tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364288232008-05-09T03:21:36.158-07:00Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comBlogger640125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-11368488492045582682008-05-09T03:17:00.000-07:002008-05-09T03:21:36.214-07:00

Today in January Magazine, contributing editor Summer Block interviews Gail Jones, author of 2004’s Sixty Lights and, more recently, Sorry, which opens with the murder of a white anthropologist in Australia. “The attack is witnessed by a white girl and her Aboriginal friend,” writes Block. “The Aboriginal girl takes the blame, while the white girl forgets the traumatic event, an allegory for

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-26823851207629520482008-05-08T18:01:00.000-07:002008-05-08T18:16:29.068-07:00

Though authors are frequently reluctant to talk about where they get their ideas, (“A post office box in Schenectady.”) when discussing his 11th novel, Skeletons at the Feast (Shaye Areheart Books), Chris Bohjalian (The Double Bind, Midwives) has been very forthcoming. About a decade ago, a friend asked him to read his German grandmother’s newly translated diary. “Usually,” writes Bohjalian, “

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-54264610225878392942008-05-08T02:02:00.000-07:002008-05-08T02:07:05.572-07:00

Today in January Magazine, an excerpt of Lust in Translation: Infidelity from Tokyo to Tennessee by former journalist Pamela Druckerman: The morning after François Mitterrand's funeral, a photo showed the late president's mistress and illegitimate daughter standing by his grave alongside his wife and sons. That tableau has become famous internationally as proof that the French are uniquely

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-28664521561309202782008-05-08T00:30:00.000-07:002008-05-08T02:01:05.743-07:00

Even if you’ve never read any of Neil Gaiman’s delightful fiction, you might have seen the film adaptation of Stardust, which did justice to the novel and has been compared to The Princess Bride. M Is for Magic (HarperCollins) is a collection of mostly previously published short stories aimed at younger readers -- teenagers, really, rather than children, as the style of most of them is closer to

Sue Bursztynskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09362273418897882971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-25546535809237640312008-05-07T14:14:00.000-07:002008-05-07T14:18:28.187-07:00

Today in January Magazine’s SF/F section, contributing editor Lincoln Cho reviews Dark Wraith of Shannara by Terry Brooks. Says Cho: Terry Brooks, the “godfather of American fantasy” has referred to Dark Wraith of Shannara as “the grand experiment.” It’s not difficult to see why. It’s a brand new story set in the distant future world of Shannara that tells the multi-generational story of the

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-19393863318844206762008-05-07T01:01:00.004-07:002008-05-07T01:06:08.408-07:00

Squint your eyes a bit and this is a book by any talented writer musing on her well-spent life thus far. Connecting characters from her distant past with figures from her near past and drawing them with a steady hand and a poetic heart. It’s all good stuff. Many lives are rich and hold deep wells of experience and emotion to mine, and often it’s enough. However Eleanor Coppola’s Notes on a Life

Monica Starkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13139525425995764883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-71699797256287843802008-05-06T22:18:00.000-07:002008-05-06T22:26:23.305-07:00

Many of us -- perhaps most -- wouldn’t think to lump yoga and creative writing together. For Jeff Davis, the connection came somewhat naturally when, as a writing teacher, he found himself pushed to his physical and emotional limits. According to Davis, he added a very basic yoga regime into his day to help him deal with the physical stresses of his work. To his surprise, regular yoga practice

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-23041441825199192392008-05-05T00:10:00.000-07:002008-05-05T00:12:02.619-07:00

Like a lot of people, I was heartbroken to see the tragic end the lovely filly Eight Belles came to in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. I won’t go into it in any detail here, it’s not the place -- though I sobbed a bit about it on my personal blog a few hours after the race -- but I did want to point you at Pulitzer Prize-winning (for 1992’s A Thousand Acres) novelist Jane Smiley’s take on the matter

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-44041954571336395312008-05-04T13:19:00.000-07:002008-05-04T13:25:53.485-07:00

