March 04, 2012
Why a Book Costs 23 Million (and some spare change) on Amazon
Plus shipping. [Thanks to Patricia O'Conner]...
June 15, 2011
Grantland Debuts
ESPN's Bill Simmons has launched the ambitious sports website, Grantland: so far, so good. We especially loved a long oral history of the rise and fall of a national sports newspaper, The National, and an informative summary of some of...
January 14, 2011
Social Network Screenplay
If you haven't seen The Social Network, you should. If you haven't read Aaron Sorkin's screenplay, you should. And here's a link, courtesy of Deadline Hollywood....
September 06, 2010
How Panhandlers Use Free Credit Cards
A Toronto reporter investigates....
April 05, 2010
Bob Garfield's Last Advertising Age Column
Advertising Age's most popular columnist, hangs it up after 25 years. Good reading....
February 22, 2010
It Finally Happened
Today, Amazon sent me an email saying I might be interested in reading the following book:...
October 19, 2009
Recession Road Trip
The Atlantic's Christina Davidson has traveled across the U.S. in her car for more than four months, chronicling the effect of the economic downturn on ordinary individuals. Most of the stories are heartbreaking, including her latest dispatch, about a "happy...
September 29, 2009
Who Is Grady Harp?
Ever wonder who those top reviewers are on Amazon? Garth Risk Hallberg susses them out....
September 04, 2009
Visuwords
It's kind of a dictionary. It's kind of a thesaurus. It's kind of fun....
August 26, 2009
My Name is Roger, and I'm an alcoholic
Roger Ebert writes movingly about drinking, his 30 years of sobriety, and how he got involved with Alcoholics Anonymous....
July 22, 2009
The Word
Along with Mojo, The Word is arguably the best rock and roll magazine on the planet. One cool feature of the online The Word: a Google Earth interactive map detailing where iconic album covers were photographed. [Thanks to James Cassidy]...
June 05, 2009
Away We Don't Go
It's not often I bother posting a warning about a pop culture experience. But unless you are an aficionado of annoying movies, I urge you not to see Away We Go, directed by Sam "Revolutionary Road" and "American Beauty" Mendes,...
February 08, 2009
What Do Charlie Sheen and Distance Learning Have in Common?
Economist Ian Ayres's latest post on Freakonomics is well worth reading....
January 11, 2009
Satire Is What Closes Saturday Night
So sayeth George S. Kaufman. But satire is alive and well on Amazon.com. Introducing the wit of Ari Brouillette......
November 19, 2008
Anecdotes
Joel Spolsky isn't too high on Malcolm Gladwell's new book, or bloggers who share anecdotes and opinions rather than share knowledge about they actually know. Too many anecdotes, not enough information, according to Spolsky....
September 25, 2008
Is the Tipping Point Toast?
We have professed our fondness for Malcolm Gladwell before. But we were impressed with the arguments of Duncan Watts in this article from Fast Company. [Thanks to Sam Ford]...
August 31, 2008
Beauty and the Geek Game Theory
The show might have bitten the dust, but that doesn't mean it can't still inspire deep thoughts....
August 03, 2008
Words Should Be Funner
So argues dictionary editor Erin McKean (full disclosure: a pal) in an excellent piece in the Boston Globe. Stop apologizing and start coining!...
June 30, 2008
Malcolm Gladwell on Writers' Conflicts of Interest...
...with plenty of interesting detours along the way....
June 29, 2008
How Much Is a Handful?
Some folks, including this amateur cook, are mystified by how vague some cookbooks are about quantities of ingredients to put into recipes. In his most recent blog post, cookbook writer extraordinaire David Lebovitz explains the dilemmas from the other side....
June 10, 2008
FREE! FREE! FREE!
No, we're not giving anything away for free, but if you hate paying exorbitant fees for directory assistance, and aren't familiar with GOOG411, how does free sound to you? And if you aren't near your Imponderables collection and want a...
June 02, 2008
How the States Got Their Shape
It's rare that a book is published on Imponderables-like subjects that make me slap my forehead, albeit metaphorically, and think: "Gee, I should have thought of that." It's a terrific idea for a combination of history, geography, trivia, and downright...
March 31, 2008
Why LBJ Resigned
Historians have pondered why Lyndon Johnson chose not to run for reelection in 1968. Most assumed, in the midst of an unpopular war, LBJ concluded he couldn't win. In an OpEd piece in the Los Angeles Times , LBJ's appointment...
Oddest Book Titles
Shoot. Why Do Pirates Love Parrots? didn't even make the shortlist, let alone win the coveted title....
March 26, 2008
Talk to the Editor
My pal, Merrill Perlman, head of the copy editing at the New York Times, is answering questions from readers about the role of copy editing. She tackles questions ranging from what a copy desk is to why the Times now...
