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L.A. Times - Books & Talks
'The Second Plane' by Martin Amis Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 September 11: Terror and Boredom
IT would be too easy to read Martin Amis' slim book on Sept. 11 in a day and to dismiss it with a politically correct glare. The dozen essays, columns and reviews and two short stories in "The Second Plane: September 11, Terror and Boredom" are more illuminating than that, though deeply, sometimes self-indulgently flawed.
'The House of Widows' by Askold Melnyczuk Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Family secrets lie at the end of a dark and twisted path
FROM its puzzling opening line ("The most common grammatical error is the lie"), there's an ominous vibe to Askold Melnyczuk's third novel, "The House of Widows," and the sense of unease lingers until the final sentence. It's a mysterious, masterfully taut story in which dread plays a prominent role.
'Marco Polo' by Laurence Bergreen Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700 An account of the adventures of the celebrated 13th century world traveler.
MARCO POLO was only 17 when he departed for China in 1271 with his father, Niccolò, and his uncle, Maffeo. Those two merchants of Venice were known to the boy primarily as storytellers of their fabulous exploits, writes award-winning biographer and historian Laurence Bergreen, for they had been absent more than 16 years, Marco's entire childhood. The pair had followed trade routes east, encountered exotic countries and customs and survived many perils; they had even lived for a time at the court of Kublai Khan, the leader of the Mongol Empire. Eventually they agreed to accompany his emissary west to the pope, vowing to return to Cambulac (Beijing) with several items the Great Khan had requested.
NYT > Books
Holiday Gift Guide: Unforgettable Books for Those You Remember By JANET MASLIN Fri, 27 Nov 2009 01:47:13 -0000 The New York Times’s book critics share their favorites from the last year.
Books of The Times: Limelight Lives, Burned by Booze By JANET MASLIN Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:46:51 -0000 A rowdy collection of riotous tales about four of the British Isles’ most stylish drunken actors: Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Peter O’Toole and Oliver Reed.
From Footnote to Fame in Civil Rights History By BROOKS BARNES Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:09:28 -0000 Claudette Colvin, who resisted unfair treatment on an Alabama bus nine months before Rosa Parks, lived an unheralded life until a recent book highlighted her story.
Fiction & Poetry
Sarah Arvio: "Wood" Sarah Arvio Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:00:00 -0000 The last thing I ever wanted was to
write again about grief did you think I
would your grief this time not mine oh good
grief enough is enough in my life that is
enough was enough I had all those
grievances all those griefs all engraved
into the wood . . . Philip Schultz: "The Big Sleep" Philip Schultz Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:00:00 -0000 The only thing that consoles us for our miseries isdiversion, and yet it is the greatest of our miseries.—Pascal.
On Turner Classic Movies Philip Marlowe
is grimacing at the slinky beauty
of the woman who will become
the wife of the actor playing him.
The man playing me . . . Don DeLillo: "Midnight in Dostoevsky" Don DeLillo Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:00:00 -0000 We were two sombre boys hunched in our coats, grim winter settling in. The college was at the edge of a small town way upstate, barely a town, maybe a hamlet, we said, or just a whistle stop, and we took walks all the time, getting out, going nowhere, low . . .
Books news, reviews and author interviews | guardian.co.uk
WTC Provides Back Story For Colum McCann's 'Spin' Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:30:00 -0500 McCann's novel, Let the Great World Spin, won the National Book Award. He tells Steve Inskeep that his book — set in New York on the day a man walked on a tight-rope between the towers of the World Trade Center — is an attempt to reconstruct an event to find moments of grace and understanding in history. A Cape Cod Connection In 'The Outermost House' Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:09:00 -0500 When she needs inspiration for writing about the natural world, author Lucinda Fleeson opens Henry Beston's 1929 classic: The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod. Author Knows What Goes On 'Inside Of A Dog' Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:16:00 -0500 Where a typical dog lover sees puppies at play, cognitive scientist Alexandra Horowitz sees a complex dance between canines. Horowitz clears up common misconceptions about our four-legged friends in her book, Inside Of A Dog.
