Distributor Advanced Marketing Services files for bankruptcy and all hell breaks loose in the publishing world. Will the move sink the indies that relied on PGW, which was bought out by AMS in 2002? Let’s hope not.
Matt took a literary excursion to Kenya; his first report is in.
Robert Stone’s sixties memoir is everywhere.
Mark Sarvas rediscovers Gatsby (again).
Max has the early alert for a couple of big 2008 books. Literally big.
Bethanne has begun a (perhaps the) big book for 2007: Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra (928 pages). I’d join her, but a) I don’t have it and b) I still have 350 Pynchon pages to go.
Speaking of Pynchon, wouldn’t it be great if a dirigible from space was really headed toward Pennsylvania? Greetings, Chums of Chance!
Callie Miller rediscovers Charles Bukowski.
Neal Pollack gets love from Gothamist but not from The Rake or from Gawker — the latter of which is also cranky about Steve Almond.
Speaking of cranky? Don’t get Maud Newton started on Malcolm Gladwell.
2,000 pages of fiction. wow. see, that’s how it should be done. that makes me want to write stuff write now. to sustain a voice that long is truly impressive and no one really does that anymore. your boy Pynchon eh? you check out my friend Matt’s website? mattdesmond.blogspot.com? he’s the only person i heard talking about that dude until you came along. no tattoos though, however i’m guessing he’d do the Simpson’s version across his back if he could.
these new authors these day and their tiny little books everywhere? they’re like the new albums getting released, only 45 minutes of good music because they’re in such a hurry to let everyone hear those first 2 good ideas. should have let it cook longer. of course, back when there were LPs all the new releases were only 45 minutes long, but they used to come with giant cardboard UFOs you could build and actual zippers on them, so it’s not like they were being lazy.