Thursday, September 16, 2010

BBAW: Thursday--Forgotten Treasure

Today's Book Blogger Appreciation Week topic: Sure we’ve all read about Freedom and Mockingjay but we likely have a book we wish would get more attention by book bloggers, whether it’s a forgotten classic or under marketed contemporary fiction. This is your chance to tell the community why they should consider reading this book!

My pick has to be Adam Schwartzman's underappreciated gem Eddie Signwriter. I picked up a galley at ALA Midwinter; actually, my husband picked it up for me and I am so glad he did. It seems like just about nobody has read this wonderful book! As of today only 20 people list owning the book on LibraryThing and I am still the only person to have reviewed it there.


I'm a Powell's partner and receive a small commission on sales.

I passed up a glitzy book launch party last spring to attend his reading at Harvard Bookstore and I'm glad I did because there were only 8 people at the reading- 2 bookstore employees, 2 friends of his, a guy who left because he decided he wasn't interested, a woman who left after she snapped a photo for the Harvard Crimson, an older woman who fell asleep, and yours truly in the front row. And Schwartzman was a doll, and so gracious. And the book is wonderful, too.

You can read my full review here but in a nutshell, it's an elegant, moving novel written by an accomplished poet with a gift for the sound and feel of language- and storytelling, too. I didn't expect this quiet and unusual novel to top the bestseller lists, but I had really hoped it would get more attention in the way of awards, maybe even a Booker nomination. It's that good. Just this once, pass up the flavor of the month and read this novel. It deserves to be read. Please. Please? Please.

17 comments:

Mystica said...

I like the elegant, moving novel bit most of all! what a lovely way to describe something.

ImageNations said...

May be his publishers did a bad job about marketing. Besides, if you aren't published by these big publishing firms and reviewed by NYT, Guardian, etc. you path to success would forever grow lean. No wonder people left the reading. People want to be told that a book is good before they read it. They don't want to read and find that out themselves. There are a lot of interesting books which would never become popular to the literary world only because they don't have the right connections. It's pity. and awards are recycled and recycled.

Marieke said...

Thanks for recommending this book -- I hadn't heard of it, but a recommendation like yours is hard to pass up!

Chrisbookarama said...

That's too bad about him not getting enough attention. It's nice of you to highlight him again.

bermudaonion said...

Don't you always feel so bad for the author when you attend an event like that! I'm glad you were there for him. I'm adding the book to my wish list.

gautami tripathy said...

Sounds good!

Here is my BBAW: Forgotten Treasures post!

Zibilee said...

Ok, I am going to add this one to my wish list as well. You seem to be crazy about it and I trust your opinion! So sorry to hear that the event was not well attended!

A Buckeye Girl Reads said...

I have to admit, I've never heard of this book-I'm off to find out more about it.

Care said...

I trust your judgment and you really do find a lot of gems that are not as well-known. I'll tbr this on your advice alone.

Jeanne said...

I'll add this to my list right now. I'm starting to be glad I'm underemployed this year!

Anonymous said...

Your review is great, and I am going to buy the book.

Col (Col Reads) said...

This is now on my TBR. If you ever give up blogging, you definitely have a future in Public Relations :-)

The Literary Lioness said...

Sounds like a great book. After reading your review I Googled it and found a rave review from The New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/books/review/Nixon-t.html

I'll have to read it!

http://www.theliterarylioness.com

S. Krishna said...

I missed your review of this book, so I'm really glad you chose to highlight it. I'm definitely going to add it to the TBR, I am a sucker for beautiful language!

Kathleen said...

It sounds like a lovely read. I love the "Forgotten Treasure" meme. I have gotten so many book ideas.

Michelle (Red Headed Book Child) said...

Thanks for shining the light on the lesser known gems out there. I enjoy finding them too!

Tribute Books said...

Thanksfor the review!