The gleefully venomous Miss Snark skewers the publishing industry’s more inefficient organizations today. One of my biggest pet peeves with the aspiring author gig is having to wait for months, even years, for certain journals, agents, and publishers to review your work. And that wait time is even worse when they demand exclusives or refuse […]
Actually, if you’re a book-blog reader, you probably already know this fine site. But I’m going to be popping in at Beatrice at least once a week (whenever the slush demons let me out) for some guest-posting. It’s a book-blog in long standing, since 1995, and I’m honored that Ron asked me to help. So be […]
I’ve been bitching about this for a while now… I’m sick of all these criminals and cretins who, after their screw-ups and traumas, then get a chance to go on television or to write a book and “tell their side of the story.” I’m also worn out with people, who are undoubtedly wonderful human beings, but think they need to […]
I was going to try and somehow review, or at least discuss, Larry Brown’s essay The White Coon in the current issue of Field & Stream. This piece was discovered in one of the late author’s notebooks dated 1982. According to the notes, “it is the first true story he ever wrote.”
The piece deals with […]
Andrew Wylie is arguably one of the three most influential literary agents in the business. And he prefers to keep a low profile so you ain’t gonna see him popping up on a panel at the Serial Killer Romance Writers of Greater Tupelo Mississippi Area Book Conference anytime soon. However, he did grant a rare interview to French media […]
The folks at The Book Standard have launched a blog dedicated to literary videos, Book Trailerpark. Looks like the blog will have lots of cool stuff and discussion. Just remember, in the event of a funnel cloud, drop all your books, close your video clips, and “leave the trailer park and take cover on low-protected ground.”
William Kennedy provides a big review of Cormac McCarthy’s new novel, The Road, in Sunday’s New York Times. I really enjoyed the novel, especially when I was on the verge of not enjoying the novel.
Let me explain. As the NYT review explains, the novel is about a father and son’s lengthy trek to the coast in a post-apocalpytic […]
A reader in Washington claimed the free Salinger books. Thanks to everyone who emailed me.
Hope you all have a great weekend!
I’m at risk of my bookshelves falling through the floor, so I’m back to cleaning out the collection somewhat. One of my book collecting strategies is to keep first editions, hardbacks, and other things that are difficult to find. And to thin out the collection, I tend to get rid of classic, but inexpensive, paperbacks that […]
There’s that scene in Rocky III when the Italian Stallion hangs a photo of Clubber Lang. Every morning and every night, Rocky stares into the mirror and sees his enemy looking back at him.
Now, you might not ever reach a triumphant moment on the literary beach, when you out-pace your teacher, and you might not […]