kottke (Free subscription) | 10/14/2009
Tim Kreider muses on people's changing relationships to each other as they grow older , specifically related to the choices that we've made in comparison to those around us. The Referendum is a phenomenon typical of (but not limited to) midlife, whereby people, increasingly aware of the finiteness of their time in the world, the limitations placed on them by their choices so far, and the narrowing...
Books, Inq. (Free subscription) | 09/11/2009
I leave for a year in France on Sunday - and so I thought it appropriate that I reiterate my love (yet again) for James Salter's forgotten classic, A Sport and A Pastime . I will be in touch with further posts upon arrival. Until then, Jesse
Hollywood Elsewhere (Free subscription) | 08/17/2009
Criterion's November schedule has been inspected and Steven Soderbergh 's two Che movies aren't on it so a December release is the earliest possibility. Criterion will put a Bluray version of Matteo Garrone's Gomorrah in November, but only standard DVDs of Arnaud Desplechin's A Christmas Tale and Michael Ritchie's Downhill Racer ('69) that month. The Downhill Racer disc "will feature a restored...
Dog Without A Bone (Free subscription) | 08/12/2009
I saw people taking the piss out of this one before I saw the real thing, so I was glad to have it explained to me by catsgomiaow : '15 books you've read that will always stick with you. They don't have to be the greatest books you've ever read, just the ones that stick with you. First 15 you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.' The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Joan Aiken When Hitler Stole Pink...
Bill Peschel (Free subscription) | 06/10/2009
A s a theologian, John Henry Newman (1801-1890) was famous for his ability to argue Catholic doctrine. It seems that he developed his powers of observation and self-awareness early in life. In his diary on this day, when he was only 11, he wrote in his diary: "John New man wrote this just before he was going up to Greek [at his boarding school] on Tuesday, June 10, 1812, when it only wanted three...
Emdashes (Free subscription) | 06/01/2009
Benjamin Chambers writes: On the eve of the release of The New Yorker's fiction issue, it seems like the right time to mention (again) how amazing the magazine's fiction podcasts are. Back in January, I reviewed the 2008 podcasts and even threw in a plug for this year's reading by Thomas McGuane of James Salter's chilling story, "Last Night." Now there's three more treats waiting for the...
Joho the Blog (Free subscription) | 03/31/2009
Geoff Daily introduces a panel at Freedom to Connect. [Note: Live blogging. Unedited. Uncorrected. Incomplete. Flat out wrong. Thanks for playing.] James Salter talks about the Smart Grid. The biggest problems on earth: Over-population and global warming. The second is a subset of the first. James at first thought Al Gore ...
Books, Inq. (Free subscription) | 03/18/2009
A friend asked me today whether I'd read James Salter's A Sport and a Pastime , and I responded with an enthusiastic, 'yes!' What a tremendous novel - one which reminded me, at moments, at least, of Durrell's Quartet . I have the sense that Salter's novels have been overlooked in recent years, which is a shame, as I could not have enjoyed A Sport and a Pastime more. Eros, indeed.
Japan Times (Free subscription) | 02/20/2009
The Topix stock index fell to the lowest since January 1984, surpassing a trough in October, as the nation's dependence on overseas markets and a strong yen decimated earnings at its largest companies. "We're in the middle of the perfect storm at the moment," said James Salter, London-based director of Japanese equities at Polar Capital Partners, which manages $2.5 billion globally. "The...
Anecdotal Evidence (Free subscription) | 01/07/2009
A Canadian reader, after the dustup sparked by the “Best American Fiction, 1968-1998” list David Myers and I assembled, asks: “Finally, a question: Where does James Salter fit into your considerations? I've always enjoyed his writing. Don't worry, Patrick, I won't throw a tantrum and start posting on other sites if you don't share my estimation of him. I'm just curious how more experienced...
SMITH Magazine (Free subscription) | 12/10/2008
Now is the time that matters.
Maud Newton (Free subscription) | 12/04/2008
I know, you thought it would never happen, and given how long I’ve been working on the thing, I can’t say I blame you. But an excerpt from my novel(-in-progress) is up at Narrative Backstage today, alongside audio readings from James Salter, Donald Hall, and Ann Beattie, new fiction from Richard Bausch, Stuart Dybek, Josh [...]
Brit Lit Blogs (Free subscription) | 10/25/2008
James Salter was my biggest revelation of last year, when I read his novel Light Years in March and immediately knew that nothing else would touch it for the next nine months (a self-fulfilling prophecy). As I’ve said before, his is a sparse output, and I happy to wait until now to read his last novel, Solo Faces , just reissued by Penguin in their Modern Classics range. By ‘last’...
Whisky Prajer (Free subscription) | 09/03/2008
There is a moment when the knife must be pushed in coldly, otherwise the victim triumphs. He looked at her, aware that the moment was passing --- Solo Faces by James Salter This passage came to my mind as I read Sway by Zachary Lazar . Lazar traces the dark line of attraction that drew the Rolling Stones , filmmaker Kenneth Anger and Charles Manson to literally act in concert and pull the curtain on...
The Sheila Variations (Free subscription) | 06/12/2008
... Synchronicity, indeed. Looks like I need to check out The Kenyon Review pronto! And, uhm, also get used to the notion that James Wolcott obviously reads me on a regular basis. I'm kinda freaked. James Salter posts, for those...
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