Tuesday’s links
In a long feature for the Sunday Times, Ian Rankin turns candid, explaining how his youngest son’s disability (he suffers from Angelman’s Syndrome) may have made the bestselling author the success that he is in the UK and abroad.
Tom Wolfe finally responds about his Bad Sex Prize win–and it turns out he was writing ironic sex scenes! I’m not exactly sure how you can have sex ironically, but I suppose it’s possible…
And speaking of authors responding to controversial news, Rick Moody speaks to Claire Zulkey about writing, reading or not reading reviews (depends who you believe) and actually says something about being a National Book Award judge! Granted, not very much…(link from GalleyCat)
Another day, another tale of author mortification, this one supplied by Australian author John Birmingham.
Patrick Anderson plays around with release dates, reviewing Adrian McKinty’s HIDDEN RIVER a few weeks ahead of schedule. He explains why the book doesn’t work nearly as well as the author’s last book, DEAD I WELL MAY BE. I do wonder how my own reaction to the book would have changed had I read McKinty’s second novel first…
Domenic Stansberry’s THE CONFESSION has garnered many a rave review–but what do the denizens of Marin County, where he’s lived for the last several years, feel about the book? The Marin Independent-Journal reports.
The movie rights for Alan Hollinghurst’s THE LINE OF BEAUTY have been optioned by Andrew Davies, a screenwriter for BBC2.
Dying to find out what Kazuo Ishiguro’s next novel is all about? Then check out this advance review of NEVER LET ME GO by Katie Dean, writing for the Agony Column.
Bookmunch rounds up the year that was and looks ahead to 2005 in suitably snarky fashion.
The St. Louis Dispatch interviews Rupert Holmes about his new book, SWING, and the companion CD with big-band numbers that are designed to set the mood and provide clues to the book.
Want to add some names to the International Booker Prize list? The BBC reports on an online poll that allows you to do just that.