http://topicfire.com/Book 2010-09-07T06:17:22+00:00 text/html 2010-09-07T11:05:37+00:00 http://www.thecreativepenn.com/ http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2010/09/07/researching-your-novel-with-field-trips-shooting-a-gun/ <a href="http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2010/09/07/researching-your-novel-with-field-trips-shooting-a-gun/"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/4890325796_20f3f26bf7_m.jpg" /></a><br />Joanna Penn at the shooting range Novel research comes in many forms. You can read books, surf the web, interview people and of course, you can go on field trips if the budget allows. I&#8217;m writing a thriller so yes, there are guns and high body count! Action/adventure thrillers are what I... text/html 2010-09-07T10:50:05+00:00 http://robaroundbooks.com/ http://robaroundbooks.com/2010/09/robaroundbooks-is-here-to-stay-and-i%E2%80%99ve-got-you-lot-to-thank-for-that/ Dear all, Well, it was a super-traumatic week for me last week as my spirit rose to the heavens at the start of the week, before crashing back down to earth again with a huge bang in the latter half. The actions of a few ‘disbelievers’ i.e. those didn’t think that... text/html 2010-09-06T16:25:07+00:00 http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/ http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/site/sizzling-summer-book-club-chat/#When:11:37:34Z <a href="http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/site/sizzling-summer-book-club-chat/#When:11:37:34Z"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nbdpmoX1TaU/default.jpg" /></a><br />Heads up! There might be howling! The next book club chat will be on Tuesday 7 September at 9:00 pm EDT - so go on back to work or school tomorrow, and join us at 9 for fun and discussion of Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ “Raised by Wolves.” The author will... text/html 2010-09-05T23:15:41+00:00 http://paulocoelhoblog.com/ http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2010/09/05/a-prayer/ by Paulo Coelho Lord, protect our doubts, because Doubt is a way of praying. It is Doubt that makes us grow because it forces us to look fearlessly at the many answers that exist to one question. And in order for this to be possible&#8230; Lord, protect our decisions, because... text/html 2010-09-05T23:01:29+00:00 http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/09/summer-reading-carolyn-kellogg-on-norman-mailer.html <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/09/summer-reading-carolyn-kellogg-on-norman-mailer.html"><img src="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef01347fd858e0970c-800wi" /></a><br />Although the phrase &quot;beach reads&quot; evokes fluffy page turners, we had conversations around the office this spring that led us to think that people might have used the summer break-from-routine to sink into books that were meaningful, or lasting. What better way to find out than to ask? In the... text/html 2010-09-05T22:01:25+00:00 http://paulocoelhoblog.com/ http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2010/09/05/20-sec-reading-the-beloved-man-eng-espa/ A Siberian shaman asked God to show him a man that He loved. The Lord advised him to look for a certain farmer. “What do you do to make the Lord love you so much?” the shaman asked the farmer when he found him. “I say His name in the... text/html 2010-09-05T17:15:02+00:00 http://www.omnivoracious.com/ http://www.omnivoracious.com/2010/09/breaking-news-2010-hugo-awards-announced.html As announced on GeekDad and elsewhere, Paolo Bacigalupi&#039;s The Windup Girl and China Mieville&#039;s The City &amp; The City have tied for the prestigious Hugo Award for best SF novel, as announced at the World SF Convention in Melbourne, Australia, earlier today. For a full list of winners, check out this link. Mieville&#039;s... text/html 2010-09-03T22:35:24+00:00 http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/09/bookworm-debuts-new-theme-song-by-sparks.html <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/09/bookworm-debuts-new-theme-song-by-sparks.html"><img src="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0133f3ac4574970b-800wi" /></a><br />For 21 years, Michael Silverblatt's talk show "Bookworm" on KCRW has been, uh, bookended by theme music -- a version of the Mickey Mouse Club tune "You (Are A Human Animal)." That run ended Thursday when a brand-new, custom-made theme song by the rock duo Sparks debuted. "I am so completely... text/html 2010-09-03T21:46:35+00:00 http://www.nybooks.com/ http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2010/sep/03/discovering-art-boscoe-holder-trinidadian-master/ <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2010/sep/03/discovering-art-boscoe-holder-trinidadian-master/"><img src="http://184.73.187.38/media/img/blogimages/holderBselfsml_jpg_150x149_q85.jpg" /></a><br />Last spring in Berlin, Peter Doig and Hilton Als co-curated an exhibition of portraits&#8212;mostly by young, unrecognized or forgotten artists&#8212;a show that included a rare look at the work of the remarkable but little known 