It's no secret that many of the world's most famous authors were drinkers with a writing problem. Authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker, James Joyce and O. Henry were all celebrated scribes who were helped, and more often hindered, by the bottle. And while alcoholism is no joke, I find no fault occasionally indulging in a tipple or two.

So that got me wondering: Which author would I most like to go drinking with? Ernest Hemingway would have amazing stories to tell; Oscar Wilde would make a great people-watching companion; and H.L. Mencken could introduce me to the who's who of American society, even if he didn't like them that much.

And so, a little quiz: Which famous author do you most drink like? Answers will be revealed tomorrow, but feel free to make your predictions now Answers are up now!

1. What's your idea of the perfect afternoon?

A) Exploring exciting new places, preferably with a gun.

B) Catching up with friends and family, in person or via e-mail.

C) Checking out the latest scene, dazzling everyone with your wit.

D) Blogging about celebrities, politicians and people who annoy you.

E) Hanging out with your little cousin.

Continue reading "Which writer do you drink like?" »

Posted by Nancy Knight at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Whatever
        

Want to speak your mind about the latest "best Wimbledon final ever" and get a chance to win Strokes of Genius by L. Jon Wertheim while you're at it?

Stop by Second Opinion and tell me what you think of Federer and the state of tennis today.

And no, you don't have to agree with me in order to win.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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As I was watching the 2009 Tony Awards Sunday night, an odd question came to mind. I don't know the answer, so I thought I'd turn to my fellow Read Streetians for help:

Why are there so many more terrific new books than there are new plays?

It seems that I can almost always find some new book that I'm pushing on my unwilling friends and family. It's rarer for me to be as strongly enthusiastic about a new play (though there are exceptions -- for instance, I'd nominate Michael Frayn's "Copenhagen" as the best play of our generation and will urge you all personally to see it when you have the chance.)

There are, of course, a gazillion new books published every year, while the number of new plays staged annually in the U.S. must be in the low three figures, if that. So, maybe it's just a numbers game: the more of a genre that sees the light of day, the easier it will be for any one of us to find specific examples we like. And, because theater tickets are considerably pricier than the average novel, most of us probably read more books than we see shows.

But, I'm not sure if that's the whole story. I wonder whether there might be something in the constraints of playwriting (i.e., all dialogue, no omniscent narrator, except for Thornton Wilder) that makes that form a riskier proposition, and tougher to pull off.

And this, in its turn, lead me to another question, about consumer habits: When it comes to books, the new is more desirable than the old. But when it comes to plays, the opposite is true. Audiences will sit through a thousand productions of "A Christmas Carol" while new plays generally are considered to be box office poison. But, though there may be one or two well-loved classics that some of us will read all our lives, it's the hot new novel that flys off the shelves.

What do you guys think?

Posted by Mary McCauley at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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A few months ago, in a funk over text- and twitter-speak, I asked: Is spelling ded? Read Streeters supplied ample evidence (even more here) that we are, in many respects, attending a long-running funeral for English as we know it.

But just when I'm overcome with despair, dozens of  eager contestants in the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee step forward to restore my faith. Kavya Shivashankar, 13, of Olathe, Kansas, won the 2009 event in Washington by spelling "Laodicean," which means indifferent or lukewarm. According to my dictionary, the word is derived from an ancient city in western Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), built by the Seleucids in the third century B.C. The inhabitants were probably the ancestors of modern surfers.

I bet Kavya and her fellow contestants would collapse in laughter if they saw some of the misspellings that have appeared in Read Street comments about Twilight: arguements, dimond, jelous, pshychatic, accusitions, audiance, critizizm. Not to mention the person who, referring to vampire lore, wrote about driving "a steak through the heart."

A side note: The Times of India crowed that Indian-American children have now won the title seven times out of 10. Kavya, whose words included baignoire, huisache and ecossaise, joins fellow champions Nupur Lala (1999), George Thampy (2000), Pratyush Buddiga (2002), Sai Gunturi (2003), Anurag Kashyap (2005) and Sameer Mishra (2008). You might remember Nupur from the documentary Spellbound.

Photo from AP

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Here's a great way to enjoy books, without having to actually read them. It's perfect for SAHMs, book bloggers and anyone else who doesn't have enough time to read.

This site explains the art, called fore-edge painting, and includes some amazing videos. Put simply, it involves painting the edges of a book's pages, so an image emerges when the pages are fanned out.

In reality, it's much more complicated. (Isn't everything in life?) There are interesting variations such as the two-way double and split double. I promise you'll never look at a book the same way again.

p.s. This has little to do with books, but everything to do with TGIF. If you're a Sound of Music fan, or just need cheering up, check out this video recommended by my daughter.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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I was a bit stung yesterday by a comment to my post "10 Reasons to Hate the Kindles." I didn't mind the folks who disagreed with me. But one commenter suggested that reason #2 -- Beautiful Russian ballerinas won't introduce themselves upon noticing your copy of Secrets of Nijinsky -- was somewhat facetious. ("I don't think this happens in real life," Kindle User said.)

Well, I don't know about his life (it might say something about Kindle users), but as a book reader and blogger I am continually fighting off the advances of beautiful, intelligent and accomplished women.

Just the other day, Jennifer Aniston jumped out of her Range Rover as I sat at Tapas Teatro reading Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master.  

Last week, as I was sipping Lillet and perusing Chanel in Petit Louis, two French models -- twins, no less -- introduced themselves and asked to join me for dessert. 

And a couple of weeks ago, the Eroica Trio accosted me as I sat in the Meyerhoff lobby, reading George Gershwin. I could go on -- the Kilgore Rangerettes, the female cast members of Chicago, etc. -- but must I?

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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This month, Amazon and its CEO Jeff Bezos rolled out the second-generation Kindle, whose new features include a voice "reading" the work. About the same time, media futurist Jeff Jarvis announced that his new book, What Would Google Do?, could be purchased in a 23-minute video version — perfect for a busy executive’s morning treadmill workout.

What’s next? Reading Moby Dick on your cell phone? Actually, that’s already available.

Clearly, the definition of a "book" is changing. Whether or not you’re a fan of the latest technology, you’ll have to come to terms with this new world.

Bob Stein, co-director of the Institute for the Future of the Book, recently gave a provocative speech called "A book is a place … ." According to Publishers Weekly, he said at a conference that our notion of a book as an object "used to move ideas around time and space" is no longer accurate. As readers gain more power to comment on a text, the hierarchy between authors and readers will break down.

Stein proposed a new definition of a book: "a place where readers (and sometimes authors) congregate," Publishers Weekly said. Nonfiction authors will "become leaders of communities of inquiry," and fiction writers will be "creating a world together with their readers." He said his grandchildren will think of reading entirely as a social experience. "The idea of reading alone … they won’t even understand that concept."

Clearly the reading experience has evolved. Book clubs, blogs and social networks have made reading much more social. Seriously, do you know a reader who is not in a book club? Get any three readers together at lunch, and the conversation will quickly turn to what they’re reading. And technology such as the Kindle holds promise by giving readers faster and broader access to books.

But writing collaboratively? Nancy said to file this under "worst ideas ever."

Actually, I’d love to see a crowd-sourced version of Bob Woodward’s Plan of Attack. And some authors already use an online audience to vet their findings during the writing process. That’s how Chris Anderson wrote The Long Tail. Could Lord of the Flies, Jane Eyre or the Harry Potter books be written by committee? Does the "wisdom of the crowd" extend to the creative process?

Is wiki lit our future?

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)
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The shortlist for the annual Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year has been announced by The Bookseller, a British website. The list -- with the customary Brit nod to naughtiness -- has six titles.

Said Philip Stone, a sales analyst at The Bookseller, "Six seems such a cruelly low number given titles such as Excrement in the Late Middle Ages and All Dogs Have ADHD were rejected."

The shortlist: Baboon Metaphysics by Dorothy L. Cheney and Robert M. Seyfarth

Curbside Consultation of the Colon by Brooks D. Cash

The Large Sieve and its Applications by Emmanuel Kowalski

Strip and Knit with Style by Mark Hordyszynski

Techniques for Corrosion Monitoring by Lietai Yang

The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-milligram Containers of Fromage Frais by Prof. Philip M. Parker

The award was conceived by The Diagram Group’s Bruce Robertson to avoid boredom at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Last year’s winner was If You Want Closure In Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs. The winner of the 2008 award will be chosen by a public vote at The Bookseller and will be announced March 27.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Nancy's redecorating, and of course, the project revolves around finding a home for dozens of books. As any serious reader knows, establishing an order for all those books is a tough decision.

How do I shelve thee? Let me count the ways.

Should she order her books according to genre: mystery, horror (vampire novels alone would would need an entire shelf), etc.? Fiction and non-? Dewey decimal? Something more esoteric, such as the color spectrum noted by The Bookkeeper blog, and pictured on Flickr? 

My shelves are loosely ordered by topic, including baseball, Judaica and biographies. I also have sub-groups with books from trips I've taken. I've heard of others shelving alphabetically. What's on your shelves?  

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 4:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (27)
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Today, we’ll consider an important question about your character: Are you monogamous?

No, not that kind of monogamy — that’s your business, and we don’t need to know about it. We mean literary monogamy. Do you read one book at a time? Or do you have two or more going at once — say, a novel, a nonfiction book and a collection of short stories?

Alison Morris, a Publishers Weekly blogger, has identified several species of polygamists. They include: the Whimsical, who dips in and out of multiple books at once; the Placebound, who reads several books simultaneously but each in its own locale -- at home, at work, on the subway; and the Noncompetitive, who reads one fiction book and one non-fiction book at the same time, or some similar combination.

