Square Pegs

What is your first memory of a library? We honestly cannot say for sure, except that our home was somewhat of a library from the start, what with the mother’s inability to get rid of a book (the great Ray Bradbury incident being an exception). We suppose we first stepped foot into an actual library approximately in the first grade. By the second grade, we were regular as the sun*. To this day, our idea of a good time involves books**. Despite this, we’ve never been particularly precious about the book in its bound paper format. Maybe because we read […]

Doesn’t the phrase just roll off your brain? Don’t you want to be a part of it? Oh, quite possibly, in this post-holiday season, you already were. But never mind, let’s have our fun anyway. First, we want to say that the Australian literary world seems like, well, Australia. The Wild West of reading. If it’s going to happen in the world of books, chances are Australia is already doing it or has done it better in the past. This is the land of the literary hoax, after all. And now we have judges storming out just as they’re supposed

And, sometimes, there’s not much more to say than that. Author and activist Susan Sontag dies

As you read this, we are high over the Pacific Ocean, worrying about the physics of flying. We’re still not entirely sure the math works, and are quite convinced that some day planes will figure this out. We’ll be gone for a week, unless we’re seduced by the weather, in which case we’ll be sending out pleas to pack up the house and put the cats on a comfortable cruise ship headed west (if felines were meant to fly, they would have mastered the technique on their own). Jill has graciously offered to pop in as her schedule allows. She

First, we’d like to thank everyone who saw the Tom Wolfe story and immediately thought of us. We’re not sure if we’re honored or creating the wrong impression. Probably honored but concerned as it’s clear this topic is much more up Jill’s alley than ours. We cannot pretend to understand what goes on in another person’s mind during sex, though we suspect there’s a fair amount of “will this ever end”. That being said, we also think it is rare that the phrase “otorhinolaryngological caverns” comes to mind. Seriously, if you’re thinking words like this, somebody is doing something wrong.

Now, we’re not the type to make fun of our fellow humans…oh, right, we are. It’s what keeps us going. If we didn’t have our species to enjoy, we’d have to make fun of cats*. Since we think shopping online is the greatest invention since the Gutenberg press, we like to think we have expertise here, not that lack of such would stop us. Thus we offer some advice, especially for those who are looking to use the Internet in new and creative ways. For online auctions, your photo doesn’t add much to the experience. Unless you’re selling your personal

It is rare that we come to the defense of Wal-Mart, but there you have it. Setting aside the fact that it’s a rare child who reaches the age of 13 without hearing swearing, it is impossible to know the contents of each and every album and book in a store (and we know that Wal-Mart gives it a valiant effort). If parents don’t want their kids hearing objectionable stuff, they need to do the right parenting thing and vet the stuff before unleashing it on innocent minds. It is not up to government nor the retailers to do the

Before we begin, let us answer the question posted in the sub-head: yes, publishers are really that desperate. Using that as our starting point makes the rest of this little post so much easier. For those who haven’t been paying attention for the past thirty or so years, Christmas has become a gigantic buy-a-thon. Oh, sure, you can have your family traditions and quiet expressions of faith, but it’s all about consumption. For some, this may be news: Although some of these Christmas tales are worthwhile reads (I always enjoy Fannie Flagg and it was eerie to read one of

It is rare* that we venture outside the Center of the Universe. When we do put on the grown-up shoes, we expect a good time. Last night, we did something so rare, it was nearly unprecedented: We Went Out On The Town. The Elegant Variation hosted a gathering of local writers and bloggers (live ones we can remember noted below, dormant ones, too) and other people whose names you’d know if we were the type to drop names (alas, we’re the type to drop drinks). Now the husband thinks we shouldn’t do things like meeting strange men we encounter on