February 18th, 2010 / 4:08 pm
Behind the Scenes
Ken Baumann
Behind the Scenes
CALLING ALL HEARTS: Buy this book now.
Looking, now?
Okay. So Justin Taylor’s debut book with HaperPerennial–Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever–was recently reviewed in the NYT. It will not be that hard, with that bump, to make this book a NYT Best Seller, which would obviously be a monumental event for Justin and these stories. I implore you: if you haven’t already, but this book from Amazon.com or your local bookstore THIS WEEK. Even if you have a copy already. I bought two more. This could be huge for Justin, this community, and good literature.
got it yesterday. was reading it on the L train this morning. people seemed to know what it was.
got it yesterday. was reading it on the L train this morning. people seemed to know what it was.
i’m dropping a bill or two tomorrow on books. this is on the list.
i’m dropping a bill or two tomorrow on books. this is on the list.
Do it. Highly, highly recommended. I own two.
Do it. Highly, highly recommended. I own two.
Does Powell’s count to the totals? (That’s probably a stupid question, but I’m relatively ignorant about the mechanics of the NYT list.)
After Adam’s post, I’m feeling convicted.
Does Powell’s count to the totals? (That’s probably a stupid question, but I’m relatively ignorant about the mechanics of the NYT list.)
After Adam’s post, I’m feeling convicted.
Yes, Powell’s reports to the Times list. Do it up!
Yes, Powell’s reports to the Times list. Do it up!
DOES BEING “CANADIAN” AFFECT THINGS? ZZZZIPP’S “BEING” IS NOT ANYTHING REALLY, BESIDES ENERGY, BUT OFFICIALLY HE IS “A CANADIAN CITIZEN RESIDING IN CANADA”. DO CANADIAN PURCHASES AFFECT NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER LISTS??? PROBABLY NOT. IT LOOKS GOOD ANYWAY ZZZZIPPP IS EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK. IF 1000 CANADIANS READ THIS AND WE ALL BUY IT ON THE SAME DAY WE CAN MAKE IT A BESTSELLER HERE CAN WE ORGANIZE THIS GUYS?? DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO MAKE FACEBOOK GROUPS???? OH WHO CARES IT’S JUST CANADA
DOES BEING “CANADIAN” AFFECT THINGS? ZZZZIPP’S “BEING” IS NOT ANYTHING REALLY, BESIDES ENERGY, BUT OFFICIALLY HE IS “A CANADIAN CITIZEN RESIDING IN CANADA”. DO CANADIAN PURCHASES AFFECT NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER LISTS??? PROBABLY NOT. IT LOOKS GOOD ANYWAY ZZZZIPPP IS EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK. IF 1000 CANADIANS READ THIS AND WE ALL BUY IT ON THE SAME DAY WE CAN MAKE IT A BESTSELLER HERE CAN WE ORGANIZE THIS GUYS?? DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO MAKE FACEBOOK GROUPS???? OH WHO CARES IT’S JUST CANADA
I’m going to buy another one. It’s so good. Like crack.
I’m going to buy another one. It’s so good. Like crack.
Yes.
Yes.
It’s for sale in the UK on Amazon, too. For £8.05. Oh, wait – who cares, it’s just Eng-er-land. :)
It’s for sale in the UK on Amazon, too. For £8.05. Oh, wait – who cares, it’s just Eng-er-land. :)
Bought mine Tuesday!
Bought mine Tuesday!
I think you should buy it at Amazon. It’s a different thing.
I think you should buy it at Amazon. It’s a different thing.
I’m buying another one. Glad I can help. My husband opened the mail, before I got home, started flipping through it, and promptly stole it before I could start reading it. Said since he’d already started it wasn’t fair taking it away from him. So now I’m picking one up at Borders on the way home.
I like the way the cover feels, BTW. I don’t know what you call it, but that’s my favorite kind of book to read, where the cover is kind of rough. I am very tactile. I know, it is weird.
I’m buying another one. Glad I can help. My husband opened the mail, before I got home, started flipping through it, and promptly stole it before I could start reading it. Said since he’d already started it wasn’t fair taking it away from him. So now I’m picking one up at Borders on the way home.
I like the way the cover feels, BTW. I don’t know what you call it, but that’s my favorite kind of book to read, where the cover is kind of rough. I am very tactile. I know, it is weird.
I’m confused – why do we need to buy this book? What’s it about? Is there a review somewhere? Does the money go to charity? And why would anyone need to own two of them?
I’m confused – why do we need to buy this book? What’s it about? Is there a review somewhere? Does the money go to charity? And why would anyone need to own two of them?
