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  Jay McInerney’s newest novel was reviewed in today’s edition of the New York Times and I’m not in the slightest bit surprised by the critic’s opinions. When you see that Michiko Kakutani is the reviewer, you can bet a car payment on the outcome. In some ways Kakutani praises McInerney’s work. She writes that [...]

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  When I first started writing, I searched through the library for young men like me. My college literature classes were filled with old guys from what seemed like ancient periods. Although I loved Fitzgerald and Joyce, I couldn’t connect with flappers and Irish pubs in terms of picturing myself as a writer. I devoured Melville [...]

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  It’s an unfortunate circumstance of being a writer in this culture that we don’t get a whole lot of publicity. Paris Hilton and Ashton Kutcher get so much attention that I have nightmares about them both, but the best writers in the world are generally relegated to odd appearances on PBS and sometimes an [...]

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I’m pleased to report that Salman Rushdie is appearing at my alma mater today. The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honor’s College at the University of Mississippi is presenting Rushdie at the Ford Center for Performing Arts. The event is scheduled for 7:30 to 9:00 and the famous author will discuss current events as well as his most recent [...]

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  Last week, I remarked how it is often mistakenly said that this culture builds people up and then tears them down. However, we also let them back up off the mat again. Although it’s true that we do adore a good scandal and fall from grace, we also are enchanted by tales of redemption [...]

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  The Titanic struck that ill-fated iceberg at approximately 11:40pm and roughly 2 hours and 40 minutes later, the remnants of the cruise ship hit the bottom of the ocean. How long it takes for a book to plunge from the bestseller list to the depths of the remainder table remains to be seen. On [...]

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  So I’m sure everyone saw James Frey on Oprah, except me. I have it recorded so I’m going to watch it over the weekend before I’ll comment in-depth. But from the snippets on TV, it certainly didn’t look pretty. The Oprah and James Frey discussion today was the lead story on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 last [...]

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  You probably recall our coverage of Anna Marie Cox’s bext week ever. This was back in early January when she signed that half-a-million dollar book contract, her first novel Dog Days was released, and she got about 79 mentions in the New York Times in a matter of days. It seems that all that [...]

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  A friend of mine, the princess of the peachy day, alerted me late last night that James Frey is returning to Oprah’s show today. According to her website, Frey and others are appearing on the show today to answer the talkshow goddess’ questions. “The Oprah’s Book Club selection A Million Little Pieces. The headlines. [...]

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  A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Writers, Marcy Dermansky has compiled an impressive list of credentials in a relatively short period of time. She won the 2002 Smallmouth Press Andre Dubus Novella Award and the 1999 Story Magazine Carson McCullers short story prize. Her work has been published in a number of prestigious literary [...]

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Austrailian Max Barry has landed in the US in support of his exciting new novel, Company. Tonight, he’s reading at Book Soup on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, CA. Call 310-659-3684. Check out the rest of Max’s tour dates here.

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  As I stare at Microsoft project plans during the day, balancing workloads, examining the work breakdown structure, and wondering if system test will ever finish, I find myself spending hours upon hours contemplating time, capacity, and available work cycles. It’s funny that I spend so much time at the office pondering work plans when my own [...]

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