Bloggasm

C. Max Magee started The Millions in 2003, because his roommate at the time convinced him that having a blog was a good hobby. Max was skeptical, but, working at a bookstore at the time, he began writing about books and got hooked. Since starting the blog, Max has attended the Medill School of Journalism, and currently lives, temporarily, in Washington, DC, with his wife. He writes about the stock market for his day job, but also has written freelance articles for Poets & Writers and other publications.

Simon Owens: The Millions is one of the older book blogs out there. Do you think that newer book blogs will have a harder time finding an audience since the market is more saturated?

C. Max Magee: No. I think that as long as a blogger writes well and adds something to the conversation, he won’t have any trouble finding an audience. It was fun to be one of the first to do a blog about books, but it’s been much more fun being part of a larger group of book blogs that play off of and interact with one another. In fact, I’d love to see even more book blogs enter the fray.

Simon Owens: Do you think your formal education in journalism has affected your blogging style at all?

C. Max Magee: Yes, though perhaps subconsciously. After being trained in a certain style of writing and using that style daily, it’s hard to break out of it when I sit down to blog. I find that when I do a newsy item in particular I revert to the classic “inverted pyramid” style that I learned in J-school. On the other hand, I really enjoy the freedom the blog gives me to write in the first person and to be creative in ways that I can’t with the other writing I do.

Simon Owens: Are there any new publishing trends that have developed in the 21st century? How has the internet changed how publishers promote books?

C. Max Magee: Well, for one thing, I get a lot of emails from people promoting their books. I think that the Internet is very good at allowing people with similar interests to find one another and form a community, which, loosely defined, is what the book blog world is. While this feature of the Internet is great for finding people to chat about David Foster Wallace with, it also preassembles audiences for marketers to target. Since publishers know that me and my fellow book bloggers reach a lot of avid readers, they try to get us to promote their books to those readers. So far, I think the relationship between bloggers and publishers has been mostly healthy and symbiotic, but to a certain extent we’re still working out the details.

Simon Owens: Which magazines and newspapers have the best book critics?

C. Max Magee: To be honest, I couldn’t say. I tend to seek out reviews because I’m interested in the book being reviewed, not in the reviewer. I read tons of book news and reviews online based on what headlines grab me, and the only publication that I read cover to cover without fail is the New Yorker.

Simon Owens: What upcoming book publications are you looking forward to the most?

C. Max Magee: I have about 50 books in my “to be read” pile (it’s a box actually since we’re in the process of moving), so I’m dreading new books more than I’m looking forward to them, but here’s a post I did recently about my “most anticipated books” for the second half of 2006.

Simon Owens: What are the five blogs you’d recommend to supplement the reading of your own?

C. Max Magee: I read a ton of book blogs, but I read blogs on other subjects as well, so, in the interest of mixing things up, here are some of those:

The Comics Curmudgeon- I’ve long been amused by the newspaper funnies, but often wondered why they are so strange. Josh explains with his riotous blog.

Freakonomics Blog – I like Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner’s blog for two reasons. As a former econ major and current business writer I’m interested in the subject matter, but I also think it’s great because it’s an example of how a couple of authors are continuing to interact with their audience, long after the publication of their book.

Tropical Toxic – Asaf and Tomer Hanuka are a pair of tremendously talented artists and professional illustrators who happen to be twin brothers. On their blog, they give a “behind the scenes” look at how they create their stunning work.

Roch Around the Clock – Have I mentioned that I’m a big baseball fan? I know that this blog eminates from a big daily newspaper, but I still like it. Roch Kubatko is a sportswriter who writes for the Baltimore Sun and blogs about the Baltimore Orioles and other topics. I’m a huge Orioles fan, and Kubatko has provided a great place to join my beleaguered compatriots in bemoaning the Orioles’ consistantly woeful performance.

Emdashes – Ok, one literary blog. I’m a New Yorker fanatic, and Emdashes is a blog all about the magazine, so I can’t help but read it.