Eight-byte Epiphytes

As the Timber Press Web and IT Manager, I'm probably one of the nerdier people in the office.

Well, I should probably qualify that, given that from my desk I can see coworkers who are probably thinking right now about graphic novels and/or Star Wars (don't worry, office-mates, I will keep your identities safe from the Internet ... for now). To say nothing of the discussions I've had with members of the editorial department on the finer points of grammar.

Fine, I'm one of many nerdy people in this office. But I'm the only one I know of to have taken an interest in a particular old book I found one day while perusing the extensive backlist in our library. That book is Computer Graphics in Biology, and this is the story of my adventure with that book.



No, wait, don't stop reading yet! I appreciate that it takes a certain kind of nerd to be interested in a computer book published in 1986, and I further appreciate that you might not be that kind of nerd. After all, there's probably a reason we didn't go on to publish a whole lot more books on the intersection of computer graphics and biology -- say, AutoCAD and The Arborist: a Guide to Plotting the Perfect Pruning, or perhaps Variegated Virtual Reality: Why All Gardens in the Future Will Require a Different Kind of Glove.

Technically, Timber Press didn't publish Computer Graphics in Biology, either. That credit goes to our erstwhile imprint, Dioscorides Press. It was part of a series titled Advances in Plant Sciences, though subsequent volumes (including Adventitious Root Formation in Cuttings and Isozymes in Plant Biology) were decidedly more for nerds of a greener stripe.

I'd like to tell you more about the book, but frankly, it's a bit of a slog to get through, unless you happen to like plants (check), computers (check), and possess a technological masochism that precludes you from enjoying the advances made in computing since 1986 (sorry, but here I must draw the line).

I did, however, make it far enough through the preface to find a reference to "the recent upsurge in graphical man-machine interfaces, notably the WIMP (window, icon, mouse, pointer) system seen on the Apple Mackintosh [sic] and Commodore Amiga computers". Oddly, though such things are in fact quite popular today, I can't say the same for the "WIMP" acronym. Not sure why that didn't catch on.

Anyhow, both computer graphics and Timber Press have moved on, and I'm happy to report that there's not a lot of discussion of Fortran in the office these days. But don't let that stop you from submitting your proposal for Eight-byte epiphytes -- I can promise that, if no one else will, I'll at least give it a once-over. But, sorry, we can't accept submissions on 5.25" disks anymore.

Book Burning and Book Beaching

There are few things in life to which I am willing to attach the phrase, “It will change your life!” Hence the reason that I will never make a living selling cars. Or shoes. Or face cream. But ... I cannot say the same about books. They are life-changing.

A book can change the course of the future. A book can cause a society to see things differently, get riled up, burn things. For example, here is a small list of books that have been banned by certain societies:

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll was banned in China for the portrayal of animals acting as humans, Animal Farm by George Orwell was banned for political reasons.

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner was banned in Kentucky for language and for being anti-Christian.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger was banned in the US and Australia.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck was banned in many parts of the US, especially California, because it made the residents of the region look bad.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov was banned for obscenity in France, the UK, Argentina, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler was banned because of anti-Nazi laws and for being extremist.

Because books are so wonderful, important, and controversial, I feel 100% great telling everyone about the Sylvia Beach Hotel. I had the immense pleasure of staying there with my sister a few weekends ago, and it was perfect.



Located on a lovely ridge overlooking Nye Beach, Oregon, the Sylvia Beach Hotel is made for people who want to relax on a soft couch on Friday night, drinking mulled wine in lovely silence with a favorite book. There are no TVs or radios or phones or internet access. Instead, there is an enormous library/lounge filled with blankets and pillows and couches and journals for guests to write in. Each room is decorated in honor of a famous author: Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, J.R.R. Tolkien, Dr. Seuss, and many more.



My sister and I stayed in the Oscar Wilde room. Black and white photos of the author lined the walls, there was a tiny Victorian writing desk in the corner, and the wallpaper was hideously ugly - on purpose. When we checked in, the lady at the front desk told us the wallpaper was a replica of what Oscar Wilde had in his own bedroom. On his deathbed, he is reported to have said, “Either the wallpaper goes, or I do.”