Today in January Magazine’s crime fiction section, contributing editor David Thayer reviews The Prince of Bagram Prison by Alex Carr. Says Thayer: Atmosphere is one of the hallmarks of the classic thriller, an aspect of suspense that is all too often sacrificed from the recipe for modern-day thrillers. Alex Carr -- a pseudonym used by Virginia novelist Jenny Siler (Flashback, Shot) -- wants to

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-84825706966715170392008-05-02T02:00:00.000-07:002008-05-02T02:00:00.737-07:00

Lately it seems like every few days there’s a new crop of books announced that make you roll your eyes and pledge to avoid them. At the very least, they make you groan. Last week, the groaners for us were the prospect of Mylie Cyrus’ “memoir” and “rehab singer” Amy Winehouse’s (ahem) marriage manual. In another groaner, we announced that Chuck Norris had been contracted to write a book about the

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-43306699025980966242008-05-01T19:15:00.000-07:002008-05-01T21:15:44.096-07:00

The first two books in Allen & Unwin’s “Girlfriend series,” My Life and Other Catastrophes by Rowena Mohr and The Indigo Girls by Penni Russon, were perfectly good teen fiction that would have worked without those hearts on the covers. The new books are more like the kind of fiction the covers suggest, except that things happen in them that you would never have found in fiction aimed at very

Sue Bursztynskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09362273418897882971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-80913055222404338172008-05-01T19:12:00.000-07:002008-05-01T19:17:13.966-07:00

Sunny Side Up (Allen & Unwin) is Marion Roberts’ first novel. It is gentle and humorous and sad all at once. For me, personally, it has the added pleasure of being set in the Melbourne suburb where I live. I recognize the places described and can assure you that they’re real, as are some of the shops mentioned. Eleven-year-old Sunday -- mostly known as “Sunny” -- lives with her mother and their

Sue Bursztynskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09362273418897882971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-83547822341742871392008-05-01T09:35:00.000-07:002008-05-01T09:38:27.219-07:00

Between now and the end of May, Platinum Studios -- “an entertainment company that controls an international library of more than 5,600 comic book characters which it adapts, produces and licenses for all forms of media”-- invites would-be comic book artists to submit entries for the 2008 Comic Book Challenge. Once submissions close, an internal team will select the Top 50 who will move on to

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-19445210128223015322008-05-01T08:50:00.000-07:002008-05-01T08:53:30.273-07:00

This one is going to be huge. Let’s face it: he’s extremely successful and very visible. A combination that’s a no-brainer bestseller in a business book. Reuters offers the details: New York’s billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg will offer business and political advice in a book entitled “Do the Hard Things First” due out in September, the publisher said on Tuesday. The book, written in

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-65297332906516431392008-04-30T00:35:00.001-07:002008-04-30T01:08:49.189-07:00

Anyone who knows Barbara Fister even slightly is not in the least surprised to discover that her novels are smart, sophisticated and deeply concerned with the larger world. In many ways, all of those words -- smart, sophisticated, concerned -- describe the Madison-born and Minnesota-based author perfectly. An academic librarian at a liberal arts college, on her own Web site, Fister says her “

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-75813466940580253132008-04-29T22:49:00.000-07:002008-04-29T23:05:34.725-07:00

Though it opened at both the Vancouver and Toronto Film Festivals last year, I’m still stoked about the May 9th Alliance Films limited release of Kari Skogland’s film adaptation of The Stone Angel by Canadian author Margaret Laurence (1926-1987). From the Alliance Web site: Based on the best-selling novel by Margaret Laurence, The Stone Angel is the story of feisty firecracker Hagar Shipley (

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-9142570889139824452008-04-29T12:28:00.000-07:002008-04-29T12:34:40.564-07:00