20th-century Trinidadian painter Boscoe Holder (1921–2007). Here is a selection of his work, along with... text/html 2010-09-03T19:05:30+00:00 http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/ http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/site/friday-videos-will-make-you-cry/#When:11:00:44Z <a href="http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/site/friday-videos-will-make-you-cry/#When:11:00:44Z"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/A58po6ZgEqQ/default.jpg" /></a><br />Australian reader Elizabeth sent me a link to this video. Consider yourself warned: you must have tissues handy, because it will make you cry. From Elizabeth’s email: “This evening I was feeling a bit low, and was mucking around on the internet ( as you do) when I found the... text/html 2010-09-03T17:15:37+00:00 http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/09/hitchens-to-appear-at-alabama-debate.html <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/09/hitchens-to-appear-at-alabama-debate.html"><img src="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0133f38ae6fc970b-800wi" /></a><br />  Christopher Hitchens, who was diagnosed with esophageal cancer this summer, forcing the cancellation of his book tour, will appear in Birmingham, Ala., for a debate on Tuesday. The event will be held by the Christian Fixed Point Foundation, which has hosted Hitchens before. Hitchens appeared on video this summer while undergoing... text/html 2010-09-03T17:00:33+00:00 http://bookshopblog.com/ http://bookshopblog.com/2010/09/03/first-one-thing-and-then-another-it%E2%80%99s-always-something/ <a href="http://bookshopblog.com/2010/09/03/first-one-thing-and-then-another-it%E2%80%99s-always-something/"><img src="http://bookshopblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/train-300x198.jpg" /></a><br />You can’t have a name like Back Stairs Books when you have a store with no steps.  So we decided a new name was indicated, and this time it would be a name which could go wherever the store ended up.  We wanted something more flexible.  Not too long.  Clever, if we could manage... text/html 2010-09-03T16:00:26+00:00 http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/ http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/site/sony-meetup-new-reader-roundup/#When:13:57:58Z <a href="http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/site/sony-meetup-new-reader-roundup/#When:13:57:58Z"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nbdpmoX1TaU/default.jpg" /></a><br />Yesterday was the Sony Reader Meet Up in New York City, and a very awesome crowd of people were in attendance, which was awesome. There were passed hors d’oeuvres and refreshing beverages, or grog, if you’re me, and there were giant TVs all over the place that didn’t fit in... text/html 2010-09-03T01:07:00+00:00 http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/09/the-virginia-quarterly-review-future-jeopardy.html <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/09/the-virginia-quarterly-review-future-jeopardy.html"><img src="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef013486a8c846970c-800wi" /></a><br />  A different path In the universe of literary journals, the Virginia Quarterly Review became something of an outlier: It invested resources in long-form narrative journalism. &quot;I believe in the work,&quot; editor Ted Genoways told The Times. &quot;I want to spend my time on long-form stories that are important.&quot; The VQR has stepped... text/html 2010-09-02T22:36:30+00:00 http://www.omnivoracious.com/ http://www.omnivoracious.com/2010/09/the-best-books-of-september.html We debate long and hard every month to decide what books to call best, but September (and October!) are always the heavyweights. It&#039;s all about the fiction this month, and a wide range of it too, with Scarlett Thomas&#039;s Our Tragic Universe in the spotlight. Have a look at our... text/html 2010-09-02T22:08:22+00:00 http://www.nybooks.com/ http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2010/sep/02/why-russia-is-afraid-victor-bout/ <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2010/sep/02/why-russia-is-afraid-victor-bout/"><img src="http://184.73.187.38/media/img/blogimages/AP0908110604_jpg_180x882_q85.jpg" /></a><br />Apichart Weerawong/AP Photo Victor Bout in prison in Bangkok, August 11, 2009 (Apichart Weerawong/AP Photo) Over the past couple of weeks, the case of the infamous Russian arms trader Victor Bout&#8212;who has supplied guns, ammunition, and material to groups ranging from the FARC in Colombia to the Afghan Taliban&#8212;has generated... text/html 2010-09-02T20:45:13+00:00 http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/ http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/site/last-call-to-win-a-bed/#When:19:33:42Z <a href="http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/site/last-call-to-win-a-bed/#When:19:33:42Z"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4itXfkSn0HI/default.jpg" /></a><br />Don’t forget: you have until later tonight to enter to win a $2000.00 US gift certificate to Tempurpedic