- Mark Sarvas reviews Levin and Leavitt. I ponder the perfect mathematics of Mr. Sarvas reviewing two titles with authors whose last names begin with the letters “LE.” 12, 5 (2.4 differential, .4 applied as additional oomph when comparing two tomes).
- What accounts for the clunkiest lines in Shakespeare? A hangover? Nah. Deadlines, methinks.
- The Virginia Quarterly Review has added comics! (via The Beat)
- Who needs subtle book covers?
- Rather than announcing an imprint like normal publishers, Little, Brown is considering a comic imprint. Come on, Hachette! Don’t be a wuss. Take the plunge! It worked out for Chris Staros. It can work for you! More comics! More, I say!
- Kassia Kroszer takes umbrage with the Borders Book Club.
- Sam Lipsyte on Houellebecq (via Rake)
- The Independent talks with Marjane Satrapi. (via Laila)
- Tony D’Souza on researching the Ivory Coast.
- Brian Sawyer’s wife could use your support for the Boston Marathon. (Proceeds to go to cancer research.)
- Bud Parr asks Laird Hunt some questions.
- Seeing as how a baby is popping out of a uterus, shouldn’t that be extrusive?
Year / 2006
Bear With Me
Weird Al, “White and Nerdy”
At PASCAL, well, I’m number one / Do vector calculus just for fun / I ain’t got a gat but I got a soldering gun / “Happy Days” is my favorite theme song / I could sure kick your butt in a game of ping pong / I’ll ace any trivia quiz you bring on / I’m fluent in JavaScript as well as Klingon
(Video)
(Original Chamillionaire video for full appreciation.)
Clarifying the Fruit Basket
David Milofsky recently interviewed me for this Denver Post article about the role of literary blogs. To clarify, the fruit basket was set to Lev Grossman as a gesture of good will and the fruit itself was not intended to be injurious. (See here.)
Presumably, Irony is Also a Profane Word for Alton Verm
The Courier: “A Caney Creek High School dad is fired up because the Conroe Independent School District uses the book ‘Fahrenheit 451′ as classroom reading material. Alton Verm, of Conroe, objects to the language and content in the book. His 15-year-old daughter Diana, a CCHS sophomore, came to him Sept. 21 with her reservations about reading the book because of its language….’It’s just all kinds of filth,’ said Alton Verm, adding that he had not read ‘Fahrenheit 451.’” (Emphasis added.)