Wonder what’s on tap? Here are some highlights from the day’s planned events:

Book Review Conversation (9:10 – 9:40 am)
Conversation between Pulitzer Prize winners Michael Dirda, critic for the Washington Post, and Bill McPherson, first editor of Washington Post Book World.

The State of the Market: Opportunities and Challenges (9:40 – 10:40 am)
Moderator – Ron Goldfarb, attorney-literary agent-author.
Peter Ginna – publisher of Bloomsbury Press.
Gail Ross – literary agent.
Paul Dickson – author of more than 50 books, including recent Bill Veeck biography

New Platforms, New Media, New Ways to Sell your Book (10:50 – 11:50 am)Moderator – Deborah Kalb, author and blogger.
Ken Rossignol – ebook author, self-publisher.
Jenny Miller – author and self-publicist.
Robert W. Walker – selling books on Kindle.

Lunch with Interest Tables (12 – 1:15 pm)
Luncheon speaker: Maria Arana, writer of fiction and non-fiction, including American Chica, a memoir, and the recently-released Bolivar, a biography of the South American liberator, last editor of Book World.  Introduced by Eugene L. Meyer, non-fiction author and Board member, Freedom to Write Fund.

Concurrent Panels (1:30 – 2:30 pm)

DC/Baltimore Crime Noir
Moderator – Deborah Gelin, Board Member, Freedom to Write Fund.
Allison Leotta, author of legal thrillers.
George Pelecanos, Author of 18 DC-based crime novels, television scriptwriter and producer (The Wire, Treme, The Pacific).
Laura Lippman, Baltimore mystery author, winner of the Anthony, Edgar, Shamus, and Agatha Awards.

What’s Novel about the Novel?
Moderator – Kathryn Johnson – author of over 40 published novels and fiction instructor at The Writer’s Center.
Alice McDermott, novelist (most recently, After This) and winner of the National Book Award.
Keith Donohue, novelist and critic.
Susan Coll, author of DC-based novels, Events and Programs Director at Politics and Prose.

Concurrent Panels (2:45 – 3:45 pm)

Biography
Moderator – Ken Ackerman, author of four historical narratives, most recently Young J. Edgar.
Jack Farrell, author of biographies of Tip O’Neill and Clarence Darrow; currently working on Richard Nixon.
A’Lelia Bundles, author of biography of Madam C.J. Walker; chair and president of the board of the Foundation for the National Archives.
David O. Stewart, author of three historical narratives, a forthcoming novel, and currently working on James Madison; president of the Independent.

Memoir
Moderator – Pat McNees (personal histories).
Sara Taber, author of books of journalism, personal essay, and memoir (Born Under an Assumed Name: The Memoir of A Cold War Spy’s Daughter).
Marita Golden, writer of fiction and nonfiction, including the memoir Migrations of the Heart.

Researching (4 – 5 pm)
Moderator – Susan Green, Senior Review Editor, the Independent.
Leslie Maitland, author of Crossing the Borders of Time, a family memoir.
Joan Quigley, author of The Day the Earth Caved In, probing the cover-up of a mine fire.
Thomas Mann, author of The Oxford Guide to Library Research, former private investigator, currently reference librarian, Library of Congress.

You can register online from now until the day of Books Alive! at the pre-conference rate  of $220, a $20 savings on the rate that day of $240.

From the Politics and Prose Facebook page: Printed on our in-house book-printing machine, District Lines contains essays, short fiction, poems, sketches, and photography on quirky and serious subjects ranging from a sighting of Effi Barry on a Metro bus to an August night on the Q Street Bridge to hotcakes at the Florida Avenue Grill to an ode to the Dupont Circle metro escalator.

On sale now for $15, the first volume of our literary journal features local authors and artists including Linda Pastan, Sandra Beasley, Joseph Ross, Jody Bolz, Richard Peabody, David Rowell, Glen Finland, Faye Moskowitz, as well as forty other writers.

Enter My Parents Are Crazier Than Yours.  This is a blog that is sure to give you a sense of perspective. At the age of forty, Myra gets fired from her job and is forced to move out of her New York City apartment and back to Long Island with her off-the-wall parents. She has been incredibly unlucky in love, her best friend is a beloved rescue dog with terrible gas, and she’s decided to use her blog as a means to keep her sanity.

There is no feeling in the world WORSE than having to put your tail between your legs and run home to Mommy and Daddy.  While each situation is different obviously, having to admit you need to move back home and rely on your parental’s income is all but a comfortable situation. You feel worthless. You feel like a failure. You wonder how you even managed to put yourself in a situation like this, where you have to go home in the first place.  Personally, I think whoever said “home is where the heart is” was a complete dipshit.

I love my parents, I do. But I, too, have had to move back home. Granted, I was only 23 at the time; but man, did it suck. I knew the second I went off to college that my relationship with my mother would improve. Co-habitating with a woman so similar to yourself is a recipe for disaster. If you were to ask Ma Dukes how many times she came close to murdering me through adolescence, I guarantee it would be at least a handful. So needless to say, the best thing for us was my moving on to brighter pastures. But, after an ugly break-up, heading back to the drawing board was my only option, so home I went.  And I felt I was right back to being seventeen again.

But enough about me. Myra does a fantastic job making her readers laugh, identifying with them, and creating a following of loyal fans who have cheered her on since Day One.  Along the way, she managed to humiliate her parents once they learned about her blog. They kicked her out. So, what did Myra do next? She eventually raised enough money to fund a pilot episode for a web series based on her blog. Check it out here; it’s hilarious.  And, it actually made me quite appreciative of all FOUR of my parents.  Yup, I got two moms and two dads! Which actually makes me twice as lucky as most of you.  (And as I know they will take the time read this…I love you guys!)

Long story short, there’s comedic value in every situation.  Some of us are just better at finding it than others. And when you move back home with the crazies who raises you, it is an absolute necessity.

Genre: Essays

Synopsis: Journalist Janet Malcolm collects several profiles of artists and writers from her career at the New Yorker and The New York Review of Books. She also ventures into autobiography and book reviews, including the Gossip Girl series, in an odd turn for such a serious scribe. Some of the creatives profiled include artist David Salle and photographer Thomas Struth. Throughout, her dedicated reporting and singular viewpoint demonstrates a mastery of long-form journalism.

The Critics Say: Somehow, against all odds, Malcolm’s erudition is not alienating. Reading even the most cerebral of her sentences, you feel smart by association rather than dumb by comparison. -Alice Gregory, Slate

Also by This Author: Iphigenia in Forest Hills: Anatomy of a Murder Trial, The Silent Woman: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, The Journalist and the Murderer

Books Like This: Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion, Show and Tell: The New Yorker Profiles by John Lahr, Essays of E.B. White by E.B. White

My Gut Reaction: Janet Malcolm questions journalism’s tenuous relationship to the truth: Are journalists recording the facts or simply telling a story? In her opinion, the profession leans toward the latter. Yet her work seemingly does both. She uncovers her subject, tells a great story, but acknowledges it is only her story. It’s this ability for analysis that elevates her essays—and makes them required reading.

As I continued my scroll today, I came across an article title that stuck out: Does Trying to Be Happy Make us Unhappy?  So, I took the liberty to click and read on, and my eyes were truly opened to the impact that the “pursuit of happiness” has on the comprehensive happiness of society.

The post was written by Adam Grant, NY Times best-selling author of the book Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success. He discusses in his post that the more value we put on happiness, the less attainable it actually becomes. Adam mentions a savant named Tom, who essentially traveled the globe seeking a life of pure bliss–a career, lifestyle, home, and culture that would make him the happiest Tom he could be. Every move to a different country, every change in his industry, and every lateral move made in these eight years left him longing for the happiness he had been seeking; no matter where his travels or mindset took him, he never found the satisfaction he had been looking for.

Adam goes on to explain the four fundamental mistakes Tom made along the way:

1. Tom keeps trying to figure out if he’s happy. The second we hop into analytics mode, we remove ourselves from the present situation.  This inhibits our capability to enjoy the happiness we are currently experiencing.

2. We tend to overestimate the impact life circumstances have on our overall happiness.  Sure, a bright moment may make us feel fantastic at the time, but how will we feel once the immediate elation wares off? For example, the nostalgia of seeing an old friend, or dinner at a 5-star restaurant.  These are wonderful times to take in and experience, but do these glimpses of happy times impact you overall happiness?

3. Pursuing happiness alone isn’t necessarily the right route. Sure, happiness is measured on a case-by-case basis; but what is happiness if we can’t share it with anyone else? Adam mentions studies having shown that this self-validating focus on happiness can in fact make people feel lonely and depressed.

4. Searching for moments of immense happiness.  These experiences of “super joy” can, in fact, frame our idea of happiness and minimize the importance and good feelings associated with smaller circumstances.  If you were to win that massive Powerball jackpot today, would you appreciate finding a $20 bill on the ground? Probably not.

At the end of the day, we all have things that make us happy: sunny weather, the giggle of a small child, your favorite song on the radio. These small things are too often overlooked.  If we take the time to live in the moment, and actually appreciate these happenings as they happen, attaining happiness may be easier than we think.  Instead of placing your ultimate happiness on a pedestal, try to find happiness in your life every single day. Wake up and be thankful for having a new day ahead of you.  Tell the people in your life that you love them and are lucky to have them.

You know how we’re all told that love finds you when you stop looking for it? Well, I believe this to be true regarding happiness as well.

That guy Tom I mentioned? He now claims to be happy for the first time in a decade. Why? He fell in love and got married and realized he could stop chasing something that he has now created on his own with someone else.

Maybe if we all stop trying so damn hard to be happy, we can find happiness in our current situations.  Life will never be perfect; but sometimes it’s about acknowledging the imperfections, accepting them, and still appreciating life’s blessings anyways.

We are all capable of being happy.  So stop obsessing over how tough life is and how you can’t seem to catch a break.  STOP FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF!  It’s like they say, life is like a photograph- we develop from the negatives.

2013 Big Summer Read

Want to stay busy on a summer afternoon? Take a trip, meet new friends, or go on an adventure without leaving home? Find a story in a book, on an e-reader, or listen to audio version!

You’ll find our recommendations for wonderful fiction and nonfiction picture books as well as audio books — all perfect for outdoor reading, warm summer evenings, and family road trips. Enjoy!

Click below to browse through the 2013 summer lists online or download and print the PDF before you head out to the library or store.

Download the 2013 guide for all ages (319K PDF)

Books for 6-9 Year Olds

You’ll find awesome books for kids 6-9 years old, such as Bramble and Maggie Give and Take and Next Stop Grand Central.

Go to Books for 6-9 Year Olds

Books for 3-6 Year Olds

You’ll find terrific books for kids 3-6 years old, such as Dirt on My Shirt and Grumpy Goat.

Go to Books for 3-6 Year Olds

Books for 0-3 Year Olds

You’ll find fabulous books for toddlers and preschoolers, such as Flight 1-2-3 and Maisy Grows a Garden.

Go to Books for 0-3 Year Olds

Audio Books

You’ll find fun audio books, such as Stallion by Starlight and Hooray for Anna Hibiscus.

Go to Audio Books

And, who among us doesn’t enjoy–even if only a little bit–the smell of a library? The aroma of thousands of old books gathered between four walls may be slightly musty, but it’s a welcoming and pleasant scent to plenty of book lovers, too.

So, why am I rambling on about a library’s smell? Because I can’t imagine a library without it. Soon, however, San Antonio library patrons will know exactly what a library smells like sans book smell, because their city will be home to the nation’s first bookless library system.

Digital library BiblioTech plans to open this fall, and it will bring the entire Bexar County library system to San Antonio, in digital form. Patrons will be able to borrow e-readers for home use and enjoy an impressive selection of books electronically.

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff says BiblioTech is “not a replacement for the (city) library system; it’s an enhancement.” He compares the vision of the bookless library to an Apple store, in terms of aesthetics.

The library will showcase a collection of LCD screens and gadgets including 50 computer terminals and plenty of laptops and tablets on-site.

Wolff believes the $1.5 million project will be cost-effective since it will be housed in an existing county-owned building and will serve communities where residents may not have home computers. He sees it as an opportunity for more people to learn technology.

The Bexar County system isn’t the only library that has tinkered with the idea of going bookless. The Santa Rosa Branch Library in Tucson, Arizona offered a digital-only library in 2002. However, after a few years, patrons began requesting a return to paper books, so now the library is full-access with computers.

Besides having the coolness factor of an Apple store, a digital library would bring a few major benefits. First, it would free up librarian’s time to spend with students and patrons, helping them to understand the technology and find digital materials. After all, the physical work of dealing with thousands of books can keep them quite busy, leaving patrons to fend for themselves.

Also, digital libraries don’t need to occupy large spaces, so they could fit neatly into cities with little space and big real estate prices. Their small confines could also go mobile with ease, traveling around town to serve patrons on-the-go.

If space is not an issue, more collaboration areas for work and study could replace the numerous physical bookshelves that typically fill libraries. Many libraries also offer programs and classes for the community, so a digital-only collection could free up space for these events, too.

Bookless libraries may not be for everyone, however. The digital divide means some patrons might feel intimidated by e-books and e-readers and would need a heavy dose of hands-on help. This situation could create an extra burden on librarians rather than a pleasant shift in duties, as mentioned above.

Another hurdle is the expense of acquiring the technology needed to go bookless, along with training staff to make such large operational changes.

Finally, some people simply prefer physical books so they can flip through the pages, enjoy the book cover art, and — oh yes — smell that special library aroma.

What do you think? Does the idea of a bookless library excite you or send you running to the stacks in fear? Share your thoughts in the comments section below, on Twitter or on Facebook.

You can follow the development of the San Antonio library on the BexarBibliotech Facebook page, which was also the source for the photo used with this article.

Last Thursday, the Coffee Talk topic was Relationship Deal Breakers.  Let’s face it folks, we all have them; sometimes, it’s just a matter of figuring out if your issues are just annoyances or if they are truly an underlying concern threatening the foundation of your relationship.

Dr. Bethany Marshall, author of Deal Breakers: When to Work On a Relationship and When to Walk Away, tells Gayle from Oprah.com, “A deal breaker is that one thing that grates on you, but it symbolizes everything else that’s wrong in a relationship… it’s a character flaw or emotional stance that significantly deteriorates the quality of your relationship.”

Sure, there are the big topics we must all look at when choosing the appropriate mate: religion, geographic location, desire for children and/or marriage. These are discussions couples should have had or BE having prior to deciding just how serious the relationship is going to get. Making sure you are both on the same page is pivotal in terms of growing together and attaining goals along the way.

