Square Pegs

We are en route to an exciting, undisclosed location. This involves rising at an unnatural hour and not posting original snark here. Yes, this does mean that you get to read something new and fresh for a change. While we do not normally get all L.A.-centric on you, sometimes needs must. Los Angeles is about as close the Center of the Universe as you can get. We are excited to bring your attention to a local production called Severance, a world premiere adaptation of Severance: Stories, a collection of shorts by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Olen Butler. Severance “…is an […]

Yesterday, guest blogger Diane Lefer set the stage for today’s post by telling us about symbols and their visceral impact on people. In today’s installment, she protests, goes to jail, wins a grant, doesn’t get the money, learns that key to surviving incarceration is knowing show tunes, deals with a cat who isn’t shy about her emotional problems, writes a book, sells a book, discovers that selling a book is a little like selling your soul, protests the war (or rather the fact that due process isn’t applied equally or fairly), and learns, yes, that sometimes the government comes through.

We are proud to say that we meet many fascinating people. What seems like a casual hello at an open house can lead to a lengthy, intense discussion about something you never expected. When we met Diane Lefer at a party, we discovered that a mutual friend had been trying to get us in the same room for years (we also realized that we had, indeed, been in the same room many times, most likely at opposite ends of the bar). Diane, we discovered, has a secret past, but it is her current avocation that held us in thrall. The

Far be it for us to tell other people how to run their business, but we simply cannot take the strain any longer. For weeks now, all the major newspapers have run stories about the decline of this neighborhood bookstore, the threat to that small shop, the fear that we’re losing the souls of our communities as we lose our bookstores. The answer is both simple and near-impossible: rethink the bookstore. This is true. The homogenization of our shopping districts is creating a distinct dullness to our hometowns. It is hard for the small, local business to compete with the

As you might have noticed, things have changed around here. It was time. While we loved the serenity of our our old design, we felt like everyone was showing up at the party wearing the same theme. So we went out and found the blog equivalent of haute couture. Sure, we’re all fancy now, but we’re still the same blog you’ve come to know and love. …we still need a name for Logo Lady… No, no, we’re better. We’ve made improvements. Some are obvious, some are subtle. All, we believe, will make your lives easier, and, really, that’s what it’s

So this friend says to us, “You know, the problem with books trailers posted on YouTube is that they’re so hard to find.” She then says, “You know, someone should do something about that.” There’s a follow up, maybe a day later, maybe two, “You know, I have an idea.” You’ll note that we couldn’t get a word in edgewise. This week, we’re celebrating the launch of that brilliant idea — WatchTheBook.com debuts today with three exciting book trailers and plans for many more. WatchTheBook offers authors an opportunity to promote their books…and readers an opportunity to actually find those

So, okay, your great-great-grandfather wrote this book. It’s been translated like a zillion times and made into a major musical and multiple motion pictures, some of which have more artistic merit than others. Along the lines, various and sundry liberties have been taken with your great-great-grandfather’s work. Such is the process of adaptation. You never get an exact replica. But you don’t draw the line. Nor, you must ruefully acknowledge, did your father or his father or possibly even his father. You have your standards. And, if you’re a descendent of Victor Hugo and the work is Les Miserables, you

We’re heading off to an undisclosed location for the holidays (okay, one holiday — we’ll be back next week), but couldn’t let this one pass without comment. A children’s book author in the UK, one who is apparently quite passionate about independent booksellers, has demanded that Amazon remove his book from their site. George Walker was “…horrified to find that his new title was featured on the site without his permission, following good sales in bookshops” (this makes one wonder if he believes that Amazon goes around, seeking permission from every author they publish, or if the author of the

Year-end is approaching more rapidly than it has in previous years (we have done some scientific testing, and, yes, we all lost a week), so we’ll make our annual “give lots of money to literacy programs in time for the year-end tax deduction deadline” post short and sweet. Give lots of money to literacy programs. Our favorite group is ProLiteracy Worldwide. If you can’t give cash, please consider donating time. There are millions of people who need help learning to read. What seems so easy for many us is very difficult for many others. Reading is a skill that we

What is plagiarism? We do not ask out of idle curiosity, we ask because, well, it seems that everyone is doing it. Or at least being accused of doing it. Or something. This week’s offender is reputedly Ian McEwan — though his actual crime seems to be mired in the magical world of “Huh?” McEwan is accused of plagiarizing from the memoirs of the recently deceased romance author (and former war-time nurse) Lucilla Andrews. He clearly acknowledges that he used her source material. But what he quotes are historical facts from an eyewitness — is the wholesale lifting and stealing