Art
BOOKS: “Everything” by Kevin Canty
Where do you start a novel called “Everything?” Kevin Canty opens with two protagonists, June and RL, sitting on the bank of a Montana river drinking Johnnie Walker Red from the bottle. MORE...
BOOKS: Elegies for the Brokenhearted
Young Mary Murphy, the protagonist of Christie Hodgen’s new novel “Elegies for the Brokenhearted,” has already had a tough life. Her beautiful mother goes through husbands like so many brands of toothpaste MORE...
FIRST NOVELS: Kapitoil
Karim Issar is a gifted programmer from Doha, Qatar. It is 1999, and all hands are on deck in New York to patch shortsighted computer programs scheduled to implode when the century rolls over. Y2K is our apocalypse, and thank God there is enough immigrant talent in the world to save our bacon. MORE...
Artwork: You Bought It, You (Don’t) Own It!
Whenever we buy a work of art, we wrestle with its value and price before we make the purchase. But in short order we disengage from the monetary issues, often not looking at the financial asset we have. . . Big mistake. MORE...
BOOKS: American Subversive
David Goodwillie is getting a lot of publicity about his new book “American Subversive” – much of it in his own Twitter feed to loyal followers. Twitter accounts, Facebook events and video book trailers now come standard with almost every new book release. In our video theater this week is the promotional trailer for “American Subversive.” Keep reading and you will see Bruce Jacobs’ traditional review. Which sells the book best? You decide. - The Editors MORE...
The Stephen King Phenomenon
Stephen King owns the book world. When he wanted to publish a nice fat hardcover book like “Under the Dome”, Simon & Schuster laid out two million of them in the first printing. When he wanted to bypass any publisher at all, he posted the serialized novel “The Plant” on his website. When he wanted to do a comic, Marvel stepped up and sold several hundred thousand copies of a graphic version of his “Dark Tower” series. When Amazon released the Kindle, he sold them an exclusive electronic version of “Ur.” If he ever wants to write a 140-character story, I suspect he will Tweet it. What Stephen King wants to do, he does. MORE...
BOOKS: The Lake Shore Limited
“The play’s the thing…” and you know how the rest goes. These are Hamlet’s words to describe his plan to gin up some special lines for the local troupe to put in their play so that he can watch for a reaction from Claudius confirming his part in the murder of Hamlet’s father. MORE...
BOOKS: So Much for That
“So Much for That”
By Lionel Shriver
Harper ($25.99, 433 pp.)
Who doesn’t dream of retiring with a million dollar IRA and then moving to some island where the living is cheap, the air smells of spices, and the sun always shines? Shepherd Knacker has it all planned out in the opening of Lionel Shriver’s new novel “So Much for That”. His airline… MORE...
BOOKS: What Happens in Austin Stays in Austin
Kevin Quinn has recently turned fifty. His girlfriend thinks she might be pregnant. Kevin has lived in Ann Arbor all his life and now is an editor (the only editor) for the publications division of the Asian Studies department. On a whim he has applied for an editing job in Austin and has been invited for an interview. He meets many people but is still very much alone in his own head as the day goes by. MORE...
BOOKS: Why Translation Matters
Academic lectures are usually snoozers in person. They can be even worse when transcribed into a book, the intent of which is usually to satisfy the surprisingly still prevalent “publish or perish” mandate for academic success (the “perish” part being dramatically illustrated recently by the infamous Amy Bishop shootout at the University of Alabama-Huntsville). MORE...
PY (to video client): Does the carcass move at all?
Follow
Subscribe
I want my Week Behind!our staff
recommends...