• Updike writes about dying writers, but is this a wry way to respond to Terrorist critics? “Melville’s sentences, a little arthritic and desiccated decades after the headlong prose of his prime, and marked, the manuscript (at Harvard) reveals, by many hesitations and revisions, may sometimes grope, but his plot, the Christlike martyrdom of his ‘fated boy,’ moves unflinchingly.” (via Bookninja)
• Michael Allen believes the William Morrow mystery book is a Macluay Culkin memoir. But will anything Culkin has to say “make news all over the world?” Unless, of course, the Home Alone movies have contained subliminal messages urging the American public to flagellate any man resembling Joe Pesci or Daniel Stern.
• More coverage of Suite Française from The Globe & Mail.
• Cheryl Morgan is ceasing publication of Emerald City. A pity — it was one of the finest online resources for speculative fiction news.
• The Christopher Hitchens review of Terrorist is now available at Powell’s.
• Harry Potter hacked?
• Edna O’Brien looks into James Joyce’s Exiles, the only play that Joyce ever authored.
• There’s a B.S. Johnson symposium going down in London on Thursday, August 17. Looks interesting.
• How to respond to Moleskine critics. Look, Moleskinerie, I love you and all, but aren’t you being a tad defensive? Love the lovely Moleskine books and let the critics’ bitter and moribund rasps send them to an early grave.
• Eric Walker lists ten overlooked odd speculative fiction classics.
• Neil Gaiman YouTubed.
• Shawn Telford defends Tom Petty.
• Animation lovers vs. Mick LaSalle.
• The UK trailer for Tideland (via Film Ick)

© 2006, Edward Champion. All rights reserved.