- Sarah has thought out the whole category and subcategory problem in terms far clearer than I can express. I hope to jump off from this post when I have some time, but if you’re concerned about the genre wars, this one’s a must read.
- Well, if this profile of an extremely defensive J-Franz doesn’t kickstart a new dialogue between Good Franz and Bad Franz, I don’t know what will.
- As widely reported, L.A. Times publisher Jeffrey Johnson has been pushed out for standing against staff cuts. Reactions in the newsroom “grim.”
- Dan Wickett reports on a Jeff Parker reading.
- I missed Gary Shtenygart’s essay about reading and writing in bed while traveling last weekend, but it’s worth a read.
- Mark Thwaite observes that Romanian poet Oskar Pastior has passed away.
- Jessica discovers Brooklynian, a highly provincial message board.
- Princess Margaret’s secret sex manual.
- Cashing in on Hunter’s death.
- Tonight! BSG Season 3 Premiere! Ladies and gentlemen, start your TiVos.
- Slate‘s Jacob Weisberg opines that Woodward has gone downhill with his last three books. (via Ghost in the Machine)
- Also from Kevin, a report on a recent Terry Gilliam appearance. Gilliam says that he’s considering suing Bush and Co. for making an unauthorized remake of Brazil.
- New York Times: “Holding hands is more likely now a sign of commitment.” Keep those original and penetrating social observations coming, Gray Lady!
- Apparently, more than half of MySpace’s users are 35 or older.
- David Hasselhoff reports that KITT was gay. Let us consider this unexpected turn of events. Was KITT really gay or was he just being friendly and fulfilling his basic functions? Or was Michael Knight, who constantly referred to the talking car as “buddy” and seemed more interested in being alone with KITT than being with women, the gay one? (Why, for example, did Michael Knight not make out with anyone in the back seat of KITT? Because KITT would get jealous and launch the ejector seat?) Or is it possible that Hasselhoff himself is gay? I leave this troubling questions for the readers to unravel. (via Waxy)
- More blog publishing hype. Are publishers offering too much money or does the writing suck?
- Nobel Lit announcement? Next Thursday.
Roundup
– October 6, 2006Posted 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. (
To steal words from the mouth of Paul Stanley, Tears are Falling.
Paul Stanley: Nicer than Franzen? Less tormented about his art?
A debate for our times! Moderated by….gosh, the possiblities….
maybe Lars Ulrich is free again?