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.
Technical Archive
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Count Chocula Was Our Second Choice
Posted on August 19, 2005 | 4 CommentsWe’re pretty much all tapped out in the synapses department. It’s quite likely that we’ll spend some small portion of this weekend sitting in an emotionally precarious position with a... -
Be Naughty!
Posted on August 12, 2005 | 1 CommentWe were reminded Thursday evening that there’s this fantastic place called the Outside World, where people congregate and converse and marvelous human behavior goes down. So the next episode of... -
Segundo & Stuff
Posted on August 10, 2005 | No CommentsThings will probably be quiet here today. We’re still mixing this week’s show and prepping for next week’s. Expect these two Segundo podcasts perhaps over the next five days. We... -
Blogroll Restored
Posted on August 8, 2005 | No CommentsOver the last few weeks, you may have noticed the gradually restored “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” blogroll. Well, it’s taken a few weeks. But now I think I have everybody back.... -
Taking A Bite Out of the Big Apple
Posted on May 31, 2005 | 1 CommentPostings are going to be light and then heavy. But whatever the format and timing, they will be comprehensive on the other side. Either way, my ass is heading to... -
Gone Fishing
Posted on January 3, 2005 | No Comments -
Confidential to Some Sexy Correspondents
Posted on November 13, 2004 | 3 CommentsFolks, folks, folks, folks. I should point out that just because some of us may disagree on minor points (and, boy, they sure are minor), this does not mean that... -
Regular Coverage Involves Subjecting the Host to Misery
Posted on May 3, 2004 | 6 CommentsSome of you may have noticed that I haven’t been posting a lot of literary content lately. I promise to get back to the usual book news, reviews and other... -
Forecast
Posted on May 3, 2004 | No CommentsPosting will remain light, with a possible chance of lengthy ramblings during the day job. Because of very pleasant recent events, temperament will remain sanguine, likely to settle into a... -
The Time Has Come
Posted on March 30, 2004 | 7 CommentsAt long last, I have figured this gambit out. The Life, only occasionally referred to here in Reluctant-Land, has become one of those things where one wonders how to maintain... -
Leave of Absence
Posted on March 30, 2004 | No CommentsHerr Pollack is back. My services are no longer required. -
Scaleback
Posted on March 29, 2004 | No CommentsA hard April 1 deadline stares back at me on the play, which is doubly interesting given that a character’s gender switched over the weekend (thanks to a very simple... -
LiveJournal RSS Feed
Posted on January 23, 2004 | 4 CommentsI don’t know what in sam hill this will do for you, but Susan has been nice enough to create a LiveJournal RSS feed for this place. Me? I feed... -
For Those of You Wondering
Posted on January 22, 2004 | 3 CommentsI owe emails to a lot of people. You will get them tomorrow. Even if I die without food or water in a locked room, I am determined to answer... -
An Apology
Posted on January 20, 2004 | 6 CommentsThere are numerous spelling mistakes on these pages — all of them inexcusable, all of them correctable. Just not now. Because time to care for an outside project does not... -
Hiatus
Posted on January 8, 2004 | 4 CommentsI regret to inform my loyal readers that I will be taking a blogging hiatus that will last approximately twelve hours or so. Perhaps less. The reasons are unimportant. But...