But what about the less-serious issues? Hygiene, debt, jealousy, smoking, drinking? Some may not view these as deal breakers, maybe just bad habits or even “growing pains.” Every couple is bound to argue. Matter of fact, if you are in a relationship and you never fight, somethin’ ain’t right!

The key to dealing with potential deal breakers is communicating.  Often, we (when I say “we,” I am mostly identifying with females in a relationship) silence ourselves, especially at the beginning. We want to appease, we want to make our men happy and feel like we are solely responsible for the smiles on their faces. While this is a great attitude to have, you need to ask yourself two questions:  1. Are you being true to yourself?  2. Are you working as hard to make yourself happy?

I’ve had three serious relationships in my life, and I can honestly say that speaking up, being honest, and communicating well are the most important factors when it comes to the longevity of a relationship.

While men tend to be the “go with the flow” species, women are the worry-warts; we over-analyze and stress over the things men don’t even think about. We take things out of context, we get emotional, make mountains out of molehills, and so on.  We don’t want to bother the fellas with these trivial thoughts and feelings, so we tend to keep quiet so we don’t nag.

Well, I may nag, and I may sound like a broken record, and I know I get on my fiance’s nerves.  He tells me all the time! But ya know what? When there is something truly bothering me, I let it be known. I wear my heart on my sleeve so it isn’t exactly hard to miss, but as females, we really need to SPEAK UP!

So ask him this-or-thats, ask hypotheticals, ask top-fives. Get to know your man! And if he doesn’t like it, well then he isn’t the one. As you get to know him, maybe you won’t like him much anyways.

The right one will want to know everything about you; and though you may not always be in agreement, he will grow to love everything about you anyways.  That’s a promise.

For Mother’s Day, we often to see mother-daughter pairs highlighted, but we need to give a mother’s influence over her sons its proper due, so we are featuring a round-up of novels where a mother-son relationship is central to the plot.

If you can think of any other books about mothers and their sons that touched you in some way, please share them below, or use inReads chat to send your thoughts straight to Twitter.

Room by Emma Donohue

This widely acclaimed book is written from the point of view of a child who lives in captivity with his mother, a woman who manages to give him the world although they are confined to an eleven-by-eleven foot space.

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

In interviews and in an essay she wrote for The Guardian, Shriver has said that she wrote this book while questioning whether or not she wanted to have children. Some childless readers may also have doubts after finishing this epistolary novel about an ambivalent mother’s anguish over a son who goes on a killing spree at his high school.

The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride

After years of being perplexed by his mother, a white woman who was vague about her racial origins, McBride was able to look back over her life and see her courage.

Black and Blue and Every Last One by Anna Quindlen

Black and Blue is about a mother who stays in an unhealthy marriage for the sake of her son until she decides to get out of the marriage for his sake.

In Every Last One, Quindlen writes lyrically about a woman coping with a family tragedy that takes her from being a wife and a mother of three to being the mother of one son.

To read what women writers have to say about raising their own sons, check out:

It’s a Boy: Women Writers on Raising Sons

Between Mothers and Sons: Women Writers Talk About Having Sons and Raising Men

Needless to say, that happened today.  And I am very happy to have found a blog gem entitled Turned Up to Eleven.

I read the most recent post and was immediately intrigued, but I had to do some digging to learn more about the blog and its author.  Little did I know that my investigation tactics would lead me to find that Kelly (yes, I found her name finally!) and I actually have a lot in common.

Kelly is a Frederick native (Maryland represent!) who hauled her cookies to Alabama for the love of her life and hasn’t looked back since.  She turned away from the corporate world to follow her creative heart in work as a graphic designer.  She refers to herself as, “your average girl next door, a beer and chicken wings type personality that tries her best to get in touch with her girlie side, when needed.”  The girl even writes for a chick-based sports blog.  I love it!

As I continued to read her About Me page, I felt like I was looking in a mirror…until she mentioned that she is a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.  That is just something I can’t comprehend and certainly do not condone. If you aren’t going to root for my beloved Redskins, at least back the Ravens, girlfriend!

Kelly would rather be one of the guys, but enjoys her days with her girls and adds, “I’d be nothing with out my closest friends, they are the family I’ve chosen for myself.”  My friends are my backbone and voice of reason, so I am right there with ya, Kel.

The Future You is her blurb about the things she does today that she believes will make her future self proud. And shouldn’t we all be making a point to better ourselves? She discusses recycling, working out, controlling her debt, and–what really caught my eye–not compromising who she is, and taking time with her marriage.

I don’t know if it’s just a part of the “quintessential plan” or if it’s a “girl thing” or what, but most females (or at least the ones I know) have it in their heads that you are supposed to fall in love, get married, buy a house, and have babies one right after the other.  I admit, I was a part of this paradigm as well, until I pumped the brakes and decided to take some time to enjoy my young adulthood.

While a lot of the girls I know are already married with children, I am one of the first of my core group of girlfriends to be on her way to holy matrimony. And to be frank, it scares the living crap out of me. I love my fiance with all of my heart; he’s my best friend, biggest fan, and love of my life. And while I am still deathly afraid of us falling apart like most things in my life tend to do, maybe accepting the fact we need to (at least for now) remotely grow up can ease my anxiety.

Getting married doesn’t mean giving up your social life, or no longer being able to have fun, or being forced to follow some destiny-inspired timeline. Taking one giant step towards adulthood doesn’t mean you must leave your childhood behind completely.  It just means you’ve found the perfectly perfect person for you and that it’s time for your life together to begin.  And when/if a person is lucky enough to find that, well then embrace it with all you got!

Never let your fear of growing up inhibit the life you are meant to lead. It’s almost a guarantee that down the road, you will look back and wonder “what if”. And nobody wants a life based on what-if’s. Make the right decisions now so that your future-self looks back and thinks “I’m fucking awesome”.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Lindsay’s piece inspired a hearfelt response from Kelly that we’re very proud to share.

I believe my response went a little something along the lines of, “Guh? Randall Flagg? AKA The Man In Black? AKA The Walking Dude? Personification of chaos? Sower of discord? A cackling fiend riding Ka’s Wheel like Slim Pickens riding the Nuke to its date with the apocalypse in Doctor Strangelove? That Randall Flagg?”

The clerk just grinned at me enigmatically. Somewhere in the background, Christmas music–maybe Burl Ives–started to play, odd, it being the end of April and all. I walked out very quickly and did my best not to inhale the book in the parking lot…

Charlie Manx is a bad, bad man.

The clerk’s comment made me realize in a way I never really had before just what an odd cross Hill has to bear as a writer. It’s a peculiar tragedy that Hill’s work as an author is always going to be compared not just against his own earlier work, but against another author’s entire career’s worth of books that he never so much as wrote a word of. For every Martin Amis there’s a Chris Mitchum. Every time he sits down to write something, Hill’s not just working against his own personal best. He has to play to beat The Walking Dude or he might as well not even lace up.

This has always been the case with Hill. But perhaps it was fitting that the clerk brought it up to me before reading N0S4A2. Hill work, though sharing a genre, has always been careful to get a bit of distance from King’s. But N0S4A2 seems right in the old man’s wheelhouse, an epic slab of horror that crosses decades and dimensions, about the vulnerability and power of children, the failings of parents, and bad men with worse cars.

I’ll skate lightly over the plot, suffice to say that N0S4A2 is the story of a Charlie Manx, a man who knows the way to Christmasland, the place where he’s been feeding off children for nearly a century. And Victoria Jackson, a girl with a peculiar talent who rises to challenge him, first as a girl then later as a damaged adult.

Hill writes about the supernatural like no other horror writer. With a keen understanding of the tantalizing transcendence of the mundane world it offers, and the way it can burn out those who come in contact with it, good and evil alike. Hill’s characters pay a terrible price for their talents. The regular world can wear a person down enough, all the supernatural does is make the erosion easier. And Hill’s deepest sympathies are with those who pay the most.

N0S4A2 rips along with the precision and momentum of the many engines that Hill so lovingly documents. A 700-page book that you can gulp down in a sitting. While I would still rank Heart Shaped Box above it, the book thankfully sidesteps the narrative tangles that tripped up Horns in its final stretch. There are a few clumsy lines along the way, but only one–a particularly terrible pun delivered with all the grace of a fart in church after a particularly harrowing death–does any lasting damage. And in a book the size of N0S4A, a mulligan or two is deserved.

What really makes N0S4A2 exciting though is watching Hill grapple with his father’s legacy in a way other than length, cars, and villains. What happens in N0S4A2 is the first real sense of Hill beginning to tie his world together in a single larger story, the way his father so famously did with his Dark Tower Multiverse. The first key threads of a larger tapestry are laid, and though the picture isn’t here yet, you can see the frame. Hill ties in not only his own work, but his father’s and even David Mitchell’s. These go beyond the few clever cameos Hill slipped into Horns. It gives the sense of someone just getting started. Or rather revving up. (I can’t help but wonder if we’re ever going to meet that awful Walking Backwards Man.)

But narrative gamesmanship can only take you so far, and even the slickest of plots and the best of scares can feel hollow without something to tether them. As the bookseller observed, Joe Hill creates some of the greatest Devils in horror. But it is the fact that he takes just as much care in the crafting of his tattered, resilient Angels that makes him one of my favorite Authors.

You can read more of Bryce Wilson’s thoughts on Joe Hill, including indepth essays on Locke & Key and Heart Shaped Box in his book on horror fiction Son Of Danse Macabre. Available on the Kindle and Nook.

That might be putting a little too much weight on one award. But it’s hard not to take this year’s Pulitzer as some kind of statement. After all, this is coming the year after the committee snubbed Dennis Johnson, Karen Russell, and David Foster Wallace by nominating all and then selecting none of their books as worthy of the prize. Not unheard of, but shocking in this case because the inability to choose between three books as astoundingly different as Wallace’s dense as a dwarf star swan song, Russell’s magical realism cum southern gothic and Johnson’s sparse poeticism, suggests some kind of congenital brain defect. Looking at last year’s bizarre pile-up, it’s impossible not to ask, “Well what do you want?”

I thought I knew the answer going into The Orphan Master’s Son. The middlebrow title smacking softly of pretension (proving once again the old adage “You should definitely judge a book by its cover because otherwise how would you know?”) and the oh-so-topical subject matter. From the outside, The Orphan Master’s Son looked soft, the type of book beloved by the kind of people who read one book a year and like to make sure it’s an important one.

I am only sorry that by your reading this I am depriving you of the same smug prejudices. Because trust me, when approached this way The Orphan Master’s Son will take off the top of your damn skull. The Orphan Master’s Son is, simply put, an astonishingly great book. Brutal, heartbroken, genuinely funny, written with a direct unsparing style, The Orphan Master’s Son is expansive and generous and harrowing as great fiction should be. The kind of story that confers humanity not only to a North Korean torturer, but the rich, white, evangelical wife of a Texas senator, which is kind of even more remarkable.

Though the novel’s tricky structure and its themes of identity and the slipperiness of truth/perception may tempt some to label it post-modern, The Orphan Master’s Son has none of post-modernism’s smirking solipsism and insincerity, nor any of modernism’s navel-gazing tendency; The Orphan Master’s Son means it. It’s almost as though, in such a brutal setting, insincerity is literally not an option. Indeed The Orphan Master’s Son, which follows a North Korean tunnel soldier who ends up an agent of the state, a diplomat, a prisoner and then something even stranger, is so overstuffed with event that it puts most genre fiction to shame. At times, it resembles nothing so much as a totalitarian Forrest Gump with a body count. Beyond everything else, The Orphan Master’s Son is an almost perversely pleasurable read.

Of course, it’s tempting to say that all the acclaim for The Orphan Master’s Son is due to its exoticism, or rather, it’s anti-exoticism. That it’s this distance from the day-to-day that allows readers (and award givers) to accept its deep emotion and event-packed plot. That the sort of incomprehensible miserabalism it portrays allows the reader access to its world almost along the lines of science fiction. Indeed, this is a tempting explanation for why The Orphan Master’s Son took home the Pulitzer and Swamplandia didn’t. Russell’s Mangrove-strewn, haunted wonderland played in its own reality, until the disappointing third act that broke the book’s contract with the reader. As The Orphan Master’s Son isn’t just grounded in reality, but in front page reality, such leaps of style are allowable, even though the world that Adam Johnson delivers for us has as little to do with our own as The Bigtree’s surreal, ghost haunted, alligator kingdom.

If you’re seeking an antecedent, you don’t have to look far. The book that The Orphan Master’s Son brings to mind most readily is The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which won the Pulitzer five years before. Both are centered around life in totalitarian dictatorships so brutal that they nearly unimaginable to the reader. But more importantly, both are works that are deeply informed by the language of their subjects, personal experience, and research. Indeed, as it so often is, the new is really old, both novels are examples of Wolfe’s Billion Footed Beast successfully stuffed and mounted once again. I’ve read many explanations about why The Orphan Master’s Son works so awfully well, its subject matter, its use of popular fiction tropes, its meticulous construction. But ultimately, the solution to Zadie Smith’s existential quandary presented at the beginning ends up being the infusion of a hundred ccs of good ol’ fashioned life experience. Shot directly into the heart.

Crazy with a Side of Awesome Sauce (I think the title is the best part!) hosts a writer/photographer/dancer who is a hippie at heart, a “jacqueline of all trades,” and not afraid to show her crazy side.  She says, “Well, aren’t we ALL crazy, dollface? I think once we all admit our own insanity, life gets a hellofa lot better. Mmhmm. I’m the adopted daughter of a drug addict narcissist and I anesthetize with a neurotic need for organization bordering on OCD. I’ve got a mouth like a sailor on death row. And just for kicks I behave completely batshit. It’s a hoot. Or maybe I’m actually insane. Stick around and see!”

The way I see it, any woman who can admit she is crazy has a good sense of humor, a pretty down-to-earth perspective on life, and doesn’t take herself (or life) too seriously.  I’m in complete agreement that all bitches are nuts, some just hide it better than others.

Andrea’s blog consists of some of her gorgeous photography, random rambles, and updates about her life.  I think my favorite post is her write-up about the Women Who Do It For Her. Here, she lists the women she wouldn’t kick out of bed.  While she doesn’t believe in labels, she admits to having dated women, but that she is mostly interested in men. Unless, it is the perfect combo in a female that draws her to the other side.

