Salman Rushdie, probably one of the most well-known authors in the world, spoke in August to a gathering sponsored by the PEN American Center at Cooper Union in New York. The speech aired over the weekend on C-SPAN’s Book TV. His topic: freedom from the […]

So just how do they do it? How do our favorite writers seem to churn out so many wonderful books? I want to know what’s in their morning coffee. Read this funny essay by Alex Beam of the Boston Globe: The dope on prolific writers. […]

I just read today that Booknotes, C-SPAN’s well-known show for nonfiction book lovers like me will end Sunday, December 5, as it reaches its 800th episode. As fans of the show know, Booknotes founder and host Brian Lamb was know for his straightforward approach to […]

Bruce Springsteen wrote an op-ed piece in today’s New York Times. I hope they don’t mind if I reprint it here: “A nation’s artists and musicians have a particular place in its social and political life. Over the years I’ve tried to think long and […]

I have to brag about my city a little bit. A report released today named Minneapolis as the most literate city by any measure. Reporter Mary Beth Marklein, of USA TODAY, writes that the new study ranks “the USA’s “most literate” cities not by how […]

You have probably already heard about this site, but if not check it out. It is a funny election-year video, featuring the candidates’ rendition of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land.” It’s very funny. According to the Boston Globe, the site has received more […]

“The revolution will not be blogged.” So says columnist George Packer in a recent issue of Mother Jones magazine. “To see beyond their own little world and get a sense of what’s really going on, journalists and readers need to get out of their pajamas,” […]

On April 19 – the day the American Revolution began in 1775–Bob Woodward released ”Plan of Attack” with a fusillade of publicity that will not soon be equaled,” begins Ted Widmer’s review in the New York Times. “The shot heard round Washington benefited from several […]