November 25, 2007
The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks
I thought I was the only one who got a kick out of the proliferation of misused quotation marks. Not true. [Thanks to James Gleick]...
July 08, 2007
Why Do [Most] Forks Have Four Tines?
Good Imponderable. But actually I wasn't asked this. Bram Cohen, creator of BitTorrent, has some thoughts on the subject on his blog. The comments by his readers are worth a look, too....
July 02, 2007
Doubt Ain't So Bad
You could do worse than to spend a few minutes with Joel Achenbach's column in the Washington Post, Three Cheers for Nervous Hand-Wringing. Achenbach explores our current notion that certainty and forcefulness is superior to doubting, questioning, and exploring. [Thanks...
April 23, 2007
The Rejecter
I love websites that give aspiring writers solid advice. If you are contemplating a life in publishing, as a writer, an editor, or an agent, you might want to read this blog. The Rejector is written by an anoynmous assistant...
April 22, 2007
The Best Book Promo Website I've Ever Seen
Miranda July's. [Thanks to Malcolm Mead]...
January 30, 2007
A Literary Debacle
In this week's New York, Vanessa Grigoriadis details the fall of editor Judith Regan at my publisher, HarperCollins. I have no inside information, but this account of the O.J. If I Did It fiasco, in particular, has the ring of...
January 15, 2007
Rolling Stone
Occasionally, Rolling Stone redeems itself. This issue's tributes to two giants of rock and roll, James Brown and Ahmet Ertegun (co-founder of Atlantic Records) is well worth reading. Some of it is online but if you are fans of these...
December 31, 2006
Newseum
Today's newspaper headlines. Today!...
December 19, 2006
Why Are Men Funnier than Women?
I'm not sure I agree with the premise of this Vanity Fair article by Christopher Hitchens, nor its conclusions. But it's worth reading....
November 29, 2006
RinkWorks
Don't have time to watch movies these days? How about a movie-a-minute? A book-a-minute can save you even more time. Plenty of other stuff to check out at RinkWorks, and I especially recommend the All Movie Talk, a weekly podcast...
October 18, 2006
Spiked
What is Spiked? It's an excellent online magazine based in England. So what? It's free and worth checking out, especially for a fascinating poll of many of the world's top scientists, asking them: If You Could Teach the World Just...
October 05, 2006
Too Lazy To Read Bob Woodward's New Book?
So are most of us. Which is why it's nice to have Slate provide us with just the juicy bits....
September 18, 2006
Book Review of the Year
Joe Queenan's review of Joe Eszterhas's (Flashdance, Showgirls, Sliver, Jade ) The Screenwriter as God! It's a masterpiece. [free registration to the New York Times might be required]...
September 05, 2006
Pale Immortal
My pal's novel, Pale Immortal, is released today. Anne Frasier isn't scary in real life, but she'll try her best to unhinge you in her work. Anne has created a terrific blog just for Pale Immortal, and it includes a...
March 23, 2006
Calvin Trillin in the New Yorker This Week
Calvin Trillin is my favorite nonfiction writer. He demonstrates why in this week's New Yorker, in which he writes a lovely remembrance and tribute to his wife, Alice, who died five years ago. I'll write more about Calvin Trillin after...
March 01, 2006
"Did Nancy Grace, TV Crimebuster, Muddy Her Myth?"
The weekly New York Observer has always boasted excellent television reporting. Rebecca Dana is doing wonderful work in her NYTV column. This week, she takes on CNN's Nancy Grace's backstory -- Grace is not quite in James Frey territory, but...
February 09, 2006
NY Times Arts
As much as I like to complain about it, the arts section in the New York Times might be the strongest of any daily in the country right now. Click on the today's arts section [free registration might be required]...
February 01, 2006
James Frey's Author's Note
Here is Frey's note that will accompany the new editions of A Million Little Pieces....
January 31, 2006
James Frey's Agent Breaks Her Silence...
in this interview with Publishers Weekly....
January 26, 2006
James Frey Alert
Guess where James Frey is appearing today? Oprah. This should be interesting....
January 12, 2006
James on James
As expected, James Frey's appearance on the Larry King Show was pathetic. Contrary to his belief, a memoir is not fiction, which is why it is categorized as nonfiction. Here's another James who has some sage words to say about...
January 11, 2006
James Frey on Larry King Tonight
By now, I assume you know about the scandal involving James Frey and the falsifications in A Million Little Pieces. Perhaps this is shallow of me, but another nail in his reputation, as far as I'm concerned, is Frey's decision...
December 07, 2005
A Charlie Brown Christmas Redux
So I watched ACBC again last night and loved it once again. Bill Nichols wrote a wonderful article about the making of the special, interviewing not only the producers, but the kids who voiced the characters....