Dave: In school, I juggled several books — a novel for African-American Lit, a science textbook and nonfiction for government classes. But now, I’m a one-book man. I like to focus, to get comfortable with the author’s pacing and language. And I want to keep track of the subtleties of a character, setting or plot. I may have a magazine article, comic piece or short story handy in case I only have a few minutes to read. But I prefer at least an hour of quiet — and one book.

Nancy: I love to read, and I do it just about all the time. But what if I’m not in the mood for the collection of political profiles I picked up a few days ago? Well, I just pick up the graphic novel about zombies. Or the Mexican crime novel. Or re-read Pride and Prejudice. You get the idea. I just don’t want to be hemmed in. Do I ever get confused or lose my place? Sure! I’m fairly certain that after eight months, I’m going to have to start the translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses all over again. But most of the time, it’s a system that works for me.

What are your reading habits — do you subscribe to Davidite monogamy or Nancyist polygamy?

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (83)
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A Delaware man who wrote about urban crime apprently got much too close to his topic.

Matthew Minor, 38, of Wimington pleaded guilty Monday to federal drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons charges, according to an AP report. Minor, who has written a novel about Wilmington's drug trade, acknowledged he and others had made trips to Arizona since 2006 to pick up cocaine and marijuana. He says the drugs were sold on Wilmington's streets.

Federal prosecutors say Minor was investigated for two years as a major drug dealer in the region. In September 2006, authorities stopped a truck hauling about 120 pounds of cocaine and 125 pounds of marijuana tied to Minor. Minor, who used the pen name Mustafaa, wrote the novel Family Tiez about Wilmington's drug trade.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Amazon.com and Penguin have launched the second Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition, which gives unpublished writers a shot at a contract and a $25,000 advance.

Bill Loehfelm beat about 5,000 entrants to win the inaugural competition. A Penguin division published his novel, Fresh Kills, which the Associated Press called “the finest crime fiction debut since Dennis Lehane burst on the scene … ."

From February 2 to 8, writers with an unpublished English-language novel manuscript can submit their work at the ABNA site. Up to 10,000 entries will be accepted, and they will be whittled in several steps to 100 semi-finalists. Penguin editors will evaluate manuscripts from that group and choose three finalists. A panel of publishing pros, including authors Sue Grafton and Sue Monk Kidd, will critique the finalists on Amazon.com and the public will then have seven days to vote for the winner. Results will be announced on May 22, and the winner will get a publishing contract with Penguin, including a $25,000 advance.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 6:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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If you haven't closely followed the comments in our discussion of annoying phrases, you may have missed some great examples of mangled English. Not surprisingly, many deal with medical terms, which are foreign to most folks.

Melanie, a medical secretary, offered these gems: It is always important to get an accurate diagnalysis. For instance, information in the lungs could be ammonia. Or you could have a torn spleen in your arm (I swear I’m not making this up). Your vaginacologist or occupedist will know for sure. You may need rehability to restore your equiliberty. I could go on and on ... . If you’re still laughing and choking, there is always the hemlock maneuver.

And Hank had this: A member of our golf group has had occasion to go to the St. Agnes Hospital Imaging Center for an MRI. Upon his return he told us of his experience at the Imaginary Center. We all felt better after that one.

Reminds me of an anecdote (NOT antidote, another misused word) from my friend Les, who is a doctor. After examining a patient with heart problems, Les recommended that the man stop eating red meat. A few weeks later, when the patient returned for a checkup, Les asked how the new diet was working. The patient's wife said it was a problem, because she had to cook his steaks a lot longer now -- to make sure they weren't red!

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Lately we’ve been ranting about annoying words that clutter our speech and writing -- a discussion sparked by Oxford University research on the 10 Most Annoying Phrases. That list included the business-y "at the end of the day," the oxymoron "fairly unique," and redundancies such as "at this moment in time." To which I’d add "exact same."

Read Streeters' suggestions fell mainly into a few concise categories – damning evidence of the forces that shape the way we talk and write. Here’s a summary, with each commenter's name:

From business: "It is what it is" (Dave T), "low-hanging fruit" (matt), "on the radar" (Thomas), and "going forward" (Lauretta). The commenter Gorelick, who must be a marketing executive, had a tidy list of his own, including "what happens in...stays in...", variations on "priceless," and "this is not your grandfather’s or mother’s or father’s) bingo hall, knitting class, driving range, etc."

From sports: "He gave 110 percent" and "one game at a time" (Jenn), "take it to the next level" (Dave T), and "athleticism" (Sarah).

From politics: "my friend" and "truth be told" (Sunni), and "Joe the plumber" (J),

Syllable- and word-creep: "Synergize" and "incentivize" (Corinne), "actionable" (Thomas), "in order to" (Baltoreader), and "wide variety" (Erika), I’d add "gifted" and "tasked."

But the funniest suggestions were annoying phrases that are mangled or misused. Some examples: "It just doesn’t pass mustard" (Corinne), "massive Christian burial" (Jennifer), "I could care less" (Heather) and "for all intensive purposes" (aeb).

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (50)
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 If you've ever wanted to write a sonnet about your favorite album, now's your chance.

Well, actually, it's your chance to write a whole book about it. 33 1/3 Books is requesting proposals for future projects, to be published in 2010 and 2011. But be quick! The deadline for ideas is Dec. 31st.

The 33 1/3 series is simple: to write a book about a seminal album in musical history. Previous publications include Dusty Springfield, Radiohead, Joy Division, ABBA, Elvis Costello and Jeff Buckley.

For more details about how to submit your own proposal, visit the blog. And for the first time, you can actually submit more than one album for consideration.

So far, proposals include Yo La Tengo, Jefferson Airplane, The Zombies, Van Halen and The Fall.

Surprisingly, Fall Out Boy's book has yet to be written. I'm sure it's just an oversight, right? I mean, they've already published one on Celine Dion and Slayer!

Posted by Nancy Knight at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Among the comments on our TGIF -- annoying phrases list, Jenn blew the whistle on athletes' cliches. Her complaint: "I also hate when people, particularly athletes and guests on "Maury," go above the figure of 100% in talking about their efforts or their certainty that they are, in fact, not the father. You can't physically give more than 100%. You can't give 200% or 110%, you can only give 100%!!"

I'm with you 110%, Jenn. Here are a few more football phrases I hate:

Physicality -- as Todd Heap, shown here, said Sunday "In the first half we didn't [play with] the physicality we wanted."

Seasoned veteran

Smash-mouth football

Throw the football (as opposed to what, a cat?) 

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 6:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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My friend Steve Stinson, whose poetry is immortalized on Read Street, alerted me to an Oxford research project listing the 10 Most Annoying Phrases. Researchers monitor books, papers, magazines, broadcast, the Internet and other sources to find overused and misused words.

I commend them for highlighting the inane "at the end of the day," a business phrase that has seeped into everyday conversation. But they missed one that grates on my ears: exact same. What other phrases make your Top 10?

1. At the end of the day

2. Fairly unique

3. I personally

Continue reading "TGIF: annoying phrases" »

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)
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So you did it! You chose your candidates, you voted on your issues, and now, if you're a news junkie like me, you're waiting around for those returns.

But with this historic election, why sit on the couch with your cat? Go celebrate with a few likeminded -- and by this I mean bookish -- neighbors.

 I've gotten word that Red Canoe is extending its hours for booklovers to linger over their Zeke's coffee and celebrate or commiserate, depending on your political leanings. Atomic Books regulars can watch returns with the Mobtown Shank at Hon Bar tonight. 

And the Towson branch of the Baltimore County library is hosting an election night discussion with the Johns Hopkins University political science professor Matthew Crenson.

You have any other Election Night plans? Let us know!

Posted by Nancy Knight at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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I love Halloween. And I love it even more when I get blindsided by an unexpected bit of the holiday spirit. So when I heard Weekend America's "Tales of Terror" while errand-running yesterday, I was thrilled and spooked simultaneously.

In case you're not a nerd who listens to NPR in your spare time, the "Tales of Terror" comprise a dozen short spots written by authors from across the country. Their only criteria is that they be 30-seconds long and creepy.

How much creepiness can you pack into 30 seconds, you ask? Well, I'll let David Wellington's Red Flag answer that question:

Continue reading "Seconds of scares" »

Posted by Nancy Knight at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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 On Sunday, Tandy will participate in the Susan G. Komen Maryland Race for the Cure. I know there are many people who have had their lives changed forever by this disease, and at times like these, there's something we can actually do about it.

If you're so inclined, send a donation along. And if you're already involved in this rewarding event, leave a comment, tell us your story and maybe we'll see you this weekend.\

Posted by Nancy Knight at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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We've been following the evolution of publishing pretty closely lately, and one aspect of the changes is pretty exciting for me -- Creative Commons.

Under this licensing agreement, some writers are literally giving their books away, as long as the readers promise not to use their works for commercial purposes.

Download it, read it, pass it along to your friends. Word of mouth is the original form of advertising, and writers are starting to bank on it.

The latest incarnation of this arrangement that I've seen is Kelly Link's Magic for Beginners. Link has a new book, Pretty Monsters, and getting attention for it by allowing readers to download her older work for a year at no charge.

And this marketing strategy seems to be working, since I'm writing about it.

Link's Magic collection was honored with the Nebula, Locus, British Science Fiction Association awards, and was a Hugo and World Fantasy awards finalist.  With a pedigree like that, what do you have to lose? Nothing. It's free!

And from the publishers' perspective, if they get readers hooked, they'll then be more interested in buying the new Pretty Monsters. So what are you still doing reading this? Go find your new favorite author!

Posted by Nancy Knight at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Before Banned Books Week ends tomorrow, we should note the most-challenged books in 2007. The American Library Association, which publishes the list each year, says the top spot is held for the second straight year by And Tango Makes Three. Two male penguins fall in love and hatch an egg -- a story line that has triggered challenges around the U.S. Others on the list: The Golden Compass (also known as Northern Lights), The Chocolate War and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.    