I can appreciate this post, and many of her posts for a couple of reasons. One, she accepts who she is and where she’s been. She isn’t looking to appease anyone and she is happy with herself.  Two, a lot of people are so wrapped up with political correctness that they are bashful at times about their true feelings. They don’t want to offend or take the road less traveled.  Sometimes, it’s easier to blend in and keep quiet. But it is women like Andrea who symbolize authenticity, truth, and inner beauty; and they prove that it is OKAY to be sexual, it’s okay to keep it real, even if people are going to judge.  I am a firm believer that no matter what, you should be proud of the person you are. And if you have the balls (or in this case, lady parts) to share your realness with the world, well then you are pretty friggin’ awesome. And, hopefully, your stories can inspire others to do the same.

Genre: Supernatural Romance

Synopsis: Turn of the century New York City serves as the backdrop for this unlikely romance between a golem, a woman made of clay, and a jinni, a wish-granting spirit. While these supernatural beings represent two very different cultures, Judaism and Islam, they nevertheless fall in love. After all, both are unlikely immigrants adjusting to a very odd culture. Ultimately, they face the dual problems of fitting into mortal society, and surviving New York City.

The Critics Say: The Golem and the Jinni is an impressive debut, bursting with ambition and magical in all kinds of ways. -Carmela Ciurara, USA Today

Also by This Author: This is her debut novel. You can find out more about her here.

Books Like This: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon, The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger; American Gods by Neil Gaiman; The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

My Gut Reaction: Despite the unlikely premise, this promises to be an exciting romance story and a pretty good look at early twentieth century New York City. Through these two supernatural beings, we get a unique look at New York’s diverse cultural landscape. For example, the jinni comes from Little Syria, a neighborhood no longer extant near the Battery. The golem, Chava, works at a bakery in the predominantly Jewish Lower East Side, another remnant of New York’s past. Despite its fantastic elements, this novel is very well-researched. And while it is unbelievable, what good is a romance if it isn’t unlikely?

I knew that there would be people out there who weren’t going to be supportive.  I knew some would be grossed out, appalled, offended.  But at the end of the day, whose business is it of ANY of ours to judge, much less tell the man he is wrong?

Well, with the announcement going viral, some serious hatred came from some noteworthy people; one of whom was ESPN Magazine NBA writer Chris Broussard.  He went on to make numerous Bible references and said that homosexuality is a “sin.” While he later offered a half-assed explanation/apology, the sincerity was most certainly lacking.  There was no “I’m sorry” involved and it seemed more like a pat on the back. The network’s public statement about Broussard was quite bland as well.

While these types of opinions are most certainly expected from some, it is disappointing to learn how self-righteous and demeaning these same people act along the way. Do we not want to evolve as a society? Do we not want peace and a positive future?

This whole topic has infuriated me. Collins’ move was not only a brave one, but a moment in American sports history to be remembered. The trickle-down effect that should follow will open many doors and, hopefully, minds as well. I commend Collins for it, and believe he made a serious power move for the LGBT community.

Actually, let’s highlight the most important questions of all here: What does the man’s sexual preference or religion have to do with his ability to play basketball?

I found a blog post on this subject today over at Racialicious, a blog about the intersection of race and pop culture. It highlights the fact that ESPN managed to bury the Jason Collins’ story Monday and explains how the “Worldwide Leader of Sports” latched onto the fact that prized media darling Tim Tebow had gotten the boot from the New York Jets; later, it boasted a “top story” of a third-round draft pick.

Meanwhile, Jason Collins has made cultural history, and he gets no love?

Shame on you, ESPN.

Arturo Garcia notes the lack of any in-person interview with Collins, Broussard’s downplay of Collins’ basketball talent in the segment, not to mention the selection of Broussard to participate in the discussion in the first place.  Any avid ESPN watchers must feel the same way I do, Why wouldn’t they put Michael Wilbon or Stephen A. Smith, two analysts who have higher authority on the network, and on this piece, in the first place?

So, was ESPN just trying to cover its ass by downplaying this news or is this instance a reflection of prejudice? I’ll let you make the call.

Not too long ago, a friend asked me if there were any festivals on the horizon that we could attend and I am very ashamed to say that my reply was, “Movie festivals or music festivals?

As reading enthusiast, I should have included literary festivals since our area boasts quite a few. Here are some literary festivals that are coming up. Please go and support reading at these festivals—and bring a friend.

Literary Hill Bookfest: You can join Capitol Hill booksellers, as well as authors who live in or have a strong connection to this part of DC on Sunday, May 5, 2013 from 11am to 3pm at the North Hall of Eastern Market for an afternoon of thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining writers who will participate in discussions, readings, and signings.

While people who live in Capitol Hill have a good chance of running into one of these authors at a local coffee shop, you might not if you live in a different part of the greater DC area. So you can catch authors like Tom Dunkel (Color Blind: The Forgotten Team that Broke Baseball’s Color Line) or Beth Kanter and Emily Goodstein (Washington, DC Chef’s Table).

The Gaithersburg Book Festival: This rather young festival began in 2010 it is already gaining national prominence. Held on the Gaithersburg City Hall grounds, the festival offers free admission and free parking.

This year’s  Gaithersburg Book Festival ( Saturday, May 18, 2013, 10 am to 6pm) will feature Jami Attenberg (The Middlesteins) and Caldecott Medal winning author and illustrator Christopher Myers.

Library of Congress National Book Festival: This is the 13^th year for the festival that will be held September 21-22, 2013 on the National Mall and always boasts a roster of authors of national and international acclaim. According to the FAQs, you do not have to purchase a book there to have it signed; you can bring your own book for one of the nationally known authors participating in the festival to sign. That doesn’t happen at every book signing event.

Fall for the Book Festival: This year’s Fall for the Book will take place September 22-27, 2013 at various locations in Northern Virginia, DC, and Maryland with a number of events being held at the George Mason University campus in Fairfax. Events will feature writers like Michael Chabon and Rita Dove.

If you haven’t yet checked out Washington Post book reviewer Ron Charles’s Totally Hip Video Book Reviews, it’s time to start. Ron gives all the background you need in a 2011 interview for HuffPost Books, including how the videos began with “…this idea of a character in my mind: a nervous book reviewer who was worried about losing his job and was playing into the current paranoia about the book industry.”

Publishers Weekly notes that despite their satirical premise, there is an odd hipness about the videos, possibly “stem[ing] from the idea that loyal Post readers can finally get a peek behind the curtain, or in this case, the byline, of a respected voice in the book world. And, it turns out, that voice is funny. Really, really funny.”

Perched as he is at the intersection of inReads’s underlying themes (books, technology, and culture), Ron was kind enough to take time to speak with us about his take on the changing world of reading, reviewing, and publishing.

When asked about his seemingly fearless embrace of technology, Ron explains that he has always been something of a technophile, the “first of [his] friends to have a computer.” And while the Totally Hip videos started as something fun–a satirical take on the “panic in book review world”–they do follow the newsroom ethos at the Washington Post of “meeting readers wherever they are.”

Another early passion–theater– is reflected in Ron’s comfort with taking on his alter-ego’s hip persona. Love for acting was nurtured by his mother who was a high school theater director, and Ron later enlisted his own family for skits and films, which were first shared VHS, then DVD, and now internet.

Shifting gears to talk about changes in the publishing world, Ron notes, “It’s really unbelievable. I left teaching 16 years ago go into journalism, which has been transforming itself violently ever since.  Amazon and self-publishing have come into their own, and we see tremendous change in the way books are covered.” Expounding on the impact of self-publishing, Ron explains, ” Every few hours, I have to tell someone that we do not review self-published books. No doubt there are gems being produced, but it’s not possible to handle the sheer volume, and with my staff down to 2 and a half, from 11, that situation isn’t likely to change. ” He notes that traditionally, books have gone through two major vetting processes–the agent and the publisher–before he sees them, and without that vetting, publishing is pretty much open to anyone who can type and thinks they have something to say.

As Ron sees it, the current market favors a certain kind of author, one who is comfortable with marketing and self-promotion. “We’ll see the most successful authors being those who are best at that or those who are already popular.” In response to the observation that with his multi-media approach he seems to be modelling the very behavior that authors may need to get comfortable with, Ron admits, “These days, you have to wave your arms and make noise to get attention.” He sees a decline in interest in literary fiction with the consequent lowered interest in reviews. To that point, he shares his surprise at discovering how “shockingly low” the sales bumps have been for the recent Pulitzer winners. “Receiving the highest award for literary fiction bumps you by a few hundred copies, but the worst, most obscure sitcom you’ve never heard of has a gagillion viewers.” What does that say?

So what does the future hold for Totally Hip Book Review videos? While many books don’t lend themselves to the Totally Hip Book Review treatment, “because they’re too good or too serious and don’t necessairly fit a theme,” Post management likes what it sees and is encouraging Ron to keep creating his videos. We can consider ourselves lucky to be in on the joke since, as Ron himself states in the Publisher’s Weekly article, “This kind of thing won’t work for all book critics…serious critics are being encouraged to do crap like this. It’s horrible. That’s what I’m trying to make fun of.”

Meanwhile, in my journeys across the blogosphere, I found a wonderful site for all parents and parents-to-be. It began as a blog called Scary Mommy but has evolved into an online community hosting advice, confessionals, story-telling, and much more. Scary Mommy originator Jill Smokler has created a brand, and her skilled writing has earned her the status of New York Times best-selling author, courtesy of her two books: Confessions of a Scary Mommy and Motherhood Comes Naturally (and Other Vicious Lies). Her web-based hangout has earned over 300,000 followers on Twitter and 3 million visits to the site each month.  Her very real take on parenting has gotten her publicity on national television multiple times, and Smokler has also created a non-profit organization called Scary Mommy Nation. To date, the nation has raised over $30,000 to help parents who are struggling financially.

Talk about an over-achiever, right?  This chick makes most moms look sub par to say the least. But her very real manifesto pertaining to the site reads, “I shall not compete with the mother who effortlessly bakes from scratch, purees her own baby food, or fashions breathtaking costumes from tissue paper. Motherhood is not a competition. The only ones who lose are the ones who race the fastest.”

Speaking as a mother of two absolutely adorable pups but no human babies, I have a bit of a tough time relating to a lot of the posts within. My dogs don’t talk back to me, they don’t throw temper tantrums (well unless Sarge isn’t fed by 5pm), and they don’t require over-the-top birthday parties each year. Our dogs are amazing, and they keep us plenty occupied.  Imagining children thrown in the mix, or even pregnancy… well, I think my head might just have to go through the wall.

But just because Scary Mommy isn’t for me (yet), that doesn’t mean it can’t help the everyday moms out there looking for an escape. This community is a place to read about the other moms just trying to get through the day, or the hour, or the minute. I know parenthood can give a person the feeling of being disconnected and alone. Sometimes, the feeling of belonging or simply being understood can make a world of difference.

Places such as Scary Mommy can give people the answers they are looking for from other parents across the globe. They can share thoughts and feelings, as well as questions, and not have to worry about judgmental eyes staring in their direction.

I am so glad to have found this gem, and while it will be a couple years before the subjects apply to me, I hope each of you with little people at home can appreciate the wonderful, rich exchange Scary Mommy offers.

In the first season of Cooking With Friends, Nick hosted Daniel Bortnick, Executive Chef at Firefly in Washington, D.C. The featured dish for that episode was Green Eggs and Ham (a.k.a. Spinach, Ham & Cheese Quiche), and you can view the entire episode here.

From Nick Stellino’s Website:

Daniel Bortnick – Firefly, Washington DC

Firefly’s executive chef, Danny Bortnick, is no stranger to the DC Metro area.  Born and raised in Maryland, chef Bortnick is dedicated to supporting the region’s bounty.  His commitment to seasonal, sustainable, and local food is evidenced by his ever-evolving menu, relationships with local farmers, and his bountiful organic garden. The menu at Firefly features timeless dishes, updated with passion and whimsy, all designed to be approachable and delicious. Many menu items were inspired by meals from Bortnick’s childhood. The simple, clean flavors and seasonal products shine of every plate. And he is glad to be leading the kitchen right in his own back yard. For more information, visit www.firefly-dc.com.

Sometimes it just feels like a swift jab to the throat will make it all go away- am I right?

Today’s online read comes from a blog called People I want to Punch in the Throat.  Blogger Jen Piwtpitt started the site in April of 2011.  While she is a regular writer over at Huffington Post, all it took was one post on her personal blog about the infamous Elf on the Shelf that year, and Jen’s throat-punching blog went viral.  She earned 26,000 followers over night, and has been working hard to leave her readers happy ever since.   Her continued success even got her a book published in October of last year!

If you want to learn a little more about the author before diving in, she explains, “This blog is called People I Want to Punch in the Throat not Rainbows and Unicorns. I’m a funny, negative, bitchy type of person. I write about stuff that we all do that pisses us all off. If you don’t have a sense of humor, then this isn’t the place for you. Thanks for stopping by, but don’t waste your time leaving in a huff, it just makes me want to hire a band to see you out the damn door.”

Amen to that, sister!

Long and short about this blog is, it’s a mom blog with a bit of an edge and a major dose of reality.  Motherhood isn’t all glamorous, and Jen has no problem keeping it real with her readers.  She shares content from across the web with her audience, she keeps them in the loop about her books, and what blog would be complete without a bunch of rants and raves relating to her personal life?

While I can appreciate her sarcasm and satirical tone, I gotta admit- the title of the blog kind of confused me.  I was under the impression I would be reading about a different person for each post, who deserves a swift punch to the throat.  Unfortunately for me, this is not the case.  I can think of about 50 people off the top of my head whom I would LOVE to punch in the throat right now, so maybe that’s my bad for wanting some rectification.  Or maybe the name of the blog is just misleading? I’m not exactly sure.  Maybe I should just start my own blog and title it Daily Punches to the Face to satisfy my needs.

At any rate, People I want to Punch in the Throat is an easy read, it’s a place for women to read on about the joys (and miseries) or motherhood, and is leaving me with a lot to look forward to in terms of starting a family.

Well, that’s a lie.  If anything it has just reminded me why I don’t want kids yet.

- David Sedaris, “Just a Quick Email” from Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls

In case you’re looking for that “just right” wedding gift too, or simply want to know where to find the best pizza in the city, the new WETA local documentary Pizza in Washington premieres Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at 8:00pm only on WETA.

This fun new program shares some favorite pizza spots in the Washington, D.C. area. Grab your friends and a pie because you’re bound to get hungry watching the show!

The Washington Post recently published its pizza picks, so be sure to tune in on May 7th to see how the two lists compare.

Short Stories: One might as well start at beginning. 20th Century Ghosts collects Hill’s earliest short stories, all published and collected before Hill’s connection to King became known. The unmasking was an inevitability; compare pictures of Hill with pictures of King at his age and he looks less like his son and more like his clone.