There is a review. In fact, it’s mentioned immediately in the post.
There is a review. In fact, it’s mentioned immediately in the post.
Why in the fuck should we buy it at Amazon?
Why in the fuck should we buy it at Amazon?
Ken, I am so happy with you for posting this. I have known this book since it was just a hershey bar in its daddy’s back pocket–and now to see it go out into the world and make so many wonderful friends–
so much deserving.
Ken, I am so happy with you for posting this. I have known this book since it was just a hershey bar in its daddy’s back pocket–and now to see it go out into the world and make so many wonderful friends–
so much deserving.
I’ve bought six copies of this book. One for my apartment. One for my car. One for my cubicle. One for the employee restroom. One for the elevator. And one for the Carl’s Jr. I eat at four times a week. Unfortunately, my sixth copy, the Carl’s Jr. copy, was taken from me during a brutal mugging in the Carl’s Jr. parking lot. I was walking to my car, Everything Here is the Best Thing Ever tucked under my arm, when three youths approached me out of the darkness. “Yo, what you got there, bitch?,” one of them said. “Is that the Justin Taylor book?” said another. “Yes, it is,” I said. “Give it up, motherfucker,” said the third youth. One part of me wanted to give them the book right then and there. But the other part of me wanted to refuse, to tell them to go to hell, that the book was mine, that there wasn’t many things I was willing to die for, but that my sixth copy of Justin Taylor’s Everything Here is the Best Thing Ever was one of those things. “I’m not giving it to you,” I said. That’s when they hit me in the face. All of them. At the same time. In the same spot, right below my left ear. Even though I was out cold, I could’ve sworn I heard the three youths discussing who was going to get to read the book first.
I’ve bought six copies of this book. One for my apartment. One for my car. One for my cubicle. One for the employee restroom. One for the elevator. And one for the Carl’s Jr. I eat at four times a week. Unfortunately, my sixth copy, the Carl’s Jr. copy, was taken from me during a brutal mugging in the Carl’s Jr. parking lot. I was walking to my car, Everything Here is the Best Thing Ever tucked under my arm, when three youths approached me out of the darkness. “Yo, what you got there, bitch?,” one of them said. “Is that the Justin Taylor book?” said another. “Yes, it is,” I said. “Give it up, motherfucker,” said the third youth. One part of me wanted to give them the book right then and there. But the other part of me wanted to refuse, to tell them to go to hell, that the book was mine, that there wasn’t many things I was willing to die for, but that my sixth copy of Justin Taylor’s Everything Here is the Best Thing Ever was one of those things. “I’m not giving it to you,” I said. That’s when they hit me in the face. All of them. At the same time. In the same spot, right below my left ear. Even though I was out cold, I could’ve sworn I heard the three youths discussing who was going to get to read the book first.
thank you vaughan, that’s the most english comment a person could make!
thank you vaughan, that’s the most english comment a person could make!
DANIEL I KNOW WE HAVE HAD OUR TROUBLES IN THE PAST BUT I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU THAT NONE OF THOSE GUYS WERE ME OK
DANIEL I KNOW WE HAVE HAD OUR TROUBLES IN THE PAST BUT I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU THAT NONE OF THOSE GUYS WERE ME OK
Uh, OK, just read earlier posts. Now see why we should “buy” as Amazon. Der.
Uh, OK, just read earlier posts. Now see why we should “buy” as Amazon. Der.
Their sales ranking is a sort of multiplier.
Their sales ranking is a sort of multiplier.
I think you’re touching a matte cover and it is lovely. I bought this book on my kindle so I touched the pixels and that was nice too.
I think you’re touching a matte cover and it is lovely. I bought this book on my kindle so I touched the pixels and that was nice too.
I bought mine at a Borders and then I bought Kevin Sampsell’s later that same day at a local and then I read them on airplanes and in Seattle during a trip last weekend (I said, “This is going to be my Harper Perennial trip”) and they were both fantastic.
I bought mine at a Borders and then I bought Kevin Sampsell’s later that same day at a local and then I read them on airplanes and in Seattle during a trip last weekend (I said, “This is going to be my Harper Perennial trip”) and they were both fantastic.
got it
got it
Nothing against JT (the book is front and center at the store where I work; got an advance of it but haven’t read it yet, hopefully this weekend), but I heartily disagree with the idea that “It will not be that hard… to make this book a NYT Best Seller.” Take a look at the trade paper bestseller list. No, really, take a look:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/books/bestseller/bestpapertradefiction.html
How many short story collections do you see on there? Only Olive K, which sports the sneakily disguised “novel-in-stories” tag, plus a big gold Pulitzer Prize badge.
