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Monday 13 August 2012

News: Matters of Style, A-Words, and Various Stuff

Stylo Coelho
Paulo Coelho says James Joyce's "Ulysses" is all style, no substance. Sure enough, the responses came. One even suggests that Coelho's work is no less... showy? Others wonder why he's doing this. Coelho's sticking to his guns, but denies attacking Joyce.


Jerk jock worship?
Ascent of the A-Word by Geoffrey Nunberg explores the apparent idolatry of assholes like Trump, Jobs and Zuckerberg. Just when this blogger/writer has had enough of snark in book reviews.

Speaking of which...


Books, reviewed - kinda
"The David Barton Lies"? A controversial book on Thomas Jefferson by the equally controversial demagogue was reportedly dropped by publisher for factual errors, spurred by the criticisms of the views presented in this book by some Christian scholars. As if something with a "foreword by Glenn Beck" has any shred of credibility.

For Keith Ridgway, author of Hawthorn & Child (2012), everything in life is fiction - but he seems to have no clue how to write it. Maybe that's why Scott Pack thinks Ridgway's latest says is "not a novel" but a "bloody frustrating", "mildly disappointing" book. These days, that's good PR.


Other news
  • The publishing industry is burning bright, thanks to Fifty Shades. Like Nero's Rome, maybe?
  • Follow the travails of a literary debutante - if you really must.
  • John Steinbeck's son slams Texas's use of dad's fictional character to justify execution.
  • New York Times Book Review editor Sam Tanenhaus takes us into his world.
  • Six things to do to get a short story collection published - if anyone out there is still writing short story collections.
  • This guy wrote a sequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island?
  • E-books may be cheaper to make, but still need effort to sell.
  • Will Self: "I don't write for readers." An interview with Will Self.
  • Cyndi Lauper lands a book deal with Simon & Schuster, where she used to work at. Talk about "true colours".

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