The 22nd annual salon du livre gets underway in Geneva on Wednesday. This year 120,000 visitors are expected during the five day event. Highlights will include celebrations of Egypt, the canton of St. Gallen, Italy’s Aoste Valley and 19th century American author Jack London. According to 24 Heures: the 2008 fair “has set aside 100 square meters to exhibit documents and photographs of London (

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-7226822403014839592008-04-28T00:00:00.000-07:002008-04-27T21:59:01.988-07:00

Today in January Magazine’s fiction section, contributing editor Diane Leach reviews Our Story Begins by Tobias Wolff. Says Leach: Reading Our Story Begins was often painful, reminding me as it did Wolff’s fellow travelers, Raymond Carver and Andre Dubus, those masters of domestic disaster. Our Story was especially reminiscent of Carver, who mined a similar geographic landscape and counted Wolff

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-74848220670351627702008-04-27T20:46:00.000-07:002008-04-27T20:49:35.086-07:00

Today in January Magazine’s children’s book section, contributing editor Sue Bursztynski reviews Diego’s Pride by Deborah Ellis. Says Bursztynski: Deborah Ellis specializes in novels about children in the world’s trouble spots. For example, one of her early novels, Parvana, was about a girl trying to cope with life in Afghanistan just after the Taliban takeover. It was successful and the first of

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-59173200329691577112008-04-27T00:00:00.000-07:002008-04-26T22:25:41.139-07:00

For the busy household with no extra time for fussing in the kitchen, the importance of grilling food can not be overstated. Though it’s possible to spend a lot of time preparing the food that will end up on your grill, as Diane Morgan shows us in Grill Every Day (Chronicle Books), quite often the very best foods are the simplest to prepare. Take, for example, Lemongrass-Grilled Lamb Loin Chops

Monica Starkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13139525425995764883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-81723355146756824112008-04-26T11:19:00.000-07:002008-04-26T11:22:52.013-07:00

Even while modern tech types scramble trying to scan every book in the world, in Australia, an exciting exhibition celebrates the beauty and usefulness of the book in its most traditional forms. The Australian reports: Unlike the stone tablets and papyrus scrolls that preceded it, the book in its bound form was highly ambitious in the amount of information it could carry. Books could be handed

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-91396899802726523452008-04-26T11:08:00.000-07:002008-04-26T11:11:28.656-07:00

Scanning all the books in the world is going to take some time. According to AP: In a dimly lit back room on the second level of the University of Michigan library’s book-shelving department, Courtney Mitchel helped a giant desktop machine digest a rare, centuries-old Bible. Mitchel is among hundreds of librarians from Minnesota to England making digital versions of the most fragile of the books

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-83600408416476937862008-04-25T02:32:00.000-07:002008-04-25T02:39:48.256-07:00

Titian hair. A deceptively sweet smile. Arms akimbo. Mystery writer and journalist Sandra Ruttan manages these disparate things easily, seemingly without contradiction. I say this about Sandra Ruttan the author, but it could all be easily translated to what works about her fiction: Sandra Ruttan looks at things from a connected distance. She assesses dispassionately, beautifully, and with a

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-46870162356466977982008-04-24T11:00:00.000-07:002008-04-25T03:13:31.598-07:00

If I were going to dream up a an author of rich and gorgeous cookbooks with international flair, her background would look just like this: I’d have her born in London, for the flavors you can find there. (So many. And from everywhere.) I’d stick needles in a globe and say her mother should be from Finland and her father? Let’s make him a Greek-Cypriot. Then, when she was just a little kid, I’d

Monica Starkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13139525425995764883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-84505511451171676032008-04-24T08:31:00.000-07:002008-05-02T02:03:58.801-07:00

Topping the list of book deals you shouldn’t ought to care about, 15-year-old country popper and famous daughter Mylie Cyrus has inked a deal to write something that sounds very like a memoir. According to The SF Gate: The “Hannah Montana” star has reportedly signed a seven-figure deal with the Disney Book Group, and will write all about her upbringing in Tennessee and her rise to international

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.com