Posted byOur daily round-up of bookish links. Tastes great with coffee. __________________________ “I want to be in a Christmas Gap ad with Zadie Smith.” Mindy Kaling on the writers she reads. __________________________ “The momentum of the animations hasn’t been calculated right, so the whole thing feels ornery.” Just want you want your technology to feel like, [...]
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In Review GPA, we translate reviews of notable new books into letter grades and determine a grade point average. Check out previous report cards. __________________________ From The Guardian Review by Rachel Cooke: Gold Star: None. Demerit: “he has written a time-travel story in which a man can move between 2011 and 1958 at will – King has [...]
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Posted by*This is vague and spoiler-y all at the same time. I apologize, but you have been warned. When Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84 was released, I was not sure what all the fuss was about. Until the buzz about this, his newest book, started earlier in the summer, I had never even heard of him. Of course, [...]
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Posted byIn the basement of a Unitarian church in Portland, author Chuck Palahnuik is addressing a large number of people seated on folding chairs. There are framed photos of Albert Camus and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn on the wall. I’m standing in the back, by the refreshment table, and scanning the crowd. I recognize several of the attendees: [...]
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Posted byIf you answer yes to three or more of the following, this article is for you. I subscribe to or buy at least 5 magazines per month. When traveling, I hit the airport news shop before boarding my flight. While waiting at the (insert whichever profession applies here) office I get sick of having to [...]
Read the full postOur daily round-up of bookish links. Tastes great with coffee. __________________________ Instead of our normal quotations from 4-5 stories, today’s Critical Linking will features several quotations from just one: Janet Maslin’s assault on Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84, which most reviewers are pretty high on. 1. “ And is it actually about anything? Don’t be silly. Mr. Murakami [...]
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Posted byWith all apologies to the Kindle, iPad, Nook, and even the Itty Bitty Book Light, the best literary devices available to English readers and writers are still the metaphor, analogy, simile and the like. They are what make language interesting, breathing life into the most common of words and revealing patterns in the way we [...]
Read the full postLast Sunday, we hit you with a special Book Riot crossword. This week’s amusement is another bookish take on a familiar amusement: the word scramble. Can you unscramble these famous characters? Answers on Tuesday. Good luck…. Beneath Teen Blitz Way Crack Rain Heavy Rugs Damn Elf Rolls Her Renaming Ogre Catfish Tunic Sow Thin Mints [...]
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Posted bySo, how did you do on last week’s crossword? In case, you couldn’t dig up some of the answers, here’s the full key. If you have any ideas or suggestions for future bookish crossword themes, let us know (community (at) bookriot.com). Across 2) I WAS TOLD THERE’D BE _____ (CAKE) 3) Reason Ron Weasley nearly [...]
Read the full postHere are the most-read stories from the week in Critical Linking… “As a result, Starbucks never exists, and civilization is worse off without non-fat, half-calf, extra-foamy vanilla lattes.” Pretty funny alternate histories of some famous literary characters. __________________________ “I never got to the end of Invisible Man.” Usually, I kinda like these “stuff I’ve never read ” lists. [...]
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Our daily round-up of bookish links. Tastes great with coffee. __________________________ “To have plausible and vivid representations of composers and classical musicians in literature and in film is very important.” Alex Ross on writing about music. __________________________ “One thing I can say for sure is that as soon as I put that costume on, something [...]
Read the full postIn today’s Critical Linking, I included a story from The Los Angeles Times on the rising cost and complexity of book trailers. It seems that some serious cash (up to 50k) and concentration are going into these things, especially for genre fiction. Maybe my lit fic fan-boyism puts me outside of the target demographic for [...]
Read the full postWe tried to ratchet up the difficulty quotient for this week’s challenge. Before we reveal the answer, a recap of the clues: 1. One of my biographers confessed fear at the prospect of meeting me. 2. I had to tell T.S. Eliot not to “dress” for a visit to my home, as he had the [...]
Read the full postThis is a guest post from Elizabeth Bastos. Her writing has appeared in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, the Big Jewel, and the Food and Think blog of the Smithsonian magazine. Her piece about love and France, appeared in the Book Bench’s Dear John 2010 Valentine’s letters. __________________________ I don’t aspire to greatness in the kitchen. I do not ask [...]
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Posted byPity poor Q.R. Markham. Plagiarism’s current pin-up should have heeded the Delphic words of Wham! George Michael, that short-shorted, hairy-chested soothsayer, put it perfectly: If you’re going to do it, do it right. Markham’s problem was not that he stole someone else’s ideas (or in the case of his novel Assassin of Secrets, the exact [...]
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Posted byYears ago, when I was the likeliest lass in AP English class, I won a VFW award for an essay I wrote about the United States and globalization. My parents, as well as several of my teachers, were amazed that I took home the prize, because my essay was an impassioned (and probably jejune) plea [...]
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Posted byHouse of Anansi Press sent me this book for review. My perspective on it, however, is completely my own. See our Review Policy for more information. The Blue Dragon is one of those books that makes me remember that, while I may have turned to eBooks primarily for my book consumption, some books need to [...]
Read the full postOur daily round-up of bookish links. Tastes great with coffee. __________________________ “In discussing what makes something literary, I increasingly believe (and teach) that one quality is the protagonist also as antagonist.” Alexander Chee breaks down Asterios Polyp, one of my favorite graphic novels. __________________________ “I compare it to a very minor facility, such as the [...]
Read the full postAnd we’re back with the second installment of Name That Author!, a Name That Tune-style author-guessing game. We start by giving you one clue, then one additional clue per hour through the afternoon. You can submit your guess using the form below after any clue, but if you’re wrong, you’re out for the week. So you’ve got [...]
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