A friend passed along this article saying publishers are increasingly reluctant to release paperbacks. What’s the world coming to? Where would our youthful literary recollections be without the familiar maroon cover of Catcher in the Rye or an ancient Scribner edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald? Paperbacks are beloved. They’re good for vacation, for passing along to a friend, for storing in your pocket.
Paperbacks are on the mind because The Believer is out in paperback today. If a hardcover feels at home within a library the paperback wants to be taken out into the world. And that makes sense since The Believer is about a year of fishing, from Cuba to Norway, Spain to Patagonia. If your copy ends up falling into saltwater or having a ring from a bottle of beer on the cover that’s not the worst thing.
So please think about getting a paperback for yourself or a person in your life who likes fishing, travel, eating, drinking or even just sorting out the process of getting older.
-To celebrate I’ll be at Orvis, Fifth Avenue, Wednesday, March 12th. 6-7.30pm, doing a brief reading and taking questions. The program starts around 6.30pm so plan accordingly (show up earlier if you want to swing by for a signed copy). The event is hosted by the New York chapter of Trout Unlimited (you should be a member—or get a young angler in your life a membership).
-Oh and for my SEC friends, I’ll be signing books at Tom Beckbe in Birmingham, AL on April 3rd.
-There may be another New York event in early May, so please watch this space.
Lest you think this is all about the delicate art of self-promotion, here are some other paperbacks you might like. (Links to Big Bezos just for simplicity, but go to your local or see if Three Lives can get what you need).
-Traveling Light. Bill Barich. An easygoing travel book by the author of the beloved Laughing in the Hills. Barich enjoys horse racing, fishing and English pubs—you can’t quarrel with that. He makes it all seem easy (it’s not). These pieces from Northern California, London, Florence and Long Island are wise and wistful.
-The Untouchable. John Banville. One of my favorite novels, loosely based on the art historian and Russian spy, Anthony Blunt. Vivid and alive with many references to Spring (the narrator hates the season). The cover of the Vintage paperback, incidentally, has a terrific painting by the late Duncan Hannah.
-Five Seasons. Roger Angell. Get ready for baseball with one of the greatest sporting writers America has ever produced. Any of the books will do.
-The Accidental Connoisseur. Lawrence Osborne. An Englishman explores the wine world in the early 2000s. Just as ambitious as it has to be. A favorite.
-The Upstairs Delicatessen. Dwight Garner. A delightful, unruly, ravenous work about food and literature from the Times book critic. You’re a different man once you read the phrase a jockstrap of bacon.
-Winter Journey. Isabel Colegate. I’ve been on a Colegate jag for two years and have now read seven or eight of her books. If you like tightly controlled short novels focusing on English classes that unfold in the countryside (and who doesn’t?!) then you are in luck. The Shooting Party is more famous, but Winter Journey is even more subtle. She’s a heroine.
-Playworld. Adam Ross. This wonderful new novel is set on the Upper West Side in the 1980s. Our hero is a high school actor and he navigates a world that is hilarious, dark and confusing. This just came out so not a paperback yet, but it’s so good I have to recommend it.
Some other pieces about good books, bookshelves and signing books from The Contender archive.
-The Curious Art of Book Signings.
-My Favorite Fishing Books (from the WSJ).
Congratulations on the paperback release. I do like the idea of an upcoming “Coggins Summer Reading List”, if we can all get through the above this Spring.
I just read The Believer (on Kindle, oh well) even though I have not a jot of interest in fly fishing. You’re a great writer. And such a good recommender - recent Wellness Week podcast. « So good you almost can’t even stand it. » Yes ! I was happy to hear you mention Henry James.