20th Century Ghosts makes an ideal starting point not merely chronologically but because it displays the staggering range of Hill’s work. For a young writer to have command over so many different styles and voices is staggering. Delivering raw slabs of horror with stories like “Best New Horror,” probably one of my five favorite things (note that’s “things” not “stories”) produced in the genre, which involves an editor’s search for a disturbingly talented author and has an ending that makes me want to laugh and throw up at the same time. But 20th Century Ghosts also contains delicate work like the lovely “Pop Art,” the wistful “20th Century Ghosts,” and other angles of horror like the quirky Bradburyesque “Last Breath” and the Lynchian “My Father’s Mask.”

Though Hill hasn’t released any short story collections since 20th Century Ghosts, he has kept up with the form, writing several short stories for various magazines and collections some of which have been released as singles via the nook and kindle. Including two notable collaborations with his Father, “Throttle”, a sequel to Richard Matheson’s “Duel” and “In The Tall Grass” which… well let’s just say it’s not for the faint of heart.

Comics: Maybe the best place for the prospective Hill fan to start would be Locke & Key, his long running comics series that is now in the midst of its final arc. Cue much wailing and gnashing of teeth on my part.

Locke & Crack, er- Key, follows a family that moves to its ancestral home in the wake of a tragedy and discovers a hidden legacy, various buried family secrets and a reality warping set of keys. The series showcases much of what Hill does best as an author, his care for character, his distinct visual imagination, his sense of place, his ability to deliver story through dark inference rather than standard exposition all wrapped up in a rich turn filled story and delivered with art by Gabriel Rodriguez that is so beautiful that it is damn near unfair. Think The Royal Tenenbaums, meets The Haunting with a dash of Lost and you’re nearly there.

Hill has had other works transferred to comics, including an adaption of his and King’s “Throttle” and an adaption and expansion of the story “The Cape” from 20th Century Ghosts. However, none of these have actually been scripted by Hill. Though Locke & Key is wrapping up, Hill isn’t abandoning comics. He has pledged to revisit the Locke & Key universe in the future, including a tantalizing World War 2 set story he has been teasing for years, and has also promised a mini-series called “Wraith,” an adaptation of a cut section of NOS4A2. Which brings us to…

Novels: So far Hill has written two. The first, Heart-Shaped Box, follows Jude Coyne, a retired shock rocker (think a cross between Alice Cooper and Alan Moore) who buys a haunted suit online and ends up with more than he bargained for, sending him on a journey deep into his past and the legacy of hurt he has endured and caused. It’s as strong of a debut book as I’ve ever read. Hill’s devious imagination makes the supernatural assault that Coyne under goes absolutely nerve shredding, and paints Craddock, the spirit haunting Jude, as an unforgettable avatar of evil. But what shows Hill’s true instinct as an author is the care he takes in his character. Heart-Shaped Box is one hell of a spook show, but it’s also a moving, carefully written story about two people belatedly discovering their better natures and that’s what makes it stick.

Hill’s second novel Horns (currently being made into a film starring Daniel Radcliffe) isn’t as strong. It has a damn near irresistible premise: A year after being accused of the murder of his girlfriend, Ignatius Perrish awakes with horns growing out of his forehead. The horns come with the ability to hear the worst thoughts and impulses of everyone he meets. And, much more intriguingly, the ability to make them act on them. The first half of Horns is a lunatic farce with poor Ig getting to find out just what everyone really thinks of him. But the second half is weaker with most of the problems centered around a mystifying flashback that robs the book of its (substantial) momentum right as it enters the final turn. Still, there’s more to recommend to Horns than not. At its best it’s darkly funny, bitingly bleak, and yet still retains the humanistic core that makes Hill so damn good. Perhaps the weakness of Horns is that it feels like a book that should have been written by a misanthrope and Hill has one of the biggest hearts in genre fiction.

As mentioned, Hill’s third novel NOS4A2 comes out next week, and I know nothing about it, having scrupulously avoided every preview and plot description, screwing up my eyes, covering my ears and screaming “LALALAICANTHEARYOU” when necessary. It’s my most anticipated book of the year, and if you read Hill’s other work, I don’t doubt that it will be yours as well.

…

You can read more of Bryce Wilson’s thoughts on Joe Hill and his work, including in-depth analysis of Locke & Key and Heart-Shaped Box, in Son Of Danse Macabre. Available on the Nook and the Kindle.

I do have some feminine weaknesses though, the biggest one being entirely too much interest in pop gossip.

Maybe it’s the life of luxury we all crave, or maybe it’s the celebrity status.  Who the hell knows.  But one thing is for sure: the ladies LOVE it.  They scout out E! News, Us Weekly, Perez Hilton and TMZ on a regular basis. Some outlets are more “newsworthy,” while others are more of a “poking fun” and teasing format.

For those of you who haven’t figured out my warped sense of humor, it goes without saying that I enjoy the guys who talk about celebrities and their gossip, but they talk shit and make fun of them too.  I stumbled across a site called DListed today, and it is right up my alley.  It’s similar to Perez Hilton but a bit more edgy.

Take this post for example.  Apparently before being banged on camera, two failed marriages and getting knocked up by Kanye West, Kim Kardashian actually got her first glimpse of being famous when she went on a date with Nick Lachey.  Not exactly a big deal, right? Well, writer Michael K has no problem letting his feelings on the subject be known.  He is clearly a Kardashian loather; he refers to Kim’s new book as the official bible of hell, refers to her as “Kimodo Kartrashian,” and even took it a step further by noting that in photos of her in a green dress last week, Kim looked as “if Gumby ate Pokey and swallowed all of the Blockheads with his ass.”

I think this guy is my hero. I too, have a strong distaste for the Kardashian clan, and I can admit that I was tuned in to watch the unfolding of Kim’s 72-day marriage on Keep Up With the Kardashian’s.   I hated the fact that this family is famous (“infamous” may be the more appropriate word?) for virtually nothing, but boy do I enjoy seeing their dysfunction on tv.  Maybe it makes me feel better about myself and the minute problems I have going on. Or maybe I am just an evil bitch who takes pleasure in other’s misery.

Nevertheless, this blog has a lot to offer those who want to keep up with celebrity gossip, hilarious random musings, and other bullshit that really has no bearing on your life.  The Hot Slut of the Day,  a daily links post called Afternoon Crumbs, and a lot of other content to make you giggle and help you feel better about yourself.

I will be sure to stop by for my dose; but that could mostly be because I know I can count on Michael K to keep the Kartrashian hate comin’!

Genre: Humor

Synopsis: Raconteur David Sedaris’ latest collection of essays takes globe-trotting as its focus. Sedaris travels for his job, telling funny stories for college audiences, and recounts a litany of pet peeves about life on the road. Sedaris is known for his keen observational skills and his ability to take in the silly and the profound in the same sentence. As for the title, it doesn’t quite mean anything, but there is a funny story about owls that was recently excerpted here.

The Critics Say: Those who have followed Sedaris through the years will find plenty to enjoy, though not much in the way of surprise or revelation. -Kirkus Reviews

Also by This Author: Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Children in Corduroy and Denim, and Barrel Fever.

Books Like This: Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell, In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson, Holidays in Heck by P.J. O’Rourke.

My Gut Reaction: While I am always excited to read anything by Sedaris, I am not certain that this new collection actually offers anything new. Success has a funny effect on creativity, and it is almost never the good kind. Not to write that Sedaris phones anything in here, but how much humor is there to first class travel? I always find the coach seats to be a bit funnier (not that I have ever had much of a choice).

Ghetto and genius aren’t exactly two words you are accustomed to hearing side by side, right?  People assume that people who are ghetto aren’t educated; and inversely, a genius would by no means appear “ghetto.”

Well, founder J-Wunder might just encompass both attributes.

He created the blog a few years ago after some friendly encouragement.  Little did J know, the site would eventually turn into the blog mogul it is today.  With over 168,000 Facebook fans and over four million hits, the writers at Inside the Mind of a Ghetto Genius have found their niche in terms of an audience. They’ve made quite the splash to say the least; even a shout out on Facebook from Jamie Foxx.

In so many words, the blog is unsightly, offensive, and over indulgently taboo. The crude, barbaric content these guys write is so despicable, you are almost in disbelief; yet you can’t look away.  But in all reality, they share content from across the web, just like other bloggers. They respond to reader questions, they tell stories about their lives. The only differences are: they hold nothing back, they tell it like it is, they keep it real and they straight up, just don’t give a fuck.

I, for one, like to think of this as–for lack of a better word–genius. For those of us who have a sense of humor and an appreciation for the derogatory, these guys are really on here for one reason: to entertain.  They aren’t writing for money and they don’t bother with advertising out of respect for their readers.

Even with the extensive list of followers, J-Wunder still made a point to get back to me this afternoon when I sent an email.  That right there shows true appreciation for his readers, and it made me all the more intrigued to have a chance to talk to him.

J explained to me, “I really wanted people to go to a place where they could escape for 10 minutes a day to get away from a hard day’s work and the rest of the bullshit. Believe it or not, laughter can change one’s mood and make a huge fucking difference to the outcome of their day. That’s the beauty of the blog.”

J is more than entitled at this point to try and make some money off his success. While he insists he will keep the site ad-free, he does have a book proposal out to a couple of editors, and other projects in store.  He truly hopes to keep the momentum going and his fans happy, enthused and tuned-in.

People are always so afraid of being different, taking the path less traveled. But what most don’t seem to recognize, is that it is the innovators and leaders who are remembered.  Inside the Mind of a Ghetto Genius may be just what the doctor ordered; and maybe we could all benefit from gettin’ a little ghetto from time to time.

Many (but not all) of the authors and industry professionals who presented at this conference live in and around DC, and while the conference does not focus on DC (there is another one held in Philly), I did glean some DC-centric tidbits this year:

Express is great for erasures: This year’s keynote speaker, Matthea Harvey, is a poet who not only writes and teaches but also engages in all manner of creative projects. She has embroidered to get into the mindset of one of her subjects and takes photographs of compositions she makes of miniatures to illustrate her poems.

On her travels to DC she likes to pick up the Express newspaper and use it for erasures. She showed the audience a slide with an example of erasure poetry she had made using the Express’s  Eye Opener page. So next time you are bored at work, you can grab the Express and some white out and get creative.

Government documents as possible literary inspiration: Author and Virginia Tech MFA Faculty member Matthew Vollmer presented the idea of using all manner of nonfiction texts to create fiction in “Creating Fraudulent Artifacts: Stories that Masquerade as Other Forms of Writing.”  Vollmer is the author of Inscriptions for Headstones and the co-editor of Fakes: An Anthology of Pseudo-Interviews, Faux-Lectures, Quasi-Letters, “Found” Texts, and Other Fraudulent Artifacts.

Vollmer presented examples and offered instructions for creating what he called “fraudulent forms:”

• Identify a form of writing
• Identify conventions
• Inhabit form
• Bust out

That last instruction is important because the idea is not to recreate the form but to use it as a springboard. It is just a framework because you don’t want your creation to  fill the function that the original form of writing did.

The group discussed creative uses of other common forms of writing, such as letters, guidebooks, interviews, and instruction manuals, as well as more unusual forms like fake Amazon reviews for Tuscan milk and a banana slicer.  We didn’t discuss government documents but they could be as inspiration as any other text for creating a fraudulent artifact.

A local literary agency has a new high profile partner: In the “Getting An Agent: What Every Emerging Writer Needs to Know” workshop, panelist Shannon O’Neill, Editorial Director of the Sagalyn Literary Agency, announced that her agency recently partnered with ICM to offer clients the experience of working with a smaller agency along with the benefits that come from working with a larger agency. She noted that the agency primarily works with nonfiction authors, although they do also work with a few fiction authors.

Enter news platform PressReader, which is trying to disrupt the news tech space, without so much…disruption. The app lends a newsstand quality to gathering the stories of the day with a traditional layout that many readers find as comforting as their morning cup of coffee.

But, don’t let the word “tradition” fool you; PressReader also offers tech features even newspaper purists can appreciate, like a special headlines-only view and language translation.

I was lucky enough to get a Q&A session with PressReader’s “Evangelist” Ray Wang. Though he wouldn’t divulge what inspired the creative team to develop PressReader (must be top-secret!), Ray did share some behind-the-scenes tidbits on his favorite aspects of the platform, as well as what sets it apart from competitors in the arena.

inReads:  Describe the platform’s printed news roots. How are you converting the print experience to digital?

Ray Wang:  Every publication available through the app is an exact digital replica of the current day’s printed edition with every section, article, editorial, advertisement, and comic strip presented in its original context.

inReads:  Who are your biggest competitors?

Wang:  Our biggest competitors are Flipboard, Zinio, and Google Current.

inReads:  So, what makes PressReader different? Why should our readers check you out?

Wang: Unlike other aggregators offering only a selection of top stories or stripped-down web content, PressReader offers subscribers access to over 2,000 full-content publications from 95 countries—all available through the world’s largest digital newsstand, PressDisplay.com.

inReads:  Any other newsworthy information about the app?

Wang: PressReader also provides users with functionality aimed at enhancing the traditional news-print experience with features like our exclusive SmartFlow (a horizontal news-reading feature) and SmartZoom technology (allowing you to automatically zoom in to the beginning of an article).

inReads:  What’s your favorite thing to read on PressReader?

Wang:  My favorite thing is on-demand audio, as this function allows PressReader to read the news content to the users.

That’s right – he said it can read the news content to users. So, even if you’re scrambling to get yourself (or your kids) out the door, you can still listen to the news.

If your idea of a good read is the daily news, be sure to check out PressReader. The company seems to be innovating right at the pulse of where technophiles and news junkies all want to be, and it will be interesting to see what they roll out next.

In an attempt to keep females from feeling any of the ways mentioned above, there’s been a petition started to try and remove models with a BMI (body mass index) under 18.5 from the cat walk.  Model Katie Green from the UK, was selected as the face of Wonderbra in 2008.  Once she met with her modeling management company, they encouraged her to lose weight and drop her size 12 figure.  She tried her best and made herself sick, which in turn, pushed her to quit modeling altogether.  She was picked up again and appreciated for her healthy weight and size 30F boobs. Katie is now back in modeling, and is determined to change the game for the betterment of all female’s today who struggle with weight and confidence issues.

The Say No to Size Zero campaign is Katie’s attempt to make things right for girls who are not a bag of bones.  She plans to present the petition to the Prime Minister, as well high-end fashion stores to encourage the use of more plus-size models and curvier mannequins.

While I think just about every female out there can relate to feeling like you are inadequate, the mission behind the campaign is valid; however, I don’t necessarily think the push for more voluptuous models is the answer to the problem.

Hello Giggles Writer, Laura Sanders, has it right: “Trashing other women for looking a certain way is useless. It really says more about you than it says about them.”

