January 2010
50 Down, 2 To Go "Driven By Lemons" (52 Books, 52... →
Joshua Cotter’s Driven By Lemons whirls by like a dream. A stream of consciousness gem, the book merges differing art styles in a sketchbook, putting empty black squares next to ones…
51 Down, 1 To Go "Cook Food" (52 Books, 52 Weeks) →
In Cook Food: A Manualfesto for Easy, Healthy, Local Eating, Lisa Jervis has skillfully combined two books to create her local food manifesto. In the first part of the book, she…
52 Down, 0 To Go "Blood Song" (52 Books, 52 Weeks) →
Wordless graphic novels often confound me, but Eric Drooker’s Blood Song amazed me with its powerful storytelling and imagery. Set in blue and black panels, the folktale gains impact…
December 2009
December 31st Updates to the Best of the Decade... →
Today’s additions to the list of the online best of the decade (2000-2009) music lists: The 9513 (worst country singles) a-Tunes (top Asian American songs) aaronjedwards.com (top albums)
49 Down, 3 To Go "It's Beginning to Look a Lot... →
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Zombies takes traditional Christmas carols for a macabre turn by ading zombie-themed lyrics. The mix of traditional music with themes of the undead is…
December 31st Updates to the Online Best of 2009... →
Today’s updates to the list of online “best of 2009” music lists: 2STEPSFORWARD4STEPSBACK (albums) 5:4 (best albums) All the Young Punks (best albums) The Alphabetic Order (best albums)
December 31st Updates to the Online Best of 2009... →
Today’s updates to the list of online “best of 2009” book lists: Andy Wolverton (best fiction) Brenda Loves Books (top books) The Casual Optimist (favourite books) Cosmic Coincidence…
48 Down, 4 To Go "Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie... →
Over the past five years I have recommended Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s cookbooks more than any other author’s. Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar is a perfect example of her culinary…
47 Down, 5 To Go "Look at the Birdie" (52 Books,... →
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is one of my favorite authors, and when I heard that some of his unpublished stories were to be gathered in Look at the Birdie, I was excited. My excitement grew when…
Shorties (Ultimate Hipster Reading List, Animal... →
Flavorwire gathers the “ultimate hipster reading list” from various sources including Tao Lin, Stephen Elliott, Miranda July, and me.
Slate examines how Animal Collective became the…
New Year’s Resolutions (a little end-of-the-year... →
Earlier this decade — on December 29, 2000, in fact — the News and Observer in Raleigh featured me in a short article on New Year’s resolutions, surveying several people’s attempts (and…
Daily Downloads (Free Sampler Albums and more) →
Today’s free and legal mp3 downloads: Philip Glass: free and legal The Orange Mountain Music Philip Glass Sampler Vol.I album [mp3] other Philip Glass posts at Largehearted Boy …
December 30th Updates to the Online Best of 2009... →
Today’s updates to the list of online “best of 2009” music lists: 206-UP! (top Seattle hip-hop albums) Adam Hann’s Blog (top albums) Adventures of an Audio Diva (top albums) Alex V. Cook (top albums)
December 30th Updates to the Online Best of 2009... →
Today’s updates to the list of online “best of 2009” book lists: 4thletter! (comics) The Afterword (best books) Alpha Reader (favorite books) Associated Content (top poetry books &…
December 30th Updates to the Best of the Decade... →
Today’s updates to the list of online “best of the decade” book lists: Abra Ebner (best books) Accidental Akronite (top books) Anna Staniszewski (most influential books) The Book Studio…
A curmudgeon’s literary paraphernalia →
Few aspects of online aspiring-writer culture are more irritating to me than “literary lifestyle” tips and paraphernalia. (Library-scented perfume. Dictionary wallpaper. Moleskines….
Goodbye, aughts. Hello… space age? →
Happy New Year from frigid (but no longer snowy) Brooklyn.
Wishing you all good things in 2010.
