- Over at the LBC, nominee Marshall Klimasewiski has begun guest-blogging and, in his inaugural post, he observes, “My impression is that there are better answer to that every year, and anyone who thinks blogging is mostly about bitching and tearing things down hasn’t been visiting sites like this. (Not that there’s anything wrong with a little eloquent bitching, of course.)”
- Frank Wilson offers a contrarian take of The Road.
- Callie Miller nails what’s wrong with dismissing Web 2.0. And Scott has a few words of his own about Andrew Keen’s approach.
- Hitch on the Zachary Leader Amis bio.
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel books editor Geeta Sharma-Jensen now goes “meekly into the recording studio” for the MJS‘s podcasting efforts.
- A fantastic cartoon describing the book blogger. (via Galleycat)
- In this month’s The Believer, Rolf Potts revisits Ginsberg. (via Ron Silliman)
- I was going to respond to John Freeman’s spintastic NPR appearance, but thankfully Colleen has echoed what I wanted to say.
- Former Chicago Sun-Times Book Editor Henry Kisor has kind words: “If, as time goes on, book sections should give way to literary blogs, I don’t think that is going to be such a bad thing. Discerning readers will always gravitate to the best-written blogs and the amateurish sites will wither on the vine.”
- Incidentally, Richard Ford may be interested to know that John Cheever did his writing in the basement. And I think we can all agree that Cheever had very little to offer.
- Yann Martel has a sense of humor. (via Bookninja)
Roundup
– May 2, 2007Posted in: Roundup
The Call by Yannick Murphy: The always interesting author of Here They Come and Signed, Mata Hari returns with a novel that whips up a worldview from a rather quirky set of limitations: namely, the call logs that a veterinarian maintains as his son is unexpectedly put into a coma and an unforgiving economy denies him work. What emerges is a surprisingly optimistic, often funny, and very moving account on how one family uses acceptance and forgiveness as a way to atone for hard knocks. (
Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber: Forget Franzen and Eugenides. If you're looking for a social novel that counts, Diana Abu-Jaber is the author you're looking for. Building from the free-form exploration of consciousness and identity in Crescent and the gripping procedural structure of Origin, Abu-Jaber's latest novel is her finest, equally fluent with gutterpunk culture and smarmy real estate men. It has been suggested by The Washington Post's Ron Charles that you will likely gain some pounds while reading this novel. This is certainly true. Abu-Jaber's description of food is so precise that it often made me want to do more cooking. But I very much admired the way in which Abu-Jaber presents all her characters as unwitting victims of rough capitalism, which permits them some dignity even as they perform terrible acts.
The Last of the Live Nude Girls by Sheila McClear: This memoir isn't so much about the decline of the Times Square peepshow, as it is about one young woman's efforts to pull herself up by by her bootstraps when presented with few economic options. Filled with self-introspective candor and a quiet dignity, McClear's story is one that might befall any of us in these volatile times. While McClear does get back on her feet, her book leads one contemplating the terrible fates of other young women now moving to New York and falling into deadlier vocations. (
Pretty much all the writers I know who have basements puts their writing desks there. Those who don’t have one work in their attics and die young of consumption from inhaling too much fiberglass insulation. Only amateurs work in a room with windows. Everybody knows that.
I have to quit blogging because:
1. Despite fewer readers than Ford, Ed, or the NYT, I experience feelings of moral obligation.
2. I have neither a basement nor an attic.
3. The room has window. (but no view.)
4. I choose not advertise my advanced degree as evidence of my finer knowledge.
5. I’ve never been to Terre Haute.
BK
Hey Dirda-o
I don’t wanna go
Down to the basement
There’s some Cheevers there
Hey Dirda-o
Don’t wanna go
Down to the basement
There’s some bloggers there
Duh-DUH duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh
Thanks, Ed, for the props to my cartoon on Finding Wonderland! Colleen gave me the heads-up. There will be another installment of Toon Thursday sometime tomorrow, providing I get my act together and open up my sketchbook…