For whatever reason, women have a tendency to compare themselves to every other female out there.  Whether it’s our best friends, models, actresses, the chick next to you on the treadmill at the gym.  Why do we feel the need to constantly get down on ourselves based on someone else’s appearance?

The unending discussion about size really isn’t helping our cause here, ladies.  While I can completely understand the distaste for a girl strutting down the cat walk with her size zero clothes hanging off of her, the fact we are still so number-focused in terms of size just reaffirms the problem. Why can’t it be more about a model’s physical beauty, her natural curves regardless of her BMI, her confidence, and her dedication to being healthy?

Ya know the old saying, “age ain’t nothing but a number?” Well, why can’t we have the same mentality about the size of our waistlines?

Instead of focusing all attention on a petition to eliminate size zero models, why can’t we focus on making sure our models are healthy? Or making sure boutiques offer more plus-size clothing in general? Or even encouraging more “everyday, run of the mill” ladies to participate in modeling?

In closing, Sanders and I are certainly in agreement.  She says, “Rather than saying ‘No to Size Zero,’ I’m just going to say ‘Yes To Body Confidence’ and ‘Yes To Health.’”

Despite the notion that the primary purpose of movies in school is to fill the last few hours leading up to winter, spring, and summer breaks, many films do not need a rationale to justify inclusion in the curriculum. Like their ink-and-paper counterparts, many of these classics stand on their own merit, and serve as excellent tools for teaching.

So when is it right to turn down the lights in order to enlighten our students? And which works enhance the learning experience best? Here are just a few favorite features from titles straight out of the high school bookroom (feel free to add more of your own):

Franco Zefirelli’s Romeo and Juliet

Who can say no to the screen when the play’s the thing? Though plays are often assigned to be read individually, they are meant to be acted out loud, or at least viewed. This holds especially true when reading Shakespeare. Although Shakespeare’s early Modern English is much easier for students to comprehend than Middle or Old English, an actor’s tone, expression, and body language provide context that make Shakespeare infinitely more accessible. Zefirelli’s true to text interpretation will engage, elucidate, and entertain even the most skeptical groundlings (who might find Act III particularly titillating!)

Inherit the Wind

Also written as a play, Inherit the Wind is a compelling courtroom drama based on the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial. Students will recognize issues from the past that are still relevant today, and may even realize that in spite of our progress, there is still far to go. The film’s masterful portrayal of the debate between lawyer Henry Drummond and politician Matthew Brady will not only gratify students’ love of argument, but also demonstrate how to do it well.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Arguably the greatest novel ever written, the 1962 film version of Harper Lee’s singular masterpiece should be required viewing before a student can receive a diploma. Robert Mulligan’s beautiful and respectfully edited adaptation is one of the rare exceptions to the “read the book before watching the movie” rule. The film is so perfectly crafted that viewers feel not exempt from reading the book, but compelled to do so. Like Inherit the Wind, it is an excellent tool for teaching persuasive speech and writing, as well as a myriad of other social and literary concepts. Gregory Peck’s not too hard on the eyes, either.

Of Mice and Men

Steinbeck’s almost mythical ability to create visual images with language demands any film version respect and honor his gift. In his 1992 version, actor and director Gary Sinise offers a superb tribute to Steinbeck’s work. The film gives viewers the opportunity to appreciate both the glorious beauty and the devastating ugliness which held equal shares in the growth of our country.

Les Misérables

Despite the previous plug for abridgement, Hugo’s 1862 classic, called “one of the five or six greatest works of all time,” serves as an excellent resource for interdisciplinary studies. In addition to the intricately woven storylines, themes, and characters that could keep an English teacher busy for an entire semester, the sheer scope of this novel encompasses concepts relevant across the curriculum that could be easily incorporated into history/social studies, science, foreign language, philosophy, and even math classes (students could practice counting to 1500—the approximate number of pages in the unabridged English edition). Alternatively, simply invite the drama and music classes—and tell them to bring the popcorn.

The Fan is an easy listen for the most part, but really only because they host my favorite AM-drive donks, The Sports Junkies.  EB, Cakes, JP, and Lurch have been on-air since 1996 and have had a loyal following ever since.  They are a group of guys who have been buddies since they were kids and are now nearing middle-age, but these guys are still talking about the same ol’ shtick. And ya know what? Some find their stuff played out, but I always find myself listening and laughing; secretly wondering if I am/was a “whore or bore” and whether or not I’m smarter than the Junks and the average sports fans calling in for trivia contests against them, or who my “Donk of the Week” might be.

A question posed by some about the beloved DC-Sports talk world is beginning to loom: Who will be heir to the throne once the Sports Junkies are no more?

My guess would be the up-and-coming guys over at Ball Hogs Radio Network.

The Ball Hogs originally started as a weekly podcast sports show a little over a year ago; and they have been moving on up ever since.  They now manage nine different local sport blogs and radio shows (Nats, Skins, Wizards, Caps, Orioles, Ravens, Terps, local MMA and their own exclusive blog), have connected with multiple local businesses for sponsorship and advertising, and actively participate in local community events.

I like these guys for a couple of reasons. One, they aren’t completely restricting their coverage to DC sports–they cover Baltimore sports, too.  (A lot of DC sports fans HATE Baltimore fans, and as a Skins/O’s fan, I can truly appreciate the dual target demographic.) Two, they got their jump-start in terms of interviews and guests for the show on their own by simply reaching out via Twitter.  Nothing beats a self-made product! Three, their content is truly geared towards local sports fans, and they don’t necessarily do any sort of pitching or selling; they are genuine sports enthusiasts, who (I believe) are strategically creating an empire to share their thoughts, engaging readers of the like and setting the bar high for the Mid-Atlantic Area Sports Networking.

BHRN Host/Blogger Adam Bradley explains, “With the rise of internet radio [podcasts] across the country, we felt there needed to be a specific podcast network right here in DC for all the DC sports fans; that is what we’ve working so hard to help build over the last couple years.”

The Ball Hogs didn’t necessarily intend for the parallels to The Sports Junkies, although they certainly don’t mind the comparison.  After all, it’s a group of four guys, from the DC area, starting out small and talking about sports.  How could they not be compared?  The Junks are actually very supportive of the Ball Hogs who have even hosted EB in studio.

These guys are certainly on the right track to branding themselves, their shows, and their websites.  I am proud to call myself a fan!  Check out some true fan perspectives, and give some support and love to your local digital journalists!

In 2006, Wallace- Segall says, “I was hired by the principal of a [private] school where I was teaching on the Upper West Side to run a creative writing program that would bring enrichment to the middle school. “That year, “ she proudly says, “the kids won more writing awards than those from the top private and public schools.”

Though the reason for the students’ visible success may not at first be obvious, Wallace- Segall explains that in her program the kids were writing uncensored, fiction—serious and silly—as well as memoir. They were allowed to choose any topic they wanted. She treated her kids as writers (not students), and she was their editor. Without the externally imposed hierarchy of the regular English class curriculum, they wrote with freedom of expression. Wallace- Segall is certain that this formula, so to speak, is the reason, “it yielded such tremendous writing.”

Then, a new principal marched into the hallways and announced that the following Fall the program was going to be dropped. That was September 2007, and parental outcry was loud. Their children had truly come to life in Wallace Segall’s program; writing had become an active, meaningful, empowering experience.

At this time, as the parents battled it out with the private school’s administration, Wallace-Segal realized she actually wanted to take her program into the public sector so that a broader range of kids could get a chance to experience the program’s magic. It was the parents in those early classrooms that eventually helped Wallace-Segall found Writopia. Now, nobody is turned away. Tuition is based on a sliding scale model. Currently, 40% of the Lab’s participants are paying a lower fee, and 10-15% are on full scholarship. There is a no-questions-asked, no-application, pay-what-you-can policy. “And it’s done,” says Wallace-Segall.

Perhaps the most wonderful part of this story (non-fiction), is what the instructors witness daily, and the feedback parents provide. Low-income kids that enter the Writopia Lab perhaps fearing or loathing the act of writing, dramatically shift their points of view. “They develop a positive association with writing,” says Wallace-Segall. “And the quality of their writing is unbelievable,” she adds.

And, while statistically speaking there is not hard evidence, what can absolutely be observed is an increase in the numbers of low income and minority Writopia writers on stage accepting writing awards. And, this is news to shout about.

Writopia Lab is funded in part by the parents who are able to pay for their kids to participate, which enables those who need scholarships to get them. In addition, David Letterman is an annual donor; this year, Letterman’s production company, Worldwide Pants, gave $60,000.

Writopia Lab has expanded its reach outside New York City. Today, programs are found in Greater New York, Washington D.C. and some surrounding towns, as well as Los Angeles. All labs are led by professional writers who have been trained in the Writopia Lab method.

Write by the Rails, the Prince William Chapter of the Virginia Writers Club, is one of many Prince William County Arts Council groups taking part in this third annual event. Meet these local authors, who will be signing and selling their books:

Carole Bellacera, noon to 3 p.m., author of Border Crossings, Chocolate on a Stick, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, Lily of the Springs, Spotlight, Tango’s Edge and Understudy.

Carol Covin, 3 to 5 p.m., author of Who Gets to Name Grandma? The Wisdom of Mothers and Grandmothers.

Patricia Daly-Lipe, 1 to 6 p.m., author of A Cruel Calm, Paris Between the Wars; All Alone, Washington to Rome; Myth, Magic & Metaphor; Messages from Nature and La Jolla, a Celebration of the Past.

“John’s Sister” (pen name), noon to 2 p.m., author of The Forgotten Mourners: Sibling Survivors of Suicide.

Katherine Gotthardt, 5 to 8 p.m., author of Approaching Felonias Park, Furbily-Furld Takes on the World and Poems from the Battlefield.

Linda Johnston, noon to 1 p.m. and 3 to 8 p.m., author and illustrator of Hope Amid Hardship: Pioneer Voices from Kansas Territory.

Marv Josaitis, noon to 2 p.m., author of Pennies from a Heav’n and Breaking Grand Silence: A Former Catholic Priest Speaks Out.

Stacia Kelly, 2 to 3 p.m., author of The Goddess Chronicles (Phyxe, Goddess of Fire and Gaian, Goddess of Earth), Nine Months In – Nine Months Out and Reduce You.

June Pair Kilpatrick, 2 to 4 p.m., author of Wasps in the Bedroom, Butter in the Well: Growing Up During the Great Depression.

Nancy Kyme, 5 to 8 p.m., author of Memory Lake: The Forever Friendships of Summer.

Tamela Ritter, 5 to 8 p.m., author of From These Ashes.

Stuart Schadt, 4 to 5 p.m., author of Henry on Fire.

Kathy Smaltz, noon to 4 p.m., PWCS English teacher, teacher consultant with the Northern Virginia Writing Project and recognized by the National Council of Teachers of English as a National Teacher of Excellence.

Maria Stuart, 4 to 8 p.m., volunteer sous chef at Miriam’s Kitchen and author of Harvey and the Little Tomato.

Readings and Poetry Open Mic

Enjoy readings upstairs in the Buchanan Partners Art Gallery of the Hylton Center throughout the afternoon: Dan Verner (as Blind Willie Mo) performs music while and Katherine Gotthardt reads at noon; followed by Stuart Schadt at 12:15 p.m., June Kilpatrick at 1:30 pm, Ressurrection Graves at 1:45 p.m., Kathy Smaltz at 3 p.m. and Marv Josaitis at 3:15 p.m. Bring a poem to read aloud to a live audience during the Poetry Open Mic from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

For a complete look at all there is to see, do, taste and explore at Arts Alive! 2013, visit www.PWCArtsCouncil.org.

For more information about Write by the Rails, visit www.writebytherails.org.

The days of note passing in school (I would imagine) are gone, seeing as smartphones rule the world and texting is the preferred means of communication. Or you send an email. Or you send a Facebook message. And I bet kids don’t even know how to do cool, origami-fold jobs like we did back in the day!

With the days of note writing and passing in the past, thank goodness there are at least SOME people keeping the history of notes alive.

Enter Passive Aggressive Notes.

PAN is a collaboration of entertaining post-its, banners, cards, and any other form of written communication, in which people express their discontent with any number of situations.  While the author acknowledges that not all notes on the site are “passive” per-say, they all share a common sense of frustration.

For instance, check out this chick.  Sometimes, you just gotta let your neighbors know they vacuum too often.  Or how about this guy, who is so frustrated with his neighbors Hydrangea plant that he had a professional sign made to put up on his lawn about the neighbor? Then of course, there’s the note we are all somewhat familiar with: when someone at work is eating your stuff and you intend to nail that bitch! You don’t mess with someones Girl Scout Cookies! EVER!

There is a plethora of websites to post funny finds, from Facebook Fails to Rich Kids of Instagram, to Whiny blurbs at White Whine.  For whatever reason, society has made the comprehensive decision that making fun of other people is not only accepted, but condoned.

I feel like it all started with the whole scenario we are all familiar with: you know, someone trips and falls on his face, and you instinctively laugh before you even ask if he’s okay.  What does a circumstance like this suggest about our culture? Are we all assholes? Are we insensitive to a person’s well-being?

Personally, I like to think that in any given situation, it is ideal to find some sort of comedic value. Laughing, teasing, and making other people laugh at the expense of others may be, in some ways, trivial or even frowned upon.  Even if an unfortunate circumstance occurs, sometimes finding the silver lining is what we need in order to persevere; and I think I speak for a lot of us when I say, the greatest silver lining (and best cure-all!) one can count on is laughter.

Genre: Fiction

Synopsis: A season spent at an arts summer camp leads to lifelong friendship for four gifted outcasts. Author Wolitzer follows the kids as they grow, mature, marry, and face aging and its inherent disappointments. Ethan loves Jules, who doesn’t love him. Ethan is successful, Jules is not. Jonah is a musician, then gives up on that dream and becomes an engineer. Whatever their level of success, life leaves none of these talented Interestings unscathed. Their relationships, and the way these characters endure them (or don’t), are the basis for the book.

The Critics Say: [L]ong and satisfying and packed with vivid and distinct personalities…-The Book Case

Also by This Author: The Ten Year Nap; Surrender, Dorothy; The Uncoupling

Books Like This: The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen; The Ask by Sam Lipsyte; Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction by J.D. Salinger

My Gut Reaction: Wolitzer’s characters capture the zeitgeist of coastal America. Some are fabulously successful, most are not. All are unsatisfied in some way. Superbly wordy, filled with delicious metaphor and strong characterization, The Interestings seems a worthwhile read. More authors should try to fit this much into a novel.

