AltWeeklies Wire
New Novel Situates a Worst-Case Scenario in Western North Carolinanew
In his new novel, One Second After, Bill Forstchen paints a distinctly local picture of post-electric life. A history professor who's penned 40-some books, he imagines the end of the world as we know it, telling a tale of what he thinks it would be like in Western North Carolina.
Mountain Xpress |
Jon Elliston |
07-10-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Parting the Curtain: 'Devil's Sanctuary' Tells the Story of Mississippi's Racismnew
Magnolia State residents "have a long history of being against whatever the rest of the nation is for," the authors write in Devil’s Sanctuary: an Eyewitness History of Mississippi Hate Crimes. Their self-evident truths did not include equality—not for the slaves imported into the state and not for the Native Americans exported out.
Jackson Free Press |
Ronni Mott |
07-09-2009 |
Nonfiction
Introducing Sir John Hargrave, Professional Pranksternew
Sir John Hargrave is no nobleman. He's a lifelong mischief maker who legally changed his name to punk the entire British royal family — and in the process got himself barred from the Queen's digs.
Boston Phoenix |
Ian Sands |
07-09-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
The More Tom Waits Creates 'Tom Waits,' the Less Anyone Knows About Himnew
Outside of his showman's persona, Waits is intensely private, banking perhaps on the presumption that his fans possess a happy lack of curiosity about what fuels his greatness. Barney Hoskyns confirmed this trait the hard way while working on Lowside of the Road.
Baltimore City Paper |
Van Smith |
07-07-2009 |
Nonfiction
Jason Rapczynski Writes a Novel in Three Days -- and Gets it Publishednew
For 31 years, the 3-Day Novel Contest has provided an outlet for any writer, would-be or otherwise, to pound the keys and get it done. Bonus: The contest winner works with an editor and gets the novel published by 3-Day Books, which organizes the contest.
New Haven Advocate |
David Riedel |
07-07-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Giving Good Gimmick: Granta at 30new
To sustain a good literary magazine over decades it pays to have a gimmick. Thirty-year-old Granta's secret to success: themes, like this issue's "New Fiction Special."
Boston Phoenix |
William Corbett |
06-30-2009 |
Fiction
'Appetite for Self-Destruction' Looks at the Collapse of the Record Industrynew
If you take one jewel of wisdom away from this book, it is this: The reason many crappy musicians have gotten the limelight, the reason most people turned off their radios and stopped watching the Grammys and instead started downloading music from the internet, is money.
Jackson Free Press |
Andi Agnew |
06-26-2009 |
Nonfiction
Aerosmith's Joey Kramer Lets Loosenew
The drummer steps out from behind the kit to talk about his new book, Hit Hard.
Boston Phoenix |
The Sandbox |
06-24-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
In Federal Prison, Quentin Carter Wrote Best-Selling Novelsnew
While serving time for a drug offense, Quentin Carter made a name for himself as a best-selling author of street lit.
The Pitch |
Peter Rugg |
06-23-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
This Summer, Read What You Need When the Time is Rightnew
Summer's supposed to be about slowing down, finding some shade and getting lost in the plot of a really good book -- or a deliciously bad one.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Staff |
06-16-2009 |
Books
Tags: book guides, summer reading
Elijah Wald Explains How the Uncool Music of Yesteryear Shapes Today's Tunesnew
No one makes music in a vacuum, completely detached from the pop mainstream and his or her potential audience. Wald argues that nobody should be trying to, since how many people music appeals to in its own time is at least as important as how many rock writers it appeals to in 30 years.
Chicago Reader |
Miles Raymer |
06-15-2009 |
Nonfiction
The Sedarisland Diariesnew
Having conquered the writing world by becoming its outsider-humorist-in-chief -- building a name and an identity around his sense of personal alienation -- the only place David Sedaris seems to feel at home is on the road.
The Inlander |
Luke Baumgarten |
06-11-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Tags: David Sedaris, memoirs
The Best in Summer Readingnew
Hot town, summer in the city ... or in the country ... or at the beach. Wherever you are, don't forget your books. Here's the latest from Thomas Pynchon, a restored edition of Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast, and much, much more.
Boston Phoenix |
Barbara Hoffert |
06-10-2009 |
Books
'Columbine' Seeks to Explain the Inexplicablenew
Columbine is a marvel of structure, empathy, and insight, flickering between the run-up to that horrible day in Littleton and its complex, agonizing aftermath.
The Georgia Straight |
Brian Lynch |
06-08-2009 |
Nonfiction
New Barthelme Biography Casts Light on a 'Hiding Man'new
Tracy Daugherty has dug deeply into the work and life of Donald Barthelme, and returned from his excavations with bright nuggets of insight into just how precisely Barthelme's life does illuminate his art.
The Texas Observer |
David Theis |
06-03-2009 |
Nonfiction
