A Proud Crank

A Proud Crank

To the foolish fop who dared to defend my honor at Maud’s, let it be known that I am a proud crank, a consummate dunce,…

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Why Walter Kirn Should Take a Vacation

Why Walter Kirn Should Take a Vacation

Exhibit: Kirn’s review of David Foster Wallace’s Oblivion. Number of words in review: 1,399. Number of words quoted from book in review: 186 Percentage of…

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Hiatus

Hiatus

Due to life circumstances, we’re pretty much done here until the 4th. We’re also still behind on our email. So apologies to all on that…

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You Didn’t Hear It From Me…

You Didn’t Hear It From Me…

…but Maud’s story is up at Swink.

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Just Tell Them You’re Kilgore Trout, Assuming the Fuzz Has a Sense of Humor

Just Tell Them You’re Kilgore Trout, Assuming the Fuzz Has a Sense of Humor

Wired: “The Supreme Court ruled Monday that people do not have a constitutional right to refuse to tell police their names. The 5-4 decision frees…

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We Are Them

We Are Them

The Guardian: “Detainees held in Afghanistan by American troops have been routinely tortured and humiliated as part of the interrogation process, in the same way…

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My Culture: High and Low

My Culture: High and Low

In light of moving and all, I wasn’t able to attend the California Book Awards. But now I’m regretting it. Jeff points out that the…

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Wenclas Responds, Reluctant Rebuts

Wenclas Responds, Reluctant Rebuts

King Wenclas has responded to the criticisms hurled his way. He writes (in the first of two comments): Well, I’m going to defend my organization…

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We’re Not In This for the Money or Anything

We’re Not In This for the Money or Anything

In a bid to avoid the real purpose of this blog, we decided to catch the wave and try harder to cater to our readers….

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Sadly, Terri Schiavo Won’t Be Able to Join the Fun

Sadly, Terri Schiavo Won’t Be Able to Join the Fun

In Florida, Jeb Bush has unveiled a program called Read Together Florida, essentially a statewide version of Oprah’s Book Club. The first book chosen was…

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Miguel Cohen’s “Ulysses,” Part 2

TEXT: He peered sideways up and gave a long low whistle of call, then paused awhile in rapt attention, his even white teeth glistening here…

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The Latest Hitchens Dust-Up

The Latest Hitchens Dust-Up

Christopher Hitchens has posted a longass essay tearing Fahrenheit 9/11 to shreds. I have no comments one way or the other. The wholesale dissection of…

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And You Thought Your Email Backlog Was Unmanagable

And You Thought Your Email Backlog Was Unmanagable

AP: “While it’s long been part of the culture of the romance-novel business to accept unsolicited proposals, some publishers are making the process easier. News…

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He’s Even Got the Contractions Sans Apostrophes Down

He’s Even Got the Contractions Sans Apostrophes Down

TMFTML has obtained first serial rights for My Life, which has a curious Faulkner ring to it.

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Miguel Cohen’s “Ulysses,” Part 1

Miguel Cohen’s “Ulysses,” Part 1

Miguel Cohen, brother of Randy “Ethicist” Cohen, has expressed a desire to come back to Return of the Reluctant. After several rounds of therapy, he…

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Someone Give Wenclas & Co. Hugs

Someone Give Wenclas & Co. Hugs

Dan Green has weighed in with a thoughtful post about the Underground Literary Alliance, that ragtag bunch of frustrated writers-cum-Yippie wannabes that I have, until…

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Update

Update

I’ve been in the middle of packing (books — too many books), so I have no idea if the photocopies of Norman Mailer’s Xeroxed butt,…

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When Good Roommates Go Bad

When Good Roommates Go Bad

The roommate who doesn’t get along with his fellow living mate will either address his grievances to his living mate or amicably part, working out…

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The Fiction Writer’s Get Rich Quick Not As Quick as Non-Fiction (And, In Fact, in Forty Years or So) Scheme:  Write About Desert Camps

The Fiction Writer’s Get Rich Quick Not As Quick as Non-Fiction (And, In Fact, in Forty Years or So) Scheme: Write About Desert Camps

Ben Jelloun has won the world’s richest fiction prize, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Nothing more to report today except utter depression about world…

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If Not Tangerine Muumuus, Then Some Shade of Orange…

If Not Tangerine Muumuus, Then Some Shade of Orange…

It’s a sure bet that we were informed, but we’re so behind on email that we learned it only just recently from Maud. Tingle Alley,…

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The Case for Marquand

The Case for Marquand

I don’t know how I missed it in the May Atlantic, but Martha Spaulding continues the ongoing fight to reinstate satirist John P. Marquand into…

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The Nonfiction Writer’s Get Rich Quick Scheme: Write About Postwar Life

The Nonfiction Writer’s Get Rich Quick Scheme: Write About Postwar Life

Anna Funder’s Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall has won the Samuel Johnson Prize, the world’s richest non-fiction award.

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Better — The New Buzz Word for “Slightly Tolerable”

Better — The New Buzz Word for “Slightly Tolerable”

The third Madonna children’s book has been declared “better” by the Canadian Press. Other reviewers have insisted that the reported increase in quality has been…

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Next Up: Tolstoy in 15 Minutes

Next Up: Tolstoy in 15 Minutes

A North Carolina theatre is offering an abridged version of the complete works of William Shakespeare (in less than 90 minutes, in fact). The comedy…

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Expert to Dunce in Ten Minutes

Expert to Dunce in Ten Minutes

“Crime expert” John L. Stanley was arrested in Kansas City minutes after robbing a bank. What’s even more surprising was the amount of incriminating evidence…

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Rosenbaum Rivals Old Faithful for Violent Gushing

Rosenbaum Rivals Old Faithful for Violent Gushing

Ron Rosenbaum has nabbed the new Philip Roth novel, the alternate history novel in which Charles Lindbergh beats FDR in 1940, and devoted some 4,000…

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We’re Looking for the Hidden Jokes in Homer

We’re Looking for the Hidden Jokes in Homer

David Kipen: “That’s the Joyce I recognize. Not the mandarin classicist who finds slang and pidgin “frightful,” but the omnivore who knew dirty jokes in…

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AudBlog #17 — A Special Message from Dave Deluxe-Diner

AudBlog #17 — A Special Message from Dave Deluxe-Diner

audio post powered by audblog

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Rummy Demonstrates New “Cop-A-Feel” Foreign Policy to Powell

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Apparently, Deb Schwarz Didn’t Have the Walls for the Fitzgerald Homage

Apparently, Deb Schwarz Didn’t Have the Walls for the Fitzgerald Homage

Rejection letters from various literary magazines, as collected by Deb Schwartz. (via Moorish Girl)

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