How many paperback originals do you see? I count four, two of which are American editions of overseas books, two of which are novelty parody books.
Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see a world where it would happen, but I think y’all are being unrealistic.
Nothing against JT (the book is front and center at the store where I work; got an advance of it but haven’t read it yet, hopefully this weekend), but I heartily disagree with the idea that “It will not be that hard… to make this book a NYT Best Seller.” Take a look at the trade paper bestseller list. No, really, take a look:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/books/bestseller/bestpapertradefiction.html
How many short story collections do you see on there? Only Olive K, which sports the sneakily disguised “novel-in-stories” tag, plus a big gold Pulitzer Prize badge.
How many paperback originals do you see? I count four, two of which are American editions of overseas books, two of which are novelty parody books.
Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see a world where it would happen, but I think y’all are being unrealistic.
there’s actually a canadian amazon. and we have the globe and mail bestseller. and our ‘president’ is still a conservative.
there’s actually a canadian amazon. and we have the globe and mail bestseller. and our ‘president’ is still a conservative.
Also, there’s no such thing as the Tooth Fairy. Dream killer.
Also, there’s no such thing as the Tooth Fairy. Dream killer.
OF COURSE, BUT HE WAS REFERRING TO THE AMAZON RANKING VS PURCHASING AT POWELL’S
OF COURSE, BUT HE WAS REFERRING TO THE AMAZON RANKING VS PURCHASING AT POWELL’S
theyre just kidding mike theyre not serious its all in yr head that means you dont get it
theyre just kidding mike theyre not serious its all in yr head that means you dont get it
Ken, thank you times a million for this plug. And to everyone else who decided to buy a book.
to mike- a reasonable skepticism, so let me explain. This idea was first communicated to me by a friend whose book snuck onto the bestseller list during a week in which–she estimates–she moved slightly under a thousand copies. The list you linked to, the 2/21 list, ranks sales ending 2/6, which is three days before my book came out. That means next week’s list will end 2/13, or the day before the Times review came out. So it’s really three lists from now (the one charting 2/14-2/21, to be published the first weekend in March) that we’ll be interested in seeing. Let me be the first to admit, it’s a slightly quixotic campaign to have waged, but I figure that if it works, we might all learn a valuable lesson, besides which–let’s be honest–I want this really badly, and if the shot really is there to be taken, it had to be taken now or not at all.
re Amazon stuff- yes, what Ken said. Buying a book from Amazon raises its profile on Amazon, which then gets it onto other top-lists on the site, and that’s your multiplier effect. I know a lot of people here are anti-Amazon, and nobody should feel like they’re being pushed toward supporting a company they don’t like. I personally am mixed re Amazon, but do still buy stuff from them when the need arises. Given that I’ve been asking people to lay down their own money to support me and my work, I figured I owed it to them to make that process as painless as possible. At $10, Amazon is the cheapest place to buy a new copy, period, and probably the easiest, in that you can do it without leaving your chair. On the other hand, if it’s not part of some larger order, by the time you pay shipping, you’re probably back up around the cover price ($13.99) so at that point you really should go support your local indie, if you have one.
Anyway, thanks again to Ken for posting this, and to everyone else–buyers or not–just for giving me the time of day. It is, as always, very much appreciated (especially Amy’s slightly disturbing Hershey bar metaphor). Cheers.
Ken, thank you times a million for this plug. And to everyone else who decided to buy a book.
to mike- a reasonable skepticism, so let me explain. This idea was first communicated to me by a friend whose book snuck onto the bestseller list during a week in which–she estimates–she moved slightly under a thousand copies. The list you linked to, the 2/21 list, ranks sales ending 2/6, which is three days before my book came out. That means next week’s list will end 2/13, or the day before the Times review came out. So it’s really three lists from now (the one charting 2/14-2/21, to be published the first weekend in March) that we’ll be interested in seeing. Let me be the first to admit, it’s a slightly quixotic campaign to have waged, but I figure that if it works, we might all learn a valuable lesson, besides which–let’s be honest–I want this really badly, and if the shot really is there to be taken, it had to be taken now or not at all.
re Amazon stuff- yes, what Ken said. Buying a book from Amazon raises its profile on Amazon, which then gets it onto other top-lists on the site, and that’s your multiplier effect. I know a lot of people here are anti-Amazon, and nobody should feel like they’re being pushed toward supporting a company they don’t like. I personally am mixed re Amazon, but do still buy stuff from them when the need arises. Given that I’ve been asking people to lay down their own money to support me and my work, I figured I owed it to them to make that process as painless as possible. At $10, Amazon is the cheapest place to buy a new copy, period, and probably the easiest, in that you can do it without leaving your chair. On the other hand, if it’s not part of some larger order, by the time you pay shipping, you’re probably back up around the cover price ($13.99) so at that point you really should go support your local indie, if you have one.
