AltWeeklies Wire
Comix King Adrian Tomine Discusses 'Shortcomings'new
Shortcomings, which took him five years to complete, has stirred controversy partly because of the protagonist's ambivalence about his Asian heritage and partly because it's serious, adult work.
The Georgia Straight |
Shawn Conner |
11-12-2007 |
Fiction
Beatlemaniacnew
Ian McDonald devised a book that wraps astute social analysis around the fan bait of track-by-track, annotated descriptions of every Beatles recording, including session notes, trivia and critical exegesis.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
11-12-2007 |
Nonfiction
Curse of the Fukunew
Junot Diaz's first novel is a wondrous but brief account of a Dominican growing up in Jersey.
Montreal Mirror |
Juliet Waters |
11-12-2007 |
Fiction
Meet Jayne Ann Krentz, Seattle's Best-Selling Authornew
Apart from her obvious productivity, her sales also derive from a willingness to change and adapt old romance genres, which she sees as key to the industry's resurgence.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
11-12-2007 |
Books
The Fabio Business Finds Itself Short on Diversitynew
As far as black romance writers go, Edwina Martin-Arnold is about the only game in town.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
11-12-2007 |
Books
Who Really Killed JFK?new

Vincent Bugliosi's 1,612-page book, which he spent 20 years working on, lays out a case in support of the Warren Commission findings that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of the president.
Artvoice |
Cy Alessi and Peter Koch |
11-09-2007 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
'Red Mutiny': Red Baitnew
Historian Neal Bascomb reclaims the Potemkin story from the twists of myth and propaganda to give us a rewarding, rip-roaring high-seas adventure set against the backdrop of the unravelling Romanov dynasty.
NOW Magazine |
Howard Goldenthal |
11-09-2007 |
Nonfiction
'Famous Writers School' Offers Chucklesnew
Steven Carter's novel zooms in on the fictional correspondence between an inept Famous Writers teacher and his three ragtag pupils.
The Portland Mercury |
Chas Bowie |
11-08-2007 |
Fiction
Increase Your Vocabulary While You Poopnew
A quintessential bathroom reader, Anu Garg (creator of the A.Word.A.Day email newsletter at wordsmith.org) reports on the travels, tribulations, and histories of more than 300 words, which makes for a semi-interesting squat, but you'll never be taking this book out on the town.
The Portland Mercury |
Courtney Ferguson |
11-08-2007 |
Nonfiction
Poet Rod Smith Finds the Logic in the Inexplicablenew
With Deed, published last month by the University of Iowa Press, Smith balances lyric depth and ridiculous humor.
Washington City Paper |
Amanda Hess |
11-08-2007 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
The Tell-Tale Feministnew
At 62, Brown is opinionated, outspoken, brash and passionate. She believes the difference between Democrats and Republicans is the difference between syphilis and gonorrhea (she's a Libertarian) and that the last Christian died on the cross.
Style Weekly |
Valley Haggard |
11-08-2007 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Jenna Bush, Compassionate Conservativenew
Any snide suspicions one may harbor about the author's ability or her intentions are quickly swept away upon opening the book. Ana's Story deserves high marks as a dramatic, absorbing and moving read for kids and adults alike.
INDY Week |
Sylvia Pfeiffenberger |
11-08-2007 |
Nonfiction
The Onion Gets Stale With 'Our Dumb World'new
Our Dumb World more closely resembles a reference book of tired stereotypes than a fresh atlas-platform for inventive lampoons.
Dig Boston |
Mark Polanzak |
11-07-2007 |
Nonfiction
Silja Talvi on What Prison is Really Like for Womennew
Women Behind Bars details some of the reasons behind the increase in women prisoners nationwide, and the problems it poses.
Willamette Week |
Matthew Korfhage |
11-07-2007 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
A Hefty Book Captures the Early 19th Centurynew
Daniel Walker Howe illuminates the portentous half-century before the Civil War, a time that seems at once alien to our modern sensibilities and yet strangely echoes our own technological, consumer-driven age.
Willamette Week |
Matt Buckingham |
11-07-2007 |
Nonfiction