Arguably a favorite topic of book blogs and news outlets, plagiarism and lying about one's past are in the news again; this time in the guise of a former gang member's memoir and eventual unveiling as a fraud by her sister. She actually grew up in swanky Sherman Oaks, CA.
Fake Memoirs and the New Racial "Passing"
(Bookslut)
Monday, May 05, 2008
Thursday, April 03, 2008
The comic book purge of the 1950s
Review of a new book by David Hajdu about the comic-book panic of the 1950s, when parents and people in charge believed comics were destroying America. Hard to believe, but artists and writers were blacklisted from the industry, similar to the Red Scare and the movie industry during the same time period. Nowadays, comic books may be the least of parents' worries about their overexposed children...
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Interview with Jhumpa Lahiri
After watching the recent film, The Namesake, this weekend, I was happy to see this article pop up in my newsreader. Jhumpa Lahiri is a beautiful writer, which is why I was so disappointed with the movie version of her second book. After reading The Interpreter of Maladies when I worked for The New York Public Library, I couldn't wait for the next book by Lahiri. Her second book (first novel), The Namesake, was an evocative moving tale of the collision of cultures -- brilliantly described by Ms. Lahiri. The movie, to put it plainly, was bad. It reinforces my opinion that the book is always better
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Arthur Charles Clarke, 1917-2008
It was a sad day for science fiction fans yesterday. Sir Arthur C. Clarke, writer and thinker, died at age 90. Probably best known for his book, 2001: a Space Odyssey, Clarke also wrote over 100 other books on space, science and the future of humankind.
Read the obituary from The Guardian here.
Read the obituary from The Guardian here.
The One-day-ness of History: Questions for Nicholson Baker
Good interview with Nicholson Baker; writer, archivist, satirist.
OMNIVORACIOUS: The One-day-ness of History: Questions for Nicholson Baker
OMNIVORACIOUS: The One-day-ness of History: Questions for Nicholson Baker
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Novel about painter wins PEN/Faulkner
Kate Christensen wins the PEN/Faulkner award for her novel, The Great Man. What a coup for Christensen! She wins $15,000 and the admiration of her writing peers. Her first novel, In the Drink, was considered to be chick lit (at best) and a trashy novel (at worst). I just finished reading her second novel, Jeremy Thrane, a few months ago and was impressed by her writing, although I did like In the Drink much better. She writes convincingly of celebrity, life in the city, and contemporary youth, but was able to connect with the reader more effectively in her first novel.
This promises more "great" things come from Christensen!
This promises more "great" things come from Christensen!
Friday, March 07, 2008
The designer library consultant
This article about using books as a design element in L.A. homes also features an interesting new trend in affluent Southern California - a paid "library consultant", who will come into your home, catalog your library collection, organize it, and create bibliographies based on your reading passion. Hmmm, southern California, rich people, beaches? Who wouldn't want that job!
L.A. Times Book Prize nominees announced - Los Angeles Times
Last Friday, the L.A. Times Book Prize nominees were announced. Maxine Hong Kingston won the Kirsch award, which, "...honors a living author with a connection to the American West whose works have made a substantial contribution to American letters."
My gal Harriet
Going through Bloglines today (over 3000 unread posts in my Books folder alone!!), I discovered this post on Kate's Book Blog about the children's book Harriet the Spy.
There is a link to an NPR audio "tribute" to the character of Harriet M. Welsch, child spy.
God, I loved Harriet when I was a kid! She was sarcastic, curious, and aspired to be a writer. So much fun spying on other people. This was one of my favorite books, I remember thinking about New York City and how much I, too, wanted to be a writer when I grew up. Harriet wasn't afraid to be herself, that is also what I remember liking about her character.
There is a link to an NPR audio "tribute" to the character of Harriet M. Welsch, child spy.
God, I loved Harriet when I was a kid! She was sarcastic, curious, and aspired to be a writer. So much fun spying on other people. This was one of my favorite books, I remember thinking about New York City and how much I, too, wanted to be a writer when I grew up. Harriet wasn't afraid to be herself, that is also what I remember liking about her character.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
How did I miss this?
So I'm trying to catch up on my blog reading and come across the Boston Globe's article about this year's National Book Awards winners. Except...it is last year's winners! How did I miss this? Sherman Alexie won the award for Best Young for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian -- good Lord!
Friday, February 08, 2008
Free version of a readers' advisory tool
Public librarians use and rely on What Do I Read Next?, a genre tool that aids librarians and patrons in making reading selections. It is organized by fiction genres (science fiction, romance, westerns, etc.) and is enormously popular at reference where the librarian may or may not have extensive knowledge of authors and genres. Use it to find similar authors to those you love and books that meet a certain criteria (vampire romances, anyone?).
This usually comes with a cost, of course. Libraries either purchase a print copy of What Do I Read Next? or purchase an online electronic subscription to the database, so interested patrons had to go to their local library (if they had a copy) or to their library's website and login (if they purchased the electronic version).
Not anymore -- Cengage Learning (owner and manager of the content) has recently introduced a "curtailed" version of the What Do I Read Next? database called Books & Authors. It will give patrons a chance to search for much of the same information on their own, with the ability to locate a local library which subscribes to the full, value-added content.
Leave them wanting more...
