Bloomsday Linkage

So as people gear up to party like it’s 1904, I figure I’d focus on the book news that has nothing to do whatsoever with James Joyce, Dublin, or Ulysses. Lord knows that’ll be covered to excess elsewhere, and now that Bloomsday is upon us, well, cool, but now what? Another hundred years to wait for the next party? Ah well, on to the usual stuff:

Jeff Benedict has done what some might call the obvious, but it’s probably going to be worth reading: surveying the NBA over a period of one year for criminal acts and bad behavior, and finding it very, very wanting. Selena Roberts at the New York Times looks at Benedict’s conclusions and talks to him.

Looks like Gore Vidal has pissed off a new group of people, this time, the Scots. I hadn’t realized he could still get people mad, but I guess calling Edinburgh “the most drug-infested place in Europe” might get a few folks a wee bit upset…

More tributes come in for Jack McLelland, the legendary publisher of McLelland & Stewart who passed away a couple of days ago.

Edna Buchanan takes a round of questions at the Arizona Republic, revealing information about her newest series, what her main character, Britt Montero, is up to, and why she misses journalism.

Nichelle Tramble’s THE DYING GROUND was, to my mind, a wonderful examination of Oakland’s African-American culture in the late 80s wrapped up in a noir novel. She’s back with the sequel, THE LAST KING, and is interviewed in the Alameda Times about why she returned to the main protagonist, Maceo Redfield, and why it took so long to write the book…

Anna Funder, whose debut novel dealt with the hardships endured by people from the former East Germany, has won the Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction, beating out heavyweights like Bill Bryson and Anne Applebaum.

Book reviews can appear in the strangest places: The Magic City (Maine) Morning Star examines Blake Crouch’s first novel DESERT PLACES, and mostly approves but really rips into the believability factor. Um, it’s fiction…?

Speaking of debuts, Bonnie Marson’s SLEEPING WITH SCHUBERT about–who else?–the famed 19th century composer, has been attracting some raves. She’s profiled in the Tucson Citizen about the inspiration for writing about a long-dead artist and her path to the writing life.

And still more debuts, as James O. Born’s WALKING MONEY gets a mixed reception from the Canadian Press. Good police work, but the first 60 pages didn’t seem to pass muster for whatever reason.

Want to be J.K Rowling’s neighbor? Well, be prepared to ante up a large chunk of cash–the bidding war starts at a mere 600,000 pounds….

And finally, Lorne Michaels and Mark Twain in the same sentence? Huh? See for yourself.