We've got issues.
Behind every great writer hides an asshole. Dostoyevsky was a religious freak with a gambling problem. William Burroughs plinked a slug through his wife’s forehead. Faulkner guzzled a half-gallon of rye every day before noon. Shakespeare only willed his wife the spare bed. I’m far from a great writer, but I sure can be an asshole sometimes. It’s true. Maybe you should stop reading this. Continue reading
The first words on the page in the new Vertigo comic I, Zombie are “Eugene, Oregon.” The setting is awfully familiar: Hello, Pioneer Cemetery! (To the best of my knowledge, until now, the only zombies roaming the cemetery have been those taking part in one of the zombie walks — or perhaps starring in a Henry Weintraub movie.) Continue reading
My colleague Suzi Steffen and I have long disagreed about which Scott Westerfeld series is better. Suzi votes for his Midnighters books, about a group of teens in Bixby, Okla., who are awake for midnight’s magic hour, when clocks freeze but those born at midnight can move freely (if warily; strange things lurk in the midnight hour). Continue reading
Literary Arts has announced the finalists for the 2009 Oregon Book Awards, and five of them are particularly local: Miriam Gershow, Debra Gwartney, Bonnie Henderson, Barbara Pope and Leslie What are all among the finalists for this year’s awards. (Perennial finalist Deborah Hopkinson of Corvallis has already won; her book is the only contender in the children’s category.) Continue reading
* It’s not exactly “Once More,” since the review isn’t up yet, but hey, I like my header, and I wanted to write this all out before I forgot about it. Or fell asleep. Continue reading
… at least for the next seven hours. Actually, no; I only wish I could be utterly lost in Harry Potter land until 12:09, at which point I’ll be highly caffeinated and ready to (hopefully) enjoy Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. But reality will intrude. It does that. So annoying. Continue reading
May 1, I hear, is Buy Indie Day. The idea, as described at Indiebound, is simple: “Buy one book — paperback, hardcover, audiobook, whatever you want! — at an independent bookstore near you.” (Those of you on Facebook can check out the movement’s Facebook page, too.) Continue reading
Congratulations to Eugene’s Nina Kiriki Hoffman for winning a Nebula Award — the awards given by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America — for her short story “Trophy Wives.” Continue reading
The week of Winter Reading, you could give us the whole paper and we’d still want more space. And, for that matter, more time; it’s the time needed to read, consider and review that keeps Winter Reading somewhat under control. Continue reading
I’ve been saving links for nearly two weeks now for this post — since December 3, when the publishing industry, by all accounts, imploded. Dramatically. Continue reading