Archive

Archive for September, 2008

6 questions we always ask — Max Sparber, critic, playwright, and editor of MN Speak

September 30th, 2008 By Jodi Chromey

Heed these words of advice, DO NOT ever Google MN Speak editor Max Sparber. If you do, you will fall down a bunny hole of stories and cocktail recipes and fascinating about pages only to emerge an hour or so later more lost than when you began and now intimidated to boot. Holy Hannah! [...]

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Despite few charms, Downtown Owl is annoying as hell

September 29th, 2008 By Jodi Chromey

In a Pop Matters interview Chuck Klosterman says, “It was harder to write fiction, but maybe that was only because I’d never done it before. I can’t remember if writing Fargo Rock City was hard or easy.”
The fact that he’s never written fiction before is painfully, achingly, stupefyingly, annoyingly obvious. First, there is the problem [...]

Novel ,

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

September 28th, 2008 By Kelly

Back in July I began Leif Enger’s Peace Like a River, a book I thought might take me a week to read, tops. Though I should have been wary of such a time frame when I read the words of Jeremiah Land, “We, and the world, my children, will always be at war. Retreat is [...]

MN Authors, Novel

Name that omniscient unnamed narrator

September 27th, 2008 By Christa

Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman follows a few months in the lives of 17-year-old level-headed, slightly depressed, Mitch — a mediocre athlete who’s ideal bedroom would be as sterile as a hotel room. Julia, the 23-year-old recently-hired history teacher who’s resale value skyrockets because she’s new in town and she’s in a town of men [...]

Novel

Book Links: A Chuck Klosterman extravaganza

September 26th, 2008 By Jodi Chromey

GalleyCat has an interview with Jeffrey Friedman director of “Howl” a movie about the life and times of poet Allen Ginsberg. When I was in college I memorized large chunks of the poem. So enamored with the poem that I named my fictional magazine for a magazine writing class Howl. Also, the Wikipedia entry for [...]

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Playing with your food

September 25th, 2008 By Christa

Bella Swan, the new girl in school, is brave — albeit clumsy — a misfit who smells like freesia and has the high school boys in a drooling tizzy. Especially Edward Cullen, who sits at a back table in the cafeteria with an impenetrable gang of equally attractive and socially inept friends and siblings. Bella [...]

Novel , ,

Hey whatever happened to those six questions?

September 24th, 2008 By Jodi Chromey

Astute and smart Minnesota Readers will notice that I’ve been totally slacktastic with the 6 questions we always ask. You will be happy to know that I’ve finally gotten it under control (I think) and lined up some kick ass subjects. Also, the feature is going to move to Tuesday. Wednesdays are just too damn [...]

Book News

What are books you think every woman should read?

September 23rd, 2008 By Jodi Chromey

Jezebel has posted a list of 75 books every woman should read. It’s a list compiled by Jezebel editors and readers. It’s response to Esquire’s 75 books every man should read.
I think Jezebel did a good job with the list, though I wish they would have explained some of the selections like Esquire did. [...]

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All wound up over The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle …

September 21st, 2008 By Christa

… And with that, my top five books of all time has to be reconfigured to make room for Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.
This novel starts with the disappearance of a cat that belongs to the unemployed, wandering, passive and nondescript main character Toru Okada and his premenstral wife Kumiko. Eventually Kumiko follows the [...]

Novel

Book Links: D’Ambrosio working on a novel, Fiction by DFW, and 10 books to not read

September 20th, 2008 By Jodi Chromey

Paper Cuts has Neal Stephenson make playlist. Stephenson (the author of Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon and others) will read from his new novel Anathem at Barnes & Noble in the Galleria on Friday, September 26th. Check the MN Reads calendar for more information.
To celebrate the electoral season Amazon’s Omnivoracious is building a readers map of the [...]

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