Books To Jump Up and Down Over
Magic Hours by Tom Bissell: This marvelous collection of essays chronicles everything from film shoots to novelists rescued from oblivion. (The essay on the Underground Literary Alliance, with its portrait of raucous factions, unexpectedly reveals how soft today's literary world has become.) But if you peer between the cracks of these smart pieces, you may very well see how cultural lives are formed from the most unexpected life choices. And as we follow Bissell's development as a writer over the years, that goes for Bissell as well. (Bat Segundo interview with Bissell)
Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway: Harkaway's latest novel greatly improves on his previous book, The Gone-Away World, which I'm already on record as praising. Angelmaker adopts genre elements without ever feeling like a genre book, and it leads me to believe that Harkaway is well on his way to a narrative grace close to China Miéville's. Yet inexplicably this very fun book, which includes an eightysomething badass named Edie Banister, a mysterious mechanical object that may destroy the world, farcical scenarios involving lawyers and the police, and some unexpectedly moving moments about fatherhood, doesn't appear to be getting much attention in American newspapers. Nothing from the snobs at The New York Times Book Review, nothing from The Washington Post. And since I can't get Harkaway on Bat Segundo, I hope this Jump Up and Down mention gets you hopping as well.
The Age of Insight by Eric Kandel: Unless you're really pressed for time, forget Jonah Lehrer. If you want to understand creativity and its relationship to neuroscience, then the bowtie-wearing Nobel laureate is your man. In addition to being a physically beautiful book (you will drool over many of the paintings), there are helpful overviews on optical illusions, science, biographical backgrounds, and many vital figures from the Vienna Secession. Kandel's enthusiasm (and his call for greater unity between the humanities and science) is contagious.
Miller, Laura Archive
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Laura Miller’s Black Helicopters
Posted on October 21, 2011 | No CommentsA response to Laura Miller's black helicopter theory concerning the National Book Awards. -
Dwight Macdonald: A Case Study for Great Responsibility
Posted on October 13, 2011 | 1 CommentThis lengthy essay examines Dwight Macdonald, one of the most contentious critics of the 20th century. What can his style of attack and his viewpoints offer in the 21st century? Is his fall from grace a parable? -
But A Full-Scale Nervous Breakdown, Complete with Men in White Suits, Would Really Make Laura Miller Do the Happy Dance!
Posted on March 10, 2006 | 1 CommentLaura Miller: “One of the most interesting and newsworthy response I ever got was when I asked a novelist who’d just written (but not yet published) a memoir, ‘People often... -
Laura Miller Watch
Posted on October 17, 2005 | 3 CommentsInarguably, Laura Miller is the most ridiculous book reviewer be found in print today. More pompous than Harold Bloom, more mystifying than even Harriet Klausner, more passive-aggressive than Dale Peck,... -
Hiatus (Sorta)
Posted on September 12, 2005 | 1 CommentWe’ve been working our keisters off here. Two Segundo shows in the works (one we hope to get up tonight with a very special guest), with a third one on... -
AM Roundup
Posted on March 29, 2005 | 1 CommentCarrie Fisher will write a book revealing several secrets behind the Star Wars trilogy. Among some of the telling details: Mark Hamill was a midget who received two leg implants... -
Yesterday’s Definition of Libel is Today’s “Duel of Stories”
Posted on May 1, 2004 | 2 CommentsLaura Miller: “The ”Opening Skinner’s Box’ controversy looks like a quarrel about facts, but it’s really a duel of stories. Slater’s subjects are saying, in part, ‘How dare you presume... -
Not That the Blogosphere is Biased or Anything
Posted on January 19, 2004 | No CommentsThis is perhaps the best review I’ve ever read in the New York Times. So What Do You Do, Laura Miller? That I’d like to see. -
A Special Column by Laura Miller
Posted on January 11, 2004 | No Comments[EDITOR'S NOTE: Miguel Cohen is unwell this week. He reports that he Super-Sized his McDonalds meal by mistake. He believes he's suffering from mad cow disease. I asked Miguel what... -
Fact Checking Laura Miller’s Ass
Posted on December 14, 2003 | No CommentsIt’s bad enough that Laura Miller can’t refrain from mentioning films or television in her New York Times book pieces, but she’s also ill-informed on the history of Peter Pan... -
Born of a Bitter Bland Seed
Posted on December 3, 2003 | No CommentsSo who is Laura Miller anyway? Here’s an audio interview of Miller extolling the wonders of the Intenet back in 1999. But, beyond her nasal droll, I must warn you...