This usually comes with a cost, of course. Libraries either purchase a print copy of What Do I Read Next? or purchase an online electronic subscription to the database, so interested patrons had to go to their local library (if they had a copy) or to their library's website and login (if they purchased the electronic version).
Not anymore -- Cengage Learning (owner and manager of the content) has recently introduced a "curtailed" version of the What Do I Read Next? database called Books & Authors. It will give patrons a chance to search for much of the same information on their own, with the ability to locate a local library which subscribes to the full, value-added content.
Leave them wanting more...
Writers Rejoice!
Red Room
Want to join a writing community but don't know where to find one? Red Room is just what you have been looking for! This website is too cool -- a resource for writers, aspiring writers and anyone interested in books and authors. Videos, podcasts, author interviews, blogs -- you name it, they got it.
Want to join a writing community but don't know where to find one? Red Room is just what you have been looking for! This website is too cool -- a resource for writers, aspiring writers and anyone interested in books and authors. Videos, podcasts, author interviews, blogs -- you name it, they got it.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Book stats
In my zealous quest to catalog all my books (please see post from yesterday) I have tallied up my reading stats from the past several years and give you some selected figures to dwell on (drumroll please):
33 books in 2007 -- I gave birth to my first child and didn't seem to have a lick of time to myself. 'Nuff said.
65 books in 2006 -- This is probably an inflated figure because so many of the titles were graphic novels. But they still count!
22 books in 2004 -- Lowest amount read during the thirteen years I have tallied the books I read. Surprising on the face of it, since I was newly divorced and all, but it is also the year I met Jeff, so there you go...
108 books read in 1998 -- Whew! I looked through my list and had to count again - 108 books in one year?? Wow, impressive. I was also unhappy in my marriage, on a major readers' advisory committee at work where we were selecting all the best books of the year, and lonely in a city where my then-husband and I knew practically no one.
I yearn for the days when I could read 100 books in a year...but wouldn't give up my present life on a bet!
33 books in 2007 -- I gave birth to my first child and didn't seem to have a lick of time to myself. 'Nuff said.
65 books in 2006 -- This is probably an inflated figure because so many of the titles were graphic novels. But they still count!
22 books in 2004 -- Lowest amount read during the thirteen years I have tallied the books I read. Surprising on the face of it, since I was newly divorced and all, but it is also the year I met Jeff, so there you go...
108 books read in 1998 -- Whew! I looked through my list and had to count again - 108 books in one year?? Wow, impressive. I was also unhappy in my marriage, on a major readers' advisory committee at work where we were selecting all the best books of the year, and lonely in a city where my then-husband and I knew practically no one.
I yearn for the days when I could read 100 books in a year...but wouldn't give up my present life on a bet!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
LibraryThing addiction
Yes, its true. I have become addicted to LibraryThing. The social cataloging application is slowly ruining my tastes for other social networking sites and causing me to steadily lose interest in almost anything else besides cataloging my enormous home book collection. My husband bought me a $25 gift card so I could have a lifetime membership - basically its either that or pay $10 a year to have an unlimited number of books cataloged. Its an interesting production; I'm learning quite a bit about myself along the way. It is also forcing me to realize that I have waaaay too many books and need to assess my collection (should I keep all those M.C. Beaton paperbacks my mother-in-law gave me - 35, yikes! - or ditch them since, if I am honest with myself, I will NEVER end up reading them all?).
Sigh, so much to do, so little time to do it. Especially now that I am busily cataloging...
Sigh, so much to do, so little time to do it. Especially now that I am busily cataloging...
Friday, January 11, 2008
Fantagraphics Books - Linda Medley Comics
My all-time favorite comic book series -- Castle Waiting by Linda Medley -- has a new issue out! This series about an abandoned castle with very weird inhabitants is a not-so fairy tale with very feminist themes. Great story for teen girls interested in comics. Check it out...
Fantagraphics Books - Linda Medley Comics
Fantagraphics Books - Linda Medley Comics
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
The Big Read
The Big Read is a National Endowment for the Arts program which is:
"...designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.."
The NEA gives out grants to interested libraries and communities to produce programming and book discussions surrounding the selected books. The next round of grant applications are due February 12, 2008 for programming from September 2008-January 2009.
Oprah's Book Club
Oprah's Book Club has been around for so long that is part of the vernacular in the book world. Oprah's latest book is The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, a historical novel set in the Middle Ages.
Monday, November 26, 2007
What our bookshelves say about us...
What do our books and our reading habits say about us? There is a saying about what you eat, maybe it should also say You are what you read...
"...in terms of the “snooping” factor, books on a nightstand are just about at the bottom of the list in terms of potential discoveries. These days most people don’t wait to get inside someone’s apartment to start snooping. Instead, they start doing online research on their potential partners as soon as they possibly can. Indeed, Google is the new digital apartment inside which we all live, with Facebook and Myspace pages being the new bookshelf or nightstand into and onto which we all peek. This is where first impressions and opinions are being made; this where more people are getting turned on or off. True, someone might see the boxset of Man Without Qualities sitting on a bookshelf, and decide that its owner has qualities, but Musil is no match for a Myspace page filled with drunken photos and a Limp Bizkit soundtrack..."Yikes! Scary business...
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