A Measured Response

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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 […]

Square Pegs

On Being Careful

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Although many blockbuster scares turn out to be nothing more than a ream of overheated typing with a menacing cover, officials said they are exercising great caution in handling this incendiary thriller. “We’re keeping our eyes peeled for clever devices,” NYPD bomb-squad leader Roy Czulewicz said. “But many bestsellers have been known to hold people captive for hours with rapid-fire prose. Once you pick them up, you suddenly find you can’t put them down.” Police Search of Backpack Yields Explosive Bestseller

Quote of the Week

How To Raise Prices? Blame It On Poor Eyesight

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While we are fundamentally opposed to doing stuff like research around here, sometimes research cannot be avoided — it comes knocking at the door, asking if we’d like to play. No, no, we say, knowledge only muddies opinions. Mostly research goes home; sometimes it parks on the front porch, holding its breath until we agree to listen. Such was our experience with so-called upperbacks. We found them amusing, if a bit pointless. Sure, the eyes need help as one gets older (just as hair color needs help), but did that require the introduction of a new, higher-priced book format? We’re

Books/Mags/Blogs

Yet Another Cookie Cutter Bash At Harlequin

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Sometimes I wonder when the reporters will get bored with this topic. When I was in journalism school, we were told to be very careful of falling in love with our own words. Of being so enamored of our slant of the story that we forgot things like facts, research and basically avoiding the easy cliche. This week I found a delicious article in The Guardian that should be in a freshmen’s textbook: They both put a lot of emphasis on chastity, though there is a lot more snogging in Mills & Boon than there is in the Bible. Fundamental

Jill's First Blog

Someone Kidnapped Our Newspaper and Replaced It With, Well, A Newspaper

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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

Square Pegs

AgentSpeak: Alarmingly Top-Heavy With Fiction

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Top heavy sounds good, you know, when it’s someone else’s problem. When it’s yours? Well, you apparently pretend it’s a bad thing, while secretly thinking “nyah, nyah, nyah.” Or other thoughts inappropriate for this blog. Thus is the problem at the Aaron M Priest Literary Agency. Agents Aaron Priest, Molly Friedrich, Lucy Childs, Lisa Erbach Vance, and Paul Cirone tend to carry a list a tilts about 90 degrees toward fiction — and, sure, they’re trying to fix the problem by courting the non-fiction authors, but it’s also a pretty darn good list, so why mess with success? As for

Agents

More Diversionary Posting

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If you need further proof that the British do not take the English language seriously, look no further than the second edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English. Our careful observation of our British friends has assured us there is no word they cannot shorten, mash with another, or create out of thin air. This is the country, after all, that gave us “chuffed”. So, yeah, new book out to explain what your pen pal is saying. As for us, we’re going to wonder how it took so long for “dramedy” to make the list. A handy guide to chuggers

Square Pegs

The Corn Is As High. . .

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It has turned out to be one of those weeks — the sun is shining (far too much), the traffic is flowing (far too slowly), and there’s not a enough caffeine in the world to raise our heart rate above sluggish (far too depressing). We knew we’d hit rock bottom when we actually caught our mind in a grocery store parking lot, thinking, “Maybe it is the humidity.” Thankfully, we always have the media to rescue us. You’re never alone as long as Slate publishes odes to TV Guide. Who knew that the publication, before the Internets took over and

Books/Mags/Blogs

You Put Your Left Foot In

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After much thought and whatnot, textbook publishers are finally making some books available electronically to students — at a 33% discount. Whoo hoo! Yes, you save a few bucks, but then get to deal with use restrictions and expiring content. Also, since Dante’s Inferno is probably available at Project Gutenberg for free, it’s not such a good deal. Gutenberg books don’t expire. This move protects publishers while offering some relief to students. It puts a $50 textbook in the thirty dollar range. Of course, since the book cannot be used after the class, it’s unclear whether the savings are worthwhile.

Books/Mags/Blogs

Also, It’ s Time To Stop Burying The Lead

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We are lucky: we remember a time when reading was actually something one did in school. You sat down with a book, often one of your own choosing, and you read it. Right there in public. In full view of other students. Of course, they were also reading (or pretending to read), so it was okay. Nobody would get hurt. Somewhere along the line, we got the notion that passing tests is the same as being educated. With reading, you can test comprehension, you can regurgitate key facts, but it’s really hard, for the young, to check off a box

Square Pegs
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