Author name: Booksquare

Susan Gable kindly points us to our first news item of the morning (for which our sinuses are bowing down in appreciation): your name in lights. In a manner of speaking. It is quite simple — all you have to do is win an auction on eBay (and surely you know how to accomplish that) and voila! you are a character in a book. Proceeds go to the First Amendment Project. Authors include Stephen King, John Grisham, Amy Tan, Dave Eggers, Michael Chabon, Nora Roberts, Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) and others. Chabon said: “It feels a little scary for […]

Was it just last summer that literary hoaxes were all the rage? Has time flown so quickly? The Boston Globe reminds us that it’s true — summer is nearly gone — be revisiting the literary hoax. After asking the all-important question — And finally what separates an artful hoax from an authentic piece of literature? — the article goes on to define three separate types of literary hoaxes. Yes, indeed, there are three. For those of you who don’t revel in the hoax, you should be aware that the art is far more subtle than you believe. But not all

Americans tend to love the notion of fairness. We like the idea of balance. We often seem to believe a world without bias is possible. That it is feasible to create “no spin” zone. This is a Velveeta with Miracle Whip on Wonder Bread viewpoint. It’s safe. It’s nice. It’s boring. Last week’s Washington Post apology for allowing Marianne Wiggins to review John Irving’s new book was interesting for what it was and wasn’t. It wasn’t a refutation of the review. It was an admission that it’s a small world after all. At Slate, Jack Schafer argues that a little

It is nice to see a reasoned response to a community issue. A question is raised on a radio talk show, and immediately large numbers of books are pulled off the library shelves. Oh, and there are protesters, most of whom likely haven’t entered the library nor read the books in question, passing judgment on the books and the people who stock library shelves. Granted, the books have been in circulation for 15 years without a complaint, so it makes one wonder if the “children” being protected are really adults in disguise. Age-appropriate materials are all very well and good

We know that we can be hard on the Los Angeles Times. It’s tough love and someone’s got to do it. Frankly, we know of nobody better suited to the job*. And just when we think our voice remains unheard (or posts unread), they go and do something just too sweet for words: they address the number one decorating issue faced in the Booksquare household. You know, the discussion that is always preceded by “we have to talk “? This is one with so much to quote that the appropriate thing would be to point you to the article. Which