December 04, 2005
Good Sunday Reading
I try not to link too often to the New York Times, as I'm well aware that (free) registration is required. But if you don't follow this link, you'll miss a terrific article by Michael Lewis about the brilliant, eccentric...
November 17, 2005
Freakonomics
I don't usually read nonfiction bestsellers, but if you enjoy Malcolm Gladwell's writing, as I do and do and do, I think you'll like this book written by Steven D. Levitt, the economist, with the help of journalist Stephen J....
October 09, 2005
New Orleans and Toilet Training
While it's undeniably true that the only reason I've visited New Orleans so often is to eat there, I'm also charmed by its denizens. In today's New York Times Magazine (free registration might be required), native Michael Lewis returns to...
October 06, 2005
The Chosen
In this week's New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell reviews The Chosen, Jerome Karabel's history of the admissions policies of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Most of the publicity for the book has focused on how the Ivy League schools altered their admission...
August 31, 2005
The Writing Life
My friend Beth Amos is a terrific suspense and mystery writer, but like many talented novelists, she's had her shares of bumps in the road to commercial success. Her official website is full of tips for aspiring suspense novelists. But...
August 13, 2005
When She's Good, She's Great
New York Times television critic is coming into her own. It's refreshing to find a critic who "gets" television. I loved her piece about Laguna Beach. Heffernan rightly points out that this reality show is the most beautifully shot program...
August 02, 2005
Why Do Men Have Nipples?
According to Yahoo's article today, doctor Billy Goldberg answers this question in his new book. Gee, I wonder what Katherine Dunn would think of this book....
July 27, 2005
Multitasking of the Highest Magnitude
Combining two of my favorite things. It's not too early to prepare for April, 2006. [Thanks to Michael Feldman}...
June 30, 2005
War of the Worlds vs. Scientology
In the latest Village Voice, Jessica Winter writes about the intersection of Scientology, Tom Cruise, and a little movie directed by Steven Spielberg....
May 31, 2005
I Ain't Nothin' But a Chowhound
Like a dog, I'm always thinking about when and where my next meal is coming from. I like to think I'm a bit more discriminating about what food I shovel in my mouth than the average canine. I've always been...
March 01, 2005
More on Hunter Thompson
Hunter Thompson's Hell's Angels and Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas were favorites of mine, but it concerns me that so many obituaries and appreciations have glossed over not only Thompson's many personal problems, but the deterioration of his work....
February 15, 2005
So You Want To Publish a Book?
I stumbled onto the Everyone Who's Anyone website via a Google link and I couldn't stop reading it. Gerard Jones has assembled a gigantic directory of literary (and Hollywood) agents and editors, along with their email addresses and whatever correspondence...
January 09, 2005
The Long Tail Blog
In a previous post, I recommended an article in Wired called "The Long Tail." Publishers noticed it, too. Chris Anderson has received a big advance to turn the essay into a book and he's started a blog with the appropriate...
December 24, 2004
Why Are Bookstores Crowded?
And I thought it was because folks were looking for copies of Do Elephants Jump?...
December 14, 2004
Libraries Will Never Be the Same
Google is at it again. "This is the day the world changes..."...
December 02, 2004
Books That Stand the Test of Time
There aren't many blogs that I read every day. One of them is Mark Evanier's News From Me. Today, Mark cites a fascinating Top 1000 list . Do just as Mark says, and please scroll slowly until you reach number...
November 17, 2004
Malcolm Gladwell Strikes Again
I'm looking forward to reading Malcolm Gladwell's next book, Blink. If it's half as good as The Tipping Point, it'll be worth reading, and Blink sounds fascinating. But nothing beats picking up a new issue of the New Yorker and...
October 17, 2004
Janet & Me
I just finished reading Janet & Me, a graphic book by Stan Mack. Mack is perhaps most famous for his long-running Real Life Funnies, which ran in the Village Voice for twenty years. In Real Life Funnies, Mack illustrated verbatim...
October 11, 2004
The Long Tail
Are you exasperated by the shallow selection of CDs at the record store? At all the books you can't find at your local Barnes & Noble? In the latest issue ofWired, editor in chief Chris Anderson's article, "The Long Tail,"...
September 19, 2004
The Broadcast TV Networks Have More than Each Other To Worry About
At one time, NBC had little to worry about at the beginning of the Fall season other than how it would fare versus CBS and ABC. Now the three broadcast networks have to worry not only about Fox, WB, and...
September 13, 2004
Malcolm Gladwell Strikes Again
Ever take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test? Most big corporations and some colleges use this personality test to assess the suitability of employees for possible positions. I took the test my freshman year in college, and it drove me nuts....