You may have noticed that I’ve been mighty remiss in maintaining my litmag link o’ the week feature. It’s become more of a link o’ the month. But I promise to try to do better. Check out Pology, a beautiful online travel mag featuring original “vignettes” and photography from Milan to Cambodia. The magazine is edited by Neil Schwartz, who also maintains a world culture blog. Just up on the site is Vince Donovan’s “Business As Usual in Milan.” I was still a beginner in the language, so I always proceeded carefully in conversation, looking out for minefields, like...
Monthly Archives: November 2005
just when you thought it was safe to go in the water
Pirates attacked a cruise ship off the coast of Somalia this morning. The small pirate boats shot at the cruise ship and fired rockets at it. The captain tried unsuccessfully to run them over. Ultimately, he outran them. Word: if you’re going to be a pirate, you might need to get a faster boat. There’s a sadder note to this tale: On Thursday, the United Nations’ World Food Programme warned that hijackings off the coast of Somalia were restricting the delivery of needed food assistance to the country. The exercise: Go to 826 Valencia. Buy pirate stuff to support...
two books by hedgebrook alumnae
The Guardian’s First Book Award List includes only one book of fiction. Although I wish the list was more generous to novelists and story writers, I was pleased to discover that one book of fiction is none other than 26a by Diana Evans. Pleased not only because she’s a friend, mind you, but also because it happens to be an excellent book. A few years ago when Diana and I were residents at Hedgebrook (in my opinion, hands-down the best colony for writers to relax and get some serious work done, a place that happens to be for the...
grace
I came out of my favorite little sandwich shop in Burlingame this afternoon to see a meter man circling my car, punchpad in hand. The machine was already ticking, spewing forth the ticket that would set me back four times the cost of my sandwich, which I wasn’t convinced I wanted to eat anyway. “Oh!” I said. “Please, please!” Which is what I say every time I see a meterperson circling my car. I expected him to give me that condescending, all-powerful glare that is the province of meterpersons. But lo and behold, he just smiled slightly and said,...
booknotes from lbl: the prisoner & the princess
Lauren Baratz-Logsted here again… Two books are worth noting this week and they couldn’t be more different from each other if I planned it that way. The Bronte Project, by Jennifer Vandever. Subtitled “A Novel of Passion, Desire, and Good PR,†Ms. Vandever’s virtuoso debut tells the story of scholar Sara Frost’s search for the lost letters of Charlotte Bronte, her year-long sabbatical from fickle fiancé Paul, the unusual range of men she meets during that year and, best of all, her professional competition with Claire Vigee, a glittery poseur who specializes in Diana Studies. That’s right: she is...
The international bestseller about one woman’s search for a missing child…
"Mesmerizing." ~Library Journal, starred review.
Stop dreaming, start writing!