Philip Pulllman, author of The Golden Compass, told the Guardian that his "immediate and ignoble response was glee. Firstly, I had obviously annoyed a lot of censorious people, and secondly, any ban would provoke interested readers to move from the library, where they couldn't get hold of my novel, to the bookshops, where they could." The Guardian also has a quiz to test your knowledge of banned books.

That raises a question: Should any books be restricted -- if not banned -- for children according to age. Most parents are careful about what young children read (or what movies they see), guarding against topics from monsters to sex. Now British publishers are adding a "recommended for ages ... " mark to their books. Is that helpful, or a step down the slippery slope to censorship?

Continue reading "Banned Books Week" »

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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Mr. McIntyre over at You Don't Say has a new video up, which teaches us all how to judge a book by its cover.

This is the wise man who hired me, so I think we can all agree he has impeccable taste.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Forbes.com has published a Top 10 list of the highest paid authors, and it's no surprise who's sitting on top. J.K. Rowling, creator of the Harry Potter novels, earned $300 million from June 1, 2007 to June 1 of this year. More than 375 million Potter books have been sold worldwide, according to Forbes, which notes that the movie franchise has generated $4.5 billion worldwide -- with three more flicks to come.

James Patterson placed a distant second on the list, earning $50 million during the 12-month period. Among the other leaders were Stephen King ($45 million), Marylander Tom Clancy ($35 million) and Danielle Steel ($30 million). Futher down the list are Nicholas Sparks, Janet Evanovich, John Grisham, Dean Koontz and Ken Follett.

I recommend that all parents print the list, tape it to the refrigerator and point Junior to it next time he wants to watch TV. 

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Nearly everyone I know is looking ahead to the vice presidential debate tomorrow night, and many either a) have a deep respect for moderator Gwen Ifill or b) know nothing about her.

That's about to change.

Today, the internets are ablaze with the not-so-secret book that Ifill wrote, which will be released Jan. 20 -- when the new president will be inaugurated. The title? The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.

Of course, no one's read the book yet, but judging from the title, that's not exactly the bastion of neutrality one would hope. The debate is scheduled to go ahead with Ifill at the helm, but I'm wondering if this is going to taint whatever outcome we have?

Politico's Michael Calderone has more.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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I was reminded of a recent Christmas I shared with my best friend, Abby. We'd both recently graduated college, living on our own, working and scrimping as you are wont to do in your early 20s.

So instead of buying the usual ridiculous gifts we had for years (yes, she did receive a sparkly tiara one year. And she loved it!), we bought each other this book, Suze Orman's The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke.

Yes, Orman does look slightly scary, in a Duran Duran music video kind of way. But she provides useful advice on paying down your credit card debt in a smart manner, negotiating lower interest rates and building up enviable credit in a rough time of your life.

It didn't fix all my problems, but I still use it as a resource -- and it's a lot cheaper than hiring a personal accountant.

Of course, this book is more appropriate for the young'uns. Anybody out there have their own finance books they turn to on the road to financial stability?

I'm sure we're all interested in learning more about this market that seems to be changing everyday.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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 I went to the Baltimore Comic-Con today, and behold! Photographic evidence of The Flash! Right there...on the left...oh. Wait. Maybe he's just all blurry because I'm not very good with the camera. Huh.

 Anyway, we braved the rain, and made it to the Baltimore Convention Center, which was packed with people, though not many were costumed. Maybe superheroes' powers don't extend to protection from wetness.  

But it was fun, regardless. And I finally got the chance to meet Andy Runton, creator of Owly! He was very gracious while I gushed, and we did a very short interview, which I'm hoping to have up on Monday, provided the video comes out better than my photo did.

There's plenty more fun scheduled for tomorrow, and maybe the rain will let up so the heroes come out and play.

Continue reading "I was expecting more superheroes..." »

Posted by Nancy Knight at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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 There aren't many things in life that I hate more than being cold, so the end of summer is a very sad time for me.

But then I saw this scarf, and now I'm just praying for it to cool down. They come in grey, black and white, with both upper- and lowercase letters. And if numbers are more your thing, well, they've got those, as well.

The lovely scarves are from littlefactory.com, a design Web site with plenty of other neat things, but this is reason enough for me to love them.

And here's another example of why I need more designer-type friends: Book vases. No, not cases. VASES.

Designer Laura Cahill began making them from unwanted books, after she discovered the glue used to bind them makes books very difficult to recycle. Maybe publishing houses can stop destroying books, and start making pretty housewares, now.

(photo courtesy of littlefactory.com)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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I'm not one to dwell on the negatives, but last week, New York Magazine offered a candid and often dismal view of the future of book publishing.

It's not so much eye-opening to me that the consolidation of publishing houses, the death of indie booksellers and the emergence of e-books are completely changing the industry -- I'm more surprised at how the major players all recognize what the problems are, yet don't deal with them.

Call me a snob, but any industry that depends on Oprah as the biggest advertising boost in their arsenal needs to take another look at their gameplan. Meanwhile, I noticed that blogging is mentioned only in passing, and with derision, in the article, which leads me to believe that while it's an in-depth look at the problem, no one's looking at the solutions that are being presented.

But as a member of another mass medium that isn't so "mass" anymore, it does make me sad. I'll be looking for all kinds of hope at the Book Festival this weekend.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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OK, I was completely remiss and forgot to wish you all a happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Luckily, Mr. McIntyre over at You Don't Say did it far better than I ever could, so I direct you to his spirited post. 

As an attempt to atone, I will now share some free booty with you -- shimmerzine.com's 2007 pirate issue.

Yesterday's holiday prompted them to offer the e-zine free of charrrrrge for the day, but as far as I can tell, it's still available today. Huzzah!

It includes an interview with the founder of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, as well as quite a few entertaining short stories for the seafaring-inclined.

Read up, me hearties!

(photo by penywise at stock.xchng)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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The Enoch Pratt Free Library received a huge gift today -- $500,000 from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, to improve the system's wireless access and other technology.

Kenneth D. Lewis, chairman and CEO of the banking company, made the presentation at a morning news conference. The money, one of the largest corporate gifts the Pratt has received, will provide wireless capabilities for the Central Library and technological renovations to five branch libraries, according to the Pratt.

“The Enoch Pratt Free Library is an important economic driver in Baltimore’s ongoing revitalization,” Lewis said, according to a Pratt news release. “With more than 1.5 million people visiting the library each year, it is the largest provider of public access computers in the metropolitan area."

Continue reading "Great news for the Pratt" »

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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I know what the sign says. But I can't stop that little pit from forming in my stomach. Why, you ask. (You always ask that. Couldn't you try something more interesting, like: Why not have a chocolate chip cookie, Dave?)

Just heard that children's author Eoin Colfer has been hired to write a sixth installment of the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy series. The last Hitchhiker book was written by Douglas Adams 16 years ago. He died in 2001 at age 49.

Nothing against Colfer, whose Artemis Fowl series has been a great success. My nephew Matt, a sixth grader and big-time reader, loves the guy.

But can Colfer capture Adams' madcap comic genius? I've always avoided franchise-extenders such as the Civil War novels that followed Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels or the post-Frank Herbert Dune series. Am I missing out on some great books? Or do all followups pale when compared to the book that started a series?   

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

"[I]n 1995, Ms. Palin, then a city councilwoman, told colleagues that she had noticed the book Daddy’s Roommate on the shelves and that it did not belong there, according to Ms. Chase and Mr. Stein. Ms. Chase read the book, which helps children understand homosexuality, and said it was inoffensive; she suggested that Ms. Palin read it.

'Sarah said she didn’t need to read that stuff,' Ms. Chase said. 'It was disturbing that someone would be willing to remove a book from the library and she didn’t even read it.' "

While I've certainly heard of this book, which follows the life of a young boy with his father and his father's male partner, I've never read it. Clearly, I can't speak to it being offensive.

If anyone out there can enlighten me on that point, I would appreciate it.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 6:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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No, it's not your imagination. You HAVE seen that show before...on your bookshelf.

It seems that television executives are taking the silver screen's lead and turning literature into prime-time entertainment.

Sure, we already had Sex and the City and Dexter, (Disclaimer: I haven't read the books these shows are based on. Yet.) but this year, I've counted at least eight shows on the lineup, including NBC's new brainchild, Crusoe. And that's not including the shows that now have their own book series. Cross-marketing galore.

As a kid, I loved The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the Coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, where in all the Men perished but Himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver'd by Pyrates. (How do you like THAT title, Dave?) So it's exciting to see it on screen, especially since television now has the big budgets and special effects gurus that will do the story justice.

I'm also looking forward to NBC's Merlin, which is described as a 21st-century retelling of the Arthur myths. They can't possibly mess this one up, can they?

Now if they'd only make Garth Nix's Sabriel into a television show, I'd be a happy girl.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Another perk of the job: I am constantly getting fun e-mails about books from friends and blog readers. So I think it's time for me to share all of the silly, beautiful and interesting tidbits that I've had sent to me lately:

My friend Mary sent me a comic scan of a short story by Darko Macan and Tihomir Celanovic. It centers around a bookseller whose magical store houses all the books in the world. It manages to be whimsical and heartbreaking all at once. Mary calls it wistful, I call it her M.O.

For any of you eReaders, or those who are considering the switch, eReader.com has a special on Harlequin Romances through Friday. Namely, you can three for absolutely nothing.

And finally, if you thought Mr. McIntyre could be curmudgeonly, wait until you meet Ed Rondthaler, founder of Photo-Lettering Inc and president of the American Literacy Council. He gives a short lesson on the maddening spelling rules of the English language, with a little bit of sass. Not bad for a (then) 102-year-old. And according to Wikipedia, he's still kicking.

Have you got a few of your own odds and ends to share? I think we'd all love to see them!

