Dreams of Trespass (Morocco)
Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood by Fatima Mernissi If you’re like me, the word “harem” is inherently fascinating. But if you’re like me, you’re thinking about some kind of sex palace with … Continue reading
Author Archives: Lisa
A Book From Every Country Project
Well, I don’t think I really have to explain this one. Dun dun dun…I’m going to read a book from every country. Preferably from and about the country. It’s going to be rad. If you … Continue reading
Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller In the first sentences, Miller writes: “This is not a book in the ordinary sense of the word. No, this is a prolonged insult, a gob of spit in … Continue reading
Re-read The Corrections
In Why We Read What We Read, we talked briefly about Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections, using it to illustrate Oprah’s peculiar ways of reading literature. But we never really got to say what a wonderful … Continue reading
Writing software? Is it worth it?
Okay, this is slightly off-topic, but I know that many of you are writers and might know some things. I was sniffing around the web looking for software that would help me track my story/article/book … Continue reading
Hardcover Nonfiction for 2007
Just to follow up on John’s comments about the top political sellers for 2007, here are the actual top 15 nonfiction bestsellers: 1. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. Atria/Beyond Words (11/06) 4,590,000 2. The Dangerous … Continue reading
Three brief reviews of Chick Lit
…in order from worst to best. The two words that come to mind when I think of Family Trust by Amanda Brown are “frivolous” and “dumb.” Brown is the author of the Legally Blonde novel, … Continue reading
Waiting for the Nastiness
This post by John Heath, whatever it might say above Taking a look at the bestselling lists from 2007 and 2008, I have not been surprised that they generally look a lot like those from … Continue reading
Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers 2007: James Patterson gets even more annoying
Okay, I’m serious now, people. Stop reading James Patterson! He’s just not that good. The numbers, alas, say otherwise: in addition to the four paperback bestsellers already mentioned in my earlier post, the guy has … Continue reading
Chick Lit, here I come
It’s been suggested by some readers here that I look into the chick lit phenomenon, a genre we skipped in Why We Read What We Read because it simply isn’t bestselling—at least not bestselling enough … Continue reading
Bestselling Mass Market Paperbacks, 2007
Here they be. 1. Blood Brothers. Nora Roberts. Orig. Jove (2,247,730) 2. Cross. James Patterson. Rep. Grand Central (1,831,296) 3. Angels Fall. Nora Roberts. Rep. Jove (1,655,329) 4. Judge & Jury. James Patterson & Andrew … Continue reading
The 2007 annual bestseller lists are here!
Okay, they’ve been here, it turns out, for almost a month. But Publisher’s Weekly has this sneaky way of burying each year’s numbers in its voluminous archives, hiding their presence even from its own search … Continue reading
Eatin’, prayin’, lovin’
Never has a woman embodied that old saying “when a door closes, another one opens” quite like Elizabeth Gilbert. There she was, married and nesting, trying to get preggers, when she realized that women who … Continue reading
Bestsellers that Count
This post is by John Heath. Yes, he deigned to write a blog post. Whatta guy. Unlike my chatty colleague in crime, it’s been several months since I spent focused time with bestsellers. Let’s call … Continue reading
Eat This Not That
Holy crap, what a dumb name for a book. I know it’s been on the bestseller charts for a while, but I’ve been ignoring it because 1) it’s a diet book, yawn and 2) its … Continue reading
Cloud Atlas
So here’s a cool idea. You start a story, get the reader into it, and then abruptly cut it off 4o pages later—in mid-sentence, no less. Then you begin a totally different story, one that … Continue reading
Three Cups of Whoop-ass
You’d better think twice before slapping a fatwa on Greg Mortenson. Try to deny this dude his dream of educating Pakistani children and he will be all over your sorry terrorist-abiding ass. Oh sure, he’ll … Continue reading
My first graphic novel
Yeah, yeah, I know they’re not exactly new. But as a lifetime opponent of comic books, I was in no hurry to snuggle up to this genre. All those nonsensical premises. All that ridiculous dialogue. … Continue reading
Help! I can’t finish anything
Don’t you hate it when you’re reading a bunch of books but none of them really do it for you? That’s been my problem over the past couple of weeks. If only the books I’m … Continue reading
A Thousand Splendid Suns
So, Afghanistan pretty much sucks. Not inherently, of course. (I’m sure it’s lovely in the springtime.) But it’s had various inhabitants over the past 30-odd years that have made it really hard to kick back … Continue reading