The Mefite Library: Books By Mefites

December 14, 2010 1:29 PM

The Mefite Library: Some of you might know that I'm a book editor. I was very excited to see so many books in the holiday shop, but I was also a little sad that mefites who have a hand in creating books in other ways aren't represented. So, I'm starting a page (on the wiki for now) to collect links to books that mefites have written, edited, been anthologized in, or otherwise created. (Have a book of your photography or art? Did all of the research for a book? Art directed or illustrated a book? Please include!)

Right now, the Mefite Library page at the wiki just has one real book listed (a book I edited), and two dummy books. I'm not a copyeditor, and I don't know Chicago (or any other) citation style, so I just sort of put something together.

The two most important things to include in a listing are: 1) an indication of who the mefite is who made it, and what they did, 2) a link to where the book can be found. For books that have ISBNs (all professionally published books and many self published ones) I think it would be good to link to the Wikipedia "book sources" page, which lists both booksellers and libraries. For books without an ISBN, please just link to where the book can be found, wherever that is.

To be clear: this is not affiliated with the holiday shop in any way, and I intend it to be an ever growing list. Ideally, I'll move it to a page where you can see jacket images, and where you can look at books in order of publication (so you can see what's newest), but for now, into the wiki it goes.

posted by ocherdraco to MetaFilter-Related at 1:29 PM (43 comments total)

There was a MetaTalk soliciting Mefite-authored books a few years ago.
posted by enn at 1:35 PM on December 14, 2010

Excellent. When I get a chance, I'll go through that thread and add them in. I'll also be adding the books from the Holiday Shop.
posted by ocherdraco at 1:41 PM on December 14, 2010

I didn't know books had art directors. Although I suppose that makes sense.

Never worked on a book.
posted by mollymayhem at 1:53 PM on December 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

Done! And thanks!
posted by Shepherd at 2:01 PM on December 14, 2010

Most books have art directors inasmuch as most books have jackets that need to be art directed. The interiors of books may or may not be art directed depending upon what's in them. (Art book? Art directed. Children's picture book? Art directed.)
posted by ocherdraco at 2:02 PM on December 14, 2010

This kind of seems like something you could set up a librarything library for. It's an easy way to add in jacket photos and ISBNs etc in a standard format. I don't know if you can add in custom fields for the mefite information or if it's any better than just listing it in the wiki, particularly as the wiki allows anyone to add to it. But I thought I'd put the idea out there.

I hope you get lots of people adding their books regardless, this is a cool idea.
posted by shelleycat at 2:22 PM on December 14, 2010

How do we feel about collecting magazines and journals we edit/design? Not as permanent of a link, though...
posted by peachfuzz at 2:22 PM on December 14, 2010

The wiki already has a page on published authors, with much overlap.
posted by Pronoiac at 2:32 PM on December 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

I added the anthologies I've been in, and I hope someone else adds some more soon so it won't look like I'm spamming the section.
posted by Bookhouse at 2:38 PM on December 14, 2010

Does this include if we've created supplements for a text for a publisher?
posted by strixus at 2:42 PM on December 14, 2010

I don't suppose it counts if my photos were in a LOLcat book or two...does it? No? No. I didn't think so.

Still - I like this. It's a good idea.
posted by routergirl at 2:44 PM on December 14, 2010

Peachfuzz: Libraries keep magazines and journals. Why shouldn't ours? Just add "Magazines and Journals Edited by Mefites" as a new section. I leave it to you to figure out how to cite them.

Pronoiac: I didn't see that page when I looked through the wiki. Hmm. This page has a slightly different intent, but I suppose the two could be merged somehow. (Wikis are messy.)

Strixus: Sure. Add it to the list. I would put that in the "Otherwise created" section.
posted by ocherdraco at 2:49 PM on December 14, 2010

I don't suppose it counts if my photos were in a LOLcat book or two...does it? No? No. I didn't think so.