Anyway, thanks again to Ken for posting this, and to everyone else–buyers or not–just for giving me the time of day. It is, as always, very much appreciated (especially Amy’s slightly disturbing Hershey bar metaphor). Cheers.
Oh man. I’m gonna buy a copy later today.
Oh man. I’m gonna buy a copy later today.
I think he may have a point.
“………Take a look at the trade paper bestseller list. No, really, take a look:………”
Complications ensue when a wealthy Wisconsin widower in 1907 advertises for a spouse.
A 17-year-old spends the summer with her father in North Carolina and finds many kinds of love.
An unlikely romance between a soldier and an idealistic young woman is tested after 9/11.
A hacker and a journalist investigate the disappearance of a Swedish heiress.
A girl looks down from heaven as she describes the aftermath of her kidnapping and murder.
Two Chinese sisters in the 1930s are sold as wives to men from California.
A Kentucky sheriff tries to get a good girl turned bad to drop her defenses.
A man whose daughter was abducted is invited to an isolated shack, apparently by God.
A contemporary American journalist investigates what happened to a little girl and her family during the roundup of Jews in Paris in 1942.
Two sisters grow up in a small Washington town, betray each other and eventually reconcile.
An insightful Lab-terrier mix helps his owner, a struggling race car driver.
A seventh-grade math teacher on the Maine coast.
A journalist meets the island’s old Nazi-resisters.
Twin brothers, conjoined and then separated, grow up amid the political turmoil of Ethiopia.
Life with a dashing librarian who travels back and forth through time.
An abused, illiterate 16-year-old in Harlem meets a teacher who helps change her life.
Philippe Petit’s 1974 high-wire walk between the twin towers is pivotal.
A friendship between a Chinese-American boy and a Japanese-American girl in Seattle during World War II.
An Englishwoman in 1950s Hong Kong discovers devastating secrets from the years of the Japanese occupation.
A young girl and a widowed concierge, both closet intellectuals, become friends.
I want to read the one about the “insightful Lab-terrier mix” that “helps….a struggling race car driver.”
I think he may have a point.
“………Take a look at the trade paper bestseller list. No, really, take a look:………”
Complications ensue when a wealthy Wisconsin widower in 1907 advertises for a spouse.
A 17-year-old spends the summer with her father in North Carolina and finds many kinds of love.
An unlikely romance between a soldier and an idealistic young woman is tested after 9/11.
A hacker and a journalist investigate the disappearance of a Swedish heiress.
A girl looks down from heaven as she describes the aftermath of her kidnapping and murder.
Two Chinese sisters in the 1930s are sold as wives to men from California.
A Kentucky sheriff tries to get a good girl turned bad to drop her defenses.
A man whose daughter was abducted is invited to an isolated shack, apparently by God.
A contemporary American journalist investigates what happened to a little girl and her family during the roundup of Jews in Paris in 1942.
Two sisters grow up in a small Washington town, betray each other and eventually reconcile.
An insightful Lab-terrier mix helps his owner, a struggling race car driver.
A seventh-grade math teacher on the Maine coast.
A journalist meets the island’s old Nazi-resisters.
Twin brothers, conjoined and then separated, grow up amid the political turmoil of Ethiopia.
Life with a dashing librarian who travels back and forth through time.
An abused, illiterate 16-year-old in Harlem meets a teacher who helps change her life.
Philippe Petit’s 1974 high-wire walk between the twin towers is pivotal.
A friendship between a Chinese-American boy and a Japanese-American girl in Seattle during World War II.
An Englishwoman in 1950s Hong Kong discovers devastating secrets from the years of the Japanese occupation.
A young girl and a widowed concierge, both closet intellectuals, become friends.
I want to read the one about the “insightful Lab-terrier mix” that “helps….a struggling race car driver.”
ha, that’s the same one i wanted to read when i looked at the list!
This is a thorough and reasoned response to the issues raised here.
ha, that’s the same one i wanted to read when i looked at the list!
This is a thorough and reasoned response to the issues raised here.
Nice work, by the way. Happy to have paid for it.
Nice work, by the way. Happy to have paid for it.
yet another reason for me hating them so much that we better not get into it
yet another reason for me hating them so much that we better not get into it
bah humbug
bah humbug