Slashdot: Book Reviews
Magento Beginner's Guide samzenpus Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:10:00 -0000 Michael J. Ross writes "The shopping cart systems that power online stores have evolved from simple homebrew solutions in the CGI era to far more powerful open source packages, such as osCommerce. But even the later systems are frequently criticized as suffering from poorly-written code and inadequate documentation — as well as for being difficult to install and administer, and nearly impossible to enhance with new functionality and improved site styling, at least without hiring outside help. These problems alone would explain the rapidly growing interest in the latest generation of shopping cart systems, such as Magento, purported to be outpacing all others in adoption. In turn, technical publishers are making available books to help developers and site owners get started with this e-commerce alternative, such as Magento: Beginner's Guide, written by William Rice." Read on for the rest of Michael's review.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Writing For Video Game Genres samzenpus Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:05:00 -0000 Aeonite writes "The third book in a pseudo-trilogy, Writing for Video Game Genres: From FPS to RPG, offers advice from 21 experts in the field of video game writing, pulled from the ranks of the IGDA's Game Writers Special Interest Group and wrangled together by editor Wendy Despain. It follows in the footsteps of Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing and Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames, and in keeping with the trend, offers the most specific, targeted advice for how to write for an assortment of game genres." Read below for the rest of Michael's review.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Drupal 6 Social Networking samzenpus Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:10:00 -0000 dag writes "Drupal 6 Social Networking is an interesting book about how to build social networks and why Drupal is a good choice as a platform for building communities. Even if you don't have any Drupal experience yet, this book explains what is needed when you start from scratch and looks at the different facets of a social network." Keep reading for the rest of Dag's review.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Books
Little Women I am reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I have never read a classic. This is one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read.
Talking About Detective Fiction If you were going to write a mystery, where would you start? The body? The murder weapon? The detective? P.D. James starts with the setting.
“My own detective novels, with rare exceptions, have been inspired by the place rather than by a method of murder or a character;...” she writes in ...
Classic review: Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant [This review from the Monitor's archives originally ran on July 9, 1982.] Despite the pervading gloom of Anne Tyler's ninth novel, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant is a joy to read in much the same way that any beautifully written tragedy is not just for entertainment, but for enlightenment, ...
A Celebration of Women Writers - Comprehensive listing of links to biographical and bibliographical information about women writers, and complete published books written by women. Searchable by time period, country, and author's last name.
A Collection of Classics - Lets users explore the meaning of a classic, introduces users to the authors who have written classics, gets users on the path to making their own classics.
Meta Description: [ ThinkQuest is an international competition where student teams engage in collaborative, project-based learning to create educational websites. The winning entries form the ThinkQuest online library. ]
Booklist - The digital counterpart of the American Library Association's Booklist magazine. Reviews of the latest books and (more recently) electronic media.
BookSpot - Features book reviews and news, reading lists, and author and publisher information.
Meta Description: [ Find the best book reviews, book awards, online texts, reading lists, author and publisher information, book stores, book news, book events and more at BookSpot.com. ]
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable - Bartleby.com's publication of Brewer's classic. Includes derivation, source, or origin of common phrases, allusions, and words.
Meta Description: [ Brewer, E. Cobham. 1898. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ]
Electronic Literature Directory - A comprehensive database of listings for electronic works, their authors, and their publishers. The descriptive entries cover poetry, fiction, drama, and nonfiction that makes significant use of electronic techniques.
Meta Description: [ A showcase and resource for hypertext and cybertext poetry and fiction. ]
Invisible Library - A collection of imaginary authors and titles mentioned within real books.
Meta Description: [ The Invisible Library is a collection of books that only appear in other books.
Within the library walls you will find imaginary books, pseudobiblia, artifictions, fabled tomes, libris phantastica,
and all manner of books unwritten, unread, unpublished, and unfound. ]
SparkNotes.com - Study guides and discussion forums offered on various academic subjects. Literature section includes brief analyses of characters, themes and plots.
SwissEduc - Reading list for university study, with synopses, background and selected texts for works covered.
Meta Description: [ The Reading List contains information on the authors and on their books suitable for class reading. ]
The Electronic Labyrinth - Both utilizes and focuses upon the medium of hypertext as it relates to literature and its concrete manifestations--from palimpsests to mechanically printed books to CD-ROMs -- throughout history to the present, with speculation on the future.
Meta Description: [ The Electronic Labyrinth is a study of the implications of hypertext for creative writers looking to move beyond traditional notions of linearity. ]
The Libyrinth - Site focuses on 20th century contemporary literature and author resources available online.
London Review of Books - Literary review publishing essay-length book reviews and topical articles on
politics, literature, history, philosophy, science and the arts by leading
writers and thinkers
