Paul Greenberg of The New York Times takes a stand on the global financial crisis.
Archive for December, 2008
Where’s My Stimulus Package?
Posted in News, Opinion, Writing with tags global financial crisis, New York Times, writers on 10 December, 2008 by JennaOK, Next: The 2008 Roundup, Cont.
Posted in Books with tags Margot Kahn, Matt Taibbi, Patricia Pearson, William Davies King on 9 December, 2008 by S&Co.There were three — no, four — nonfiction books published in 2008 that I loved unequivocally and would recommend to anyone. They are (alphabetically by title):
1) A Brief History of Anxiety … Yours and Mine, by Patricia Pearson (Bloomsbury; $23.95).
2) Collections of Nothing, by William Davies King (University of Chicago Press; $20.00.
3) The Great Derangement, by Matt Taibbi (Spiegel & Grau; $24.00).
4) Horses That Buck, by Margot Kahn (University of Okla. Press; $24.95)
Thinking about these books today I realize that what they have in common is a certain economy and authority of expression, and I am a sucker for these qualities. Taibbi’s book, at 269 pages, is the longest of them; the other three, stacked together, might total 550 pages. Sweet brevity! We have become addicted to such fat books. I ask you, Who has the time? Let’s start to appreciate the 200 page book for what it is: a thing of rare beauty, a gift. Pearson’s book is special for its elegance and pathos; Taibbi’s for its bravery and humor; King’s for its honesty and originality; and Kahn’s for its sensitivity and wealth of detail.
Each of these books will hold your attention completely and can be read in two or three sittings.
I liked Philip Gourevitch’s Standard Operating Procedure a great deal but it seemed that very few of us wanted to read any more about what went on at Abu Ghraib. Thus, I found it a tough sell.
Next up: X: The Erotic Treasury, edited by Susie Bright. I must tell you, I did so enjoy the opening story by R. Gay (aka Isabelle Gray) entitled Broads. It begins:
Jimmy Nolan has a thing for broads — loud, brassy women who sit with their legs open and drink beer straight from the bottle — women who always say exactly what they’re thinking and for better or worse, mean what they say.
O, Timothy
Posted in Opinion with tags Timothy Egan on 7 December, 2008 by S&Co.Here is Timothy Egan, a professional writer, with an opinion column in the New York Times all about how various non-writer types should not write books because they are (he concludes) not talented writers — as he is (we must infer) and Hemingway was and Mark Twain was and Peggy Noonan (wait — Peggy Noonan?) is, or was.
OK, I think Timothy Egan has made a big mistake.
When you’re good at something (let’s say you’re Timothy Egan, or Tom Brady, or Tiger Woods), you don’t come out and say that other people shouldn’t try it because they aren’t going to prove worthy of it. I mean, you shouldn’t even say that stuff when you’re bad at something. You really don’t want to say it when you’re good at something.
Maybe you’re 99% right, but it’s not something you come out and say out loud if you have any class.
Timothy Egan jumps the shark.
Still More Gift Ideas!
Posted in Books on 7 December, 2008 by JennaA smattering of gift ideas from non-fiction world, all IN STOCK:
For the (fill in the blank) in your life–
1) Musician/Jazz lover–come check out the bible-sized Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, 9th ed., by Richard Cook and Brian Morton. Over 1,500 pages of music reference; a whopper. (Penguin, $35)
2) Winter outdoors-person–Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain, by Bruce Tremper, (Mountaineers Books, $18.95). When 
given as a gift, this one carries an undertone of love that’s quite appropriate for the holidays (implied message–Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, read this book, because I don’t want you to die).
3) Gardener–I know a lot of people who grow their own food who annually fall down in the dumps when the weather turns, the harvest is over, and they have to start buying produce at the grocery store again. For them, I recommend Fresh Food from Small Spaces: The Square Inch Gardener’s Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting, and Sprouting by R.J. Ruppenthal. This book makes me excited about the changes toward food self-sufficiency we might see in the coming years. (Chelsea Green, $24.95)
4) Bird-watcher, nature-lover, or architect–the illustrations in this book are nothing short of beautiful. Architecture by Birds and 
Insects by Peggy Macnamara (University of Chicago Press, $25). Lots of interesting information about the intricate homes built by the smallest carpenters on Earth.
More to come…
A side note, completely unrelated to books–if you happen to be in the vicinity of Big Dipper Ice Cream today or in the next few days, stop and try one of the current special flavors: Bernice’s Apple Pie ice cream. Imagine vanilla bean ice cream mixed together with big chunks of delicious apple pie from just around the corner. Stop drooling and go get some. I can’t get over how delicious it is. No better way to support your sweet tooth and your local businesses at the same time…
Harry Potter Nerds Rejoice!
Posted in News with tags Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, The Tales of Beedle the Bard on 7 December, 2008 by Karen!
So The Tales of Beedle the Bard was released a couple days ago, much to the delight of Harry Potter fans everywhere. For those of you who aren’t raving Harry Potter aficionados, the book is a collection of children’s stories that purports to be the book of the same name that appears in the final installation of the Harry Potter series.
Now, if you had the same cynical reaction to this book’s publication as I did, you were probably inclined to believe this was J.K. Rowling’s clever attempt to milk even more money out of the Harry Potter phenomenon. However, you and I would be incorrect in assuming this. Actually, all the proceeds that the book garners are going towards a charity Rowling founded called Children’s High Level Group, which aims to improve the welfare of the one million children in Europe living in residential institutions.
