- As I write these words, I’m up early waiting for the Nobel literature announcement. I’m fully expecting the choice to be somewhat anticlimactic and not an American. But I could be wrong. We’ll find out soon enough.
- Tom Christensen offers a list of books most valuable in relation to publishing and writing. Notably absent from the list is the Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude. You think I’m joking, but writing’s a pretty damn lonely business sometimes. (via Messr. Junker)
- More New Yorker tidbits from Emily Gordon.
- Norman Mailer is interviewed about God, which is to say that he suffers delusions of Mailer. (via The Valve)
- John Freeman has a surprisingly decent report on the Frankfurt Book Fair.
- “This is just a lifelike, likable book populated by three-dimensional characters who make themselves very much at home on the page.” Oh dear. This is the kind of sentence one expects from a Madison Avenue slogan writer, not a literary critic or even a book reviewer. The time has come to make some choices. I’ve had enough of Janet Maslin. I cannot continue to read her nonsense in good faith. I do this because there are too many good things in life to enjoy and, frankly, Maslin’s deterioration as a critic (she was a perfectly fine film critic) is too much for me to bear. Do yourself a favor and give up Maslin too. Your blood pressure will lower in minutes.
- Some excerpts from Kurt Cobain interviews. Who knew that Cobain was such a fan of Queen’s News of the World?
- Richard Grayson is running for Congress in Arizona.
- Linda Richards uncovers a lost silent version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Kurt had really wide-ranging taste – he’s rumored to have been a great fan of King Crimson and Celtic Frost as well.
I didn’t even think Maslin was a good film critic, but glad you’ve decided life is too short to read her. It is, indeed.