I went through a short period in my young life when I wrote letters to authors. A few replied, including Meta Carpenter Wilde. She had written a memoir about her love affair with William Faulkner. Here's an excerpt from her letter.
An intense graphic memoir: “Stitches”
I read an advance copy of David Small's graphic (as in comic-strip style) memoir this weekend. It's as gripping as I thought it would be. Here's a review.
The stupidity that thrills
Do characters in thriller fiction always have to be so shallow? It's a reason I don't like the genre. Plus, a review of Jason Starr's new thriller "Panic Attack."
I can’t resist vintage paperbacks
Check out the sexy temptress on the first edition paperback of Steinbeck's "To a God Unknown" and the deer-in-the-headlights face on Fitzgerald's "The Beautiful and Damned." Intriguing illustrations such as these are why vintage paperbacks end up in my library.
How many books can you fit in a house?
Last summer I bought a new bookcase. This summer appears to require a new one also. The photo explains.
The Man Booker 13 on the 13th
It's the beginning of the annual countdown from the longlist to the shortlist to the winner of Britain's 2009 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Here are the 13 that made the longlist.
From the monks’ library: 23 books
I brought home a small list of books from the library at St. Gregory's Abbey. It's posted on the blog.
There are no dead
William Styron. Charles Bukowski. Vladimir Nabokov. Books from these great, late authors will be published this Fall. The big news - and the interesting story - is Nabokov's book.
William Styron, the Marines & me
A collection of fictional Marine Corps stories by the late William Styron will be published in October. I collect Styron, and his first book about the Marines is when it all began.
The true subject of “Wanting”
Richard Flanagan says his new book is about desire. But it's the historical events and characters (the novelist Charles Dickens and the explorer Sir John Franklin) that make it memorable.
Appignanesi’s book of madness
Lisa Appignanesi's "Mad, Bad & Sad" is coming out in paperback end of August. This history of female mental illness got great reviews from its hardcover days. Worth a look.
Dear Gertrude
A book about Gertrude Tennant published by Yale University Press offers up 24 new letters written by Gustave Flaubert to the Victorian lady. A rare discovery.
Rotation update
I've moved books from The Reading Table to the Currently Reading List, plus added books to The Reading Table. Here's an update.
Garrison Keillor reads George Orwell
In his famous Prairie Home Companion voice, Keillor reads "A Hanging" for Lapham's Quarterly. A must listen 10-15 minute audio.
Why read Rumer Godden?
She was a prolific writer during the 20th Century. As much as I'm enjoying "In This House of Brede," published in 1969, she's not striking me as an author to pursue.
The Longest Chapter 