Are you kidding? Of course it counts! Cite like so:

Title of Book: Subtitle. By Person P. Person. Photos on p.00 and p.00 by Mefite M. Mefite (username with link). The photos are of her adorable kittehs, The Schmoop and Bobble-Bobble-My-Whoopsy. ISBN: 9780000000000 (or link to where the book can be found, if it doesn't have an ISBN).
posted by ocherdraco at 2:52 PM on December 14, 2010

Hmm. I'm the writer (but not the artist) on the last 30 pages of this - not really sure where that fits in, anthologised seems wrong.
posted by Artw at 2:55 PM on December 14, 2010

ocherdraco, the Published Authors page is already pretty big & somewhat unwieldy. Personally, I'd add authors to it, but other roles elsewhere.

I found it by searching for Hodgman, honestly. I probably should've added a link on the front page.
posted by Pronoiac at 3:02 PM on December 14, 2010

It's ten years after the fact, but I had a photo accepted for this book.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:45 PM on December 14, 2010

What about books we have created (with ISBNs), but which are not in 'general' distribution (Amazon, etc.) and only available through direct contact? Too much 'noise' for your list?
posted by woodblock100 at 4:13 PM on December 14, 2010

Two of the main characters in my novel are MeFites, though it's in Icelandic so is only really of interest to 5 of you. I'm pretty sure those two are the first identified MeFites in a published work of fiction.
posted by Kattullus at 4:15 PM on December 14, 2010

I also had a question about this in MetaTalk in 2008.
posted by paduasoy at 4:19 PM on December 14, 2010

I designed the cover and interior for this book; the cover was also used in the French translation.
posted by AzraelBrown at 4:41 PM on December 14, 2010

What about books we have created (with ISBNs), but which are not in 'general' distribution (Amazon, etc.) and only available through direct contact? Too much 'noise' for your list? (woodblock100)

Not at all. In fact, your books were one of the things I was thinking of when I suggested this.
posted by ocherdraco at 4:46 PM on December 14, 2010

I've edited or coedited:

- Between Worlds: A Sourcebook of Central European Avant-Gardes, 1910-1930 (and was a researcher on its companion catalogue, Central European Avant-Gardes: Exchange and Transformation, 1910-1930)
- Donald Blumberg
- Lee Mullican: An Abundant Harvest of Sun
- Magritte and Contemporary Art: The Treachery of Images
- Art of Two Germanys/Cold War Cultures
- Phantom Sightings: Art after the Chicano Movement
- The Bronzes of Rodin
- Beyond the Legacy of Genghis Khan

Plus have proofread several others and done a little editorial tinkering on still others, but I don't think that's quite within the scope of what you're looking for.
posted by scody at 5:12 PM on December 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

I am one of the writers on the @FakeAPStyleBook Book, Write More Good
posted by gnat at 5:38 PM on December 14, 2010

Wow, thanks for this! Not an author but I've developed a number of books. I'll add a few to the page.
posted by Toekneesan at 5:43 PM on December 14, 2010

I'm not an author, but I make books by hand from scratch. I've been having a bit of a media flurry here in Montana lately. I've had items in an Etsy shop before, but for now, everything is at a local shop here in Missoula. Lots of pictures of my work here

I've really been hoping to partner with some writers/poets to make some chapbooks or limited run short books. Does that interest anybody?
posted by ikahime at 6:09 PM on December 14, 2010

I've got admin rights on the wiki so once this all settles out we could merge the authors/editors pages and have some sort of combined page or pages [or categories for literate-type MeFites and have both pages under one category] and nice redirects for everything else. Thanks for this ocherdraco.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:13 PM on December 14, 2010

I've edited a couple of books, but I don't really want my real name publicly associated with my metafilter username, esp so closely connected to professional stuff. I assume the wiki is viewable without a mefi login, and is indexed by google?
posted by lollusc at 6:38 PM on December 14, 2010

scody, toekneesan, gnat, ikahime: put your books up on the list!

