'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
Out in the Cold Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:36:06 -0000 In John le Carré’s latest novel, a young fugitive, half Chechen, half Russian, shows up in the German port city of Hamburg in the aftermath of 9/11.
Crucibles Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:26:00 -0000 The Inquisition, the Salem trials, the Red Scare: a survey of witch hunts over the past two millenniums.
Twisted Sisters Sat, 11 Oct 2008 03:26:05 -0000 Julia Glass’s new novel focuses on the complicated emotions — love, hate, envy, grief — that form between female siblings.
Fiction & Poetry
Yiyun Li: "Gold Boy, Emerald Girl" Yiyun Li Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0000 He was raised by his mother alone, as she was by her father. She wondered if his mother, who had set up their date, had told him about that.
Siyu was thirty-eight, and the man, Hanfeng, was forty-four. Siyu’s father, after supporting her through college, had remarried, choosing . . . Spencer Reece: "Eclogue" Spencer Reece Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0000 In Juno Beach, on Pelican Lake,
Joseph Saul ate potato chips off a paper plate
and fed the broken bits to a duck.
He was accompanied by Laurie McGraw,
whom he met at the Alzheimer’s Support Group--
she had been a caregiver, he had a diagnosis,
and together their eyes . . . Albert Goldbarth: "The Way" Albert Goldbarth Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0000 The sky is random. Even calling it “sky”
is an attempt to make a meaning, say,
a shape, from the humanly visible part
of shapelessness in endlessness. It’s what
we do, in some ways it’s entirely what
we do--and so the devastating rose
of a galaxy’s being born, the . . .
London Review of Books
Don't Ask Henry · Alan Hollinghurst: Sissiness The story of Belchamber's publication is probably better known than the book itself, which, like its author, has suffered the ambiguous fate of becoming an accessory to the life of a more important writer. It is his friend Henry James who keeps Sturgis's novel distantly in view, at the same time as casting a long shadow over it. James read it in proof, and wrote a characteristic sequence of letters to Sturgis about it, beginning with neat praise and mild demurrals, but quickly building up to such fundamental criticisms of the book that the demoralised author said he would withdraw it altogether; at which James protested and pleaded, successfully though not with any retraction of the criticisms he had made. Cut, Kill, Dig, Drill · Jonathan Raban: Sarah Palin's Cunning Sarah Palin has put a new face and voice to the long-standing, powerful, but inchoate movement in US political life that one might see as a mutant strain of Poujadism, inflected with a modern American accent. There are echoes of the Poujadist agenda of 1950s France in its contempt for metropolitan elites, fuelling the resentment of the provinces towards the capital and the countryside towards the city, in its xenophobic strain of nationalism, sturdy, paysan resistance to taxation, hostility to big business, and conviction that politicians are out to exploit the common man. Why Not Eat an Eclair? · David Runciman: Why Vote? Why would anyone vote for Barack Obama? Not why would anyone want to see Obama elected president rather than John McCain (or Hillary Clinton for that matter), but why would anyone who desired that outcome think that his or her individual vote could make the slightest difference in helping to bring it about? General elections are never decided by a single vote, so no one's vote is ever going to be missed. If you want Obama to win, and plan to vote for him, but you forget, or find yourself otherwise detained, don't worry - the final result will be unaffected by your failure to show up, even if you happen to live in a swing state like Ohio or Florida. If Obama is winning the state, he will do perfectly well without you; if he is losing, there is nothing you can do to help him get over the line, because the winning line will always be further away than your paltry individual vote. Either way, you are not needed, so why bother to vote at all?
Books | guardian.co.uk
Review: Accordionist's Son by Bernardo Atxaga Alfred Hickling Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:14:24 -0000 Review: Accordionist's Son by Bernardo AtxagaThe writerly accretions merely have the effect of turning the narrative into a lethargic crawl says Alfred Hickling Review: Shakespeare, The Sonnets by William Shakepeare Sue Arnold Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:14:24 -0000 Audiobook review: Shakespeare, The Sonnets by William ShakespeareExtraordinary reading of my all-time favourite collection Review: Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti Sue Arnold Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:14:23 -0000 Audiobook review: Goblin Market by Christina RossettiI've never heard anyone put as much erotic menace into Rossetti's magical and deeply disturbing epic
NPR Topics: Books
A Furious Voice, Forged In The 'Fire' Of Prejudice Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:03:00 -0400 Jamaican-American novelist Michelle Cliff's essays — urgent, stripped of lyrical excess, discomfiting but illuminating — bear witness to a rough life that has shaped a radical, powerful and essential artist. Photographer Captures MLK's 'Most Daring Dream' Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:39:00 -0400 Photographer Robert Houston chronicled Martin Luther King's 1968 Poor People's Campaign. Now his images can be seen in the exhibit, "Most Daring Dream," at Morgan State University. For more, Farai Chideya talks with Aaron Bryant, curator of Houston's exhibition. French Novelist Awarded Nobel Literature Prize Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:08:00 -0400 French novelist Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio has been awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize for literature. Antoine Compagnon, a professor of French Literature at Columbia University, says there are two periods in Le Clezio's work: it was more experimental in the 1960s and '70s, and later it featured traveling and exoticism.
