AltWeeklies Wire
Nick Cave's New Novel is All Sex, Drugs and Hand Creamnew
When I interviewed Nick Cave for the Phoenix three years ago and he told me -- drolly, languidly, literarily -- that his next writing project was about "a sexually incontinent hand-cream salesman" on the south coast of England, I assumed he was taking the piss.
Boston Phoenix |
James Parker |
10-08-2009 |
Fiction
David P. Murphy Gives Advice for Soon-to-be-Zombies in 'Zombies for Zombies'new
A spoof of the ... for Dummies series, Zombies for Zombies: Advice and Etiquette for the Living Dead explains how to be a zombie (because, hey, you've got no choice) while retaining a semblance of style.
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
10-07-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Master Class Dismissed: Tad Friend Recounts the Fall of the American WASPnew
In reading Cheerful Money, part family memoir and part sociological inquiry, I understand that Wasps are an endangered species of American society. It seems fair to say that most people won't feel a sense of empathy for those who've done most of the excluding in U.S. history. Yet there is a tragic note to Friend's portrait.
New Haven Advocate |
John Stoehr |
10-06-2009 |
Nonfiction
'The Architecture of Community' Advocates a Return to More Conscientious Urban Developmentnew
Leon Krier contends that modernism, whatever its virtues in small scale, has been nothing but a disaster in larger scales -- a force that has managed to sterilize cities aesthetically, ruin years of expertise in building trades, and lead planners and developers to compose cities in unsustainable ways.
Baltimore City Paper |
Scott Carlson |
10-06-2009 |
Nonfiction
'The Wonder' Has a Dancer's Gracenew
The question of passion fuels Diana Evans' lushly imaginative second novel The Wonder.
The Georgia Straight |
Patty Jones |
10-05-2009 |
Fiction
Sherman Alexie, the Performernew
"Why would someone expect a writer of a book to be boring?" Alexie says. "I just try to be as interesting as my books are. And I would expect every writer to want that. And some don't. I have friends who hate performing."
Boulder Weekly |
David Accomazzo |
10-05-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Tags: War Dances, Sherman Alexie
Kennedy Memoir 'True Compass' Recaps the Life of a Dynasty's Last Lionnew
We've heard the word "epic" summoned so often to describe Ted Kennedy’s life, it's no surprise he starts his autobiography with a device out of Homer.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Chuck Twardy |
10-02-2009 |
Nonfiction
Jane Goodall on Her New Book, North Korea and Bible-Thumping Conservativesnew
The good news is, to break the doom-and-gloom cycle of cynicism, we have Dr. Jane Goodall whose optimistic new book, Hope for Animals and Their World details how a variety of endangered species have been rescued from the brink of extinction.
Boston Phoenix |
Lance Gould |
10-01-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
In a New Book, Ethan Gilsdorf Tracks His Global Quest to Visit the Holiest Nerd-World Sitesnew
A former teenage Dungeons & Dragons nerd, author Ethan Gilsdorf has rediscovered his past obsession and gone global, making pilgrimage to the planet's temples of dorkdom, from a visit to Tolkien's home in the UK to a jam with Boston wizard rockers Harry and the Potters.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
10-01-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
'A Paradise Built in Hell' Explores the Utopic Possibilities Glimpsed in Disasternew
Perhaps the primary virtue of Rebecca Solnit's clear-headed new book is that it does not simply swap one interpretation of disaster -- as anticonsumerist reckoning, for instance -- for another, such as Jerry Falwell-style damnation. Solnit is interested in how people act in the aftermath, for better and for worse.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Max Goldberg |
09-30-2009 |
Nonfiction
If You're Not a Diehard David Cross Fan, 'I Drink' Will Likely Disappointnew
There are a few brilliant moments ("A Free List of Quirks for Aspiring Independent Filmmakers," "Ask a Rabbi," "Heaven," "Things to Do When You Are Bored"), but I Drink for a Reason is kind of underwhelming.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Liz Spikol |
09-28-2009 |
Nonfiction
Road to Somewhere: David Byrne's Energizing 'Bicycle Diaries'new
The underlying message here is that while bicycling may be a political movement, it can also be liberating and fun at the same time. I'm hoping Byrne's book now heralds bicycling's offbeat entry into the American mainstream, just as his wacky persona hit the big time thanks to our parents' taste in pop music.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
09-25-2009 |
Nonfiction
Bookstores Fight Back With Instant Paperbacksnew
Battered booksellers have a secret weapon that they hope will continue to lure customers into their stores. Would you believe it's a machine that can print up a fresh new paperback copy from a menu of 3.6 million books?
Boston Phoenix |
Ethan Gilsdorf |
09-24-2009 |
Books
Literary Icon Margaret Atwood Discusses Imminent and Avoidable Apocalypsenew
For Atwood, the world of Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood isn't a wild flight of fancy, it's a future extrapolated directly from our present. While her books are not science fiction in the familiar sense they are undeniably fictions informed by science.
Fast Forward Weekly |
Brendan Harrison |
09-24-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Dan Brown's Latest Saga Thrills Until it Drops the Threadnew
The ending sucked. Sorry to be so abrupt, but I appreciate that this is a long review, and I appreciate that you might not finish it, and unlike some other book reviewers, I can't in good conscience discuss The Lost Symbol without bringing up the ending.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Rick Lax |
09-24-2009 |
Fiction
