There are some who believe that Harriet Klausner doesn’t exist*. Couldn’t exist. Nobody could read that fast. Well, nobody with a life. And perhaps that’s Klausner’s secret. Sure that makes those of us who are finding reading time a luxury jealous. While we’ve long maintained that it’s not true that Klausner only gives glowing reviews, the truth is more nuanced (something we only achieve when in the mood): It would be overstating things to suggest that Ms. Klausner, 53, has never met a book she didn’t like. It would be more on the money to say she’s of the “if

Oh sure, normally we’re not shy about working our favorite topics into this blog, but sometimes things don’t work out the way we hope (usually this has to do with too little time, to little brain). However, in keeping with the trend of building buzz, The Guardian picks up on the idea of how entertainment media can jump on the bandwagon. First, a brief introduction: Anderson points out that, in the real world, there are physical limits on how many titles a shop can stock, or a cinema can show. These are the economics of shortages. For example, an average

Who is the audience of a book review? Or, rather, what is the purpose of a book review? We contend that a review is for the reader, not the writer. Open any newspaper, read any magazine, hit any website that reviews books, and they all serve a single purpose: to provide an opinion of the book for the purposes of aiding the reader in making a choice about whether or not to purchase the book. So, naturally, we were fascinated by this comment at The Reading Experience: Reviewers should feel they have an obligation to literature. Very interesting. The next

Around here, we have long discussed the eBay economy and its implications. Most people sell a little and feel fine. Some people run entire businesses online, via eBay. And others, well, not so much businesses as they’re making a good amount of money. It wasn’t going to fly under the government’s radar forever. Perhaps we should have titled this post “Remember Al Capone.” IRS may label eBay sales as tax revenue

How do you answer a question like this: “Love isn’t a reason [for writing books],” he explains patiently. “Art needs a function.” (I wonder briefly whether what I do qualifies as art). “So what’s yours? What’s your agenda? And what am I meant to take away from one of your books?” Well, why do you read books? Why do you pick up one book over the other? We’ve argued that fiction allows us to visit uncomfortable places while remaining safely in reality. You can poke and prod at things outside your comfort zone without making a commitment to them. After