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The Dan Brown Diversion
Some say 2009 will be the novel's best year ever-no thanks to The Lost Symbol. What makes literary news? A new Dan Brown novel! Brown, the...
Read & DiscussIt's the Editor, Stupid
While we rethink the future of writing, let's not forget the people behind the scenes. Last week I opined about some ways publishers might...
Read & DiscussBook Clubs and the Future of Publishing
When it comes to books, we Americans have author loyalty (I can't wait to read the new Lorrie Moore novel), and bookstore loyalty (I will only...
Read & DiscussA Working Class Hero Is Harder to Be
Why aren't there more novels about America's workers? When I am looking for a smart discussion about literature in the books blogosphere, my...
Read & DiscussGrowth in America's “Dying Cities”
"Feral houses" and other indigenous species of the rust belt I live in the rust belt and have always found beauty in urban decay. So it will...
Read & DiscussIn the Teen Lit Classics, Clues
What your childhood reading says about you Lizzie Skurnick, a writer for Jezebel.com and author of 10 Sweet Valley High books, has just...
Read & DiscussGet Your (Copyright) War On
David Rees, Jamba Juice, and the problem with Free First, the set-up: David Rees is a cartoonist who wrote the brilliant "Get Your War On"...
Read & DiscussThin Books for a Finite Summer
Don't have time to read David Foster Wallace's 1,000-page Infinite Jest? Here's a list of worthwhile summer reading you can finish. In her...
Read & DiscussNew Forms of Cultural Snobbery: How Many Can You Identify?
Is flaunting your great taste in books and music really harder in the digital age? In the latest Vanity Fair, James Wolcott worries about the...
Read & DiscussThe Uncertain Fate of Crosswords
With newspapers dying, crossword puzzles might not be far behind. Do we care? I have been worrying about crossword puzzles. I accept the slow...
Read & DiscussThe Joys of Absorption
On the value of reading, writing, and power yoga Parker, my yoga instructor, told us last night, while our butts were in the air, that without...
Read & DiscussGetting to Know the Kindle DX
The early days of Amazon's new e-book reader, as reported by one intrepid pioneer 1.) Open box, excitedly. Notice packaging seems recycled....
Read & DiscussIran’s Flowing, Agitated Rivers of People
Capturing the immediacy of political upheaval, from <i>Shah of Shahs</i> to Andrew Sullivan Experience had taught them to avoid uttering such...
Read & DiscussAfter the Housing Crisis, the Stories
Two new real estate books, and the stories not yet told Three years ago, I put a down payment on a new house, and put my current house house up...
Read & DiscussThe Great Salinger Sequel Hoax
The pranksters behind the Catcher in the Rye sequel and the fight over who owns fictional characters. J.D. Salinger, the reclusive author of...
Read & DiscussPoetic License
The Oxford poetry scandal is making headlines. But back in the day we expected writers to be wild. Poets do not often make the first page of...
Read & DiscussHow to Find a Summer Book on the Web
The world of book review websites could use an edit. Here are a few of best places to look for summer reading. A few times a week I get asked...
Read & DiscussThe Grad School Brain Drain
Another problem with academia: It isolates America's most deft thinkers. The most surprising aspect of Mark C. Taylor's recent New York Times...
Read & DiscussShopping for Your Imperfect Mother
A step-by-step guide to solving your mother's (day) woes My current favorite fictional mom is Mary-Louise Parker's Nancy Botwin from Weeds. A...
Read & DiscussThat Reminds Me
Notes towards a theory of Twitter A few weeks ago it was "Style" week in my undergraduate writing course. We discussed clarity (use active...
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