This weekend update thingy

So for whatever reason, there are lots of goodies at the Paper of Record this weekend, starting with a lengthy overview of a new biography of Broadway and ballet choreographer extraordinaire Jerome Robbins, who led, shall we say, a rather tumultuous life. At the back of the book review is a neat idea–a completely subjective review of a book, this by Teller, who explains why everyone should buy a copy of SOCK, the debut novel by his partner-in-magic Penn (who [reads the opening chapter][3] aloud.) Otherwise, Michael Dibdin explains how Arturo Perez-Reverte is channelling Frederick Forsyth, there’s an obligatory James Wood reference, and Henry Alford looks at Jonathan Ames’ WAKE UP, SIR!

Meanwhile, it’s crime fiction week at the Washington Post Book World. Dennis Drabelle dissects Karin Slaughter’s INDELIBLE in a most thorough manner that carefully explains what works (characterization, sexual and gender issues) and what doesn’t (overstuffing of plot) which seems to tie into what I’ve been saying all along. Maureen Corrigan rounds up other worthy releases, including the latest books by Sue Grafton, Sarah Stewart Taylor, John Harvey, and Qiu Xiaolong. And Douglas E. Winter gets excited about John Harwood’s foray into intelligent horror with THE GHOST WRITER. Finally, Linton Weeks examines the burgeoning phenomenon that is “street lit”, mostly from the booksellers’ point of view. Is this fast-rising trend truly ephemeral or here to stay? Only time will tell.

Over at the Globe and Mail, I’m continually amazed by the obscure books they review that I want to read, and of course, promptly forget that I want to read them (or perhaps because the review copies are threatening to behave in a similar manner to a boa constrictor?) I hope a similar fate doesn’t befall Patricia Tyrell’s RECKONING, which looks quite tempting indeed. Also, crime writer John Lawrence Reynolds rounds up books about celebrity criminals old and new, Emma Donoghue’s novel of 18th century intrigue, backstabbing and sapphism gets a nice notice from Karen Solie, and Martin Levin examines the esoterica and minutiae of language.

Turning to the Guardian Review, the big interview’s with Elmore Leonard, who goes into copious detail about which film adaptations of his books worked and which did not. Not surprisingly, he’s unabashedly unsentimental about the process. Otherwise, Mike Phillips evaluates James Lee Burke’s new novel on a more literary scale, one big prizewinner (Valerie Martin) raves about another big prizewinner (Edward Jones) and Matthew Lewin and Maxim Jakubowski (what, they had space issues?) combine to review the latest and greatest from Nicholas Royle, Val McDermid, Lindsey Davis, and Olen Steinhauer, who has finally returned from his never-ending Balkan vacation.

While at the Observer, David Baddiel, once a filthy comic, has turned his hand to Holocaust-era fiction (?!) with some degree of success; further raves for the linguistic skills of David Foster Wallace (who, we’re told, is buddies with Harlan Coben. Now that I want to know more about!) and the glamour of transatlantic romances, as personified in a new reality series called NY-LON.

Casting a glance to the Scottish papers, Samantha Boyce calls Scarlett Thomas’ new novel POPCO “an amazement,” yet another rave review for THE KNOWN WORLD, and Julie Burchill exchanges bizarre emails with Alistair McKay.

And the rest:

So how much of picking books is due to publishers manipulating, targeting, and planning? A hell of a lot, according to this report about which summer books get prime position in bookstores–and maximum sales.

So we all know that Dale Peck is giving up the hatchet reviews. The Sydney Morning Herald is the latest paper to “discover” this fact. More importantly, what’s the boy going to do next? Will he reinvent himself under a pseudonym and write something completely different? Will he continue Gourmet Magazine’s penchant for asking literary writers to expound on their favorite foods? Will he become a professional poker player? Will he start blogging? (Hell, everybody else does.) I’m tempted to start a “Dale Peck Career Move” Contest, but that requires my deviating from my default laziness mode, and well, we can’t have that…

Regis Behe interviews Elwood Reid for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on the eve of Reid’s new novel, a careful examination of the life and myth of D.B. Cooper. Is the airplane hijacker alive, dead? So many mysteries…and I can’t wait to read this book.

The Oregonian interviews Hawaii-based crime writer Lono Waiwaiole about his new noir novel, WILEY’S SHUFFLE, and why the author feels like he has to play a bit of catch-up.

The SF Chronicle profiles two new writers–Don Lee and Leonard Chang–who are making the subgenre of Korean-American crime fiction their very own.

Jeff Ayers of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer talks to Jeffery Deaver, who’s touring around the country for his new thriller, the historically-minded GARDEN OF BEASTS.

Salem Macknee columnizes at the Charlotte Observer about new books by Sarah Stewart Taylor, Laura Lippman, and Frank M. Robinson.

Same state, a few hundred miles away: the Winston-Salem Journal wonders how they missed out on Julia Spencer-Fleming’s books after finishing the latest, OUT OF THE DEEP I CRY.

Les Roberts goes bananas for Jeff Lindsay’s DARKLY DREAMING DEXTER in his roundup for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, but alas, he too got fooled by Doubleday’s marketing manipulation–Lindsay’s written a bunch of novels before DEXTER, most of them sci-fi paranoia novels with his wife, who just happens to be Ernest Hemingway’s great-niece.

You have to like any review that closes by calling the book “a morality play dressed in thriller garb.” Or maybe that’s just me, but Carlo Wolff sure did dig Robert Ferrigno’s THE WAKE-UP.

More review phrases we like: “In a few days, Miller’s moral center has become as malleable as Michael Jackson’s nose.” Read the rest of John Freeman’s review of Jason Starr’s TWISTED CITY in the Denver Post for more pithy turns of phrase like this.

The Oprah effect is in full force for many people–but perhaps most of all for Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, the married translators of ANNA KARENINA that’s been selling like hotcakes quite recently.

Sue Grafton speaks to the North Bay Bohemian on how she manages to keep each Kinsey Millhone novel as fresh as she possibly can, even when there’s still so many books yet to be written in the series.

Alex Kolowitz explains how he, a native New Yorker, could move and fall completely in love with his adoptive home of Chicago. Somehow, knowing certain folks, I’m not terribly surprised about such things….

As the Romance Writers of America convention wraps up this weekend–and the RITA Awards announced–another ho-hum article about the “legitimacy” of the form hits the stands. Sure, I stopped reading ’em years ago, but the ones that work, work well–and most of all, reach 50% of the buying public.

Cheryl and Wade Hudson were getting increasingly disappointed with the offerings available for black children–so they started their own publishing company, Just Us Books. It worked–but now that major publishers are jumping on the multicultural bandwagon, Wal-Mart won’t stock the small company’s books.

And finally, RIP, Francis Crick. One of the greatest scientists is no longer with us.

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