Second City, second book festival
Okay, technically, it's a reading series. But it's put on by Bookslut!
I would have posted reading series information for New York, too, but frankly, it's redundant.
The blog of Zooba.com. A blog written by and for book lovers concerning pop culture, politics, news, and--of course--books!
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September 28, 2006
A novel in a year
Did your last Zooba title leave you thinking "I could have written this?"
Then waste no more time, budding Hemingway. London's Telegraph will lead you through a free, step-by-step course on how to write the Great American Novel.
Lunch with Famous People!
The Washington Post's coverage of The National Book Festival (D.C. inhabitants -- I urge you to go) includes fun lunchtime live-author chats.
Click here to read transcripts of chats with Michael Connelly, Chris Buckley, Douglas Brinkley and go there tomorrow for a live chat with Deborah Tannen.
September 27, 2006
Laura Bush comes clean about dirty reads
"Discussing dirty books with Laura Bush is surprisingly easy." [Washington Post]
Apparently, she slipped a fake cover on Lady Chatterly's Lover in high school and read it during math class.
SNEAKY!! Kind of makes you see how she ended up married to our president. (Of course, Zooba also has this nice little biography that will help you out there, too.)
Just don't take it into the bathtub
We missed this last night, but Sony has unveiled its new Reader for public consumption. (see the press release here)
The smaller-than-a-paperback, lighter-than-a-laptop device is easy to read and holds 80 books or more. Check it out and/or watch a neat little video about how the technology behind the reader could soon transform the way you experience public transportation.
September 26, 2006
No more Boondocks, for now...
The "apparent" depature of cartoonist Aaron McGruder from the comic strip scene has multiple media outlets wondering: "Is he pulling a Dave Chapelle here?"
Maybe it's time to stock up on Boondocks...before the books become collector's items.
Lunchtime Links
Michiko Kakutani has a typically excellent review of Richard A. Posner's Not a Suicide Pact in the NYT. Zooba, of course, has the book.
The NYT has another fun dog article. Yay Marley-type dogs!
Interview with Julian Barnes at The Telegraph (link courtesy of Bookslut).
September 25, 2006
Welcome, Sen. Allen, to the world of John Shaft
Welcome to the tribe, Sen. Allen. You can hang out with Shaft and everyone else (link via our conservative older brother).
Is that a LongPen in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?
Margaret Atwood invents a pretty SF-fy piece of equipment.
Behold: The LongPen, a device that has allowed Atwood to sign copies of her latest work from continents away.
But does it also defend her work from being classified as SF?
September 22, 2006
The battle of Shakespeare heights
Slate smartypanteses Ron Rosenbaum and Steven Metcalf are discussing Rosenbaum's latest book: The Shakespeare Wars: Clashing Scholars, Public Fiascoes, Palace Coups.
As a wee bairn, I thought Shakespeare was dull and overwrought. I went to a production of Macbeth, fell asleep halfway through and woke up only because one of the actors slammed a baby(doll) against a table.
Then I took graduate classes and was forced to read Hamlet -- hmm! Not bad. Then I accidentally ended up at a production of Henry IV: tremendous! ...And surprisingly accessible, considering the play was put on more than 400 years after its original performance.
Shakespeare doesn't have to be the lofty prose, ornamented with "symbolism," that was foisted on you by your 11th-grade English teacher. In fact, Rosenbaum argues (successfully, I think) that it's the ultimate cure for self-importance.
So read this. And then, have a little fun already and read this.
September 21, 2006
The National Book Awards Finalists
They'll be announced on October 11th in San Francisco.
Read all about it here.
Back again for the first time
Sorry for the hiatus. It's been rough on both of us, but that's all over now. I promise this time, to be better. More updates, more fun stuff, more information and commentary on what's going on in the book world.
For instance, The Millions notes that a number of big books are now coming to a theater near you. Aside from Running With Scissors, The Black Dahlia, and Hollywoodland, there's also rumors of The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and The Corrections lighting up your life.
We here at Zooba wonder: What ever happened to Motherless Brooklyn? Ed Norton apparently optioned it "before it came out" -- so in 1999 -- and was slated to write, produce and star in it.
Now IMDB says the movie is slated to come out in 2007. Maybe...sorta...sigh.
September 08, 2006
October will be Zooba'rific!
If there was such a thing as too many great books, October would qualify. All of these sure-fire bestsellers are coming out in October:
The Innocent Man by John Grisham
Dance of the Gods by Nora Roberts
The Collectors by David Baldacci
Echo Park by Michael Connelly
Motor Mouth by Janet Evanovich
Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
H.R.H. by Danielle Steel