Slashdot: Book Reviews
Nagios 3 Enterprise Network Monitoring samzenpus Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:15:00 -0000 jgoguen writes "Nagios, originally known as Netsaint, has been a long-time favourite for network and device monitoring due to its flexibility, ease of use, and efficiency. Nagios provided, and still provides today, a low-cost, versatile alternative to commercial network monitoring applications. Nagios 3 takes a huge step forward compared to Nagios 2, providing improved flexibility, ease of use and extensibility, all while also making significant performance enhancements. Due to its extensibility and ease of use, no device or situation has yet been found that cannot be monitored using Nagios and a pre-made or custom script, plug-in or enhancement." Read on for the rest of jgoguen's review.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
OpenGL ES 2.0 Programming Guide samzenpus Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:05:00 -0000 Martin Ecker writes "Mobile phones and other embedded devices are getting more and more powerful each year. The availability of dedicated hardware for 3D rendering is becoming increasingly ubiquitous, and the latest mobile phones come with 3D hardware acceleration that rivals the power of desktop graphics hardware. OpenGL ES 2.0 is the latest version of a cross-platform, low-level graphics API to utilize these new resources available in embedded devices. The OpenGL ES 2.0 Programming Guide published by Addison-Wesley Publishing aims to help the reader make use of the full power of OpenGL ES 2.0 to create interesting 3D applications." Keep reading for the rest of Martin's review.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Advanced Excel for Scientific Data Analysis samzenpus Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:02:00 -0000 cgjherr writes "If the recent financial meltdown has left you wondering, 'When does exponential decay function stop?' then I have the book for you. Advanced Excel for Scientific Data Analysis is the kind of book that only comes along every twenty years. A tome so densely packed with scientific and mathematical formulas that it almost dares you to try and understand it all. A "For Dummies" book starts with a gentle introduction to the technology. This is more like a "for Mentats" book. It assumes that you know Excel very well. The first chapter alone will have you in awe as you see the author turn the lowly Excel into something that rivals Mathematica using VBA, brains, and a heaping helping of fortitude." Read on for the rest of Jack's review.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Books
‘The biggest selling writer in English you’ve never heard of’ At least that's how the Guardian begins today's piece on Chetan Bhagat.
The Guns of August I am now reading The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman. It’s a “you are there” page turner. The female narrator is superb. I’d fight under her command any day.
‘The Forever War’ Dexter Filkins, war correspondent for The New York Times, fittingly begins his wonderfully written and carefully researched debut book, The Forever War, in the middle of a nightmarish battle in Fallujah, Iraq.
Boon - Australia - To be the first choice for all in search of romance.
About.com- Romance Fiction - Providing an library of information on the current romance writers, as well as reviews of their works fiction.
Meta Description: [ Book reviews of newly released literature. We review recently released books in a variety of genres. Contemporary Literature book reviews, historical fiction book reviews, science fiction and fantasy book reviews, and young adult literature book reviews. We review nonfiction as well: biography... ]
All About Romance - Reviews, news, features, romance author interviews, and reader forums.
Meta Description: [ All About Romance - about romance novels, with romance novel reviews, romance news, romance features, romance author interviews, all by romance readers and romance writers, read, learn, and interact with readers, authors, and writers about romance novels, romantic fiction, and/or romance fiction ]
Bella Online Romance Books - Find weekly romance reviews, author interviews, and regular discussions with other romance readers and writers. Check out huge links section to related sites.
Meta Description: [ Weekly articles for readers and writers of romance novels, with book reviews, author interviews, book lists and lots more! ]
CataRomance - CataRomance is the leading website for romance writers and readers. There is a wealth of information on current releases and authors as well as current writing information supplied through chats, articles, columns, forum discussions, and workshops.
Chapter-A-Day OnLine Romance Book Club - Rediscover the joy of reading with the Chapter-A-Day Online Book Club, a free service that delivers selections from best selling books to you every day (Monday-Friday) by e-mail.
Chick Lit USA - Your link to Britain's best-selling modern romance fiction, affectionately known as Chick Lit.