Writers to congregate at NYPL for Liu Xiaobo... →
Don DeLillo, A.M. Homes, Kwame Anthony Appiah, E.L. Doctorow, and other PEN members will hold a New Year’s Eve rally for China’s release of Liu Xiaobo
Daily Downloads (Laura Gibson, Yeasayer, and more) →
Today’s free and legal mp3 downloads: Amo Joy: “In The Distance” [mp3] from The Dictatoria Soiree Amo Joy: “It’s Not an Artist’s World” [mp3] from The Dictatoria Soiree other Amo…
Shorties (Zadie Smith, Patti Smith, and more) →
Slate reviews Zadie Smith’s essay collection, Changing My Mind. At first glance, Smith’s collection looks like a bizarre menagerie: A dispatch from Liberia abuts a study of Obama’s language;…
46 Down, 6 To Go "Like a Dog" (52 Books, 52 Weeks) →
Zak Sally is one of my favorite cartoonists, and Like a Dog collects his best work over the past 15 years. Sally is incredibly inventive, these cartoons differ in theme greatly, but all…
December 29th Updates to the Online Best of 2009... →
Today’s updates to the list of online “best of 2009” music lists: 5:4 (best EPs) 8/1 (best albums) Adrian Sol (top albums) Aireeland (top albums) All Metal Resource (best & worst…
Cinderella: the sequel →
Hilary Mantel imagines the life of Cinderella twenty years later, after the tabloids have turned against her and the prince is on the hunt for a mistress.
December 29th Updates to the Online Best of 2009... →
Today’s updates to the list of online “best of 2009” book lists: Adventures in the Writing Life (favorite books) AnAvidOpinion’s Blog (best books) Andy Wolverton (best mystery & suspense…
The art of the ditch →
James Salter, who reviews a new book on Sullenberger and US Airways flight 1549, once crash-landed a plane, himself. (Via.)
Not the little woman you thought she was →
Louisa May Alcott wrote what she called “moral pap for the young” for the money. She also published edgy pulp, and Civil War hospital dispatches.
Shorties (Top Mountain Goats Love Songs, Dave... →
Peter and Rob Make Lists of Things list the top 5 Mountain Goats love songs.
The Telegraph interviews author Dave Eggers.
CNNGo lists the world’s best books on Bollywood.
Daily Downloads (, and more) →
Today’s free and legal mp3 downloads: Amo Joy: “The Sane Design” [mp3] from The Sane Design other Amo Joy posts at Largehearted Boy Everthus the Deadbeats: “Organics Mechanics”…
On J.M. Coetzee’s Summertime →
“‘In his lovemaking I now think there was an autistic quality.’” Jonathan Dee contemplates Coetzee’s latest experiment in memoir, and the “‘feeling of a writer deforming his medium.’”
This Week's Interesting DVD Releases (December... →
DVD releases the week between Christmas and New Year’s are typically slim, and this week is no exception. The thriller 9, Jennifer’s Body, and the surprisingly successful low-budget…
This Week's Interesting Music Releases (December... →
A lean music release week means I’ll be scanning through everyone else’s year-end music lists to see what I have missed (and where to spend my holiday gift certificates). Among the…
December 28th Updates to the Online Best of 2009... →
Today’s updates to the list of online “best of 2009” book lists: The 48 Files (top books) Anne’s Food (favorite books) Bits and Books (best books) The Book Smugglers - Kristi (books) …
Beijing crackdown continues →
A Chinese court has sentenced poet, professor, and dissident Liu Xiaobo to eleven years in prison.
