July 2010
A Surgeon Cool with a Handgun and a Scalpel
A surgeon doing charity work to make up for the sins of his violent past changes his priorities after learning that his new wife married him for an unfathomable reason.
‘The Detroiters’ Captures Motor City Advertising, ‘Mad Men’ Style
A 50-year-old copy of a pulp fiction novel on advertising in Detroit is the starting point for an investigation into a bit of late 20th-century pop culture.
‘Jass’ Gives You the Feel for Early American History
Take a tour of Storyville where Jazz began and murder prevails, bringing in the likes of David Fulmer's hero who is as good at solving crime as he's crippled by his love of an irresistible whore.
Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu
The Library of America Outdoes Itself with New Release of a Classic Updike Baseball Essay
Through A (Broken) Glass, Darkly: Celebrating The American Splendor of Harvey Pekar
To become a meaningful artist one must be intolerant of cliche; to become a meaningful human being one must be intolerant of untruth. Harvey Pekar was both.
June 2010
The Death—or the Evolution—of the Midlist Author?
Is the publishing crunch killing midlist authors? Or just forcing them to move on?
The Storyteller Speaks: Rare and Different Fictions of the Grateful Dead
As well written as the stories are, perhaps the biggest enticement for readers will be the chance to glimpse one of the longest lasting subcultures in American history.
Getting Inside the Book Review: How They Work & Why We Read Them
We've all done it -- bought a book based on a good review, passed over another because of a bad review. But why do reviews affect us? And how do they do it?
Has the Internet Killed Professional Book Reviews?
Is the internet killing book reviews? Will blog reviews soon replace the long lengthy columns we've come to love in the New York Times? As a reviewer, will I no longer find neat, book-shaped packages in my mailbox?
Girl-Gothic: Five Minutes with Meg Cabot
Vampire stories may have been around for centuries, but it’s undeniable that they’ve never been quite this popular.
