Is it an age thing?

I like going home to my mum's. She is 85, Italian and an avid reader of crime novels. She devours them. She has also become somewhat of a soap fiend (having been very disparaging about them throughout her life). I think the soap thing is something that happens to old people. I remember reading a biography about PG Wodehouse where it stated that he spent his last years following soaps with the volume at full pelt.

Anyway, this lifestyle I can cope with. I even enjoy. The absence of a computer and anything web-based means that it is a calm haven in a world where I can feel myself drowning.

Back in The Cupboard I find myself trying to keep up with the technological world from running the website (it's backend, fortunately like most backends, is a mystery). Today's task is to research social bookmarking on sites such as Digg and Stumbleupon (both of which I had never heard of before yesterday). Chris, who will be running The Cupboard while we paddle in Lake Como, has encouraged me to link into them. But instead of stumbling upon, I stumbled at the first hurdle and couldn't quite fathom what it was all about.

Which is leaving me anxious. A few years ago the most one had to do was register on Friendsreunited.com. Now you have to blog, twitter, bookmark and goodness knows what will be next. Is it just me (on the cusp of 50) or do other people find it totally overwhelming. While the Italians set up the Slow Food movement in the 80s, perhaps it is time for a new movement that doesn't drag us down the information superhighway quite so fast. More at a pushbike speed.

It really is time to take a break and watch the sunshine sparkle on Lake Como.

Summer Sale

For regular followers of the blog, July is the month that The Cupboard transforms into l'Armadio and settles itself on the shores of Lake Como for a spot of George Clooney watching, mindfulness (which I promised to blog about) and general recharging of batteries.

Therefore it seems like a good time for a summer sale.

Mindfulness

As a yoga teacher with YogaScotland, once a year I am required to attend an ongoing training day. This year had plumped for Meditation taught by Sarah Lionheart and I found it utterly fascinating.

Now and again, I have tried to meditate. It usually results in approximately 10 minutes of my mind being absorbed in how uncomfortable my back/knees are and that is it.

But at the course I discovered that meditation is not just a case of sitting yourself down in a cross-legged position gazing at a candle flame or other similar object. A support is involved. Indeed, this could be a candle, a flower, breathing or mantra. The analogy that Sarah used was the wild goat tethered to a post (the support) on a very long leash. The mind is the wild goat and although it will attempt to go as far away as it can, it is tethered and is continually reminded of the support when it pulls away too far.

As soon as I realised this, meditation became a completely different experience. It is funny how things happen just when you need them. Much of the day was talking about mindfulness. Recently I have realised that one's mind can be your own worst enemy. Anyone who wakes up at 4 in the morning with a worry or depressed will know what I mean. Your mind can put you in terrifying places.

Mindfulness is
knowing what is happening
while it is happening
without preference

I am going to write a bit more about mindfulness so do come back and check out the blog.

Nepotism and all that

Today I am fed up with the publishing world. It is a Londoncentric, navel-gazing world that deserves to implode. Perhaps then out of the ashes will rise a clean, new model for book publishing.

Why, you might ask, am I so jaded? Is it because nobody embraces my Nod offs and puts them on bookshelves where customers who want to buy them can find them? The answer is partly yes. For here is a product that consumers want to buy. It is something that will help them expand their understanding. They are packaged to look gorgeous. They are designed for ease of use. And to cap it all, they give you a bloody good night's sleep. How do I know this? Have I spent lots of money on market research and consultants? No, the reason I know is because people want to learn languages (from my 15 years working on language stuff at Collins). They want to know how the language works but they don't want a boring old grammar book that will just make them feel more inadequate. I have stumped up the money to put them together and while I may fail them because of being unable to get them into bookshops, the Nod off themselves are a triumph of creativity, commonsense and fun. Something which McGraw-Hill in the States have picked up on.

Getting something novel (no pun intended) past the guards to the bookshelves of the big chains (namely the centralised book buyers) is a feat in itself. How WH Smith even survive is beyond me with their predictable, tired stock. And WH Smith Travel are only going to stock Penguin Travel Guides in their travel bookshops (airports, stations, etc). This is outrageous, lazy and mean-spirited (Penguin give them an eye-watering 72% discount and money up front according to the Bookseller).

Meanwhile the publishing houses are a den of nepotism. That is why so much of it is based in London. Many of the big cheeses in publishing are married to each other. Take publishing out of London and how will they jump on and off the merry-go-round of top jobs?

It turns out from reading the Bookseller that Anthony Cheetham is married to Georgina Capel (of Capel and Land) and many of the Quercus authors are with this literary agency and Quercus has paid over a £1m to this agency.

And Louis Baum former editor of The Bookseller, married to Liz Calder (co-founder of Bloomsbury) are to set up a publishing house together.

Amanda Ross (of Richard and Judy Book Club) fame turned out to be married to Jonathan Ross's brother. When this year's Summer book read was revealed earlier this year this quote appeared in the Bookseller article:

Cactus TV m.d. Amanda Ross said, "Each year as the standard of books is so high, I worry that we can maintain our success rate. My husband and business partner Simon Ross is my harshest critic, but he thinks this year's bunch are the best yet, and couldn't put them down when we took them on our Easter break."

At the time, I wondered why on earth her husband was reading the books and why his opinion mattered. I hadn't realised he was part of the Ross dynasty.

The Bookseller should do a 'Connections' map of the Publishing World (a bit like BBC Comedy Connections). It would be fascinating. It might also explain why some books get that 'lucky' break and some don't.

Rant, moi?

We have had a makeover

Do take a look at what wonderful Brian at RSTO has done to The Publishing Cupboard website. Everything is squeaky clean and working beautifully.

And outside the sun is still shining.

The first of the month

Here in Glasgow we are having a scorcher of a day. This weekend has been positively smashing and what a difference it makes. You see so many more people about. And you see so much more of them. Layers have been shed and flesh is the order of the day. By Sunday the flesh was rather lobsterfied but after months of miserable weather the temptation to stay out in the sun is huge.

May was a great month saleswise with lots of people buying from the website. This is good for us as it makes us the most money. However, some people prefer to use Amazon because they know and trust its service.

Today Nod off in French appeared number 9 in the list for Audio, Languages, French. So there is The Publishing Cupboard rubbing shoulders with Michel Thomas, Collins and Berlitz Earworms. That is what I really like about Amazon. It allows a level playing field for everyone regardless of size. It relies on the book to sell itself - from its cover to its content.

I predict that June is going to be a good month. I hope so as I am itching to do Nod off in English Grammar & Punctuation. A book you may not think the world needs, but trust me, The Cupboard knows best . . .