Recommended reading: Adele Waldman defends the purpose and form of the novel and balances David Shield‘s Reality Hunger against Anna Karenina.
Defense Against Detractors
Gonzo Film Crit at Gizmodo
At Gizmodo, the art of the Comcast movie summary. (My favorite is The Seventh Sign, though I Know Who Killed Me --an unforgettable piece of so-bad-its-good filmmaking--runs a close second.)
●
●
Sometimes You Feel
Can’t wait for Haruki Murakami’s new novel? You’re in luck: Slate just published an exclusive excerpt from the book. Sample quote: “No matter how quiet and conformist a person’s life seems, there’s always a time in the past when they reached an impasse. A time when they went a little crazy. I guess people need that sort of stage in their lives.” (You could also read Ben Dooley’s review of 1Q84.)
●
●
Miranda July Steals
"I discovered that stealing required a loose, casual energy," writes Miranda July. "A sort of oneness with the environment, like surfing or horse-whispering."
●
●
Becoming a Better Writer by… Not Writing?
Julia Fierro is a writer we've featured before, and her first novel Cutting Teeth was published last month. But as she explains in a new piece, there was a stretch of time when she didn't write at all. "I was so cruel to myself, so impatient, beating myself up daily for not writing," she says. "It took seven years worth of teaching... before I returned to writing with solid commitment. And when I did sit down in front of my computer, I was a better writer."
●
●
Masters Review: Fall Fiction Contest
The Masters Review has announced Ann and Jeff VanderMeer as the judges for this year’s Fall Fiction Contest. The winning story will receive a $2,000 cash prize as well as publication in the magazine. Go submit, then read Josh Rolnick’s essay for The Millions on ten things he's learned in over a decade of sending out stories.
●
●
Addressing the Spider
Recommended Reading: J. M. Tyree’s new story at Guernica. “There’s a man on the bus sitting directly in front of you. He has a small brown spider crawling across his red shirt, near his left shoulder blade.” You could also watch our episode of The Book Report on Our Secret Life in the Movies by Tyree and Michael McGriff.
●
●
By the Horns
Chances are that Hemingway is the only writer who comes to mind when you think of Spanish bullfighting. Well, clear some space in your mental sphere, because A.L. Kennedy wrote another entry in the bullfighting canon. On the Ploughshares blog, Miles Wray takes a look at Kennedy’s 2001 On Bullfighting.
●
●
Book Business Savvy
The bookstore business is supposed to be dying, but Ann Patchett begs to differ. She discussed her independent shop, Parnassus Books, and the future of bookstores for The Daily Beast's "How I Write" series. "I can’t remember the last time I was in a bad bookstore. The future of independent bookstores is strong. We need to be small. The day of the 30,000 square foot bookstore is over, but the day of the 3000 square foot bookstore has arrived." Patchett was also interviewed for The New York Times "By the Book" series, where she said Charlotte's Web had such an impact on her as a kid that she got a pet pig and became a vegetarian.