Pornified Review Misses One Key Criticism
Megan Rosenfeld’s The Trouble with Smut review in Sunday’s Washington Post examined two recent books about the way pornography and exhibitionism are changing the way men and women interact. The review focused on Pamela Paul’s Pornified: How Pornography is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families and Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise…
continue readingStrauss Work Roundup
I’ve mentioned my review of Neil Strauss’ current bestseller, The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists. The book has spent six weeks on the New York Times list, was optioned for film production, and has been featured in numerous major media outlets. To go along with that book, I thought it would be…
continue readingWhat is Being an Expert and What is Protecting Your Turf?
Back in early August, I ran a bit about some controversy surrounding the Washington Post book review of John Irving’s most recent novel, Until I Find You. The uproar at the time was that the newspaper ran a book review written by a critic who had a personal relationship with Irving. The newspaper acted to…
continue readingGreat Reviews of Saunders and Gaitskill
The October/November issue of Bookforum presents two interesting reviews. The first is Sam Lipsyte’s review of The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil by George Saunders. You might remember Saunders briefly describing this new book in our interview back in August. The second is Minna Proctor’s examination of Veronica by Mary Gaitskill. Both are insightful…
continue readingVampire Novel Breaks New Ground
Ron Charles points out in the Washington Post that vampire stories are old, over-done, and generally worn out. He describes the decline of the nosferatu by writing “At this late date can anyone draw more blood from the story? Buffy gave up the ghost in 2003. The WB drove a stake through the heart of…
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