Publishers are taking every extra measure to make sure that opportunistic book critics and booksellers don’t hawk their merch on Ebay or other used bookstores, and Viking is no exception with their plans for Thomas Pynchon‘s AGAINST THE DAY. As National Book Critics Circle president John Freeman writes on the NBCC’s blog Critical Mass, “I won’t be losing track of this book. Why? Because my name is in the book. That’s right, there on the title page printed in block letters is my name.” It’s certainly one of the more unusual methods of keeping track of who got what galley, especially since Pynchon’s previous book, MASON & DIXON, yielded a nice mint for used book dealers.
But even though having your own name in the book is a bit of a thrill, why stop there? So if anyone at Viking wants to send me a copy of AGAINST THE DAY, please address the front cover to Marjorie Fairlea, in keeping with certain naming conventions… Ron’ll keep an eye on his mailbox, too, but since he grew up on Main Street, he’ll just stick with the usual nomenclature, thanks.