Ancillary Materials

Ancillary Materials

While I contemplate just what the new version of this site will entail, sans Reluctant, here are recent articles, essays, podcasts, and other strange things…

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Return of the Reluctant, 2003-2007

Return of the Reluctant, 2003-2007

This morning, I filed for divorce from Return of the Reluctant, citing irreconcilable differences. It was an amicable parting. No children, no property to squabble…

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The Magic Highway

The Magic Highway

(via MeFi)

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Dave Itzkoff: The Laziest Columnist Ever Hired by the NYTBR?

Dave Itzkoff: The Laziest Columnist Ever Hired by the NYTBR?

Andrew Wheeler: “Blowing off half a year and then not doing the reading is what a layabout does at a minor state college, not the…

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Roundup

Roundup

Ah, the folly of youth! College journalist William Sindewald had the funny idea that attending a Chris Dodd rally would reveal a limitless avalanche of…

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Nick Denton Proclaims Himself Emperor of Gawker

Nick Denton Proclaims Himself Emperor of Gawker

In an act of hubris recalling Napoleon’s activities during the Hundred Days, Nick Denton has proclaimed himself emperor of Gawker. Apparently, Denton wasn’t impressed by…

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Twelve

Twelve

Whirring wind, the whistling of asthmatic ghosts, the clinks of cans and other detritus thrown out windows by careless neighbors and left to pick up…

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RIP Dan Fogelberg

RIP Dan Fogelberg

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Jonathan Ames Pilot on Showtime

Longtime readers know that many years ago, I opened an envelope in my mail that contained a hastily handwritten letter and a small, poorly Xeroxed…

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Roundup

Roundup

Laura Huxley has died. Also, I missed this but Anthony Burgess’s widow died a few weeks ago. Speaking of Burgess, it appears that some Northwestern…

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O Lucky Man! Revisited — Part One

This is the first in a series of posts on Lindsay Anderson’s masterpiece, O Lucky Man! The other night, I revisited O Lucky Man!, courtesy…

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They Call Him Bruce

They Call Him Bruce

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My Bologna Has a Second Name: It's M-Y-E-R-S

My Bologna Has a Second Name: It’s M-Y-E-R-S

When the last words of a litblogger’s post are “Fuck you, B.R. Myers,” and the rest of the litblogger’s argument is ignored by a bunch…

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Email

Email

If you are receiving email replies from me from several months ago, do not be alarmed. I’m simply very thorough about the email backlog. Many…

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Harcourt and Houghton Sitting in a $4 Billion Tree, M-O-N-E-Y and Glee?

Harcourt and Houghton Sitting in a $4 Billion Tree, M-O-N-E-Y and Glee?

Publishers Weekly reports that Houghton Mifflin’s purchase of Harcourt has been effected for $4 billion. The new company will be called the “Houghton Mifflin Harcourt…

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If Richard Grayson Thinks I Lack Class, He Hasn't Read the New York Post

If Richard Grayson Thinks I Lack Class, He Hasn’t Read the New York Post

New York Post: “Ike ‘Beats’ Tina to Death.”

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New Guardian Blog Post

New Guardian Blog Post

In today’s Guardian, you can find a blog post by me on current author correspondence volumes.

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The Case Against Xmas

The Case Against Xmas

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Roundup

Roundup

Diana West’s The Death of the Grown-Up, has received a handful of notices: William Grimes mocked it and The New Criterion‘s Stefan Beck was less…

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Ethical Transparency

Ethical Transparency

In response to the NBCC’s ethics survey, Quill & Quire‘s Derek Weiler observes that Carlin Romano and company missed out on far more interesting questions…

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Sudden Death Overtime?

Sudden Death Overtime?

People Paula: “I’d like to know why you have abandoned the problems we’ve had for 10 years (the reality and basic cable issues) in favor…

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Short Story vs. First Chapter

Short Story vs. First Chapter

Stephen King’s editor Chuck Verril demonstrates the parallels between the first chapter of Duma Key and a story called “Memory” which appeared in Tin House.

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George Saunders Interviews Bill Clinton

George Saunders Interviews Bill Clinton

GQ: “Well, as you may have heard, I’m mainly a fiction writer. So I apologize in advance for my ineptitude.” (via Erin)

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A Foolproof Statement

A Foolproof Statement

AP: “A man nearly died from alcohol poisoning after quaffing a liter (two pints) of vodka at an airport security check instead of handing it…

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Sad News

Sad News

Terry Pratchett has early onset Alzheimer’s. (via Bill Peshel)

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Chimes at Midnight

Chimes at Midnight

Orson Welles has made appearances in four dreams I’ve had over the past week. And I don’t know why. Either old-time radio is very much…

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Edward Champion for NBCC Board Member — Platform

Today, the National Book Critics Circle ballot was issued. And as previously announced on these pages, I am running for Board Member. Even though there…

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Kashmir Last Night

Kashmir Last Night

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Nice Try

Nice Try

Sorry, eNotes, but any list of ball-busting women writers without Dorothy Parker, who had the glorious effrontery to tell Norman Mailer, “So you’re the young…

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The Latest Meme

The Latest Meme

I’ve been tagged by Pete Anderson for a meme that involves listing the first sentence from the first post from each month of the previous…

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