ChickLit.co.uk. - The site contains book reviews, author interviews, competitions, fashion and beauty articles and lifestyle features.
Meta Description: [ www.ChickLit.co.uk - the home of UK chick lit books - Articles - All Categories ]
Chicklitbooks - Novels that usually feature women dealing with every day issues, such as: dating and relationship, careers and financial situations, child-rearing and pregnancy, and friendship issues. A website with the latest and greatest chick lit book information, reviews, recommendations, forums and more.
Meta Description: [ Our website has the most complete, latest and greatest chick lit information available on the internet. We have chick lit reviews, forums, information, author interviews, contests, polls, discussions, and much, much more. We take our chick lit seriously! ]
Custom Novel Creations - Custom Written Novels of Romance and Erotic Fantasy offers our visitors the opportunity to order a written work of art to their specifications. Simply put, we create short Romantic and Erotic novels that are used as gifts.
Meta Description: [ Custom Romance Creations creates personal love stories that are unique and specific to the client requirements and used as unique gifts or a romantic personal love adventure ]
Elizabeth's Romance Library - For readers and writers of romance novels. Links to authors, industry, and research sites.
Essence of Romance - Comprehensive searchable romance book database service with detailed information on romance novels released in the past century - updated daily. Features include custom booklist creation and checklist printing.
Meta Description: [ Online Romance Booklist and Checklist Service for Romance Books ]
FictionDB: Romance - Database consisting of over 9000 authors and pseudonyms, 50,000 titles, reviews, cover images, and monthly new releases. Additional features available with subscription.
Meta Description: [ The Essential Fiction Reference. FictionDB has over 20,000 author listings and over 90,000 titles in romance, mystery, suspense and westerns. Search the extensive book database, track your collection, buy and sell. ]
Gabrielle Luthy - Information on aspiring romance writer with information on romance writing and links.
Meta Description: [ Gabrielle Luthy, romance writer, information for writers, resources for writers, links for writers, hundreds of articles for writers, paris, france>
Laurie Likes Books Blog - Laurie Likes Books: A combination of behind-the-scenes agonies running All About Romance, my take on pop culture, and my personal reading experiences.
Leisure Readers Book Club - Mystery,crime and romance novels. All the latest book releases. Online catalogue and book ordering.
Meta Description: [ Fireworks Splice HTML, Mystery,crime and romance novels. All the latest book releases. Online catalogue and book ordering ]
Make My Romance Site | Web Design Services - Offering affordable and customized web sites and promotional materials for romance authors and romance organizations.
Meta Description: [ Customized web sites and promotional materials for romance authors and romance organizations. ]
Meet Me At The Bordella - Website for fans of romance. A brief look at stories being put together for a series of romance novels. Submit one of your own.
ReadersAnonymous.com - General information, romance directory, and writing resources.
Meta Description: [ Reader's Anonymous - Links to romance authors pages and writer's resources ]
Romance and Friends - Interviews, links, reviews and a message board.
Meta Description: [ Romance Communities, Author websites ]
Romance Author Roundtable - A website dedicated to book lovers and writers who want to learn more about authors than what they read on the back flaps of books. Author interviews and discussions, trivia and fast facts can all be found here as well as upcoming releases.
Meta Description: [ A website dedicated to book lovers and writers who want to learn more about authors than what they read on the back flaps of books. Author interviews and discussions, trivia and fast facts can all be found here as well as upcoming releases.>
Romance Designs - A full service web design and development company specialising in services for the romance publishing industry.
Meta Description: [ Romance Designs is a broad-scale, full service web design and development company specializing in services for individuals in the romance publising industry. ]
Romance Junkies - Book reviews, author biographies, calendar of events, free postcards, and victorian calling cards.
Meta Description: [ Romance Junkies, Leanne Banks, Sandra Brown, Rachel Lee,John Jaffe, Warner Forever books, romance writers, romance readers, romance resource, authors, Book reviews, Author Bios, Calendar of events, free postcards, victorian calling cards, contemporary, suspense, mystery, hosting, webdesign ]
Romance Notes - Top Ten Romance Books list and reviews, plus love poems and more from this site dedicated to romance.
Meta Description: [ Romance in all its forms: books, novels, love poems, movies, weekend getaways, e-cards, gifts, horoscopes, and dining. ]
Romance Novels at BellaOnline - For readers and writers of romance novels, with weekly articles, book reviews and even author interviews, as well as a forum for reader discussion.
