Distracted from John Irving
I could have sworn I had another week. But I bought the ticket to see John Irving and never put the details in my calendar, so when he was across…
Blog Archives
I put down Cleaving, too
Megan, aka Bookdwarf, writes about her troubles with the upcoming book Cleaving by Julie Powell. Powell is the blogger-turned-author-turned-Meryl-Streep-counterpart of Julie and Julia, the blog/book/movie. I read the blog, intermittently,…
A good end
Although yesterday began grimly, it ended well. Jonathan Lethem read at the LA Public Library’s ALOUD series, and answered questions, and was kind enough to hang out for a cocktail…
When marketing promo sucks the soul
I tried to read a book today, planning to write about it. I got up at 5am and read the book, marking the places that were interesting. It’s a marketing…
Oversharing with the Story Prize
The Story Prize has asked me some questions and I overshared these answers. Let’s hope my precedent encourages my fellow judges to say too much, too.
Monday book night with Richard Castle
Last night, after catching a reading that’s related to a piece I’m working on, I headed to the Barnes & Noble at The Grove — not my regular stomping grounds,…
Ah, that’s better
After several weeks on the road, writing and blogging and a whole summer stacked with more responsibilities than you could shake a crashed hard drive at, I’m back. Lately I’ve:…
That was fun
When I first read Thomas Pynchon, his oeuvre consisted of three novels — V, The Crying of Lot 49, Gravity’s Rainbow — and one collection of short stories, Slow Learner,…
Louis Menand, usually so good, trips up on LA & noir
Is it a New York thing? Menand has reviewed Thomas Pynchon’s “Inherent Vice” for “The New Yorker,” and I think he’s generally got a handle on it — although I…
don’t tell anybody, but I’m wearing the same jeans as yesterday
You’d think with my varied responsibilities that I could get away with wearing the same pair of jeans without encountering any of the same people two days in a row….
