I was surprised recently to learn that Joy Fielding has a new book that came out this month (August 2025), Jenny Cooper Has a Secret. About 30 years ago I read and enjoyed several of Fielding’s novels: That was before my book-blogging days. Then life got busier, and I lost track of Joy Fielding—another case […]
Author Focus: Joy Fielding Read More »
A Harvard Professor Breaks Down the Real Rules of Writing Jason Hellerman summarizes an interview with Harvard linguist and cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker about “what makes great writing and how you can command attention in the modern era.” The target audience for this piece is writers interested in producing fiction and screenwriting for the general
The 30 best nonfiction books of the last 30 years The Los Angeles Times is compiling a series of “30 Best” lists in honor of this year’s celebration of the 30th anniversary of its annual Festival of Books. Here are its top nonfiction titles. The Age of Genre Bending, Blending, and Juxtaposing Novelist and essayist
The Extreme Life and Philosophy of Hunter S. Thompson: Gonzo Journalism and the American Condition A short introduction, with lots of related links, to the life and work of Hunter S. Thompson, commonly known as the father of “gonzo journalism”: Gonzo journalism . . . actually has a serious question to ask: “Are not the
Science fiction may help foster a sense of global solidarity by evoking awe, study finds New research suggests that regularly engaging with science fiction—whether through films, books, or other media—can help people feel a stronger connection to humanity as a whole. The researchers found that science fiction’s ability to evoke awe, a powerful emotion triggered
A Twist of the Kaleidoscope: Three cases for literary criticism If, like me, you review books on your blog, you’re a literary critic. In this article Kasia Bartoszyńska discusses three books about literary criticism to answer the following questions: Has academia ruined literary criticism? Is this the end of literary studies? Has contemporary culture reduced
For years before she published “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Harper Lee wrote short stories with themes that she would later explore in that now-classic novel: small town gossip and politics, tender and tense relationships between fathers and daughters, race relations. Source: Harper Lee’s Early Short Stories to Be Published for the First Time – The
Harper Lee’s Early Short Stories to Be Published for the First Time Read More »
Hanif Kureishi’s Relentlessly Revealing Memoir “How a tragic accident helped the author find his rebellious voice again” In December 2022, at age 68, writer Hanif Kureishi fell onto a hard floor in Rome and woke up a tetraplegic. Hillary Kelly visited Kureishi in London in December 2024 and here describes that visit and comments on
Update on Comments Glitch The cause of the problem has been traced to Jetpack. Jetpack support has informed me that “this is an issue that our development team is aware of and working to resolve. It will likely be fixed in the next version of Jetpack in early January.” So that’s where we are. In
