Posted on June 30, 2007 by Elizabeth McCullough
Right up front let me say that I don’t know anything about poetry and am not qualified to judge it. Like any naive critic, all I can say is, I know what I like. I do know that this review by William Logan is one of the funniest, and most savage, reviews of any kind [...]
Filed under: authors, books, reading | 2 Comments »
Posted on June 29, 2007 by Elizabeth McCullough
If you just wait long enough, all things become clear. This week’s Ask Ace column in the Cville Weekly answers the question that’s been on everyone’s mind: Dear Ace: Who’s that guy who’s always holding book signings in front of Café Cubano?—John Lee Booker We all know who it is, of course: The “mystery man” [...]
Filed under: authors, books, charlottesville, virginia, writing | 3 Comments »
Posted on June 29, 2007 by Elizabeth McCullough
There’s a difference between being a good writer and being a good author. Rachel Toor discusses the difference in this article from the Chronicle of Higher Education. Some tips: By the time I left publishing, in the mid-90s, I had decided there were no bad books, only bad authors. That, of course, is not true. [...]
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Posted on June 28, 2007 by Elizabeth McCullough
Update: I must have jinxed myself, because suddenly I’m not on the list anymore. Shoulda taken a screenshot. Hey hey, Cville Words is one of the top 100 growing blogs on WordPress today. No one knows the composition of the secret formula the WP wizards use to select the top 100. No one knows they’re [...]
Filed under: blogging | 2 Comments »
Posted on June 28, 2007 by Elizabeth McCullough
I’m borrowing this item pretty shamelessly from Charlottesville Prejudice Watch, because I think Allison makes such a good point about the way reporters can subtly reinforce our prejudices (and reveal their own) through poor choice of words. Here’s the quote from the New York Times she cited today. It’s referring to the tainted toothpaste from [...]
Filed under: writing | 1 Comment »
Posted on June 27, 2007 by Elizabeth McCullough
A local Craigslist advertisement: A great position for an Experienced Newborn Nanny I know what they mean, but that’s not what they said.
Filed under: writing | 2 Comments »
Posted on June 27, 2007 by Elizabeth McCullough
I wasn’t going to say anything about the American Film Institute’s Top 100 U.S. Films, since it was pretty much the usual suspects. Then this morning edrants pointed to this post by critic Terry Teachout of ArtsJournal.com: I haven’t seen 26 of the films: 4. “Raging Bull,” 1980 7. “Lawrence of Arabia,” 1962 8. “Schindler’s [...]
Filed under: awards, movies | 6 Comments »
Posted on June 24, 2007 by Elizabeth McCullough
Found a new eggcorn (at least it’s new to me): “For all extensive purposes” instead of “for all intents and purposes.” Google shows 1,290 hits for “for all extensive purposes,” as opposed to 75,300 for “for all intensive purposes,” and over a million for “for all intents and purposes.” Whew, at least standard English is [...]
Filed under: fun, language, writing | 4 Comments »
Posted on June 24, 2007 by Elizabeth McCullough
I’ve been struggling for a week, trying to decide what to say about Philip Roth’s American Pastoral. Finally I decided that nothing I could say would do it justice. Fantastic book. Roth truly is one of our greatest American writers. Every novel I’ve picked up since (with one exception) has seemed over-the-top, hysterical, trying too [...]
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Posted on June 23, 2007 by Elizabeth McCullough
Here’s a useful tool for the thrifty bookshopper — BooksPrice. Go to the site, enter the book you’re shopping for, and BooksPrice will return a list of retailers who offer the book, from lowest to highest price. But here’s the beautiful part — it also adds in the shipping price to give you the true [...]
Filed under: books | 3 Comments »
Posted on June 22, 2007 by Elizabeth McCullough
Talent abounds in Cville! Just this morning I opened the Tandem Friends School summer newsletter, and there on page 7 was some news about Kathy Erskine, the mother of a boy in my son’s class. And not just any news — Kathy has a book coming out called Quaking, “a new young adult novel that [...]
Filed under: authors, books, charlottesville, virginia | 4 Comments »
Posted on June 22, 2007 by Elizabeth McCullough
Tag, I’m it! I’ve been tagged with the “Eight things about me” meme by that Russian-speaking homeschooling mama, Silvia at Po Moyemu. The Rules are: Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player [...]
Filed under: blogging | 6 Comments »
Posted on June 22, 2007 by Elizabeth McCullough
SF king Greg Bear was on the Daily Show talking about his new book, Quantico. Stewart: You know what’s great about it? How tickled you are about it! My brush with greatness — I once had lunch with his wife, fiber artist Astrid Bear, who is the daughter of the late Poul Anderson. The occasion? [...]
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Posted on June 20, 2007 by Elizabeth McCullough
Before there was Bill Nye the Science Guy, there was Mr. Wizard. What made Don Herbert such an effective teacher and television personality? Nye pays tribute to him here.
Filed under: science, videos | 5 Comments »
Posted on June 19, 2007 by Elizabeth McCullough
As part of the Out of the Book project, Ian McEwan is touring bookshops around the country to sell his new novel, On Chesil Beach. No, no, not in person — via film! (You can see a trailer for the movie in my VodPod in the sidebar.) For instance, the other night you could have [...]
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