I have a couple of book reviews in the works for the next couple of days but wanted to give you something to chew on in the mean time. Here are some links to hold you over until the much anticipated reviews (in my own mind at least) are posted:
– John Nadler over at Contemporary Nomad discusses Phillip Roth’s longevity:
Roth has soldiered on, and his books are likely to survive him. Why? He is inordinately talented, possessing a mastery of the craft that Uris, Ruark, and Michener lacked. The theme of many Roth novels has been the American Jewish experience, which in turn explores themes (prejudice, the clash of Old World with the New, the isolation of modern urban man) that are identical to the broader American immigrant experience, and clearly strikes a chord among Jews and Gentiles alike. Roth, different from Michener say, chose the moment as the topic of his literature, from the comedic Portnoy’s Complaint, which captured the rebellion of the 1960s, to the Zuckerman trilogy of the 1970s that depicted the moral compromises the ’70s was beginning to demand of the ’60s generation.
I left this question for John and I will repeat it here: I haven’t read any Roth, if you had to pick one Roth book to recommend what would it be?
– Do you find book specific blogs interesting? Do you think they are good marketing tools?
–> Slate in many ways pioneered this tactic with their book club. This week they have one on a book in my TBR pile, Politics Lost by Joel Klein.
–> NRO has one on John Podhoretz’s anti-Hillary tome Can She Be Stopped.
–> Stepping away from politics, Harper Collins has a blog for the book Fly By Night. Here is how it is described:
In which acclaimed author Frances Hardinge and her editor Michael Stearns (henceforth our heroes) undertake a breathless, breakneck tour across the continent and back—visiting seven cities, seventeen schools, eight libraries and bookstores, and one enormous (and rather interesting) gathering of national booksellers. A thrilling adventure filled with moments of high danger, humor, and courageous acts.
– Speaking of an “one enormous (and rather interesting) gathering of national booksellers,” I won’t be attending BEA. I was very tempted to attend as it sounds like a lot of fun and I have friends in DC. But the timing just wasn’t right as my wife’s birthday is Saturday and it would have been too much trouble to find a sitter for the dogs and family vacation. Plus, I am not sure she would have wanted me to slip off to a book convention while we were on vacation!
But other bloggers will be in attendance and you can read their accounts. So check out Ed, Sarah and Ron, and any other bloggers who are lucky enough to be attending.