from Avon Books. US entries only, and alls you have to do is share a wedding night story. Full details at the entry. Wow, just typing this makes me want a nap. text/html 2010-09-02T18:06:02+00:00 http://www.bookninja.com/ http://www.bookninja.com/?p=8618 <a href="http://www.bookninja.com/?p=8618"><img src="http://www.bookninja.com/f9fc8142/453fd202/.gif" /></a><br />This is awesome. Some Chilean artists dropped 100,000 poetry bookmarks over Berlin. Of course, here we&#8217;d have Fox news calling them terrorists, but there people have this thing called &#8220;Fringenfrugenbeshupenfutzleintien&#8221;, which roughly translates to &#8220;common sense&#8221;. Lasting for half an hour, the initiative was intended as a protest against war... text/html 2010-09-02T17:25:49+00:00 http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/09/virginia-quarterly-review-suicide.html <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/09/virginia-quarterly-review-suicide.html"><img src="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0134861e3d19970c-800wi" /></a><br />  On July 30, Kevin Morrissey printed a note, gathered his identification and called the Charlottesville, Va., police to report a shooting at the coal tower, a local landmark. When they arrived, it was Morrissey they found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, his papers laid out neatly beside him. Morrissey was... text/html 2010-09-02T16:50:56+00:00 http://www.bookninja.com/ http://www.bookninja.com/?p=8614 <a href="http://www.bookninja.com/?p=8614"><img src="http://www.bookninja.com/f9fc8142/453fd202/.gif" /></a><br />Scholastic revamps marketing to create whole new ways of selling plastic shit, video games, and TV tie-in books to unsuspecting kids Dancing with the Stars doesn&#8217;t mean dancing with authors 35 million books downloaded via iTunes? Can the book survive the academy? Guardian runs with its Not the Booker Prize again Arts investment turn-around finally... text/html 2010-09-02T16:45:49+00:00 http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/09/paste-magazine-says-goodbye-to-print.html <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/09/paste-magazine-says-goodbye-to-print.html"><img src="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef013486a8f7c2970c-800wi" /></a><br />Paste Magazine, the Decatur, Ga.-based glossy that describes its contents as &quot;signs of life in music, film and culture,&quot; got quite a bit dimmer Thursday when it announced that its June/July issue would be its last on paper. It is ceasing its print publication. Last year, struggling with mounting debt and... text/html 2010-09-02T15:50:15+00:00 http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/ http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/site/cover-snark-wayback-retro-edition/#When:13:45:48Z <a href="http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/site/cover-snark-wayback-retro-edition/#When:13:45:48Z"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4itXfkSn0HI/default.jpg" /></a><br />The ever-awesome LadyRhian did some scanning, and then Candy and I did some screaming and some rushing and some eyewashing, and now it’s your turn to feast your eyes on the retro majesty. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. As usual, these covers are NSFW in the fuchsia sense. I... text/html 2010-09-02T15:36:38+00:00 http://robaroundbooks.com/ http://robaroundbooks.com/2010/09/why-theres-not-going-to-be-a-van-booybarry-follow-up-post/ I know I should be coming back to you today with part 2 of my report on the Simon Van Booy and Kevin Barry event at the Edinburgh Book Festival &#8211; meeting with authors face-to-face &#8211; but I’ve decided I’m not going to say any more about it. I’m going... text/html 2010-09-02T13:15:17+00:00 http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/ http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/site/habo-billie-bloebaum-needs-your-help/#When:12:14:08Z <a href="http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/site/habo-billie-bloebaum-needs-your-help/#When:12:14:08Z"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4itXfkSn0HI/default.jpg" /></a><br />Our Bookmatcher, Billie Bloebaum from Powell’s Airport SuperEdition, has a HaBO request: Okay. Now it’s my turn to hope the Bitchery can help me out. It’s been close to thirty years since I read this book—sometime in the mid- to late-seventies. There’s a good chance that it was published in 1976 for the Bicentennial.... text/html 2010-09-01T22:40:26+00:00 http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/09/sony-reader-goes-3g-wireless-with-new-line.html <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/09/sony-reader-goes-3g-wireless-with-new-line.html"><img src="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0133f37d4f1b970b-800wi" /></a><br />Today Sony announced that it is adding wireless to its electronic Reader. Sony, which was one of the first out of the box with an e-reader for books, has lagged behind competitors Amazon and Apple by not having a built-in wireless connection. The new Reader Daily Edition will be able to...