A Book A Week (Free subscription) | 11/19/2009
Popular fiction is a genre that is distinct from literary fiction, though the boundaries are fluid. I like to think of these categories as either ends of a ruler, with most books falling somewhere between the two ends. A lot of the books I read fall right around the middle of the continuum between popular and literary fiction. For example I put authors like Kate Atkinson, Diane Johnson, and Elinor...
The Mark on the Wall (Free subscription) | 11/18/2009
The Rumpus reprints Steve Almond's appreciation of Kurt Vonnegut . It's a long, long essay, much taken up by Almond's account of Vonnegut's uncomfortable appearance at an event called the Connecticut Forum alongside writers Joyce Carol Oates and Jennifer Weiner and then Almond's own autobiography, the measure of Vonnegut's influence on a young person learning to think, to write. It's funny, sad, risky...
A Book A Week (Free subscription) | 11/09/2009
I'm having a little vacation at my father's house near the beach. It's nice to hang out with my dad and his dogs, and in a few minutes I'm going to take a walk on the sea wall. The weather is warm-ish and sunny and the tide is coming in. It's been a good short break from my job (not very stressful) and my teenagers (don't ask). I go home tomorrow. I've read two books since I've been here and have started...
Keris Stainton (Free subscription) | 10/31/2009
Sometime in the next couple of days (blog and webhosts permitting), this blog will go private and the domain will point to my new author website. It feels like the end of an era and so I'm going to write a long, rambling, sentimental post even though, as of next week, the only people who'll be able to read it will still have access to the blog anyway... but indulge me. I started this blog in February...
2 Blowhards (Free subscription) | 10/21/2009
Donald Pittenger writes: Dear Blowhards -- Edward Craig, back in Michigan after bravely braving San Francisco's City Lights Bookstore and living to report his findings here, now unearths for us a surprising nugget of ... well, let him report: * * * * * Michael Blowhard often lamented on this site about the lack of appreciation for the writing skills of popular novelists. These novelists often share...
Beatrice (Free subscription) | 10/19/2009
I recently recorded what I hope will be the first of many special interview sessions with the hosts of Sirius XM’s Book Radio Channel, bringing three authors—Julie Buxbaum, Lucinda Rosenfeld, and Jennifer Weiner—into the studio to talk about their new novels, womens’ fiction, female friendships, and a slew of other topics. That interview will be broadcast [...]
Books and Musings from Downunder (Free subscription) | 10/05/2009
Finished: 05/10/09 Genre: Chick Lit Rated: C Opening Sentence: '… Dan Swansea came awake in the darkness, not knowing or a minute who he was or where …’ Review will follow......
The Hook, Line and Stinker (Free subscription) | 09/25/2009
Title: Best friends forever Author: Jennifer Weiner Publisher: Atria Books Copyright: 2009 ISBN: 978-0-7432-9429-4 Series or stand-alone: Stand-alone Setting: Pleasant Ridge, Illinois and Key West, Florida 1st Sentence: Dan Swansea came awake in the darkness, not knowing for a minute who he was or where. Comments: For whatever reason, I own several of Jennifer Weiner's books, but this is the first...
At Home With Books (Free subscription) | 09/15/2009
Today I am swapping interviews with Linda from Silly Little Mischief as part of the Book Blogger Appreciation Week . Please visit her blog if you would like to read her interview with me. Me: How would you describe your blog to someone who’s never been there? Linda: It's a little bit of everything. A little bit of food, some books, some shopping. I tend to be all over the place, but it's about...
MediaBistro.com (Free subscription) | 09/14/2009
Although the ostensible topic of the first Brooklyn Book Festival panel we sat in on yesterday was real-life people showing up in fictional narratives, we were interested in the turn the conversation took when somebody suggested, in reference to Amy Sohn 's new novel, Prospect Park West , that when male authors populate their fiction with real people, reviewers say they're tapping into the zeitgeist,...
Risky Regencies (Free subscription) | 09/11/2009
Today is a sad day of remembrance, and there are plenty of well-written tributes to what today means. I was in New York City that day, and it is etched forever in my memory. But I don't feel as though it is appropriate for me to go on and on about what it meant, because you guys know already (and see above, plenty of well-written tributes). *** So today I'm gonna talk about something totally frivolous:...
92Y Blog (Free subscription) | 09/09/2009
Candace Bushnell and fan at 92Y Blogger and enthusiatic Sex and the City fan , Single Gal in the City, attended last nights talk with Candace Bushnell and Jennifer Weiner at the 92nd Street Y. Afterward, she snapped the above photo with Candace and dutifully posting it to her Twitter after. If you are kicking yourself for missing that one, you can keep up to date with all upcoming lectures at 92Y here...
The Kindle Reader (Free subscription) | 08/18/2009
This is part two of the list of 100 best beach books chosen by the audiences of National Public Radio. See the previous Kindle Reader post for part one. Kindle-worthy titles are listed below in bold type. Kindle holdouts are in italics and link to dead tree editions of the book. Of the 100 titles on the complete list, 68 are now available in Kindle editions. 51. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 52....
Christian Science Monitor (Free subscription) | 08/13/2009
HARDCOVER FICTION 1. That Old Cape Magic, by Richard Russo, Knopf 2. The Girl Who Played With Fire, by Stieg Larsson, Knopf 3. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam 4. Inherent Vice, by Thomas Pynchon, Penguin Press 5. Best Friends Forever, by Jennifer Weiner, Atria 6. The Defector, by Daniel Silva, Putnam 7. Shanghai Girls, ...
Fluttering Butterflies (Free subscription) | 08/13/2009
I'm absolutely swimming in new books lately. So many recent acquisitions, I really just don't know which book to start reading first. I always find it fascinating to hear how people choose their next book. Some people have very set ideas of what they'd like to accomplish in a month, others swan about between genres and styles. I usually pick up books hoping for a particular emotional response from...
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