I can’t keep up with Marshal Zeringue at the Campaign for the American Reader. First, he started asking authors to apply Marshall McLuhan’s Page 69 Test to their most recent novel. That exercise proved so fruitful and successful — with almost 200 authors having taken part thus far — it launched a whole new blog. Not satisfied, Zeringue went back to the tested authors and asked them what they were reading. The results have been […]
Though critics seem to have been universally underwhelmed by the new Jim Carrey vehicle, The Number 23, the premise wins it a mention here at January. See: it’s a book movie. That is, it’s not based on a work of published fiction. Rather a book plays a sort of weird evil partner to Walter Sparrow, the luckless lout Carrey portrays in the film. Here’s what happens: A woman named Agatha (Virginia Madsen) gives her husband, […]
Over the last few days, I’ve seen plenty of stories about Rhiannon Barnes, the 15-month-old resident of Georgia who found $1300 stuck between the pages of a used book. According to the child’s baby-sitter, little Rhiannon was quite insistent that the book be purchased for her. And every article I’ve read said the book was purchased at a thrift store for 25 cents. Here’s what I haven’t seen (and if you have, please let me […]
Today in January Magazine’s fiction section, contributing editor Tony Buchsbaum reviews Be Mine, Laura Kasischke’s fourth novel for adults. (She’s also written half a dozen books of poetry and a novel for young adults.) Though Buchsbaum feels the novel starts out strongly enough, in the last third, he reports, things begin to fall apart. Fiction, while by design a lie, shouldn’t feel like one, but Be Mine does. It feels as if a horrible joke […]
In this morning’s Sunday Book World, the Washington Post printed BookFinder.com’s list of the 10 Most Sought After Out-of-Print Books from 2006. The list predictably contains celebrity tomes, including Suzanne Somers’ attempt at poetry, but there are surprises and intriguing choices here (helicopter development?). It’ll be interesting to see if these volumes make new appearances on eBay in the coming days. See the list here.
Today, in January Magazine’s children’s book section, contributing editor Sue Bursztynski reviews The Taste of Lightening by Kate Constable, which takes us back to the world the author created for her very successful Chanters of Tremaris trilogy. “As in the original trilogy,” writes Bursztynski, “the main characters are likeable, the females are strong and Tremaris is still a believable world.” Bursztynski’s review is here.
Did you know March 1st was World Book Day? Me neither. Maybe that’s because, according to the World Book Day Web site, the organizers “are delighted to be celebrating the 10th Birthday of World Book Day in the UK and Ireland in 2007. Over this relatively short period World Book Day has become firmly established as the biggest annual event promoting the enjoyment of books and reading.” Since I live in neither Ireland nor the […]
When it comes to book clubs, is Starbucks the new Oprah? I’m thinking maybe so. Even its picks are sounding kinda … Oprah-ish. From Access Hollywood: The second selection in the coffee chain’s book program, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, is an emotional story of hope and redemption by [Ishmael] Beah, who gives a first-hand account of fighting as a boy in the war-torn country of Sierra Leone. Even Starbucks chairman […]
Today in January’s crime fiction section, contributing editor Anthony Rainone reviews The Watchman, which is “technically the first Joe Pike novel, though fans of the author’s Elvis Cole private-eye series are well-acquainted with the hard-charging former LAPD officer and worldwide mercenary.” Make no mistake: Rainone likes the book. A lot: This reviewer has run out of superlatives to describe Crais’ immense talent, but suffice it to say that The Watchman is a turbo-charged ride that […]
Authors Howard Engel, Barbara Gowdy and Frances Itani are among the 55 new members to the Order of Canada which, according to CBC Arts, “was established in 1967 to honour Canadians whose extraordinary achievements or outstanding service in various fields have made a difference across the country.” Says the CBC: The latest inductees will receive their insignia from the Governor General at a Rideau Hall ceremony later this year. Any Canadian may be nominated for […]
Copyright © 2024 | WordPress Theme by MH Themes
