alt.books
a column by M.J. Rose

A Book Lover’s Paradise

To a book lover there is no Garden of Eden greater than the World Wide Web. Not so much because of the unlimited supply of websites that sell an unlimited supply of books, new or used, around the clock – but rather for giving each reader the chance to reach out and touch his or her favorite author.

Not everyone is aware of just how accessible we authors are through our websites or how many intimate appearances we put in online. In fact, many of us — who are quite private and prefer solitude - are downright gregarious and approachable on web.

Writers are a curious bunch. We want to sell books, we want to reach readers, we want to be sought out. At the same time, part of why we are writers is our ability — indeed our desire — to spend endless hours alone in our offices in front of our blank screens, writing away.

And yet we are expected to venture out of our cocoons and go on book tours and meet readers and sign books.

This is something many of us have to force ourselves into doing. Many writers cringe at the sight of a crowd and cower at the sight of a totally harmless fan, book and pen in hand. We are just shy.

But showing up at a website like Readerville.com for a week and engaging in lively and spirited debate is something we not only delight in – it’s something we are actually good at.

Jim Crace, Catherine Bush, Jane Smiley, Katharine Weber, Tracey Chevalier, and Phillip Pullman are just a few of the authors who have put in week long appearances at Readerville.com. (Check in ‘events’ on the Readerville.com home page to see who’s coming next.)

And often, after the events are over, some of the writers hang out in discussion groups for weeks, even months. Some become regulars and you can catch their comments in different topics just about any day of the week.

The Well and Salon’s Table Talk are also great writer hangouts. Susie Bright can often be spotted on The Well, as can poet Jane Hirshfield and numerous other writers. Writers from within the Well community and from beyond engage in public discussions in www.well.com’s online conference "Inkwell.vue". The novelists Catherine Leavitt and N.M.Kelby are just two of the dozens of authors who are more than willing — even eager - to sit around the table and chat at Salon.

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