August 21, 2006
Short Takes
The Washington Post: The Kids Are Not All Right. As a member of the generation being indicted here, it’s news to me (thanks, John!). Unfortunately, the problem doesn’t begin with […]
August 21, 2006
Introductions All Around
As some of you are aware, this blog is still in beta stage (we haven’t officially opened for business yet, believe it or not). And because I expect my interests […]
August 20, 2006
Long Live the Longlist
Last Monday, the judges for the 2006 Man Booker Prize announced the prize’s nineteen longlisted books, thereby kicking off the month-long countdown to the announcement of the six-book shortlist. Each […]
August 18, 2006
Congratulations!
Joyce Carol Oates is the winner of this year’s Chicago Tribune Literary Prize: “She’s a writer with very deep roots in American literary and intellectual traditions. She has a great […]
August 18, 2006
Short Takes
Made short shift, eh? Has the Supreme Court made a typographical error or an eggcorn? Language Log explores. The New York Sun takes potshots in an open letter to Gunter […]
August 17, 2006
The Interview According to ESPN
First of all, keep in mind that the interview is about the person being interviewed–not the interviewer. Seem like a no-brainer? Not for Mike Wallace, says John Sawatsky. And don’t […]
August 17, 2006
Heroes (Super and Otherwise)
Aside from James Bowman, who I’ll get to in a moment, who doesn’t like superheroes? In addition to being a valuable part of childhood for many of us they provide […]
August 17, 2006
Short Takes
John Irving rallies the defense: “The fulminating in the German media has been obnoxious. Grass is a daring writer, and he has always been a daring man.” (via Galleycat) Guy […]
August 16, 2006
Well, It’s Not Like He Won the Peace Prize, People
The Nobel Prize committee has done the right thing and announced there are no plans to revoke Gunter Grass’ 1999 award. An award for literature, not for moral authority, by […]
August 16, 2006
Short Takes
Stereotyped rhetoric repeats itself, first as clich??, then as irony–and as a way of talking about baseball. Tom Wolfe: “still a moron,” asked to “recuse himself from popular culture,” essentially […]
August 15, 2006
Short Takes
Because every woman I know has read Cosmo at least once and probably still feels guilty about it: Our Lives According to Women’s Magazines (via Bookslut) Also via Bookslut: “With […]
August 11, 2006
Nothing New Under the Sun
Literary fraud: often ill-advised but always fascinating. I’m not familiar with science fiction as a rule (although I hear the sci-fi writers are very nice folks) but this article over […]