Though Garth made his first appearance yesterday with his post about the Illustrated Pynchon, I’d like to formally welcome him aboard. I’ve known Garth for a long time – at least a dozen years, I think – and we’ve always talked about books, so I’m glad he decided to join us. He’ll have other reviews and dispatches up soon. Let the hazing commence.
Welcome Garth
Announcing The Millions Book Review Index
Over the years, Millions contributors and guests have penned many book reviews for the site. However, this wealth of content has long been buried in the archives.And so, in the spirit of starting off the new year on the right foot, we've created The Millions Book Review Index, which lists every review, squib, appreciation, and consideration we've ever run here alphabetically by author. As we add new reviews to the site, they will appear in the index as well, so we encourage you to bookmark the page for easy access. We hope you find the index useful. Stay tuned for another great year at The Millions.
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An Improvement
You may have noticed that a few days ago I added another newsfeed to the sidebar. This one provides book headlines from the Christian Science Monitor. I'm pretty excited about this because the Monitor happens to be one of my favorite newspapers. The paper's interesting history sets it apart from most dailies. Despite its name, the Monitor is not a religious paper. It was founded by Mary Baker Eddy, a devotee of the Christian Science religion, in 1908, but it was not meant to be a religious organ. Eddy was a prominent Boston citizen, and she had been getting a lot of grief from Joseph Pulitzer and his newspaper the New York World. She created the paper because she was convinced that newspapers should do more than attack people. She wanted her paper "to injure no man, but to bless all mankind." The result is consistently excellent journalism with a great international focus and a deeper insight into the news than most daily papers provide. Have a look at the paper here.Tomorrow is one of the biggest literary days of the year: the announcement of the winner of this year's Nobel Prize for Literature. Speculation abounds.
More Millions on the Air: Solid as a Rock
It was my pleasure to do a half-hour interview with Dorian on WFMU-FM's "The Speakeasy" last night. Our talk ranged from A Field Guide to the North American Family to Julio Cortazar to print vs. online to James Wood (natch). Check it out at www.wfmu.org/playlists/SE, where you'll also find interviews with Lawrence Wright and Charles D'Ambrosio, among others. (Segment starts at 27:00, following...that's right...Ashford & Simpson!)
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The Welcome Wagon
The Millions just got a little bit bigger. Longtime readers will recall the occasional post from Edan Lepucki over the years. She worked with me at the bookstore in L.A., so we've been talking about books since way back. I've always enjoyed her thoughts on books and I think the unique sensibility she brings to teaching, writing and reading will make the site even better. Here's her bio (and her first official post will be up shortly.)Edan Lepucki is a fiction writer and instructor living in Los Angeles. She has an M.F.A. from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, and her stories have been published in Meridian, the Los Angeles Times' West Magazine, and CutBank. She likes cheese, dogs, and sleeping in.
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Introducing ‘The Staff Recommends’
The Millions is excited to be a founding member of a new ad venture called The Staff Recommends, John Warner and Andrew Womack, both of whom are associated with The Morning News and its wonderful Tournament of Books are behind the effort. The Staff Recommends is unique in that it only features books that "pass muster" with Warner, the venture's editor and ombudsman. The first selection can be seen at the end of our "Recent Articles" section on The Millions front page and also in the sidebar on article pages. Enjoy!
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Tonight on 4th Avenue
Tonight's installment of the Pacific Standard Fiction Series here in Brooklyn features Benjamin Kunkel, author of Indecision and Rivka Galchen, author of Atmospheric Disturbances. Books will be for sale on-site, and drink specials will be chosen by dartboard. The reading starts at 7 p.m. at Pacific Standard. Hope to see you there!
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We Appreciate Your Support
Thanks to all The Millions readers who have supported the site over the last several months. If you are heading back to school now, check out our Support page to see how you can support the site without taking any extra dollars from your pockets. Advertisers: We have been seeing some great ads on the site of late. Check out the Blog Ads Book Hive to advertise on The Millions and other great literary sites.
The Millions Relaunched
You may have noticed that I spent the long weekend (which for me is one day longer thanks to the national day of mourning for President Ford) updating the look of the site. I hope it's easy on the eyes. However, if you can't find something you're looking for, or if I've inadvertently broken something, please let me know.In addition to the superficial changes, I've also adjusted the site to allow for our contributors - there will soon be six of them - to post directly to the blog, which, I'm hoping, will up the level of discourse even further. So, all in all, 2007 should be a good year for The Millions. Thanks for reading and Happy New Year.
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