Two Friends by Alberto Moravia
What a strange fish the distinguished Other Press will present to us this August in the form of the unfinished manuscript of Alberto Moravia’s Two Friends!…
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“A&P” by John Updike
In an effort to continue the conversation, we decided to take on a classic short story from John Updike. A&P is possibly one of his best, and certainly one of his most famous, stories.…
Read MoreGently Read Literature
Just when I thought there was nothing more fantastic Good Reads could do for me Daniel Casey asked me to write a review for the great Baby and other stories.…
Read MoreWhen We Fell In Love – Matthew Norman
Matt Norman, the author of Domestic Violets. He gave us a few minutes of his time to tell us what book made him want to be a writer, or when he fell in love…with books.…
Read MoreDomestic Violets by Matthew Norman
Harper Perennial, Trade Original Matthew Norman’s characters remind me of Lit Life by Kurt Wenzel, almost. Where Lit Life lost its edge, Domestic Violets comes to life with a realistically poignant sorrow mixed with resignation.…
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When We Fell In Love – Eric D. Goodman
Eric D. Goodman’s Tracks is the latest release from our friends at Atticus Books, who are among my favorite new indie presses.…
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When We Fell In Love – Shann Ray
JE: Last week I covered Shann Ray’s dynamite collection from Graywolf, American Masculine. My pal Jim Thompsen and I (different Jim Thompsen!)…
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The Bret Easton Ellis Interview Part 2
The Bret Easton Ellis Interview Part 1 can be found here. We debate Robert J. Lennon, which I get horribly wrong, and Bret has to correct me, it’s so embarrassing, and he lets me off the hook.…
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The Bret Easton Ellis Interview Part 1
Bret Easton Ellis took the time to talk to me last week. I sat down with a set of questions that seemed interesting but once we started talking, they didn’t seem to matter.…
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American Masculine by Shann Ray
JE: We’ve come to expect amazing things from Graywolf, who can stand toe to toe with any shop in the business when it comes to editorial voice–to wit, in the past few months alone we’ve covered Ben Percy’s excellent The Wilding, and Alan Heathcock’s electrifying collection Volt.…
Read MoreOf Gossip and the Authenticity of Essays
TRY THIS experiment at your school or place of work: Rank order people by how much they gossip, putting the person who gossips the most on top.…
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On Jennifer Egan
Three ladies and a guy: it could almost work as a spin-off sitcom to the three guys blog. The four of us got to talking about Jennifer Egan, and to be honest, I’m a little obsessed.…
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DH’s Ten Cardinal Rules of Book Blogging
1. You love the book, not the writer. You don’t care about the writer. They could be a talking gazelle. You don’t care.…
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The Good and the Ghastly Giveaway
James Boice’s The Good and the Ghastly was released by Scribner this week. It’s his third novel and it’s completely different from either of his previous books, MVP and NoVA. …
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Thoughts Without Cigarettes Giveaway
My only previous experience with reading Hijuelos was The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, which really is a fine novel, with a powerful sense of pathos for this aging musician, drunkenly reliving his past.…
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You Have My Permission To Read Anything You Want
I want you to know that you have my permission to read anything you want. No, don’t thank me. I’m very generous that way.…
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An Interview with Kate Christensen
DH: Kate, in my first post on your new novel, The Astral, I said that the most important subject in fiction is marriage.…
Read MoreNotable New Releases 6/14/2011
Holy Water James P. Othmer Friend of the blog, JPO’s enormously fun satire is one of my recommendations for paperback reading this summer.…
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Tea Obreht Wins Orange Prize
Just like it says in the headline. If you aren’t familiar, you could read any or all of these: The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht Part One The Tigers Wife by Tea Obreht Part Two The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht Part Three Interview with Tea Obreht Here’s part of what the Orange Prize Site has to say: Bettany Hughes, Chair of Judges, said: “‘The Tiger’s Wife is an exceptional book and Téa Obreht is a truly exciting new talent.…
Read MoreNotable New Releases 6/6/2011
1) State of Wonder Ann Patchett “[A] superbly rendered novel[.][…]Patchett’s portrayal is as wonderful as it is frightening and foreign. Patchett exhibits an extraordinary ability to bring the horrors and the wonders of the Amazon jungle to life, and her singular characters are wonderfully drawn.…
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