National Public Radio is running the commentary of Barbara Feinman-Todd on the public’s strange acceptance of ghost writing.
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Monthly Archives: October 2006
How could he? How could they?
The Guardian has a story about a librarian who stole rare books from Manchester Central library and put them up for auction on the Web. The scum got off with a suspended sentence and a bit of community service. Would that have happened had he been stealing automobiles? The man, Norman Buckley, may his name live in infamy, made over $20,000 before his arrest and had at least $285,000 worth of stolen texts in reserve.
Posted in Reading
Tagged crime, guardian, library, norman buckley
Art of Darkness
Stephen King is getting some surprising praise, such as that below from a review in today’s Washington Post, for his new novel Lisey’s Story.
. . .King has crashed the exclusive party of literary fiction, and he’ll be no easier to ignore than Carrie at the prom. His new novel is an audacious meditation on the creative process and a remarkable intersection of the different strains of his talent: the sensitivity of his autobiographical essays, the insight of his critical commentary, the suspense of his short stories and the psychological terror of his novels.
Posted in Reading
Tagged book review, stephen king, washington post
Writers Hate America
The New York Times is running a piece on Senator George Allen’s (R-VA) sleazy attacks on challenger Jim Webb’s novels.
Posted in Reading
Tagged jim webb, new york times, politics, usa
Concise College Writing Guide
Even after years of teaching and tutoring, it still amazes me that college students so often need basic writing advice. Students do not want to write and do not understand why they need to be able to write well.
The “Thinking” section of Michael Harvey’s The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing begins by addressing student attitudes toward writing:
Why do students write? Easy, most students would say: Because we have to. Honest, perhaps, but discouraging. It makes writing seem pretty trivial. How about another go? Here’s a likely second answer: To show what we know. Hmm, I’m not sure I like that much better. Isn’t there something more positive we can say about writing?
Posted in Education
Tagged college writing, literacy, teaching
Cutting the Book Section
Newspapers across the country are eliminating or reducing their book coverage, claims a Publishers Weekly article. The main reason cited is that devoting column inches to books does not bring a monetary reward.
Posted in Reading
Tagged criticism, journalism, publishers weekly
The Lay of the Land
Speaking of the fictional town of Sea-Clift, Richard Ford told The New York Times:
The copy editors gave me a hard time about the hyphen. They argued that very few place names in America are hyphenated. But I said that this was a town invented by land developers, and they would definitely want the hyphen.
The article covers The Lay of the Land, Ford’s latest novel and the continuation of sportswriter turned real estate agent Frank Bascombe’s tale.
Posted in Reading
Tagged editing, new york times, richard ford
Body Blow
When a student showed Alice McDermott a discarded library copy of Katherine Anne Porter’s Pale Horse, Pale Rider, stamped “Low Demand,” McDermott felt like she’d been punched in the stomach.
Listen to her defense at National Public Radio.
Posted in Reading
Tagged alice mcdermott, katherine anne porter, library, npr