Meta Description: [ Weekly articles for readers and writers of romance novels, with book reviews, author interviews, book lists and lots more! ]
Romance Novels.Com - A site promoting upcoming romance enovels and authors. It offers a brief review and abstract on the work of the featured author.
Meta Description: [ Romance Novels featuring Luxe Addict by artist Raymond Marsh his new romantic fiction book, Luxe Addict. A romance novel that is actually free to download. ]
Romance Report - Read all about what's happening in the world of Romance. Author News, author sponsored contests and giveaways.
Sequels and Prequels for Romance Novels - Project by readers for readers, to provides a simple yet concise listing of sequels and prequels. Includes alphabetized lists in the categories of single titles, romance, and publisher series, and submission guidelines.
Meta Description: [ Home page for romance novel sequels, Home page for romance novel sequels ]
Sheikhs and Desert Love: - A Database of Romance Novels featuring a Sheikh romance.
Meta Description: [ Database of romance novels featuring a Sheikh ]
Slake - Provides quotes, reviews, and information on books and authors. Also provides a search of over 6500 novels and 1600 authors.
Meta Description: [ SLAKE - The site for obsessed Romance Novel Readers who need more quotes, reviews, and information on their favorite books and authors. Search The Archive of over 8080 novels and 2168 authors. ]
Slice of Romance - Online Bookstore for romance genre fiction. Webring home promoting romance sites.
Meta Description: [ Romance fiction and home of Slice of Romance Webring ]
Subversion: Celebrating Women's Fiction - Interactive community and online magazine for readers of romance novels.
Meta Description: [ Celebrating Women's Fiction. Subversion is an interactive community and online magazine for readers of romance novels. ]
The Literary Times - News,information, and reviews for readers and writers of women's romance fiction. We also have many promotional outlets for authors.
Meta Description: [ Information for readers and writers of womens romance novels and romantic fiction. We also have many promotional outlets including web site design and hosting for romance authors and other womens fiction writers. ]
The Passionate Pen - This site is dedicated to romance and the romance industry. Here you will find book reviews, agent information, and publishing resources in an easy to access format.
Meta Description: [ The Passionate Pen is a resource for romance authors. It offers a list of publishing resources, agent information, resources for writers and information about webmaster and aspiring romance author, Jesse Petersen. ]
The Road to Romance - For readers and writers of romantic fiction. Features reviews, new authors, new releases, and author links.
The Romance Club Home - A site for romance readers and writers.
Meta Description: [ The Romance Club featuring New York Times Bestselling authors, book excerpts, help for writers and new authors, website creation and design, website hosting for authors, book promotion, bulletin boards, newsletter, contests and more for readers and authors. ]
The Romance Reader - The latest reviews and news of romance novels plus features, columns, romance author interviews, reader commentary, and reader feedback.
Meta Description: [ The Romance Reader, the latest reviews and news of romance novels. The Romance Reader also has features, columns, romance author interviews, reader commentary, reader feedback, and more. ]
The Romance Studio - A community site for fans of romantic fiction - readers, authors, agents, publishers, book sellers, cover models and other industry professionals.
Meta Description: [ A community site for fans of romantic fiction and romance novels - readers, authors, publishers, and more. Books. Love. Romance. ]
The Rose Book Co - Rosemary Kramer shows you the How to pages showing the way to successful self-publishing a romantic novel at a low cost.
Meta Description: [ The 'How to' homepage of The Rose Book Co, the way to successful self-publishing with a professional format at a low cost, romantic novel, author, Rosemary Kramer, international, France, women's fiction, contemporary ]
The WindLegends saga - Homepage of multi-published dark fantasy author Charlotte Boyett-Compo
500Time Warner Bookmark/Romance Books - Genres ranging from paranormal to regency and bestselling author and reader favorites from Dorothy Garlock to Katherine Stone, with first chapter excerpts.
We Really Dig Romance Novels - From contemporary to historical from paranormal to time travel, cover art, synopsis, links to authors and related issues
Meta Description: [ From contemporary to historical from paranormal to time travel, cover art, synopsis, links to authors/artists/models, and more romance related issues . . . ]
Writerspace - Websites for writers. Communities for readers. Chat rooms, bulletin boards, readers calendar, and popular romance fiction writers' sites.
Meta Description: [ Writerspace.com specializes in website design and hosting for romance writers, as well as bulletin boards, chat rooms, net events, workshops and resources for romance authors ]
Young Adult Romance Writers - Provides promotional spotlight for new books, and information on joining the Romance Designs Community Newsletter.
Meta Description: [ Young Adult Romance Writers is a web site where readers and writers of the young adult romance genre can come together to discuss spotlighted books, authors, and book characters and plots. ]
