On Writing

September 2011 in Review

October 2, 2011

September 2011 Stats Books in progress: 6 Books read: 6 Pages read: 935 Books reviewed: 6 Posts on book reviewing: 12 (includes features like In My Mailbox, Top Ten Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday, Subscription Saturday, and Sunday Salon; reading challenges; and news) My stats are not nearly as impressive as they were in August, but I’ve been having a great time nonetheless. This month, I began my first graduate writing class, which has been marvelous. (Last week our guest speaker was Paul Dickson!) […]

Top Ten Favorites to Re-read

September 27, 2011

I rarely re-read books. There are hundreds–thousands–of book out there that I want desperately to read, and my bookshelves are lined with dozens of tomes that taunt me when I walk by. (In a good way. I think.)

Book Festivals and “The Wire”

September 25, 2011

Book Festivals This has been an excellent weekend for books. The National Book Festival, now in its eleventh year, added an extra day to the festivities on the National Mall. And the Baltimore Book Festival also happened this weekend, though I was so busy with NBF I couldn’t attend. I had a great time wandering through crowds of book lovers swarming the Mall, watching lines of eager fans snake by the book-signing booths, and listening to great talks about books and writing. […]

August 2011 in Review

September 11, 2011

August 2011 Stats Books in progress: 6 Books read: 7 Pages read: 2,382 Books reviewed: 6 Posts on book reviewing: 6 (includes features like In My Mailbox, Wordless Wednesday, and Top Ten Tuesday; reading challenges; and news) August was a great month for me–I read several great books that I’m excited about reviewing, and I reviewed several books that I enjoyed a great deal. I loved John McWhorter’s What Language Is and Noelle Hancock’s My Year with Eleanor. And I also enjoyed […]

Winner of “What Language Is” and New Giveaway

September 7, 2011

And the winner of John McWhorter’s What Language Is… The Word Jar! Congratulations! My next giveaway will be Ned Zeman’s fantastic memoir of madness and memory loss, The Rules of the Tunnel. Leave a comment on that review by midnight on September 30 to win! Note: I originally posted that the winner was Gwendolyn B. at A Sea of Books, but she informed me that she had already won this book and graciously offered it to the next random winner.

“The Rules of the Tunnel” by Ned Zeman

September 6, 2011

What is madness? How does one distinguish between a behavioral disorder and a really bad day?

Ned Zeman, a journalist who has written for Vanity Fair, Newsweek, Spy, GQ, Outside, and Sports Illustrated, turns his eye to the one subject that has constantly eluded him: himself. His zany memoir of madness and memory loss reads like one long feature piece—a profile of himself.