Posted by Nancy Knight at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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File under Oddities from the Mother Country (the folks who inspired the Ministry of Silly Walks): Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers has been named the oddest book title of the past 30 years. The Bookseller, a British trade pub (not that kind of pub), annually gives an award to an odd -- but not gimmicky -- title. To mark the 30th anniversary of the prize, a special award was made.

Rural Postmen, published in 1994 by a British stamp-collecting organization. is a comprehensive record of a sector of Greece's postal routes. It finished just ahead of People Who Don't Know They're Dead and a guide to avoiding maritime mishaps, How to Avoid Huge Ships.

Here's the complete list of annual winners.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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"It was published in 1951 and it's not so contemporary anymore," Trubek said on NPR. "I think that most American teenagers will find it rather tame and sort of laughable the things that were once considered so controversial."

Trubek (whom Nancy probably bribed) says many of today's teens won't identify with Holden Caulfield, an upper-class, white preppy. I disagree. I think teen-age angst, that sense of searching and questioning, was captured perfectly in the book. Yes, the book seems a bit innocent, but the loss of innocence provides a powerful counterpoint in most coming of age books.

Not many people would identify with frontier life, either, but that's no reason to pull My Antonia from reading lists. Her revised syllabus includes:

Continue reading "Goodbye Holden Caulfield?" »

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Back when I was a student, the school year never began before Labor Day, so I was never really thrilled when that holiday rolled around anyway. (But now that most schools open their doors in August, I guess everyone welcomes the three-day weekend.)

Still, Labor Day reminds me of class schedules and school supplies runs far more than some last rite of summer. It was also the unofficial deadline to get all that summer reading done.

Whether it was Sherlock Holmes or Shakespeare, I was pretty lucky; most of the books we read at good old James M. Bennett High were pretty enjoyable. And A Separate Peace is one of those good ones that I never would have come across without the guidance of Ms. Jenkins. But Lord of the Flies? Awful. And now I'll never know if it was as bad as I really remember it, or if being forced to read it with a group of angsty teenagers was the problem.

I remember high school English class always felt like some sort of forced book club that you attended with a bunch of people you'd never hang out with anyway. Maybe that's why I've never really joined one.

So what about you guys? Any books out there you're still bitter about? Any you wish you had read alone, or not at all? Or did you have a favorite teacher who opened up a whole new world of John Steinbeck and Maya Angelou for you?

Posted by Nancy Knight at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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The shattered glass has been repaired in the display window that had advertised the Sept. 16 appearance of Eleanor Herman, author of Mistress of the Vatican. But this morning, the display still stood empty, a sad gap among the tall, metal-framed windows that front Cathedral Street.

There's no sure proof that the vandal who shattered the window was protesting Herman or her book, about a woman who ran the Catholic church through her brother-in-law and reputed lover, Pope Innocent X. But Herman, who grew up in Roland Park, wrote to Read Street that a Pratt security camera showed a man "who appeared to come from across the street, where the Basilica of the Assumption is located, though they don't know if he came out of the church itself.  He was white and well dressed, in his thirties, and stared at the display before leaving the range of the camera, where he picked up a rock from construction and threw it at the window.  This doesn't seem to be a random act of vandalism.  He seemed deeply perturbed by the poster. I would like to think that the Catholic Church, with its rich, colorful 2,000 years of history going straight back to Jesus, need not be threatened by a history book."

Unfortunately, books are often seen as a threat -- to youth, to politicians, to religions. We all recall the death threats heaped on Salman Rushdie after The Satanic Verses was published. And just this month, Random House acknowledged pulling Sherry Jones' debut novel, The Jewel of Medina, about Muhammad and his child bride, because of fears of violence. 

Continue reading "Update on Pratt vandalism" »

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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I just received an e-mail from the Enoch Pratt Free Library's director of communications, Roswell Encina. He says early this morning, someone decided to trash a display for a Writers Live series event.

"Sometime during the early morning hours, a person threw a big rock [through] one of the windows," Encina writes.

"The featured author is Eleanor Herman and her book Mistress of the Vatican: The True Story of Olimpia Maidalchini, The Secret Female Pope. She is scheduled to be at the Central Library on Sept 16.

"I'm not sure if its the title of her book or the huge display across from the Basilica that set this person off. But I can't believe people will vent their views in this manner (and be very less open minded about books!). I'm just a bit saddened by this incident," he concluded.

We'll keep you posted as we learn more.

(Photo courtesy of prattlibrary.org)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
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In the spirit of this week's food theme, I started reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love. I know, I know, it's been read by everyone on Earth -- at least every woman on earth. But this gave me a good reason to see what all the fuss was about.

At the outset, I'm a bit confused. I think I'm in the Eat section, but after 46 pages, she's had only one meal. She has talked about God a lot, so maybe it's the Pray section. Based on the descriptions of her collapsed marriage, this sure isn't the Love section.

Despite the confusion, I'm enjoying the book. I like Gilbert's subtle humor (there's even an inside joke for us Connecticut natives) and her self-deprecating style is endearing. She has a keen sense of language, such as calling Italian tomato sauce "gravy". I also appreciate that she didn't use the book to needlessly bash her husband, even though he treated her horribly during their divorce. I am a bit skeptical of the God-like voices she's been hearing (on the bathroom floor, no less).

But so far, I'm hungry for more.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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I love food. When going over our vacation pictures, I was amused to find that many of them are simply us eating something amazing. These are the memories we want to cherish, and hopefully relive.

So when you add food to books, I get excited. And I don't just mean cookbooks, although those are definitely good, too. (My favorite kind are the ones that focus on one particular food, cooked in an obscene number of ways. That's imagination, my friends.)

And so I'm thrilled about the trend in modern literature to focus not just on what the characters in a given story are saying, thinking and feeling, but the things they choose to eat -- and how that moves the story and the characters forward.

An April New Yorker article by Adam Gopnik sums up the trend nicely: "Cooking is to our literature what sex was to the writing of the sixties and seventies, the thing worth stopping the story for to share, so to speak, with the reader." No longer are authors dawdling over bedroom scenes or sweeping landscapes; it's the kitchen that interests them.

I adore tomes like The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and Salt: A World History, probably because I'm also a huge history nerd. And the search for Marcel Proust's beloved madeleines both amused and intrigued me. What books get you salvating?

Posted by Nancy Knight at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Amazing how  fast the publishing world can move to take advantage of a hot trend -- like Michael Phelps. Simon & Schuster announced Friday that it would publish the Oympic swimming star's new book, called Built to Succeed, in time for the holiday season. 

It also noted, according to Publishers Weekly, that the imprint is still looking for a co-author (someone who can type fast, I hope).

But that hasn't stopped the S&S website from publicizing details of the book, including the price ($26), release date (Dec. 16) and even the page count (256), 

“We’re going to have to work very hard to get it done in time, but I think it is going to be a great book,” said Martha Levin, who heads the S&S division that is handling the book, according to Publishers Weekly. No joke. There are only 114 days until the release date -- I wouldn't expect War and Peace.

Photo from the Associated Press

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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As we mentioned in the column, this week we’ll discuss books about food. And not just the classic Better Homes & Gardens cookbook we all grew up with. Foods have inspired modern classics such as Chocolat, social commentaries such as Fast Food Nation and the 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winner Empire Falls, a work that focuses on the history and future of a family and the place it calls home, with a diner backdrop.

We'll also give away food-themed books, including Tim Stark's Heirloom: Notes from an Accidental Tomato Farmer, which Kirkus Reviews described as a "lovingly crafted memoir about the author’s days producing organic veggies on his small farm in Pennsylvania Dutch country." Stay tuned.

Sun photo by Lloyd Fox

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Nancy must have had some inside information about Olympic swimming superstar Michael Phelps. Free Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, announced this morning that he will write a book about his historic eight gold medals -- just in time for the holiday season, the Associated Press reported,

In Built to Succeed, Phelps will also cover his philosophy on training and competition, as well as his life being raised by a single mother and coping with an attention-deficit disorder, the publisher said. The book is scheduled to be released in December.

The 23-year-old Phelps, who grew up in the Towson area and will return to live in Baltimore after the Olympics, became the winningest Olympian ever at the Beijing games. He won eight gold medals to add to six previous Olympic golds.

p.s. In response to Nancy's question, as much as I admire Phelps' accomplishments, I doubt I'll read his quickie book. For sporting inspiration, I'd rathe re-read It's Not About the Bike, in which Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong detailed his fight with cancer.

p.p.s. On Sunday, The Sun will have a front-page story about Phelps' return to Baltimore, and a special sports section recapping his record-setting Olympics.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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 Looking back on Dave's vow never to read biographies of those younger than 30, I'm wondering how Dave feels about 1) Phelps' 2005 biography that is currently Nos. 8 and 9 (paperback and hardcover) on Amazon's sports best-sellers list; and 2) rumors that he's being offered a million-dollar deal to detail his experiences in Beijing.

There's no doubt about it: This guy has made history and earned a little bit of attention for it, especially in his hometown. Watching this guy prepare for race after race, and winning each one, was incredible. And if I were interested in swimming at all, I wouldn't hesitate to crack open this book.

But after watching the creepy NBC montage of Phelps swimming, his mother looking on, and Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes playing in the background, I may now be all Phelpsed out.

I'm not trying to be anti-Phelps. Somebody help me out here: Is this memoir worth a read? And who's interested in reading about this young man's conquests in China?

Or are there athletes who you feel are more worthy of your bookshelf?

Posted by Nancy Knight at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Asked to name their favorite writer, Brits came up with a surprising answer. You might think William Shakesperare, Jane Austen or even J.K. Rowling would lead the pack. Nope. No. 1 went to Enid Blyton, who hasn't written a word for more than four decades. (And people say Baltimoreans are too nostalgic!)

Blyton's kiddie-lit characters included the Famous Five, sort of a Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew/Bobbsey Twins combo.

