Biographer and psychologist William Todd Schultz argues on an Oxford University Press blog that Truman Capote lied about his past because he needed to be telling a story about himself. (If I understand correctly.) Schultz comments: Aren’t psychobiographers supposed to care about the facts? Yes, facts are crucial. Facts are the instruments of revelation. IContinue reading “Faction: Why Truman Capote lied about himself”
Category Archives: Books
Larry McMurtry on selling 300,000 books
Besides being a great writer, Larry McMurtry is a great bookseller. The story of The Last Book Sale is a moderately long but fully fascinating: McMurtry wrote it up for the NYRB blog. Suffice to say that in August, McMurtry sold off the contents of several of his bookstores, to make sure he didn't burdenContinue reading “Larry McMurtry on selling 300,000 books”
If Barnes and Noble collapses, it’s the death of books
So argues Ted Rall, who knows a thing or two about media today and publishing: Borders and Barnes & Noble killed independent bookstores. Amazon killed Borders. Now Barnes & Noble, which sells more than 20 percent of pulp-and-ink books in the U.S., is under siege. If B&N collapses: the death of books. Cultural apocalypse. Neo-feudalism.Continue reading “If Barnes and Noble collapses, it’s the death of books”
Roshomon: Made in America (to start)
One of the greatest films of all time, the critics agree, is Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece Roshomon. Turns out it's based on a Japanese short story, that in turn was based on a story by Ambrose Bierce, the infamous Western wit, aka "the San Francisco Wasp," who disappeared in Mexico. The story turned up recently onContinue reading “Roshomon: Made in America (to start)”
Harry Potter: the early Isherwood version
Back in the l930's, Christopher Isherwood published a fascinating quasi-memoir about his years at university called Lions and Shadows. Isherwood was a brilliant student, but — surprise, surprise — an outsider. With a fellow student named Chalmers he formed a sort of secret literary society opposed to what they called "the poshocracy." Isherwood and ChalmersContinue reading “Harry Potter: the early Isherwood version”
How can someone so young write such a good dark novel?
My favorite interviewer of writers is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a writer herself: Michelle Huneven. She's written for countless different outlets, but these days is interviewing for the literary site The Millions. This week she published an interview with a young novelist who wrote a book called The Gin Closet. Here's Michelle's introduction to the book andContinue reading “How can someone so young write such a good dark novel?”
Are run-on subtitles the flop sweat of publishing?
Bill Morris has a theory: In a marketplace glutted with too many titles – and in a culture that makes books more marginal by the day – publishers seem to think that if they just shout loudly enough, people will notice their products, then buy them. In other words, the run-on subtitle is literature’s equivalentContinue reading “Are run-on subtitles the flop sweat of publishing?”
The plot escapes me, but the wraith of memory remains
In the New York Times Book Review, novelist James Collins admits an embarrassing secret. I have just realized something terrible about myself: I don’t remember the books I read… Nor do I think I am the only one with this problem. Certainly, there are those who can read a book once and retain everything thatContinue reading “The plot escapes me, but the wraith of memory remains”
The most Orwellian twist in today’s most Orwellian novel
Gary Shteyngart is a fan of George Orwell, but his new Super Sad True Love Story, a dystopian novel inspired by l984, isn't all that Orwellian a book. Why? Because, for all Orwell's greatness, Shteyngart is a much more amusing writer. But the book does have a couple of surreal and ominously Orwellian moments. The mostContinue reading “The most Orwellian twist in today’s most Orwellian novel”
“War and Peace” in one sentence
I looked up War and Peace and it's about this guy Pierre who fights in France, and all this terrible stuff happens to him, but in the end because of his charm he gets to be with this girl he really loves, and who really loves him even though she cheated on him. Gary ShtenygartContinue reading ““War and Peace” in one sentence”
Kit Stolz 