I doubt I will ever write about art half so well or so naturally as Ebert did. Ebert wrote about the most complex and ineffable of subject matter with a clarity, a lack of pretension, an unassuming grace, and an unflagging enthusiasm that would be the envy of any writer. His prose was Midwestern in the best sense of the word: clear, concise, direct, and unfussy. And if you think any of that is faint praise, then you haven’t done much writing.

Throughout his career, he was accused of lowering film criticism, as though it was a cheat to write stuff that regular people could read. He was a democratic writer because he wrote about every movie as though it deserved to be written about. He was a populist because he believed that great art could speak to everyone, not just some hypothetical elite. That indeed that was the very thing that made it great art. The films he loved, the films of Scorsese, Herzog, and Welles were like his beloved Dickens in that they valued the messy, implausible humanity they displayed. They were available to everyone.

Influenced by? Sure, I wish.

With Ebert though there is a secondary problem that “influence” seems at once a grandiose word and too small. Ebert after all did not just influence my writing but my life. Challenging my tastes and pointing me towards new artists, everyone from Werner Herzog to Terrence Malick, all the way up to Ramin Bahrani. It was not always that I agreed with Ebert’s take on any given film, but he served as an invaluable barometer. If I was dismissive of something, he challenged me to articulate why I was dismissing it. (To be sure I wasn’t just following critical herd think.) If I was enthusiastic about something, he challenged me to articulate its appeal. (To be sure I wasn’t mistaking empty shock for genuine provocation, flash for true style.)

But the core of what I took from Ebert was simple and direct as the rest of his career. Care about what you write about, and the rest will follow.

The half-life of the work of critics and essayists is notoriously short, yet I feel that Ebert’s body of work will endure. As long as anyone seeks a path for seeing deeper in movies and the life that surrounds them, they will find his work.

My personal contact with Ebert came in the space of two emails, both only a few brisk sentences long, channeled through his old Movie Answer Man column. Both meant more to me that I can say. Yet, as with the passing of any truly great writer, I feel as though I have lost a friend. I feel his loss very keenly. He leaves a hole that I doubt will ever be filled. And all of us who love film and the written word are poorer for it.

Dogs on Drugs is not what it may seem; but it isn’t exactly your everyday blog, either.  We don’t learn the super personal side of this blogger, but you certainly are exposed to Greg’s cynical tone, offensive attitude, and foul language.  His contact page alone pretty much deters one from wanting to reach out, claiming that any hate mail sent his way becomes his property; and he can therefore use it to tear you to shreds!

For those of you with a bit of a twisted mind (like me!), Greg writes some noteworthy posts about life.  His topics range from Spring Break memoirs, to his uncanny love for Led Zepplin, to his son’s controversial performance at school and all other sorts of out-of-left-field ramblings.

So, why Dogs on Drugs… right? That was the first question I had when I got to the site, and I learned even a little bit more about this mysterious Greg.  First, I clicked the about tab and was brought to a “Tween Idol” page, where he carries on about Miley Cyrus looking like a horse and Miranda Cosgrove like Michael Jackson.

Uh… what?

A bit confused, I look up to the right and see a tab called about (seriously this time). Greg goes on to explain that he does NOT advocate dog or cat drug abuse (although he had an incident in college that sounded pretty hilarious), and that the name of his blog pretty much stemmed from him wanting an attention-grabber; oh, and that all the “domain hogs” out there that want large amounts of money for a web domain are simply, “assholes”.

He’s got silly polls and relative, yet funny images to go with each post.  He’s a pleasure to read, as his writing style just kind of flows as if he were giving a monologue or hosting a webcam presentation.

Writer like Greg are hard to come by.  I say this for a couple of reasons.  First of all, most dudes who blog can be on the corny/geeky/Harry Potter fantasy tip- yeah, that shit is a turn off.  Greg is honest, clever and playful.  While he clearly gets off on “being a dick like that” and running his mouth, I’m sure he still has a soft side like every one of you fellas has in there somewhere.

In the mean time, the entertainment value of this blog is high and I recommend you check it out sometime for another perspective.  We are all dealing with this ride we call life, the ups and downs and inbetween’s.  Sometimes it helps to find people who share your points of view, your sick sense of humor, or similar experiences to which you can relate!

Or, sometimes it’s just nice to just find another demented person who finds pleasure in messing with people.  After all, laughter heals the soul!

The titles are searchable by ZIP code, author, themes, decade setting, and more. They’re displayed on an interactive map showing exactly where each story unfolds. The website is a collaborative effort of “librarians, experts in local fiction, local history organizations, and anyone who comes to the site. Submissions from readers are welcome, so if you know of a DC-set novel that isn’t listed, get in touch with DC By the Book.

On Wednesday, March 27, DC By the Book hosted its launch party at Busboys and Poets 5th and K location. From 6-8 p.m., authors Thomas Mallon (Watergate), George Pelecanos (What It Was), Ann McLaughlin (The House on Q Street), editor Adam McKible (When Washington Was in Vogue), and others performed dramatic readings and answered questions about how they chose a D.C. backdrop for their books. Former City Paper Arts Editor Mark Athitakis emceed the event, and music from the 1920s to the 70s was mixed by DJ 2Tone Jones. Refreshments were served courtesy of Busboys and Poets. An attendee remarked, “It was a great evening!”

As Monica Hesse, writer for the Washington Post recalls in her recent article, “By the time I read my father’s gift, The Street Lawyer, five years after its publication, the crack description was already out of date. The 14th Street Corridor was more hipster than hooker; a Starbucks was underway down the block. But for several weeks, that stupid John Grisham novel was a palimpsest over every street I walked down; a ghost of recent history that left me wondering about what I’d just missed.”

“I like that word, ‘palimpsest,’ ” says Kim Roberts. She is a ‘subject matter expert’ for DC By the Book, brought into the project because of her original work on a similar site, DCWriters.org, which charted the real-life residences of late Washington writers.

The new site “isn’t about where they lived,” she says. “This is about where their imagination lived.”

Of course, as with all generalizations there are exceptions to the rule. There have been some attempts over the years to legitimatize novelization. Orson Scott Card was hired to adapt The Abyss–James Cameron’s aquatic variation on The Day The Earth Stood Still–to print. Acclaimed horror author Ramsey Campbell started off his career novelizing the old Universal horror films under the pen name Carl Dreadstone, and ironically enough ended up back at his old profession when he re-transfered the new film version of Solomon Kane back to the page in 2010. Terry Brooks was hired to write the novelization of The Phantom Menace, though by the time The Attack Of The Clones rolled around he was replaced by R.A. Salvatore which perhaps tells you everything you need to know about how that went.

Which brings us to Brian Evenson, who lends the novelization of the upcoming The Lords Of Salem a certain legitimacy. The Lords Of Salem is the latest film from Rob Zombie, which follows a popular DJ who unleashes a centuries-old curse while falling prey to a Satanic coven. Elliptical, surreal, and disjointed, the film plays like a genuine evolution from Zombie, holding less in common with the violent, gritty, 70s style horror he’s been associated with, and more with the paranoid, dreamlike strain of Euro-horror propagated by the likes of Mario Bava, Jean Rollins and Roman Polanski. It shares common DNA with the surreal American horror films of the late 70s and early 80s, such as Messiah Of Evil (which the film quotes) and Let’s Scare Jessica To Death. Though The Lord’s Of Salem’s reach occasionally succeeds its grasp, it’s a sharply wound, character-driven horror film with imagery that is genuinely upsetting. And I hope that Zombie skeptics give it a genuine shot.

Increasing potential for the novelization is the fact that working on a lower budget than he ever had before and with a tight 28-day shooting schedule, Zombie was forced to cut much from his more ambitious script. The film’s novelization was based on the script rather than the final cut of the film, giving another reason to hope that the book might be worthwhile.

Author Brian Evenson, writing under the pseudonym B.K. Evenson, is a rather brilliant author whose work is a particular literary brand of Horror and Sci Fi and sometimes simple tales of human nastiness. The kind of author who the likes of Jonathan Lethem and Peter Straub like to lose their minds over (and have). If you’re not familiar with Evenson, feel free to rectify that here: http://wwwbillblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/kind-of-face-you-slash-day-8-two-hands.html.

Evenson gained some notoriety during a very public schism between himself and The Mormon Church over his fiction, which ended with Evenson resigning from his post at BYU, and actually being excommunicated by the LDS. Since then, Evenson has switched between critically acclaimed, fan-beloved novels and short story collections, and novelizations and Extended Universe books in franchises like Halo, Dead Space and Aliens. Still, between Evenson’s pedigree and Zombie’s unplumbed narrative material, I was genuinely looking forward to reading a novelization for the first time… well ever.

It would be easy to assume that Evenson did all the heavy lifting, and that Zombie’s co author credit is mainly due to his story credit and marketability. But frankly, having read The Lords Of Salem, I am not so sure.

Folks, there’s no easy way to say this, particularly since I’m talking about the work of two artists I genuinely like, but The Lords Of Salem as a book is baaaaaadddd. Evenson is a remarkably precise writer and while no author is immune to the occasional clunker, its tough to imagine him writing the line in which one of the witches threaten to make a victim “Bloody with its own blood!” (Well what else would you make him bloody with?) or worse “he was waving his walking stick around, gesticulating with it rather than using it for walking.” Jesus wept. If that’s not a beginner’s line then I’ve never read one.

As for the plot, seemingly everything cut from the script was to the film’s benefit. Nothing is more detrimental to horror than explanation, and the eerie, ugly inexplicability of what happens in the film version is lost.

The book is not without its strong passages and turns of phrase, most of it found in unconnected vignettes during which the scope of The Lords attempted revenge is revealed. But on the whole the book was downright dire.

I would say that The Lords Of Salem is for the hardcore fan and the curious only. Except that I am both and it certainly was not for me.

I’ve been blogging for about five years, on and off.  When you blog, you have to do your research, cite your sources for information, quotes, etc.  When you click around during research, you find things you don’t expect to find; sometimes those things you find aren’t on purpose, but they definitely happen for a reason.

FIP is a blog created by a single-mom who had a mean shopping habit and challenged herself to The Shopping Project: no shopping for a year (blasphemy.) Needless to say, girlfriend needed a new hobby. Her blogs transitioned from whiny blurbs at first, to her weekly Monday Dares to entertain herself, and now, the Hustle Hard Interview Project. This is another year-long mission, this time interviewing people of inspiration and sharing their stories in hopes of further encouraging others, and herself.

I particularly fancy this blog for a couple of reasons.  For one, writer Elizabeth Jayne Liu swears a lot; she has a witty sense of humor and a bad-ass attitude. Her “Part hood. Part good.” slogan resonates; well, kind of (I’m a native of Germantown, MD… where people like to believe they are ghetto but in fact, are not.) Number two, based on the photos I’ve seen, she’s a tiny chick with a lot of personality and she conveys it well through her writing.  And three, with all the stale and boring blogs out there today, it’s quite refreshing to find someone who is all about keeping it real.

Oh wait, and did I mention she loves Tupac?

She says, “I talk the way I want to talk now, I write about the things I want to write about, and I try to live in a way that celebrates my quirky personality, rather than spending all of my energy trying to fit in. I just don’t give a shit. Actually, that’s not true. I still give a shit, but outside opinions matter less now. I’m okay with me.”

Elizabeth is a recovering drug addict; and has no problem telling the world about it.  She was uncomfortable in her own skin for years, and finally “found herself”; and I think a lot of females can learn a lot from her stories.

Her writings have been showcased in multiple publications and she writes feature posts for both Huffington Post and another entertaining blog called Inside the Mind of A Ghetto Genius.

As an aspiring entrepreneur myself, people like this truly give me hope.  Hope for what, you ask? Hope that in two years when I am freaking out about turning 30, I will still have my sense of humor in tact.  Hope that I, too, can juggle life when I actually “grow up,” find equal success and happiness in my soon-to-be marriage, manage a business and eventually, become a parent too.

Take a look at her stuff, and hopefully you will get inspired like me!

Sheryl Sandberg has said her goal was to start a conversation about women in the workplace with her bestselling book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, and much of the buzz surrounding Sandberg’s book centers on the differences between women and men in the workplace.

Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster are starting a different–but just as relevant–conversation with their book Mean Girls at Work: How to Stay Professional When Things Get Personal. Crowley, a Harvard-trained psychotherapist, and Elster, a management consultant and executive coach, run K Squared Enterprises where they help clients manage difficult work situations. In their work, they have found that women don’t just have the challenge of gaining the respect of men in the workplace; they also have to navigate relationships with other women at work.

Writing about Sandberg’s book in “Do female bosses lead to better treatment for all women?” on the Washington Post’s WonkBlog, Mike Konczal cited research that concluded, “Female bosses do seem to make life better for rank-and-file female workers — but they might make it harder for other female executives.”

Research aside, women inside and outside of the executive suite have felt challenged by other women at work. Crowley and Elster aim to help women work through these tough situations with practical advice that shows women how to continuously take the high road and neutralize career-damaging enemies and frenemies at work. We corresponded with them via e-mail to ask about workplace dynamics among women.

inReads: Can you tell us how this went from a presentation on what a client called “women haters”—a subject you were reluctant to take on—to a book?

Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster: When we gave our lecture Competitive Women at Work: From Fighting to Uniting to a group of up-and-coming executive women in technology, the audience sat riveted.  They showed us that issue of competition among women at work hit a deep nerve for them. As speakers, you just know when your audience is engrossed and engaged. We realized that there was a need for concrete advice addressing the real issue of woman-on-woman relationships at work.

inReads: Why do you recommend that readers first read chapters that pinpoint difficulties they are having now and then re-read the book from beginning to end later?

Crowley & Elster: We are authors who enjoy reading business books just as much as we enjoy writing them.  With that in mind, we try to lay out our information the way we think our readers want to absorb it.  Our method is to give concrete, easy-to-implement solutions in a clear, organized manner.  Mean Girls at Work covers over 80 different problems. We want our readers to get solutions to their immediate situations first. Then, they can go back and read more on the general topic.

inReads: How has the book been received?

Crowley & Elster: Mean Girls at Work has its followers and it has its haters. We respect both reactions to the material.  We understand that airing the dark side of women competing with each other is controversial. Controversial topics strike a nerve. Some women fear that we are perpetuating the negative stereotype of mean, catty women in the workplace. Many more women understand that this is a conversation that needs to be aired.

inReads: Most of the chapters include real-life scenarios and practical solutions for dealing with mean girls at work. Why did you decide to include a chapter entitled “She Brings Out Your Mean?”