I can understand the reaction from readers, though. Some of my fondest memories of reading come from the stream of Dr. Seuss books that I devoured as a kid. Or from discovering imaginary worlds in Ray Bradbury's science fiction. Even from Batman and Superman comics. I have favorite authors today, but there's a critical aspect to reading now that seems to block the sort of raw, emotional appeal I felt as a kid. So, cheers to Enid and the Five!

Here's the Top 10 from the poll of 2,000 adults for the 2008 Costa Book Awards. according to the Guardian:

Continue reading "Favorite writers" »

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 9:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Children, Whatever
        

Once upon a time, I was very bored at work and decided to read George Eliot's Middlemarch. On my computer, so it wasn't quite so obvious I was reading for pleasure and not the newspaper.

While I enjoyed the somewhat long-winded tale, I felt I had somehow cheated. Yes, technically, I read the book. And it was free, thanks to the incomparable Project Gutenberg, but since I never held the words in my hand, I often forget that I ever saw the thing. Maybe that's my biggest problem with ebooks in general: It makes the experience thinner, somehow.

Regardless, Project Gutenberg is a great service, with thousands of books available for your perusal, at absolutely no cost, and they have made the text compatible with any number of PDAs and readers.

But as this BBC article explains, all is not right with the ebook world. With no clear picture of which readers will be left standing, it might be a good idea to keep a few old-fashioned books around.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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While we're on the topic of the intersection of spam and creative writing, here's a poem from Steve Stinson, a friend and one of the most creative people I know:

SUBJECT LINE SUITE

Congratulations, you've been selected to
Double up your manhood. Laugh more. Worry less.
Or maybe just to reward yourself with a gift.
Very discrete shipping and billing. Get smart!

Be self in bed independ of circumstances
With 100mgCanadianGeneric
Money to lend for any business purchase.
Just 1 more day by popular demand.

Hey 1000 sunsets! Some lengthening helps
Grow a rose. Add more length and volume to your
hihg - qaulity erplicas bets lcock of wrold!
Next day delivery on herbal orders.

Continue reading "E-mail poetry" »

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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I love novels, but for sheer creativity nothing beats the e-mails offering me millions of dollars to help some overwrought African bank administrator who needs to clear his books of extra zeroes. The complex plots and international intrique make for great reading. And for comic relief, there's the mangled syntax and punctuation. Some recent excerpts:

-- I discovered that my branch in which I am the Manager made Twelve Million Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollar [$12,850.000.00] which my head office are not aware of and will never be aware of ... I have since place this fund on what we call SUSPENSE ACCOUNT without any beneficiary. As an officer of the bank I can not be directly connected to this money, so this informed my contacting you for us to work so that you can assist receive this money into your bank account for us to SHARE, while you will have 35% of the total fund. Note there are practically no risk involved ...

-- MY OFFICE MONITORS AND CONTROLS THE AFFAIRS OF ALL OTHER BANKS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN LONDON (UK). I AM THE FINAL SIGNATORY TO ANY TRANSFER OR REMITTANCE OF HUGE FUNDS MOVING WITHIN BANKS BOTH ON THE LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVELS... MY CONDITIONS. 1. THE SUM OF USD$2M.ONLY WILL PAID INTO AN ACCOUNT I WILL PROVIDE YOU AFTER YOU HAVE CONFIRMED THE TRANSFER OF YOUR SUM INTO YOUR ACCOUNT ...  2. THIS DEAL MUST BE KEPT SECRET FOREVER ...

Have examples of your own? Here's your chance to enter them in the Read Street Spam-a-lot Hall of Fame.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Watching hours of Olympic coverage while lazing around a hotel room has inspired me.

Not to get out and actually move, mind you. But to create my own kind of competition.

My first idea, which my friends and I are still working to perfect, is Xtreme Street Bowling. But since the city probably frowns upon closing roads and installing special hazards to thwart urban bowling competitors, I brought the spirit of the games down a notch.

Instead, I've decided to take the Kindle challenge and see how it fares against more modest competitors. You know, like books. Or even the iPhone reader.

And for any of you who have experienced one or all of these media, I encourage your participation. It just doesn't seem right to have one judge, and this way we can avoid an embarrassing scandal. You know what I'm talking about, figure skating judges. I know you all have plenty of opinions, so let the games begin.

(Photo courtesy of ademkader at stock.xchng.com)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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The birthplace of writers such as John Keats and John Donne and the setting for countless novels, London was described as "the home of literature we have spent so much time learning and loving", according to a Reuters news story.

Seems like a lot of 19th-century chest-puffing to me. New York only merited fifth place, and Paris seventh! Didn't even mention Baltimore, onetime-home of Poe, Fitzgerald, Stein, Sinclair, Dos Passos and Mencken. Or Hartford, where the homes of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe sit side-by-side, and Noah Webster's isn't far away.

Do you have other nominations? For TripAdvisor's Top 10, keep reading...

Continue reading "What, no Baltimore?" »

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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For those who have had trouble wading through  Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner, truly one of the great Southern writers (even Nancy can't dispute his lineage), folks at the University of Virginia have created this helpful site. Chapter by chapter, it pulls apart the novel's narrative threads and reassembles them into a single timeline.

And here's another site for all things Faulkner, courtesy of Ole Miss.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Hey, y'all! We made it to Nashville, (Ahead of schedule because time zones are magical things that actually make the time, you know, different between Tennessee and Maryland. Crazy.) and our hotel is lovely. I have high hopes the rest of the city won't disappoint.

OK, so I realized after we decided to focus on Southern literature this week, that I wasn't sure exactly how to define the term. What makes a novel Southern? Or an author, even?

 So, of course, I turned to the experts. Lucky for me, the Southern Literary Review has an entire section devoted to "What Makes Southern Literature Southern?

They define the South as extending from Virginia, down the coast and then as far West as Missouri.

Missouri! The homestate of Mark Twain, the self-proclaimed father of Southern literature! Isn't that interesting, Dave? Don't worry, you'll always have that Mark Twain house in Hartford. And it is a beauty!

So what do you think? Does the Southern Literary Review's definition get it right?

(Photo courtesy of marktwainhouse.org)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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For starters, here are five for a Southern must-read list. It's not my list -- as a Connecticut Yankee (just like Mark Twain, one of the great Northern writers) I disqualified myself. But I enlisted Mark Flinchum, a college roommate who grew up in Atlanta and has taught English for years.

His picks: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren, Three by Flannery O'Connor, Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns and The Thread That Runs So True by Jesse Stuart.

If we were to expand it to a Top 10, what would you add to the list?

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Over on Poe's Deadly Daughters, a lively and informative blog by six female mystery writers, Lonnie Cruse describes a problem that many readers face. She often reads more than one book at a time, and finds it tough to keep the characters and plot twists straight. Lonnie's obviously a lot sharper than I am, because I often have that problem with just one book, especially if I walk away from it for a few days.
Read Streeter Patrick recently emailed me a similar complaint, and posed this suggestion: Why don't long novels carry an index showing where characters have been introduced and referenced. If I were King of Books I would recommend an index for any novel of more than 300 pages, and make it mandatory for family sagas that span generations and countries.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Nothing says party like a book documenting Baltimore's art, music and literary scene.

So on Sunday, Aug. 10, the Creative Alliance is throwing a little shindig for Paper Kingdom, a book that collects posters and Baltimore's "print culture" from the 1990s through today. Elena Johnston (no relation, that I know of) will be signing copies of the collection, which includes concert poster art and interviews with the bands and artists who make them possible.

According to the book's blog, (yes, books have their own blogs, now...they don't even need me) artists featured in the book include Jordan Bernier, Kevin Sherry, Nolen Strals of Post Typography, Caleb Stine, Dan Deacon, Lexie Mountain, Red Prairie Press, and Wildfire Wildfire.

It's a limited first press, so all interested parties should probably order their copy now. And if you have the time and $12, check out the show Creative Alliance is hosting, featuring Beach House, Viking Moses and Cass McCombs.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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The list: Aravind Adiga, The White Tiger; Gaynor Arnold, Girl in a Blue Dress; Sebastian Barry, The Secret Scripture; John Berger, From A to X; Michelle de Kretser, The Lost Dog; Amitav Ghosh, Sea of Poppies; Linda Grant, The Clothes on Their Backs; Mohammed Hanif, A Case of Exploding Mangoes; Philip Hensher, The Northern Clemency; Joseph O'Neill, Netherland; Salman Rushdie, The Enchantress of Florence; Tom Rob Smith, Child 44; Steve Toltz, A Fraction of the Whole.

Care to lay odds on the winner? Take a shot even if you haven't read them all. (Who has?) Readers who guess right will be entered in a Read Street drawing for a copy of the Man Booker prize winner. My bet (and I sure haven't read them all): Netherland.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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 I guess those Canterbury rappers aren't the only musicians with literary aspirations -- the musical and literary worlds seem to be meeting all over the place, which makes sense, once I realized that some of my favorite poetry has come in lyric form.

A few of my favorite songwriters are sharing their insights and inspirations through blogs and books of their own. Even David Byrne is getting in on the blogging action. And Ryan Adams actually quit blogging so he had more time to work on his poetry.

And how about that Art Garfunkel? I guess it's not surprising he's a heavy reader, but he's chronicled the last 40 years of books he's read. I can't tell if I'm jealous of his initiative or amused, but either way, I'm impressed.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Whatever
        

The Internet is a magical place, with many wonders to share.  

This little project reminds me of my middle-school English teacher who tried to get us to memorize Longfellow's Evangeline to song. I guess she was way ahead of her time.

And if any of you have similar artistic leanings, you know where to find me.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Whatever
        

I admit it, I totally judge books by their covers. In fact, my hatred of Catcher in the Rye probably began with its lame cover design.

And on the flip side, I make a lot of my reading decisions based on the pretty, pretty books displayed.

