I Finally Read the Hunchback of Notre Dame

It took me a long time to get around to The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo. Just looking at it from my desk, I knew that it was one of those books where a perfectly good story gets interrupted occasionally by hundreds of pages about agrarian reform. I was wrong, but if you [...]

January 18, 2012 READ MORE →

“If This isn’t Nice, I Don’t Know What is”

And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ”If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.”–Kurt Vonnegut, via Kurt’s Uncle Alex That’s how I feel today. There are two reasons. At least two. The first is that I was in a train [...]

January 17, 2012 READ MORE →

Observations From the Gym – Sleeveless Shirt Edition

I am surrending my dream of a gym where nobody struts. I’ve been in Denver for three days, climbing the walls because my mom only has a rack of 15 lb dumbbells. But today we went over to the rec center and did some training. A few observations: Cutting the sides out of your shirt [...]

January 16, 2012 READ MORE →

I Get to Speak at Gettysburg!

I just got invited to speak at Gettysburg, which is where the Pennsylvania Tourette’s folks have their Tourette’s camp. How cool is that? Now I’m off to grow a Civil War beard. Also, I will try to photograph a ghost for you all. Josh

January 12, 2012 READ MORE →

Like Shaking Hands With God – Lee Stringer and Kurt Vonnegut Talk About Writing

Like Shaking Hands With God: A Conversation About Writing is, unsurprisingly, a conversation about writing. But hold on! The two people chatting it up are none other that Kurt Vonnegut, for whom my adoration knows no bounds, and Lee Stringer, for whom my awareness was exactly zero before picking up this book. Based on what [...]

January 11, 2012 READ MORE →

Making Peace with the First Draft

Picture a steaming pile of rotting meat. Now dump lard on it. Now set the whole thing on fire. Let the fire go out and then wait until flies start settling. When the first maggots appear, throw a bunch of rotten cheese on top of it. Now we’re starting to approach how I feel about [...]

January 10, 2012 READ MORE →

Upcoming Kurt Vonnegut Binge – Got a favorite?

Okay, I’m about to start reading all of Kurt Vonnegut’s books again. It’s been too long. From now until whenever I can finish, I’m going to try and read one per week and get the reviews up on the blog. Today, if you please, tell me your favorite(s) if you have one(several) and I’ll take [...]

January 9, 2012 READ MORE →

Dorothy Whipple’s Chick Lit of the 1940s – Guest post by Emily Petersen

By Emily January Petersen, author of what is still one of my most popular posts, the Olive Kitteridge review. One of my guilty pleasures is reading chick lit.  Although I consider myself a serious student of literature, I have read all of Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series, various other chick lit books, and I thoroughly enjoyed [...]

January 6, 2012 READ MORE →

Book by Jonathan Lethem

Jonathan Lethem is one of my favorite writers. His earlier books are a lot stranger than his most recent few, but his tone is unmistakable, whatever he’s writing, in this humble librarian’s opinion. I got a Barnes and Noble gift card for Christmas. I drove there the next days and had taken The Ecstasy of [...]

January 6, 2012 READ MORE →

Poll: Best Movies and Books about Revenge?

I do like a good tale of vengeance and mayhem. Today you are tasked with helping me put together a list of the best movies and books about revenge, unless you’re too squeamish or you aren’t going to let me boss you around on the Internet. But for the rest of you who love revenge [...]

January 5, 2012 READ MORE →
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