Sh*T Book Reviewers Say
Happy Friday! This is the funniest thing I have seen in a while; big ups to Ron Charles and The Washington Post for supporting innovative ways to talk about books. Which phrase is your favorite?
“The Lost Symbol” Descends upon D.C.
Today’s the big day. After months of rumors, ruminations, and really excited Tweets, Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol has appeared in stores. This follow-up to the best-selling Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons is set in Washington, D.C. – though Brown’s version of D.C. promises to be more thrilling and fantastical than Georgetown University’s annual tuition and expenses. Louis Bayard reviewed an advance copy for the Washington Post, and finds that the book will please readers who enjoyed the Da Vinci […]
Poet Gil Scott-Heron in the Park
Washington Post‘s Courtland Milloy interviews poet-rapper Gil Scott-Heron about drugs, poetry, Obama, and the inspirational power of D.C.
Sybil Steinberg Reviews Eugenia Kim’s “The Calligrapher’s Daughter”
Sybil Steinberg reviews DC resident Eugenia Kim’s new novel, The Calligrapher’s Daughter, in Washington Post‘s Book World. Steinberg praises the sensitivity of the novel, commenting that “Kim’s account acquires depth and immediacy as she draws vivid pictures of wartime poverty and hardship.” Steinberg closes by writing, In quietly recording the arc of a woman’s experience from idyllic childhood through harrowing adulthood, Kim mirrors the changing nation. The ending of the book is somewhat rushed, as Kim tries to encapsulate events in the […]
“Bright Lights, Smaller City”: Jessica Cutler’s Bored Review of Grant Ginder’s “This Is How It Starts”
Jessica Cutler, author of The Washingtonienne, reviewed Grant Ginder’s This Is How It Starts. Cutler found it lacking in inspiration, comparing the work to Jay McInerneny’s Bright Lights, Big City. Cutler comments, “Ginder’s prose is rarely amusing or enjoyable. Perhaps it’s moony and aimless on purpose — all part of the ennui and disillusionment, as though the characters are intentionally cliche because Washington is really like that.” Ouch. Sounds like another great DC political thriller.
Capitol Hill’s Trover Shop to Close
Washington Post Staff Writer Kate Kilpatrick laments the forthcoming close of a Capitol Hill landmark, the Trover Shop. Though the plethora of political material in the store is less to my liking, many lament it’s passing. Kilpatrick relates: Bookstore enthusiasts walking along Pennsylvania Avenue during lunch break yesterday were confronted with sobering news: After 51 years in business on Capitol Hill, Trover Shop is closing. Bright-orange fliers announcing 20 percent off merchandise were taped around the shop before the 7 a.m. opening. […]
Politics and Prose in the Post
The Washington Post has reviewed Politics and Prose, the oasis of literature out (way out) in Van Ness. While Staff Writer Thomas Heath got a little closer to the subject than I could, even interviewing owners Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade about the financial state of the store, check out my own experience with the bookstore.
Jonathan Yardley on Book Reviewing, Book World, and DC Literature
Jonathan Yardley, former editor of and current reviewer for the Washington Post‘s Book World, shuns standard political novels, preferring instead the works of Jones and Pelecanos, two revered names that come up time and again in discussions of D.C. literature.
Melody Schreiber 