Over at the Literary Saloon, they reviewed Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. They also post links to other reviews of the book as well, which is extremely helpful. While initially saying they think it his best book yet, they only gave it a B+ and this confuses me a bit. “We enjoyed his first two, but Mitchell has made strides: Cloud Atlas is considerably better, a more sustained effort where both the pieces and the whole work better.” Sounds like high praise to me, yet just the B+. Maybe they are more tough with the grades than I am.

Thanks to Bookslut for posting this article today. Actually, I don’t thank you at all, since the article turned my stomach with disgust. If it is true, and I do not see why I should doubt the veracity of the article, then we have a great deal of problems here. The article states that a teacher was fired and a student forced to destroy poems that are critical of the war in Iraq and the Bush administration. Uhm, hello? See, here I thought we were still living in the ‘land of the free’. But I guess it’s now the ‘land of free to write praise of us, but not criticize’. And it keeps changing. I am hoping that this is a case of an overeager principal or something, but I think deep down I know it’s just a reflection of what is happening here. Just makes my mood match the weather here in Boston—-grey and cold.

Robert Birnbaum has a really brilliant interview with Jim Shepard over at Identity Theory (a wonderful site by the way—full of in depth author interviews). As you may recall, I am a big fan of Shepard, having read Project X and Love and Hydrogen. I wish more people would read him.

I am trying to update my links on the side there. I finally got around to putting a link to Rake’s Progress, another literary link who also comments on music that I like. He’s moved to a new site as well, with a fancy new design. I enjoy reading these blogs because they seem to have all the news in the book world that I don’t get being a backlist buyer. I never see the reps or get sales calls. Well, except from two tiny publishers. So I never seem to know what is going on. Luckily, they provide me with the news on a daily basis. And entertaining reading.
Also added a link to Terry Teachout’s blog About Last Night which he co-writes with Our Girl in the City. And Cup of Chica, a perennial favorite in the book blog world.

An interesting article in the NYT Book Review this weekend where Laura Miller discusses whether one should always finish a book, no matter how much you might not be enjoying it. She says no and quotes several authors who say that they give the book anywhere from 2 pages to 20 pages. Myla Goldberg, author of Bee Season, claims she knows someone who only gives a book 2 sentences. What can turn people off is bad first sentences and long descriptive passages in the beginning. I feel that sometimes a book just doesn’t grab you. I usually try to give any book 100 pages. How much do you give a book? Is it a crime to not finish one? It’s hard for me, but its definitely gotten easier, especially since I have so much to read now. I am leaving this open to discussion. Feel free to comment.

I am rather conflicted about Steve Almond. Some days I like him, some days I don’t. He’s quite the controversy among my co-workers but that is another story. TEV (one of my favorite daily reads these days) blogged about a negative review of Almond’s new book Candyfreak, which I have read. I thought the book good when I read it a few months ago, but now, frankly, I am sick of it. He keeps popping up with all these interviews. And he says the same thing in each one! I know you have to prepare for interviews when you are doing a great deal of publicity, but do you have to repeat yourself word for word? I really liked My Life in Heavy Metal. I thought his descriptions of relationships right on the money. I like his language and the characters. I think he is a great writer. Is he self-absorbed? Probably. But what writer isn’t these days. I just wish I didn’t have to keep hearing about the 5 candy bars that were mistakes. I like Twizzlers dammit. They make good straws! Here is a review from the local Weekly Dig that doesn’t fall for the sugar coated book.

Bookslut points to this Telegraph article on Plum Sykes, the author of Bergdorf Blondes, a book that the title alone made me not want to read. What a bitch. I mean really. I don’t know much about her, but the sooner she gets her comeuppance, the better. Now, who’s going to give it to her? Any volunteers?

I finished Cloud Atlas last night and it was wonderful. I need time to think about it, so I will try to post some thoughts on it tonight. If this book isn’t nominated for something, than there is definitely something wrong with the literary community. I am gathering links about this book too. Here is what I have found so far:
A Guardian review
A Guardian interview with David Mitchell
A review from the New Zealand Herald
Bookmunch review
A review from the Independent
A review in the LNR book diary
There is much more I think. I remember reading somewhere that one reviewer said he would not write about the book as he found it incomprehensible. That I do not get at all. The guy must have been really dumb. Anyway, more from me on this later.

I may have failed to mention this before, but the man who is true to his name, Michael Kindness, our Random House rep, delivered to a lucky few of us some manuscripts of Haruki Murakami’s latest book Kafka on the Shore, due out next April (cannot find any links to it yet–too soon, I guess). Jess has already read it and shares her thoughts, having devoured it in one weekend. I have not gotten around to reading it, but its next on my list. I am about to finish Cloud Atlas, which is completely amazing. Anyway, TEV pointed out this article from the Japan Times, which says that the German translation of Kafka on the Shore became the No. 1 bestseller in Austria.

I have been a fan of Steven Milhauser’s since I went to Skidmore College, where he is a professor of English. I used to go hear him read his short stories in the auditorium. I was very excited when I heard that he had won the Pulitzer in 1997. I read his last novel The King in the Tree when it came out last year. The current issue of the New Yorker has a story of his and here it is available online. Its called Cat ‘N’ Mouse and I am curious what others think about it. Oh, and here is a link to an interview of Millhauser by Jim Shepard, whose latest novel Project X I really liked.