I am a great believer in the benefits of humbling experiences. And so I should be happy about a recent email from Feldheim Publishers informing me that my last book, Ordinary Greatness: 100 Songs of Praise, had barely sold 1,000 copies, and informing me that I must make plans for the 1700 copies still in the warehouse taking up space.
But I must confess I am not all that happy. For one thing, I had expected the book to sell well, despite having gone with a small publisher, as a personal favor. The cover is great, and many of the pieces, written over thirty years, in a variety of venues, are among my favorites.
The hope of the person who first suggested the project to me, and who initially selected the pieces, was that the collection would provide an attractive look into the Torah world through the lives of largely unsung members of that community. He also hoped that some of the lengthy interviews and the pieces on figures like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln would break some stereotypes about the Torah community's lack of secular sophistication. It was in order to also reach a secular audience that I chose to use the name Jonathan (incidentally, the name by which my wife calls me and virtually every other friend) on the cover, and spent months on a long glossary.
Another reason for my disappointment was that this is my most personal book, with an autobiographical section, and including pieces on my late father, mother, and brother. So not selling better feels – irrationally – like a personal rejection. Somewhere, I describe the biographical section as the kind of information one might share late at night talking to a potential new friend for the first time. I have always thought of regular readers as friends or at least potential friends.
All this is by way of reminding any regular readers who may have intended to purchase the book but not gotten around to it, or who intended to purchase copies for non-observant relatives (an effort was made to leave out all theology and politics), that it is still be available in bookstores or for purchase on-line at the Feldheim website or Amazon. Perfect for summer reading at the beach or in the mountains, as it can be read one piece at time, over an entire summer.
And, by the way, those who have read all or parts of the book have been very enthusiastic, including Rav Aharon Lopiansky, who wrote a cover blurb.
Your humbled scribe.