Plus have proofread several others and done a little editorial tinkering on still others, but I don't think that's quite within the scope of what you're looking for. (scody)

You're right, I think those would fall outside the scope of this, especially since you have others that you've had a more significant hand in.

I assume the wiki is viewable without a mefi login, and is indexed by google? (lollusc)

Yup. While I'd love for you to list your works, lollusc, the wiki is public, and I completely understand wanting to keep handles separate from your name.
posted by ocherdraco at 6:49 PM on December 14, 2010

I'm feeling the same way as lollusc -- I like this idea, and it's not a big secret where I work, but I'd rather not have the link be quite so public. It's fun to see what everyone else has worked on, though!
posted by cider at 7:27 PM on December 14, 2010

Yeah, I try to keep a thin but intact veil between MeFi and real life writing/editing work. I'm glad to see others' contributions, though. ocherdraco has kicked off what looks to be an interesting reading list (and gives me fodder for more contacts to tag as "colleague").
posted by catlet at 7:33 PM on December 14, 2010

Done! Thanks, ocherdraco!
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 8:17 PM on December 14, 2010

I added mine, as well...gracias, and it's nice to see the fellow industry/writer/word folk around here :)
posted by mynameisluka at 10:08 PM on December 14, 2010

I sho' would love a fancy new rejection slip *wink*
posted by Kloryne at 11:33 PM on December 14, 2010

I've done the cover art for several books, and a lot of illustration for poetry...but I too am a bit shy of overtly linking my real name to my MeFi handle. Reading the wiki has been fun though, and really appreciate the amount of talent this place holds.
posted by faineant at 11:40 PM on December 14, 2010

This is very cool ocherdracho, and addresses a question I've wondered many times. Thanks!
And, own horn, tooted.
posted by From Bklyn at 4:41 AM on December 15, 2010

Done! yay!
posted by bitter-girl.com at 10:07 AM on December 15, 2010

Just to note: I've been organizing the sections alphabetically by title, so if you add yours, put them in that way, rather than at the end of each section. (If you've already added, don't worry about it—I'll fix it later.)
posted by ocherdraco at 10:56 AM on December 15, 2010

My Book/Album combo, which was produced in collaboration with Meg Holle, loved by MetaFilter here and later turned into a play first mounted in Vancouver by Black Pants theater (and another run soon in Edmonton), was reworked into a proper paper book and is now available on our press, The Author Is Dead.

Meg wrote most of it, and I did the illustration.
posted by fake at 4:23 PM on December 15, 2010

It's unlikely you'll find a copy now, but I did the cover photography for The Portable Dickon Edwards.
posted by mippy at 8:10 AM on December 16, 2010

Well I did have a photo in the Lolcat Bible but it was removed in the second edition, as they never received the permission form I sent them. I have one in the current Toronto Visitor's Guide, and a few in some magazines, but I am seriously smaller than small beans. Oh, I also have one of my photos in this book, but there are no page numbers. In light of the serious authors, contributors and editors above, my "photo publication" seems ridiculous. Who am I kidding? In light of *anything*, it seems ridiculous. Maybe you can add a footnote somewhere. Something like "Some Mefi members also have silly cat photos in silly books."
posted by routergirl at 2:15 PM on December 16, 2010

routergirl, if your Lolcat photo counts, than so does my Millennium celebration photo.

...Um, ochredraco, DO these count?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:09 PM on December 16, 2010

Well I did have a photo in the Lolcat Bible but it was removed in the second edition, as they never received the permission form I sent them.

Dude. I was totally watching that ask.me and, while happy you updated, am pissed at the disorganised publisher that lost the letters and didn't follow up on it. Your photo was totally better.
posted by shelleycat at 1:43 AM on December 17, 2010

I used to be a gonzo music journalist, of sorts. Off The Record: 25 Years of Music Street Press. My chapters are on Regurgitator and The Living End.
posted by Bubbles Devere at 10:10 PM on December 19, 2010