Crowley & Elster: It’s really a funny story.  One day Katherine came to work and said “I know how I am mean to other women!” Then she explained that when women are overly needy with her (they talk too much or ask too many questions), she tends to snap at them. The woman on the receiving end is usually shocked that Katherine went from being this very nice person to a mean one. In most of our work, we strive to demonstrate that there are two sides to every relationship. This category proves that even the “nicest” girls have something to work on.

inReads: Did writing this book change the way you interact with women you encounter in the workplace?

Crowley & Elster: Yes, very much.  Whenever we write a book, we both grow personally because the subject matter sheds light on our own behaviors.  While writing Mean Girls at Work, we had to admit the small and large ways that we, too, could be mean to other women.  We also grew to understand how it’s possible to change.  From going on a “no-gossip diet” to taking the high road when a woman says something that feels mean-spirited, we’ve learned to take the behavior of other women less personally, and we try to support other women in every way we can.

Read Further: On her Happy Black Woman blog, Rosetta Thurman talks about women who see other women as a threat in “How to Deal With Criticism from Random Strangers on the Internet.”

While some of these stereotypes are relatively accurate, they certainly do not speak to everyone born between 1980-2000.  There are innovators and pioneers paving the way for our generation to take over the workforce; and it’s always refreshing to see these local leaders tackling ongoing issues head-on.

I Love Washington D.C. is a website and organization with a mission to connect the Washington Metropolitan Community.  They host write-ups on local entrepreneurs and sell fresh, DC-oriented apparel; but best of all, they highlight some of the area’s Local Leaders who are actively working towards improving our communities.  President Dan Stouffer hopes that sharing their dedicated stories will inspire change, growth, and forward-thinking among other communities as well.

Stouffer covers the bases well in his selection of forward thinkers.  From Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, to the Humane Society, to advocates against human trafficking and eating disorders, ilovewdc.com is a fantastic site for gaining some insight about the GOOD things our generation is capable of.

Their t-shirts are kick-ass too–pridefully made in the USA–with unique graphics that every DC area native is sure to love.  Check out their shop here!

I believe in I Love WDC and what it stands for.  There certainly is a disconnect between the communities in the DC area.  Be it the differences in personality from Dupont Circle to Adams Morgan or the cultural comparisons of Northwest and Southwest DC, something’s gotta give. While it is certainly a good thing for the Nation’s Capital to be diverse and well-cultured, we (and when I say “we,” I mean Generation Y…the future!) need to find some common ground.

Maybe the mission to inspire others can be achieved; we all just need to help spread the word.

Surely, there are plenty of people in the area making a difference.  Do you know one of them?  Do you think our generation could benefit from his or her story being shared with the rest of us? Send your proposed “Local Leader” and their bio to I Love WDC  via this form and explain why they deserve to be featured.

People of our generation need to be especially appreciative of people like these Local Leaders.  Baby Boomers and Generation Xers are working towards retirement, leaving us in the driver’s seat for the future.  Having a handful of do-gooders isn’t going to cut it, people! We need to be more proactive and productive as a whole.  We ALL need to become more conscientious, more focused, and more involved to keep things moving; and if we don’t, well I think we will all be in for a rude awakening.

And while money makes the world go ’round, sometimes doing things out of the goodness of your heart can invigorate your soul; and in turn, help the greater good.  Contrary to how much of our generation has been raised, the greater good is NOT yourself.

So stop worrying about what you’re going to wear to the club Saturday night, stop stressing about who you are going to draft for Fantasy Baseball, and stop taking thousands of the same damn “selfie” photos and posting them on Facebook! Dedicate your time and effort to something useful.  Become your own Local Leader and make a difference.

Genre: History/Holocaust

Synopsis: Breitman and Lichtman, both professors at American University, delve into President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s efforts on behalf of the Jews during the Holocaust. This history, which tempers recent scholarship, defends FDR’s actions, and more importantly, his inaction in the face of genocide. For example, FDR may not have bombed the train tracks that led to Auschwitz, but he did ultimately end Hitler’s reign. Additionally, FDR may not have increased American quotas for Jewish refugees, but he did work to find a home for them elsewhere, most notably Palestine.

What the Critics Say: They seek not to absolve Roosevelt for his inaction, but, as my latest parking ticket says, “to admit with explanation.” –Marc Fisher, Moment Magazine

Also by the Authors: U.S. Intelligence and the Nazis (Breitman); White Protestant Nation: The Rise of the American Conservative Movement (Lichtman); Official Secrets: What the Nazis Planned, What the British and Americans Knew (Breitman).

Books Like This: While Six Million Died: A Chronicle of American Apathy by Arthur Morse; The Abandonment of the Jews: America and the Holocaust, 1941-1945 by David Wyman; Accomplices: Churchill, Roosevelt and the Holocaust by Alexander Groth.

My Gut Reaction: I have mixed feelings about this book, the same way most historians feel about FDR himself. On the one hand, he saved Europe from Hitler, but on the other, his efforts on behalf of the Jews were too little, too late. Recent scholarship has determined that he knew a great deal about the Holocaust. And if he knew, even if his knowledge were incomplete, why could he not take a stand? There are many reasons, including his desire to please a populace not wholly in favor of war with Europe in the first place; these are all detailed within FDR and the Jews. While the authors present their work as politically neutral, I wonder if it is at its heart an apology.

Somehow, though, this novel seems to be disgracefully overlooked on many of the lists of Washington’s best fiction. Hopefully this lyrical, amazing book will come to more notice- for it is, as the Times says, a great Washington novel.

The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears follows Sepha Stephanos, an Ethiopian who moves to the District of Columbia after his father is killed. He eventually opens a grocery in a D.C. neighborhood. The novel tells of how he begins a relationship with a white woman who moves in next door. She works at a university, and Sepha also befriends her biracial child.

The story examines the impact of gentrification upon their neighborhood, Logan Circle. It also examines issues of race and class, and the Ethiopian immigrant experience. In the United States alone, there are approximately half a million Ethiopian immigrants. In Washington DC, there are at least 22,000. Some of these people are survivors of the horrors of the 1970s and 1980s that occurred in Ethiopia. Others are their descendants, trying to understand what their parents suffered. At the same time, they struggle with the experiences they undergo themselves, being young, black, African, and American all at once.

Author Mengestu is able to tap convincingly into this sort of immigrant experience, because he knows what it is like first-hand. Like his protagonist,  Mengestu was born in Ethiopia. He came to the United States in 1980 at the age of 2. His father had been forced to flee Ethiopia earlier. Mengestsu’s family finally joined his father in Washington, D.C., and he was educated at Georgetown and Columbia University.

Mengestu says the voice of the narrator “popped” into his head one night when he was walking in D.C. and “saw an Ethiopian immigrant behind the counter of a small, little grocery store.” The Times comments on Mengestu’s “fine ear for the way immigrants from damaged places talk in the sanctuary of their own company,” but he says he “didn’t deliberately go off and research anything” to write the novel.

“Obviously, I come from a family of immigrants,” he says, “and if you pay attention to the environments around you, you get a sense of who these people are.” He adds, “The character is driven by a search for a sort of home … what I think is a pretty universal and pretty common feeling.”

The lack of identity here in the Nation’s Capital could be blamed on numerous theories.  For one, the idea that “everyone here is from somewhere else” has been quite played out.  Lots of people come to the area for job opportunities, an improvement in quality of life, etc.; and therefore, these people come from markets where they have already developed opinions and loyalties to their true “home” teams.

Another theory would be the fact we are constantly in limbo–teams do well, then they crap the bed, and then the off-season comes around and we are, again, ready to be all-in.  The roller-coaster ride can be exhausting, for sure!  Take it from me, a life-long fan of the Redskins and Orioles–two teams who were extremely relevant when I was born in the 80′s and have yet to make a splash in the post-season since.

And then, there is the favorite excuse for the majority of fans: We haven’t been GOOD for decades.  There have certainly been hopeful runs for the Redskins, Capitals, and Nationals as of late, but they haven’t managed to deliver! The psyche of the D.C. sports fan is beaten down, and it’s been 20 years since we won a championship.  Although we have been in the race as of late, the results are all the same…and it makes for a depressed, frustrated, and (therefore) flaky fan-base.

As a blogger myself, I love fellow blogmeisters who make a point to add humor and entertainment into their writing.   The standard, dry content of yesterday is no longer a necessity, as a personal spin with flavor can make a nice article into an outstanding piece.

The Mottram brothers over at Mister Irrelevant do exactly that.

I highlight this blog today as an avid sports fan, a smart ass, and a D.C. native.  These bros are VIP’s of the sports world; one is the Director of Content Development at USA Today Sports Media and the other is a Senior Editor at SB Nation.  So it goes without saying, they know what thy are talking about!

Mr. Irrelevant isn’t just about the local teams and the latest news.  It covers everything from D.C. journalists, to culture, to player profiles and interviews. These guys have no problem teasing and they do all they can to encourage feedback from readers; which ultimately, is what every writer longs for (and appreciates!)

At the end of the day, maybe D.C. sports fans are considered salty, or callous, and at times, apathetic; but the reality is, we are passionate.  We are hopeful.  And for those of us who have weathered the rough times, we are resilient and appreciative.

As much as it has truly SUCKED to be a fan through the tough times of the past, we have a very bright and promising future.  If you don’t know why I say so, please reference Robert Griffin III, Alfred Morris, Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, John Wall, and Manny Machado (Manny is actually an Oriole, but for all intents and purposes, he supports my argument!)

True fans are loyal through the good times and bad.  And with the recent history of our teams, we can only hope that honest improvement is under way.

And when we get there, when we bring that championship title back to the DMV, it will be all the more sweet; because the sweet is NEVER as sweet without the bitter.

From Publisher’s Weekly: Written by the husband-and-wife duo behind the Equinox restaurant in Washington, D.C., this cookbook promises a new take on classical Jewish cuisine… Relying on classic Jewish dishes, new favorites, and some imports, Gray and Kassoff Gray look to change the traditional Jewish table by “blending” tastes and histories. With dishes like yukon gold and sweet potato latkes and vegetable kishka with sage and paprika mixed in with asparagus risotto with Parmesan tuiles and quick summer squash ratatouille, there is a little something from everywhere thrown into the pot.

InReads wanted to know a little bit more about the road the Grays have taken thus far and their lives outside the kitchen:

inReads: You’ve said that this cookbook explores the melding of two different cooking cultures…is this how the Grays eat at home?

Ellen Kassoff Gray: Well, at home we are pretty much domestic vegans which brings in a whole new element, so yes, lots of melding of styles going on in our home! And lots of eating out of the back yard when weather permits.

inReads: You guys were farm-to-table before it was cool, and since melding of different backgrounds seems reflective of our culture, could you see this as the start of another trend?

Kassoff Gray: Sure…Jew-Seasonal…haha! Actually, resurrecting ancient traditional recipes is seasonal because it’s how our ancestors really ate. They had too! So, this was way the fashion before anyone even knew it!

inReads: Do you and Todd have time to read? Do you mind sharing either what you’re reading now or books you feel have had a strong influence on you?

Kassoff Gray: We love cookbooks; I’ve got three books working now: Edible Selby, a  very hip cool book; the Dwayne Wade book A Father First with my 13-year-old basketball-obsessed son, and I’m glancing at this awesome tiny garden book I just picked up. It has cool ideas like tiny plants in eggshells – love stuff like that! Todd is reading a world cocktail book; he’s taken an interest lately. This should be fun!

inReads: How do you think growing up in the DC area has influenced the road you’ve traveled?

Kassoff Gray: I’m fiercely native so it keeps me focused on the region and being true to it and being a proud native of such a burgeoning city!

Of course, we all have those moments when we are cleaning the house and come across our favorite oldies but goodies–a.k.a. high school letters and yearbooks, photos with out-of-date hairstyles/fashions, gimp key chains, and maybe even a sweet mix tape or two.

It’s amazing how the mind works. Certain things from our past tend to create a sense of nostalgia for us, or a sentimentality towards the past that is typically associated with happiness. And the objects bringing about these “remembered” feelings, in turn, become responsible for taking us back to that time and out of the present.  Your mind goes “back in the day” and your body stays here, so to speak.

While this may seem normal for a lot of us, especially in terms of childhood recollections, psychology tends to write off nostalgia as simply being “stuck in the past.”  Studies show that the people experiencing nostalgia the most are those with fewer social ties in the present; it can, in a sense, counteract feelings of loneliness.  This means that perceiving the “memory” as being better than the actual event may be a defense mechanism to overcome feelings of loneliness. The simplest example of this would be feeling homesick when you are out of town.

I, for one, enjoy trips down memory lane!  Nostalgic instances in my life remind me of the good times I had as a kid and where I come from.  And I’m Remembering! is a site that can truly help others of the 80′s and 90′s generation stroll down memory lane.

Who remembers Discovery Zone? Lite Brite? The Babysitters Club? The California Raisins? Shrinky Dinks? It’s all coming back, right?  The I’m Remembering site posts random pictures on the regular to help create this sense of nostalgia for us.

What’s so bad about vivid memories, anyways? Sure, it can create a type of detachment from reality; but are reminders of the pop-culture from your childhood really that bad?

Sometimes, a mental visit to the past can give us warm fuzzies, bring us back to a good time in our lives; they give us hope that if things are terrible now, it is always possible to get to that happy place again.  Sure, life as a kid is as simplistic as it comes.  And while we were so busy worrying about what we would have to trade for lunch at school, our concerns at that point were really nothing but trivial.

As long as we don’t get lost in our memories, and remain present at the end of the day, a little nostalgia really can’t hurt; it’s just got to be kept in check!

And besides, who can honestly say no to reruns of Saved By the Bell, 90210, and Growing Pains anyways?

Connection To D.C.: Though a New Yorker by birth, William Peter Blatty moved to DC to attend college at Georgetown and the place had a profound influence on him. Using it as the setting for his two best known novels, The Exorcist and its eccentric follow up Legion. Blatty’s Georgetown is a combination and a contradiction. At once a multi-cultural, vibrant neighborhood, an alcove of suburban placidity in the chaos of the city, and a brooding center of study both secular and religious. All of its facets thrown into sharp relief by the dark deeds and inexplicable occurrences that crop up in the most innocuous of places.

The D.C. Novel/Where To Get In: Obviously, the more iconic of the two, the long flight of stairs where the book and film climax, providing the city with one of its most recognizable off-the-Mall landmarks, The Exorcist is the place to begin.

While most of Blatty’s books are an acquired taste; with their odd mix of theological musings, occasional graphic violence, and near-constant, Borscht belt–almost vaudevillian–humor, The Exorcist is a remarkably tight and disciplined book. The prose compact and intense and the clunky humor and digressive subplots that can mar his other work are for the most part absent.

