. I’m a sucker for unusual word origins, and I vividly remember the day, several years ago, when I discovered that the deadly battle blast bits known as shrapnel are not only named for a British officer (Henry Shrapnel) but that he actually invented them. My curiosity piqued, I wondered how many more of these regrettable eponyms might exist—how many more proper names with shady histories might have slipped into our general usage? To my delight, notorious namesakes began popping up everywhere.

 

There was a boycott (Charles), a lynch or two (Charles and William), someone tawdry (St. Audrey), and a pair of old knickers (the real Harmen and the fictional Diedrich Knickerbocker). What was most fun about the project was that there were several tidbits of trivia I had rolling around in my head that really exploded when I started exploring the details. For example, I knew that Reverend Sylvester Graham invented the graham cracker and founded the American Vegetarian Society, but I found it hilarious that he also believed that unhealthy diets awoke excessive sexual desire (leading to disease) and once posited that ham and sausage “increase the concupiscent excitability and sensibility of the genital organs.”

 

Yet while some of my subjects were born notorious, others had notoriety thrust upon them. One of these unwitting victims was Sir Astley Paston Cooper, a preeminent 19^th century British surgeon and anatomist who named the ligaments supporting the breasts (Cooper’s ligaments). Unfortunately, the stretching of these ligaments (and the resulting sagging of the bosom) ultimately became known as “Cooper’s Droop.”

 

It seemed incumbent upon me to bring together this motley group of ninety etymological misfits into one volume, and so Tawdry Knickers was born to shine new light on the hilarious highs and lamentable lows of these strange life stories hidden in our language.

 

Tawdry Knickers and Other Unfortunate Ways to Be Remembered is available today.