Bookotron.com : The Agony Column Book Reviews & Interviews

07-03-09 : Literature: Craft & Voice, Volume 1: Fiction : A New Way to Learn Literature

Oh how we love the detritus of our college years. Not the clothes, the cars, or empty beer cans, but the books. For all the paperbacks that have come and gone, for all the hardcover bestsellers that seemed eternal when we bought them but frivolous now, there are books that won’t go away. Sometimes, they’re novels, like 'The Confessions of Zeno' by Italo Svevo. I love my much-underlined edition. But then there are also the Norton Anthologies.

Recent Commentary
• Night Shade Books : 'Bar None' by Tim Lebbon and 'The Mall of Cthulhu' by Seamus Cooper
• A Review of 'The Angel's Game' by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
• David Rabe Literary Double : 'The Black Monk' and 'melborP goD ehT'
• "C.C." Finlay Is No 'Traitor to the Crown' : A Supernatural Revolution
• Commentary Archive

The Angel's Game
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Reviewed by:
Rick Kleffel

Sinister, sensuous, sweet and occasionally savage, 'The Angel's Game' is a fully realized, unique addition to Zafón's portrait of reading, writing and Barcelona. The humor is sharper, the pain a bit more intense but the love affairs are still powerful and poignant.

Review Archive

			The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafón Reviewed by: Rick Kleffel

			The City & The City China Miéville Reviewed by: Rick Kleffel

			Madder Mysteries Reggie Oliver Reviewed by: Mario Guslandi

		New Book Review! The Angel's Game Carlos Ruiz Zafón Reviewed by Rick Kleffel

06-29-09: A 2009 Interview with China Miéville

"I don’t think crime is a realist genre at all"
— China Miéville

China Miéville

China Miéville is back with a new novel, and thankfully, Random House is smart enough to get him over to America for a tour. I had the privilege of speaking with him at KQED, where we talked about his latest novel 'The City & The City.' Now, we say this in the interview and I'm going to say it again: Here be spoilers.

07-03-09: One Book With Alan Cheuse : Writing the Textbook

There's money to be made writing textbooks. But it's not easy money by any means. This week on Three Books With Alan Cheuse, we're talking about one, that is, 'Literature: Craft & Voice, Volume 1: Fiction,' and about the process of writing a textbook.

Recent Podcasts
• SF in SF Panel from June 20, 2009 — Pat Murphy, Lisa Goldstein, and Michaela Roessner
• Michaela Roessner Interviewed at SF in SF
• Pat Murphy Interviewed at SF in SF
• Pat Murphy Reads "Clap If You Believe" in 2008 and 2009
• Podcast Archive

The Agony Column for July 5, 2009
Next Week, on The Agony Column, David Sedaris talks about quitting smoking and his book When You Are Engulfed in Flames. Email me! Sunday, July 5 from 6-7 PM PDT, on KUSP, 88.9 FM. Go to the KUSP website and pledge to help support this show!

Monday, June 29, 2009, 5:51 AM

Welcome to the Kiss Army!

Sure, I shirked my friggin' blogging duties. Shoot me. But I do come out from under a river of interviews and prep to mention that apparently I was deceived by a colophon page. I'm told that indeed, the Harlan Ellison story in Son of Retro Pulp Tales, "The Toad Prince, Or Sex Queen of the Martian Pleasure Domes" is like, ten years old. I'm guessing that some slight alterations were made to get that colophon attribution, but still. Thanks to the alert reader who mentioned this, and to another alert listener who pointed out format problems in the hell-fire damnable RSS files. Should any interruptions occur, please email me.

And I guess I have a brief moment to mention that we at last know the fate of the Jedi. They joined the Kiss Army. Ace Frehley lives! And has a lightsword.



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