2009
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The Black Mirror in British Art
Brian Dillon at the Guardian reviews a London exhibition, Dark Monarch, that traces imagery of the occult through British art, and Dillon devotes his review to exploring one motif prevalent in the show: the black mirror.
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ABA Challenges Big-Box “Predatory Pricing”
Two weeks ago, the American Booksellers Association, an organization of independent booksellers, asked the Justice Department to investigate what it describes as “illegal predatory pricing” by big-box retailers Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, and Target. The price war began on October 15 when…
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Morning Coffee
Still have to work out a few minor tech problems, but we’re back. On eco-peril and how the Nazca caused their own collapse. Inflatable street art. Kurt Vonnegut’s book covers redesigned at last. How does one measure the distance between…
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TRUTH SERUM
Look Out in Front of You (Part 1)Oh, hey. Did you know Truth Serum also comes in the form of several different books? They’re even for sale.
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Duets with the Taliban
Just getting around to reading David Rohde’s epic, five-part series on his capture by, and escape from, the Taliban, which — along with the nifty interactive add-on feature — is as gripping as one might expect. I hate to say…
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Drying Out
“‘Listen, Truman,’ [John Cheever] told Truman Capote. ‘It’s the most terrible, glum place you can conceivably imagine. It’s really really, really grim. But I did come out of there sober.” Tom Shone’s “When Novelists Sober Up.” (via @Weegee)
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“Story of a Book Cover”
“[…] but I was worried that there was something else out there that we hadn’t thought of.” Ethan Watters, author of Urban Tribes, discusses his experiences choosing a cover for his new book, Crazy Like Us. The post includes images…
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Sam J. Miller’s 25-Word Reviews #2
Paranormal Activity (movie, dir. Oren Peli, 2009) Above-average scary. Neat pacing. Best with a full house in big cities. Overheard: “This is dumb good,” “We’re gonna have to get the bootleg.” The September Issue (movie, dir. R.J. Cutler, 2009)
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“C-A-P-P-U-C-C-I-N-O”
Rumpus New York Bureau Chief Rozalia Jovanovic has published a subjective account of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses‘ spelling bee: “James Frey, Ben Greenman and Maira Kalman Spell Some Words.” Also, if you haven’t done so already, you…
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Random Media Notes
Why turn your blog back into a printed book? “Blog Bound” “Visit 200 web pages in a day, see on average 490,000 words; War and Peace was only 460,000 words.” The state of the link economy. Punches get thrown in…
