Bookdwarf

It’s that time of year again, when everyone creates their lists of best “whatever” of 2006. The New York Times announced theirs last night. Frankly I found their list underwhelming (Absurdistan? Really?). The Christian Science Monitor has both a non-fiction and a fiction list. I’m sure over the next few weeks everyone else will be [...]

Who here can say that they spent a chunk of their Monday with former Senator John Edwards? I can! Edwards was here at my store doing a signing for his new book Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives. He’s very charming and personable I must say. Plus he got a lot less of the crazies [...]

First, I’ve received word that Charles Shield, whose biography of Harper Lee Mockingbird appeared earlier this year, is working on a biography of Kurt Vonnegut. He would like to know people’s experiences with Vonnegut, either personally or with his novels. You can email me or leave a comment. Vonnegut’s a writer that influenced me early [...]

The OJ Simpson book If I Did It has been cancelled by the Fox Corporation. Murdoch said: ‘I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project. We are sorry for any pain this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.’ Most booksellers were sold this [...]

I’m off to Atlanta tomorrow afternoon for the rest of the week. I’m still not sure what I’m bringing with me to read. Butterfly Stories by William Vollman? Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe? Caesar by Adrian Goldsworthy? The choices are endless. I’m not bringing the Pynchon because it’s just too damn heavy and I [...]

Richard Powers The Echo Maker (Yay!) Timothy Egan The Worst Hard Time Nathaniel Mackey Splay Anthem M.T. Anderson The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume One

Lucky Sarah got to interview NBA finalist Richard Powers. The award will be announced tonight around 10 o’clock. Reviews of Thomas Pynchon’s mammoth Against the Day are beginning to trickle in at the Complete Review, Scott Mclemee’s Inside Higher Ed column, Time, and the Boston Phoenix. The latest scandal on litblogs: free books. Some say [...]

My pal Bat gets around. Not only has he interviewed Mark Danielewski, he’s also spoken with Richard Dawkins, who has been making waves with his new book The God Delusion.

We’re giving away 3 copies of the Read This! pick Firmin over at the LBC. All you have to do is leave a comment telling everyone what book you would mostly like eat as a rat like Firmin and why.

As you can see from the column to the left, I’m reading the new Thomas Pynchon Against the Day. I’ll be taking part in a roundtable with my fellow Chums of Chance. I can’t remember where I found this article on Gravity’s Rainbow from the New York Times Book Review in 1973. If I didn’t [...]

This lovely debut novel takes place during a crossroads in Japan’s history. During late nineteenth century, Japan began opening it’s doors to the West. The old and new cultures clashed and had to find a way to coexist. The Teahouse Fire tells the story of Aurelia, a French girl who moves to Japan with her [...]

Folks, I finally live in a state where I can actually be proud of the governor. Mitt Romney was an embarassment. Deval Patrick on the other hand stands for things I believe in. His speech last night made me hopeful for the first time in a long while. Mr. Bookdwarf got goosebumps and we drank [...]

Don’t forget to get out there and vote. I don’t care if we agree or disagree on an issue, the best thing you can do is vote.

Head over to the LBC this week, where we’re discussing the latest Read This! pick Firmin by Sam Savage. I really enjoyed this book and am excited to hear from Sam Save himself on Wednesday. Here’s a blog devoted to bookplates. There’s a treasure trove of stuff here to look at. An American won France’s [...]

Here’s a few books I’ve read over the past few weeks. The Mistress’s Daughter by A.M. Homes I’m a big A.M. Homes fan and when I read her essay in the New Yorker on being adopted, I grew excited learning it would be turned into a book. This is her memoir of being adopted, meeting [...]