October 4, 2010
I once received from a prison library an Interlibrary loan request for the book, How to Locate Anyone Anywhere Without Leaving Home. That conjured up a picture of a vengeful con trying to find the dirty rat fink who’d testified against him and gotten him sent up the river. It also made me wonder what […]
September 30, 2010
Charlie Huston is a writer on a serious roll. Over the past year, in fact, the genre-bending author has been riding the literary version of a Vegas hot streak warm enough to make even the coolest Blackjack dealer sweat. For starters, last October Huston published My Dead Body, the much-anticipated final book in his brilliant and brutal “Joe Pitt” mystery series about a hard-boiled vampire PI […]
September 29, 2010
Writer/producer David Simon, whose ground-breaking series The Wire was acclaimed by critics, has received a MacArthur “genius” fellowship worth $500,000. Coincidentally, the October 14 issue of The New York Review of Books has a thoughtful essay by Lorrie Moore on Simon and the impact of The Wire. Mary B., Reader’s Services
September 29, 2010
“Books have a kind of usability that, for most people, isn’t about to be trumped by bourgeoisie concerns about portability: They are the only auto-playing, backwards-compatible to the dawn of the English language, entirely self-contained medium we have left.” This article in MIT’s Technology Review takes issue with the constant claims made by tech pundits […]
September 28, 2010
It seems that bookstores are joining the pattern of businesses who temporarily open small shops in malls for the holiday season. Borders will be doing just that after closing hundreds of regular stores recently. Look for stores to open where an outlet has closed. -Shira
September 27, 2010
The New York Times has a timely article about the controversy surrounding Library Systems & Services, Inc. (LSSI), as it continues to take over libraries around the country. But is there really anything to be concerned about? In an era of outsourcing and privatization, why not libraries as well? What is the big deal (if any)? Be sure to read […]
September 26, 2010
When asked if there was any science fiction that most accurately described their fields of study, a few scientists in robotics, paleoanthropology, evolutionary psychology, bioengineering, and physics were actually able to offer some interesting recommendations of books, television shows, and movies…
September 25, 2010
Last year, two Evanston Township High School faculty members (English department, librarian and media specialist Nancy Figel, and literacy coordinator Regina Armour) led a pilot project which found that graphic novels are “effective pre-reading and review aids.” Now they are introducing this new curriculum into “reading intervention” classes at ETHS, to “raise reading levels among struggling readers and […]
September 25, 2010
– Which is just what the 23 southern writers featured in the upcoming anthology Don’t Quit Your Day Job: Acclaimed Authors and the Day Jobs They Quit did! Like William Faulkner before them (who won a Nobel Prize 25 years after resigning from the post office), the acclaimed authors in this collection, edited by Sonny Brewer, all gave up their day jobs. You […]
September 20, 2010
For most travelers, an airport delay usually means plenty of time spent griping, grumbling, grousing, and groaning. Longer delays (and more seasoned, synonymically gifted travelers) may result in kicking, kvetching, moaning, murmuring, barking and bellyaching. With even more time spent crammed into uncomfortable airport chairs eating dry $9 sandwiches and listening to the endless looping drones of CNN anchors most travelers are fresh […]