So, if you are looking for an excuse to runaway to the Oregon Coast for no other reason than to curl up with a favorite tome in the good company of other quietly anti-social bookworms, look no further. The Sylvia Beach Hotel is the perfect place to do so. It just might change your life.

Jessica Porter, publicity intern

Blue, Black, Silver, and Green

Timber Press has been in interested in books on dramatic plant colors since we published (in North America) Deni Bown’s Alba in 1989. (That book was inspired by the fad for white gardens in the 1980’s based on Vita Sackville-West’s famous white-flower garden. Alas, it may be some time before white gardens return to general popularity. We hope to commission a new edition if they do.) Our next was Book of Blue Flowers, which we published in 2000, making much of the fact that blue is the rarest hue in nature. This book is still in print in paperback.



Our newest “monochrome” book is Black Plants, written by Paul Bonine, a local nurseryman and student of “shock and awe” in the garden. Copies are now shipping, following on the great success of our Green Flowers in spring of this year, which was written by a delightful London photographer and designer team. Also notable is Elegant Silvers, written by Joann Gardener and photographed beautifully by Karen Bussolini. Karen did a remarkable job of traveling the world finding silver plants in their garden and native habitats. We published it in 2004.



Next spring, look for a wonderful book entitled Color Companions--I don’t want to give everything away, but our estimable Tom Fischer is the author. Keeyla Meadows's Fearless Color Gardens releases this fall--be prepared for completely wild and daring color ideas! In short, Timber digs color.



Neal Maillet, Publisher

Read-A-Thon

I went to a public Montessori elementary school in Cincinnati where most of our learning happened while sprawling out on the floor, or on these carpeted platforms in the room or hallway. Yes, we had desks, but I hardly remember sitting at them. We stayed in the same classroom for three years, and luckily, my 4th/5th/6th grade teacher was particularly enamored of reading and writing. This served me well and encouraged me in many ways. (Though--as I found out the hard way--going to seventh grade without knowing long division is a bad idea!)

Anyways, my absolute favorite days were our classroom Read-A-Thons. This was pretty much an excuse to curl up in whatever cubby or corner we wanted, whisper a bit with friends, fulfill sugar cravings, and devour as many books as we could. It was like a big slumber party, except we read instead of slept. I remember the pure satisfaction and comfort of settling into a good book and losing track of time and place. There was a peace and elated exhaustion on the bus ride home at the end of those reading days. I loved it.

Which brings me to the point of this post. I still love it. And I feel so lucky to have wiggled my way into the editorial assistant position that I have at Timber Press. In the few short months I've been here, I've been reading, reading, reading. The topics range from low-maintenance gardens and American meadows to chile peppers and black plants; maybe the gripping drama of a Judy Blume classic is missing, but the education and thrill is still there.

If I hosted a Read-A-Thon in my office would anyone join me? All we need are snacks, pillows, sleeping bags, and some manuscripts. And maybe some more snacks.

Mollie Firestone, editorial assistant

Books and the Butcher

Tody in our staff meeting our publisher compared the editorial to production side of publishing to making sausage--"Sometimes you don't want to know how it was made."

It's a funny yet valid point. To the reader, a book is a delightfull collection of bound sheets between paper or board. They don't know that at one point it was a glimmer of an idea that an editor fought for, or a pile of (sometimes handwritten) papers that an editor has to turn into a compelling read that then must be sent to production to become an actual product.

It's probably better that way. If everyone knew the process, book buying could become really exhausting.

Kathryn Juergens, sales and marketing associate

Bestsellers

I have to allow myself a moment to brag on behalf of Timber Press and our publishing partners at Storey, Workman, and Algonquin.

Indiebound released the 25 bestselling titles in the gardening and nature category, and we took 11 of the 25 spots!



Wicked Plants debuted at number two.



Carrots Love Tomatoes is still a bestseller after ten years!



The new paperback edition of Bringing Nature Home is going strong.



And an extra congratulations to Tom Fischer, our editor-in-chief. His first book, Perennial Companions, came in at number ten.



The complete list can be found here.

Kathryn Juergens, sales and marketing associate