I ran across an interesting story the other day. The Harris folks did a poll on American’s favorite books. Number one, across all genders and demographics, was the Bible, big surprise. I really have to read that book one day. Since I was one of 10 people in my age group who were actually raised […]
A few items as we wind up the week: First of all, be certain to check out the great guest post by Roy Burkhead today, which is part of a new series which I hope will be a regular Friday feature. Next, it has come to my attention that I’m having link issues, and no […]
Today marks the start of what I hope will be a regular feature–the guest post. I’m thrilled that my first guest poster is none other than Roy Burkhead himself. I have Roy to thank for my career in teaching, since he hired me originally to teach at the Loft. He’s a damn fine writer himself, […]
It has happened again, this time in my own backyard. You’d think after the brouhaha that surrounded the James Frey case a couple years ago that both authors and publishers would be extra careful about what they put into a book called a memoir. I mean, c’mon people, when you call it a memoir we […]
Julianna Baggott is my new idol, at least in the way she approaches the writing life. I discovered her at AWP, where she led a panel about women’s fiction, the title of which was, I think, something along the lines of "Beyond Chick Lit.: The Branding of Women’s Fiction." The panel was really good, with […]
Last week I finished reading The Madonnas of Leningrad, by Debra Dean. I’d always been interested in reading this book because Dean is a Seattle author and I happened to be in Seattle when her book was released. I remember sitting in the window of my room on the eighth floor of the Red Lion […]
So, I’m currently finishing up reading Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert, which has been on the best-seller list for quite some time. I generally don’t read bestsellers. It is the anti-authoritarian streak in me, or perhaps more to the point, the I-don’t-want-to-do-what-everyone-else is doing streak. My family knows the best way to get me […]
It feels obligatory to write a post when Oprah chooses a new book for her book club. As if she doesn’t get enough publicity already. But Oprah’s choices are often odd and interesting. And all of us novelists and would-be novelists know its a long shot….but we still fantasize about Oprah choosing our book. Other, […]
Just found this link with an extensive (she’s prolific) list of Doris Lessing’s books. You can access it here [link no longer available].
This is a good week for us literary freaks, what with Doris Lessing winning the Nobel Prize for Literature today, which you can read about in my previous post here, and the National Book Award Nominations being announced yesterday. So, let’s just cut straight to the chase here–Denis Johnson was nominated for Tree of Smoke. […]
