There’s been such an onslaught of opinions and articles about reading online that I’m almost hesitant to comment further on the subject, but after reading the latest NY Times article I have to make two points. First, the difference between online reading and print reading has been described in many ways, but at least one […]
The poetic sensibilities of Jim Crace’s fiction. (And yes, my advice is to get over the anti-Jesus bit and read Quarantine). If you haven’t yet gone to Time to ask Haruki Murakami a question, then do so before time runs out, because given the frequency of his interview-giving, you won’t get a second chance. Also, […]
Afraid I’m down with a bit of carpal tunnel syndrome, probably from the blogging combined with all my fiction writing, plus some unergonomic chairs/desks/keyboards. When your wrists hurt so badly that you have to take Advil, you know it’s time to do something about it. But I’ve made an IKEA run, set myself up with […]
The title of this post might be overstated. The Los Angeles Times book review isn’t deep sixed, it’s just shrinking by a huge margin. But in three days, on July 27, the LA Times will issue its final standalone book review section. The loss of a standalone section is a huge blow to Los Angeles’ […]
Small Beer Press has been earning my respect. After reading a couple of their short story collections, including, recently, “The Ant King,” it seems they’ve latched onto a very particular aesthetic. It’s a flavor that no one else seems to be publishing, so they’ve established a niche. The mission statement on their website claims, “We […]
The Triumphant Return of Choose Your Own Adventure Stories. Ah, doesn’t it bring back the sweet smell of childhood and terrible books that were oh so much fun? Callie interviews Nam Le and asks all the questions that you’re not supposed to ask, but all the questions that those interested in short stories really want […]
Since John Fox asked me to write a guest entry on his blog, the thing that came to mind, was an argument we had the last time I saw him. Maybe it wasn’t so much an argument as me talking out of my ass about what I perceive to be the hallmark of most great […]
Gimme an B! Gimme an O! Gimme another O! Gimme a K! Gimme an F! Gimme yet another O! Gimme an X! What’s that spell? That’s right, the name of the guy who’s on vacation while I’m stuck here in sunny Southern California. Hmm, maybe that’s not so bad, after all … And, really, I […]
Experiencing a bit of technical difficulty with things on this side of the world. Please stand by.
So I just took a trip into the Rey San Marcos cave here in Guatemala. We only went 200 meters in, but apparently a French spelunking team traveled 60 miles through it and never found the end. While ducking around stalactites, I couldn’t help but start thinking of stories about caves, and then start compiling […]