I mean, sure, subject matter is important, but good first impressions are everything, right?

So when Entertainment Weekly published a list of the 25 best book cover designs of the past 25 years, I was definitely excited.

While I've read a few of them -- and was admittedly attracted by the amazing designs -- there are plenty new ones I can't wait to open up.

And this list has made me realize I'm actually a huge fan of Chip Kidd's work. This guy designed the covers for Jurassic Park, Glamorama, All the Pretty Horses and most recently, When You Are Engulfed in Flames.

When I write my masterpiece, I know exactly who's designing my cover.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Whatever
        

Here's a hilarious news item from across the pond: According to British news reports, the commissioning editor of BBC's Book at Bedtime was blasted for airing "inappropriate" and "disturbing" tales. Caroline Raphael said Helpless by Barbara Gowdy, about the stalking and abduction of a nine-year-old girl by a repair man, was "extremely well written". But she acknowledged that it may

not have been the best book to feature after another "dark" story, The Behaviour of Moths, by Poppy Adams. I guess the criticism was well-received: the current selection is H.G. Wells' horror classic, The Island of Dr. Moreau. If Raphael gets the boot, maybe Stephen King can be the new host. I'd suggest reading The Other, which rally chilled me. Any other suggestions for a nightmare-inducing read?

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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So we've been throwing a lot of recommendations at you, but I've had a lot of people ask me the same question: What happens if you're in a book rut?

We've all been there before: Nothing looks interesting. You feel like you've read all the good books out there, and you're sick of being disappointed by the latest must read. (The Historian, I'm looking at YOU.)

So this week, let's focus on what keeps us bookworms going. Is it a subject you can't get enough of? A favorite personality who's delving into the literary world? A friendly competition among friends?

Or maybe you've never been in a rut. If so, I want to know your secret!

(Photo courtesy of lusi at stock.xchng.com)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook Deceptively Delicious is back atop the best-seller lists (#1 nonfiction in the Wall Street Journal, #2 in Publishers Weekly), which must just frost Missy Chase Lapine's cookies. You recall that cookbook author Lapine says Seinfeld stole her idea of pureeing veggies and sneaking them into the foods that finicky kids eat. The dispute is still being fought in court.

Meanwhile, Lapine has published a cookbook that seems aimed at me: The Sneaky Chef: How to Cheat on Your Man (in the Kitchen!): Hiding Healthy Foods in Hearty Meals any Guy Will Love. Now that my daughter's home from college for the summer, she and my wife have teamed up to make me an experiment in attitude adjustment. They have paraded obscure foods such as quinoa, swiss chard and even sweet potato ice cream before me, in a not-so-subtle campaign to get me to lose weight and eat healthier.

They do not buy my argument that dark chocolate is as healthy as any vegetable. If they discover Lapine's book, there's no telling what havoc will ensue. Spinach-and-broccoli infused chocolate chip cookies, anyone?

Photo by Rob Loud/Getty Images

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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I was browsing through a bookstore recently, when I discovered what looked like a neat little picture book. Titled Grimm's Grimmest, I picked it up, thinking it would be useful for any discussion on children's books. Inside, I found this little gem:

Once upon a time there was a child who was willful, and would not do what her mother wished. For this reason God had no pleasure in her, and let her become ill, and no doctor could do her any good, and in a short time she lay on her death-bed.

When she had been lowered into her grave, and the earth was spread over her, all at once her arm came out again, and stretched upwards, and when they had put it in and spread fresh earth over it, it was all to no purpose, for the arm always came out again.

Then the mother herself was obliged to go to the grave, and strike the arm with a rod, and when she had done that, it was drawn in, and then at last the child had rest beneath the ground.

Continue reading "Fewer fairy tales?" »

Posted by Nancy Knight at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Nancy's call brought back warm memories of reading to my children. We stuck mainly to standards such as Dr. Seuss' managerie, Miffy the bunny, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Madeline (with digressions into sharks and jets).

But recalling this Curious George book reminded me of a gaping hole in my library: books about bicycling. As a dedicated rider, I'm enthralled each summer by the Tour de France's grueling competition and gorgeous scenery. I'd love to end the day with a book about cycling, but...

There's an axiom about sports books: the smaller the ball, the better the writing. There are many great books about golf but few (none?) about basketball. So where does that leave cycling? Why can we produce a great biking movie, Breaking Away, but no book? It's Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong was inspiring, but not a biking book, really. If you have suggestions, help!

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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I'm moving on from comics this week, I swear. But I just received my favorite birthday gift of 2008 (well, it's a tie between this and my new cymbals): Owly.

This black-and-white graphic novel follows the adventures of Owly as he befriends Wormy (not a creative name, but appropriate), conquers the scary woods at night and grows a garden that puts mine to shame.

It's possibly the sweetest book I've ever read, and while it's in graphic novel form, it also segues perfectly into this week's topic: children's books!

Now I'll admit, I've been a big wuss and I've avoided children's books, mostly because you don't mess with people's favorite childhood memories. And there are so many children's story times at libraries, bookstores and the like that we haven't even attempted to tackle the subject.

But this week, all bets are off.

Tell us about your kid's favorite bedtime story, the perfect place to go for storytime and how Shel Silverstein is a genius. Or maybe how much you hated Little House on the Prairie. Don't worry, I won't judge you -- much.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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So I know I've already mentioned my love of xkcd, but I thought it would be appropriate to revisit my favorite Webcomic this week, and then ask all my favorite readers for a favor.

Give me more! I need more distraction in my life, and I'm always up for a good laugh. So if there's a great Webcomic that you want to share, hit me!

In return, you'll receive a free graphic novel. I've got about eight of them here, so comment while supplies last! Titles include Krazy: The Delierious World of Anime + Comics + Video Games + Art; Kyle Baker's Nat Turner and Gareth Hinds' The Merchant of Venice.

Yeah, that's right, Shakespeare.

(Comic courtesy of xkcd.com)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Reader Craig sent me a CNN article from earlier this week about Walmart's decision to take a cherished Mexican comic off their shelves.

Fans of the comic, which has been around since the 1940s, insist that the morals that Memin Pinguin has instilled in generations of children far outweigh any appearance of racism.

Critics say the image of a young Cuban-Mexican boy, and also of his mother, is offensive and has no place on the bookshelf. In fact, a Mexican stamp in 2005 inspired a similar round of criticism.

Clearly, this comic incites passion from both sides. But when does a national tradition become an outdated, unneeded detriment, especially in today's global environment?

Posted by Nancy Knight at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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 Recently, Geppi's Entertainment Museum curator Arnold Blumberg was kind enough to answer a few of my burning comic questions: In specific, what is the difference between comic books and graphic novels? His verdict: Not a thing.

"... The division between 'comic books' and 'graphic novels' is a false one largely created from a marketing point of view," he says. "All comic books and graphic novels are comics -- a literary art form created by the blending of words and pictures (and frankly sometimes just sequential art with no words at all)."

Continue reading "Comics get serious" »

Posted by Nancy Knight at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Wordle! Not only is it fun to say, it's fun to use!

This site takes any collection of words -- a blog entry, an article, an entire book, or a single sentence -- and visualizes it into a "word cloud."

Here, I plugged in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. If there were any questions that Elizabeth is the hero of the story, I think they're squashed now.

After the cloud is generated, you can pick the font and color scheme you like, and then share your cloud with the world through the site's gallery, or just print it out for your own enjoyment.

So go, have fun! And if you're so inclined, come back and share your Wordles with us.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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I hope everyone had a fantastic Fourth of July weekend, and that the return to work isn't too jarring for you. Celebrating truth, justice and the American way (that means barbecuing, right?) is tons more fun than sitting in the office.

But don't let go of that patriotic fervor yet. I want to get back to our roots with a little comic book revival -- although for some of us, it's less revival and more of a revelation. Whether it's rifling through your old Marvel and DC comics, checking out that gorgeous graphic novel, or dragging your friends out to the dozens of comic adaptations that are popping up in theaters lately, it's clear that comic books aren't just kid stuff.

Speaking of kid stuff, whatever happened to the Saturday morning X-men cartoons? Talk about good role models for our youth! Much better than that soggy trilogy they unleashed on us at the movies recently. So join me in celebrating (or mocking) comics this week, whether you read them 20 years or 20 minutes ago.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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A reader named Patrick noticed my column about blogging in today's Ideas section and sent a poem for Read Street. I probably would published it simply because it was from a book lover, but he also invoked the Boston Celtics, whose championship I am still savoring, and I was hooked. We all know the feelings that he writes about -- reading for duty vs. reading for joy.

Here's Patrick's intro: At a bookstore, a friend had stumbled onto a book about the Boston Celtics. Knowing I loved the team, he told me, "You should buy this." I heard myself respond, "Ah, I'd just read it." I was going through a lengthy period of buying books that were chores to finish. They were books I wanted to have read. Realizing how stupid I was not to buy a book that I would immediately sit down and read front to back, I wrote this poem.

BOOKSTORE EYES

My bookstore eyes are bigger than my brain.

They gravitate to gray tomes that explain,

with gnarled abstractions and legerdemain,

all that is known of the human terrain,

or would if my mind could make the words plain.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Congratulations, Hokku Kireji! Your entry has won you this week's prize. I particularly enjoyed the invocation of our blog, which wasn't too over the top (see Dave's shameless pandering to the judge). As a bonus, I believe you'll find your haiku printed in the pages of The Sun in tomorrow's Ideas section.

You can now claim one of these tech-related books as your prize:

Leonard Susskind's The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics; Greg Melville's Greasy Rider: Two Dudes, One Fry-oil-powered Car and a Cross-country Search for a Greener Future; Christian Lander's Stuff White People Like; or Fritjof Capra's The Science of Leonardo: Inside the Mind of the Great Genius of the Renaissance. Just e-mail me with your address, and the chosen tome is yours.

