A Chance Meeting

Finished February 23

A Chance Meeting: American Encounters by Rachel Cohen

I received this book as part of a subscription from the New York Review Books. It was an interesting read, and I think you could read the sections that interested you most, rather than the whole thing in order. The only issue with doing that would be the background she gives the first time you encounter one of the subjects of her writing. There are many people who appear more than once as they 'encounter' someone else, but the background is given more deeply during the first time they appear, which is actually great if you are reading in order, because you would end up being bored by the repetition otherwise. 

The forward by Vijay Seshadri is insightful and helps place this work in context. 

There are many interesting people covered in the thirty-six encounters here, and I learned a lot about even the ones that I was already familiar with. She includes writers, editors, photographers, artists, critics, and entertainers. Here is a list of the encounters:

1. Henry James and Mathew Brady

2. William Dean Howells and Annie Adams Fields and Walt Whitman

3. Mathew Brady and Ulysses S. Grant

4. William Dean Howells and Henry James

5. Walt Whitman and Mathew Brady

6. Mark Twain and William Dean Howells

7. Mark Twain and Ulysses S. Grant

8. W.E.B. Du Bois and William James

9. Gertrude Stein and William James

10. Henry James and Annie Adams Fields and Sarah Orne Jewett

11. Edward Steichen and Alfred Stieglitz

12. Willa Cather and Mark Twain

13. Willa Cather and Annie Adams Fields and Sarah Orne Jewett

14. Edward Steichen and Alfred Stieglitz and Gertrude Stein

15. Carl Van Vechten and Gertrude Stein

16. Marcel Duchamp and Alfred Stieglitz

17. Willa Cather and Edward Steichen and Katherine Anne Porter

18. Alfred Stieglitz and Hart Crane

19. Hart Crane and Charlie Chaplin

20. Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston

21. Beauford Delaney and W.E.B. Du Bois

22. Hart Crane and Katherine Anne Porter

23. Elizabeth Bishop and Marianne Moore

24. Zora Neale Hurston and Carl Van Vechten

25. Joseph Cornell and Marcel Duchamp

26. Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin

27. Joseph Cornell and Marianne Moore

28. James Baldwin and Norman Mailer

29. Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop

30. John Cage and Richard Avedon

31. W.E.B. Du Bois and Charlie Chaplin

32. Langston Hughes and Carl Van Vechten and Richard Avedon

33. Richard Avedon and James Baldwin

34. Marianne Moore and Norman Mailer

35. John Cage and Marcel Duchamp

36. Norman Mailer and Robert Lowell

Meet Me in the Margins

Finished December 7

Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson

This novel, set in the publishing world follows assistant editor Savannah Cade as she works to survive the changes at the firm she works for and (hopefully) launch a new career as an author. A chance meeting with one of the biggest editors in the romance world, Claire Donovan has gained Savannah an in to get someone to look at her manuscript. But Claire is soon to retire and Savannah hasn't quite finished her book, so with a deadline and a writing demands, Savannah finds herself stretched thin. Add to this, the son of her present CEO coming on board as a problem solver to save her niche firm from going under, and one can sense the stress right away. William Pennington has moved back to Nashville from New York City to take this on, and Savannah finds that she isn't as intimidated by him as she expects, partly because he actually seems interested in her opinions.

Some time ago Savannah found a secret room leading off the book room of her firm, one accessed through a filing cabinet. She goes there when she can to relax and think. When she leaves her manuscript there, she returns to find the first few pages marked up with critical advice. When Claire's response to it echoes some of what those mark-ups said, she finds herself returning to her anonymous editor for help.

As Savannah finds herself conversing on paper with this person, she also finds herself increasingly drawn to William, and is confused by her feelings. 

As always, any book about writing or reading is one that intrigues me, and I found myself hoping Savannah would find both love and a publisher for her book, but I was a bit surprised by how things happened. I found the characters interesting, even the secondary ones like Savannah's cover designer, country song singing friend. Touches of humour only added to the experience. 

Somewhere Towards the End

Finished April 28

Somewhere Towards the End by Diana Athill

This is a collection of essays about various subjects around aging. It was an absolute delight to read. Written by Athill when she was eighty-nine (she lived to the age of one hundred and one) she has personal reflections on many topics. Athill was an editor and writer and her skill with words shines through here. 

She talks about relationships, sex, children, friendships, gardening, drawing, reading, writing, and health. She isn't afraid to be honest about her feelings, her mistakes, or her life choices. This book won the Costa biography award and I found it a joy to read. 

She lived a full life, and took joy in many things, and her attitude is refreshing. There are sixteen pieces here, with a postscript that I loved.