Shorties (Joshua Ferris, Spoon, and more) →
Salon reviews two novels, Joshua Ferris’s The Unnamed and Jonathan Dee’s The Privileges. “The Privileges” is shrewdly realistic, even a bit gossipy; “The Unnamed” is the artier of the two…
Daily Downloads (Vic Chesnutt, Sharon Van Etten,... →
Today’s free and legal mp3 downloads: Benji Cossa: “Christmas (It’s the End of the Year)” [mp3] other Benji Cossa posts at Largehearted Boy Grace Potter: 2009-12-26, South…
December 27th Updates to the Online Best of 2009... →
Today’s updates to the list of online “best of 2009” music lists: And I’ll Never Be the Same… (favorite albums) AndrewM138 (top albums) Blogs Don’t Need Titles (best songs) Blue Air…
Daily Downloads (Vic Chesnutt) →
Today’s free and legal mp3 downloads: Vic Chesnutt: “Flirted With You All My Life” [mp3] from At the Cut Vic Chesnutt: “Philip Guston” [mp3] from At the Cut Vic Chesnutt: …
Shorties (The Guardian's 2010 Hotlist, Bookish... →
The Guardian has unveiled its hotlist of promising 2010 musicians, technology, and books.
Shelftalker lists bookish sites around Boston.
The Ottawa Citizen lists the Canadian…
December 26th Updates to the Online Best of 2009... →
Today’s updates to the list of online “best of 2009” music lists: All Things Go (top songs) AnAvidOpinion’s Blog (best albums) Andrew ex Machina (favorite albums & songs) Andrew Martin…
December 26th Updates to the Online Best of 2009... →
Today’s updates to the list of online “best of 2009” book lists: AnimeGirl’s Bookshelf (favorite books) Business Standard (best books) C-Dawg’s World (top books) CG (best animation…
Shorties (Vic Chesnutt, Books of the Decade, and... →
RIP, singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt. Kristin Hersh has set up a fund to help defray his medical expenses. The Daily Swarm collects tributes to the man from Jeff Mangum, Michael Stipe, Patti…
December 26th Updates to the Best of the Decade... →
Today’s updates to the list of online “best of the decade” book lists: The Brown Tweed Society (best books) Cine + Octo = Boo (best & worst comic book films) The Globe and Mail (books) …
Daily Downloads (Vic Chesnutt) →
Today’s free and legal mp3 downloads: Vic Chesnutt: 2009-11-02, Athens [mp3,ogg,flac] “Chinaberry Tree” [mp3] Vic Chesnutt: 2009-02-07, Athens [mp3,ogg,flac] “Phil the Fiddler”…
Daily Downloads (Vic Chesnutt, Drive-By Truckers,... →
Today’s free and legal mp3 downloads: Chatham County Line: 2009-12-19, Raleigh [mp3,ogg,flac] “Let It Bleed (Rolling Stones cover)” [mp3] other Chatham County Line posts at Largehearted…
December 24th Updates to the Online Best of 2009... →
Today’s updates to the list of online “best of 2009” music lists: 17 Dots (top songs) 31st&Chi (top albums) About.com (best R&B and soul albums) Absolut Noise (favorite albums) Ace to…
December 24th Updates to the Online Best of 2009... →
Today’s updates to the list of online “best of 2009” book lists: About.com (best manga) ALA (top books) Already & Not Yet (best books) Andalucy (favorite books) Arizona’s Own Espresso…
Daily Downloads (Christmas Songs and more) →
Today’s free and legal mp3 downloads: Adam and Sara: “Wonderful Christmastime” [mp3] other Adam and Sara posts at Largehearted Boy All Tiny Creatures: “Kites” [mp3] other All Tiny…
Shorties (Anticipated 2010 Albums, Biggest... →
And Pluck Your Strings lists the 20 most anticipated albums of 2010.
The CBC lists the biggest publishing stories of 2009.
The Nashville Scene examines the “indie-fication of…
Shorties (Vic Chesnutt, 2010 Book Preview, and... →
The Charleston City Paper reports that singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt has been hospitalized.
Carroll County News previews books worth reading in 2010.
Flagstaff Live lists the…
Daily Downloads (Vic Chesnutt, Drive-By Truckers,... →
Today’s free and legal mp3 downloads: Chatham County Line: 2009-12-19, Raleigh [mp3,ogg,flac] “Let It Bleed (Rolling Stones cover)” [mp3] other Chatham County Line posts at Largehearted…