Man, book titles are getting long! Anyway, thanks for all of the inspired entries, and to those who weren't so lucky, fear not! Next week, (and hopefully every week hereafter) you could win your very own Read Street prize. No, I'm not above bribing you people to continue paying attention to us.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 5:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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While the Internet may be the future -- and some could argue it's also the present -- I say books aren't going anywhere!

For proof, look no further than sites such as PostSecret or Learning to Love You More. Both have spawned a publishing deal and found success beyond the computer, with  PostSecret at our very own AVAM until Aug. 31.

And in a nice touch of serendipity, my fellow blogger Susan Reimer has pointed out another Web-favorite-turned-tome in today's paper, Top Tips for Girls, which bills itself as an "ever-expanding bible of genuine advice." 

That isn't to say that all such translations work well.

Stuff White People Like, the book, hits stores today, and I wasn't entirely impressed.

(Full disclosure: I am a white person, and yes, I do love farmers markets. There's so much food! And pretty flowers! And puppies!)

Continue reading "A site for sore eyes" »

Posted by Nancy Knight at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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It's here!

Read Street is on facebook. Become a fan, and tell us about what you want to see. And if you're not on Facebook yet, (Dave, I'm looking at you), join in the fun. Peer pressure ...

Also, this week's best haiku (I'm partial to robots, but I guess book-themed poetry is also appropriate) earns themselves a book. What? Seventeenth-century Japanese poetry form is totally futuristic!

If I receive no haikus, I'm keeping the thing, which also makes me happy. Good luck!

Posted by Nancy Knight at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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Perhaps -- OK, definitely -- inspired by my viewing of WALL-E, this weekend, (go go go) I thought now would be a good time to explore the technology of books.

I'm not talking about the fine work Mr. Gutenberg did in 1440. I'm talking about the intersection of the alphabet and binary.

As Read Street regular Aaron K. points out to me, Amazon thinks that they've got that future with Kindle. I'm not convinced.

Continue reading "Looking into the future..." »

Posted by Nancy Knight at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Today, Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library says goodbye to Joan Massel, who has worked there for 57 years. She served under seven Pratt executive directors to become the longest-serving city employee, according to the Pratt. She began in the Technical Service Department at age 17 and now is executive secretary to the deputy director.

A fan of mysteries, she's now reading Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry and among her retirement gifts were autographed novels by a favorite, Laura Lippman.

In my book, Massel is one of the unsung heroes of American life. I bet most readers can recall a soft-spoken, smiling librarian who welcomed them to the world of books. These men and women restore a human scale to our libraries, which, like the Pratt, are often imposing, monumental buildings. That certainly is what I felt as a kid in New Britain, Conn., as I walked up the stone steps to the massive downtown city library, and found a quiet preserve inside. Does any librarian or library stand out in your memory?  

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 9:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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It seems like there are a lot of summertime babies out there, and I'm no exception. And luckily for me, I have a very thoughtful friend who signed me up for a service called One Story to celebrate the big day.

 The premise is simple: one short story approximately every three weeks, mailed directly to you for your enjoyment. And if you don't enjoy it, be patient! There's another one coming your way in a few weeks. The organization also hosts events for readers and writers in NYC, and interviews of the authors. For $21, you get 18 issues and the chance to read stories you might never have known otherwise.

So consider this a thank you, friend of mine. You know exactly how to make this bookworm happy.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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So one of my favorite places to explore on the Internet is Girl-Wonder.org, a collection of sites that focuses on both female characters and creators of comic books. And there are even T-shirts!

As to content, there are columns, comics and papers that deal with both the trivial (a comic billed as "Jane Austen meets Die Hard"? Oh yeah!) and the serious (yes, who exactly thought it was a good idea to give Mary Jane Parker cancer from her Spider-Man lovin'?).

OK, I know what you're thinking -- this is way too geeky for me. To which I say, oh just try it! Especially if you're at all interested in a community of smart women, and the men who can keep up with them, talking about saving the world, and their favorite characters.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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 As anyone who grew up with Louisa May Alcott, Emily Dickinson, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Maya Angelou or Jane Austen can tell you, women authors rock. They've written some of the best-known and best-selling memoirs, poetry, novels and plays in the world.

So this week, I want to hear about the women who penned the words that expand your mind and define your world.

I'll go first: I've got to send a little bit of love to Ann M. Martin, who made babysitting look oh-so-cool. Anne Rice kept me up way too late, wishing Lestat would be my new best friend. Katharine Graham inspired me to journalistic greatness. And finally, Josephine Tey, (AKA Elizabeth Mackintosh) who wrote my favorite mystery novel, The Daughter of Time.

(Photo by bizior at stock.xchng.com)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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In the meantime, we'll give Heather what she wants: one of the books from Dave's list o' best-sellers.

It seems like only yesterday we were worried no one would ever read our blog. I guess we showed them! Thanks to you guys, Dave and I are delving deeper into Baltimore's book scene, and I hope you're enjoying what we find.

But don't be shy! Let us know what you like, what you don't like and what more you want to see.

(Photo by lusi at stock.xchng.com)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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 On Friday, Slate published an article by author Jason Fagone about his lifelong devotion to typography, and a new Website where you can create your own.

The site reminds me of the old paintshop program I used to fiddle around with when I had gotten sick of playing hangman on the family computer -- way before spider solitaire, of course.

And I have already wasted hours perfecting my font, which I have named after my kitten. Logic follows that it will be cute, but completely crazy.

If you're a fellow lover of typography, but DIY fonts aren't quite your style, you should check out the documentary Helvetica. And just to keep this post a little more literary, David Sacks wrote an incredible history of the alphabet titled Letter Perfect, documenting how our alphabet developed into what it is today.

(Photo by vassiliki at stock.xchng.com)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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I got an e-mail from a friend recently with a book problem. More specifically, she has too many and doesn't want to schlep them up to New York City when she moves this summer. "I think you should blog about how to sell or donate books in Baltimore, because I am finding it difficult to find an easy process," she writes.

Luckily for her -- and you -- there are plenty of places that want your books. Here's a brief, and I'm sure incomplete, list:

The Book Thing states its mission statement on nearly every page of their site: to put "unwanted books into the hands of those who want them." The operation on Vineyard Lane in Baltimore fills a warehouse with books. To donate, all you have to do is show up and toss them (gently) into the bin. Then you can spend the hour browsing for new ones. Although I guess that defeats the purpose of downsizing in the first place...

According to their Web site, Baltimore Reads has donated more than 1 million new and used books to disadvantaged families since 1992. And their drop-off spot is pretty easy to find, on the side of The Sun's building on North Calvert Street. But you do have to make an appointment ahead of time, so it will take a little more forethought on your part to donate.

But what if you have A LOT of books to get rid of? For instance, let's say you're a publisher with an excess in inventory. The International Book Bank wants it! The IBB has been in Baltimore since 1990, sending donated books to developing countries to promote literacy everywhere.

Continue reading "Donating books is more fun than packing them" »

Posted by Nancy Knight at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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So now that summer is upon us, and we may have a little free time in our schedules (ha!) I thought it would be a good time to explore volunteer opportunities around Baltimore. Whether it's teaching children their ABCs, reading aloud for people with disabilities or just donating those old books in your attic that you haven't looked at for years, I want to hear about it.

There are lots of places, including libraries, schools and book banks, to share your knowledge, time or unwanted tomes. This week, I'll profile those local organizations.

So if you already are sharing your love of books, or need volunteers for your organization, let us know about it.

(Photo by hortongrou at stock.xchng.com)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Cheers for Maggie Tighe! The 11th-grader at Gov. Thomas Johnson High School in Frederick was named this week as one of six national winners in the Letters About Literature contest. She directed a $10,000 grant from co-sponsor Target to the Monocacy Middle School Library. (She also pocketed a $500 Target giftcard.)

The contest asks students to write a letter to an author who has inspired them. Maggie wrote to Aldous Huxley, saying her friends had been spoiled by a Wikipedia-fueled intellectual laziness. An excerpt: "My generation is learning to take the easy way out. To me, it feels as if it is only a matter of time until society disintegrates into what your novel, Brave New World, presented — a mass of soulless bodies that have become lethargic and who are disinterested in individuality, spirituality, or progress." Here's the entire letter, (click on the Level III winner). 

Her letter was one of nearly 60,000 in the annual contest, co-sponsored by the Maryland Center for the Book at the Maryland Humanities Council, the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, and Target Stores.               

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Children, Whatever
        

That stupid Carrie Bradshaw.

Not only has she taken most of my girlfriends hostage lately, she totally stole a page from my colleague's book ...

(Yeah, like I'm going to spoil you before the jump and risk having my head used as target practice for every stiletto in Baltimore that HASN'T gone to the movie yet. If there are any.)

Continue reading "I want my $8 and 2.5 hours back" »

Posted by Nancy Knight at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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I had been chatting with my friend Andy about this cool "new" thing -- literary tattoos! -- when he casually mentioned "Oh, yeah, I've got a Mad Hatter."

So, of course, I immediately made him roll up his pant leg and show me. 

See? These things are everywhere.

So if you have one you're just dying to share, send 'em my way. Or drop a comment with a link, so all the world can see.

And as for Mary's query about what my own literary tattoo would be, I was thinking about a HUGE rendering of Harry Potter's face, over the expanse of my back. That wouldn't be creepy at all.

Or, in a subtler moment, I might choose The Sun's 168-year-old motto, "Light for All." It may be corny, but it's the reason I got into the business in the first place -- and in my opinion, a good way to live life.

(Photo courtesy of Andy Leach)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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 I noticed a few literary tattoo Web sites were popping up on the Internet, including bookworms with ink, Literary Tattoos for People who Love Books and Contrariwise, which began only last month. (I checked out the sites, and didn't see anything too risque, but if your boss catches you looking at some girl's lower back, don't say I didn't warn you.)