Blatty had an unusually close hand in helping to mold the book for the screen, so all the big beats from the film are present, and in some cases actually rougher than their on-screen counterparts.

More than that, The Exorcist works because it’s about as personal as genre fiction gets. Drawing not only on Blatty’s devout beliefs, but his personal history, and in no small part his affection and love for his adopted city.

Where Not To Get In: Though underrated, Legion, which follows a supporting character in The Exorcist as he investigates a series of sarcastically sacrilegious murders that seem connected with the earlier events in Georgetown, is at its heart much more of a typical Blatty book. Which means it tends to ramble. While the book has much to recommend it, including a vivid Georgetown, a likable lead, a genuine sense of the surreal, and a creepy atmospheric setting at a mental hospital where nothing is quite right. It also has about two too many red herrings, an unsatisfying ending and a pace that is somewhat on the meandering side. Those who read an enjoy The Exorcist would probably find a lot to like in Legion, but those looking for the same tightly coiled plot will probably walk away disappointed.

Those curious but not quite ready to commit are encourage to seek out shamefully underrated The Exorcist III, directed by Blatty himself and based on Legion. It improves upon its source material in many ways, cutting some of the more egregious subplots and tightening up the pace and putting in one of the greatest jump scares of all time. In many ways, Blatty is a better director than writer. His humor, which can seem soppy on the page, is dryer on screen, and he has a keen visual imagination. Pity he has only been able to make two films.

The film’s only real flaw is the somewhat nonsensical exorcism that ends the film, the result of studio-mandated reshoots that resulted when the executives decided they’d probably make more money calling the film The Exorcist than Legion, and if they were going to do that, then maybe they…you know…ought to put an exorcism in there somewhere. It’s an ineffective ending but an effective film. And needless to say that Blatty makes DC look creepy as hell…

In a sense, life was easier.  We didn’t have fifteen ways to contact each other; just one reliable source of communication.  But on the other hand, if you missed a phone call, or someone ran out and couldn’t get to the phone when you called, you just had to leave a message on a machine, in hopes you would get a reply when they returned.

Now, when we can’t reach someone on their cell, we send them a text.  No response? Let me send you an email real quick.  Still nothing? Well, I’m gonna hop on Facebook and see if you’re around, maybe send you a PM?

It never ends.  But with this new style of technology, it all comes down to instant gratification.  And thus began the era of online reviews.

It is estimated that 80% of consumers trust online reputations, and read up on reviews prior to making purchases.  We all know and understand that your reputation can make or break you. Also, that one pissed off customer can make a point that leads to the demise of your business if you aren’t keep up with what people are saying.

But on a lighter note, I came across this beaut last week.  UHpinions is a collaborative site that finds some of the most entertaining reviews on the web and shares these blurbs for others to enjoy.

My first take on the site was simply: GENIUS.  I have always been a personal fan of looking up questions on Yahoo! Answers, mostly because some of the responses are so comical.  I also enjoy comment sections of news articles, and of course the ridiculous commentary on celebrity Instagram pages.  Guilty pleasure? Maybe.  But some people never cease to amaze me in terms of their lack of intelligence and/or tact.

Friday’s post on UHpinions was hilarious. The consumer was reviewing Lawry’s Baja Chipotle Marinade; and boy did he have quite a story to go with his thoughts! From crazy dogs to the product being to blame for his divorce, I give this guy the ultimate review award for creativity and conviction.

Entertainment is a factor we all need in our lives to maintain our sanity, especially on a rough day.  Sometimes, a simple reading of a blog can make you realize that maybe you don’t have it so bad.  While a lot of the times, people are dead serious about what they are posting, others can find a comedic value in it.  Not that I would ever condone one man’s suffering equating another mans pleasure; but sometimes, it can certainly make for a good laugh.

Next time you are browsing reviews and come across something ridiculous, send it over to UHpinions.  Sometimes, these gems can be hard to come by, but they are absolutely worth sharing on this review highlight reel.

Barthelme was right.

That’s precisely why I had fallen in love with her work as well. I had the pleasure of publishing Bryant’s work in 2011 for Patasola Press. Prior to this, we had begun a dance-like, very simpatico literary relationship, where at times she’d be featured in New York at readings or I’d be in D.C. for literary events. We bonded over surrealism and feminism, and I was inspired by her voice as a writer. Her prose always struck me as clean, vivid and gory—the kind of gory you’re aching for in your life. Something different and wild and beautiful.

A recipient of fellowships from Johns Hopkins University (where she earned her Masters in Writing and where she teaches creative writing) and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Bryant’s work can be seen in The Paris Review (Online), StoryQuarterly, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Gargoyle Magazine, and Redivider, among other publications. She’s been nominated for the Pen/Hemingway, Pen Emerging Writers, and Pushcart awards. Plus, she’s a writer for New York Journal of Books, Puerto del Sol, The Nervous Breakdown, Portland Book Review and Beatrice.com. When she’s not writing, she is the editor-in-chief of the Johns Hopkins’ university-housed literary and arts journal, The Doctor T. J. Eckleburg Review.

I sat down with Bryant to discuss her work, vision and today’s writing world.

inReads: In the past few years, your acclaimed short story collection, The Indefinite State of Imaginary Morals (ISIM), was released. Now, you’ve written a novel, which contains fragments from ISIM. What sort of elements can fans of your short story collection expect from your novel? Can you tell us a bit about the manuscript?

Rae Bryant: I like how works affect readers differently, so I’ll try to respond in a personal, individual way. For me, ISIM speaks of breaking boundaries and conventions. It doesn’t shy from the dark or awkward and uncomfortable spaces. I like to see characters in difficult situations, where they need to face lesser selves. I hope manuscript does this, too. The difficulty lets the reader dig inward a bit more, I think. Denis Johnson does this beautifully. One can be equally enthralled and repulsed by a single character in a single scene, e.g. Georgie in “Emergency” and his hallucinogenic ride through an E.R. and roadside rabbits. The rabbit scene kills me. It is horrific, grotesque and humane all at once. Messy. Georgie is both murderer and savior. And it makes me as the reader question the definition of what is right and humane and grotesque. The boundaries and definitions are less stark in that moment and that makes the reading experience personal, challenging. Nothing like it. Too many stories out and about on pedestals, telling readers what to think and feel. We are constantly inundated with safe stories, regurgitations of what is “right” in culture, gender… There are many readers who seek a more diverse meaning of “right.” I yearn for the stories that ask me to figure the right out for myself. And fiction is the form that does this best, in my opinion.

inReads: As the editor of The Doctor T.J. Eckleburg Review at Johns Hopkins, where you currently teach in the writing program, what do you think today’s writers and students of writing are afraid of confronting? Do you think this moment in time for fiction writers is evolving, or do you think many literary journals are still publishing safe or regurgitated work that reflects older or more conventional ways of thinking about sex, gender and humanity?

Bryant: Yes, I do believe many programs and journals still advocate a safe, Carveresque, predominantly white male aesthetic. All I can say is that in my writing, editing, and teaching I try to diversify.

What I find most interesting is the student who is too scared or too steeped in tradition–gender and/or ethnicity parameters being the most concerning for me–to step outside the canon for even a moment long enough to simply experience the other. Particularly concerning for me when young female writers balk at stepping out. Sometimes it is a fear factor, I think, a “but how am I going to write the great female, commercial novel and sell many copies” issue. It’s a valid fear. Many editors still like their female voices prim and proper, focused on what is deemed by the broader publishing community as “stereotypical female issues.”

I like to work with brave students willing to put themselves out for the sake of craft, as vulnerable as it might be. Brave and honest storytellers willing to fall and humble themselves. Students who study writing to be writers versus study to be authors. There is a difference. Not to say publishing one’s work, being the author, isn’t lovely, it is. But if publishing and accolades is the driving force, a student of writing should really question if writing is a good focus. I am always searching for the dedicated writers. And I’m honored to say, I have had students of this caliber.

inReads: Rae, you bring up a very good point. There is a difference between being a writer and being an author. I consistently see, as an editor and reader, people who are actively trying to sound like what’s popular. Usually their work ends up feeling safe. It doesn’t push boundaries. It’s quite see-through. Sometimes these people are given accolades, because even the “edgy” work they’re producing is “safe” in certain circles or because it’s so popular. Sometimes I see beauty being sacrificed for accolade, because beauty can be difficult to pull off, and it’s associated with Poetry or Literature of a bygone era.

I think there’s space to fill, as writers, between what is fresh and what has been learned from canonical works. That is just my opinion. So, when you talk about people writing and taking new directions and actively trying to pursue something organically interesting, I completely agree. What writers are you enjoying reading these days? And, who has influenced or inspired you as a writer?

Bryant: Enjoyed. Inspired. Influenced. Tall order. Lately, I’ve been all about Cris Mazza and Alexandra Chasin. I fell in love with their words while still a student in program and I’m still in love with their words. Their stories are universal and classic with the courage of innovation. I am humbled each time I read their works.

I’m also very much in love with Mary Gaitskill, Alice McDermott and Virginia Woolf. A friend suggested Veronica to me a while back and I took it and Woolf and McDermott, Johnson and Bukowski, with me to the VCCA, along with an earlier mongrel form of novel draft. Something about the works and voices shook me out of whatever funk I was in and it was something like the Spider-Man genetic test tube cooker that hatched the Green Goblin, which is maybe a little scary? I’ve never been the same since. Really. I think I may have created a hover board of some sort and have hidden it somewhere in the basement. If you see me hovering around throwing pumpkins, it’s not me! It was Woolf!

I also recently reviewed Prosperous Friends by Christine Schutt. Her language is kick ass elegant. And of course, I’ll pay tribute to the male voices. I have a love hate relationship with Hemingway. Denis Johnson is always a beauty and Bukowski throws his words straight, in the dirt. You have to respect it. Nabokov. D. F. Wallace. No explanation necessary. And Cormac McCarthy is a particular love. Blood Meridian being one of my favorite novels but also falling for Child of God, The Road. It’s interesting because I go for his darkest. So many more writers.

inReads: So, what can you envision or hope for in the future of Rae Bryant, the writer and the author?

Bryant: When I was a girl, I wanted to be a novelist and dance in the New York City ballet and marry Mikhail Baryshnikov, which would have probably lent itself to some good stories, but I have since given up the ballet.

So now it’s writing, editing, teaching. Hopefully, the novel finds a good home. And so on. At AWP I’ll be reading with Steve Almond, Amber Tamblyn, and Derrick Brown, musical guest, The Sun Parade, at the famous Bob Dylan and Joan Baez spot, Club Passim. That will be be fun. I like to read. And I will dance. Probably not ballet but some form of dance will happen.

inReads: Dancing is always, always good. Thanks for taking the time to chat with inReads!

Click here to read Rae Bryant’s “Intolerable Impositions” from The Indefinite State of Imaginary Morals (ISIM).

Baum’s childhood was haunted by the specter of death: Lyman Frank Baum was born in 1855 in upstate New York into the age of spiritualism, with people debating the existence of the supernatural and the authenticity of mediums and others who claimed to contact the dead.  Loncraine also writes “L. Frank Baum was born into a tight-knit extended family traumatized by the sudden death of so many infants.” The deaths of so many cousins and siblings and, when he was older, the numerous casualties of the Civil War (and a father who mishandled money) may have informed Baum’s spending habits: he was not one to save for tomorrow since tomorrow was not promised and he was often in debt.

Baum was a serial entrepreneur: Success for some means starting an enterprise and growing it to be as profitable as possible, but this was not Baum’s story. As one enterprise failed, he entered another: acting, managing a theater company, traveling salesman, selling oil, running a general store, owning and editing a newspaper and, later, a window trimming magazine.

Baum sought his fortune out west: With his business interests in Syracuse floundering, Baum went to visit his wife’s sister and her family in the Dakota Territory. His sister-in-law had published an account of a tornado in a Syracuse newspaper and Baum was fascinated. He took pictures with his brand new (and at the time very expensive) Kodak and determined to live in this land with wide-open spaces and opportunity. The influence of this time in the west is evident in The Wizard of Oz: Uncle Henry and Auntie Em are Kansas homesteaders affected by drought and tornado.

Baum was great supporter of the women’s suffrage movement: Matilda Gage, Baum’s mother-in-law, was a suffragist and author of Women, Church and State. Baum agreed wholeheartedly with his wife, Maud, and mother-in-law on the issue of women being allowed to vote and deplored the idea of women being second-class citizens. As his mother had done, Baum’s wife owned the house where they lived towards the end of their lives. Maud Baum also owned copyrights for some of his lesser-known works, so while she couldn’t control all of his spending, she did have some financial autonomy.

Baum and his wife longed for a daughter (they only had sons) and Baum was at ease writing female characters. Dorothy was not Baum’s first heroine, either. As a newspaperman, Baum wrote a popular column calls “Our Landlady,” in which a fictional landlady held forth on the topics of the day in folksy way.

In The Patchwork Girl of Oz, a later book in the Oz series, he created Scraps, “a gently subversive creature” that inspired girls, including his own granddaughter. He also wrote books for girls under the name Edith Van Dyne.

Baum was a great teller of tales…especially to the press: Loncraine writes: “Baum felt no deep obligation to telling journalists the truth and he began to create a somewhat fabricated version of himself for the media.”

Baum took The Wizard of Oz on the road: Long before The Wiz or Wicked, Baum collaborated on a stage musical version of The Wizard of Oz. He was at odds with his collaborators over changes to the story, but the show was a success.

Less successful was the Fairylogue and Radio-Plays, a bold venture that incorporated stories from Oz told with a live orchestra and hand-painted film footage. Baum narrated and onstage actors interacted with filmed scenes. Baum invested a lot of his own money into the expensive production and according to Loncraine, this led to his financial ruin.

Like Dorothy, Baum longed to escape Oz: Today we think of the first book and perhaps the 1939 movie as all there is to Oz (although some may remember the 1985 movie Return to Oz as well). We don’t realize that in its day it was a very popular series that spanned to 1 7 books.

For Baum, the land of Oz threatened to take over: “He feared the constant demand for more Oz stories was stifling him, threatening to break his mind.” When Baum tried to end the series, fans demanded more and he kept them at bay for a while, but his precarious finances meant a return to Oz. Critics complained about the quality of some of the later books, but one review stated that Baum could only end the Oz series when his own life came to an end.

Sadly for Baum he did escape in a way: he lost the rights to The Wizard of Oz in 1910 as part of an agreement to pay his debts and filed for bankruptcy in 1911. However, he continued to write books in the Oz series even though he didn’t make any more money from his signature story.

Read Further: Film.com discusses, “Why ‘Oz the Great and Powerful’ is a Major Step Back for Witches and Women.”