Notes from Ann: Blast It Like Radio

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When I read Mary Laura Philpott’s piece in Publisher’s Weekly today — “Think Before You Link,” about the way we use links when we talk about books on the internet — I started singing an old Donna Summer tune to myself: “Someone found a letter you wrote me / on the radio / and they told the world just how you felt…” It’s the song I always sing when I read something that perfectly expresses my feelings (plus it’s just a great song, and any day you sing a little Donna Summer is going to be a better day). “I was so surprised and shocked / and I wondered, too / If by chance you heard it for yourself…”

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When you post to social media about a book, what link do you use? Read the full op-ed on reading, writing, and the power of online discourse in Publisher’s Weekly.

I think about this link business every time I go online, but I’ve never done anything with my feelings. “I never told a soul / Just how I’ve been feeling about you…” But Mary Laura put it into words perfectly. I would consider it a personal favor if you would read it, forward it to everyone you know, tweet it to the world, sing it out. Pretend it’s radio. It matters.

“But they said it really loud / they said it on the air / on the radio.”

Thank you.
-Ann

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(If there’s one thing Musing has been missing all this time, it’s a Donna Summer reference by Ann Patchett.)

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