Bookdwarf

Heather, Carole and I arrived yesterday. We’re staying in Hollywood right near the Kodak Theater. I’ve never been to LA before. It’s sunny with wide boulevards. Last night Heather and I went to a cocktail party at this neat bar called The Woods. It’s full of wood paneling and antlers. We were there as part [...]

I spent most of the long weekend outside reading. I’ve been meaning to write something about all the books I’ve finished, but I’ve got approximately 18 hours before my plane leaves for LA and a million things to finish before then. I thought at least I can write a sentence or two or three: The [...]

Here’s the Summer issue of the Threepenny Review. Bookforum’s June/July issue is now available. The Nation has put out their Spring Books issue.

Frank Kramer, who has owned Harvard Book Store, Cambridge, Mass., since 1962, is putting the store up for sale. In an announcement, Kramer, who is 66, said that he would like to move “into a new phase of his life” and plans “to stay connected to Harvard Square and books.” He hopes to find a [...]

Guess who has a book blog? The Book Bench looks pretty interesting actually. Welcome to the fray New Yorker!

Who knew we were so close to science fiction? Okay, I’m sure a lot of people did. Reading this article on the Phoenix Lander, I couldn’t help but wonder how close we are to Kim Stanley Robinson’s vision. After a nine month journey, the Lander is set to land on Mars sometime Sunday and perform [...]

I’m going in record saying that Sarah Hall is one of the most talented writers around today. Her first two novels, The Electric Michelangelo, shortlisted for the Booker prize in 2004, and Haweswater, were both set in her native area of Cumbria. Her third novel Daughters of the North is a bit of a departure, [...]

Each year the booksellers and publishers gather in a city for Book Expo America, aka BEA. This year we’ll be meeting in LA starting on May 29th. One of the projects I’m involved with is the Emerging Leaders, which is for young or new booksellers who want to make a career out of bookselling. Jessica [...]

I’m jealous of Alberto Manguel’s 30,000 volume library. I have dozens of very bad books that I don’t throw away in case I ever need an example of a book I think is bad. The only book I ever banished from my library was Bret Easton Ellis’s “American Psycho,” which I felt infected the shelves [...]

I referred last week to two books I had read that involved dragons and the Greek gods. The book with the dragons was the new Naomi Novik, due out in July, called Victory of Eagles. It’s the fifth in the Temeraire series. I love this series which marries the Napoleonic wars with dragons. This new [...]

I know it’s lame that I’m only reminding folks now. Blame it on the rain. Trying to get a whole bunch of projects completed at once. But I digress. Famed blogger and author Mark Sarvas will be reading at my store this evening. The event starts at 7pm. Everyone in the area should come!

I am a fan of Anthony Bourdain. I’m still pissed that missed meeting him at BEA three years ago at a dinner thrown by Bloomsbury. Good for him that Ecco, one of my favorite publishers, have picked up his next three books: The first book, Cooks, is a follow up to Kitchen Confidential, in which [...]

The  most exciting things always happen when I’m out of town. Watch this video about a grad student who lost his Amazon order to a thief. Harvard Book Store manages to save the day and gain a new loyal customer. I’d embed the video, but my skills don’t go that far. Don’t worry, it’s only [...]

I’m in Atlanta visiting my parents with my sister. It’s nice to get away for a long weekend somewhere hot. It was over 80 yesterday! I finished the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson earlier in the week. I’ve been trying to think about what to say about the three books. They’re so complicated, but [...]

The LA Times interviews Mark Sarvas. Terry Teachout reports that Elaine Dundy, author of The Dud Avocado, has died. Guess who won second place in Narrative Magazine’s Love Story contest? One of my all time favorite bloggers. My pal Mike interviews Askold Melnyczuk over at the Meeting House. The May issue of Boldtype is available. [...]