A first novel called Beautiful Children by Las Vegas native Charles Bock is off to a big start; the author was profiled in New York Times Magazine and now gets a "bravo", as well as a "mesmerizing" and several other superlatives, from Liesl Schillinger on the cover of this weekend's New York Times Book Review.
February 2008
by Levi Asher February 2nd, 2008 6:15pm
by Levi Asher February 4th, 2008 1:35am
Neal Cassady, the real-life model for Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's On The Road, died forty years ago today, on February 4, 1968. There was recently much celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication of On The Road, and it provides a sad perspective to put these anniversaries together and realize that On The Road gave Neal Cassady exactly one decade of literary "fame" before he died at the age of 42.
1. I'm proud to see my piece on "How To Avoid Author Scandals" running today at the Guardian's Books Blog.
2. If you want more of me, I can be found at NewCritics.com answering the question "what has inspired you in the past year?" Naturally, my answer involves gangsta rap.
by Levi Asher February 6th, 2008 9:26pm
2. If you want more of me, I can be found at NewCritics.com answering the question "what has inspired you in the past year?" Naturally, my answer involves gangsta rap.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, born as Mahesh Prasad Varma in Jabalpur, India more than 90 years ago, has died of natural causes in his home in Vlodrop, in the Netherlands. This unique individual built an astonishingly popular and enduring worldwide organization out of a simple Hindu practice: meditation.
by Jamelah Earle February 8th, 2008 9:57am
Progress: pathetic and sad.
Since the last time I wrote about my experience reading this book, I've been busy. I got distracted by... things. And my reading time ended up falling by the wayside, which means that when I finally got un-distracted and picked the book back up, I had pretty much forgotten everything I'd read. I mean, I know what I read, but I lost the rhythm of it.
In short, I'm starting over.
by Levi Asher February 9th, 2008 10:35am
Since the last time I wrote about my experience reading this book, I've been busy. I got distracted by... things. And my reading time ended up falling by the wayside, which means that when I finally got un-distracted and picked the book back up, I had pretty much forgotten everything I'd read. I mean, I know what I read, but I lost the rhythm of it.
In short, I'm starting over.
This week's issue of the Book Review ranges over American politics but not, we hope, in a familiar way. While some of the books reviewed relate, directly or obliquely, to the presidential election and address many of its most divisive issues -- race, gender, religion and war -- others touch realms where politics meets the imagination and the present confronts the past. -- Editors Note, New York Times Book Review
by Levi Asher February 11th, 2008 3:58pm
This little-known 1963 Bob Dylan song popped up in my iPod Shuffle recently. It's an ecstatic nature poem, vaguely Blake-ian, and I find it most remarkable for its unlikely metaphors, each describing the passage of a day in orchestral terms.
by Michael Gurnow February 12th, 2008 3:56pm
Getting sick of Republican vs. Democrat party politics yet? First-time LitKicks contributor Michael Gurnow's look at the alternative political universe in a famous experimental novel offers a different kind of perspective. -- Levi Asher
by Michael Norris February 13th, 2008 11:21pm
-- The first-ever recording of Allen Ginsberg's Howl discovered in Oregon.
-- Prizewinning author Zadie Smith attacks literary prizes. Yeah.
-- More Harry Potter in the future? Maybe.
by Levi Asher February 17th, 2008 12:02am
-- Prizewinning author Zadie Smith attacks literary prizes. Yeah.
-- More Harry Potter in the future? Maybe.
Ahh, the ethics of book reviewing. I wish I understood them myself.
by Levi Asher February 18th, 2008 8:30am
1. Filthy Habits, Ed Champion's new website, seems like the kind of place that'll allow a writer to stretch. Here's my first contribution there, an attempt at punditry titled The Politics of Boasting.
2. McSweeneys presents: Famous Authors Predict the Winner of Super Bowl XLII.
by Levi Asher February 19th, 2008 9:43pm
2. McSweeneys presents: Famous Authors Predict the Winner of Super Bowl XLII.
1. Mark Sarvas and his readers have proposed a whole bunch of new types of "lit" (shtick lit, hick lit, quick lit). I'd like to turn the tables and suggest one that's clearly in the air today: "Lit lit". These are books about characters obsessed with literature (see Possession by A. S. Byatt).
by Jamelah Earle February 22nd, 2008 8:11am
Five favorites from African-American literature:
1. Native Son by Richard Wright
by Levi Asher February 24th, 2008 9:20pm
1. Native Son by Richard Wright
Lit-critics and bloggers have been debating whether or not Vladimir Nabokov's never-seen Laura should be published or burned (as Nabokov had instructed it should be). The public's verdict seems to be against incineration, but based on the evidence in today's New York Times Book Review one must guess that Ron Powers votes for the flames.
by Levi Asher February 26th, 2008 12:25am
So I'm at the Hilton Poker Room in Atlantic City last Monday evening, waiting for the late-night Hold'em tournament to start (because that's my idea of fun). And I've got my usual problem -- the 500 chip is a light gray blue, the 5000 chip is a light gray, and since I'm color blind they look exactly the same to me. A couple of other color blind players in the tournament have the same problem, but we're all used to it. There are a whole lot of colors in the rainbow, though, and I really wish the casinos would go to the trouble of picking colors that color blind people can tell apart.
by Levi Asher February 27th, 2008 8:58pm
1. Random House, trying something new, is giving away free PDF copies of Charles Bock's acclaimed novel Beautiful Children. Like every other blogger who has talked about this, I think Random House is doing a very good thing (The Millions blog even asked them to explain why they're doing it). Bud Parr says the future is here.
by Jamelah Earle February 28th, 2008 11:18pm
Last night I was having a very important IM conversation with my friend Caryn, and she sent me a link:
Nine Depressing True Life Adult Counterparts of Beloved Children's Books (my favorite is Ramona Quimby, Failed Graphic Designer)
Nine Depressing True Life Adult Counterparts of Beloved Children's Books (my favorite is Ramona Quimby, Failed Graphic Designer)