Footnotes to a Conversation, January 8, 2024

Good day from London, England where art is the focus of my attention. If you catch me studying your facial features, I’ll just be trying to decide how David Hockney or Frans Hals would have portrayed you.

Selling a Book

I have a friend who is a first-time author and have been following a self-published Victoria writer on X. Both of them have found it painfully difficult to promote their own books. And yet it’s essential.

A recent analysis shows that, “of the new books published in the preceding calendar year, about 15 percent sold under twelve copies; 51.4 percent of books, meanwhile, sold between a dozen and 999 units.” And book sales are down. In Canada, “print sales for the English-language trade market were down 12 percent in the first half of 2023 as compared to the same six months the previous year.” The publishing industry relies on a few books (e.g Prince Harry’s Spare) to generate sufficient income to keep them in business.

At its best, quality writing finds its admiring readers via word of mouth. “The problem is that such magic, albeit there for anyone to grasp at, is difficult to replicate—and it doesn’t come from the traditional forms of publicity the industry is built on. The finicky labour of trying to bottle hype is largely offloaded onto writers.”

Those of us who love to read have a responsibility to read widely and to support local independent booksellers. “Every book that finds you is a minor miracle.” [The Walrus]

PS I read 124 books last year and I suspect that very few of them were on the bestseller lists.

Marketplace Opportunities: Diversity at its Best

There’s so much hype around European Christmas markets and yet far too many of the ones I’ve visited have been a huge disappointment – merchandise made in China, mass production food items. The same thing can happen with food markets. At Granville Island Public Market, I watched vendors removing the plastic wrapping from fruit and piling it up to appear fresh from the fields when it was actually fresh from the wholesaler.

One farmer’s market aficionado says he looks for “stalls that truly have character. Character means that there is a strong regional background, niche offerings, unusual products, or a lively atmosphere because the people selling and buying are fun or knowledgeable.” He says the same applies to individual stalls: do they offer unusual items or items of superior quality? He also appreciates “entrepreneurs who are courageous enough to add new categories to a market. Here at the Maybachufer market, I found those entrepreneurs. A lady collected blossoms from different parks in Berlin to turn them into syrups and liquors. A gentleman was selling French natural wines.” Street food should “defy the ordinary”.

He also values diversity:

“As I stand amidst the diverse produce and foods, amidst the kaleidoscope of cultures and businesses, I often dream of a true melting pot. In this ideal scenario, people from all backgrounds would share close relationships, harbor an insatiable curiosity for the unfamiliar, and communicate on equal footing, free from the confines of “us” and “them.” Yet, the reality I often encounter is one of co-existence without much interaction. I sometimes wonder if this is a missed opportunity. Fascinating things happen when individuals step outside their comfort zones and engage with those from different cultures. It involves sharing ideas, experiences, and forging connections with those whose backgrounds differ from our own.” [Food & Farmers’ Markets]

Awe

I’ve felt awe to see dolphins leaping and following our boat, awe as I watched a scarlet sunset move across the sky, and awe as I flew into London for the first time in many, many years. Those moments tend to be few and far between and can’t be planned and scheduled. They may happen at home in your garden or on a foreign adventure.

One traveller says he’s “worked out where the magic tends to happen. I know I can’t force those moments of awe, but I can create the circumstances where they are more likely to occur. Being immersed in nature, getting up before sun rise, swimming in open water, going outside on a clear night far away from artificial light, travelling alone or with a small group of likeminded people. For better results, I try to combine two or more of these conditions. Swimming in the sea at sunrise, for example, is almost guaranteed to send shivers, in every sense.” [Poste Restante]

Shades of Grey

I’ve often wondered about sexual identities, how they develop and evolve. An article about late-blooming lesbians explains that women respond to a much wider range of sexual stimuli than men. “The fact that women have this capacity to respond sexually to a broad range of things means that the late-blooming lesbian might stay in a straight relationship for many years without realizing anything is missing … Sexual flexibility may be, in part, facilitated by a broader range of sexual response.” Perhaps that’s what is most important to me. The world isn’t black and white. There is a whole range of sexual responses and each person should be left to choose what is right for them. [The Walrus]

Footnotes to a Conversation is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I also post occasional articles on other dates, including frequent book reviews and travel tales.

If you share my love of nature, check out EcoFriendly West, an online publication encouraging environmental initiatives in Western Canada, and Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces.