WSJ Discovers the Difficulties of Unrepresented Writers
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled “The Death of the Slush Pile.” It’s a perfectly acceptable article but what interests me is how completely not-news this thing is. I realize that WSJ readers are not writers and are probably not familiar with publishing. But still, can anyone be surprised by the…
continue readingThe Simpsons 20th Anniversary Show and the Book They Didn’t Use
Last night on Fox, I caught Morgan Spurlock’s documentary about the 20 year history of The Simpsons. It was entertaining enough and I was particularly pleased to observe a situation where vocalist Sting references literary heavyweight Cormac McCarthy while discussing yellowish cartoon characters. But during the show, I kept thinking about how much of a…
continue readingEhrenreich on the Economy and Lost Middle Class
Reuters conducted a question-and-answer session with Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed about the difficult economy and the prospects for the middle class. They even got her update on some of the people featured in Nickel and Dimed. It’s an interesting take on a challenging time.
continue readingNew York Times Year-End Roundup
Late last week, the New York Times presented a batch of year-end roundups. Critics Janet Maslin, Dwight Garner, and Michiko Kakutani all pick their top books of 2009. And while I certainly have my disagreements with the critics, I do find lists like this helpful for reminding me of books I might have forgotten over…
continue readingReading Round Up
It’s been a hectic summer and fall for me, full of travel for book research and other adventures here and there. But I recently got a bit of a break where I could catch up on my reading. And I’m pleased to say that I’ve been on a run of really good books lately. First…
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