The Canada Day Roundup

Happy holiday to all, especially the zillions of people who aren’t celebrating it by virtue of, well, not living in Canada. But I get the day off and weather permitting, will head down to Parliament Hill to watch other people wave flags and paint their faces red and show their patriotism or something (I’ll go looking for free food. I have my priorities.) Anyway….

I lead off with the New York Times’ sobering account of the dark side of Tony Hendra. Although his memoir, FATHER JOE, got some incredible reviews (including a front-page NYTBR take by Andrew Sullivan) it seems that he’s facing allegations that he sexually abused his daughter Jessica. Hendra denies the allegations. Suffice it to say that the story is only at the beginning….

Janet Evanovich faces the line of fire in this week’s issue of Newsweek, including questions about the relevance of Grandma Mazur, whether the Eternal Triangle will ever be resolved (yeah, right) and if slash fiction is in her future…OK, I made that last part up. But still.

NPR’s Karen Grigsby Bates makes some interesting choices for summer reading, ranging from THE BOTOX DIARIES to THE NARROWS to Nichelle Tramble’s THE LAST KING. Boy, that last book is getting a ton of great press (4 stars from People!) which is most deserved. Still have to get to it from TBR-land, but considering how much I loved her first book, THE DYING GROUND, it’ll be moving its way up quickly and soon.

Tony Saint, the author of REFUSAL SHOES and BLAG (both published by Serpent’s Tail) explains in the Telegraph why he’s, er, kinda sorta chuffed about making the longlist of the Waverton Good Read Award.

I’ve already talked about Penn Jillette’s new novel, SOCK, which I am eagerly awaiting. He’s making the interview rounds with the Boston Phoenix, and reveals that Teller is actually–gasp!–five foot ten. So much for being the “little guy”! (Link from Bookninja, who forgot to take today off as well.)

The Book-of-the-Month Club is in deep decline, and to keep people interested they are changing format to a category-based system. That is, if you like thrillers and only thrillers, that’s all you’ll get, but if biography’s more your speed, the club tailors its needs to you.

Thomas Mallon hyper-analyzes Jerry Stahl’s new novel, a fictional recreation of the life of doomed film star Fatty Arbuckle, for the New Yorker.

From one author to another: Erin Hart, who wrote the acclaimed debut HAUNTED GROUND last year, gives some serious kudos to Mark Billingham’s LAZYBONES in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune in a roundup of recent crime fiction releases.

Carole Barrowman of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel provides an overview of “Tartan Noir” from Robert Louis Stevenson all the way to Louise Welsh.

And finally, I just find this funny for so many reasons. Let the betting pool begin….