Sandra Marchetti’s The Canopy, a Review
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Kirsten Clodfelter reviews Sandra Marchetti’s “The Canopy” More
Book 6 of 100—Margaret Atwood, The Edible Woman
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I’ve been surprised to learn that (at least until I discovered Grey’s Anatomy is on Netflix) finding time to read while caring for a newborn (especially while breastfeeding) has been super easy. But time for review writing? Well, not so much. Case in point: I finished this Atwood novel more than two weeks ago. Still,… More
And the Winner Isn’t …
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As most of you have surely heard by now, the Pulitzer Prize winner’s list for 2012 was announced mid-April, but no winner was selected from among the three finalists for the fiction category. The finalists included Train Dreams by Denis Johnson, Swamplandia! by Karen Russell (read my review here ), and The Pale King by… More
Book 5 of 100—Tom Rachman, The Imperfectionists
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Okay, I had to take a little time out from reading and writing book reviews to get a few final things in order and then have a baby, but now I’m back with some thoughts on Tom Rachman’s really stellar book and, hopefully in the next day or two (if I can successfully take advantage… More
Book 4 of 100—Alexandra Fuller, Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight
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Book 4 of 100 Alexandra Fuller, Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight It’s taken me awhile to write this review. I wanted some time to reflect on this memoir before commenting on it. In this book, Alexandra Fuller (“Bobo,” as she’s called throughout her childhood), recounts her experiences of growing up in South Africa… More
Book 3 of 100—Lorrie Moore, Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?
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Book 3 of 100 Lorrie Moore, Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? Moore’s slim novel took me two tries. I sat down some number of months ago and read the first eight pages of Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?, the book’s opening section. It felt too dense and disconnected—I couldn’t find anything to grasp… More
Book 2 of 100–Kathryn Stockett, The Help
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Book 2 of 100 Kathryn Stockett, The Help I’m happy to report that so far I’m about two-and-a-half times as fast at reading than I am at reviewing. : ) Stockett’s novel chronicles the lives of several southern women in the early 1960’s: Black maids caring for white children and families, as well as a… More
Book 1 of 100–Karen Russell, Swamplandia!
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Book 1 of 100 Karen Russell, Swamplandia! Here’s the truth: It will be impossible for my review of this book to be unbiased in any way because I am just pretty much madly in love with Karen Russell. She’s a magnificent writer, and I’ve spent a lot of time with her impressive first collection, St.… More
A New Year of 100 Books
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Last March, I began a blog challenge to read 100 books in a year. That year isn’t over, but I failed miserably and almost immediately. I made it through approximately five novels before I experienced a series of radical life changes… More
Man Booker Prize 2011 Shortlist Announced!
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The shortlist for the 2011 Man Booker Prize was announced earlier this week. The list boasts two first book publications and four independent publishers: More
Write now. Write how?
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M. Molly Backes, author of the forthcoming The Princesses of Iowa and the Assistant Director of StoryStudio Chicago wrote a phenomenal blog post recently on how to be a writer and, since that’s not complicated enough, how to be the parent of a young writer. An excerpt: Let her fail. Let her write pages and… More
Hooray for Science!
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In case you missed it, The Royal Society posted the longlist for its 2011 Winston Prize for Science Books a couple of weeks ago. The list includes 13 books that all look absolutely outstanding, and the shortlist goes up at the end of September before the winner is finally chosen in November. Joan Brady, courtesy… More
The New York Times Magazine Best Fiction Staff Picks:
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Curious to know what you think about this list from The New York Times Magazine, Clarity readers. Agree? Disagree? Which of your favs made it? Which amazing game-changers were you shocked to see left off? Nabokov’s Lolita was named the clear winner, but apparently Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay wasn’t too far behind.… More
Mixtape Poems
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While sitting down at the computer for a few hours two nights ago to compile that list of June writing contest deadlines and calls for submissions, I came across an awesome new independent literary press based out of St. Louis. Architrave Press, founded this year, selects poems for publication and then offers them for sale… More
It’s Summertime! Submit Some Stuff!
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Work is slow. School is finished. The kiddos are away at camp. Across most of the country, it’s already too effing hot to go outside without immediately feeling that you will most definitely perish from heat exhaustion within 60 seconds. You’re mostly just bullshitting around until you take your vacation anyway. Need something to do?… More
Just In Case Your Wednesday Doesn’t Have Quite Enough Awesome In It:
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Go read this brilliant and hilarious blog. Go on. Do it right now. If you like what you see, I suggest dropping what you’re doing and immediately reading every single story in the “Best Of” list on the right-hand side of the page. You won’t regret it. You’re welcome in advance. More
Book 2 of 100: Hannah Tinti’s The Good Thief
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I received Hannah Tinti’s gem of a novel, The Good Thief, in the mail as a free gift from the literary journal One Story, along with an invitation to what sounded like a really awesome AWP Conference event. (If you aren’t a One Story subscriber, do it. They’re great, and every three weeks you’ll get… More
Listen to Jennifer Egan. She Knows Stuff.
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A few great interview clips and some sage writing advice from the talented Jennifer Egan, courtesy of The Daily Beast. Check it out here. More
Book 1 of 100: Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale
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To kick off my year of 100 books, I started with Margaret Atwood‘s brilliant work of speculative fiction, The Handmaid’s Tale. I’d like to say that I elected to start with this book because I’m probably the last person on Earth to have read it or because my husband has been very nicely asking me… More
Wordle
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More than changing the way information is shared, expanding communities, or aiding social advocacy, I love the Internet because it allows me to waste copious amounts of time while still feeling like I’m doing something productive (like reading the news), or interesting (like reading brilliant and hilarious blogs), or educational (like learning about nature). I… More