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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 [...]

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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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I reviewed Neil Strauss’ bestseller The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists for PopMatters. This book is a real blast. I’ve gotten nine people, both men and women, to buy it and they all love it. You can read this text as a how-to book, a memoir, a cautionary tale, or an entertaining [...]

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I really wanted to like this book. The author has great credentials, the subject matter is of particular interest to writers, and the reference materials are impeccable. But reading this thing was like the old spy movies where our hero is subjected to the drip… drip… drip… drip… drip… drip… drip… drip… drip… drip… drip… [...]

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Jay McInerney provides an interesting review of Indecision by Benjamin Kunkel in Sunday’s New York Times. In a quick wrap-up, McInerney describes the recent history of coming-of-age novels by writing, “In its modern form the American bildungsroman (the novel of formation) descends from The Catcher in the Rye‘ (1951). Reinvigorated by feminism in the 70′s, [...]

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Meghan O’Rourke writes for Slate that “I really like Lunar Park, the tricky new novel by Bret Easton Ellis. In this I seem to be nearly alone.” You’re not alone, Meghan, I thought there was a lot of good stuff there as well. But be sure to read Meghan’s defense of Ellis. She makes a [...]

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Also in The New York Times is a review of Hamburger & Fries: An American Story by John T. Edge. Third in a series of books on American food traditions, this book focuses on the multitude of ways of preparing a hamburger throughout this land of ours. Edge is a food expert who writes for [...]

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I reviewed a fantastic collection of short stories by Stephen Graham Jones for PopMatters. Bleed into Me is a stunning collection, full of sentences, horror, grace, and beauty that only Jones can provide. Check out the review here. And while you’re at it, refresh your memory by re-reading our fantastic Slushpile interview with Jones.

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Yesterday, as part of a roundup of the Sunday reviews, I posted references to a couple of less-than-rave reviews for Bret Easton Ellis’ new novel Lunar Park. The question I’m asking today is, was anyone surprised by that? It seems to me that some critics should just not be allowed to review Bret Easton Ellis.

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Here’s a round-up of the Sunday book coverage. I’m afraid you’ll need to register for most of these sites, which is one of my big pet peeves in life, but it is usually free. So at least there’s that. Anyway, the critics seemed to be ready to dig into Bret Easton Ellis new novel as [...]

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And since you just registered for The New York Times website, then you can easily check out this review of Jim Harrison’s great new book The Summer He Didn’t Die. Read the review here.

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Readers of Slushpile know how much I enjoyed Pat Walsh’s 78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published and 14 Reasons Why It Just Might, but I also reviewed it for PopMatters. Check out the full book review here. My one criticism is that damned title. Geez, I get carpal tunnel every time I [...]

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[Originally posted on Friday, June 24, 2005] Publishers Weekly is running a short preview of their examination of Bret Easton Ellis’s new novel Lunar Park. I’ve called in some favors and I’m expecting a review copy soon so keep an eye out for our own detailed review, but in the meantime, here’s this to whet [...]

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I’m a huge Eric Clapton fan so I was excited to review Cream: The World’s First Supergroup by Dave Thompson for PopMatters. This is a great historical look at one of rock music’s most influential bands. Check out the review here.

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