Sloganeering: “Much fan fiction is poorly written, and can cause actual brain damage in unsuspecting readers. The obvious response to this is to not read fanfic. But that’s not going far enough for some readers. The mere fact that this stuff even exists somehow poisons the world for them; much like knowing that someone, somewhere is, as we speak, putting the finishing touches on a Two and a Half Men spec-script or even — heaven help us — eating a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich made with nine-grain bread and wondering why he isn’t losing any weight.”

You can read my review of David Markson’s Epitaph for a Tramp & Epitaph for a Dead Beat in today’s Philly Inquirer.

Simon Pegg: “It’s not so much about having a different sense of humour as a different approach to life. More demonstrative than we are, Americans are not embarrassed by their emotions. They clap louder, cheer harder and empathise more unconditionally. It’s an openness that always leaves me feeling slightly guilty and apologetic when American personalities appear on British chat shows and find their jokes and stories met with titters, not guffaws, or their achievements met with silent appreciation, rather than claps and yelps. We don’t like them any less, we just aren’t inclined to give that much of ourselves away. Meanwhile, as a Brit on an American chat show, it’s difficult to endure prolonged whooping without intense, red-faced smirking.

You can read my review of China Miéville’s Un Lun Dun, appearing in this Sunday’s Los Angeles Times. In fact, it’s something of a West Coast Bloggin’ Boys Club feel this week, what with appearances in the same issue by Tod Goldberg and Jim Ruland.