April 7 marks yet another beginning of, well, everything. That is, if you’re a believer in the Old Testament, Jonathan Goldstein style.Goldstein, contributing editor to This American Life and author of Lenny Bruce Is Dead, has re-imagined neurotically, meticulously and laugh-out loud funny some of his favorite Old Testament heroes. Publishers Weekly says of Goldstein’s […]
Author Archives: Matt Borondy
Tell No One on DVD this week
Guillaume Canet’s Tell No One, a French thriller based on a bestselling American novel by Harlan Coben, is out on DVD this week.
VIDEO: Scenes from the "Climate Justice" Rally in D.C. March 2, 2009
From afterdowningstreet.org: “A huge and spirited rally demanding ‘Climate Justice,’ was held in Washington, D.C., on March 2, 2009. This video reflects some of the crowd scenes from that event; interviews with activists Anne Havemann of Chesapeake Climate Action; and Kate Lally of Baltimore’s Rising Tide; and a speech from Washington, D.C. Council Member, the […]
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Google Book Search, National Grammar Day, David Foster Wallace
NY Times on Google Book Search: “The almost comically sweeping attempt to reach the world’s entire literate population is a reflection of the ambitions of the Google Book Search project, in which the company hopes to digitize every book — famous or not, in any language, published anywhere on earth — found in the world’s […]
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Literary links, sans comment
THE 2008 BELIEVER BOOK AWARD: Editors’ Short ListThe Nation reviews George, Being George: George Plimpton’s Life as Told, Admired, Deplored, and Envied by 200 Friends, Relatives, Lovers, Acquaintances, RivalsThe personal blog of Richard Nash, who is leaving Soft Skull.The Complete Review asks of the Warwick Prize judges, “Dear god, is this what literary commentary has […]
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Joyce Carol Oates on "Zombie"
Joyce Carol Oates talks to the NY Times about the stage adaptation of her novella, “Zombie”:“It’s a one-man play…a monologue, as if from the inside of a very troubled man’s head. You’re really descended into his soul.”From the NY Times‘ review of the play:“Quentin P. seems a familiar type at first. In his 30s, Quentin […]
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The New Yorker launches online book club
In brainstorming possible additions for the new version of Identity Theory (coming soon!), I thought, “Why not an online book club?”It turns out the New Yorker was on the same wavelength, as they launched an online book club of their own this week (after a month of “beta testing”).The first book they’re having members read […]
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Eudaemonic Reading
I recently purchased The Art of Happiness (by the Dalai Lama) at a tiny local used bookstore after watching an older man have an unemployment-related breakdown at the cash register because the manager would not give him a job application.
"No" to AWP, "Yes" to Chris Bohjalian
No, Identity Theory is not attending AWP this year. We have never, ever attended AWP. 2009 seemed like a good year for that to change, but the combination of Chicago + Winter + Valentine’s Day did not exactly motivate us to endure the trials and tribulations of flying tiny regional jets. So, more power to […]
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Green Jobs for Whom?
Over at In These Times, Christopher Weber explores the development of green jobs and asks such questions as: “Will these jobs be as plentiful–and as worker-friendly–as the new administration and environmentalists would have us believe? And can green businesses really create opportunities for workers given the current economic crisis?”Good news for Christopher and others in […]
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Sloths, comics, and The Lagoon
A couple of months ago I read a pretty great graphic novel called The Lagoon, by Lilli Carre. It’s kind of hard to explain what it’s about–there’s a thing living in a lagoon, and weird stuff happens when it sings. The drawings are perfect. It’s actually a perfect book, or almost. Then, for Christmas, I […]
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Monday’s Margins: Shepard Fairey, 2666, Kindle
n+1 on Shepard Fairey, creator of Obama “Hope” poster: “The problem that Shephard (sic) Fairey presents also leads to a fear: that he may be, in fact, the perfect portraitist to render Obama. The purveyor of radical aesthetics is rendering the visage of radical hope–neither of whom is very radical.”Robert Birnbaum writes: “This is a […]
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David Foster Wallace and a Quiet Purging
Last we blogged I bragged. “I’ll read a slew of women and one man,” I wrote. Big talk.I started off well–beautifully, sadly, amazingly, actually–with Yiyun Li’s A Thousand Years of Good Prayers and Jennifer Pashley’s States.I had intended then to fold back the cover of Doris Lessing’s The Golden Notebook, but before I got to […]
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Roberto Bolano, Jim Harrison, and more
In no particular order: 2666 by Roberto Bolano, The Romantic Dogs by Roberto Bolano (poems), Saving Daylight by Jim Harrison (poems), Just Before Dark by Jim Harrison (non fiction), Flying by Eric Kraft, Runner by Thomas Perry, Waltzing with Bashir (graphic novel), Angels and Ages by Adam Gopnik, The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano, Life […]
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The Way Through Doors, The Elephant Vanishes
I just picked up the new Jesse Ball novel The Way Through Doors at Powell’s the other day, and I’ve brought it with me to Marfa, TX where I’m spending the month of February. That and The Elephant Vanishes by Murakami.–Anna-Lynne Williams, music editor
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