Ed and Jenny pointed me to an interview with Richard Powers over at Powell’s . Powers is one of my favorite authors. I’m working on something for his new book The Echo Maker with some other folks, but I will say that this book really had me asking a lot of questions at the end (in a good way).

Somehow I don’t feel at all bad for the publishers in this article. They choose to send out far too many books each season. That they’re putting out so big name authors at once, it’s their fault if they don’t all get the attention they deserve. It’s hard enough for some books to get any attention, I won’t feel bad if the enw Charles Frazier doesn’t get a review in the Boston Globe (though I’m sure it will since they’re running such a mediocre section they’ve, cut more pages this summer and now only review the same books the NYT reviews). Like Ed, I don’t get paid to do this. You can send me stuff, email me, whatever, and I don’t have to read it, review it, or like it. I like to think I’m more than a marketing tool. I’ve said it before but I’ll restate my intentions for this blog. As someone who works in a bookstore (have I ever mentioned what I do? I do frontlist buying for the store), I have access to many many books, particularly advanced copies. Since I read prodigiously and love talking about books, I thought I would write about what I’m reading, open the discussion a bit more, if you will. It’s that simple.
Regardless, the publishers are expecting a big book season. I for one am hoping that Margaret Maupin is right: “This could be the year,” she said, “when people buy one or two more books than they planned — and one less DVD.”

• The LA Times writes about the elusive Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason and Letter to a Christian Nation. To avoid the crazies, he keeps his most personal details secret. With the religious fervor in the country today, I can understand his reasons.
• Wow, you mean they make graphic novels for adults now? No way!
• Two of my favorite bloggers have written reviews for the Philly Enquirer: Sarah Weinman and Mark Sarvas.
• Sarah also appears in David Milofsky’s article in the Denver Post about literary blogs’ impact on the book scence. Mentioned are the Lee Siegel scandal and the Ed Champion/Lev Grossman debacle. It’s interesting, the idea that critcs should or shouldn’t be criticized. It seems to me that once you express an opinion, you open yourself up to discussion. I have no real problem with that. I express opinions here all the time. If you agree or disagree, you can tell me so. That’s the way it should work, even with traditional media. Why do you think the New York Times Book Review has a letters page?
• The Times of London asked authors to name a book they think had been unfairly negelected. I’d never heard of many of the books listed. If I had to name one, it would be any book by Gilbert Sorrentino. He was an amazing writer (he died in May) and perhaps he’s more popular than I think, but I don’t think he got the attention he deserved. Do you have any suggestions?