From the monthly archives:
The Secret is a big hit in Iran, thanks to a growing “self-help” movement that’s very popular with Iran’s young and largely unemployed populace: In other Middle East countries with similar demographics, like Egypt and Turkey, young people are increasingly turning back to their Muslim identity for solace. But Iran’s mostly well-educated youth are more [...]
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This interview with Gore Vidal in the New York Times is pure reading enjoyment: How did you feel when you heard that Buckley died this year? I thought hell is bound to be a livelier place, as he joins forever those whom he served in life, applauding their prejudices and fanning their hatred. Do you [...]
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Big Celtics fan? Want this new Larry Bird book, In the Backyard Shooting Hopes? Well, you can’t have it. Because it doesn’t exist. This is a prop from The Sarah Silverman Program, which shot an episode at our store yesterday. They also hung a banner outside that read “Meet Larry Bird Today!” which caused us [...]
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Ever notice how many of my posts have that headline? Anyway, with all the amazing events at the store and the work that goes into preparing for them, I haven’t had a lot of time to post any new and interesting goodies. I will point out that all of our July and August events are [...]
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If you’re a fan of contemporary fiction, this week’s events are insanely good. I get to host all three, and even though that means staying late, I’m pretty excited about them. First up is Darin Strauss, tonight. He’s been getting love on the blogs from Jacket Copy and GalleyCat. Strauss’ has been blogging about his [...]
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There are certain moments, certain leaps forward in technology and aesthetics that define an epoch. They are moments that have you noting the date and time you first witnessed them, so that you’d be able to say “I was there when…” The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. Man walking on the moon. When McDonalds [...]
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My love for lists of all sorts is well-known, so you can imagine my joy when I discovered Entertainment Weekly‘s list of “The 100 best reads from 1983 to 2008.” When a magazine like Entertainment Weekly, which consists primarily of lists anyway, releases a list like this, well, I take notice. All joking aside, this [...]
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Has anyone else noticed that a lot of the blogs have gone silent? Not just this one, but a bunch of them. What’s up? Summer doldrums? Everybody’s busy reading Ulysses after I zinged them on Monday? Over at Jacket Copy, they’ve been going on and on about Denis Johnson’s serialized novel in Playboy. Am I [...]
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Salman Rushdie was at Vroman’s on Saturday. I was surprised by how many people saw him on stage, then said, in hushed tones, “I’m surprised he’s just out in the open like that, with those people after him.” This is a big misconception about Salman Rushdie, that he’s an endangered species and very serious guy, [...]
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Today, June 16, is the day on which Ulysses takes place. So today, more than any other day, is the day when your friends and coworkers will pretend to have read Ulysses.
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