Smatterings

The Southern Illinoisan profiles Laura Benedict, debut author of ISABELLA MOON.

Patrick Anderson is very impressed with Caro Ramsay's debut crime thriller ABSOLUTION.

Janet Maslin, however, has problems with Jason Goodwin's THE SNAKE STONE.

Jane Jakeman makes me want to read Jakob Arjouni, something I should have done years ago. Also in the Independent, Mark Timlin goes wild for James Lee Burke's THE TIN ROOF BLOWDOWN.

The CBC's books blog has a short Q&A with Peter Robinson.

For those seeking a refresher on the mystery surrounding Edgar Allan Poe's demise, the student newspaper at University of Maryland, Baltimore County has a decent overview.

Smithsonian Magazine has an extended interview with book designer extraordinaire Chip Kidd.

For some reason I never got around to commenting at length about the whole PFD mess - which ranks as one of the craziest, most fascinating publishing stories of the year - but the mere idea that CSS Stellar can "fire" agents already on the verge of leaving to start their own agency is pretty ironic and rather silly.

Much congratulations to Jason Pinter, about to make the jump to full-time writing and the ten-second commute.

Oooh, US publication of Conrad Black's weighty Nixon tome. Oh wait, no one cares? Oops.

Were the Hardy Boys gay? Um, oookay.....

And finally, it would be fantastic, fantastic news if she were to be identified - one of the many Jane Does who have haunted me throughout my adult life.

Comments

[Dan]

On balance, Maslin seemed to like Goodwin's book quite a bit (especially given how nasty she can get when she really unloads). I'd characterize the review as "praise with reservations" rather than saying she "had problems with" the book.

But, hey, I'm just grateful you post the links, so I probably shouldn't quibble over how they're summarized.

[Dan]

p.s. -- as for Conrad Black's Nixon tome, it was pretty amusing to read the Globe & Mail piece about its zero potential for U.S. publicity, only to turn on NPR a few hours later and hear Black blabbing about the book to a national audience on "Fresh Air."

[Jason]

I have to say I'm with Dan here - except that, as the author of The Snake Stone, I am tempted to quibble with your summary. I took Maslin's review as an excuse to break out the champagne - and hardly to drown my sorrows.
'Goodwin uses rich historical detail to elevate the books...far above the realm of everyday sleuthing' warrants a toast, surely? 'First and foremost,' Maslin writes, '"The Snake Stone" needs to work better as a tale of intrigue than it does as a history lecture.' My opinion exactly: the Yashim stories must be proper historical mysteries, not histories with a mystery twist.
And Maslin's verdict?
'To Mr Goodwin's credit he manages to develop such a large and exotic cast of characters that the human intrigue in the series trumps its much-flaunted expertise.'
Chin chin.