The Daily Rumpus
Get Overly Personal Emails
From Stephen Elliott
And a good morning to you, too! Now, to the book blogs…
Did you catch that The Wall Street Journal is getting rid of, wait… What did you say? No. You have to be kidding. They’re launching a book review section?
...moreMy relationship with the book blogs has hit a snag. Today, we got in a throw-down fight, and I came pretty close to breaking some china.
It’s just that the blogs whine and worry and complain a lot, and they always seem to want to cheat on me with famous writers, like Martin Amis or David Foster Wallace or Marquis de Sade, and then it rubs off on me, and I end up whining and worrying and complaining more than they do, and then I stop liking myself.
...moreWhy is it that I find better political links when I read through literary sites than when I go to political blogs?
“If I want to be remembered for anything it’s for introducing a different way of thinking about the world, whether it’s about war, about human rights, about equality…And that the power ultimately rests in the people themselves.” — Howard Zinn at Big Think.
...moreWith so many shopping days left until whenever, there is no end to the amount of printed matter out there that is riveting, ravishing and ultimately rewarding.
The book blogs are overwhelming to someone like me who wants to read everything.
...more“Felicino: I thought writers were the least reliable guys when it comes to define what they’re writing. And most of them don’t really care.
Gio: Well, as a reader and a writer, I care. Let’s see what they say out there.
...moreAmericans think the most annoying expression ever is “whatever,” especially midwestern, Latino, non-college graduates under the age of 45 who make less than a hundred thousand a year. Yes, they really poll this stuff. (via)
“Maybe one day we could make a bestseller without ever selling a book in a store.
...more“I think there’s a lot of thoughtful engagement with books on blogs—a lot of quick-hit riffing and expressions of enthusiasm, and I participate in some of that myself. That has its place—I wouldn’t do it if I think it didn’t—but it isn’t a replacement for the kind of considered reviewing that appears in newspapers, magazines, and the better-financed online publications.
...moreI’m hoping to God that it’s just temporary, but for whatever reason, the book blogs are suddenly all worried about ethics, whether it’s what to do about reading writers with objectionable opinions or whether writers should base characters on people they know.
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