So, if you know someone who is a giant Harry Potter nerd, get this book and win in two ways: 1) No more worrying about Christmas shopping for the aforementioned person, and 2) Feed your ego knowing the money you spent is going to a good cause.
Holiday Gift Giving, Part 2
Posted in Books, Journals, News with tags Edward Gorey Calendar, Gift Certificates, N+1 on 7 December, 2008 by S&Co.In the previous post we had Unferth, Stoker, and Pollock: the best law firm anyone could ever ask for. Now let’s turn to some recommendations that emphasize affordability (under $20).
It’s tough to imagine a better comic review of the Bush years than David Rees‘s Get Your War On: The Definitive Account of the War on Terror, 2001-2008 (Soft Skull Press; $15.95). Introduction by Matt Taibbi! I hope someone gets this for me. I want it so very much. It is so good, so funny, so addictive, you could even give it to your conservative Bible Belt father-in-law, just to test his mettle.
Next up is The Best 
American Essays 2008, ed. by Adam Gopnik (Houghton; $14.00). I am not crazy about the drab cover this year, but it’s still a great collection. You can give these things away like popcorn. Get some colorful wrapping paper, though, to compensate for that cover.
Next, have you ever thought about giving someone one or more of the many fine literary journals produced here in the states? 
I direct your attention to the Fall 2008 N+1 ($11.95), now on sale. Essays, poems, commentary, reviews. These journals tend to be high in content and low in price, so you get excellent value. Add a subscription to sweeten the deal — the gift keeps on giving. Yesss. There’s a journal for every interest. We carry several.
Finally for this installment of the year-end roundup, a most excellent wall calendar: Edward Gorey: Neglected Murderesses 2009 (Pomegranate; $13.99). Everybody loves Edward Gorey.
OK, next: more faves of 2008 (Pearson, Taibbi, etc.) and a look at Susie Bright’s X: The Erotic Treasury.
Note: we are pleased to announce that Shakespeare & Co. gift certificates may now be purchased online.
Some Favorite Books of 2008 and a Few Recommendations for Gift Giving, Part I
Posted in Books, Excerpts with tags Annotated Dracula, Deb Olin Unferth, Donald Ray Pollock on 6 December, 2008 by S&Co.First off, I would agree with at least three of the New York Times 10 Best Books of 2008: This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War, by Drew Gilpin Faust; Unaccustomed Earth, by the masterful Jhumpa Lahiri; and The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals (a very scary book), by Jane Mayer. All but two or three of the 10 we have carried and sold at one time or another.
I loved Lahiri’s new book, but my favorite fiction pick of the year is still Deb Olin Unferth’s Vacation (McSweeney’s; $22.00), partly because it brings with it the thrill of discovery, but mostly because Ms. Unferth is so blazingly talented as a writer. And it’s not that Unferth’s writing calls attention to her talent, because of course it does not. (I much prefer it when the writer proceeds unassumingly and I (the reader) call my own damn attention to the writing if I choose to.) What’s the book about? Watch the trailer!
Read Esquire‘s review here. Vacation is IN STOCK.
Donald Ray Pollock’s Knockemstiff (Doubleday; $22.95) reached seemingly new, or at least rare and dazzling, levels of depravity in fiction. It’s great, grim, grimmace-inducing stuff, sometimes awful enough to make you erupt laughing — but you do need to take a break every thirty pages or so to let it drain off. (I had this experience lending out Don Robertson’s The Ideal, Genuine Man; with that one, most people simply could not handle it or didn’t want to; too much graphically rendered, terrible shit going on.) But Pollock writes vividly. This stuff is jaw-droppingly violent but somehow perversely enjoyable, kind of like watching someone not only bang his knee on a coffee table but also fall into the corner of a wall and hit his head and bleed like hell. Holy shit! You can’t believe what’s happening. Check out the opening story about a trip to the Drive In, where a father picks a fight in the Men’s room while his seven-year-old son looks on. That’s kind of how it goes in this book, only it gets worse. A lot worse. The hardcover of Knockemstiff is still available, but we’re going to say don’t miss this one in paperback (it’s due in March).
Here’s something new and wonderful: The New Annotated Dracula, edited and with a foreword and notes by Leslie S. Klinger (W.W. Norton; $39.95). Awesome! Oh, this one is a prize. It must be seen to be believed. More than simply a gift, it is like an entire world illuminated between covers. As Neil Gaiman writes in his introduction, “Dracula is a book that cries out for annotation.” He’s right, and the amount of research that must have gone into this volume is staggering. Along with Graham Rawle’s The Wizard of Oz this is one of the best gift books on the fiction side. If you’re going to blow some dough on a hardcover, why not get something unusual? This is it.
Coming up next: Patricia Pearson, William Davies King, and I go on again about Matt Taibbi.
Auto-Maker Bailout II
Posted in News on 6 December, 2008 by S&Co.I think they should sell what’s left of our auto industry to the Japanese and get out of the business altogether. Americans have never been any good at making decent cars. We are good at making just two things:
1. Entertainment.
2. Weapons.
Books I Have Found You Don’t Ever Want to Run Out Of Stock Of In Your Bookstore Unless You Enjoy Being Totally Embarrassed
Posted in Books on 5 December, 2008 by S&Co.1. 1984.
2. The Great Gatsby.
3. Pat the Bunny.
Auto-Maker Bailout
Posted in News on 5 December, 2008 by S&Co.Honestly, they sell us these plastic cars all these years and now they want $34 billion from the government so they can keep going.
Some free market we’ve got.
What a bunch of horseshit.
