Richard Ford talks about his new book, The Lay of the Land in this New York Times story.

Also…I’ve been thinking a lot about why authors live where they live and how you find writers in certain areas more than in other areas.

For instance, where I live, in Orange County, California, there are few authors. UC-Irvine is here, with the MFA program that most writers would kill to get into and when they don’t, no matter how talented they are, it scars them for years, it seems. But when writers graduate from UCI, most leave the area. They go to Los Angeles, Northern California or far away. Is it just the cost of real estate in these parts, or is it something else?

A friend from ASJA said there are some 500 writers, agents and editors who belong to a group in Montclair, NJ, who get together and do events. 500? There was a piece in the New York Times a while ago about how Brooklyn is overrun with writers.

I’ve been wanting to leave the O.C. for some time, but I doubt it’s for the same reasons that other writers don’t stay.

Just mulling…..if you have any thoughts, let them fly. I want to hear.

A map of Vermont hangs above my desk. (One is behind it, too.)

A glass of wine, a framed photograph of Travis.

A birthday plant from Elle.

Our cats, doing what they do best.

The mini-waterfall we bought at Ace Hardware that constantly runs and whispers to me that what I long for is the sound of a creek just outside my window. The aqua toaster burns toast but reminds me of a different time. So we keep it.

I want to see what is on and around your desk, what you see from where you sit. If you have a blog, take some pictures and post a link.

You know how I feel about contests. Still, I saw this in Publisher’s Weekly and thought I’d pass this on to you. If you have a dog or a cat and you’re so inclined….

(This is our Rosie, who loves boxes, bags and, well, empty water bottle cases.)

You know how when you read a book that you love, you are elated and then when it’s over, you’re sort of depressed, because you think there will never be another book that you’ll love as much–and then there is, and you’re elated all over again?

I’m reading Anne Tyler’s newest novel and I will say, I love it as much as I loved Accidental Tourist, which was not only a great book, but a great movie adaptation.

This book also interests me because I sense Tyler infusing the book with her life, and I’m always interested in how we translate bits of our lives into fiction.

(Actually, I’m listening to it on CD, with Blair Brown–Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, with the wonder David Strathairn–doing a stellar job reading.)

What are you reading that you love?

…or TV, in any case. Ever see the Showtime TV show, Weeds? More specifically, the intro in which a line of SUVs (Range Rovers, I think) are exiting subdivision? I saw this this morning, the Corona del Mar version, that is.

I went for a walk and on my way home I was coming down the alley and at opposite ends of the alley, black SUVs were pulling out of their garages at the same exact moment, same angle, everything. Then they passed one another. One guy was on a cell phone. Of course.

Remember that old Animals’ song with the lines: We gotta get out of this place / If its the last thing we ever do / We gotta get out of this place / ‘Cause girl, there’s a better life / For me and you …

Uh, yeah…..the song is very much on my mind. The show is interesting, but I don’t want to be living it.

In today’s Los Angeles Times, there’s a story about how independent bookstores that want to stay alive pretty much need to do more than just sell books. They need to sell food, hold performances, form membership programs, and hire employees who can talk books–imagine!

Interestingly, the piece also talks about how there’s been a turnaround, that indie bookstores are opening at a rate of “60, 70, 80 stores” each year.

Sounds great to me.

What do you think about bookstores needing to take on additional roles, other than just selling books?