News & Opinions

Our writers have been around books for a long time and are never shy to share their opinions…

A Real Kurt Vonnegut

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I am a teeny bit embarrassed to admit, I’ve not read Vonnegut. Although certainly aware of his work. I’ve never had the inclination to pick his titles. Perhaps until now. On the Banned Books Week’s site, they linked to a letter Vonnegut wrote in 1973 to the head of a school board who had burned … Read more

Blurbing Another Author’s Work

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I had a recent conversation with a few writers about the common practice of writing a nice bunch of things about another person’s book. You’ve seen blurbs–on the back of paperbacks, mostly, but also on dust jackets. Hypothetical example; a new book by Denis Lehane has just been published, and fellow writers, Michael Connelly, Ridley … Read more

Does the Personality of an Author, Influence Your Selling, Buying Habits?

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For some odd reason I’m posing questions lately. This one popped into my head as I ran my finger down a to be read pile, to chose something, because my Peter Robinson crime novel has disappeared. And right there, is an answer. I like Mr. Robinson a great deal, as a person, and certainly as … Read more

Bye Bye Britannica!

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Britannica has one T…Britannica has one T…Britannica has one T… and two Ns.  >sigh<  Yes, I am dyslexic. Really. Last week’s announcement that Encyclopedia Britannica would cease publication of its paper edition inspired a number of eulogies from book lovers. The cessation of their production affirms to many bibliophiles that the family bookshelf as an … Read more

Viva los Librotraficantes!

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by Jas Faulkner author’s note: Many thanks to everyone who pointed out the number of times I misspelled “Tucson” and apologies for misidentifying John Huppenthal as Superintendent of TUSD. He is actually the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Imagine you are a teacher and you receive a memo from your administrator informing you that the … Read more

When Did Children’s Books Become Political Fodder?

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I am not taking a political point of view here, just asking the question of just how and when books written by the likes of Dr. Seuss become political footballs for individuals to kick around, trying to make some kind of cultural point? I don’t remember in my childhood any group of people asserting that Dick and Jane represented a right wing notion of conformity, or Mary Poppins is anti banks. Of course many books were written in an attempt to give children life lessons and points of morality, but to classify any one of them as subversive to one group or people or another, wasn’t dreamed of. Lately we’ve seen a lot of children’s entertainment come under fire by various groups and individuals. One of the Telly Tubbies was said to represent a gay individual, Sesame Street has come  under attack for stuff groups disapprove of–The Cookie Monster–promotes bad eating habits. Bert and Ernie–two male bachelors share an apartment and that can only mean one thing, right? The entire show is blamed for ADD. Looking more closely at the issue, I suppose some people will have difficulties with any work of literature–Alice in Wonderland has been banned in China for various strange reasons, and of course Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is pulled from classrooms for its language. It’s unacceptable today, even thought it was written over 100 years ago.

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Memoir or Fiction?

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I finished a mesmerizing story of a horrific but in some ways magical childhood, and started musing over it. The story and its particulars stayed with me all day. In fact, I had kept reading long into the night, and when awakened early, read some more. In the book a woman tells of her childhood, from the time she was three, until when the book was published, in 2005. The truth is stranger than fiction label fits here. The descriptions of where she lived, how she lived, and what her parents did and didn’t do, would be completely unbelievable in a work of fiction. What makes a memoir different than a fictionalized account of a person’s life? Why is her book, universally praised and a bestseller, not looked at more as a bit of extrapolated truth, than a true fact based autobiography? The reason I question the veracity of the book is the way it is written. Entire conversations from this woman’s childhood, from age 3,  5, 7, 10 and on are quoted. Maybe whole scenes can replay in the mind of a 10 year old, but not a 3 year old. And yet as the reader we never think twice about what is being said, and that’s because the power of the prose and the way the story is being told almost blinds the reader to the improbableness of exact memories. I think back to my most traumatic experience at age 5, and conversation between adults and between myself and adults do not exist in my memory banks. Do I have a particularly bad memory span? Should I be able to recount discussions made way back then? I don’t think so. Certainly I remember certain phrases and things said to me–and the circumstances surrounding the event–but do I remember what my mother said to the next door neighbor when she asked to be driven to the doctor because I claimed my arm was broken? Do I remember what the doctor said to my mother, other than, yes, it’s broken, the bone is sticking out? Or what was discussed in the emergency room, or by the sadistic nuns at the hospital or the kid in the next bed to me? No. I don’t have total recall. So, if I were to write of this episode, is it within the guidelines of memoir writing that I create possible conversations among the participants? Or does that push the bounds of truth, and turn the reality of breaking my arm and the aftermath into a speculation of what happened, rather than what really happened?

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Phone Booth Libraries

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At first, the concept of  shelves of books as teeny libraries in New York City phone booths seemed laughable. I mean, we’re talking about NYC, where men relieve themselves openly on buildings, trashcans, and phone booths. Certainly dogs habitually find the steel like protrudents  irresistible. Then there’s the vandalism and theft found in major metropolitan … Read more