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So, as is our wont, we have been thinking about blogs quite a bit lately. Specifically, our thoughts have rested upon the differences between cheese sandwiches blogs and purpose-driven blogs (sorry, couldn’t resist). We believe the former have an important place, but the latter have potential. For example, history buffs could look to the example […]

In order to recharge our batteries (our yoga teacher is truly trying to kill us, but we will not be defeated…handstand is going down. Hmm, unfortunately, that last attempt at bravado is a bit more true than we’d like to admit.), we are taking a few moments off from ranting. But never fear, dear readers, […]

We feel a bit voyeuristic this morning. Our neighbor, The Happy Booker, has been behaving rather suspiciously, what with all her primping and cleaning. The latter we attributed to the equinox, but when we saw the unmistakable golden glow of candles and heard the sultry jazz, we couldn’t resist pressing our nose to her window. […]

Though it it probably surprises nobody, we are the type to get involved with our community. We have regular contact with our elected representatives (they, we’re sure, would express the joy of hearing from us if they could). And we have an extreme passion for libraries. As mentioned about, oh, a million times, the Salinas […]

Though we’ve lost all track of time and space, we vaguely recall pointing out an interesting survey of United Kingdom reader, or rather, not-so-much readers, oh round about last week or so. Reasons for not devouring the printed word ranged from price, ease of acquisition, and not finding something that spoke to them. Michael Cader […]

All manner of fun over HarperCollins way as they strive to build the Collins brand into a household name. Granted, we’re not entirely sure how moving experienced editorial staff to and fro will accomplish this goal, but we have faith that someone has a master plan. So here’s what we know: Matthew Benjamin is now […]

We look forward to our weekly issues of the Powell’s newsletter — we cannot help but be entranced by the journeys and trials of Fup, Store Cat. No, we don’t immediately scroll down to the latest installment…sometimes we stop and read the other stuff, too. Like this article, which begins in such a lovely, self-effacing […]

There is something wrong with this world. Or maybe there’s something wrong with Newsweek. Possibly both. We were fascinated by their coverage of the Japanese trend of blogs-to-novels (or as we like to think about them: True Confessions, blog style) right up until the moment that we finished the article and allowed our roving eye […]

We cannot pinpoint the source of our excitement, but this story about The New Yorker’s “spots” piqued our interest. Hmm, much in the way that series of coffee commercials, when we realized it was a series, made us look more closely at the television (we got over this). Perhaps it is the sense that you’ve […]

We have long held a theory we call the Cookie Jar Effect. Quite simply, it is that people want what they are told they cannot have. There are many corollaries to this theory, including the one that suggests opposition increases revenue. People are more likely to try to read, watch, or hear art that someone […]