"I find the phenomenon fascinating, especially given the lowbrow nature of the tattoo," Contrariwise's Jen told me. "Now tattoos are prevalent on literature majors, intellectuals and nerds. (And I mean "nerd" in the best way possible.)"

Continue reading "When a book leaves its mark" »

Posted by Nancy Knight at 4:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Sometimes, I am hopelessly awkward. Usually, it's OK, but lately I've noticed it's happening more and more often in public...and I blame it entirely on my reading habit.

For instance, a couple of weeks ago, I was standing in line at Chipotle (no, they're not paying me for product placement, but maybe they should -- in burritos) and I noticed the guy behind me had one of my favorite books in his hand. So I blurted out, "Hey, great book!" And the guy gives me an "are you seriously hitting on me with that line" look. I turned back to my burrito in shame.

Which is nothing compared to the time some guy on the D.C. metro was reading a book I'd recently finished. (I recognized it by the font -- that's normal, right?) He moved away when he realized I had been eyeing him strangely for 15 minutes.

But I wasn't! It was the book! Really!

Anyway, after much thought, I've decided there are definitely worse ways of picking a date, as I'm sure Miss James has chronicled. But if you've ever made a love connection -- or just a fool of yourself -- over a book, I'd love to know I'm not the only one.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Novel Destinations, a new book from National Geographic, call itself a guide to the "haunts, homes and watering holes where beloved authors, from Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters to John Steinbeck and Mark Twain, sought solace and found inspiration." You can read this interview with authors Shannon McKenna Schmidt and Joni Rendon for more insight on the book.

For a local version, try the Maryland Humanities Council's literary Mount Vernon walking tour, whose highlights include the sites where Upton Sinclair was born and F. Scott Fitzgerald lived. We'll take the tour soon and write about it. But if you can't wait, go here.

The Baltimore Literary Heritage Project, of the University of Baltimore School of Communications Design, also has lots of information about local sites that are linked to famous writers.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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 News from Publishers Weekly: Three new Dune novels by Brian Herbert (son of Frank) and Kevin J. Anderson are on the way, backed by a seven-figure advance The titles are Jessica of Dune, Irulan of Dune and Leto of Dune.

I'm a huge fan of the original Dune, as we discussed in our Wednesday list of great science fiction. And I agree with commenters Pat and Matt that none of the sequels I've read has matched the grandeur of the original.

So while the Herbert/Anderson publishing machine is at it, why not churn out another book: Dave of Dune. Plot summary: An editor at The Sun, in a Natty Boh-induced trance (similar to melange), collides with a CSX train hauling 200 boxcars of Ultra Clutch aerosol hairspray. The ensuing mushroom cloud of mist rips a huge hole in the ozone layer. As the planet warms, crops turn to dust, huge insects roam Earth and the sands from both coasts threaten to reach Chicago. But Dave lassos a giant dragonfly and sews up the hole in the ozone layer, saving the planet from becoming another Arrakis. Throw in some conniving relatives, a warring empire or two, and could it be any worse than the other sequels?   

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 4:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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This week, my family tearfully said goodbye to Poppy, our 12-year-old standard poodle. Surely not the most devastating event in the world -- not after tens of thousands have died from a cyclone and earthquake. But for us, as for any pet owner, it's a time of great, great sorrow. We recall an utterly devoted companion who was playful and graceful, cautious and gentle. 

As a tribute, I asked Mutts blogger John Woestendiek for his favorite books about dogs. He started with Dog Years by Mark Doty, which is about coping with loss.  Not sure I'm up to reading it yet, but I will keep it in mind. As for the rest of the Poppy tribute list ...

Continue reading "Paean to a poodle" »

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 4:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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The Baltimore Science Fiction Society has a storied history, beginning in 1963, sputtering five years later, then coming back for good in 1974.

According to the Web site, in the organization's 45 year history, it's founded the annual fanzine BSFAN, which publishes anything and everything science fiction; established the Compton Crook Award (named after the Baltimore author) for the year's best sci-fi novel; started the Young Writers Contest for promising genre authors 18 and younger; and, of course, founded Balticon.

In its 42nd year, Balticon brings authors, editors, publishers, artists and filmmakers together for four days to greet their fans and talk about everything science fiction. This year's guest of honor is Connie Willis, and in what must be a shout out to the number Balticon this is, (42 is the answer to life, the universe and everything, after all) the "ghost" of honor is Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Registration for the event ranges from $59 for a full weekend to $14 for Monday alone.

If the pricetag deters you, however, feel free to wander over to the BSFS headquarters year-round at 3310 E. Baltimore St. They have a library of more than 7,000 books and movies that is open for the public to borrow.

And for the organization's monthly meetings, peruse the Read Street calendar.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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  It's a great time to be a Civil War buff. In a "Web exclusive," Newsweek takes notice of our country's latest obsession: Abraham Lincoln.

You may have noticed the success of last year's  Manhunt, by James L. Swanson. But Philip L. Ostergard's The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, Joe Wheeler's Abraham Lincoln, A Man of Faith and Courage, William Lee Miller's President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman and even The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, were all published in just the past four months. 

With our 16th president's birthday bicentennial a mere nine months away, the book industry will soon be at full throttle, and the race clearly begins in Baltimore with Daniel Mark Epstein's The Lincolns.

He'll be at the Johns Hopkins Barnes & Noble in Charles Village today at 7 p.m. to discuss and sign his book.

 (Photo by vxdigital at stock.xchng)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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We came across the news that Tommy Lee Jones is signed on to adapt, direct, produce and star in Hemingway's Islands in the Stream, John Goodman and Morgan Freeman -- I don't care how many Almighty movies he does, I still love this man -- will also star.

Which led us to wonder, who would we choose to star in our other Hemingway favorites?

Continue reading "The Old Man and the Reel" »

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In other words, geeks are some of the most literary people I know. And while I'm going to focus on the science fiction and fantasy genres that can often be their bread and butter, the fact is that the stereotypes are way outdated. So let's all let our inner-geek out to for a while. Or...I will, at least.

Check back in the coming days for more information on Balticon, a few of our favorite sci-fi and fantasy books, and more.

*I hope all my WoW-loving friends recognize this as the shout-out it is, and not an insult. I would never have been able to hold a decent conversation comparing the merits of DC and Marvel without you.

(Photo by Morrhigan at stock.xchang)

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I spoke to The Enoch Pratt Library's public information officer, Roswell Encina, yesterday about the goals of The Big Read and its reception in the community. 

"Out of more than a dozen books we were given to choose from, we picked Bless Me, Ultima because of the growing Latina population," he explains. It was also launched in conjunction with MPT's new Spanish programming, V-me. "We're getting a great response." 

And a lot of Baltimore acts have gotten in on the action, including the Baltimore Blast's Carlos Garcia, who recently attended a Little Read discussion of Rudolfo Anaya's new children's book, The First Tortilla.

Besides the area's Hispanic population, there's a groundswell of interest in the community at large, Encina reports. For instance, at the Southeast Anchor weekly children's reading, Buena Casa, Buena Brasa, "every Wednesday, it is packed. Fifty to 60 kids and their parents -- Asian, Caucasian, African-American families all attend. It is a great testament" to the community's welcome of their Hispanic neighbors and desire to learn.

"They can't understand each other," Encina adds. "But they care so much for each other."

It's not too late to join in the fun. The books and discussion guides for both the Big and Little Reads are available free of charge at your local library, and events continue through the end of the month.

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Mary asked what my personal favorites are in the list of 100 most challenged books, and I have quite a few. I find it more than a little funny that most of the books I read ad nauseum, including the Goosebumps series and Shel Silverstein's eccentric poetry, are somehow considered threatening -- even 10, 15, 20 years later.

So a short list of my favorite challenged books (and thanks, Mom, for not sheltering me from these gems.):

• Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson. Actually, I just loved Paterson growing up. She had another novel that I broke the spine of over years of reading, called Jacob Have I Loved. As a tomboy growing up on the Eastern Shore, I totally felt that this woman GOT me.
• The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton. Anyone who doesn't sniffle a little at Johnny's last words to Ponyboy is no friend of mine.
• Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes. This book was just mind-blowing for me as a kid. Feeling your intelligence, personality and understanding of the world slipping away, knowing there's nothing you can do about it? Creepy! And sad. I'm starting to see a pattern here...

There are quite a few on the list I've never heard of, and now the rebellious youngster in me is just itching to read them.

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According to the American Library Association, Bless Me, Ultima was one of the most frequently challenged books of the '90s. While that's probably not considered a compliment, per se, at least it means people are paying attention.

 Check out the full list of 100, which also includes the Harry Potter series (naturally), A Wrinkle In Time, The Outsiders and To Kill a Mockingbird. Not even Roald Dahl is safe!

 (Photo by ugaldew at stock.xchng)

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Baltimore was chosen by the National Endowment for the Arts to take part in The Big Read this year. The program, designed to encourage communitites to read, is sponsored by Maryland Public Television and the Enoch Pratt Library.

Scheduled events include book discussions and 'Little Read' activities at library branches; discussions in juvenile detention programs; Mayor's Book Club activities at City Hall; and giveaways at the CityLit festival, Orioles games and Cinco de Mayo festivities, according to the MPT Web site.

If you missed the CityLit festival and a few of the other events listed, take heart! The book is a quick (I started and finished it last week) and satisfying read about a Hispanic boy struggling to understand concepts of good and evil, and how those forces work in the world around him.

There are discussions being held at libraries and recreation centers all around town throughout May. I plan to check out the Hamilton branch's event tonight.

For more information about upcoming Big Read events in your community, take a look at the Read Street calendar at the top right of this page.

(Photo courtesy of me, and I promise I'll get better at this.)

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